As you may know, Superbowl tickets can cost over $10,000. One man paid $70,000 for a Superbowl ticket. But may I offer you God’s ticket to Heaven? You don’t have to pay for it, and that’s a good thing, because you could never afford to buy it! It’s free, but only because someone has already paid the ultimate price for it.

God loves you and not only wants you to have a fulfilling life on earth, He also wants you to live with Him in Heaven forever. He’s the one who offers you a paid-in-full ticket. No one wants to go to hell where there will be no joy and no pleasures whatsoever, and God doesn’t want anyone to go there either. The Bible says in 2 Peter 3:9 that God is “not willing that any should perish”.

But there is a problem with getting that free ticket. We have all done wrong—we have all sinned, haven’t we? God’s Word says in 1 John 1:8, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves”. Sin pollutes—it makes us unclean, unfit for God’s presence in that wonderful, perfect place called Heaven. Sin penalizes—it separates us from a sinless God. Romans 6:23 says, “for the wages of sin is death”.

+ Plus, listen to Mary Mary singing “Heaven”

She is one of the most prominent American fitness and aerobics instructors. She has the #1 inspirational Fitness Video in America, “Sweating in the Spirit” followed by ”Body Gospel”. She has starred in more than 25 award winning videos including the best selling “Buns of Steel”. She was appointed to the Presidential Council on Fitness, Sports, and Nutrition under both President Bush and President Obama.

She was inducted into the Fitness Hall of Fame and was named by Essence Magazine as “one of the twenty five most inspiring women in America”. She is also in the Guinness Book of World Records for creating and leading the world’s largest line dance, with over 50,000 participants at Bishop T.D. Jakes’ Megafest conference in Atlanta, Georgia. On top of all of that, she is a wife and a mother. She is the wife of the hardest working man in radio, the “Flyjock”, Tom Joyner, and together they have raised two great sons. Her purpose and passion in life is to educate, empower, and energize women, children and families about living a healthy lifestyle.

Growing up in the church, she came to a new level in her relationship with Jesus Christ when troubles in a relationship caused her to do some soul searching. She often encourages her audiences to honor God by taking care of their bodies. She says of her work, “For the past 20 years, I have traveled to over 30 countries helping people get healthier. My greatest challenge was here – my family, my church, my community, and our country. Most people have tried everything, but there was one missing ingredient: God. While it is easy to ‘fall off the wagon’, there is no such thing as falling off the wagon with God. There’s only the chance to be caught by Him.” Her name is Donna Richardson-Joyner.

You are cordially invited to join the family of God and to enjoy all its benefits for now and eternity. R.S.V.P.

Did you know that God has already sent a special invitation to you? He doesn’t require that you dress up to approach Him or turn over a new leaf to impress Him. You can come just as you are. Yet this is the most important invitation you will ever receive.

The Lord had His invitation placed in Isaiah 55:6: “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near”. Jesus Himself invites you in Matthew 11:28, “Come unto me, ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest”.

+ Plus, listen to BeBe and CeCe Winans singing “Heaven”

He is a professional boxer and politician who has won six world titles and is the first to win the lineal championship in four different weight classes. He was named “Fighter of the Decade” for the 2000s by the Boxing Writers Association of America. He is also a three-time BWAA “Fighter of the Year”, winning the award in 2006, 2008, and 2009. Currently, he is the WBO Welterweight Champion. Aside from boxing, he has participated in acting, music recording, and politics. In May 2010, he was elected to the Philippine House of Representatives in the 15th Congress of the Philippines. Many believe that one day he will be president of the Philippines.

He says of the recent change in his life, “If I had died last year or in the last two years, I am sure I would’ve gone straight to Hell…My faith in God was there 100 percent but behind it, after prayers, I would still do evil things.” The change came about because of a dream that led him to give up gambling, alchohol and womanizing. He said, “I was in a beautiful forest when a bright light was shone upon me. A voice asked me, ‘Son why are you going away from me?’ I woke up crying. I remember I was crying in my dream and when I touched my pillow, it was wet.” After waking up, he looked through the Bible and found that God sometimes speaks to people in dreams. He said, “I told myself this dream is real and I have to change my life. The change came not just because I desired it, but because God changed me.” He goes on further to say, “Being a Christian means accepting Christ as your Savior, your God. That’s why you are called a ‘Christian.’ If you remove Christ, there’s only ‘IAN’ and that means ‘I am nothing.” His name is Manny Pacquiao (PAK-ee-ow).

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #39

Today, we will take a look at the next two essentials that we are discussing in this series and what they mean to the Christian faith.

- The verbal inspiration of the Bible
- Salvation for lost mankind is only by God’s grace through faith in our Lord Jesus Christ who died on the cross, was buried, and rose again for our sins

+ Plus, listen to Deitrick Haddon singing “Well Done” and “Sinner’s Prayer”

When Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was living, and even after he died, some people tried to discredit him by suggesting that Dr. King was not a true minister of the Gospel, and even that he did not have a genuine relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ, but that he was just a mere social worker. However, from direct quotations from his lips, it seems as though he knew the KING of kings–Jesus Christ. Dr. King said:

From his personal testimony–In 1934, when a guest minister at Ebenezer made a strong pitch for the salvation of young souls, Martin Luther King, Jr. watched his sister rise to make the first profession of faith. Impulsively, as he later confessed, “I decided that I would not let her get ahead of me, so I was the next.

