The amazing good news of Christianity

Every single person has a set of beliefs and these beliefs influence their actions. Therefore it is very important what we believe. Here we try to set out what is our most important belief as a church.

1. Each one of us has a basic problem:

Within each one of us is a hunger for relationship. This is not just for relationship with one another, positive though these relationships are. There is a hunger for a relationship with God and this is natural because this is the way God created us.

When God created people He gave them a freedom of choice. This gave man a freedom to love God, for love must be a voluntary action. But man used this freedom to choose to turn away from a loving, close relationship with God. In other words man chose to sin.

Sin is a biblical word which although not widely used today best describes the wrong things that all of us do. These are not just the wrong things in our eyes for some of us may consider ourselves ‘good’ people, but the wrong things each of us has done compared to God’s perfect standard.

The consequence of sin is that it separates each one of us from what we were naturally created to have – a living relationship with God.

2. God provided an answer

But the exceptionally good news is that God provided a solution, because GOD LOVES PEOPLE ! 2,000 years ago He came to rescue mankind. Jesus who was in very nature God lived a sinless perfect life; he loved people, fed the hungry, healed the sick and befriended the lonely. He also warned people about the consequences of sin which ultimately lead to a total and permanent separation from God and all that is good.

Jesus provided the solution to our problem of separation from God by dying the most painful, undignified death possible on a cross. He died not because of anything He had done because Jesus lived a perfect life. But He died in our place, suffering the punishment each of us deserves for our sin and in doing this removed the barrier between us and God.

3. We must make a response

Amazing though it is that Jesus died for us this is not where the story ends. For after three days God raised Jesus from the dead as the most dramatic sign possible that Jesus had defeated both death and sin. This also leads to our response for through the work of Jesus on the cross God can be known to us today.

This knowledge of God does not happen automatically. God asks us to make a choice to follow him. He asks that we turn from the wrong things that each of us do and put our trust in a loving God, who loved us enough even to send his son to suffer and die for us.

As a church we will regularly be running Alpha courses, which is an informal course that introduces the Christian faith.

If you want any more information about Alpha or need more information, please don't hesitate to contact us.

For more information on the Alpha course, see their web site.