According to socialtalent.com:
- People formulate a first impression about someone within 7 to 17 seconds of meeting them.
- During face-to-face meetings 93% of our impressions are gathered from non-verbal cues like body language.
- 33% of managers said they know whether or not they want to hire someone within the first 90 seconds of meeting them.
- 38% of a person's first impression is determined by tone of voice.
As you look at the picture above you probably get distinctly different impressions of this person based on their outward appearance. I believe that our first impressions are often misleading. Wise people dig beneath the surface of their first impressions to find the real content of a person's character. However, our first impressions can be hard to shake.
Our first impressions of Jesus can often be the most difficult to shake. Maybe as a child you saw a painting of Jesus with children on his lap. Or, you saw a movie where Jesus had long hair and a beard, sandals on His feet and he was healing people. In your mind's eye Jesus is a gentle, soft-spoken, gentle person who puts everyone at ease. These impressions of Jesus are not wrong. But they are incomplete. I hope you'll take the time to dig deeper and uncover more of the content of Jesus's character. He could be the center of controversy, his righteous anger flared on rare occasions, he pushed His disciples to learn more and trust more, and so many other facets of His character are revealed in Scripture.
This Sunday we will dig deeper into the character of Jesus Christ. One of the most revealing passages about Jesus comes to us after His death. People are observing the courage of two of His disciples and they trace the source of that courage back to the fact that these men had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13).
What was it about Jesus that would transform the lives of these ordinary men? Something about the influence of Jesus left such a powerful impression that watching people would notice courageous men of faith and know that Jesus was the reason. The closer you get to Jesus and the more clearly you understand who He is, the more His influence will mark your life. See you Sunday! -Kris
Hello Church, Jason here from the youth group at Sunlight reminding you all about our first, upcoming 'Youth Meetup' event in the Fellowship Hall on Saturday, February 24 at 6 PM! In a world where tragedies like what unfolded all to recently in Parkland are becoming a frightening norm, I believe with a passion that the time is right to help this new generation build healthy communities so all local youth in search of truth have a place to be connected. Please pray for us, share the flyer & invite teenagers in and around your life to give COMMUNITY a chance.
One invitation could be all it takes to make a positive, eternal difference in many, many lives for generations to come.
youth@sunlightlakeworth.com
