“I defy the ranks of Israel this day.  Give me a man, that we may fight together,” 1 Samuel 10.

Almost everyone knows the story of David and Goliath. A Hebrew boy faces a ten-foot giant. A shepherd challenged by professional warrior.  Saul’s army quakes in their boots and allows little David to face an almost certain, unpleasant death by being run through by a sword, crushed by huge arms, or beaten by a fist twice the size of his own.  Yet David prevailed.  He picked up five smooth stones from a brook, readied his sling and slew the giant foe.

In many ways, this story is similar to Christianity.  A radical named Jesus and His twelve disciples turned the world upside down as their message spread around the globe.  And today–some 2,000 years later–Christianity is the world’s largest and fastest growing religion.  It has more than 2.2 billion followers in more than 238 countries and regions of the world, according to Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia.  They follow Jesus’ command to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations…,” Matthew 28:6.

Who spread Christianity?  How has it stood through the centuries?  What are the challenges to the faith today?  How does it differ from other religions?  Is the Bible reliable?

We’ll explore the answers in the coming weeks in this blog.  We’ll examine key figures in history and the issues of today.  People like the Roman Emperor Constantine and how his conversion spread Christianity across an empire. Martin Luther and how nailing his Nintey- Five Theses to a church door in Wittenberg, Germany, triggered the Protestant Reformation.  And the issues of today–homosexuality, abortion, the Middle East– and how they are polarizing the church today.

Join me as we explore the most important questions anyone ever asked:  Is Jesus real and, if so, should I follow Him?   Like David stooping to select a stone, have the courage to answer the questions for yourself.