--> “Jesus Meetings”
by Tom Goodman
September 21, 2005

Imagine what it must have been like for people just like you and me to talk with Jesus—to hear his laughter, to feel his hand upon your shoulders in blessing, to see the sparkle in his eyes as he told a parable!

Starting this Sunday, September 25, we’ll meet some people who met Jesus.  We begin a new series called “Jesus Meetings.”  Each week in the morning service (10:45 a.m.) we’ll focus on a different encounter with Jesus.  A politician, a parent, a scholar, a skeptic, a soldier, a demon-possessed man, a superstitious woman—each person was changed by their “Jesus Meeting.”  You will be surprised to find out how much you have in common with these people.

We begin this week with a scholar who met Jesus.  Nicodemus appears three times in the Gospel of John, and at each meeting he moves closer to a commitment to Christ.  His story reveals the three “phases” a thinking person goes through before he or she crosses the line of faith.

Scholars have always been drawn to Jesus.  When Jesus first came into this world as a tiny baby, the Bible records that two groups of people visited him and worshipped him.  The first group was made up of lowly uneducated shepherds.  The second group was made up of Magi of the East—we used to call them Wise Men.  This Sunday, we’ll find out that wise men still seek him.

Keep in mind that this series isn’t just for you!  Lots of people wonder what it would be like to talk with Jesus.  A few years ago a sampling of Americans was asked to identify the historical figure they would most want to talk to.  They were told to pick one from the following list: Napoleon, Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, Jesus Christ, Leonardo da Vinci, Cleopatra, Joan of Arc, and John Wayne.  Two out of three Americans said that, if given the chance, they would like to have a conversation with the Jesus of history.

It seems like a lot of folks in our world share our interest in Jesus—even if they don’t normally attend a church.  So, invite someone to our Jesus Meetings!  You may find them keenly interested in this kind of study!

—Tom

P.S.  Do you subscribe to our other e-newsletter?  Each Thursday I send an e-newsletter called LeaderLines to our Hillcrest leadership.  The weekly briefing keeps our leadership informed on church issues as well as larger trends impacting the work of churches in our world.  However, you don’t have to be a leader at Hillcrest to benefit from this briefing.  To subscribe, go to Click here and follow the instructions.  Or just send an e-mail to my assistant, Jami, at jami@hbcaustin.org, and she will sign you up.  She will need your complete name and e-mail address.  Make sure to sign up in time to receive tomorrow’s edition!  What a wonderful story from one of our own members!

Another P.S.  Well, as of this writing, it appears that Hurricane Rita will strike near Galveston on Friday night and pass through our area with winds of 70 mph late Saturday morning.  If this forecast continues, we will move the Leadership Breakfast from this Saturday to another Saturday.  Watch tomorrow’s LeaderLines for more information.  At present, there’s no need to change our Sunday schedule.