Jesus is the central person that Christians throughout history and across the world follow and worship. The story of Jesus’s birth, life, death and resurrection is told in the four Gospels of the Bible, in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. He was born about 2,000 years ago in Bethlehem, an event celebrated each year at Christmas.
Christians believe that the story of Jesus is the story of God coming among us, living alongside us a fully human life, and sharing in all the joys and struggles, blessings and dilemmas that go with being human. His life is a demonstration of life lived well, and illustrates the ‘life lived to the full’ that is offered in Christ, and that is central to the vision of the churches of Gloucester Diocese.
Explore faith:
How to pray
Alpha.org
The Alpha course is an opportunity for anyone to ask those all-important awkward questions and explore the Christian faith in a relaxed setting.
Rejesus.co.uk
Rejesus offers an enormous variety of information, spirituality, interaction and entertainment to help people explore who Jesus was and is.
HOPEtogether.org.uk
Resources and collaboration for churches.
TalkingJesus.org
Major research project into what people in the UK know and think about Jesus.
Resources:
Learn about Discipleship
Find out more about our churches
Visit the A Church Near You website
The Church of England website
Our video channel
Rejesus site: “How to pray”
Emmaus: The Way of Faith
The Bible Society in Swindon offers Bible resources and teaching, as well as news and events locally and worldwide.
BibleGateway offers a huge variety of Bible resources and ways to search the Bible. Search for Bible verses or Bible stories, or use the Keyword Search or Topical Index to look up different topics in the Bible.
Jesus is our window into God – he showed us the nature of God’s love as he wept when a friend died, sought to heal the ill, to relieve hunger, to restore life. He showed respect to everyone he met – beggars as well as the rich; women as well as men; those considered ‘impure’ as well as ‘religious people’.
He gave his life for the world and was raised from death to life, celebrated each year at Easter. Christians believe the cross and resurrection is the means of reconciliation and healing between God and all creation.
After Jesus ‘ascended’ or went to be with God the Father, God’s Spirit was poured out upon his disciples. They were filled with courage and with power, and went throughout the world telling people about Jesus. Many died for their faith. The same Spirit is at work in the church of our own times, inspiring and strengthening Christians to live in ways which demonstrate the love of God, and which remain hope filled despite outward signs and circumstances.
You can find out more about Jesus Christ via the websites listed on the right.
About the Church of England
Members of the Church of England (Anglicans) trace their Christian roots back to the early Church. The basis of the faith of the Church of England is the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments (the Bible) and the teachings of the early generations of Christians. The Church of England is part of the Anglican Communion, a worldwide family of churches with more than 70 million adherents in 38 Provinces spreading across 161 countries.
Bishop Rachel talks about faith:
In the Diocese of Gloucester one of our priorities under the Faith strand of our LIFE vision is ‘nurturing confident disciples to live out their faith seven days a week’. Bishop Rachel says, “This is about our identity in Christ – being more fully who we are as we continue to go on becoming who we have been called to be – it’s about authentic discipleship in places of pain and struggle as well as places of ease and joy.”
Watch the video here:
