Who'd like a free lunch?

Who said that there’s no such thing as a free lunch? I understand the concept, but I beg to differ. And if you come to our annual Community Block Party this Friday night, June 13, from 5-8, I think you’ll agree with me. We are geared up for a great evening to enjoy the company and conversation with our neighbors, while providing fun and entertainment for the whole family.

And, yes, it’s all free. The cotton candy, Sno-cones, popcorn – they’re all free. The hamburgers and hotdogs? Free. The face painting, carnival games and bounce houses? Free, free, free. Even the music of the New Jerusalem Singers? Yes! It’s free! As is the petting zoo, the cake walk and the dunk tank.

And the good news is that you’re invited to come and enjoy it all! We’ll be set up on the corner of 7^th and Sangamon in Petersburg, right in front of the First Baptist Church, just one block west of the only stoplight in town. No tickets, no admission charge, no kidding. It’s all free for you.

God has generously blessed us with the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus, and we delight in sharing His love with our community. Truly, the best things in life are free.

Of course, that free gift of eternal life did indeed come at a price. In fact, it cost Jesus his life on the cross. It’s only free to us because the price for our forgiveness from sin and our righteousness in Christ has been paid in full. As the old song goes, “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.”

That means there’s nothing you or I can do to buy our way to heaven. There’s nothing we can do to earn it, nor is there any amount of good deeds we have done or could do to deserve it. God’s standard is perfection, and none of us measures up, no matter how good we think we are. It doesn’t matter that you’re a better person than your obnoxious neighbor or lying co-worker. It doesn’t matter that you’re a good citizen, a proud veteran, a decent parent or a charitable giver. We’re not perfect.

Rather, what we really do deserve is death. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). That means that because all of us have sinned against God, we deserve to face His righteous and just wrath against sin. And no one has the charm or wit or power to escape His judgment.

But the good news is that God also loves us with an incomprehensible love. He doesn’t want any to perish, but desires that all would come to repentance. In His love God sent His Son, Jesus, into this world to live the perfect, sinless life that none of us are capable of living. And when Jesus gave His life on Calvary, it was the righteous dying for the unrighteous, the spotless Lamb of God absorbing the full and fierce force of God’s wrath against sin, so that we don’t have to. So that we, though guilty, could go free.

Why would anyone not receive the pardon offered by God’s grace in Christ Jesus? Why would anyone not acknowledge his sinfulness before a Holy God, repent and believe the good news of Jesus? Why would anyone not receive Jesus as Savior and Lord of his life, and enjoy the abundant and eternal life He alone can offer? Why would anyone not run to Jesus, unloading the guilt and shame of sin, experiencing the white-as-snow washing away of sin, and trusting in the mercy and grace and peace and love and joy and hope that’s found in a personal relationship with the King of all kings and Almighty Savior of the world?

Yes, it cost Jesus his life, but it’s a free lunch for you. Will you receive His offer of salvation?  

Come and join us Friday night for the Block Party. Who doesn’t like free?