This is God’s world. He made it, he loves it, and he’s in charge of it.

But when we’re honest with ourselves, we have to admit that none of us lives as though God is in charge. Even though God is the king who loves us, we want to rule our lives and the world around us like he is no more than a background character.

This treason, or sin, is enough to ruin any chance of a relationship with God. Since God is the one who gives life, a broken relationship with God leads to death. That’s what we all deserve, and there’s nothing we can do to fix it.

Right from the beginning, God has had a plan to make us right with him again. A plan to offer us life – real, abundant, everlasting life – when we deserve death.

At the centre of that plan is Jesus – God himself stepping into our messy world as a human.

Since Jesus is the only one who never committed treason, he’s the only one who could possibly step in and take the punishment in the place of others. That’s exactly what he did, by voluntarily being executed on a wooden cross. And three days later, God raised Jesus from the dead, showing that his death counted as an acceptable payment.

Jesus is the king who was betrayed, and also the one who paid the price for that betrayal. Anyone who doesn’t accept his offer will still receive the death penalty they deserve – separation from God forever. But for those who hear the news of what Jesus has done and accept his generous offer, God has promised life. Anyone who trusts Jesus to be their king and their saviour will be raised to new life with God forever.

Real life in Jesus starts now. His Spirit lives in his people, changing them from the inside. He brings people into his family, to love and care for each other as they follow him. He sets people free from sin and guilt, so they can serve him and show the world what he is like.

Nothing about who we are as a church makes sense without Jesus. If he isn’t who he says he is, then we’re just superstitious, delusional people.

But if Jesus is who he says he is – God in the flesh; the king of the whole world; the only one who can reconnect us with our creator – then trusting him makes more sense than anything else.