Locations & Times

1. Why did it kind of feel like nonsense to Mary that Jesus died? (Jesus was perfect and people were not.)
2. Why did it actually make sense for Jesus to die? (Love! Someone needed to take the punishment for people’s mistakes, so God sent Jesus.)
3. What does it mean to sin? (Sin is doing something God doesn’t want us to do, or not doing something God says to do)
4. What does sin look like in your life? (Some examples are: believing bad thoughts about yourself so you make mistakes, lying, disobeying parents, cheating at games, being mean to friends, etc.)
5. The Bible tells us that Jesus came to save us. How did he save us? (He died on the cross to take away our sins.)

Read: John 19-20, Mathew 27, Acts 9

There’s a sweet children’s book written from a child’s perspective filled with rhymes about taking all different kinds of transportation. Throughout the book, there is a repeating line “but the best is the bus, the bus is for us!” The point is that the bus is the greatest way to get anywhere because it’s for everyone.

That’s the gospel. It’s the best news. It’s for all of us. That truth makes the gospel so sweet and at the same time so scandalous. The good news of forgiveness in Jesus, the forgiveness that makes friendship with God possible again, is for every single person. Everyone. No exceptions.

In this series we will look at the gospel through the eyes of four very different people who reveal the truth that the gospel is for all of us. The broken, hurting, and desperate. The liars, cheaters, and betrayers. The criminals and the convicts. For people who think they have it all together and people who can’t find their worth. The gospel wouldn’t be good news at all if it weren’t for everyone.

But the best is the gospel, the gospel is for us.

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The gospel was for Mary, who was tormented by evil spirits. Her mind was held captive by shame and darkness – the kind of thinking that traps us in lies about who we are or who God is, or the thoughts that leave us feeling powerless. Jesus rescued Mary and gave her joy and freedom. His defeat of death sealed his promise to deliver her completely and proved that the abundant life he gave her would be forever.

The same is true for us. The gospel declares with absolute power that there is nothing so dark or shameful in our lives or in our minds that can’t be rescued by Jesus. We don’t just need this good news once. When we’re tempted to walk back into the tomb, slide into darkness, or spin in shame, we remember that what Jesus rescued, he rescued for good. This is the gospel.