The Heart of the Universe RELATIONSHIP The Heart of the Universe

The Heart of the Universe What relationships are important to you? People of every culture long for relationships, love, harmony God is love: a relationship of holy and harmonious love between Father, Son and Spirit The universe holds together in this love Father, Son and Holy Spirit The Heart of the Universe

Relationship Genesis 1 & 2 Because God is love, he created humans in his image in order to love them Relationship with God gave them life God honored them by being in a face-to-face relationship with them The first humans honored God, each other, themselves and the earth, living in perfect harmony They were clothed with the honor or glory of God Relationship Genesis 1 & 2

When the humans disobeyed and dishonored God, breaking relationship, harmony was lost When the relationship with God was broken, honor was also lost, and they felt shame and guilt Since then, humans keep dishonoring and breaking relationship with God and one another: sin Sin is the heart attitude that puts self first and dishonors God and others Genesis 3 Luke 15:11-16 Sin

Since humans were in a state of separation and death, they couldn’t restore their relationship with God on their own – only God could God the Son, Jesus, became human to reunite his brothers and sisters with God the Father. When he died on the cross, Jesus took on shame and guilt and honored the Father through obedience Jesus

Resurrection Jesus didn’t remain dead! The Father honored his obedience by bringing him back to life – resurrection The crown represents the honor Jesus received in the resurrection When we follow Jesus, his obedience is credited to us and our sin is forgiven. Jesus offers life, honor, and forgiveness to everyone who will follow him as Lord What questions do you have?

Jesus’ followers are a worldwide family connected to God and one another working to bring harmony to broken relationships Jesus offers two different invitations: Come and see come and follow Come

Come & See Come & Follow Join Jesus and his family in bringing harmony to a broken world John 1:12: “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God” (NIV) “Receiving” means welcoming Jesus into your life as Lord “Believing” means trusting in him deeply Become a sincere seeker: Learn to know Jesus through: Reading the Bible and praying Doing what Jesus teaches Spending time with his people

Invitations Come and See Come and Follow Jesus is making these two invitations now Are you ready to say yes to one of them or do you need some more time? Come and See Come and Follow

Prayer to Enter God's Family Now you know what God has done to make possible for you to be welcomed back into His family. He is offering you this as a gift. All you need to do is accept His gift by repentance and faith. You do this by asking Him in prayer telling Him how you have wronged Him  and your desire to follow and obey Him (Luke 15:17-24). Thank Him for sending Jesus to die in your place so that you can be forgiven.  Ask Him in faith to come into your life (Revelation 3:20) and make you a new person (John 1:12-13). God has promised that if you do this then He will live in you and welcome you back into His family.

Prayer to Enter God's Family Here is a sample prayer you can use. "Father God, I have been living my life independently of You, but I want to come home to You. Thank you for sending Jesus to die for my sins. Please come into my life and take control. Help me to obey You in all of my life and fill me with Your Holy Spirit. Thank You!” Romans 10:9-13

Welcome to the Family of God. If you have prayed this prayer or a similar one, then Welcome to the Family of God. You are now a part of a world wide family who share a common father the Lord God the creator of the universe. You are now a citizen of heaven for all eternity. Now that you are a part of the family of God you need to learn to grow as a child of God. This is the beginning of a wonderful new relationship with Christ Jesus and God's family. To strengthen this relationship you will need to do the following.

See Bible Studies for New Believers. Growing in Christ Read your Bible every day to get to know Christ better. Talk to God in prayer every day. Be guided by the Holy Spirit. Tell others about Christ. Share your new life by your love and concern for others. Find another Christian or two with whom you can pray and share regularly your success and failures. Worship and serve with other Christians in a church where Christ is preached. See Bible Studies for New Believers.