The Story of God

“In the beginning, God created.” God is behind everything we see and hear. He created it good and beautiful. His crowning point is mankind, which He made in the image of God. Simply, man and woman were made to be in relationship with God.

Sin came. Through the manipulation of a serpent, the first woman and man disobeyed God. Through this action, sin and its consequences came, driving a wedge between a tarnished creation and a perfect, holy God.

God made a covenant. Instead of giving up, God made a promise to Abraham and formed His own people, Israel, so that through them, He might bless all people everywhere and restore the relationship. But Israel did not live up to the covenant.

So God came. Doing the unthinkable, God became man in the form of Jesus Christ. He experienced life just like we do. He went among people preaching, healing, and teaching, showing that a new way of life could be found with God as King. Then, he died on a Cross, giving his life for the sin of mankind and showing us how to love. Three days later, he was raised from the dead, proving for all time that God is the Victor over Sin.

A community formed. Followers of Jesus began proclaiming to the world the message of this Risen Savior. All over the world people began to respond to become a follower of Jesus as part of the grand plan of God. Their commitment to God was forged in baptism and consequently, a community was built that sought to fulfill the message and mission of Jesus.

The curse still lingers. While the community following Jesus has grown, still it is imperfect. Despite the redemptive work of Jesus and His disciples, the world still feels pain, poverty, and heartache. We wait for Jesus to come back and bring a new heaven and earth.

At Southside, we are a part of this Story. We seek to be a community of Jesus, a part of God’s plan that is seeking to carry on Jesus’ mission of mercy and transformation. We join other churches in seeking to restore the world back to God, and we wait patiently as well for Jesus to come back to fully restore this world someday!

For a fuller description of these points, download the full document here.