This is a flawed premise since it implies that we are in a position to say what is good and what is not good about God. We ourselves do not know what good is naturally, for we are not basically good. How then can we judge God? Still, the question of evil persists, and we often hear the question “why?” in the aftermath of some tragedy. Remember, when God created the world, He created it perfect. That includes His creation of man. Yet, this “perfect” man was also given the freedom of choice, or an ability to choose. When Adam chose to disobey God, sin, death and suffering became an inevitable part of life. Romans 5:12 states, “When Adam sinned, sin entered the entire human race. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned” (NLT). The evil in this world is a result of that original sin. You may say, “Wait a minute, I didn’t choose to sin. Adam did.” Yet, the Bible teaches that we all have sinned (Romans 3:23). We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. We have a natural bent in us to do what is wrong. James 4:1 says that there is a “whole army of evil desires at war within you.” At the same time, God gave us absolutes to live our lives by–standards that are found in the Bible. When we make choices that are contrary to those absolutes and standards, evil is the result. C. S. Lewis put this question in proper perspective. He observed that it is idle for us to speculate about the origin of evil. The problem we all face is the fact of evil. The only solution to the fact of evil is God’s solution, Jesus Christ [Paul Little, How to Give Away Your Faith (Downers Grove, Ill.; InterVarsity Press, 1966), p. 72]. Once you surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you enter into the master plan that God has for you. For that reason, you can be assured of the promise in His Word, that “everything works together for the good of those who love God and are called according to His purpose for them” (Romans 8:28 NLT). Sometimes what appears horribly evil and tragic can result in something good. Consider Joseph’s assessment of his brother’s wicked act of selling him into slavery. Understanding that God had allowed this to happen so that he could be a man of power in Egypt, Joseph said, “God turned to good what you [my brothers] meant for evil. He brought me to the high position I have today so I could save the lives of many people” (Genesis 50:20 NLT). We may not always understand the “why’s” of a certain tragedy, but we know the “Who” that will carry us through it. He promises, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord your God . . .” (Isaiah 43:2-3a NIV).

Are you saying that if a person does not believe in Jesus Christ, they are going to hell? Jesus Christ Himself said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6 NKJV). If humankind could have reached God any other way, Jesus would not have had to die. His voluntary death on the cross makes this fact even more compelling. Christians are not superior to any other person. A person who believes Jesus Christ is the only Son of God and proclaims that truth is just one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread.

“Don’t all roads lead to God?” people often ask. “If a person is sincere in his or her beliefs, won’t he or she get to heaven?” If you allow that all beliefs are true, then by what standards do you live? All belief systems cannot be true, because they cancel each other out. If you take time to look at what each religion teaches, you’ll find that only Jesus Christ died for our sins and rose again. Christianity differs from all other religions because it’s the only one that offers grace. The Bible teaches that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on a cross for our sins, that He paid that debt in our place, and that if we will turn from our sin and follow Him, we can be forgiven and know that we will go to heaven.

1. They abound in historical and geographical inaccuracies and anachronisms. 2. They teach doctrines which are false and foster practices which are opposed or contrary to those of inspired Scripture. 3. They lack the distinctive elements which give genuine Scripture their divine character, such as prophetic power and poetic and religious feeling. 4. Jesus and the New Testament writers never once quote the Apocrypha or offer any recognition to it as inspired by God. 5. The Jewish scholars of Jamnia (AD 90) did not recognize the Apocrypha as Scripture, and they have never been accepted as part of the Old Testament. 6. Many of the great Fathers of the early church spoke out against the Apocrypha. Many Roman Catholic scholars through the Reformation period rejected the Apocrypha.

The doctrine of the death of Jesus for the sins of mankind is central to the Christian faith. It is this feature that separates Christianity from all other world religions. All other religions say that you must atone for your own sins, or earn your own forgiveness. The Bible and the Gospel say that this is impossible, and that is why Jesus died for us. The death of Jesus for the sins of mankind is the fundamental belief of Christianity. Paul states in 1 Corinthians 15:1-3: “Now I make known to you, brethren, the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received, in which also you stand, by which also you are saved, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures…” The need for Jesus to die for our sins lays on two major truths: · Man is a sinner and atonement for his sins need to be made. · God is holy, and sinful man will not be able to approach God until justification is complete. The Bible states that man is a sinner (Romans 3:23). This simply means that we are not perfect, we have all made mistakes, and we all fall short of the perfect standard of God. This sin is what separates us from God and hinders us from ever spending eternity with Him. The Bible also says that the wages of this sin is death (Romans 6:23). In other words, in order for reconciliation with God to be possible, the price of a death needs to be paid. Obviously, if we were to try and pay that price ourselves, it would be our end. Not only that, but since we are sinners, our sacrifice would be insufficient and imperfect. Some have stated that Jesus came to show us how to overcome and correct our sins. Actually, Scriptures teach the opposite. It shares how it is impossible for man to change himself. Jeremiah 13:23 says: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed to doing evil.” So if we can’t achieve salvation on our own, and cannot pay the price on our own, we run into a dilemma on how will we be able to attain salvation? This might be a dilemma for us, but not for God. Romans 5:6-8 states: “You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Therefore, Scriptures teach that Jesus came and took the penalty of our sin in order for us to receive forgiveness and be free from the consequences of sin (2 Corinthians 5:21).

The Trinity is frequently misunderstood and not always a simple concept to grasp. Someone once wrote “A God who can be fully understood is not fully God.” The Trinity is the concept that there is one God, personal and knowable who manifests Himself in three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Scriptures teach us that believing in the Trinity is an essential doctrine for our salvation. Jesus Himself stated in John 8:24, “I said therefore to you, that you shall die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am (the He was added in), you shall die in your sins.” When Jesus identifies Himself as the “I am” He is obviously taking the Old Testament name that God gave to Moses, “I am that I am.” It is quite clear that Jesus was referring to this name, and that the Jews understood this, because they tried to stone Him for blasphemy (John 8:58-59). The point I want to bring out from this text, is that Jesus said, for unless you believe that I am…you shall die in your sins. In other words, the forgiveness of our sins is dependant upon our belief of Jesus as God. The Scriptures clearly teach as well that the only one who can save us from our sins is God (Isaiah 43:25, Micah 7:18, Mark 2:7). Therefore, it was necessary that God Himself die for our sins and bring to us forgiveness. It is also essential for our salvation to believe that the Holy Spirit is God (Acts 5:3-4). Jesus in Matthew 12:31 speaks of the unpardonable sin. What is the unpardonable sin? He calls it the blasphemy of the Spirit. The ministry of the Spirit is to convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment. Without this ministry, none of us will come to saving grace. Now if we reject this ministry, and receive it not from God, we cannot come to saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. One of the greatest ways to look at the Trinity is through the words of the Nicene Creed. The Nicene Creed was written by the early Church and adopted (in a slightly different version) by the Church Council at Nicea in AD 325: I believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God, begotten of His Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man, And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried. And the third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; and ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of the Father. And He will come again with glory to judge both the living and the dead, whose kingdom will have no end. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son, who with the Father and the Son together is worshiped and glorified, who spoke by the prophets. And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church, I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. And I look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Typically, it’s a good idea to arrive at least 10 minutes early because our weekend services tend to fill up quickly.

We try to structure parking in a way that allows the maximum amount of people to attend our services. Also, we want to love our neighbors and serve them well, so we ask you not to park in the retail areas surrounding the church. If the front lot is full there are areas directly behind the church to the east of the building that have great parking (just use the rear church entrance). And as a last resort, the dirt lot north east of the church can be used as an overfill.