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"For God so loved the world that He gave His one and
only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save
the world through Him.” John 3:16-17
 Welcome to Atonement!
The greatest event in human history since the Creation
of it all is the Atonement. One does not have to be in this world long to
notice that along with all its magnificence and wonders, there also exist fatal
flaws. Disasters, cruelty, suffering, brokenness, loneliness, loss and death
are out there amongst the joys of life and love. At times they seem to be
overwhelming what is good. That is when the Atonement becomes important. When
the purpose of life is hidden and seems lost, when the crisis overtakes even the
desire to live, when we really wonder in our heart of hearts, what it’s all
about, the Atonement stands bold before us.
Something big, profound, powerful needs to take over.
Mankind has tried its best for thousands of years, with thousands of fixes; each
attempt also dies of the fatal flaws we carry in our genes. God teaches us that
the problem is sin, original sin and actual sin. The wrongs of our parents in
Paradise, and the wrongs of our very selves today, will always compromise and
condemn us. Something big, profound, and powerful needs to rescue us and lead
us to where we cannot go.
So God took it upon Himself to lift us out of our
sinful condition. It required the sacrifice of His own Son to erase the sin of
the world. It would require real death and real resurrection, powers indeed
well beyond mankind. Jesus, the only Son of God was the only one to fit all the
needed requirements. Being true God, He is bigger than the problem of sin.
Willing to give His holiness in exchange for our sinfulness was most profound.
Having the ultimate power of life, death and resurrection to eternal life is most
powerful indeed.
We gather here in awe of the Atonement. In receipt of
its gifts by grace and faith through the Holy Spirit in the waters of Baptism,
we worship to praise the author of life and the Atonement, and gather others who
are searching and seeking hope and help in this world to the arms of the Atoning
One, Jesus Christ.
We welcome you and invite you to join with us as we
explore the wonders of God’s grace and Love in our Atoning Savior Jesus Christ.
Your Servant in Christ,
Pastor David Haught
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