Building a Firm Foundation - Series

Building faith on solid ground

---

Series presumably will be about…

1. Understanding who Jesus is more deeply
2. How Trust and Faith
3. Execution - having courage to do what God asks
4. Personal transformation (renewing the mind) and participating in Gods kingdom

---

Für zukünftige Themen, heute eins welches nicht häufig in der Kirche genannt wird, aber eigentlich relevant ist.

Historical Consensus

1. Jesus was a real historical person (no myth) ^{1 2}
2. Died by crucifixion ^{3 4}
3. The disciples believed they saw him after his death and were ready to die as martyrs. ⁵

Where opinions differ is in the resurrection

The Apostles Deaths

We can be certain that this is how some of the apostles died:

• Peter: Martyred in Rome under Nero (64 ad)
• Paul: Beheaded in Rome under Nero (64-67 ad)
• James (son of Zebedee): First apostle martyred - beheaded by Herod (44 ad)
• James (brother of Jesus): Thrown from temple, then stoned (62 ad)

(See here ⁵)

Why would they be willing to die for something they knew to be a lie?

Prophecies about Jesus

Written many years before His birth:

(3) He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (4) Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (5) But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. - Isaiah 53:3-6 (written ~540BC)

(2) But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf. (3) The people of Israel will be abandoned to their enemies until the woman in labor gives birth. Then at last his fellow countrymen will return from exile to their own land. - Micah 5:2-3 (written ~700BC)

About 300 more prophecies - fulfilled in one man, by scripture written many years before.

Bible

40 different writers, 66 books across ~1.500 years by kings, fishermen and prophets - and one story

Footnotes

1. Is There Any Hard Evidence That Jesus Actually Existed? - YouTube ↩

2. Historicity of Jesus - References ↩

3. Crucifixion of Jesus - References ↩

4. What is the Evidence for Jesus Death? (See “Modern Scholarship” section) ↩

5. Did Jesus’ Apostles Die for Their Faith? - YouTube ↩ ↩²