I went to visit some friends of mine. They invited me to sit down, and we were talking when,
all of a sudden, I felt something near the back of my head. Unbeknown to me, my friends’ cat had
climbed up on the furniture behind me, and was curious as to who was sitting on its chair. I hadn’t
known it was the cat’s chair, but the cat viewed it that way, and let me know it was there.
It’s a little bit like that with you: whether you realise it or not, you are living in God’s world.
And God let’s you know that he is there, and invites you to respond to him. Some
of us try to block God, or pretend that he doesn’t exist; some of us try to ignore God, and pretend
that he doesn't matter; some of us recognise him, and try to live for him.
No, Christians aren’t perfect, but they live in a real world.
What do we believe?
St John’s is a Christian Church. As such, we believe in One God who has made himself known in the
persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
We believe that God has made himself known personally, through his creation, and through the pages
of Holy Scripture, the Bible, in both the Old & New Testaments.
We believe that people have offended God, sinning against him, and have come under his judgement.
We believe that, loving his creation so much, God the Son, came into the world to be a part of it
(the First Christmas). He came to live, die, and rise again (the First Easter) and ascend
back into heaven in order to restore humanity back into a right relationship with himself. Some people
have that relationship with God, and so are saved, whilst others have chosen to reject that relationship, and so
are still under God’s judgement.
We believe that God has always had a people who have belonged to him: this people is called the Church
. It goes back, before Jesus, before David, before Moses and Abraham, back to the very first people and
their descendants.
We believe that when Jesus went back to heaven, he promised to send the Holy Spirit to the Church,
to be with it, as a guarantee that he will come again to take his people to be with him forever in heaven.
We believe that Jesus will come again. His Second Coming will be in judgement. Judging all people,
those who love him will be welcomed into heaven, whilst those who reject him will be punished eternally.
Being a Christian is not about doing things, but about being something. Being a Christian is all
about God saving sinners. It is all about being friends with God, saved by God through Jesus Christ.
It is all about our relationship with Jesus.
It is impossible to have any relationship with Jesus if you don’t know him, so this is the most important
thing for you: getting to know Jesus better, and appreciating what he has done for you.
Knowing Jesus is extremely important for everyone.
But if you know him, if you really know him, you will also want to tell others about him, you will want
others to know him also. If you appreciate his amazing grace, you will know that God's love for you isn't
because of who you are, but because of who God is. Despite who I am, God loves me! And I want others to know
of that amazing love for themselves. As a Christian, I want to know Jesus, and to make him known.
John 3.16-18
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through me.”
John 14.6
