A Christian is somone who, by believing in Jesus, knows God personally as their loving Heavenly Father.
Through faith in Jesus they have been 'born again' - which means that they have been given a fresh start with God, received His love, forgiveness and been adopted into His family. God invites us all to join his family.
Here's a brief summary of the Christian message...
GOD is the loving Creator of everything and everyone – so He’s in charge of everything and everyone.
Bible verse: Genesis 1 verse 1 ‘In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.’
WE think we're in charge, and so we ignore God, while enjoying all that He has made. This is called ‘sin’. We are all guilty. Sin cuts us off from God and makes us His enemies. We all face his judgement and deserve to be punished by Him.
Bible verse: Romans 3 verse 12 ‘…all have turned away… there is no one who does good, not even one.’
GOD is angry at the way we treat Him, but loves us so much that he sent his Son, Jesus, to take the punishment that we deserve. That is why Jesus died on a cross. He was punished in our place. God now calls us to stop rebelling and to turn back to Him, by believing in Jesus.
Bible verse: Romans 5 verse 8 ‘But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.’
WE have a choice: if we believe in the risen Lord Jesus, God promises that we will be made right with Him and that he will forgive us and give us eternal life. If we continue to think we’re in charge, and ignore Jesus, we will remain enemies of God and one day face his right anger and judgement and hell.
Bible verse: John 3 verse 36 ‘Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life for God’s wrath remains on him.’
Believing in Jesus means living with Him as our Lord - having him as the 'boss' of our lives; and trusting him as our Saviour - the one who graciously deals with all the sin and mess in our lives. He is a wonderful Lord and Saviour!
If you would like to talk with someone about this then do phone the vicar, Pete, on 01226 205826 or email: