Purpose

Stonerstown Church of the Brethren's "Purpose"

The purpose of our church is the same as the purpose of most churches that follow The Bible and Jesus Christ. It is to tell the Bible’s account of how God has, down through the ages, attempted to draw humans back to Himself after they had turned away from Him.

The first step in doing this is to believe that the Bible is God’s message given to men. It has carefully been copied and translated into many languages. The message has remained the same throughout the years and still points any reader to God.

Secondly, we must understand what the Bible’s message is. Even though the Bible is a long book with many accounts of people who have and have not been faithful to God, its message can be summed up in a few short statements. We need to understand that all of us are sinners. This means that we all do things that displease God. Some disagree with this and believe that they are not as bad as other people. I ask this one question, who has never been punished by a parent, teacher, or other authority during their lifetime? God does not grade sin according to its severity. If we mess up just once we fit the category of a sinner.

We also need to understand that God has an incredible love for each of us. His deepest desire is that we would share our lives together with Him. But our sin separates us from being able to do this. God’s love is so great that He has done the work for us. Almost 2000 years ago God became a man in Jesus so that he could open a way for us to be with Him. Jesus not only taught us of God’s love, He showed it by taking our place and dying on a cross for our sins. Sin, like a crime, required a punishment. What Jesus did was to take the punishment that we deserve because of our sin.

Having paid the cost for our sins, Jesus then left a way for us to receive forgiveness from those sins. It is sometimes difficult for us to believe that the answer is so easy. All we have to do is accept that Jesus died for our sins and God has promised to forgive us and welcome us into a special relationship with God.

Believe it or not that is all that is required. God promises to forgive our sins.

Here is how these ideas are expressed in the Bible:

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

~Romans 3:23

For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

~John 3:16

But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

~Romans 5:8

But as many as received Him to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name. ~John 1:12

Whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.

~Romans 10:13

This leaves the choice to you. You can receive the free gift of God by accepting what Jesus Christ has done for you. You will then become a member of God’s family here on earth.

One other thing...

The Bible tells us that when a person believes in Jesus and asks forgiveness from their sins, the angels in heaven rejoice. I like to think they throw a party for your decision. Are the angels celebrating for you?

If you have other questions or need to know more feel free to contact the church.

May God bless you.