TOP 10 REASONS TO BELIEVE IN JESUS PART 1
SOURCES
IMDb. Avatar Parents Guide. IMDb, 2009. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0499549/parentalguide?ref_=tt_stry_pg
At the time of this video, Avatar is the highest grossing film of all time. In it, the Lord’s name is used as a curse word in some form 15 times (3 misuses of “Jesus” and 12 misuses of “God” in various forms).
Wikipedia. Anno Domini. Wikipedia, 2019. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anno_Domini
Marshall Brain. How Time Works. Science, How Stuff Works, 2019. https://science.howstuffworks.com/science-vs-myth/everyday-myths/time7.htm
Matthew 1:18-25 (New Living Translation below)
This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, to whom she was engaged, was a righteous man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
“Look! The virgin will conceive a child!
She will give birth to a son,
and they will call him Immanuel,
which means ‘God is with us.’”
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus.
What Miracles Did Jesus Perform? Christianity.com, 2019. https://www.christianity.com/jesus/life-of-jesus/miracles/what-miracles-did-jesus-perform.html
351 Old Testament Prophecies Fulfilled In Jesus Christ. NewTestamentChristians.com, 2019. https://www.newtestamentchristians.com/bible-study-resources/351-old-testament-prophecies-fulfilled-in-jesus-christ/
TOP 10 REASONS TO BELIEVE IN JESUS PART 1
VIDEO TRANSCRIPT
Welcome to a new Christianity Engaged video. Today, we are introducing a new series called Reasons to Believe, where we’ll explore the most compelling reasons for believing in God and answer some of the hardest questions that keep people from faith. We’re going to start with a 2-part top 10 list: the Top 10 Reasons to Believe in Jesus.
Number 10. The Name of Jesus Christ.
The name of Jesus is a household name, but it’s also a mainstream curse word. It’s not uncommon to watch a blockbuster movie and hear the name of Jesus misused again and again.
But think about it: when was the last time you heard someone stub their toe and yell, “Muhammad!” who founded Islam or “Siddhārtha Gautama!” who founded Buddhism? Have you ever heard anyone curse the Hindu gods Brahma, Vishnu or Shiva? Probably not.
Now, I’m NOT suggesting we misuse anyone’s name as a curse word but isn’t it interesting that no other name is misused more than the name of Jesus Christ. It this just a random coincidence… or could this be very subtle evidence that Jesus’ name is special and there are indeed unseen forces of influence against Jesus Christ—and him alone?
Number Nine. Today’s Date.
Look at your calendar and check today’s date. You will see a month, a day and a year. The life of Jesus Christ is so significant that it literally marks a distinction in our historical timeline.
The Gregorian calendar is the most used calendar in the world today and it includes two periods of time: B.C. “before Christ” and A.D. “anno Domini” which means “in the year of the Lord”.
Now we can attempt to rename these to the “common era” and “before the common era” but that doesn’t change the historical significance. Of all the people who have ever lived, only the life of Jesus marks today’s date.
Number Eight. The Virgin Birth.
Every human being who has ever lived was conceived by the human reproductive process, except Jesus. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born to a virgin woman named Mary.
Evidently, Jesus had 23 chromosomes from the Holy Spirit and 23 chromosomes from his mother, Mary. Therefore, He is the only one who can rightly claim to be fully God and fully man. No other religious figure in history can rightly make this claim.
Number Seven. Undeniable Miracles.
During the height of his ministry, Jesus publicly performed miracles on a regular basis. He gave sight to the blind, healed the sick and even raised the dead. He walked on water, turned water into wine and fed thousands of people with a few loaves of bread and two fish. You can read all about his miracles in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
What’s fascinating to me is that no one living at the time, not even Jesus’s enemies, dared to deny these miracles were authentic. There were too many witnesses. The best they could do was declare they were the work of Satan, or that they were a form of black magic, but no one dared to claim they didn’t happen. Who else do you know who has ever performed miracles like these?
Number Six. Prophecies Fulfilled in Jesus.
There are over 300 Old Testament prophecies, or predictions, about the Messiah, the Savior of the world, that are fulfilled in Jesus, although some of these prophecies were written hundreds and even thousands of years before Jesus was born. And the predictions are very specific. They correctly foretell where He will be born, His family tree, that children will be murdered in an attempt to kill Him, where He will live, the types of miracles He will perform, specific details about His death and that He will rise from the dead, just to name a few. It would be impossible for anyone to engineer these kinds of details about their life, unless of course, the prophesies about Him are true.
We’ll there you have it. Reasons ten through six. Be sure to watch part 2 where we reveal the top 5 reasons for believing in Jesus. You won’t want to miss it. Click here to subscribe to our channel and as always, you can make a tax-deductible donation to our ministry by clicking the link in the description. Thanks, and God Bless.
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