Knowing Jesus Community Heights

When Jesus was on earth his message was, “Repent, for the Kingdom of God is near.” Since he is the King, wherever he was, there was the Kingdom of God! When he said repent, he meant to completely change how you thought about yourself, your life, and your relationship with God. Repentance is a change in thinking so strong and powerful that it literally changes how you live! At Community Heights we talk a lot about loving God and loving our neighbors. That’s because Jesus said those two things are the most important things we can give our lives to. But God started it first. He first loved US!

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except by me.” He said “whoever believes in me has eternal life.” He also said, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever would believe in him would not perish, but have eternal life.”

Have you believed Jesus, and believed in Jesus? He’s the only one who can change your life and bring you into a loving relationship with the God of the universe.

Jesus said, “God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him”. He also said, “I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” There’s that word again, repentance! Repentance means a complete changing of our mind about who we are and how we relate to God.

When the Father sent the Son, the Son died on the cross, was buried, and rose again, just like the Old Testament Scripture said he would! His death, burial, and resurrection prove his love for us, and that Jesus is LORD over all the earth, and over you and me.

When we recognize our sinfulness, and God’s abundant love for us, and place our trust and belief in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, God forgives our sin, sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts, makes us new, clean, and righteous before him, and changes our lives!

We then can live a Kingdom life, with Jesus as our King, and are free to love God and love others as we pursue a life with God. It doesn’t mean that all of our problems will disappear, but that now we have God walking with us, helping us in every life circumstance.

So many people start their new relationship to God with a simple prayer. Something like this…

“God, I know I’m a sinner.

I know that I’ve messed up so many times in my life, and haven’t even met my own expectations of myself.

I recognize my sin, and ask for you to forgive me. As best I know how, I believe in Jesus as the one who died on the cross to pay for my sins.

He took my place, and I put my trust and faith in him.

I want a relationship with you God, and I’m asking for that today. Forgive my sin, come into my life, and make me new. I believe in you.”

If you believe the good news about Jesus, and are putting your trust in him, or if you have more questions and would like to talk to someone, email us and let us know! We’d love to help you connect to God!

At Community Heights we baptize people by completely immersing them under water in a small baptistry on the side of our stage in the Worship Center. It symbolizes the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.

There is a lot of deep theology that goes into baptism, but simply put, it’s an outward expression of an inward commitment. When someone gets baptized, they are expressing publicly, their inward faith and commitment to Jesus Christ.

Our practice of baptism comes straight out of the New Testament, where we see so many people getting baptized immediately following their belief in Christ.

Jesus commanded us to do this when he said, “Go into all the world and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to obey all that I’ve commanded you, and I will be with you always…”

If you have never been baptized since placing your faith in Christ, and would like to be – we’d love to baptize you at Community Heights! Our Baptism services are always inspiring and encouraging to the entire church family! Call us at 641-792-1620, or email us, and let us know!

Just like we need proper rest, nutrition, relationships, and exercise to be healthy physically, emotionally, and psychologically – we also need to practice spiritual habits to grow spiritually healthy.

Things like prayer, studying our Bible, serving others, and worshiping with other followers of Jesus are all important spiritual habits. Like eating and sleeping, they should also be regular habits.

The great thing about life in the Kingdom of God is that we don’t have to do it alone. There is a community of Jesus followers that encourage and support one another. That’s the way God designed it. There are no solo Christians.

The First Habit - Together

So the very first habit is to be sure to get together with other Christians for worship and prayer. That can happen in your home or theirs. It can happen in a small group Bible study. It can happen in a worship service at Community Heights. But it’s crucial to be with other believers in Jesus.

We would never work for a business and never show up, play on a ball team but never step on the field, or throw a party with just ourself. The first habit is worshiping, praying, and learning God’s Word with others.

The Second Habit - Alone

Do it alone. As you learn to read and study the Bible, to worship God, and to pray in a large group – take it home with you. Begin to spend a few minutes regularly reading your Bible. There are a lot of fantastic Bible reading plans on the Bible App on your phone or tablet. Here's a BIBLE READING PLAN to get you started!

Spend some time in prayer, just talking with God, reading a Bible passage out loud with Him, or singing a favorite worship song to Him. This is private worship and is just as important as that public worship with others.

The Third Habit - Serve

God has given everyone gifts and abilities that they can use to serve him and others.

Some people serve in the context of the local church, working with babies, kids, or youth, singing or playing a musical instrument, running technology, assisting with the maintenance of thefacility, greeting people, making and serving coffee, and so much more. So much is needed to provide a public place of worship for our community, and everyone is needed to pull it off.

Other people will use their gifts and abilities to serve God and others in their community, workplace, school, or neighborhood.

Jesus said, “I did not come to be served, but to serve…” We want to be like Jesus!