Every Sunday, new people come to our worship services looking to embark on a spiritual journey. Some have never been in a church, and they’re intrigued by the mystique of religion. Others have reached the end of their rope, and they’re looking for something that will help them carry on with life. Some have had a bad experience with some religious group, and they come to see if people here are genuine.
Whatever your rationale, we believe there are some guiding principles that will help you begin.
God exists and He is involved in everything.
Something within all of us speaks to this reality, from beholding the majesty of nature to our innate sense of justice. The Bible expresses it this way: “The heavens are telling of the glory of God” (Ps 19:1). In fact, every good thing that we enjoy is a gift from God.
God is not silent.
The documents that combine to make the Old and New Testaments were written by over 40 different authors over a period of about 1,500 years culminating at the end of the First Century. They include accounts of historical events, as well as poetry, prophecy, and instruction. These authors claimed to be used of God in such a way that the words they wrote are God’s words. The Bible gives us a perspective on God Himself, but also on all of the issues of life.
If you are unfamiliar with the Bible, we recommend the Gospel of John in the New Testament as a good place to start reading. To read or listen to the Gospel of John online, click here.
God desires that we seek Him.
The Apostle Paul taught that God is not far from each of us. He made us so that we would seek Him. He wants each of us to have a personal relationship with Him, as children to a father. Yet when we neglect to seek Him out and live in relationship with Him, it offends Him. We have to admit that our lives are often marked by self-centeredness and ingratitude for all that God gives us. The Bible calls the actions that flow from these attitudes “sin.” Each moment we live this way results in a deeper and deeper estrangement from God–an estrangement that the Bible says will ultimately result in our being removed from the presence of God for eternity.
We need to be reconciled to God.
We need some way to settle this offense against God. The Bible leads us to understand that God is three in one: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God did a remarkable thing to settle our offense against Him. God, the Son, became a man so that He could mediate between us and God. Jesus Christ is God, the Son. His death on the cross was more than a mere political injustice. It was part of God’s plan. When He died, Jesus Christ was enduring a separation from God the Father’s presence. He took the full punishment that each of us deserve for our sins. The Bible describes it this way: “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).
We need to trust God.
Our relationship with God starts when we begin to trust Him. Each of the principles we’ve mentioned here requires us to trust, or to have faith. We must trust that God exists even though we cannot see Him. We must trust that the Bible is God’s revelation to us. We must trust that God really is the source of all good, and wants us to live in relationship with Him. We must trust that Jesus Christ was God, the Son, who bore the punishment for the offense of our sins. As we trust, we enter into a relationship with God in which we continue to trust Him to guide us through life and to take care of us throughout eternity. In fact, when we begin to trust in God, our spiritual life begins by God, the Holy Spirit, coming into our lives to secure that relationship.
Calvary East is a community of people who are sharing in the journey, trusting in God together. We welcome you to join us in this journey. If we can be of help to you, please contact us.
