Hi, my name is Dan Mayfield. My wife and our five children have lived in Owatonna since 1990. With Support by churches of Christ and by individual members we established this congregation the same year. I am the only Evangelist remaining of the three who began here. Only two of the original five families, ours included, remain in Owatonna. My evangelistic training includes three years of intense study at the school now called Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. I have been preaching for about 10 years.

THE LORD'S INVITATION:

If you want to become a Christian and have the assurance of eternal life, you must believe in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. And believing in this Gospel, you must repent of your sins, make the good confession that Jesus is your Lord, and then get baptized in faith as God washes your sins away. Study the Gospel Card while reflecting on the Lord's Death, Burial, and Resurrection.

THE BENEFITS OUTWEIGH THE COSTS

Life is full of decisions, and becoming a Christian is the biggest one you will ever make. It's a decision arrived at by weighing, if you will, the pros and cons or consequences of such a choice. "Will it cost me my friends and family? Can I afford the sacrifices involved? Just how much will I have to change my life? What if I choose not to?"

A theory of human behavior asserts that people think about the consequences of their conduct before acting. They think about the rewards and costs in their choices. Rick Fischer, a Ph.D. on the subject, says, "in general, people want to keep their costs low and their rewards high." Such theories are used to predict human behavior. If the theory is true, what would compel a person to choose Jesus over the world?

The benefits of walking with Christ far outweigh the costs. Jesus said the kingdom is like a "pearl of great value," worth giving everything you have to acquire it (Mt.13:46). Likewise, Paul weighed his worldly goods and accomplishments against "the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus"; he chose Christ and counted everything else as rubbish (Phil.3:8). The Lord taught on several occasions that to be worthy of Him, a disciple must give up all, "take up his cross and follow" Him. Are the costs worth the reward? They absolutely are, for nothing comes close to "the indescribable gift" (2Cor.9:15). In Christ I am made rich with eternal riches.

As we teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to others, we should tell how eternal life is a gift too great to be earned. But the choice to follow Christ can be a difficult one. A lost person must be shown why the "straight and narrow" is worth the costs. -- Dan Mayfield

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Owatonna Church of Christ

Owatonna MN 55060