The Gospel
In the beginning, God made the whole world and everything in it.
He created the FIRST MAN and the FIRST WOMAN.
He placed them in a beautiful garden.
He made them PART OF HIS FAMILY and had a CLOSE RELATIONSHIP with them.
He created them to LIVE FOREVER.
There was no such thing as death.
Even in this perfect place, man rebelled against God and brought SIN and SUFFERING into the world.
God BANISHED man from the garden.
The relationship between man and God was BROKEN.
Now man would have to face DEATH.
Over many hundreds of years, God kept sending MESSENGERS into the world.
They reminded man of his sin, but also told him of God’s FAITHFULNESS and PROMISE to send a SAVIOR into the world.
The Savior would RESTORE the close relationship between God and Man.
The Savior would RESCUE man from death.
The Savior would give ETERNAL LIFE and be with man forever.
God loves us so much that when the time was right, He sent His Son into the world to be that Savior.
Jesus was God’s Son.
He was born into the world through a virgin.
He lived a perfect life.
He never sinned.
Jesus taught people about God.
He performed many miracles showing His great power.
He cast out many demons.
He healed many people. He made the blind see. He made the deaf hear. He made the lame walk. Jesus even raised the dead.
Many religious leaders were THREATENED and JEALOUS of Jesus. They wanted Him killed.
Since He never sinned, Jesus did not have to die.
But He CHOSE to die as a SACRIFICE for all of us. His painful death covered up the sins of mankind.
After this, Jesus was buried in a tomb.
God saw the SACRIFICE Jesus made and accepted it.
God showed His acceptance by RAISING Jesus from the dead on the third day.
God said that if we TURN AWAY from our sins and
RECEIVE Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins and
if we BELIEVE that God raised Jesus from the dead and CONFESS Him as our LORD (Ruler and King)
God CLEANS US from all our sin and WELCOMES us into His family.
God sends the HOLY SPIRIT to live inside us and make us able to follow Jesus.
We are BAPTIZED in water to show and seal this restored relationship.
As a symbol of death we are buried beneath the water.
As a symbol of new life we are raised out of the water to follow Jesus.