The Gospel According to Stick People

In the life room (youth group room for you old schoolers) at our church the teens have written various qoutes, scripture, and random drawings. The guitarist in our praise team wrote some time ago...

"If stick people were real, Jesus would love them too."

We all had a good laugh and left it at that. Fast forward 2 years and I'm baptizing a young girl on a wednesday night. My sermon needed to be short but precise. I didnt want to settle for the typical 5 minute bible study taken from a devotional. I wanted something that would leave an impression. Especially since the young girl had her friends come that night to see her get baptized. In my random ponderings I came up with the idea of using stick people (Gods gift to those of us who artistically challenged) to show the story of God's salvation. Thus, I present to you the Gospel according to stick people.

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In the story of salvation their is God and man. Or here in this case, God and _______ (you).

However, eventually in some manner, some shape, some form, sin enters the picture. Its inescapable, its inevitable, sin will happen.

Romans 3:23 For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God

It's not a matter of if but when.

Once sin enters the picture it begins to bring seperation between you and God. This seperation leads to death. Not a physical death but a spiritual death.

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death...

Until, total seperation between you and God. You can't get to him. He can't reach you.

Isaiah 59:2 It's because of your sin that you are seperated from God. Your sins have hidden his hace from you so that he will not hear.

This seperation presents a problem. God is in Heaven. We want to get to Heaven. However, because of our sin problem we can't get to Heaven. What is a stick guy to do?

First we try being a good person. Surely God grades on the curve right? If I do enough good stuff it's sure to balance out all the bad stuff I've done.

So we come to God with our good works, our kind words, our nice actions. Wow, my good deeds are getting offly hott!!!!

Ouch. So much for being a good person...

Isaiah 64:6 All of our righteous acts are like menstrual rags

God views our good deeds without Christ as dirty rags. The Hebrew text says menstrual rags! When we think we are good before God we are filthy in his eyes. Alright, let's try...

I'm sure if I go to church enough, read my Bible enough, give enough money, take the eucharist, get baptized, be religious or whatever then surely God will let me in. Alright let's give this a heave and a ho...

Oh no! I thought God wanted us to go to church. I thought God let people who are religious into Heaven?!?

Matthew 7:21 Not everyone who says to me "Lord, Lord" will enter the Kingdom of Heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father in Heaven. 22 Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles. 23 Then I will plainly tell them, "I never knew you. Away from me you evil doers."

Just because a mouse gets inside a cookie jar it doesn't automatically become a cookie. Just because you go to church doesn't mean you're a Christian. We can do all the religious nice churchy stuff we want, but if we have no real relationship with Christ then it means nothing.

All out of options and hope we see Christ. We've heard of Jesus, but what does he mean to me. 2000 years ago God in the manafested flesh came to earth to live a sinless life and die on the cross as the propitiation for our sins.

Hebrews 10:26 But now he has appeared once forn all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.

We come to the crossroads and realize what will we do with Jesus? Either he is Lord of all or Lord not at all. Either he is the greatest lunatic who ever lived, the greatest hoax ever told, or the son of God sent to die for our sins and their is a real Heaven and a real Hell. If Christ is right then by my continual denial of his forgiveness I have sealed my fate in Hell

John 3:18 Those who have not believed in the son stand condemned already;

Jesus payed a debt he didn't owe because we owed a debt we could never pay.

John 14:6 For I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

In a bold move of faith we make (not accept!!!) Christ our Lord and Savior over our lives. We now know that our names are written in the book of life and that we will be in Heaven when our final breath exits our lunges.

Revelation 21:27 Nothing impure will enter it, nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Jesus completely erases the condemnation of sin from our lives

Romans 8:1 Therefore, their is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus

In fact he took our sins and...

Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he seperated your sin from you.

Praise Christ for bridging the gap between us and God.

Ephesians 2:8 For it is by grace that you have been saved, not by works so that no man may be able to boast.

Revelation 3:20 Here I am! I stand at knock at the door. If anybody hears my voice, and lets me in, I will come in and eat with him, and him with me.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whosoever should believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life.