2.  What sort of “faith”?  Historical evidence  Reliability of the Bible  Was He only human?  What Jesus claimed  His teaching, works character; prophecy  The problem of the resurrection Who is Jesus?

3. Why did Jesus die?  The pollution of sin  The power of sin  The penalty of sin  The partition of sin Pictures Pictures from …  the Law Courts (justice)  the Market Place (debt)  the Temple (sacrifice)  the home (relationship)

4. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith?

6. Faith: a decision to trust based on a careful examination of the evidence

7. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith?

8. “When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun” “When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun” 2 Corinthians 5 17 Living Bible

9. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? “I now have hope where previously there was only despair. I can forgive now, where before there was only coldness … God is so alive for me. I can feel him guiding me and the complete and utter loneliness which I have been feeling is gone. God is filling a deep, deep void.” “I felt like hugging everybody in the street … I cannot stop praying, I even missed my bus stop today because I was so busy praying on the top deck.”

10. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? BUT … Experiences do vary greatly!

11. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? There is a difference between the fact of a relationship, and the feeling of the relationship When we receive Christ, we become a child of God “… to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” John 1 12

12. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? Just as good parents want their children to be sure about their relationship with them, so our Father in heaven wants us to be sure about our relationship with Him

13. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? Q. “Would you have described yourself as a Christian at the beginning of the course? Yes, but without any real experience of a relationship with God Sort of Possibly yes / think so Not sure Probably Ish Yes - though looking back, possibly no No, a semi-Christian

14. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” 1 John 5 13 (emphasis added)

15. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Word of God Feelings Feelings change weather … breakfast … bad hair day … hormones … God’s promises God’s promises in the Bible are totally reliable “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with them, and they with me” Revelation 3 20

16. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Word of God Holman Hunt: “The Light of the World”

17. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Word of God Jesus says: “I am with you always” Jesus says: “I am with you always” Matthew 28 20 Jesus promises “ eternal life” Jesus promises “ eternal life” John 10 10 Past dealt with … present power … future promise

18. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Word of God “The term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended : this is the morning … all their life in this world … had only been the cover and title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before” C. S. Lewis: “The Last Battle”

19. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Work of Jesus Repentance: Repentance: “Laying down your arms, surrendering, saying you are sorry, realising that you have been on the wrong track and being ready to start life over again from the ground floor - that is the only way out of this hole” C. S. Lewis Faith: Faith: “Leaning your whole weight upon …” John Patton - 19th century missionary to South Pacific

20. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Work of Jesus Jean- Francois Gravelet 1824-1897 (Blondin) at Niagara Falls

21. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Work of Jesus “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

22. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Witness of the Spirit When someone becomes a Christian, God’s Holy Spirit comes to live within them Transformation from within: The character of Jesus in our lives “Fruit of the Spirit”: Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control Galatians 5 22, 23 A different way of looking at life people’s faces … attitudes … Christians!

23. How Can I Be Sure of my Faith? The Witness of the Spirit When someone becomes a Christian, God’s Holy Spirit comes to live within them An inner experience of the Holy Spirit