The greatest gift a church can give its city is the gospel. Without the gospel, the church is just a philanthropic venture of “doing good”. The gospel is the good news of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and that through faith in Him we can be forgiven and reconciled to God. Jesus is the ONLY one in history that lived a sinless life, died, and was resurrected. There is no grave for Him. He is alive today, and His time on earth was the hinge in history. Our hope today is that we can be forgiven and be with God forever!

In Galatians 2:11-15, we see that Peter (Cephas) is spreading a message that justification is achieved with works. Paul is setting the record straight by calling Peter and his gang from Jerusalem “hypocrites”. A hypocrite was an actor at the theater that would hold up a mask to be “2-faced”. Paul is reminding them, and us, that when we are justified, it is Jesus + NOTHING. God justifies us in Christ by declaring us righteous. Justification is the gracious act of God where He declares a sinner righteous through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Jesus says, “That one is mine”. Ephesians 2:8-9 says, “For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

As a church, we are FOR the GOSPEL! It is a viral movement of believers who share their story of being dead and coming to life! Share your story!

1. Do you live by grace? When have you made the story of Jesus something that it is not?

2. When was the last time you told your story to someone? How did it go? Who needs to hear your story?