Jesus is Lord.

No matter who you are, where you've been, or what you've done, there's new life for you in Jesus.

We know this because of God's great story given to us in the Bible. This story is called the "gospel," which means "good news!"

What is this good news for you?

*God made everything that exists, and made everything good.

This includes you: We all carry the image of God as human creations. When God made you, He did great work! His creation speaks to His good and glorious nature.

Genesis 1:27, 31, 2:7; Psalms 19:1, 139:14; James 3:9

*All of us have responded to God with sin.

We are all sinners-- rebels against our good, holy, and compassionate Father. We have seen all God has done in the world and chosen to go our own way, which is called sin. We've broken His laws and tried to live life on our own terms without Him.

Genesis 8:21; Jeremiah 17:9; Romans 3:9-18, 23

*Sin separates us from God, leading to our death.

Because sin breaks our relationship to God, it cuts us off from everything good. This means that sin eventually leads to our death of both body and spirit-- final and eternal separation from God. Nothing we can do can save us from this end.

Deuteronomy 30:19; Isaiah 59:2, 64:6; Ezekiel 18:4; John 15:6; Romans 6:23, 8:12-13; Ephesians 2:1-2; II Thessalonians 1:9-10; Revelation 20:14-15

*Jesus Christ, God's Son, died for our sins at the Cross.

God sent His Son Jesus to be born of the virgin Mary and live a perfect, sinless life. Because Jesus never sinned, He died as a substitute for us at the Cross. In other words, God chose to absorb all of our sin into Himself so that we might be absorbed by His holiness and the breach between God and humanity might be restored.

Isaiah 53:4-6; Matthew 20:28; Romans 5:8-9; I Corinthians 15:3; II Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 1:4, 2:20; I John 4:10

*After three days buried in a borrowed tomb, Jesus rose from the dead.

Because God's Son, Jesus, was always greater than death, His resurrection from the dead defeated death itself once and for all. Not only is our sin defeated at the Cross, death itself is empty of all its power now.

Psalm 16:10; Isaiah 53:12; Matthew 28:5-6; Acts 2:24; I Corinthians 15:4, 56-57; II Timothy 1:8-10; I Peter 1:3

*Jesus is Lord, and King of Kings who is coming again to establish His Kingdom on earth.

Until Jesus returns to earth to set everything right that's wrong and judge every soul, He's given us the Church with a Great Commandment to love God and other people, and a Great Commission to build His Kingdom by building lives together and reconciling a lost world to Him for His glory.

Matthew 4:17, 6:10, 22:37-40, 24:14, 28:18-20; Mark 1:15; Luke 24:46-48; Romans 10:9, 14:9; II Corinthians 5:18-20; II Timothy 4:1, 8; Revelation 1:5-6

*When we repent of our sin and believe the gospel, we are completely forgiven and reconciled to God.

God forgives everyone who comes to Him through Jesus-- no conditions, no questions asked. This is because He is love, and loves us infinitely. Yes, this means you! Whatever your life has in its past, new and eternal life-- a fresh start-- begins when you turn away from sin and turn to Christ.

Isaiah 55:6-7; Micah 7:18; John 3:16, 6:37-40; Acts 10:43; Ephesians 2:5-9; I Peter 1:3-5: I John 3:1-2, 4:16

*The Holy Spirit enters everyone who trusts Christ as Savior and Lord to empower us to do good for the Father's glory.

Good works don't make us right with God, but people who are right with God are given supernatural power to do good works He's prepared for us to do since before creation itself. This power is in the Holy Spirit, who never leaves or abandons any of God's people.

Joel 2:28-32; Matthew 3:11; John 16:16-17; Acts 2:38; I Corinthians 12:7; Ephesians 2:10; Hebrews 13:5-6

Will you repent and believe this gospel now?

"Now is 'the acceptable time,' behold now is 'the day of salvation.'" --Paul, II Corinthians 6:2 (NASB)

Call on Jesus to save you now. Here's a prayer that might be helpful to you as you do:

"Lord Jesus, You are Lord and King and Creator of everything, and worthy of all the praise and glory I can bring You. I know I have sinned against You and others, and that my sin deserves death. I also believe that You died that death for me, and live today, and that You're coming back. I repent of my sin right now, confess that You conquered death, and crown You Lord of my life. I'll go where You want me to go and do what You want me to do. Help me to live for You and be obedient. Thank You for saving me. I pray this in Your holy name. Amen."

If you've decided to follow Jesus, what should you do next?

• Be baptized as a testimony to the death of your old self in Christ and your new life in His resurrection power.
• Join a Bible-believing church where you'll be encouraged to keep growing in your faith, receive Communion regularly, and find fellowship.
• Be diligent in prayer and Bible study daily. The Gospel of John is a great place to start if you've never read the Bible before.
• Make a priority to attend worship in person in your local church.

We'd love to hear about your decision to follow Jesus. You are always welcome here at First Baptist Church of Marceline. Let us know by:

• e-mailing us at fbcmarceline@gmail.com, or
• calling us at (660) 376-3573, or
• writing us a note. Send it to First Baptist Church, 119 W. Ritchie Ave., Marceline, MO 64658.

May God bless you richly as you seek His face. We're with you as you do!