Find Peace With God
Step One
God's Purpose: Peace and Life
God loves you. In our services each week, we proclaim to each heart that "it is His property to always have mercy." In other words, God owns mercy. He is mercy. He wants you to experience peace and life - abundant and eternal.
The Bible says...
"We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 5:1
"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 3:16
"I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly and free." John 10:10
Why don't most people have this peace and abundant life that God planned for us to have?
Step Two
The Problem: Sin and Our Separation
God created us in His own image and called us to grow in His likeness to have an abundant life. God created us with a free will and a freedom to choose what is right.
However, we chose to disobey God and go our own willful way. The Scriptures calls this choice "sin." This results in death and ultimately in separation from God for all eternity.
The Bible says...
"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23
"For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:23
Our Attempts to Reach God
We try in many ways to bridge this gap between ourselves and God. Every human attempt at building our own righteousness apart from God is an act of idolatry. We attempt to create good apart from God with things we do or make. We trust in what we have created, rather than in Him Who has created all things. Some may serve at a soup kitchen and, in that action, attempt to make up for past sins, trusting that the good work they have created will win God's favor. Others may put their trust in a holy object, a relic, or a holy place and misuse these created things in order to stand as justified before God. The truth is that the human heart is an idol factory, worshiping the creature and not the Creator.
The Bible says...
"There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death." Proverbs 14:12
"But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear." Isaiah 59:2
Step Three
God's Bridge: The Cross
The Nicene Creed states that Jesus, "for us men and for our salvation, came down from heaven, And was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, And was made man: And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; He suffered and was buried: And the third day he rose again according to the Scriptures." This is the Gospel -- the Good News concerning the problem of man's sin, death and eternal punishment.
The Bible says...
"For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ." 1 Timothy 2:5
"For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God." 1 Peter 3:18
"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
God has provided the only way. We all -- you and I -- must make a choice to follow Jesus Christ or ourselves.
Step Four
Our Response: Receive Christ
We must trust Jesus Christ and Him alone and follow Him all the days of our life.
The Bible says...
"Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me." Revelation 3:20
"Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God." John 1:12
"That if you confess with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." Romans 10:9
"But I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” Matthew 9:6
"So Jesus said to them again, 'Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.' And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.'” John 20:21-23
"Let them call the elders of the Church...If they have sinned, they will be forgiven. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed... My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins." James 5:14-20
Where are you?
Will you receive Jesus Christ right now?
Here is how you can receive Christ:
1. Admit your need (I am a sinner).
2. Confess your sins to God. If you have any concerns or would like someone to "be there" for you and with you as you confess, then go and present yourselves to a priest. The priest will guide you and help you in making a good confession.
3. Receive absolution and pardon for your sins from Christ. Then, believe that Jesus Christ died for you on the Cross and rose from the grave. Trust in His mercy. Pray, "Jesus, I trust in you."
4. Learn what it means to follow Jesus every day. Seek out instruction from the church, ask for and receive the Holy Spirit in the sacrament of Confirmation and receive Jesus often in Holy Communion. Your past sins will be washed away. And He shall wipe away every tear and give you His peace.
How to Pray right now:
Almighty Father,
I know that I am a sinner and need Your forgiveness. I believe that Jesus died for my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I now invite You to come into my heart and life. Jesus, I trust in you and desire to follow you for the rest of my life.
In Jesus' name. Amen.
God's Assurance: Life Together in His Church
The Holy Trinity -- the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost -- is a family. As such, you have been invited into that family.
We enter into a personal relationship with Jesus, but it is not with Jesus alone. We enter into a family. This family is made up of His Blessed Mother, the Angels, the Apostles and all the Saints. There are multitudes throughout time and space, on earth and in eternity, with whom you are now a part. The saints who have died now pray for you. You have entered into their worship service of God already in progress. Angels are rejoicing right now over your new change of life. And there are many in your town who love and follow Jesus as well. Get to know them.
You have just entered a great ocean -- the ocean of God's mercy -- and each drop in that ocean is another person who has found mercy.
Welcome home.
The Bible says...
"Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:13
"For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God--not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2:8,9
This is just the beginning of a wonderful new life in Christ. To deepen this relationship you should:
1. Read the Bible. When you go to Confession, ask for a Bible when you are finished. Begin to read the Bible everyday in order to know and follow Jesus.
2. Talk to God in prayer every day. Begin with the Lord's Prayer, or "Our Father." The priest can help you to find that in your Bible.
3. Enter into instruction. This is called discipleship. A disciple is a fully devoted follower of Jesus Christ. Discipleship only happens with other Christians.
4. Spend time with Jesus. Make what is called a "Holy Hour" and sit before Jesus and listen. Worship, fellowship, and serve with other Christians in a church where Christ is preached and the sacraments are given.
5. Be Christ to your world! As Christ's representative in a needy world, demonstrate your new life by your love and concern for others.
