Recently, Lee Strobel was at my church, Wallace Memorial Baptist, and he had an excellent message. He had 4 points that all started with the letter E. Sometimes preachers have to kind of shoehorn their words to make that style work, but Strobel’s message sounded like he wasn’t reaching–his most logical points all really did start with E’s. The upside to this message–when it’s a natural fit–is that the key points are easier to remember.
1. Execution: Jesus really was a man in history who got executed. In addition to all of the biblical books that refer to it, 5 books outside of the Bible mention the crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth.
2. Early: There were early reports that Jesus rose from the dead. Apparently, most supernatural legends that crop up about people in history start 150 years or more after the person died. Jesus’ Resurrection was put in writing within 25 years of His death. There would have been people still around who could have disputed this written account (I Corinthians is the earliest book to mention it; the Gospels were recorded later).
3. Empty: Jesus’ tomb. Christianity sprang up in Jerusalem where Jesus was buried. If the authorities had wanted to crush the movement, they simply could have produced Jesus’ remains. At least 3 outside sources claimed that the disciples stole the body. But why would the disciples involve themselves in that kind of hoax and then be willing to die violently for it (which they all did except for John)?
4. Eyewitnesses: Jesus appeared to more than 515 people. Several of them are named.
Strobel concluded with an invitation for nonbelievers to accept Christianity. The phrase he used was “believe + receive = become.”
Like I said, he did a great job. A few years back I wrote a book called Influential Christians, and Lee Strobel was one of the guys I wrote about. I picked him because I had read his book The Case for Christ, and I thought it was great. This was my first chance to hear Strobel speak to a big crowd, though, and it was special. He did a wonderful job.
So, dear reader, name someone you consider an influential Christian (and tell me why).
My husband, Mike, is an influential Christian in my life. He has taught me so much about suffering and giving thanks/rejoicing in every circumstance. He truly has an eternal perspective on life and is able to accept the certainty of his earthly, physical death given that this is not His home nor is this life anything to compare to or worth loving more than the life that awaits him in heaven. To watch him live each day relying on the grace of God has influenced my life more than any event or person on this earth. As I watch him walk this journey of battling cancer, I see God’s promises come to life as he responds to each day in faith, driven not by his emotions, but by what he KNOWS to be true about His Creator and loving Savior!!! He may not be well known or have written books read by millions or preach…but he is certainly influential!