Welcome
Thank you for visiting the website of New Life Presbyterian Church. I hope that what you see on these electronic 
pages will challenge you to think more deeply about Jesus -- who he is, what he teaches, and the difference he makes in our lives.
On the New Life logo you will see the phrase "in him we live and move and have our being." In the 1st Century, these words were spoken in the city of Athens, a pre-eminent city of learning and knowledge that has been the inspiration of our own city. The Apostle Paul borrowed these words from the Greek poet, Epimenides (6th Century BCE), and applied them to the One who had transformed his heart and given him new life.
"In him we live and move and have our being" (Acts 17:28). The beauty of these ancient words spoken to the academy of Paul's day captures for us what it means for us to be followers of Jesus in our own day. Christ is our life. We owe all that we are and all that we have to his grace alone. Our one great desire and joy in life is to bring him honor by making his glory known throughout all creation.
If you do not worship Jesus Christ as the Lord of heaven and earth, then I urge to think about what or who you do worship – we are spiritual beings, and the inescapable reality is that we all worship something. Or, as Bob Dylan once sang,"ya gotta serve somebody." So, whom do you serve?
To be a servant of Jesus means three things:
- Forgiveness: that God has forgiven you for all of your wickedness, rebellion, and idolatry. The Apostle Paul wrote that the free gift of salvation comes to us by God's grace alone, not because of anything we have achieved or merited (forgiveness is that rare jewel that cannot be purchased at any price), otherwise we would be proud and arrogant thinking that we have done something to deserve God's mercy.
- Acceptance: that God has set you free from the bondage by which our idols have enslaved us. He breaks the shackles, many of our own making, that keep us blinded to the design of His creation and keep us in lonely isolation far from the fulfillment of being men and women created in His image for His glory. Jesus invites all who are weary of that burdensome and tearing tyranny to place ourselves into His gentle and loving yoke – it is the only place of true rest.
- Purpose: that God has made you useful in His family. Those who are forgiven in Christ are adopted into the royal family of God. The aimlessness and disconnectedness of our futile wandering and wondering has been replaced with the dignity of purpose that comes from the certainty that God loves His sons and daughters as a Shepherd tenderly watches over the flock. In Jesus there is a true hope that makes a difference in how we put our feet on the floor every morning – we know where we came from, why we are here, and where we are going.
Please email us any questions you have so we may assist you further.
Yours for New Life in Ithaca,
Steve Froehlich
pastor