God and the Bible

We believe in the inspiration of the Old and New Testament Scriptures that we find in the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16). And we invite you to join us in the same, early, pure Christianity that we aspire to and which we read about in the Bible. This means building all of our practices off of biblical patterns instead of relying on man-made traditions. We believe in One God who exists as three persons – Father, Son, and Spirit (Matthew 28:19; Ephesians 4:1-6). Jesus Christ is complete in His humanity, His divinity, and His perfection. He is the Word who became flesh and dwelt among us, showing us the glory of the Father (John 1:14).

Why We Need A Savior

The Bible is clear that all who reach an accountable age have committed sin (Romans 3:23) and have therefore experienced a broken relationship with a holy God, since our sin has separated us from Him (Isaiah 59:1-2). Outside of that relationship, we are not experiencing the abundant life that God intends (John 10:10). We need a Savior.

And here is the good news which the Bible calls “Gospel.” The fullness of my broken relationship with God and the abundant life He intends for me can only be restored through Jesus, who is both our holy God and a man who experienced everything we do (Hebrews 4:15). Jesus was bodily crucified (Luke 23) and bodily resurrected (Luke 24). He did this for each of us. In His death He was the perfect sacrifice to put away our sin (Hebrews 9:26). In His resurrection, He destroyed the devil who had the power of death (Hebrews 2:14-15). And in Him we are liberated from both.

How Do I Become A Christian?

Salvation and renewed relationship with God through Jesus is only offered by grace out of God’s love (Romans 5:6-11; Ephesians 2:8-10). A person cannot be saved by his own good works, no matter how good they may be. One must recognize there is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:12), including their own.

HEAR

God’s grace must still be freely received by a believer who chooses to accept the gift on God’s terms through the gospel of Jesus Christ (Acts 20:24; 1 Peter 4:17).

BELIEVE

The hearing of the Word of God with an open heart produces a belief in Jesus as God’s Son and as the resurrected Savior of the world (Romans 10:17).

REPENT

A new commitment of repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10) is a major component of the faith as well (Acts 2:38; Acts 17:30).

CONFESS

In acceptance of God’s grace, the Biblical pattern shows that such a faith is publicly confessed (Romans 10:8-10; 1 Timothy 6:13; Matthew 16:16; John 11:27).

BE BAPTIZED

And the acceptance of the message of grace is completed in baptism into Christ for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38) and to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38-39). Baptism must be accompanied by genuine faith in the working of God (Colossians 2:12; 1 Peter 3:21), knowing that His power and not my own works are uniting me with Jesus (Titus 3:5-7; Romans 6:1-7; Galatians 3:27).

LIVE FAITHFULLY

Once I am in Christ, I am a new creature (Ephesians 4:24; 2 Corinthians 5:17) – born again by water and the Spirit (John 3:1-7) and raised with Jesus to walk in newness of life (Romans 6:1-7). Now my Christian journey has just begun. We are then called to “run with endurance the race that is set before us” (Hebrews 12:1-3), remaining faithful until the end (Revelation 2:10).

The Christian Life

Now as those united to Jesus, the Christian walk truly begins. And so we devote ourselves to:

WORSHIP

We gather every Lord’s Day (Sunday) to honor our God through songs, prayer, the reading and discussion of His Word (1 Timothy 4:13), weekly sharing of the Lord’s Communion Supper [using multiple cups] (Luke 22:17-20; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26), and the giving back of a portion of that which He has given to us (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 9:6-11). In keeping with the practices of the early church, our singing is a cappella (Ephesians 5:19-20; Colossians 3:15-17), and Christian males provide leadership for every form of worship in mixed assemblies (1 Timothy 2:8-15;  1 Corinthians 14:33-35). Our worship assemblies are one of the main ways that we encourage one another toward love and good works (Hebrews 10:23-25).

DISCIPLESHIP

Jesus says, “Follow Me” (Matthew 4:19). We are simply learning to walk in His footsteps (1 John 2:6). Observation. Imitation.

FELLOWSHIP

This is the Bible’s way of expressing our sharing in true relationship. When we are in Jesus, each of us becomes a branch that is connected to all other branches through one “vine” (John 15). We are God’s family – brothers and sisters in His household (Romans 8:12-17; Ephesians 2:19). So as a family of sinners saved by grace, we spend time with each other… especially in Bible study, eating together, serving those in need, bearing one another’s burdens, mutual moral accountability, intercessory prayer, and constant encouragement. God created us to live in relationship with one another. “A cord of 3 strands is not quickly torn apart” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).

Our Mission Jesus calls upon us not only to engage in our relationships with fellow Christians but also with all people of the world. He compares us to the world’s light and salt (Matthew 5:13-16). And He tells us to go forth into all nations (Matthew 28:18-20) with the good news of the victory He has gained over sin and death. Our service to others, our giving to those in need, our social activities, and all of our interactions, are part of this mission to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth… one soul at a time.