Over 2000 years ago, a child was born who would change the world forever. His name was Jesus and he is the Son of God! His teachings show us how we should live our lives, but he was so much more than just a good moral teacher. His radical claim to be the Son of God is critical because through him we have the opportunity to share eternal life with God in heaven. "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me." (John 14:6)

God has clearly set out for us how he wants us to live our lives. However every person that has ever lived (excluding Jesus) has disobeyed God and rejected his rule over their life. This disobedience is called 'sin' and the bible tells us that 'the wages of sin is death' (Romans 6:23). Jesus has promised (and the bible gives us confidence in the fact) that He will one day return to judge every person who has lived for all time. He will then restore everything to a perfect state forever. No-one except God himself knows when that day will be. But we do know that when he returns, every person will have to give an account of their life to him. "There is no-one righteous, not even one; there is no-one who understands, no-one who seeks God." (Romans 3:10-11). So if we are facing God's judgment on our own then we are certainly destined to die forever.

The bible tells us however that Jesus lived in a perfect relationship with God. He lived a life of suffering and pain, suffering even to the point of death on a cross. Now, remember how our sin deserves death? - Well Jesus chose to die in order to take the punishment that we deserve for our disobedience. Out of his great love for us, he sacrificed his own life for the sake of all people for all time - not because we deserve it, but because of his love and grace for us. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16)

Jesus died… but this is only part of the story. After three days of being buried in a tomb, Jesus rose from the dead! He appeared to many people and proved to them that he was totally alive as a man again! Through his grace and love, God has offered us forgiveness for our sins through Jesus. On the cross he took the penalty that we deserve and then he defeated death by rising to life again and ascending into heaven. If we announce that Jesus is our Lord and Saviour then we will stand on the day of judgment when he returns and we will share eternal life with God through him.

So Jesus is the central character of the whole bible, and what he has done for us is profound. He is so much more than a good moral teacher. What he has done for us prompts every person to make a response. If we reject the claims of Jesus and continue to live our own life without God then we are heading down a path of destruction. If we accept God's offer of salvation and ask him to take control of our lives then we will share in eternal life with him.

If you would like to find out more about this character of Jesus then grab a bible, open it up to the book of Luke and start reading! At Sunday 78 (and the other youth groups at St. Matts) we look at God's word in the bible to learn more about Jesus and how we should live our lives in response to what he has done for us. Why not come along and join us some time?