At Living Hope Church, we believe the Bible is God's truth revealed to his children. We show people how to experience the scriptures and hear God's truth as a daily habit.
The Bible is the story of God's work throughout history to be in relationship with the people he created. It started with perfect innocence and loving faithfulness in the Garden. Tragically, that was broken by the deception of the serpent. Adam and Eve decided to do things their own way. Since that time their sons and daughters have been born into a broken world with souls disconnected from the Holy Spirit of God. The results were catastrophic. People attempted to find significance, security and acceptance in everything except God.
Since that time, fear and pride, lust and anger, greed, discontent and laziness have poisoned virtually every human decision. And the result has been terror and shame, abuse and pain, poverty, disease and frustration on every side. And those are just the problems that are the direct results of our actions. And on top of that, the world itself is broken. We endure dangers that God never intended for us to experience. Plagues and floods, hurricanes and earthquakes, fires and famines happen because this world is now ruled by the evil one. And he is working to destroy God's creation and especially God's children.
But there is Good News! God did not leave us here to figure it out by ourselves. That would have been a losing battle. He sent Jesus to make a way for us to come back to our Father. Born to a virgin girl, with a soul united with God's own spirit, Jesus did five powerful things for us. And he gave us the Bible so we could know these truths:
He showed us what it looks like to live totally dependent on the Father. And his was a life overflowing with love and power.
He brought forgiveness rather than judgment. So he took our sin and its penalty on himself and died in our place.
He promises a full and meaningful life. And He rose from the grave to show that he has power to bring new life even to the most desperate situations.
He undoes the works of the devil. He will bring good news to the poor, liberty to the captives and the oppressed, gives sight to the blind, and promises that God desires to do good for his children
He meets our needs. He even told us that we could ask God for anything from bread to the presence of his Holy Spirit, and He would provide it.
In a world that is lost and wandering, Jesus is The Way. When we walk at his side, we will reach our destination. In a world with many voices of deception Jesus is The Truth. When we listen to him, our minds will sort through the confusion. In a world beaten down by corruption and disease and death, Jesus is The Life. When we let his Spirit breathe into our souls, our lives will be renewed and restored.