Study of “The Jesus You Can’t Ignore”

On October 11, we will begin a new adult class on Sundays at 11:00 am. I would like to invite you to attend the class and join in the study and discussion.

We will begin a study of John MacArthur’s book The Jesus You Can’t Ignore. MacArthur’s book deals with the question, “Do you have any idea who Jesus really is?” This is an important question for us to consider because, as MacArthur writes, “What you think of Jesus Christ will thoroughly color how you think about everything else.”

The flyleaf of the book presents the issue like this: “These days, Jesus is often portrayed as a pacifist, a philanthropist, or a docile teacher. He strikes a plastic — and sometimes pathetic — pose in the minds of many. Some prefer the meek and mild Jesus who heals the sick, calms fears, and speaks of peace and goodwill. These things do represent a portion of the Messiah. But tragically, too many have never been exposed to the rest of him. They have never seen a full 360-degree view of the Savior…. MacArthur walks through the gospel records and shows you a remarkable and compelling picture of the Jesus you can’t ignore.”

MacArthur writes this book against the background of changing Christian attitudes about truth and certainty and therefore of the gospel itself. As he studied these attitudes, he found that they presented a different view of Jesus than the view he saw in the Gospels. While much thinking in the contemporary church calls for Christians to meet other worldviews with conversation, he saw Jesus preaching hard truth to the crowds who were representing to them “a style of religion and a system of belief that was in direct conflict with the very heart of the gospel.”

As we study The Jesus You Can’t Ignore, then, we will “move chronologically through the gospel accounts of how Jesus handled the religious elite of Israel. We’ll look at how He spoke to individuals, how He responded to organized opposition, how He preached to multitudes, and what he taught His own disciples.”

So I invite you to join us for this thought-provoking look at Jesus. We may not agree with everything MacArthur says, but we will get a closer look at Jesus, because the one thing you cannot do with him is ignore him.