The Launch: Lesson 2

LESSON 2

Isaiah 53:2-5

“By His stripes we are healed.”

Why would Jesus die for a villain?

*Maybe after our lesson last week, some of us were feeling a little down. How can anyone compare themselves to a perfect God, and feel good? Our culture prefers the message, that we are “worthy” and “glorious”, but this is not the message that Christ spoke. Christ message is better.

If Christ message is that you are the villain, how is that good news? The gospel does not say I approve of you as you are, but that I love you as you are. This is a major difference between the Biblical love Christ has for the world, and the love that many cultural Christians believe Christ has for them. Throughout scripture the emphasis is not that you are perfect as you are, but that Christ loves you as you are. Christ loves the villains and wants to transform them. This is good news for us, because as Isaiah said, “we’ve all gone astray.”

Romans 5:6

“Christ died for the ungodly…”

Romans 5:8

“While we were yet sinners…”

Most Christians think of Paul as one of the greatest examples of a Christian ever, but Paul never thought of himself this way. Was he just trying to be humble, or did he realize something that many Christians are missing today?

Romans 7:24

“O wretched man that I am…”

1Timothy 1:15

“Jesus came to save sinners; of whom I am chief…”

Maybe there is a part of you that still feels like you are not that bad, maybe you feel justified in your short comings because of things you have gone through. “If you knew what had happened to me, then you would understand.” It has been said that to deeply love someone, you must deeply know someone. In marriage, it is the deep intimacy built over the years of good and bad times that makes a spouse special. Maybe you have heard someone say, “we have a lot of history.” Does God really know us? Can He relate and connect to our pain and suffering?

Hebrews 4:15

“In all points…”

He knew Homelessness
He knew Financial Hardship
He knew Grief and Loneliness
He knew Betrayal
He knew Abuse

Nothing we have ever gone through in life is beyond the understanding of our God. He endured a difficult life on this earth, so that he could understand and connect to you.

Consider Ephesians 5:21-32

Christ entered your world, so that He could fully understand your struggles.

Why would Christ die for us? The answer is love.

John 3:16

“…SO loved the world.”

Christ love for us, was so deep and passionate that He would have done anything, to save us from our sin. What would you do for someone you love?

Ephesians 2:4-5

“God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us,even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive…”