Path to Forgiveness & Hope

This life-changing journey begins with a simple message of hope: you were created for much more than you are currently experiencing, and everything that is wrong with me, and you, and this life will be fixed and made right by Jesus.  We will one day experience the abundant, purposeful life He created us for (John 10:10).  While were created to live pain-free lives ruling the earth for God (Genesis 1-2), our Satan-inspired rebellion unleashed suffering, disease, and death on the earth and everything on it (Genesis 3).  Despite the rebellion of our ancient grandparents, God promised to a person to defeat Satan and sin and reinstate the life he created us for (Genesis 3:15).  Thousands of years later, God sent Jesus who died on the cross to remove our sin, and then was raised from the dead to demonstrate the new life that all of God’s people would eventually experience (1 Corinthians 15).So while we experience pain and suffering today, Jesus’ resurrection shows us that a new life is coming that is perfect and free from death and everything that makes life unbearable.  That is the Good News of Jesus: that he is the long-awaited King whose death and resurrection defeats evil and brings eternal, abundant life to anyone who will follow Him.

That sounds great … but practically how do we follow Him?

The Bible is like a mirror that shows us who we really are, warts and all (James 1:23-24). Sometimes that means realizing we've messed up big time with God. It's not just about breaking some rules; it's like we've put a wall between us and God (Isaiah 59:1-2). Knowing this gets us ready for what comes next: trusting in Jesus to fix that broken relationship.

Faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior is pivotal (John 3:16, Heb. 11:6). It goes beyond mere intellectual agreement to a deep-seated trust that acknowledges Jesus as the Redeemer, leading us toward life transformation. This faith ignites the desire to repent.

Changing your ways is about more than just feeling sorry. It's really deciding to quit doing what's wrong and start living the way Jesus showed us (Acts 17:30). This big change helps us get on the same page with God, making our connection stronger and getting us ready to openly say we believe in Him.

Saying you believe in Jesus isn't just for you; it also shows others what you stand for (1 Timothy 6:13). It's doing what God asks and helps make your relationship with Him even stronger (Romans 10:9-10). It also gets you ready for the next big step, which is getting baptized.

In the Bible, water baptism is reenacting what Jesus did—dying, being buried, and rising again (Romans 6:3-4). You go fully under the water, and when you come back up, you have a new life. It cleanses you from your sins and sets you on a path to living the way God wants (Acts 2:38, 22:16).

Staying true to your faith means always aiming to be like Jesus (1 John 2:6). It's a lifelong journey to grow your faith and love, always learning from what God teaches us. And even when we mess up, we've got Jesus' endless love and grace to lean upon for forgiveness (1 John 1:9).