On Father's Day, Pastor Jonathan Fiddy talked about God as our heavenly Father, and what His nature is like. Our earthly fathers have imperfect natures, but God's nature is perfect.

We become children of God through believing that Jesus is God's Son and came to give His life for us so that we can be forgiven.

John 1v12-13 talks about Jesus, saying "Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God - children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God." We then have God as our heavenly Father, as well as our earthly fathers.

Jesus taught that there is only one way to God - He said "I am the way and the truth and the life. No-one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well" (John 14v6-7). One way we can know what God our Father is like is by looking at Jesus, because they are alike.

We can know what God our Father is like by what the Bible tells us about Him. It reveals God as the one true God, our Creator, one God in three persons. He is all-powerful - nothing is too difficult for Him; all-present - He is everywhere; and all-knowing - He understands us better than we know ourselves. He is a God of love, merciful and compassionate, but He is also holy and cannot ignore sin, and He is a God of justice who will ultimately judge people and see justice done.

We also get to know God through our own personal experience. He is real, and we see Him working things out in our own lives, changing us and bringing about His plans for us.

We have to be careful, because the Bible warns that some people will come saying that God is their Father, but what they believe about Jesus will show whether or not they really know Him. 2 John v9 says "Anyone who runs ahead and does not continue in the teaching of Christ does not have God; whoever continues in the teaching has both the Father and the Son."

We come to God the Father through Jesus the Son, and we cannot have one without the other. Together they reveal to us who God our Creator really is, and we can have relationship with our heavenly Father who created us.

The preaching can be heard on the website at http://www.emmanuelgospelministries.org">www.emmanuelgospelministries.org under Audio.

All are welcome to join us on Sundays at 10.15 am for worship and fellowship.

The next Alpha course is planned to start in September.

Anyone interested in joining this free course looking at the basics of the Christian faith, please phone 07765 235718 for more details and to register.