Loving God, loving others, and living the Gospel.
Core Values
| ¤ |
Loving the Lord my God with all of my mind, soul, body, and strength by obeying His commandments and abiding in His love.
Deuteronomy 6:4-7; 11:1; Joshua 22:5; Matthew 22:37-38; John 15:10
|
| ¤ |
Loving one another, and maintaining and pursuing the unity of the Holy Spirit with all believers in my local church and in the universal Body of Christ.
Matthew 22:39; John 13:34-35; 15:12, 17; 17:23; Romans 13:8; James 2:8; 1 Peter 1:22; 1 John 3:23; 4:7
|
| ¤ |
Living in God’s Word—hearing, reading, studying, memorizing, meditating, praying, teaching, loving, and doing it.
Psalm 119:11, 105, 130; John 8:31-32; 15:7; Romans 10:17; Colossians 3:16; 2 Timothy 2:15
|
| ¤ |
Bearing the fruit of the Holy Spirit in my life and speech.
Matthew 5:16; John 15:8; Galatians 5:22-23; Colossians 3:17
|
| ¤ |
Learning and developing my spiritual gifts in serving one another.
Romans 12:3-8; 1 Corinthians 12:4-11; Ephesians 4:11-13; 1 Peter 4:10-11
|
| ¤ |
Recognizing that God owns everything I will ever have and being a responsible manager and joyful giver of all my money and possessions for the sake of the kingdom of God.
Exodus 25:2; Malachi 3:10; Luke 14:33; 1 Corinthians 16:2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-7; Philippians 3:7-8
|
| ¤ |
Making disciples of others and incorporating them into the fellowship of the Body of Christ.
Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 5:20; 1 Peter 3:15
|
Beliefs
The Scriptures
The Bible is the inspired Word of God, without error in the original writings and the supreme and final authority of doctrine and living. The Bible is the revealed will of God and the rule of faith and conduct.
Psalm 12:6; 119:105, 160; Proverbs 30:5; John 17:17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
God
There is only one true God, and He is the creator and ruler of the universe. He is eternally existent in three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
Genesis 1:1, 26-27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; John 1:1-4; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. He is fully God and fully man. Jesus was born of a virgin and became a man (incarnation) in order to reveal God and redeem mankind. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice (atonement) for the sins of all men by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead (resurrection) and demonstrated His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven after the resurrection. One day He will return again to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Isaiah 9:6; Matthew 1:22-23; John 14:10-26; Acts 1:9-11; Romans 1:3-4; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; 1 Timothy 6:13-15; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 4:14-15
Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son as God. He is living, present, and active in the world today to make men aware of their need for salvation in Jesus Christ. He lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation and gifts the believer as He desires. He provides the Christian with power for living a holy lifestyle, understanding spiritual truth, and being a witness for Jesus Christ.
John 14:16-17; 16:7-13; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; 14:1; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 1:13; 5:1
Man
Man is the supreme object of God’s creation and is created in the spiritual image of God for eternal fellowship with God. Mankind was disobedient to God and, as a result, all mankind is born in a sinful state which separates man from God.
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6; 59:1-2; Romans 3:23
Eternity
Man is created to exist forever and will either exist eternally in union with God through forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ or separated from God by sin. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life in Heaven. To be eternally separated from God is death and Hell. Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence.
Matthew 5:8-10; 13:44-46; John 2:25; 3:16; 5:11-13; 17:3; Romans 6:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:9; 1 Peter 1:3-5; Revelation 20:15
Salvation
Salvation is a grace gift from God offered to all mankind. Man can never make up for his sin by being good enough. Trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness is the only way for man to be saved for eternity from sin’s penalty of death and separation from God. Eternal life with God begins the moment one trusts in and receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
John 14:6; Romans 5:1; 6:23; Galatians 3:26; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5
Ordinances – Baptism and Lord’s Supper
Water baptism and the Lord’s Supper are the two ordinances of the church given by Jesus, and they are a scriptural means of testimony of the church in this age. Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water after a person has trusted in Jesus Christ as their own Lord and Savior. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Jesus Christ. The Lord’s Supper is a memorial of Christ’s death, the elements being symbolic of His body and blood.
Matthew 3:16; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 22:14-20; Acts 2:41; 8:12-13; 10:47-48; 16:32-33; 18:7-8; 1 Corinthians 11:23-29
The Church
The church is the body and bride of Christ made up of all born-again persons. The church began at Pentecost, and a believer is placed into the universal church by the baptizing work of the Holy Spirit. A local congregation or church is an assembly of professed believers in Jesus Christ who are voluntarily joined together in one locality for the purposes of worship, fellowship, evangelism, discipleship, and ministry.
Matthew 16:16-18; Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:4-5; 1 Corinthians 1:2; 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11-13; 5:25-27; Colossians 3:12-17
Future Things
God, in His own time and in His own way, will bring the world to its appropriate end. Jesus Christ will return personally and visibly to the earth as He ascended. Believers in Jesus Christ are to live in expectation of the second coming of Jesus Christ. There will be the righteous judgment, and those who are in Christ will live with Him forever and those who are not in Christ will be cast into Hell.
Acts 1:11; 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; Philippians 3:20; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 3:1-3
|
