easter service

We will hold our Easter Service on the beach, weather permitting, at 8:00am, April 8, 2012. In the event of inclement weather, we will be indoors at our usual winter quarters, the Christian Conference Center just north of the totem pole in town. Our beach service is held opposite the parking lot at the end of Ocean View Parkway. Bring a chair and hope to see you there!

a child of God

Perhaps you grew up in a less than ideal home. Who didn’t? But maybe there was a friend you knew that seemed to have the perfect home. And perhaps you enjoyed hanging out there when you were a kid. Maybe you even imagined how great it might be if you were part of the family. But no amount of hanging out over there would actually make you part of that family. No matter how many times you came over for dinner, or went somewhere with that them, you still never really belonged. The only way you could actually become a part of that family would have been if they offered to adopt you, and you agreed to live as their child.

There are some obvious similarities in that scenario to Christianity. Many people see the advantage that being a child of God offers. They hang out in church from time to time. They participate in various things the church is doing. They make some friends there. And many would like to believe that just by association they are part of the family of God. After all, they got baptized there, or they joined the church, or participated in one of the ceremonies the church conducted.

But the truth is, you can’t become a child of God just by hanging out in church a couple of times a week or by anything that you could do on your own. The only way to become part of the family of God is to be adopted. And the only way that God is going to adopt you is if you become holy. God said in 1 Peter 1:16, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” Not by becoming good in your own estimation, or in comparison to others, but by becoming as righteous as His Son.

However, Romans 3:10 says, “There is none righteous, no not one.” But God loved you so much that He sent the only righteous one, His Son, to pay the price to make you holy. By the death of the Son of God, your sins were paid for in full. He left His robe of righteousness at the foot of the cross for you to put on. And because of His righteousness which was transferred to us, God sees us as completely, perfectly holy. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. “ 2 Corinthians 5:21

If you are willing to accept that gift of righteousness and agree to give up your life to live the life that He has for you, then He will adopt you into the family of God and give to you the full benefits of an heir. You will become a child of God, and live with Him forever, enjoying all that He has provided for you. I trust you know God as your Father. The price has been paid - all that is stopping you is pride. Pride in your goodness, your ability, your own self sufficiency.

“God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. 1Peter 5:5-7.

***Special announcement: There will be no Wednesday night Bible study at the Harrell’s house on March 7. Sunday services will be as usual. The next Wednesday Bible study will be March 14 at 6pm. At that time, we will look at what is known as the Romans Road, a series of scriptures in Romans that show the plan of salvation very clearly. I would encourage all of you who are either unsure of your salvation, or would like to know how to lead others to Christ, to plan on attending that session in particular.