Welcome to Alpha!
Welcome & Introductions
Give a good recommendation for a streaming movie, series, or podcast.
FIRST THINGS
Can friends still join us for Alpha, even if they’ve missed some sessions?
YES! Send them to tablechurchdsm.org/alphadsm to get signed up, and feel free to send the links to past sessions to them so they can catch up.
VIDEO: WHO IS JESUS?
VIDEO REVIEW
Understanding the evidence regarding the historical claims of Jesus Christ.
1. What did Jesus say about himself?
“I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35)
“If the Son sets you free, you are truly free.” (John 8:36, NLT)
“I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12)
“I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)
“Come to me....” (Matthew 11:28–29)
Receive me—receive God. (Matthew 10:40)
Welcome me—welcome God. (Mark 9:37)
“Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)
Indirect Claims from Jesus
To forgive sins (Mark 2:5)
To judge the world (Matthew 25:31, 32, 40, 45)
Direct Claims from Jesus
Messiah (Mark 14:61–62)
Son of God (Mark 14:61)
God the Son (John 20:26–29)
“I and the Father are one.” (John 10:30)
““A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be (insane)... or else he would be ‘the Devil
of Hell.’ You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else (insane) or something worse... but let us not come up with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to.””
2. What evidence is there to support his claims?
His teaching (Mark 12:31; Luke 6:31; Matthew 5:44)
His life/works (John 2:1–11; 10:37–38)
His character (Luke 23:34)
His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy
His conquest of death
Evidence for the resurrection
His absence from the tomb – Theories
Jesus did not die (John 19:33–34)
Disciples stole the body
Authorities stole the body
Robbers stole the body (John 20:1–9)
His presence with the disciples
Did they hallucinate?
Number of appearances over a six-week period
11+ appearances 500+ people
Nature of appearances (Luke 24:36–43)
Immediate effect – Birth and growth of Christian church
Effect down the ages
Experience of Christians down the ages
Over 2,300 million Christians in the world today
GROUP DISCUSSION
“What’s the first thing you think about when you think about Jesus?”
“What aspects of the evidence presented today did you find most compelling? Which aspects seem the most impossible to believe?”
WRAP UP AND PRAY
RECOMMENDED READING
Mere Christianity / C. S. Lewis
The Case for Christ / Lee Strobel
Orthodoxy / G. K. Chesterton
Jesus Is / Judah Smith