I've titled this blog "Courage and Vulnerability", saying To be courageous requires vulnerability and to be vulnerable takes courage. But, what do I know...

Yesterday Pam and I toured the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. All was pretty nice until it got to the point where they described her capture and being dragged off to the camp. I seem to have forgotten that part of her story. THEN, I learned that she died a month before the end of the war and her opportunity for release and freedom. All of a sudden my whole spirit changed. The secret hiding place I was standing in, the story I was intersecting, my perspective, my emotions all changed in an instant. I'm not sure what I became, but I knew I was no longer a tourist.

Courage and Vulnerability. What do I know about that...

When I get home I'm going to read The Diary of Anne Frank. Maybe I can learn something.

We've all heard people say, "I think Jesus was a great man. I like his teachings. I just don't believe that he was God. But that's okay, because what he said was still very good." They may also question the story of the cross and the resurrection. It's too hard to believe that a man was raised from the dead. That sounds too much like Greek mythology. But that's okay, because his teachings are still significant.

We've all heard some version of those comments. Many of us may even have said similar things at times. It sounds good, doesn't it? We believe that Jesus spoke with profound wisdom. We marvel at his faith and his ability to instantly address the root of the matter. His questions confounded his accusers. His expressions of compassion blanketed the humble and provoked the proud at the same time. So it seems like a fair statement that even if someone does not believe that Jesus was God or that he raised from the dead, there is still value in valuing his teachings.

As the apostle Paul begins to conclude his exhortations to the church at Corinth, he makes this bold statement, "If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile... If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are to be pitied more than all men." 1 Corinthians 15: 17,19.

Really? Does that make sense? There has to be value in the teachings of Jesus, even if he did not raise from the dead, right? This weekend at the Wellspring worship services we will take a look at this passage of scripture. What does it mean? How do we apply it to our lives? Is our faith futile?

Hint: What is the Gospel of Jesus Christ? That is, what is the good news?

I'm looking forward to seeing you this weekend...come, let us reason together.

Pastor Wesley