Something's Missing
Have you ever felt like something in life is missing? Maybe you’ve tried to find meaning in success, relationships, or experiences, but none of it truly satisfies. After all of the fun wears off and you’re alone with your thoughts, all of us have this nagging sense of emptiness. That feeling isn’t just a personal struggle—it points to something much deeper—a spiritual issue.
The Bible tells us that we were created for something more than that endless pursuit of earthly pleasure. God made us in His image to know Him, love Him, enjoy him, and live in relationship with Him. From the very beginning, His plan was for us to experience joy, peace, and purpose with Him forever. But something has gone terribly wrong.
Sin
Instead of trusting God, humanity turned away from Him. The Bible calls this sin—choosing our own way instead of God’s way. Sin is more than just breaking rules; it’s breaking the relationship we were created for. And the result? A world full of brokenness—pain, suffering, and separation from the God who loves us. We all feel this, but we’re not always sure what to do. So, sometimes we try to do more, be better, try to be a good person—maybe even go to church! But no amount of effort, good deeds, or religious activity can undo that separation.
All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
The Gospel
But here’s the good news: God didn’t leave us in our brokenness and sin
Because of His love, Jesus (God the Son) left heaven and came to earth on a mission. We like to share that mission with three simple phrases.
- Jesus lived the life we could never live—a perfect life. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
- Jesus died the death that we deserve to die. (Romans 5:8)
- Jesus rose from the grave to give us new life both now and forever. (1 Peter 1:3)
Now, because of Jesus, God offers you a restored relationship with Him—not based on what you’ve done but on what Jesus has done for you. This is what the Bible calls grace—a gift we don’t deserve but that God freely gives.
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (ESV)
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (ESV)
1 Peter 1:3–5 Born Again to a Living Hope Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (ESV)
What Now?
Maybe you’ve heard that phrase that someone “got saved” or “asked Jesus to come into their heart.” We use a little phrase that we find a little more clear:
Trust Jesus to be the leader and forgiver of your life.
Let’s break that down a little bit. Trust Jesus as the….
- Forgiver of your life: Like we mentioned above, sin separates us from God. And we can never do enough to erase that sin. But Jesus, because he lived that perfect life had no sins to pay for. So, when he went to the cross, he took the penalty for your sin so that you can be forgiven and brought back into favor with God. (Colossians 2:13-14)
- Leader of your life: Lots of people like the forgiver part, but the leader part comes a little harder. When we place our faith in Jesus, we must repent. Repent means to turn away from our old life and go a different direction. Now, we listen to God’s guidance and instruction for how to live the best possible life. He gets to lead our lives from now on. (Luke 9:23-24)
Romans 10:9 says, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Salvation isn’t about trying harder or being “good enough.” It’s about faith in Jesus. If you’re ready to trust in Him to be the leader and forgiver of your life, you can express that to God in prayer:
And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. (ESV)
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. (ESV)
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.
Let Us Know!
Following Jesus isn’t just a one-time decision—it’s the beginning of a lifelong journey. We want to walk with you in that journey! We have some great people at CVC that would love to help you learn more about your new relationship with Jesus. So, Let us know about your decision so that we can help!
Click the button below or text ‘JESUS’ to 440.276.5575 and someone from the CVC team will follow up.
