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Gospel
A Story of True Love
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son that
whosoever would believe in His name would not perish but
have eternal life.” John 3:16
The Bible is a love story; it is awe‐inspiring in its
scope and beauty.
scope and beauty.
In its grand sweep we see man turning his back
on God, and God - at the greatest possible cost
to Himself - seeking after and restoring man to
to Himself seeking after and restoring man to
Himself forever. This is a living story with the
action continuing right up to now. In fact, one
of the characters in this story is you!
We hope you will read on with an open heart to
learn more about this great God who is a
rewarder of those who seek Him…
“God created people to be virtuous, but they have each
turned to follow their own downward path.” Ecclesiastes 7:29
“They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they
shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not
be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
“…as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall
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your God rejoice over you.” Isaiah 62:5
2
Mankind was made for God, to enjoy Him
intimately and live with Him permanently. He
intimately and live with Him permanently. He
made man with the capacity to commune
deeply with Him. And, He made man in
physical form to take full advantage of the
glorious wonderful world God created.
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Our God of love, wisdom, and righteousness
promised to be our God, and we His people.
This was life ‐ rich and robust; it was the natural
order of creation. This is how things were
meant to be. What a Giver and Friend! We had
the amazing opportunity to live humbly under
the amazing opportunity to live humbly under
His care. What went wrong?
“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the
moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man
d h hi h h i l h i
that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care
for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the
heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You
have given him dominion over the works of your hands;
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you have put all things under his feet…” Psalm 8:3‐6
3
Man came to resent God. Man turned his back
and cut himself off from God. Man craved his
and cut himself off from God. Man craved his
own things and desired more than what God
provided and planned for him. Man valued his
own ways, believing them superior to God’s and
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that by them he could live independently of
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God. What massive self‐deception; man
exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
Man said he neither loved nor trusted God to
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do the good he wanted for himself. By choice
man ran away, growing spiritually dead and
morally bankrupt in the process. The once
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glorious creation was corrupted and broken.
“For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery,
sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander. These are
what make a man ‘unclean’.” Matthew 15:19‐20
“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” “For
the wages of sin is death…” Romans 3:23, 6:23
“For we know the whole creation groans and suffers…”
Romans 8:22
4
But God loved man so much. He wouldn’t leave
him to his own self destruction. God hated
him to his own self destruction. God hated
what sin had done to man and to the creation.
At great cost to Himself, God promised to
forgive man’s sin, retrieve him from spiritual
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infidelity, and offer a restored relationship
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marked by forgiveness and favor.
God poured out His wrath, not on man ‐ but on
His own Son, Jesus Christ, who willingly bore
our sins in His body when He was sacrificed on
the cross so that whoever believes in Him could
love and enjoy Him forever.
love and enjoy Him forever.
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with
which He loved us, even when we were dead in our sins, made
us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)
and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the
d i d ih i d d ih i i h
heavenly places in Christ Jesus, in order that in the ages to
come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” Ephesians 2:6‐7
“For Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the
unjust, to bring us to God…” 1 Peter 3:18
5
The Father reached out through His Son who
considered it His joy to suffer in our place. He
considered it His joy to suffer in our place. He
spent Himself passionately to make real this
offer of forgiveness. Everlasting peace with
God now can be ours. In this new relationship
our sin becomes Christ’s, and His righteous
i b Ch i t’ d Hi i ht
standing before God becomes ours. Neither
man’s works, rituals, good intentions, nor
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positive thinking has anything to do with it. It is
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God’s breathtakingly awesome work alone.
Wonder streams into hearts of we who grasp
the overwhelming love of God that restored us.
the overwhelming love of God that restored us.
We affirm, in no uncertain terms, the joy of
living in right relationship with Him today,
secure in the hope of abiding with Him forever.
“God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him
we might become the righteousness of God.” 2 Cor 5:21
“He who didn’t spare His own Son, but delivered Him up
for us all, how will He not then with Him freely give us
all things?” Romans 8:32
6
That is the gospel love story, but it isn’t com‐
plete until you seek His forgiveness and accept
plete until you seek His forgiveness and accept
His invitation to entrust yourself to Him. You
may think you are unforgiveable or that you
can’t change. People shouldn’t flatter them‐
selves! It is God’s to forgive and change; His
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love is greater than any wrong in us. He works
in us to live more and more joyfully for Him,
and in harmony with Him. He gives hope to
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overcome life’s trials, and He brings hope that
our lives will have great meaning as we are
transformed into instruments for good. All this
God offers freely for the asking
God offers freely for the asking.
Looking forward, you’ll not fear death when it
comes. You’ll know you will receive a new body
fit for living in a completely restored creation
fit for living in a completely restored creation,
abiding with your God in all His glory, forever.
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to those who believe in His
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name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:12‐13
7
If you aren’t sure where you stand with God, He
has the answers you seek. Talk with Him and
has the answers you seek. Talk with Him and
listen. He speaks through His Word, the Bible.
Read John’s Gospel. Ask God to show Himself
to you that you would clearly see His greatness
to you, that you would clearly see His greatness
and His lovingkindness. Ask Him to reveal your
sin that you may confess it, that He would put
in you a clean heart, and let you know that
nothing will ever separate you from His love.
We’d love to have you join us for worship. Drop
a note with any question you may have to:
gospel@fortworthpca.org
“May
May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may
know Him better, and that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He
has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in the
saints, and His incomparably great power for us who
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believe.” Ephesians 1:17‐18