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Message at 28:16. We all want to live in a way that means something, in a way that matters. We want to feel like we’re living according to a purpose. And yet it’s so easy to feel fearful and hopeless about life–and maybe feel like we’re on ship without a rudder. Today, we’re kicking off a series of conversations designed to help us be on a ship with a rudder, to live with conviction and confidence. We’re doing that by looking at why Jesus died and why it still matters so much. For Jesus’s first disciples, Jesus’s life and death gave them the rudder they needed. His life and death meant so much, and it made their lives mean so much, too. Oddly, Jesus should have gone the way of most of his peers who were poor and otherwise unremarkable like him. He should have lived and died with no memory of his name. The opposite happened. Why? And what’s it got to do with our pursuit of a life that matters?

Related Topics: discipleship, theology | More Messages from Ross Stackhouse

From Series: "Dead Man Walking: Why Jesus Died & Why It Still Matters for Ordinary People"

Statistics and stories tell us that the percentage of people who are turning to Jesus for help, hope, and is going down. Fewer people see faith as a trustworthy path to transforming our problems. A fair amount of folks see Christianity as a part of the problem. People might understandably ask, I don’t have a problem with Jesus and Christians for the most part, but what honestly does Jesus have to do with what we’re dealing with in the 21st century? People might even say, To be honest, can we really even be sure he existed? And even if he did and he was a great man who helped people, Christianity has had its shot in history, and it just hasn’t helped. In this series, we want to take these questions very seriously. We want to reflect together on this question, Does Jesus really save us? His name means “He saves.” Throughout the ages, much has been made about how Jesus’ death, in particular, saves us. Really? How? Why did he die, and why should I care? What does it have to do with me and the challenges I face? What does it have to do with us, and why should we as ordinary people care? In this series, we want to discover hope and new life as we pursue answers to these questions. We hope to discover, again or for the first time, how Jesus’ life and his death save us.