Session 1: Good Reasons to be Christian?

The Gospel of Luke:

4. Our course focuses on the gospel of Luke, a book of the New Testament which describes Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  Today we want to look at Luke’s introduction.  So turn to the contents page and find the book of Luke.  I’m going to read Luke chapter 1, verses 1 to 4. [See if you can find the start of Luke in your bible now.]

Luke's Aim:

5. The first four verses in Luke are the introduction.  They tell us Luke’s aim as he writes his book.  Let’s read it now:
7. Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled among us, ² just as they were handed down to us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. ³ Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, ⁴ so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.

6. Notice the big aim which Luke has.  In verse 4, Luke tells us his aim.  He is writing ‘so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.’ Luke is trying to give us confidence in Christianity.  He is helping us to be sure that Christianity is true.

Luke's Method:

7. Notice next how Luke aims to bring us to certainty.  Luke wants to convince us by writing an orderly account [verse 3].  That means he has carefully chosen what he will write and how he will write it.
9. He wants to write an orderly account of ‘things fulfilled among us’ [verse 1].  This means that he will point out how Jesus did things which were said about him long before he lived.
11. Luke also wants to make us sure of Christianity by writing a book which is carefully researched.  For that reason, he uses reliable witnesses, ‘those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants’ {of Jesus} [v.2].  That is, Luke talked to lots of people who had seen Jesus, before he wrote his book.
13. From this introduction, we see two big reasons for Christian confidence.  Luke’s first reason is the idea of ‘things fulfilled’.  It is the idea that the key things of Jesus’ life were already said before he lived.  Key things in Jesus’ life were there in the Old Testament long before he was born.  So we’ll look at the Old Testament, during this course.  The point is that the timing of the Old Testament gives us great confidence in Christianity.  The outline of Jesus’ life was completed around 400 years before he was born.
15. The second reason for Christian confidence is the statements by eyewitnesses: There were many people who saw Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.  Luke has drawn on the most reliable of these: Luke spoke to those who saw and served Jesus from the start.  These witnesses agree that Jesus lived the life which the Old Testament said he would live (and said it before he was born).

Our Course Method is Luke's Method

12. This course will copy Luke’s method.  We will look at what the eyewitnesses said about Jesus, and we'll look at how the Old Testament predicted those things.  As we do that, Christian teaching will become clear.
13. To look at what the eyewitnesses say, we're going to read Luke's gospel.  That will be the homework over the 6 weeks of the course.  This homework is vital.  We can’t know that a story is false if we haven’t even read the news report.  So I encourage you to do the reading.  At the start of each session, there will be a chance to ask questions about the homework.  For the first week, I want us to read Luke 1-2.
14. To look at the Old Testament, we will spend lots of the course time reading key parts of the Old Testament. We will look in the Old Testament at the things Jesus told us to look at.
15. Any questions?

Big Idea:

16. So the big idea for today:  There are good reasons for believing in Christianity.  Two reasons are the predictions of the Old Testament about Jesus, and the eyewitness statements that these predictions came true.

Don't forget the homework - read Luke 1-2

16. Appendix A to Session1:

17. Two Ways to Live – A quick summary of Christianity   

            

    Appendix B to Session 1:

    More on Luke’s method for Christian confidence

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