At SouthSide Church we join with Christians around the world in celebrating God and his amazing love. God loves us so much that he desires a vital and intimate relationship with each one of us. He longs to help us, encourage us, and give us hope when things seem bleak. In fact, God loves everyone so much that he did something absolutely incredible. God sent us his only Son, Jesus Christ.
Jesus walked this earth around 2000 years ago, sharing the good news of God's love in the land now called Israel. Thousands of people flocked to hear him speak! Jesus taught about a life of faith, forgiveness and most of all a life that reflects the incredible love of God. Jesus was (and still is) considered something of a controversial person for teaching some of these things. The authorities of the ancient Roman Empire arrested Jesus, and after a hasty trial executed him. Christians believe that three days later God made Jesus alive again, as witnessed by more than 500 reliable people in his day. Then Jesus returned to join God his Father in heaven.
As Christians we believe that Jesus' death lay at the heart of God's plan for people everywhere. Jesus paid the price eternal justice demanded as the penalty for all the unloving, uncaring, selfish and hurtful patterns of life we've all fallen into at times. And with the penalty removed, people everywhere can now enter into a wonderful dynamic relationship with God by believing in Jesus and accepting God's forgiveness. Then God can open up a whole new spiritual dimension in our lives, helping us to start loving others the way he does.
Not that anyone's perfect or anything like that! Like a baby learning to walk, this relationship with God starts with small steps. Yet as God's Spirit begins to influence our lives we can grow to be more and more like Jesus, caring for other people with genuine compassion and joy. Christians worship God in many different ways, yet all celebrate the fact that God is good, incredibly so, and that he wants only the very best for each one of us. That's why God helped people to write the Bible to show us how to live as Jesus did. Not to stop us from having fun, but to show a way of life that leads to true joy and contentment--the kind of contentment that only God can give.
To learn more about what we believe, you can check out Southside Church's complete Statement of Faith. To read about the difference Jesus has made in some very interesting people's lives you can read local life stories. To learn more about Jesus and what he taught, you can look at who is Jesus. And to learn how you too can enter into this wonderful relationship with God, you can look at knowing God.
