THE SCRIPTURE

THE TRINITY

GOD THE FATHER

God as Father is the Giver and Sustainer of life, the seen and unseen.  He is all loving, all just, all wise and all powerful.  He is the true God and the one who judges righteously and tests the heart and mind.  God is Father in truth to those who become children of God through faith in Jesus Christ; however, He is fatherly toward all men.

GOD THE SON

God as Son is the perfect representation of the Father in human form.  He is fully human and fully divine.  He is equal with God the Father but humbled himself by taking on the form of a servant and became obedient to a death on a cross.  He knew that only through the shedding of His blood, as the sinless Lamb of God, could our forgiveness be secured and our shattered relationship to our Creator be restored.  He arose on the third day following His death, as He declared, and now lives and reigns with His Father in glory awaiting His final triumphant return.  He lives in all believers as the living, ever present Lord.

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT

God as the Holy spirit convicts the world of sin and unrighteousness, works in the life of each believer to produce Godly character qualities and demonstrates Himself in the life of the church through special abilities given to each believer to carry out the work of the church.  He is Comforter, Teacher, Wisdom and Counselor.

HUMANITY

We believe that mankind was created in the image of God to share in a unique relationship with Him but became alienated in that relationship through sinful disobedience. As a result, humanity has fallen from its original state and is incapable of regaining a right relationship with God through our own effort alone. 

SALVATION

Salvation is the gift of God for all humanity and is offered freely to all who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior.  It was obtained by the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross.  He shed His own blood for our sin that we might be rightly related to God.

GRACE

Grace is the unmerited favor of God.  It shows us His goodness.  All who have accepted Christ and are set apart will never fall from grace but will endure to the end.  True believers may sin and grieve the Holy spirit, but they will be kept by the power of God in a relationship with Him.

SIN

Sin is any action that is contrary to God’s holy perfection.  Sin separates us from a relationship with God, and is deserving of judgment and punishment.  When one becomes a believer, he is free from sin’s penalty of death but not from sin’s temptation.  A battle rages within the believer between the carnal and spiritual natures.  Sinning grieves the Holy Spirit, brings shame on the cause of Christ and hinders a believer’s relationship with God and others, causing the believer to endure the consequences of his sin.

CHURCH

The church is a community of believers brought together by the Spirit of God to carry out the Great Commandment by practicing the Great Commission and observing the two ordinances of the church - baptism and communion.  Each church is an autonomous body operating under the leadership of Christ as the Head of the Church.

BAPTISM

Baptism is an outward expression of an inward change that has occured in the life of the believer.  It is an identification with Christ by picturing his death, burial and resurrection.  It is the first commandment a Christian is given from the Lord Jesus.

COMMUNION

Communion is an opportunity for personal examination and reflection as we observe the “Lord’s death until He comes.”  The bread and cup are symbols of His body and blood, which were broken and spilled out for our salvation, and are taken in “remembrance” of Him.

WORSHIP

Worship could be defined as the redeemed person contemplating and praising God in his holy perfection.  It can be expressed in many different ways, and is in no way restricted to the walls of the church building.  It goes beyond simply singing songs of adoration, into our daily lives and our moment by moment attitudes and decisions. Both reverential adoration and committed service are prominent expressions of the Biblical concept of worship.

SPIRITUAL GIFTS

Spiritual gifts are abilities granted to every believer, at the point of their salvation, enabling them to fulfill a unique function within the church.  Every Christian has at least one, determined by the Holy Spirit.  We believe in the importance of helping Christians identify and develop the spiritual gifts they received at salvation, in order that they may minister in the church in ways that are both fruitful and fulfilling.  We not only believe that each church ministry should be based upon spiritual giftedness, but that it is best expressed through groups or teams of people with like hearts.  {1 Corinthians 12: 7, 11, 18}