Matthew 3:8 You must do the things that show that you have really changed your hearts and lives.

We are thrilled that you came today! Please feel comfortable and welcome. We have prepared a worship experience that we pray will help you. We want to serve you by helping you know the Lord and grow in your relationship with him. The Lord loves you so much! He even gave his one and only Son, Jesus Christ, just so that he can have you. Jesus Christ voluntarily died on a cross in Calvary as your representative because your sins required payment or punishment before a holy and just God. And now if you turn away from your sins and return to the Lord, you can be declared “Not guilty” by the righteous God. What a priceless blessing! Today is Change Direction Sunday! We want to look at the idea of repentance. It’s not some outdated or irrelevant concept that was good in the past, but is no longer applicable now. Neither is it just a religious idea that those who don’t want to become pastors or missionaries will not find to be of any real benefit. Instead, repentance (turning away from sin and returning to the Lord) is a most relevant idea that is applicable to every kind of person in any culture and in every generation. We need to go beyond insincere apologies, shallow sorrows, and empty promises to change. This is true to our relationship with people, but primarily and most importantly in our relationship to God. It is God we hurt and offend the most whenever we do something that is not good or right. If we really want to be forgiven of our sins, we need to really change our ways. That means to hate the things we used to love, and now to love the things we used to hate. For example, if you are a liar, you need to hate lying and to love speaking the truth if you are truly repentant. We cannot do these in our own strength. But the good news is that God works a miraculous change of mind and heart inside us, and he empowers us to make the changes that we can never do on our own. He will help you to return to him today! The Lord bless you and your family today as you open your heart to him!    Lathur Badoy