Did you know that there is a C.S.I. Team coming to Gladstone Christian Church? No, our church will not be converted into a television sound stage for an episode of “Crime Scene Investigation: Gladstone”. C.S.I. is the theme of our upcoming Vacation Bible School. During the second week in August our classrooms will be filled with boys and girls from 5 years of age through 8^th grade who will be a part of a “Christ Seeking Investigation” Team devoted to the task of examining the evidence and hearing the testimony of witnesses to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

            For five days highly skilled and seasoned investigators will teach our children and teens how to examine for themselves whether the testimony of God’s Word is true, and why people for 2000 years have believed in and followed Jesus. After learning what the Bible reports about the events of Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection, our C.S.I. Team will be challenged to believe for themselves, and to become witnesses to their own generation to follow Jesus as Lord.

            So are you a part of the C.S.I. Team? [No I don’t mean are you helping with V.B.S. this year—but you might ask Sarah or Mike Nichols if there still are spots for Investigation Instructors or Support Staff that need to be filled]. My real question is whether you are a person who is spending your life investigating the teachings of Jesus Christ and seeking to know Him as your Lord? If you are then the same information our CSI: VBS Team is studying is what brought you to believe and is what you use to talk to others about salvation in Christ. If you are not sure about all this “faith” stuff, then you should seriously investigate the claims of Christ to see if it is true. Either way, here is an overview of what we all need to know to be a part of the C.S.I. Team!

            The Incident: That a man named Jesus lived and taught about God in first century Israel is not disputed. Nor is the fact that this man, at about the age of 33, was crucified on a Roman cross under the authority of Pontius Pilate. What is debated is whether, as His followers claim, He rose from the dead on the third day.

            The Evidence: In support of the amazing testimony that Jesus is alive are the following details and reports by witnesses. Jesus was executed and pronounced dead by the Roman authorities. He was buried in an unused tomb, the location of which was known to the Romans, the Jews and to Jesus’ followers, and this tomb was sealed with a stone and guarded by Roman soldiers. Three days later, these same Roman guards and Jesus’ followers who went to the tomb, reported the body missing (remember this was the only body placed in the tomb).

            The Verdict: Eye-witnesses announce they have seen, touched and spoken to the resurrected Jesus. Surprisingly, those who refused to believe their report were unable to produce the body to squelch this amazing and unprecedented claim. Those who did believe said that Jesus was now the Savior of all mankind, and that any who believed that He was alive would have their sins forgiven, and be filled with the Spirit of God.

            The Witnesses: Jesus’ followers (who came to be known as “Christians”) shared their faith with their fellow Jews (thousands believed and were baptized into Christ) and then began to take this message of hope to other nations (the Gentiles), claiming that Jesus told them to go into the whole world. They and their disciples would pass this Gospel from generation to generation until everyone on earth had heard the good news of salvation offered by the resurrected Jesus.

            The Sentence: It is left up to each investigator whether to believe or not. But if they do, they through their confession of faith, repentance of sin, and baptism, receive the promise of forgiveness and the gift of God’s Sprit in their lives. And then they tell what they believe to others who also want to investigate to see if the story is true.

            So, are you part of the C.S.I. Team?

Denis Whittet