Alpha Course tonight ....
and it has almost run its course...after tonight's sessions but two sessions more before this course reaches its Omega..
The course consists of about a dozen sessions of teaching, normally presented on DVD about aspects of the Christian faith. These sessions normally follow on a simple meal shared by the group and are followed by an opportunity to talk together about what has been seen and heard. Towards the end of the course three sessions are taken together, usually on a weekend and away from the usual base. These can be done on one day or spread over a weekend program though the away day rather than weekend is favoured because of financial considerations.
Tonight the focus was on telling others about our faith, including talking to others about the Alpha course...not something some of us find easy....for myself I can go a week without meeting anybody apart from those I meet at church .....makes telling others a bit difficult.
So why should we tell others...what should we tell others ...and I think the first reason has to be that Jesus told his disciples( that includes us) to go and tell....
So what do we tell? Christianity is about entering into a new relationship with a living, loving God who comes to inhabit our lives and enable us to be different. This life is excitingly different from what went before and is such that we would want to talk about the experience.
If we value the experience for ourselves it is something we would want others to be able to experience too but how can they if no one ever tells them?