The Gospel in a Nutshell
By Pastor Jesus Celaya

God, vacating His throne,

Came to earth in the disguise of a stranger.

Castles and mansions He did forego

And instead was birthed in a manger.

It was said there was no room at the inn,

Yet came He to a world abounding in sin.

 

A childhood that should have brought mirth and glee

On account of a jealous despot very hastily

To Egypt He was forced to flee.

And since life will never slow nor completely stop

In His formative years he was subject to parents

And His work in a carpentry shop.

 

“This is My beloved Son” launched His call

To redeem all humanity stung by the serpent

And adversely affected by Adam’s fall.

In all gentleness, a smoking flax He would never quench

He’s surrounded by those whom society scorned and deemed a stench.

His message: Love thy neighbor and the second mile go;

By obeying, your life with blessing will surely flow.

 

False charges leveled against Him: from His mind He’s taken leave;

He is a blasphemer, and the people He does deceive.

Judas whom He loved to the end for thirty silver pieces made a deal;

With great remorse he realized how very cheaply his fate he did seal.

A crown of thorns on His majestic head was laid;

A cat o’ nine tails deep furrows on His back had made.

.

A mother close by felt as if a sword her heart did pierce;

But the silence from His Father was a pain so much more the fierce.

In the dense darkness the Suffering Servant gave up the ghost;

Even for those who drove the nails and for all the world lost.

 

For three long days His own considered a death knell they embraced with dread;

Death was swallowed up in victory when God raised Him from the dead.

Finally, it does not matter your lot in life and where you are in your sin

It is all surmised in these familiar words from John 3: 16:

 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son,

that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish,

but have everlasting life.”