Listen

Jesus said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you—that everything written about me in the Law from Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures. He said to them, “This is what is written: the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and a change of heart and life for the forgiveness of sins must be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things.”

Luke 24:44-48

Think

Jesus’s ministry and teaching style, if not the entire arc of Scripture, is a great example of what is considered the holy grail of presentation training: “Tell them what you’re going to tell them; tell them; tell them what you have told them.” In other words, to help an audience learn new information, tell it to them three times, in three different ways. First, the prophets foretold the life of a coming Messiah. Secondly, Jesus lived, suffered, died, and rose. Finally, Christ’s followers witness what happened. The good news of Jesus Christ has been told through a variety of voices, experiences, and stories.

We can trust that, through it all, God has always been at work in this world. From the prophets to the law of Moses, to the resurrection of Jesus, to the ministry of the disciples, to our lives today, God has had a hand in all that was, is, and will happen.

Katie Cashwell

Pray

Author of Life, lead me to be more trusting of your enduring Word and the promises you have made and kept. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer. Amen.

Go

We in the church have a message beyond all comparing:
Christ is alive and brings life to the lost and despairing.
He takes our sins! Easter assures us God wins!
Ours is the good news for sharing.

from “We Are His Witnesses” by Carolyn Winfrey Gillette (2015)