There Must Be More To Life!

The Gospel is a message of hope, love, and new life in Jesus Christ.

 

What's It All About?

We all want to be loved. We all want to know why we’re here.

The good news is this: You were made to know God— Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He made you to walk with Him and live in His love. Life doesn’t make sense without Him.

Christianity isn’t just about going to church. It’s about a relationship with God through Jesus.

Jesus is the eternal Son of God, but He also became fully human. He was born as a baby, grew up, got hungry, tired, and even wept. He knows what it feels like to live in this world.

At the same time, Jesus is truly God. The Bible says He is “the exact image of God”, and He is “Immanuel — God with us” (Hebrews 1:3; Matthew 1:23). Everything Jesus did, healing the sick, calming storms, forgiving sins, showed that He had God’s power and authority.

Jesus is both fully God and fully man. That’s why He is the only one who can bring us back to God. Only someone who is truly human could stand in our place. Only someone who is truly God could carry the full weight of our sin and defeat it.

Here’s one way to picture it:

As the Evangelist Billy Graham once illustrated -- imagine a world of ants, busy running around, not knowing a flood is coming. You want to warn them, but every time you speak, your voice sounds like thunder and only scares them. The only way to save them would be to become like an ant so you could speak their language, walk their paths, and lead them to safety. That’s a little like what God did. He became one of us, Jesus, so we could understand Him, and He could lead us back to safety. 

But Jesus did more than come near to us, He came to save us by giving His life in our place. He lived a perfect life. He never sinned. He healed the sick, loved the poor, and told the truth. And then, He did something amazing: He died on the cross, not for His own sin, but for ours.

Three days later, God raised him from the dead, defeating death and sin once and for all. Now Jesus reigns as King, and one day He will return to make all things new.

Why Did Jesus Die?

 

Jesus died in our place.

We have all gone our own way and sinned against God, and because God is holy, sin must be punished. But God deeply loves us, so He sent His Son to save us.

On the cross, Jesus took the punishment we deserved. He carried our sin, our guilt, and our shame. He was punished so we could be forgiven.

Jesus never sinned. He lived a perfect life, always obeying His Father. Then He willingly gave His life for us.

He did everything needed to bring us back to God. We cannot earn this. We receive it as a gift, by trusting in Jesus.

“The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me.” —Galatians 2:20

When God shows us His mercy and gives us new life, everything begins to change. Things that once seemed unimportant or hard to believe now matter to us. Our thoughts, desires, and feelings begin to turn toward God. He gives us the gift of faith, opening our hearts so that we can trust in Jesus Christ. When we come to Him, turning from our sin and trusting in Jesus, we receive all the blessings that Jesus has won for us.

At the cross, there is a great exchange. Jesus took our sin, our guilt, and our shame as if they were His own. In return, He gives us His goodness and His perfect life. Because of this, God now sees us as clean and right in His sight, not because of anything we have done, but because of what Jesus has done for us.

All our sins, past, present, and future, are forgiven. We are no longer guilty before God. We now have peace with Him. We are not under His judgement anymore. There is no condemnation, no need to be afraid, and no need to hide. We are fully accepted.

God also gives us His Holy Spirit, who comes to live in us. He changes our hearts, helps us to love God, and gives us strength to live in a new way. We are brought into God’s family, and He calls us His children. We can now call Him our Father.

And we are given a sure and certain hope. One day we will be with God forever in heaven. But even now, we can walk with Him every day. He gives us strength when we are weak, comfort when we are sad, and a joy that nothing can take away.

The Bible tells us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). We didn’t love God first—He loved us. The Father sent His Son to rescue us, even though we had turned away from Him.

If you are experiencing a deep desire to know God, to be forgiven, and to follow Jesus, that desire is not something you stirred up on your own. It’s God at work in your heart. He gently yet powerfully draws us to Himself. That’s why the Bible says, “Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6), and even that seeking is stirred in us by His grace.

When we sense His grace calling us, we must not ignore it. We are to respond by turning from sin in repentance and trusting in Jesus by faith. As God works in our hearts, we respond in simple, sincere prayer.

Here are three simple words to guide you:

SORRY – Tell God that you are sorry for your sins and the ways you’ve lived without Him.

THANK YOU – Thank Him for loving you, for sending Jesus to die in your place, and for making a way back to Him.

PLEASE – Ask Him to forgive you, to make you new, and to fill you with His Holy Spirit.

Here is a simple prayer you can make your own:

 

Heavenly Father, I confess that I have sinned against You and need Your mercy. Thank You for loving me and for sending Your Son, Jesus Christ, to die in my place.

Lord Jesus, thank You for giving Your life to save me. Please forgive my sins for Your name’s sake, make me clean, bring me closer to God, unite me to Yourself, and give me a new heart.

Holy Spirit, come and dwell within me. Help me to trust in Jesus, to pray, to understand Your Word, and to walk in Your ways.

I now receive Your grace with thanks. Help me to walk in the power of it, and to live each day for Your glory alone. AMEN.

When we become Christians, we are not left to live the Christian life alone. The Holy Spirit lives within us, and we daily ask to be filled with His power and help. He teaches us to pray, gives us strength to obey, helps us understand the Bible, and remains with us always.

When you trust in Jesus, you become part of God’s family. You’re not meant to walk this new life alone. God gives us brothers and sisters in Christ to help us grow, worship, and walk together.

Here are four simple next steps:

1. Tell someone

Let someone you trust know you’ve put your faith in Jesus. This helps to make it real and encourages others too.

2. Read the Bible

Start with the Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They tell the story of Jesus and help you get to know Him better. Ask God to speak to you through His Word.

3. Pray

Talk to God every day. You don’t need fancy words. Just speak to Him as a child speaks to a loving father. He loves to listen.

4. Join a Church

You need a spiritual home, a place to belong. At Balintore United Free Church, we seek to teach the Bible clearly and help you grow in your faith. Church is where we sing, learn, pray, and grow together with others who love Jesus. You are warmly invited to come and be part of the family.