The Christian faith has been around for about 2,000 years and it has roots in Judaism that reach back thousands of years further. In that time, there have been many debates about what Christianity is and what it isn’t; debates about what it means to be a Christian. While there have been thousands of views and opinions, and a multitude of denominations, at the core of everything, is the belief in God’s love for us.
That is what we believe: That whether we realize it or not, whether we return it or not, God loves us and desires good for us!
This is best seen and understood through the story of God speaking to us: The Bible.
Our lives are experienced and expressed through stories. When we tell a loved one about our day or when we tell a friend about a funny experience we had the night before, we are telling stories. The greatest story ever told or experienced is the story of our faith, the story found in the Bible.
Chapter 1: The Perfect Beginning
In the beginning, God created everything; the stars, the sun, the moon, the earth and everything on it. When he created it, it was all perfect and good, but the best part was us. He created humans in his own image, with his goodness inside of us. He created us to be loved by him and to love him in return. We were in perfect relationship with God, with each other, and with all of creation. But God also created us with the freedom to make our own choices. We could choose to obey God or not. We had the freedom to love God or not.
Chapter 2: The Fall
We were living in perfection, with lives of joy, peace, and love. But one day, we chose to disobey God and follow our own way. We sinned, and our sin separated us from God. The perfect relationship we had with God, with each other, and with all of creation was torn; and our joy, peace, and love became tainted by sin. Instead of seeking God, we began to seek happiness and fulfillment in other things, such as success, wealth, power, and material objects. But none of these things can even come close to satisfying us in the way that God can.
Chapter 3: The Plan
But God, loving us so much, refused to sit idly by while we lived out these broken lives. God started to orchestrate a plan. It was a plan that began with the person Abram, who would one day be renamed Abraham. God told Abraham that through his children he would save the world. Through his offspring, he would bring the world back to God. This plan continued through Abraham’s children, who would make up the Jewish faith. The Jews would struggle between obeying God and pursuing the things of this world for centuries; until one day, God would enter the story through his Son, Jesus Christ.
Chapter 4: The Solution
Generations and generations after Abraham, God sent his Son, Jesus, to be born into our world. Jesus lived among us and he told us about God’s great love for us. He showed us how to love God in return and how to love one another. He told us how we could have true life and how we could be free from our sin. He showed us how we could be with God again! Not only did he tell us about God’s love, but he also showed it to us in the greatest act of love that has ever been portrayed. Jesus never sinned, but he died on a cross as if he were a criminal. When he died, he did so for us. He died so that we might begin to see how much God loves us—so much so, that he would be eager to die for us. And when Jesus died, his death and his love was enough to do away with all of our sin. Because Jesus died for us, we can be with God again. We can once again be in perfect relationship with him, with each other, and with creation! All we must do is choose to believe in him!
Chapter 5: The Perfect Ending
But the story did not end with Jesus’ death. Three days after Jesus died, he arose from his tomb! And just like Jesus came back from his death, we also, can come back from the death that sin has caused us. We can have true life, and we can have it forever. It is a life that will go even beyond our physical death’s here on this earth. The best part of this perfect ending, is that it’s not really an ending at all. If anyone chooses to believe in Jesus and follow after him, for that person, it is a new beginning!