About Thank God First Church

Alright partner, 

let's saddle up. Here's

the story of Salvation Cowboy style.

Dusty trails and a weary heart, that's

how Jedediah lived. He wasn't a bad

fella, not truly. Just… lost. Like a calf

separated from its mama in a dust

storm. He tried to wrangle his own

salvation, worked hard, 

gave what little

he had to the needy, even tipped his

hat to the preacher 

every Sunday. But

deep down, Jed knew somethin' was

missin'. He felt the weight of his

mistakes, like a saddle sore that just

wouldn't heal. He knew he'd done

wrong, things that

gnawed at him like

an animal eating its prey.

One day, ridin'

through the

canyon, Jed saw a

sight that stopped

him dead in his tracks. 

A calf, caught in

a thicket of thorns, 

bleatin' pitifully. It

was tangled good, 

thrashing and cuttin'

itself worse with every struggle. Jed

knew he had to help. He carefully cut

away the thorns, 

causin’ blood to drip

from his hands in the process, until

finally, the calf was free. Scared and

shaken, it ran 

straight to its mama, who

was waitin' nearby.

Watchin' that reunion, somethin'

clicked in Jed's heart. He realized he

was just like that calf, tangled in the

thorns of his own sin, unable to free

himself. All his

good deeds, his

hard work, it was

like tryin' to pull

himself out of the

mud by his own

bootstraps – just

gettin' him in

deeper. He needed help,

 just like that

calf.

He remembered the 

stories the circuit

rider told about Jesus, 

the Son of God.

How Jesus took

the punishment for

all the wrong

things folks had

done. Jesus paid

the price, took the

hurtin' so Jed

didn't have to.

Watchin' that reunion, somethin'

clicked in Jed's heart. He realized he

was just like that calf, tangled in the

thorns of his own sin, 

unable to free himself. All his

good deeds, his hard work, it was

like tryin' to pull himself out of the

mud by his own bootstraps – just

gettin' him in

deeper. He needed help,

 just like that calf.

He remembereed knelt down right there in the dust,

the sun beatin' down on him. He

confessed his sins and told God he

was sorry for the things he'd done

wrong. He asked Jesus to be his

Savior, to pull him 

out of that thicket of

sin. And somethin' changed. The

weight on his heart, 

that saddle sore of

guilt, started to meIt.

 It wasn't gone all

at once, but it was like the first rain

after a long drought – a

promise of new life. Jed rode on,

nothin' much different on the

outside, but inside, he was a

new man. He still had to work hard,

still had to face challenges, 

but now he

knew he wasn't alone. 

He had a Savior

ridin' beside him, 

a brand new start, a

clear trail ahead. He was finally free,

just like that calf, runnin' to the open

arms of love. And that, partner, is the

story of salvation.