Articulate Your Faith!

If I were to tell you that Starbucks is giving away free venti frappaccino's tomorrow, what would you do? What if I told you the only way to receive your free drink was if you're wearing a red shirt? When you run to share the good news with your friends, would you leave that part out? Of course not!! You would articulate the fact that they need to wear a red shirt in order to relish the frothy drink for free!!! Boy how I wish Starbucks really was giving away free drinks! That would definitely be some great news to share! This weekend in grade school we're talking about articulating our faith, sharing it!!!

Everyone enjoys hearing good news! When we go a while without hearing any, doesn't life begin to feel drab? God's Word is chock-full of good news! The best being that Jesus saved us from eternal separation from God! While we were still sinners, God sent Jesus to pay the penalty for our sin, so that we can be in a freedom-filled relationship with the Father. Once we believe this, Christ's love compels us to articulate, communicate, and express this faith to those who don't yet know His rescuing love! That's exactly what Philip did (in Acts 8:26-40) with a total stranger…

God sent an angel to tell Philip to take a walk down the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza. So Philip went. On the road there was an Ethiopian man of high authority returning home in his chariot. The man was trying to read from the book of Isaiah, but didn't understand much. Philip was compelled by the Spirit of God to go near the chariot. He sat with the man and read the scriptures to him. The Ethiopian man asked who Isaiah was speaking about and Philip was able to articulate the wonderful truths of Jesus Christ! As they continued down the road they came to some water. The man said to Philip, "See here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?" (v.36) Philip answered, "If you believe with all your heart, you may!" And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." Halting the chariot, they went down to the water where Philip baptized the Ethiopian man as a symbol of his rebirth in Jesus Christ!

There are so many people in this world who go about life knowing of God, but never having a relationship with Him. Many of them would relish the free gift of Christ if someone would just share His love with them! John 1:1 says that Jesus is the Word. We have the Word, God's Word alive inside of us. We don't need to know all the answers. If we simply articulate our faith, the Word, God will do the rest—just like He did with Philip!

Lord, You are the Best News anyone could ever accept. Give us boldness in articulating our faith. Let Your love lead us to those who need to hear about you. Your name and renown is the desire of our hearts!