Making Payments
Ephesians 2
Dead people can't pay their bills. This point was illustrated to me not too long ago when I saw an invoice for work worth over $10k owed to my grandfather by a dead man. I'd say there's about a 100% chance my grandpa's not going to get that money.
Spiritually speaking, that is our condition before we meet Jesus. There is a debt to be paid but we can't pay it because we are dead; spiritual life comes only through Christ. Even if we had something of worth to give, which we don't, it wouldn't matter because dead people can't pay their bills. In order to have something of value to pay off our debt, we'd have to work for it. That's a problem because dead people can't work either. Even if dead people could work, what we'd earn wouldn't be sufficient for the debt we owe. So, we're in pretty bad shape. I guess you could say that our biggest problem is that we're dead.
Ephesians 2:4-5 says, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved). Because of God's love our debt is paid in full through Jesus! We have been made alive. The work has been finished and the faith to believe has been freely given.
I'm so glad that I didn't have to make payments for my salvation. We can now work, serve, and give, not because we are trying to be made right with God, but because we get to fulfill God's purpose for our lives. We don't work, serve, or give out of obligation but out of gratitude and worship. What an incredible life!
Used by permission from NewSpring Church
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Upcoming Events
Ladies' Small Group - The ladies meet on Sunday Nights at 6 PM and are going through the book Made To Crave by Lisa TerKeurst. If you have any questions please contact Stephanie Robinson at (724) 678-9520. The ladies will be meeting on July 1 at Brianne Sieg's house and they will cover chapter 7, 8, and 9.
Men's Small Group - The men meet on Friday Nights at 7 PM and are going through the book The Resolution for Men by Stephen Kendrick. If you have any questions please contact Pastor Robinson at (724) 255-1695. Our next meeting will be on June 29th at Pastor's house and will cover chapters 4 and 5.
July 1 - Carry-In Dinner following the AM Worship Service.
July 8-12 - Vacation Bible School for 4 year olds through those going into 6th grade. Begins at 6:30 and will end at 8:30. Questions? Call Stephanie.
July 13 - Family night at Wild Thing Baseball Stadium. Game starts at 7:05 PM and tickets are only $5 per ticket. If interested, please contact Pastor or Greg Rudman ASAP.
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Special Opportunity
We have been approached by an individual who wants to help our church to be proactive in being prepared for the future. Recently there was a chance to purchase the house behind the church, but we were not in any position to purchase it. They have since taken it off the market, but will most likely be putting it back on the market in a year or so. This anonymous person has offered to match up to $5000 each month (from May through December) that would be given to the parsonage fund over and above your regular offerings. This is a great opportunity to get prepared to purchase some needed property for parking since our church is landlocked. Please consider donating some money towards this fund so we can be better prepared for this possible opportunity. Last month we raised $5,090! Praise the Lord!!
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