|
We believe that God created the world and everything in it, including human beings.
God created a perfect world. In the beginning, there was no sin--no hatred, no disunity, and no death. But God also allowed humans to make their own choices.
The first humans, Adam and Eve, disobeyed God, allowing sin to enter God's perfect world. From then on, every human has been born with sinful desires that lead to separation from God.
But the story doesn't end there. God loves the world and the people in it--so much, in fact, that he made a plan to take away the guilt of our sin.
God sent his son, Jesus, into the world as a human. Jesus gave his life to pay the price for sins he didn't commit. Jesus accepted the punishment for our sins so that we don't have to.
Three days after Jesus was killed, God brought Jesus to life again, defeating the power of death and evil. Jesus still lives today, eternally in heaven with God the Father. One day he will come back to earth to put an end to evil--sin, death, and pain--and renew all things. He will gather all who have believed in him from every time and place to live with him forever.
Our faith is centered in God's love for us demonstrated in Jesus Christ, his son.
When we accept Jesus' sacrifice for us and commit our lives to following him, God sees us as perfect, the way we were first created to be. We cannot manufacture such faith on our own; it is the result of God's Spirit working within us.
| 
