Sermon

Do You Know This Man?

Theme

Knowing about Jesus is not the same thing as knowing Jesus!

Object

A poster of Mike Trout or some other easily recognized celebrity.

Scripture

"You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also." John 8:19 If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Romans 10:9

How many of you know this man? (hold up the poster) Who can tell me who he is? That's right, it is Mike Trout and anyone who knows anything at all about baseball knows who Mike Trout is, but I didn't ask you if you knew who he is, I asked you if you knew him. Most of us know who he is and something about him, but we don't actually know him. We have never met him face to face. Knowing about someone is not the same thing as knowing them.

I guess just about everybody knows who Jesus is. Almost everyone has heard stories about how he was born in a stable and laid in a manger. They have heard about some of the things He did while he was on earth. They may have even heard about how He died on a cross. They know a lot about Jesus, but they don't know Jesus. How do we get to know Him? The Bible says that when we can say "Jesus is Lord," and believe in our hearts that He died and was raised from the dead to save us, then we can say that we really know Him. Do you know Jesus, or do you just know about Jesus? He wants you to know Him as your own personal Lord and Savior. You can know Him if you will invite Him to come and live within your heart.

Lord, we know all about you. Now we want to know you. We want you to come and live within our hearts and be our Lord and our Savior. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen