THE SIMPLE STORY
Last week, I met in the worship center with the four-year-olds from the school and we talked about what pastors do. After I was done showing them my robe and stoles and my private Communion kit and talking about the different places a pastor stands in church to talk about Jesus, I invited them to ask questions. I didn't realize that four-year-olds don't understand the concept of a question. They would raise their hands. I'd call on one. "Yes, in the red shirt." And they'd look down to see what color shirt they were wearing. And then I'd hear something like, "One time my mommy did this" or "My daddy told me this." I'd ask, "Is there anything any of you were wondering about that I can answer?" A few did ask questions, but many gave statements or told short stories. One thing I heard more than once was, "Jesus died on the cross" and "Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead."
If you boil the story of Jesus down, that's what you get. It comes across no more simply than a four-year-old states it: "Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead." That's the story of Jesus in a nutshell.