I’d love to
tell you more…

If you’re here, then you must be curious.

  • About God.
  • About Jesus.
  • About the Bible.
  • About Grace.

 

Welcome.

No matter where you are, you’re welcome here. Believing or doubtful, anxious or peaceful, healed or hurting. All are welcome under the banner of Christ. Why? Because it’s not about us. It’s not about whether we have it together or not. It’s not about being morally good or “spiritual” enough. Not at all.

It’s about realizing that you’re not enough.

Not good enough.

Not spiritual enough.

Not capable enough to hold it all together all of the time.

The good news of Jesus is that He is enough.  His love is enough to cover where we are not.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ begins and ends with God and His perfect love. From the beginning, He has desired to have an intimate relationship with His children, to lavish the blessings of heaven and earth upon us, to satisfy us with His love.

He wants us to know that we are enough with Him.

The Problem…

But something gets in the way of that love: our sin. We think we are enough and in doing so, sin because we don’t recognize our weaknesses.  We try to be enough or have enough and sin by choosing pathways toward that end that are contrary to the way God wants us to live.  We sin when we think or act selfishly. We sin when we ignore God’s standards or we live ignorant of them. We appreciate created things above the Creator or  distort perfection with our own depravity and sin–falling short of God’s measure of right living

Yes, the Gospel begins with God’s love, but it is quickly followed by an accurate knowledge of ourselves: that we cannot achieve goodness on our own. No matter how much we want to or how hard we try, we will fall short of what God requires. The Bible says “For all have sinned, and fallen short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) Not only that, but it doesn’t matter how much you sin.  If you sin at all you are totally guilty.

James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. And according to James 2:15, “sin…brings forth death.” While you may be walking and breathing and fully alive,  because of sin, the truth is you are dead inside with no hope of eternal life once this earthly life is over.

BUT. The love of God is more powerful than death, more supreme than sin. His love is enough. When sin against God ultimately required our death as payment, His love compelled Him to provide a way for us to be restored to abundant freedom and perfect relationship with Him in spite of our sin.

The Solution…

“For the wages of sin is death, BUT the gift of God is eternal life.” Romans 6:23

You see, something had to die. Sin against God ultimately comes at an extremely high cost: death. And without Jesus, sin costs us our lives. Not only our lives on earth, but our lives for eternity. Without him, we are destined for an eternal life of despair because of our sin.

“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 8:28

Christ died. Not us. He took the severe punishment in our place because He loves us. His desire is to spend forever with us–with you.

He chose to die, but it doesn’t end there. Three days later, He was resurrected. He came back to life and defeated death completely, reversing its shame and despair! He fully paid the penalty for our sins so that we can walk in freedom and in relationship with Him!

The Gift…

How do we claim this gift of salvation? We simply believe. We declare that Jesus is the Son of God and that He is enough to cover our brokenness.

“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9

And when we believe, we have the power of the living God alive in us, helping us, guiding us, and directing us in the life He desires for us to live. We have the freedom and joy of getting to know Him by searching out His Word, the Bible, for Truths and promises that apply for our everyday lives. And we get to grow and develop into people who see the wonder of His work in our world.

We are transformed in the power of Christ, and we are free to be who we are–children of God, set free, fully alive.

Not only that but we also have the joy of living in intimate community with other believers–with our Sister Circle–a group of women also transformed by his love who not only love us but share our love for God as well.  We get to discover together how we are all enough because we have been made new in Him.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, He is a new creation. The old is gone, the new has come.” 1 Corinthians 5:17

So what do you do if you want to believe in Christ and trust that He is enough for you?

The Prayer…

Simply pray this prayer.

Jesus, I ask you to be Lord of my life.  I acknowledge that I am a sinner and I believe in your sacrifice of death for my sins.  I believe that you rose from the dead and I am trusting in your gift of salvation for eternal life.

If you sincerely prayed that prayer for the first time, I want to welcome you to the family of God. I want to welcome you as my sister or brother in Christ!  Share your decision with a Christian friend or a pastor in a local Bible-believing church.  Let them know about your decision so they can encourage you and help you to grow in your new-found faith. Get plugged into a church that teaches the Bible and get involved right away.

The Next Step…

As Christians, we all need nurturing to grow in our faith.
Here are three basic steps to help you in your new journey with God.

1

START READING THE BIBLE.

 

Don’t know where to begin? The book of John is a great place to start.

2

Get involved in a Bible-believing church.

 

Spend time with other Christians who want to grow in their faith. This will spur you on!

3

Talk to God!

 

It doesn’t matter what you say or how you say it, just talk to God. He hears you!

The Resources…

From Tony Evans…

I’m the daughter of a preacher, a great preacher in fact.  My dad, Dr. Tony Evans, offers tons of resources through his ministry that will be a blessing to you.  Here are a few to get you started:

From YouVersion (Online or Mobile Bible App)…

The Invitation…

I’d love to hear from you. Email me at chrystal@chrystalevanshurst.com to let me know about your decision for Christ.