No where in scripture does it tell us that God was created by anyone or anything, nor does it say that Jesus was created by God. Instead, the Bible points to God’s eternality (Psalm 90:2, Exodus 3:14, John 17:5). It is hard for us to grasp the concept of eternality. We often think that there has to be an end. This is because our minds are finite, or limited. God is infinite (without limits).

John 1:1-3 sums it up well when introducing Jesus. It says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” The beginning is not in reference to the beginning of God, but the beginning of the world. It goes on to say that all things where made through him that exist.

Just because we cannot fathom the concept of eternity does not mean we throw it out. Knowledge of God is a gift, not a given.

The idea of someone dying for sins goes all the way back to the the first book of the Bible, Genesis. The first two chapters of Genesis describes a broad stroke overview of how God created everything we see, including man.

God’s relationship with man was very special. God walked with man in perfect union. But in Genesis 3, man chose to disobey God and as a result sin separated God from man.

God made for Adam and Eve a garment of skins as an example of atonement, something dying, or blood shed, for sins. The Old Testament demonstrates how God goes on to set up with man a system of sacrifices to continue to atone for sin. But these sacrifices were not sufficient.

God sent his son, Jesus Christ as the perfect sacrifice. As an atonement for sin. He is called the Lamb of God (John 1:29) who once and for all is the perfect sacrifice for sin.

There are many different ways to prove that the Bible is true, but one approach is to ask if it is real. The Bible was written by real people, in real places, doing real things. There has not been one archeological discovery that contradicts the Bible. In fact, the Bible has helped people discover tons of ancient civilizations and archeological findings.

Alternately, if the Bible were made up or altered you would think that they would have altered the stories to make the characters better, but instead you read about Jonah who ran from God, Rahab who had an immoral past and Sarah who laughed at God. The gospel accounts (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) contain stories of the disciples getting chastised and looking like fools.

The Bible tells the story of real people who struggled to know a real God. The stories in the Bible are not true because they are in the Bible; they are in the Bible because they are true.

The idea that anyone goes to hell is hard to swallow. The Bible describes hell as eternity without God. The fact is that we all deserve punishment. We are a messed up group of humans.

Thankfully God came running to our rescue instead of letting us take the punishment we deserve. He sets up a way for us to dwell with Him forever and that way is through His Son Christ Jesus.

All you have to do is trust in Jesus as your savior and you are saved from the punishment we all deserve (John 14:16). God doesn’t send people to hell, but he also will not require you to spend eternity with Him if you do not choose to. He does in his great love, provide a way. God is perfect love, but God is also perfectly just.

Baptism is an exciting opportunity to publicly celebrate your faith in Christ, follow Christ's example, and obey Christ's teaching. We encourage you to invite your friends and family and be baptized as soon as possible. If you are interested in being baptized please see one of the Elders or email us. We would love to celebrate this incredible moment with you.

Resource used from http://about.esvbible.org/resources/reading/

At Pleasant Ridge we long to be a house of prayer. We believe prayer is a heartfelt conversation between God and his people. In our pursuit of God, we desire to maintain a balance of honoring the word of God and an openness to the Holy Spirit.