We Believe...
• The Bible is the inspired Word of God in which God gives us a record of His working throughout history, His plan for the future, and practical direction for our lives.
Matthew 4:4; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:16-21; Psalm 119:105
• Jesus is our personal Savior who died for each of us. We can experience a changed life, a new beginning, by accepting His sacrifice for our sins. Today He is still active working and ministering for us, helping us to grow closer to Him, helping us to become more like Him in our activities, actions, thoughts, and words. This is good news (the Gospel).
Isaiah 53:1-6; John 1:1-3, 14, 2:3-6, 3:16-17, 8:46, 10:10, 17-18; Matthew 1:18-19; Romans 3:21-26; Hebrews 4:14-16, 8:1-5; 1 Peter 2:21-25
• Baptism (immersion in water) represents that new beginning as it symbolically illustrates our own death, burial, and resurrection from an old way of life to a new one.
Mark 1:9-10; Romans 6:3-5
• Communion is a symbolic reminder of what Jesus did, and wants to do, for us. It’s the opportunity to remind ourselves of the seriousness of Jesus’ death in our place, as well as the hope and joy that event brought to humanity, and the importance of serving others selflessly.
John 13:4-17; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
• Jesus has promised to return and each day brings us one step closer to His coming. His coming will be a worldwide event which everyone will see, hear and know is happening.
John 14:1-3, 26; Matthew 24:30; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
• When Jesus comes again, believers will receive the gift of immortality, the gift of eternal life, from the only One who can give it—God. Until then, those who die “sleep” and wait for the coming of Jesus and their resurrection.
Psalm 115:17; Ecclesiastes 9:5-6, 10; John 5:28-29, 11:11-14; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:51-54; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17; 1 Timothy 1:17
• God has not left us alone as we wait for Jesus’ return. He is present with us through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit leads us to seek and follow God's will, helps us understand His will, comforts and encourages us, and guides His church.
John 3:3-8, 4:5-6, 14:1-3,16-18, 26, 16:7-11; Acts 1:8, 11, 2:38, 13:1-4, 9; 1 Corinthians 12:7-11, 15:10; 2 Corinthians 9:4; Ephesians 4:7-14; 1 Peter 1:2; Titus 3:5-6; Revelation 12:17, 19:10
• God has a plan and purpose for each of us. His plan is laid out in the Ten Commandments. His purpose for our lives is summarized in Jesus’ “Great Commission” to share our faith in Him. He wants us to “grow in grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
Exodus 20:2-17; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Matthew 22:36-40, 28:18-20; John 10:10; 2 Peter 3:18; Revelation 14:6-12
• God wants us to love Him supremely and trust Him completely. We do that by keeping His Law, the Ten Commandments; not in order to earn salvation but to show that we have indeed experienced salvation. This includes keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, just as Jesus did. The Sabbath is a special day God Himself set apart at Creation; a day to be spent in appreciation of what God has done, and is doing, in our lives. God wants us to treat others with respect and compassion, with fairness and equity, to treat them as we wish others would treat us.
Genesis 2:1-3; Matthew 22:36-40, 28:18-20; Mark 2:27-28; Luke 4:16; Colossians 1:15-17; Hebrews 4:1-11
• Salvation is not just about eternal life or living in heaven some day, it’s about what’s happening right now in our lives. Being a Christian affects not just our status with God but how we live our lives. It leads us to make Bible-based, principle-guided choices in what we read, see, say, think, and do.
Deuteronomy 14:3-20; Proverbs 6:6-13, 14:23, 23:29-32; Isaiah 66:15-17; Matthew 5:29-30, 24:37-44; John 17:15-16; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 3:16-17, 10:31; 2 Corinthians 3:18, 5:15; Philippians 4:8; 1 Timothy 2:9-10; James 1:27; 1 Peter 3:3-5; 1 John 2:15-17