Day 2//Week 1
July 8th, 2010 LeBron James had a LIVE national broadcast where he made his decision to leave his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers to head to the Miami Heat.
That moment changed the landscape of the entire NBA for the next decade plus. Not only were those two teams greatly impacted, but the rest of the league felt the weight of that moment.
After that broadcast took place, that moment was later nicknamed, and still called to this day "The Decision."
In an even greater way, you just made a decision that altered, not only your life, but your eternity. What just happened in your is a BIG DEAL. You crossed over from death to life.
As you begin to tell your story, and help make sense of what you decided, sometimes it can be confusing, and maybe even difficult to put into words what happened.
So let's walk through the decision that you just made, and how you've entered into God's story
God Created us to be with Him
GOD CREATED USThe beginning of this entire story is the fact that God created all mankind, and he loves us so much that he desires to have a relationship with us. You can't miss this part of the story!
Our sins separated us from God
Even though God desires to be with us, we messed it up. God can't tolerate sin, so he can't be with someone who has sinned. Have you ever sinned before?
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds
Here is where the bad news becomes even worse news. Nothing we do can fix this problem of sin in our lives. No amount of Bible reading, prayer, good deeds, or times we give money to the poor will fix the sin problem in our own hearts.
Paying the price for sins, Jesus died and rose again
Jesus, came and lived a perfect life, as a human, and took the place for your sin, so that you can have that relationship with God that he so eagerly wants to have with you. Which is great news!
Everyone who trusts in Jesus alone, has eternal life
No amount of good deeds, can save us (like we said a minute ago) only Jesus can save us. Jesus alone is the answer. So our trust needs to be in Jesus alone.
Life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever
The best news is that once we have a true transformation experience, nothing can separate us from the love of God. And this life we get to spend with Jesus isn't something we have to wait until we die to enjoy, life with Jesus starts now and lasts forever!
Response Questions
Which of the above pictures hit home with you the most? Why?
What from this explanation confused you?
If you take the first letter from every phrase it spells out GOSPEL. This is just a creative way to tell the entire story of the Bible. Gospel, literally, in the original Greek language means: "Good News"
If someone asked you to explain what just happened to you, with accepting Jesus and all, could you put words to that experience?
If you're having a hard time answering the above question, just continue to review this process until you can articulate it outloud.
In fact, next time you meet with the person you're going through this resource with, practice telling your story using this framework.
Example:
God created me
But my sin of <fill in the blank> separated me from God
And no matter what I did, I couldn't fix it!
But then I heard about a guy named Jesus, who fixed all of it, and died in my place!
And I put my faith and trust in him to save my from my sins!
Now I get to live a life for him!
What other questions do you have about the decision you just made?
More Resources
Upon receiving Christ, Scripture tells us that 33 things happen to us. That's a ton of change happening all at once! And many you may not even be aware it took place!
Here is your homework, read through this next section with a notebook in hand, and take notes on verses and truths that stick out to you: