Next Steps

Ready for More?

Whether you're a long-time member or a first-time guest, we want to help you take the next step in your spiritual journey.

Do you know the good news?

God sent his son Jesus to die the death that we deserved for our rebellion against Him. He promises to redeem us and adopt us into His family if we repent of our sins and put our faith in Jesus.

What is the Gospel?

Material adapted from "What is the Gospel?" by Greg Gilbert

What do we mean when we talk about “the gospel of Jesus Christ”? The word "gospel" just means "good news," so when we talk about the gospel, we’re just telling the good news about Jesus! This good news isn’t just any good news, it demands a response.

So, what is the good news about Jesus Christ?

Since the earliest Christians announced the good news about Jesus, it has been organized around these questions:

  1. Who made us, and to whom are we accountable?
  2. What is our problem?
  3. What is God’s solution?
  4. How can I be included in his solution?

Christians through the centuries have answered those questions with truths from God’s Word.

  1. We are accountable to God.
  2. Our problem is our sin against him.
  3. God’s solution is salvation through Jesus Christ.
  4. We come to be included in that salvation by faith and repentance.

Let’s summarize the points like this: God, Mankind, Jesus Christ, and Our Response.

God

The first thing to know about the good news of Jesus is that “in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Everything starts from that point, so if you get that point wrong then everything else that follows will be wrong. Because God created everything—including us—he has the right to tell us how to live. You have to understand that in order to understand the good news about Jesus.

How would you describe God’s character? Loving and good? Compassionate and forgiving? All true. God describes himself as “merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness…forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.” Then God adds, “but who will by no means clear the guilty” (Exodus 34:6-7). That explodes about 90 percent of what people today think they know about God. This loving God does not leave the guilty unpunished. To understand just how glorious and life-giving the gospel of Jesus Christ is, we have to understand that God is also holy and righteous. He is determined never to ignore or tolerate sin. Including ours!

Mankind

When God created the first human beings—Adam and Eve, he intended for them to live under his righteous rule in perfect joy—obeying him and living in fellowship with him. When Adam disobeyed God, though, and ate the one fruit that God had told him not to eat, that fellowship with God was broken. Moreover, Adam and Eve had declared rebellion against God. They were denying his authority over their lives.

It’s not just Adam and Eve who are guilty of sin. The Bible says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God…none is righteous, no, not one” (Romans. 3:23,10). Yet, we often think of our sins as not much more than violations of some heavenly traffic law. So we wonder why God gets so upset about them. But sin is much more than that. It’s the rejection of God himself and his right to exercise authority over those to whom he gives life.

Once you understand sin in that light, you begin to understand why “the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This is the Bible’s sobering verdict: “It is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Every one of us will be held accountable to God. The Bible warns that “whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18). 

But…

Jesus Christ

The word “Christ” means “anointed one,” referring to anointing a king with oil when he is crowned. So, when we say “Jesus Christ,” we’re saying that Jesus is a King!

When Jesus began his public ministry, he told the people, “The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the good news!” Centuries before, God had promised that he would come as a great King to rescue his people from their sins. And here was Jesus saying, “The kingdom of God is here…now! I am that great King!”

Eventually Jesus’ followers realized that his mission was to bring sinful people into that kingdom. Jesus came to die in their place, to take the punishment they deserved for their rebellion against God. As Jesus died on a cross, the awful weight of all our sins fell on his shoulders. The sentence of death God had pronounced against rebellious sinners struck. And Jesus died. For you and me!

But the story doesn’t end there. Jesus the Crucified is no longer dead. The Bible tells us that he rose from the grave. He is not just King Jesus the Crucified, but King Jesus the Crucified and Resurrected! Jesus’ rising from the grave was God’s way of saying, “What Jesus claimed about who he is and what he came to do is true!”

Our Response

What does God expect us to do with the information that Jesus died in our place so we can be saved from God’s righteous wrath against our sins? He expects us to respond with repentance and faith.

To repent of our sins means to turn away from our rebellion against God. Repentance doesn’t mean we’ll bring an immediate end to our sinning. It does mean, though, that we’ll never again live at peace with our sins.

Not only that, but we also turn to God in faith. Faith is reliance. It’s a promise-founded trust in the risen Jesus to save you from your sins. “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned…he himself bore our sins in his body on the tree…the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (John 3:17, 18; 1 Peter 2:24; 3:18).

If God is ever to count us righteous, he’ll have to do it on the basis of someone else’s record, someone who’s qualified to stand in as our substitute. And that’s what happens when a person is saved by Jesus: All our sins are credited to Jesus who took the punishment for them, and the perfect righteousness of Jesus is then credited to us when we place our trust in what he has done for us! That’s what faith means—to rely on Jesus, to trust in him alone to stand in our place and win a righteous verdict from God!

Do you believe that you have rebelled against God and deserve his wrath? That Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died the death that you deserve for your sins? That he rose from the grave and lives to stand in your place as your Substitute and Savior? If that is your heartfelt conviction, you can tell him in words like these…

“Jesus, I know I can’t save myself, and I know you have promised to save those who repent and put their faith in you alone. I trust you to forgive my sins and give me eternal life. Thank you for dying in my place to make my salvation possible!”

If you’ve done that, then a whole life of getting to know Jesus lies ahead, beginning right now! There’s much more to learn from the Spirit of God who comes to live in all those who put their trust in King Jesus!

  • BAPTISM
  • MEMBERSHIP
  • SERVICE
  • COMMUNITY GROUPS
BAPTISM

Baptism

The Sign of New Life

Baptism is the sign and seal of membership in God's New Covenant. It is a powerful display of the spiritual transformation that happens in the heart of a believer when they repent of sin and place their faith in Christ. The apostle Paul described Christians as having experienced burial "by baptism into death" in order that we might be raised to "walk in newness of life" (Romans 6). If you have placed your faith in Christ and have not followed him in baptism, we would love to talk to you more about receiving this wonderful means of grace.

MEMBERSHIP

Membership

Become a Part of our Family

We take membership seriously. Our pastoral leadership makes a concerted effort to shepherd our members well, always striving to know and love them in every season of life. Membership also grants the ability to exercise voting power in our members meetings and to serve on our ministry teams. Requirements for membership in our church include a credible profession of faith in Jesus, baptism after conversion, and completion of our "Covenant Membership Process," which guides participants through learning about our church's history, doctrine, and practice. If you're interested in joining, reach out to us to find out when our next membership class begins.

SERVICE

Service

Use Your Gifts to Bless Others

If you are a member who is looking to use the gifts and talents God has given you in service of the church, we would love to hear from you! There are a variety of opportunities for ministry at Lucy Baptist Church. We would love to help you find a team that would be a good fit for your gifts and abilities and that would give you an opportunity to serve the Lord with them. Serving others will not only bless others; it will also be a blessing to you.

COMMUNITY GROUPS

Community Groups

Go Deeper with Others

Many of our members are a part of various small groups that gather for the purpose of developing community together. These groups typically meet on Sundays at various times in the afternoon or evening. Meetings typically take place in homes. Members develop their relationships in community groups by sharing meals together, praying for one another, and studying the Bible together. We also encourage the members of these groups to make efforts to fellowship together outside of the typical meeting times, such as ministering in the community, serving one another when a need arises, and planning fun outings together as a group.

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