Welcome!

Some of you are visiting our church family today after having brought your kids to our Vacation Bible School over the past few days. And others might be visiting because you’re new to the Hoover area and are looking for a church home. Regardless, we’re so glad you’re here!

During VBS we’ve been learning about the awesome story of God as revealed in the Bible. He created an incredible world that was perfect in every way, and He put Adam and Eve—the first human beings—in the beautiful garden of Eden. “And God saw that it was good,” the Bible says several times in Genesis 1.

But things didn’t stay that way for long. God had given Adam and Eve some simple instructions with only one prohibition: “Don’t eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” But they did what we’ve all done: they wanted to be their own gods—to determine their own truth—so they ate it anyway.

And that begins the story that fills the rest of Scripture . . . God loves the people He created, but what will He do when we rebel against Him? He loves us infinitely, but He is also a perfectly holy God who can’t allow sin and rebellion in His presence.

His answer is what we studied yesterday at VBS: God Himself comes to earth to live as a human being and experience all of the temptations and struggles and trials of life on a fallen earth. And He overcame it all.

That story, of course, is the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who lived a sinless life and freely offered Himself on the cross. He took the consequences of rebellion on Himself, even though he was innocent. He died, even though He had never sinned.

He took what we deserved so that we can received what He deserved. He experienced death so that we could have life.

And He calls us to Himself to receive the free gift of salvation through Him.

Perhaps you’ve heard different things about Christianity, and maybe you’re even a little confused. But the story above is the one we’ve been telling for the last few days during VBS—and it’s the one we’ll continue telling—because it’s the essence of Christianity.

The awesome thing is—God is inviting you into His story as well. Regardless of what you’ve done and what kind of mistakes you’ve been, God wants you to be with Him.

We’re so glad you’ve come to Hoover today, and we hope God might use us to be a blessing in your life. If you have any questions or requests, please don’t hesitate to speak to one of us while you’re here.

God’s story is the greatest story ever told, and we assure you that it’s infinitely greater than any story the world has told you about yourself and your future.

And He wants all of us to be a part of His story.