Here’s the scoop on our name.
We believe that at the center of Christianity is the person of Jesus of Nazareth. Not only did he astound people with his teachings, but he brought life and healing to so many people during his brief ministry on earth.
Indeed, “they were astonished beyond measure, saying, ‘He has done all things well’ (Mark 7:37).
But the heart of his mission was and is to rescue and redeem people, and to bring them into his eternal family. And that meant he had to lay down his life.
As one of his close friends put it, “Christ died for our sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (The Apostle Peter, in 1 Peter 3:18).
The place where Jesus was crucified was a hill outside of called Golgotha, the place of the skull (John 19:17).
On on that hill, Jesus absorbed our evil into himself, and it was condemned in his body (Romans 8:3) so that we could experience the mercy, grace, and forgiveness of God.
On that hill, Jesus experienced a terrible death. And it’s from that hill that God extends mercy to us.
Both knowing and experiencing that mercy has forever changed our lives.
The Scripture speaks like this…
- “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3).
- “Remember, Lord, your tender mercies and your gracious love; indeed, they are eternal” (Psalm 25:6).
- “God, being rich in mercy, because of his great love with which he loved us…made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesian 2:4).
- “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end” (Lamentations 3:22).
- “…he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy….” (Titus 3:5).
- “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
From that hill where Jesus was crucified, the mercy of God flows freely to people like us.
And it changes us so that we who have experienced the mercy and compassion and kindness of God are ourselves being transformed into people who overflow with mercy and compassion and kindness.
So our name, Mercy Hill Church, not only reminds us of this amazing truth, but it keeps us on point with the message of the gospel as we drink deeply of God’s mercy that is available to everyone who believes.