Great Exchange Day 3 - Hosanna and the CVJM church services

Today we enjoyed two church services.  The first was in Heidelberg at a church called Hosanna and the second was in the evening at our church, the CVJM.  Both churches are partnering with us for the Great Exchange and both sets of pastors and their wives were able to come to the welcome barbeque at our home on Friday night which was nice.  Jon did the preaching at both services.  He had a German translator at Hosanna who did quite well and Sarah Lee (our former Venture student who fell in love and married a German and now lives in Münster) translated for us in the evening.  Sarah Lee has been visiting her husbands family who live in the same town as we do for the past week and it was great to have her both at the barbeque and at the church service.  She will come and do surveys with us through the week and she is experienced too - having participated in the Great Exchange while she was attending UGA and Watkinsville First Baptist.

Jon's preaching spoke on II Corinthians chapter 5 where Paul talks about the gospel being the exchange God offers each person.  He exchanges our sinful selves with the righteousness of Jesus making it possible for us to be saved.  We all know we aren't good people but the number one answer to "If God were to ask you why he should let you into heaven, what would you say?" in these surveys we will be doing this week is: "because I try to be a good person."  At least this is what we've found at all the Universities where the Great Exchange has been hosted in the states and also in the surveys Alan and I have done here with our teams in Heidelberg.  Jesus took our sin, the wages of which were death, and he died on the cross so that we could live - not just after death in Heaven but also experience real life here on earth.  That's the gospel.  Jon shared his testimony of coming to Christ, investigating his claims and recognizing He was the only way we can come to have a relationship with God.  Despite what this relativistic world tries to tell you, there is no other way.  Everyone seemed to enjoy the message and we had good turnouts at both churches. 

Here are some pictures from the day:

 

Right now it is raining.  It is supposed to rain all week.  Please pray it will not rain during the hours of 9am CEST and 4pm CEST which is when we'll be surveying students in the University square.