The Creator God

The Bible opens with a single sentence that shapes everything that follows: “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Before there was time, space or matter, there was God: eternal, complete and lacking nothing. He did not create because He was lonely or needed anything. He created out of the overflow of His goodness.

Your life is not an accident. You were made on purpose, by Someone, for Someone.

He spoke, and it was so. Light, oceans, galaxies, mountains and every living thing came into being at His word (Psalm 33:6). Through Jesus all things were made, and without Him nothing was made that has been made (John 1:3).

This changes how we see ourselves. If God made us, we belong to Him. We did not give ourselves life, and we cannot keep ourselves alive for a single heartbeat. He holds all things together (Colossians 1:17), and in Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). The world is not ours to run as we please; it is His (Psalm 24:1).

That is not bad news. It means you are known, wanted and held by the One who made you, and that He alone is worthy of your worship (Revelation 4:11).

Made to Reflect Him

Of everything God made, only human beings were made in His image (Genesis 1:27). Stars declare His glory and mountains display His power, but people were made to know Him, to talk with Him and to share His life. That is what makes every person, of every age, background and ability, precious beyond measure.

We were made to carry God's image into every corner of the world.

To bear God's image is to be made for a purpose. We were created for His glory (Isaiah 43:7), to show the world what He is like in the way we live, work, create and love. The first humans were placed in a garden and given a calling: to care for creation and to fill the earth with flourishing under God's good rule (Genesis 1:28).

Jesus summed up this purpose in two commands. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:37-39). When God is at the center, everything else finds its proper place: our relationships, our work, our rest and our joy.

This is why so many of us feel that life should be more than it is. We were made for something, and Someone, bigger than ourselves.

Broken by Sin

But something went terribly wrong. God gave the first humans everything they needed and one boundary to trust Him with. Instead they listened to another voice, doubted God's goodness and reached for the right to decide good and evil for themselves (Genesis 3:6).

Sin is more than breaking rules. It is a heart turned away from the God who made us.

Every one of us has followed in their footsteps. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Sin is not only the wrong things we do; it is the heart behind them. It is putting ourselves, our comfort, our reputation or our plans in the place only God should have. The human heart, left to itself, is bent away from Him (Jeremiah 17:9).

The effects are everywhere. Sin fractures our relationships, poisons our communities and leaves us anxious, restless and ashamed. Even creation itself groans under its weight (Romans 8:22).

Most seriously, sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2). He is holy and just, and He cannot simply ignore evil. The Bible is honest about where this road ends: the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). We cannot climb our way back to God through good deeds or religious effort. We need to be rescued.

The God Who Keeps His Promises

God did not abandon the world He loved. In the very moment the first humans fell, He made a promise: one day a descendant of the woman would crush the serpent's head and undo the curse (Genesis 3:15).

Every one of God's promises finds its yes in Jesus.

The rest of the Old Testament is the story of God keeping that promise. He called Abraham and promised that through his family all the nations of the earth would be blessed (Genesis 12:2-3). He rescued Israel from slavery in Egypt and bound Himself to them in covenant love. He promised King David that a son from his line would sit on a throne that would last forever (2 Samuel 7:12-13).

Again and again God's people broke faith with Him, yet He never broke faith with them. Through the prophets He promised a new covenant, one in which He would forgive their sins and write His law on their hearts (Jeremiah 31:33-34).

Then, at just the right time, the promise took on flesh. God did not send a message from a distance; He came Himself. The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us, full of grace and truth (John 1:14). Every promise of God finds its yes in Jesus (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Jesus: Crucified and Risen

Jesus was born in Bethlehem, grew up in Nazareth and began His public ministry around the age of thirty. His message was clear: the time has come, the kingdom of God has come near (Mark 1:15).

He healed the sick, calmed storms and raised the dead. He welcomed outsiders, ate with sinners and forgave people no one else would touch. He taught with an authority the world had never heard, and He lived the perfect life of love and obedience that none of us could live (Hebrews 4:15).

Yet He was rejected. Though He was God, He humbled Himself, took the nature of a servant and became obedient to death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:6-8). He was betrayed, arrested, beaten and crucified outside Jerusalem, and His body was laid in a borrowed tomb.