“Dr. King also said: “Bound by the chains of his own sin and finiteness, man needs a Saviour (Jesus Christ). Man cannot save himself, for man is not the measure of all things and humanity is not God.”

“Only through an inner spiritual transformation do we gain the strength to fight victoriously the evils of the world in a humble and loving spirit.”

“We cannot be truly Christian people so long as we flaunt the central teachings of Jesus: brotherly love and the Golden Rule.”

“The church today is challenged to proclaim God’s Son, Jesus Christ, to be the hope of men in all of their complex personal and social problems.”

Dr. King made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. The question now, is, have you?

+ Plus, listen to Christ Tomlin and Lecrae singing “Our God”

He is an NFL football player who plays inside linebacker for the San Francisco 49ers. After a 10-year drought, he is partly responsible for helping his team reach the playoffs this season. He was selected by the San Francisco 49ers, in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Mississippi. During his senior season at Ole Miss, he was awarded the Butkus Award and the Jack Lambert Award as the nation’s top linebacker. A year later as a member of the 49ers, he led the NFL in tackles, earned First Team All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors while being named the 2007 AP NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year. He has earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro honors in all five years he has played in the NFL. He is the only player to receive the Butkus Award for best linebacker in more than one category. He is regarded by many as the best inside linebacker in professional football.

He says of his faith, “My grandmother was a big influence on my life. Through her, I learned about having a relationship with Jesus Christ. My grandmother always told us about faith and always put us in church.” When he joined the San Francisco team five seasons ago, they were a losing team. But he never doubted that’s where God wanted him to play. He recalls the prayer he prayed just before the NFL draft, he said, “Lord, you know I don’t know where I’m going to go. I’ve done everything I could possibly do to put myself in the best situation. Wherever you bless me to go, that’s where I’m going to play the best football I can possibly play. Whatever happens on this day, it’s your will.” He goes further to say, “No matter the outcome of a game, my No.1 goal is to glorify God. I always pray, Lord, I don’t know what today’s game is going to be like, but I pray that you bless me to go out here and play for you. Be a soldier for your army, go out here and lead this team the way you want me to lead it.” His name is Patrick Willis.

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #38

Today, we will take a look at the next two essentials that we are discussing in this series and what they mean to the Christian faith.

- The substitutionary death of Jesus Christ
- The physical resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

+ Plus, listen to John P. Kee and The New Life Community Choir as they sing “We Walk by Faith” and Britt Nicole singing “Walk on Water”

People said that Christopher Columbus would sail off the edge of the earth, but in 1492 he discovered America.

People laughed at the Wright brothers’ attempts to create a flying machine, but in 1903 they flew the first airplane.

Albert Einstein’s teachers failed him in school, but he went on to be the most famous scientist of the twentieth century.

Musicians and critics booed the music of Richard Wagner, but his compositions transformed the music world.

Westinghouse was called a fool for daring to stop a train with wind, but today his airbrakes are used the world over.

People called Abraham Lincoln a country bumpkin, but he went on to become one of our most respected presidents.

We smile at the crowd’s failure to appreciate something new or different. But being wrong can be a serious problem when it comes to our relationship to God. Too much is at stake.

+ Plus, listen to Casting Crowns singing “Jesus, Friend of Sinners”

John Grisham

He is a New York Times bestselling author many times over. He is also an attorney. He is best known for his popular legal thrillers such as “A Time to Kill”. He began writing in 1984, and had his first novel “A Time To Kill” published in June 1989.

As of 2008, his books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide, and he is one of only three authors to sell two million copies on a first printing. His first best seller was “The Firm”. Released in 1991, it sold more than seven million copies. The book was later adapted into a feature film. Seven of his other novels have been adapted into films as well, including: The Chamber, The Client, A Painted House, The Pelican Brief, Skipping Christmas, The Rainmaker, and The Runaway Jury. His books have been translated into 29 languages and published worldwide.

He and his wife teach Sunday School at First Baptist Church of Oxford. He says of the millions that he makes from his writing, “I used to ask God all the time, why me? I don’t know why it happened to me. God has a purpose for it. We are able to contribute an awful lot of money to his work, and maybe that’s why…Both my wife and I have middle-class backgrounds and we’ve struggled with the overnight financial rewards of being a best-selling author. We give a lot of money to churches, missions, charities.” He not only shares his wealth but he also shares his time by taking missions trips and putting his physical back to work along with his financial backing. The missions trips help him remain aware of how much he has and how little some other people have on which to survive each day.

He tells of his salvation experience, “I was eight years old. We lived in Arkansas at the time. Back then, my father often worked seven days a week. My mother had us bathed and scrubbed and in church every Sunday. She’s a devout Christian. I came under conviction when I was in the third grade, and I talked with my mother. I told her, ‘I don’t understand this, but I need to talk to you.’ We talked, and she led me to Jesus. The following Sunday I made a public confirmation of my faith. In one sense, it was not terribly eventful for an eight-year-old, but it was the most important event in my life. It did not readily change me, but it was very real nonetheless.” His name is John Grisham.