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God
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. There
is one true God, but in the unity of the Godhead there
are three coequal and eternal persons comprising the
Trinity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The Bible teaches us that God is good, righteous, merciful,
just, slow to anger, rich in love, and compassionate
towards all he has made. (Matthew
28:19; Psalm
145; Isaiah
5:16; 1
Peter 2:10)
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is God’s only son and was both fully
human and fully divine, equally and at all times. He
existed before creation and through Him all things were
created. Jesus did not sin, but died for our sins so
that we might be forgiven. He was buried, rose from
the dead on the third day, and appeared to Peter and
the disciples. Jesus ascended into heaven, and He is
coming again. (John
1:1–3; Matthew
1:18–23; Luke
24:36-43; Acts
1:11; 2
Corinthians 5:21)
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity and
is a gift given to every believer of Jesus Christ. God’s
Spirit empowers every believer by distributing spiritual
gifts to use in Christian life and service in the church,
in our communities, and throughout the world. The Holy
Spirit also convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgment
and helps us live a Christian lifestyle. (Acts
1:8; 1
Peter 4:10; 1
Corinthians 12:12–14; John
16:8–11; Romans
8:9)
The Bible
The Old and New Testament Scriptures, written by men
through the leading of the Holy Spirit, are divinely
inspired and are intended for teaching, reproof, correction
and training in righteousness so that the man of God
will be prepared for every good work. (2
Timothy 3:16–17)
Humanity
We believe man was created in the image of God. Due
to Adam’s sin, humanity fell from its original
state, inherited a sinful nature and became separated
from God. Humanity is depraved and alone cannot restore
its lost condition and therefore needed to be redeemed
by Christ. (Genesis
1:26–27; Romans
3:22–23; 5:12;
Ephesians
2:1–3; 2:12)
Salvation
Salvation is by grace alone, through faith, found in
the atoning work of God by Jesus Christ through His
death, burial and resurrection. All who believe that
Jesus Christ was the son of God, believe in his teachings
and miracles, and believe in the redemptive power of
His crucifixion and physical resurrection over the grave
will be saved from their sins. Faith in the redemptive
work of Jesus Christ is the ONLY WAY to restore our
relationship with God. (Ephesians
2:8; Acts
4:12; Romans
3:21–26)
Baptism
Baptism comes after an individual has confessed Jesus
Christ as Savior and Lord. It is an outward sign of
the inward change that has already taken place. Baptism
symbolizes the burial of the old self and rebirth into
a new life in Christ Jesus—just as Jesus was buried
and rose again. We also believe Baptism is the “Line
of Accountability” in a believer’s life
in which one is willing to be accountable to the standard
of being like Christ, and letting their walk line up
with their talk. We practice baptism by immersion as
it was modeled to us in the Bible through Christ’s
baptism. (Matthew
3:13–17; Romans
6:3–9)
The Lord’s
Supper
The Lord’s Supper is the celebration of the atoning
sacrifice of Jesus’ body and blood for our salvation.
All those who believe in His atoning sacrifice are welcome
to participate after self-examination before the Lord.
We practice open communion, which means all believers
are invited to the Lord’s Table. (Matthew
26:26–30; Acts
20:7; 1
Corinthians 11:20–30)
The Church
The church exists as the Body and Bride of Christ. We
experience the church as local congregations of believers
and are called to be witnesses of Jesus Christ. Each
local church is called to gather for worship, discipleship,
fellowship, service to others, and to share the good
news of salvation to all people. (Ephesians
1:22–23; 4:11–16;
5:25–32)
Conservative in Theology yet Liberal in
Methodology! |
