Creation
In the beginning, God spoke and everything came into existence including Earth with perfect garden of paradise called Eden. God made Adam and Eve in His image to reflect Him. They were created with the grand purpose of worshipping Him by loving Him, serving Him, and enjoying perfect relationship with Him.
Genesis 1:1, Ps 90:2
Fall
God gave Adam and Eve the freedom to make decisions and govern the earth with one rule: not to eat fruit from a specific tree. One day, God’s enemy, a fallen angel named Satan, wanted to overthrow God so he took the form of a serpent and lied to Adam and Eve. He deceived them into thinking God was not good and did not have their best interest in mind. So in rebellion, Adam and Eve ate the fruit, deciding that they, not God, would determine right and wrong.
Sin entered into all of creation and into the hearts of Adam and Eve and has been passed down from generation to generation. All of creation was distorted from its original design. Everyone has sinned, and the ultimate consequence, even worse than physical death, is an eternal separation from a loving God called hell. Because of all this, we need to consider the questions: Can anything be done? Is there any hope?
Romans 3:19, 23
Rescue
God removed Adam and Eve from Eden as a result of their sin but left them with a promise of rescue and hope. He promised them one of their descendants would someday rescue mankind from sin. The promised Savior, simply, was God. God became human in the person of Jesus Christ almost 2,000 years ago. He perfectly enjoyed and obeyed God without sin. This ultimately led to His agonizing death on a cross as He willingly, obediently, and sufficiently died to pay for the sins of mankind, according to God’s plan. In the greatest display of mercy and grace the world has ever known, Jesus’ life and death became a substitute for all who would trust in Him and His resurrection on the third day showed that He had defeated death.
1 Peter 3:18, Galations 1:4
Restoration
For all those who trust in Jesus alone, God has also promised He will make all things new. The new heaven and new earth will be completely free of sin and selfishness, pain or sickness or death. God’s original purpose will flourish, as those who trust in His rescue will enter into the grand purpose of worshipping Him by loving Him, serving Him, and enjoying relationship with Him forever.
John 3:16, Revelation 21:4
Respond
God is writing an amazing story from creation to restoration. He created you to be a
part of that story. Faith is simple trust in Jesus Christ alone to save you. It means
instead of believing you can rescue yourself from the consequences of sin, you
transfer your trust to the rescue He purchased for you by His death as you repent of
your sin and surrender your life to Him. He then gives you eternal life in Heaven
forever and a relationship with Him the remainder of your life as you live as a
disciple of Jesus for the rest of your days. Your allegiance is now to Jesus, The King,
no matter what happens in your life from here forward.
God is inviting you to be part of the story He is writing throughout the ages to come.
He is offering salvation to you today and you can embrace the rescue of God by
simply:
- ADMITTING YOUR NEED TO GOD FOR SALVATION FROM SIN
- ASKING HIM TO FORGIVE YOU OF YOUR SIN AGAINST HIM
- TRUSTING IN FAITH FOR JESUS ALONE TO RESCUE YOU
John 20:31, Romans 10:9
Now, as a Christian, the remainder of your life should be spent following Jesus
Christ, the King of your life, in faith from this day forward as a continually growing
disciple of Jesus who makes disciples of Jesus. That is accomplished through
relationships within the church that help you…
- KNOW God through weekly worship, teaching and personal Bible study
- GROW in Community and as a disciple through weekly Life Group gatherings
- GO change the world through serving, missions and making disciples of Jesus
