Now what?

This question lingered in my mind as we celebrated the hope, joy, and wonder of the Resurrection last Sunday.

Here's how Jesus answered this in Luke 24:45-48:

Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things."

My paraphrase: Tell everyone!

Starting with the women who first discovered the empty tomb, no one encounters the risen Jesus without becoming one of his witnesses––including you and me!

As I serve with Message Canada, it's my desire to help equip Christians be faithful witnesses of Christ Jesus.

But with all that said, I wonder if you can relate to this dynamic:

Me: Christ is risen!

You: He is risen indeed!

Your non-Christian friend: So what?

Part of being a witness is learning to explain the "so what" of the gospel––sharing not only what the gospel is but also what difference it makes.

This requires us to practice "double listening" so that we can contextualize the gospel for the particular person with whom we're sharing.

A few weeks ago I hosted an online training examining the way the Apostle Paul models "double listening" when preaching the gospel in Athens.

Watch the training below and download the notes here.