#dare2share

Firing Jesus by Greg Stier

10 Favorite Lines:

…“God qualifies the unqualified.”

“He made it clear that if they claimed to be Christians and weren’t serious about this, then maybe this youth group wasn’t going to be the best on for them.”

“If we really believe in the power of the gospel, then why wouldn’t we put every new believer in a position of service as soon as possible?”

He prays all day throughout the day. He blurts out spontaneous prayers…

“…teens are looking for someone who loves God, loves them and is authentic.”

…the youth pastor’s impact is multiplied in powerful ways as a result of him investing his time and life into this core group. He trains them and they in turn reach out to the other students.

“…the fact that they felt heard had built a bit of a bridge for some real conversation…”

While there are many good and worthy causes in our wold today, the ultimate clue—THE Cause—is to make disciples who make disciples.

If knowing God brings me joy, then why shouldn’t I want to share that joy with my friends…?

Fire Starter Greg Stier with Jane Dratz

10 Favorite Lines:

He poured out his feelings for those who didn’t know Jesus, not just because of… “the hell they’re headed to, but also the hell they’re going through.”

Somebody dies every second and there’s nothing I can do to stop that. Those who don’t know Jesus end up in hell. There’s something I can do about that.

Sharing Jesus can’t be a “when you get around to it” thing — people may not stick around until I “get around to it.”

“I’ve been going to this school for four years and not one of you ever told me about Jesus… If I had cancer and you had the cure to cancer, you’d share it with me, right?”

I can’t keep silent toward a God I love, and who loves me… I need to pray…

“…I’m still passionate about that stuff [other causes]. But, in the eternal scheme of things, this [the gospel] is way more important.”

If hell is real, then we should be doing everything we can to keep people out. And if heaven’s real, then we should be doing everything we can to get people in. Seems to me that if Jesus is real, then there’s isn’t anything we shouldn’t do to get people into a relationship with him.

“…unlike other belief systems, Christianity is the only one that is received through trusting and not trying.”

“…there are no good people… if we compare ourselves with others, we may feel like we’re better than someone else, but when we compare ourselves to God, we realize we’re all just dirtbags.”

“…Jesus not only died for my sins so that I could be in heaven someday, but that He gave me a purpose right now. To tell others about his offer to rescue them…”

Venti Jesus Please Greg Stier

10 Favorite Lines:

“…it’s all about a relationship with Jesus—a relationship that’s continually changing me from the inside out and drawing me deeper and closer to God. It’s a growing process. But the process is never fully or finally complete and because of that, in some ways, Christians always fall short of what Jesus intended. It’s in that sense that every Christian, including me, is a hypocrite.”

“God created people because he wanted to relate to them. But a loving relationship can only exist if it includes the choice not to love. So God gave them a choice, and they chose to go against God.”

“…as a Christian, I have an explanation for the problem of evil. The problem of evil is not God. It’s us…”

“Before you can fully appreciate the good news, you have to fully embrace the bad news. The antidote… is only good news to those who know they’ve been poisoned… Jesus is only good news to those who recognize that they have… sin in their souls and are looking for the cure.”

“…faith is trusting… It’s so easy that a child could do it and a ‘religious’ person could choke on it.”

“The word ‘religion’ comes from the Latin word that means ‘to bind back.’ All religions are trying in one way or another to bind themselves back to God through good deeds, sacrifices, baptism, codes, creeds or whatever. All of it falls short. …there is no way to ‘bind ourselves back’ to God through our good deeds, because compared to God’s perfection, our good deeds are like filthy rags… Christianity… is realizing that God bound himself to humanity through his Son Jesus Christ… And Jesus offers to unbind us forever from the penalty of sin…”

“…the gift of forgiveness, of everlasting eternal life… is not achieved by our good deeds, but received through faith. It’s not a matter of trying, but trusting.”

“…being open-minded means we must entertain the logically possibility that the only way to heaven could be through Jesus and Jesus alone.”

“It may seem like Jesus is just a truth for me to lean on. He’s not… he’s my stretcher.”

“All those facts and stuff give me mental confidence that my Christian faith is on firm footing, but it’s Jesus who meets the deepest needs of my soul. It was Jesus who convinced me he was real—not human arguments.”