We believe...
The Bible
The Bible is God’s word to all of us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the complete source of truth for who we are, what we believe and how we live.
God
The God of the Bible is the only true God, infinite in power, wisdom, goodness, and love. He is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. God reveals himself as the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, three equal, distinct but inseparable persons.
Jesus
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He was born to a virgin Mary by miraculous conception, lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of every person who has ever lived by dying on a cross. He rose from the dead on the third day, demonstrating his power over sin and death, and his ability to fulfill all his promises. He ascended to heaven’s glory where he intercedes on our behalf with God. Someday he will return to earth and reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is the living presence of God, active in the world to help people become aware of their sin and their need for Jesus Christ. He lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living a fruitful life, understanding of spiritual truth, guidance in doing what is right, and endows each believer with spiritual gifts according to his will. He empowers the Church to carry out Christ’s mission in the world.
Baptism
Baptism is the first step of obedience after making a commitment to Christ. It is also a sign of God’s Grace that invites us into a relationship with Him. Baptism allows a believer to communicate to the world their heart-felt commitment. Baptism doesn’t make you a Christian; only your faith in Christ does that. Baptism is like a wedding ring - it's the outward sign of the commitment you have made in your heart.
Why Immersion?
Why Immersion?
- Because Jesus was baptized that way (Matthew 3:16)
- Every baptism in the Bible was by immersion (for example: Acts 8:38-39)
- The word “baptize” means “to dip under water"
- It best symbolized a burial and resurrection (see Romans 6:1-11)
Family Dedication - If your child is too young to profess their faith in Christ on their own, you may wish to have your child dedicated in an upcoming Family Dedication
Humanity
Men and women are created by God in His image. Therefore, each person possesses great self-worth and all are loved by God. We are made to know God personally and to glorify Him in our lives. However, each of us also has an inner attitude of self-centeredness and rebellion against God's leadership in our lives, which is called sin. Sin separates us from God, others and even ourselves. No one has lived a sinless life (except Jesus), and therefore all of us need God's forgiveness and salvation through Christ.
Salvation
Salvation is a free gift offered by God to all that restores our relationship with Him. We can never earn it or achieve it by self-improvement or good works. We accept God’s gift of a new life when we turn from our self-ruled life and accept Jesus as our Savior. By faith we believe our sins are forgiven and we no longer have to give in to our sins. The new life that God gives us provides meaning and purpose and joy to our lives now and eternal life with Christ in heaven.
Marriage
Marriage was created by God in Genesis 2, between Adam and Eve, before sin entered the world. As such, God’s design for marriage is the biblical norm for marriage and was created as a covenant relationship between one man and one woman that also invites God into the relationship, so that the entire relationship is characterized by God’s agape or unconditional, sacrificial love for each other. [As opposed to the idea of contract, where each individual looks out for their own concerns first.] Because it is a covenant with God, it is designed to reflect that faithfulness continues even when someone fails to uphold their promises in the covenant, as is evident in God’s interactions with human beings. This understanding of marriage is affirmed by Jesus himself, as well as the Apostle Paul.
Yet, the Apostle Paul reveals to us an additional understanding behind God’s creation of male and female as he writes about the mutuality of submission in a marriage between one man and one woman. He calls the two becoming one flesh – as a picture of marriage – A Profound Mystery, related also to Christ and the church. Several places in Scripture depict the church as the bride of Christ, and now Paul tells us that God created marriage to foreshadow the eventual union that God desires between Christ and the people of God, the church, for eternity.
This does not mean that those who find themselves single are left out of this promise – for God designed marriage to be a symbol, to reveal something even bigger, even if every person is unable to participate in it. Jesus himself was single and fulfilled God’s purpose for his life, and the Apostle Paul believed that singleness could be a unique calling that often-enabled individuals to focus on their relationship with Christ even more than those who were married. God intended marriage to be a symbol here on earth of the eternal relationship that He is calling us all into.
God’s design for marriage, from the very beginning, was always intended to give those who put their faith in Christ a great hope and foretaste of the life to come, whether they are married or not.
Jesus: 'Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, and said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh”?' - Matthew 19:4-5 (ESV)
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. "This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church." - Ephesians 5:31-32 (NIV)
For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. "This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church." - Ephesians 5:31-32 (NIV)
Yet, the Apostle Paul reveals to us an additional understanding behind God’s creation of male and female as he writes about the mutuality of submission in a marriage between one man and one woman. He calls the two becoming one flesh – as a picture of marriage – A Profound Mystery, related also to Christ and the church. Several places in Scripture depict the church as the bride of Christ, and now Paul tells us that God created marriage to foreshadow the eventual union that God desires between Christ and the people of God, the church, for eternity.
This does not mean that those who find themselves single are left out of this promise – for God designed marriage to be a symbol, to reveal something even bigger, even if every person is unable to participate in it. Jesus himself was single and fulfilled God’s purpose for his life, and the Apostle Paul believed that singleness could be a unique calling that often-enabled individuals to focus on their relationship with Christ even more than those who were married. God intended marriage to be a symbol here on earth of the eternal relationship that He is calling us all into.
The purpose that God initiates in creation through the marriage of Adam and Eve, God completes in new creation through the marriage of Christ and the church, so that God’s instituting marriage at the beginning is a sign pointing to God’s finishing salvation at the end: ‘It is done!’ (Revelation 21:6) Marriage is a prophecy of salvation, from Adam and Eve in creation to Christ and the church in new creation.
-Darrin W. Snyder Belousek
Marriage is not a socially constructed arrangement which conforms to the wider cultural understanding of marriage, namely, a functional, utilitarian arrangement which satisfies our social and sexual needs and provides economic security. Instead, the Bible gives us not a commodified [or contractual] view of marriage, but a covenantal view of marriage designed to be a pointer to the great mystery of Christ and his church. The biblical account sets forth the design of marriage being unitive (the two becoming one flesh), procreative (be fruitful & multiply), binary (He created them male and female) and… self-giving (marriage points to the sacrifice of Christ for his church, the Bride.
-Timothy Tennent
-Darrin W. Snyder Belousek
Marriage is not a socially constructed arrangement which conforms to the wider cultural understanding of marriage, namely, a functional, utilitarian arrangement which satisfies our social and sexual needs and provides economic security. Instead, the Bible gives us not a commodified [or contractual] view of marriage, but a covenantal view of marriage designed to be a pointer to the great mystery of Christ and his church. The biblical account sets forth the design of marriage being unitive (the two becoming one flesh), procreative (be fruitful & multiply), binary (He created them male and female) and… self-giving (marriage points to the sacrifice of Christ for his church, the Bride.
-Timothy Tennent
God’s design for marriage, from the very beginning, was always intended to give those who put their faith in Christ a great hope and foretaste of the life to come, whether they are married or not.
