Jim Hampton
Elder
I am so blessed to have forgiveness of sins and the peace that comes with knowing God through
faith in the saving work of His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that He is present with me every day
and that I can rely on Him to help me face life’s challenges.
faith in the saving work of His Son, Jesus Christ. I know that He is present with me every day
and that I can rely on Him to help me face life’s challenges.
But, I did not always have that peace and assurance….
I grew up going to church with my mother and twin sister; my dad was not a regular attender. My mother was very involved there in many womens’ groups and choir, and my sister and I were in choir from a young age. Though we attended most Sundays, I don’t recall ever hearing about the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and the relationship with God that is possible because of that. In high school, I remember having thoughts about “is God real?,” “is it even possible to know?,” “is there a heaven and hell?”
I grew up going to church with my mother and twin sister; my dad was not a regular attender. My mother was very involved there in many womens’ groups and choir, and my sister and I were in choir from a young age. Though we attended most Sundays, I don’t recall ever hearing about the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross, and the relationship with God that is possible because of that. In high school, I remember having thoughts about “is God real?,” “is it even possible to know?,” “is there a heaven and hell?”
I continued to have those thoughts as I went away to college. I tried to find a church my freshman year without much luck. In the fall of my sophomore year, some of my friends were going to join a Bible study in the dorm, and I thought I would try it, too. It was in that Bible study that I heard the truth about the Savior of the world for the first time… that He, Jesus Christ, was part of the triune God, that He came to earth and lived and suffered as a man, and that He willingly went to the cross and died to pay for my sins so that I could be justified before God the Father and have a relationship with Him. All I had to do was believe and be saved. And I did just that.
It’s not that everything was easy after that. I struggled with doubts for a while, but the longer I’ve walked with Him, the more confident I have become in His love for me and for you. His Word even tells us that He has given us the Bible so that we can know for sure that we have His salvation if we trust Him, and that we can have an abundant life because of that peace.
My wife, Linda has attended MCC since 1990 and I have attended since 2008. Between us we have four unbelievable children and a growing number of grandchildren. All of them are a fantastic blessing from God.