What We Believe
Summary
We are Christians who meet regularly as a local, New Testament church. Our primary interest is to carry out our Lord's commission in Matthew 28:19,20 to preach the Good News and to baptize and teach believers to observe all things commanded by the Lord. We firmly embrace the faith which was once delivered by the Lord and His apostles, believing that the Bible is Divinely-inspired and is worthy of being our only creed and infallible guide. We have a deep commitment to Biblical Christianity.
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We gather as an assembly in and unto the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, claiming His promise that He is in the midst (Matthew 18:20). We have no denominational affiliation and are self-supported. We do not have a visible, earthly head or central headquarters, but are solely responsible to Christ who is the risen Head of the church. We acknowledge elders in the assembly to whom God has entrusted responsibility. They teach the Bible by their lives and their words.
Worship
Broadly speaking, true worship is giving to God His due from the heart. To protect against false worship, it must be according to truth; sincerity, the stirring of emotions or what feels right is insufficient. To protect against formalism, it must be motivated by love (Matt 15:8-9). Going through the motions without engaging our minds, and without love for God, fails to meet the standard of true worship.
Worship can be expressed in many ways: an attitude of respect, a prayer that exults God, a song of praise, an act of service, an act of giving or the surrendering of our bodies. The common thread is that these are what we give to God, rather than what we ask and receive from God.
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Prayer
Prayer is not an optional activity in the life of a believer, nor is it a special skill used solely by some elite spiritual Delta Force of the assemblies. The Lord Jesus assumed the normal desire and activity of every child of God would be to speak regularly to our Father in prayer. He said, “WHEN thou prayest” (Matt 6:5), not “IF thou prayest.” Every citizen in the spiritual kingdom of heaven in Matthew has the priceless privilege of being able to enter into the presence of our heavenly Father. We do not need to stand in line, nor do we need to fear rejection, as Esther did when she went into the presence of King Ahasuerus. Our line of communication is available 24/7, and we should frequently be in contact with heaven.
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Although we should speak often throughout the day with our Father, the Lord Jesus taught that we should also have specific times for prayer. Judas knew exactly where to find the Lord Jesus because he had observed that He went to Gethsemane to pray at night. This is searching! Could somebody find you based on the regularity of your time in prayer?
Christ Died for Our Sins
These five words, “Christ died for our sins,” are the very heart – the central theme – of the gospel of God’s salvation. They present the basis from which the benefits of God’s grace flow out to all mankind. These verses from the Bible in 1 Corinthians 15:3, 4 state that “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.” These precious words recount not only the historical event of what occurred in Jerusalem almost 2,000 years ago, but they also shed light on the reason for that monumental event. Here we learn of the person, the purpose, and the product of Christ’s death.