What comes to mind when you read 'The Gospel'? Is it just some religious term? Is it a foundation of institution?

Quite simply, at Johnston Heights Church, the Gospel is everything. It is a message from God to his people. Good News of reconciliation, grace and forgiveness. Thats right, 'Gospel' translates to "Good News" and it is the Good News of Jesus Christ that changes everything! For God so loved the world, that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him will have eternal life!



The very nature of the Gospel is to move a person to decision; to believe or to not believe and each choice has eternal ramifications

Think about this question for a minute: If you were to die today, would you have 100% confidence that you would go to heaven? Now, that's a pretty upfront question, but it's one that each person owes it to themselves to answer honestly.

Here's another question: If you could make a list of qualifications to make it into heaven, what would be on that list?

The Gospel, the Good News is that yes we can know for certain if we will be in heaven when we die, and you can know that with 100% certainty today! Here are some simple truths from the Bible that show how this is possible

Now imagine a friend gave you a gift. They did so because they want you to enjoy whatever it is that they have given you. But then, one day they ask you to pay them for the gift they gave you...well, it wouldn't really be a gift anymore would it? In the same way, heaven is a gift from God that cannot be paid for; not with money, time or actions...it is the free gift of God to us.

If there is any comfort in this verse, it is that all is pretty encompassing! Everyone has sinned and sin causes us to fall short of God's perfect standard; this causes both eternal and spiritual death. Anything that goes against the Word and Character of God is sin.

Think of a clean, pure bottle of water. If someone were to give it to you unopened, you would likely drink it. In this analogy, that clean bottle of water represents our perfect, pure hearts. However, if someone gave you an opened bottle of water that had a bunch of dirt in it, you would easily see that it is contaminated and would not drink it - you might even be offended that it was offered to you. This is what happens to our clean hearts when sin enters our lives; no longer pure, we are contaminated and offensive to offer

Sin causes separation from God - Isaiah 59:2 says, "But your sin has separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that He will not hear..."

So just like a bottle of water that has been contaminated is unacceptable to drink, our hearts are unacceptable to God

God must punish us because He is holy and just - 2 Thessalonians 1:8 says, "He will punish those who don't know him...they will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power."

These may seem like harsh words but think about it this way: If you were to break the law today, you would have to pay the fine or worse, pay back your debt with jail time. God would not be just if he didn't punish those who broke his commandments. But don't worry..there is some Good News!

Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was sent by His Father to reconcile us to Him. He paid the price of death for us on the cross, taking our sin upon himself and washing away the contamination int he hearts of those who put their trust and faith in Him!

Imagine someone drowning in the middle of the ocean but a nearby ship throws over a life preserver. The person in the water can see the life preserver and they know that it would save them however, they need to actually put faith and action to their knowledge by reaching out and grabbing the life preserver. In the same way, God has sent us that life preserver in Jesus Christ. We put our faith in Him and receive salvation.

We believe that right now, Jesus is standing at the door of your heart, knocking, longing to come in and make you whole.

Will you let him in?

When Jesus comes into your heart, He will make you clean, give you the gift of eternal life and welcome you into the family of God!

This relationship you are about to enter into is the pinnacle of the human experience. There are no magic words to pray when accepting Jesus into your heart, it is more about becoming 'real' as you surrender your life to him. But we are here to help and if you are looking for words to pray, you could follow something like this:

• Acknowledge and recognize the sin in your life and where you have fallen short of God's perfect standard
• Thank him for sending Jesus to pay the penalty of sin in your place
• Invite him to be Lord of your life
• Ask him to cleanse you and forgive you of your sins
• Commit your life to living for him and ask him to show you what it means to be in perfect relationship with the Creator of all things
• Finish with 'In Jesus name I pray, Amen!'

If you prayed to accept Jesus as your Lord and Saviour today, we CELEBRATE with you! We are so happy and we'd love to connect with you and get you connected into community where you can grow in this new found relationship you have with Jesus!

Please fill out your information below and we will be in contact with you right away!