Get Back to the Basics

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES Eternal Realities

Get Back to the Basics By Rick Warren — Mar 25, 2015 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16 KJV) God doesn’t want you to doubt your salvation. He doesn’t want you to worry about it. He doesn’t want you to fear being without it. He doesn’t want you to wonder whether you’ll be in Heaven with him. God wants you to settle the issue. To do that, you’ve got to get back to the basics. All great coaches focused on the basics. They never assumed anyone knew the basics. John Wooden always started training camp by teaching his players the correct way to put on their socks! Vince Lombardi started his training camps by famously telling his players, “This is a football.” The basics matter. If we were going to get back to the basics about Jesus, we’d go back to John 3:16: “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (KJV). You could summarize the entire Bible in that one verse. It’s the Good News in a verse. In fact, the very structure of the verse points to the Gospel. The verse is 25 words long. The middle word, the 13th word, is the word “Son.” That’s Jesus. The first 12 words are all about God — ”God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten.” The last 12 words are all about you and me — “That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” That is a picture of the Gospel. The Bible says that God’s on one side, mankind is on the other, and Jesus Christ came to Earth to bring them together. He’s the bridge over troubled waters. He’s the mediator between God and man. Jesus came to bring God and us together. That’s the basics of the Gospel. That’s the most important message in the history of the world. God sent his Son to Earth to bridge the gap between you and him. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over Whether you are a follower of Jesus or not, what times are you most likely to doubt God’s power to save you? Why is the Gospel such good news? Which do you think most people find it tougher to do: to admit that they can’t save themselves, to recognize God’s perfection, or to acknowledge that Jesus is the bridge between God and people? Our Gift: Eternal Realities Complete Audio Series Are heaven and hell real places and what are they like? How can you be absolutely certain you’ll spend eternity in heaven?  To answer these questions and more, Pastor Rick put together an audio series called, Eternal Realities: Heaven and Hell. LEARN MORE Complete Audio Series (Purchase) Includes all complete sermons from the Rick Warren Eternal Realities teaching series. LEARN MORE Series Summary Message 1: The Reality of Hell Message 2: The Reality of Heaven Message 3: How To Be Certain You're Going To Heaven PLAY TODAY'S BROADCAST

Pastor Rick Warren

Enjoy today's Devotional? Listen instantly to the full radio message at Daily Hope Radio. Did someone forward this devotional to you? Subscribe to Pastor Rick Warren's Daily Devotional. This devotional is based on the current Daily Hope radio series at rickwarren.org. Rick Warren has helped people live with hope and on purpose for more than 40 years. He’s the founding pastor of Saddleback Church in Southern California and author of several books, including "The Purpose Driven Church" and "The Purpose Driven Life," read by more than 100 million people in 137 languages. He created the PEACE Plan (plant churches of reconciliation, equip servant leaders, assist the poor, care for the sick, educate the next generation), which is used by churches in 196 countries. His radio teaching and daily devotional, Daily Hope, is offered across America. This devotional © 2015 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission. You can unsubscribe at any time by changing your e-mail preferences. Update your preferences  |  Unsubscribe