We believe HIStory
In the midst of struggles and uncertainty Christianity is good news.
It all begins with God — the creator of the universe.
He is mighty, powerful, and in complete control. He isn’t stern or harsh, like a boss with too much power; nor is he sad, lonely and in need of a friend.
God is love, and if there was nothing else in the whole universe he would still be perfectly content.
The Bible describes God as being three persons: Father, Son and Spirit, who have always been together — so completely together that they are one.
The God of the Bible is full of joy and kindness.
He is incredibly good! He made laughter and life, and he made you — not because he needs you but because he wants you to share in his love. You and I were made to know God — not just to know things about God, but to actually know him! The reason we exist is to know God’s love for us, and to live with him as our king.
But there’s a problem.
Humanity — every one of us — turned away from our maker. We can read about it right at the start of the Bible, which might seem like a fairytale, but when we actually stop and think it can begin to explain a few things.
Many of us live with a sense of…
There must be more to life than this.
We look at the world around us and it feels like everything’s falling apart. Some of us wonder whether or not death is really the end.
In those opening pages of the Bible we learn that, in one terrible moment, Adam and Eve opened the door to sin and death, and it all came flooding in. All the stuff that’s only too familiar to us today: brokenness, hardship, fear and ruin.
We continue to make these decisions of disobedience over and over again. We say things like: “I’ll never do that again”, only to find that within a matter of days, hours, or even minutes, we’re right back in the same mess. Each and every one of us turned away from the God of life, and in so doing we chose death.
We live in God’s world, but choose to do so without God.
This is frightening. Why? It’s frightening because one day we will die, and in that moment we’ll come face to face with the God we’ve chosen to live without.
But… God is love!
God overflows with kindness and compassion, and cannot bear to see those he has made lost forever. God is too good to say “I told you so”.
God, who is love, sent love down to us.
Two thousand years ago God’s son came into our broken world in the form of an ordinary human baby.
His name was Jesus.
He was fully human and familiar with all the realities of life we know too well, yet he chose to obey. He chose to trust his heavenly father, to walk with him and live for him.
Jesus spoke God’s words. He spent time with people we would ignore, and went out of his way to help those we would avoid. Jesus lived the life we should have lived, then he died the death that we should die.
Jesus was the most peaceful, kind and loving person ever to walk on earth, and the people rejected him.
Leaders plotted, crowds jeered, and roman soldiers executed our loving creator. There on a wooden cross, outside Jerusalem, Jesus died for you and for me. He took upon himself all the hurt, all the guilt and shame, and all the punishment that we deserve. He took it all, because he is love.
After the soldiers confirmed that Jesus was dead they took his body down from the cross and placed it in a tomb.
Then two days later, at the break of day, he arose!
His heart began to beat. His lungs filled with air.
God’s love had beaten death.
His son, the love he sent for us, was alive once more.
And this love is alive and here for you and me today. We can know this Jesus — the living proof that God is love.
Christians believe that God is love and that we can know this love for ourselves.
If you'd like to find out more, please get in touch — we'd love to hear from you and talk to you further at our next Alpha series, which starts on Wednesday 8 January 2025, 7pm at Penrith Conservative Club.