But the grave could not hold Him. On the third day the tomb was empty, and the angels said, He is not here; He has risen, just as He said (Luke 24:6). The risen Jesus appeared to Peter, to the twelve and to more than five hundred people at once (1 Corinthians 15:5-6). This is the heart of the Christian faith: Christ died for our sins, He was buried, and He was raised on the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

The Good News

Why did Jesus have to die? Because the cross was not an accident or a tragedy; it was the plan of God to rescue us. On the cross Jesus took our place. God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus took what we deserved so that we could receive what He deserves.

This is grace, God's undeserved kindness. We did not earn it or clean ourselves up first. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Every charge that stood against us was cancelled and nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:13-14). Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring us to God (1 Peter 3:18).

The result is reconciliation. People who were once far from God are brought near, forgiven, made right with Him and welcomed as His children (Romans 5:1).

And because Jesus rose, death itself has been defeated. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? (1 Corinthians 15:55). The way back to God is wide open, not because of what we have done, but because of what Jesus has done.

Responding to Jesus

Good news calls for a response. When Jesus began His ministry, He did not only announce the kingdom; He invited people into it: repent and believe the good news (Mark 1:15).

Salvation is not something we achieve. It is a gift we receive.

To repent means to turn around. It is turning away from sin and from running your own life, and turning toward God. It is more than feeling sorry; it is a change of direction. Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out (Acts 3:19).

To believe means to trust. It is not simply agreeing that Jesus existed; it is resting the full weight of your life on Him, not on your goodness, your effort or your religion. It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9).

If you declare with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Romans 10:9). There is no special formula and no perfect words. You can simply tell God that you need Him, that you trust Jesus, and that you want to follow Him.

If you're ready to take that step, or you just want to talk it through, we would love to walk with you.

Life in the New Creation

When you put your trust in Jesus, something real happens. If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here (2 Corinthians 5:17). You are forgiven, adopted into God's family and given His Holy Spirit to live within you (Romans 8:15-16).

New life grows through simple, steady rhythms. God speaks to us through His Word, which becomes a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). Reading Scripture is not a religious box to tick; it is how we hear our Father's voice and learn His ways.

Prayer becomes an ongoing conversation with God. We can bring Him everything, our needs, fears, thanks and questions, and His peace guards our hearts and minds (Philippians 4:6-7).

And we were never meant to follow Jesus alone. From the very beginning, believers devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching, to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer (Acts 2:42). We gather to worship, we share life in community, and we spur one another on toward love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24-25). The local church is God's family, and there's a place for you in it.

Becoming Like Jesus

Following Jesus is not a one-time decision; it is a lifelong journey. God's goal is not just to forgive us but to make us like His Son (Romans 8:29).

I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. — Galatians 2:20

Jesus described this with a picture from everyday life. He is the vine and we are the branches. If we remain in Him, we will bear much fruit; apart from Him we can do nothing (John 15:5). Growth doesn't come from trying harder on our own. It comes from staying close to Jesus and letting His life flow through ours.

As we do, the Holy Spirit renews our minds and reshapes our desires (Romans 12:2). Little by little, He produces in us love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Our relationships, our time, our money and our ambitions are slowly reordered around Him.

Baptism is one of the first steps on this journey. Going under the water pictures our old life being buried with Christ, and rising up pictures the new life we now live in Him (Romans 6:4). It is a public declaration that we belong to Jesus.

This is the truest version of you, not a lesser life but a full one, lived in the power of the One who loves you.

The Story Isn't Over

The story that began in a garden will end in a city. Jesus promised that He will come again (John 14:3), and when He does, He will finish what He started.

The story that began in a garden will end in a city where God dwells with His people.

The Bible gives us glimpses of that day. God will create new heavens and a new earth (Isaiah 65:17). He will dwell with His people, and He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away (Revelation 21:3-4). The One seated on the throne says, I am making everything new (Revelation 21:5).

Until that day, we live with hope, and we live with a mission. Jesus sent His followers to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He commanded, with the promise that He is with us always (Matthew 28:19-20). That mission starts right here, in our homes, workplaces and neighborhoods across Reno.

So we love with courage, we serve with joy, and we join our voices with the whole Church through the ages: Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).