VBS Celebration

July 20, 2025
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VBS CELEBRATION

7/20/25

Key Question: Who’s invited to church?   I don’t belong in church because:

  • I have sinned (a lot!)
  • I’m not sure I believe everything you believe
  • I don’t know the Bible that well
  • I’m not sure I believe in the Bible
  • I have tattoos
  • I like to drink alcohol
  • I don’t know anyone
  • I might feel like a hypocrite
  • I can’t make it every Sunday
  • (None of these disqualify you)

 Concord’s Rule for Church Attendance/Membership “No                                                                 are allowed!”   The BIG IDEA: God’s grace means that my faults are factual, but they need not be final.  John still believed even though-

  • His Rabbi was beaten, scorned and then crucified
  • His Jewish homeland was torn to shreds by Rome
  • His friends all faced martyrdom
  • He was detained and dipped in a vat of boiling oil by Emperor Domitian
  • He was forced to drink poison
  • He was imprisoned on an Alcatraz-like prison on the isle Patmos

  At the end of all of that, John was still able to write the following: “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11)   How can I receive God’s grace (John 3:16)?

  1. God Loves
  2. God Gave
  3. We Believe
  4. We Receive

  Application: If you decided to follow Jesus, will you let us know?