The Why?
We live in a broken world, surrounded by broken lives, broken relationships, and broken systems.
This brokenness is seen in suffering, violence, poverty, pain, and death around us.
Brokenness leads us to search for a way to make LIFE work.
In contrast to this brokenness, we also see beauty, purpose and evidence of design around us.
The Bible tells us that God originally planned a world that worked perfectly â where everything and everyone fit together in harmony.
God made each of us with a purpose â to worship Him and walk with Him.
The Bible says:
âGod saw all that He had made, and it was very goodâ (Genesis 1:31).
âThe heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky proclaims the work of His handsâ (Psalm 19:1).
1st Circle: God's Design
Life doesnât work when we ignore God and His original design for our lives.
We selfishly insist on doing things our own way. The Bible calls this sin. We all sin and distort the original design.
The consequence of our sin is separation from God â in this life and for all of eternity.
The Bible says:
âAll have sinned and fall short of the glory of Godâ (Romans 3:23). âFor the wages of sin is deathâ (Romans 6:23a).
Sin
Sin leads to a place of brokenness. We see this all around us and in our own lives as well.
When we realize LIFE is not working, we begin to look for a way out. We tend to go in many directions trying different things to figure it out on our own.
Brokenness leads to a place of realizing a need for something greater.
The Bible says:
âThey exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served something created instead of the Creatorâ (Romans 1:25).
âThere is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to deathâ (Proverbs 14:12).
2nd Circle: Brokenness
At this point we need a remedy â some good news.
Because of His love, God did not leave us in our brokenness. Jesus, God in human flesh, came to us and lived perfectly according to Godâs Design.
Jesus came to rescue us â to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He took our sin and shame to the cross, paying the penalty of our sin by His death. Jesus was then raised from the dead â to provide the only way for us to be rescued and restored to a relationship with God.
The Bible says:
âFor God loved the world in this way; He gave His One and Only Sonâ (John 3:16a).
âHe erased the certificate of debt ... and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the crossâ (Colossians 2:14).
âChrist died for our sins according to the Scriptures ... He was buried [and] raised on the third day according to the Scripturesâ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
3rd Circle: Gospel
Simply hearing this Good News is not enough.
We must admit our sinful brokenness and stop trusting in ourselves. We donât have the power to escape this brokenness on our own. We need to be rescued.
We must ask God to forgive us â turning from sin to trust only in Jesus. This is what it means to repent and believe.
Believing, we receive new life through Jesus and God turns our lives in a new direction.
The Bible says:
âRepent and believe in the good newsâ (Mark 1:15b).
âFor you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is Godâs gift â not from works, so that no one can boastâ (Ephesians 2:8-9).
âIf you confess with your mouth, âJesus is Lord,â and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be savedâ (Romans 10:9).
Repent & Believe
At this point, we need a remedy â some good news.
Because of His love, God did not leave us in our brokenness. Jesus, God in human flesh, came to us and lived perfectly according to Godâs Design.
Jesus came to rescue us â to do for us what we could not do for ourselves. He took our sin and shame to the cross, paying the penalty of our sin by His death. Jesus was then raised from the dead â to provide the only way for us to be rescued and restored to a relationship with God.
The Bible says:
âFor God loved the world in this way; He gave His One and Only Sonâ (John 3:16a).
âHe erased the certificate of debt ... and has taken it out of the way by nailing it to the crossâ (Colossians 2:14).
âChrist died for our sins according to the Scriptures ... He was buried [and] raised on the third day according to the Scripturesâ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
Next Steps!
