Menu
The 37th Carolina Celebration of Liberty
June 30th at 3 and 6:30 PM
View the television schedule for the Celebration of Liberty here.
June 30th at 3 and 6:30 PM
View the television schedule for the Celebration of Liberty here.
We all long to be a part of something greater than ourselves, something that provides a true sense of purpose, and that won’t let us down. We long for security. We want the peace of knowing that we’re on the right track and that when it’s all said and done we’ll be on the right side of history. We want to know that we are loved and and unconditionally accepted.
We were made to be connected to God.
The longing to be connected and secure can only be satisfied in relationship with the eternal creator who is good and loves you.
God in love gives us a choice, unfortunately we chose and continue to choose our own way. Our ancestors Adam and Eve chose to disobey God and we’ve continued that pattern to this day. We want to follow our own desires more than God’s. The bible describes this as sin. Our thoughts, words, and actions are not what God wants. We lie, cheat, steal, covet, … you name it and we do it. While we may not have acted it out we’ve thought it and we can’t escape the reality that we are not right with God.
Because God is perfect our sins separate us from Him. Not only do they separate us but there is penalty for them. We’ve been found guilty and the punishment is death.
How do we fix the problem? Will church attendance, good deeds, or donations to good causes tip the scales in our favor? Is there a way for our good deeds to outweigh the bad? Does God judge us this way?
The good news is that God in his great love for us has made a way for us to be reunited with Him.
Our sin problem leaves us condemned before God and even if we’ve done some good works it will never be enough to absolve the sin that’s already been committed. We need more than we can give ourselves. We need a Savior.
God sent his perfect Son to pay for our sin and offers us forgiveness.
This is the only way we have a chance. God sent Jesus and the world rejected Him. He died on a cross willingly in our place. The death we deserved because of our sin He died. Because He is perfect and eternal His death satisfies the just penalty we deserve for our sin. He died for us. He died but that’s not the end. Three days later He rose from the dead and offers life to all who will receive it.
1 Cor. 15:3-4 Christ died… Christ rose
Jesus offers forgiveness and eternal life to all who believe in Him. Everyone who places their trust in what He did, His death and resurrection on their behalf recieves His forgiveness.
Salvation is a gift that is received “by Faith through grace” Eph. 2:8-9. Jesus is God’s gift to us and the question is “will we receive Him”? The bible teaches that “to all who recieved Him, to those who believe on His name He gives the right to become children of God.”
The offer of new life is available to all who will receive it today.
If you will then God will welcome you into His family at this very moment.
12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, – John 1:12
If this is a decision you’re considering or just made we’d love to talk with you.
“I will never leave you nor forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5
I will never leave you. Those are comforting words. Jesus extends this promise to all who receive Him. Once you’ve received Him he’ll never let you go. There’s nothing that can separate you from His love. This frees us to live life in security and with purpose.
I will help you. God’s work for you goes beyond saving you from eternal separation from Him. He promises that He will help us. He gives us the power we need to walk as His child.
A community to grow with.
God wants us to grow together. He’s given us His Spirit and he’s also given us His people.
“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” – Hebrews 10:24-25
Jesus is our example. We want to follow Him.
“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” – Matt. 3:16-17
Jesus left us with these words. We want to be obedient to Him.
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” – Matthew 28:19
Baptism is a symbol to the world of our identity with Him.
The old person was buried with Him and we’ve been raised to walk in newness of life. Baptism represents the change that occurred the moment we believed.
It’s important to note that baptism isn’t what saves us. Christ death and resurrection paid the penalty we owed. If there is no faith Jesus than going under water will not change your standing with Him.
Baptism is a beautiful picture of what happened to us when we believed. We went from death to life. We don’t have to go back to the old way of living because of the new life Christ has given us.