OUR BELIEFS
WHAT TRUTHS DO WE TEACH,
SING, EMBRACE AND LIVE?
CLICK ON EACH BELIEF TO LISTEN TO A SERMON (OR SERMON SERIES) ON THAT TOPIC.
We believe there is one God who eternally exists in three distinct persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God is holy and God is love. God is a righteous creator, a sovereign ruler and the sustainer of all things. God is before all and above all.
We believe each person is created in God's image. As image bearers, each person possesses inherent dignity and worth. The way we treat each other, the way we do our work and the way we steward our gifts are all expressions of worship.
SIN
We believe sin is our biggest problem. Sin is treasuring or trusting in anything more than Jesus. Sin is not simply wrong behavior; it is elevating anything--even a good thing--to the position and power of a god thing. At the fall, humankind's sin and rebellion broke our relationship with God, with each other, with self and with the rest of creation.
We believe Jesus is our only hope; He is the second person of the Godhead. Jesus became a baby in a miracle known as the incarnation. When He walked the earth, Jesus was fully man and fully God; He lived a sinless life--not primarily as our example, but as our substitute. Jesus lived the life we should have lived, died the death we should have died and was raised from the dead, giving us hope beyond any grave.
We believe the Gospel is our central message and our constant motivation. The Gospel is the good news that God is rescuing humankind and renewing creation in and through the person and work of Jesus Christ on our behalf. Jesus accomplished for you what you could never have accomplished for yourself. The Gospel is an invitation to believe and receive, not instruction or inspiration to achieve.
We believe salvation is found only in trusting fully and solely in Jesus. We are saved when we respond to God's grace by placing faith in the person and work of Jesus. There are three "tenses" of salvation: We have been saved from the penalty of sin, we are being saved from the power of sin, and someday we will be saved from the very presence of sin.
We believe the Holy Spirit is at work in the life of every Christian; He is the third person of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit was sent to be our helper. The Holy Spirit reveals the person and work of Jesus to our hearts, convicts us of sin, and forms us into the image of Jesus. The Holy Spirit empowers us to live on mission and the Spirit enables us to pray with words, without words and with His words.
We believe that mission is the heartbeat of God. His mission is to restore the rightful rule and reign of His kingdom on earth as it is in heaven and to form a people for his purposes. We live on mission by sharing God's priorities and perspectives, working for the good of the city and making disciples who make disciples.
We believe that the church is the people of God saved by the power of God for the purposes of God. The church gathers to rehearse the Gospel through reading Scripture, prayer, singing, the ordinances of the church (communion and water baptism), and biblical teaching. The church scatters in response to the Gospel through sharing the reason for our hope and serving those in need.
We believe that we are all in process. Our sanctification (ongoing spiritual growth) is rooted in our justification (being declared righteous by and before God because of faith in Jesus). As we behold Jesus, we become like Him--our beliefs and behavior are changed. Gospel-motivated obedience is nurtured by reliance upon the Spirit, the practice of spiritual disciplines and commitment to doing life together.
We believe that heaven is a place with no more sin, shame or sickness; God is there--He will dwell with His people. All who die in Christ are in the present presence of God. Both those who have died and those who remain await the return of Jesus and the resurrection of their physical bodies on that day. The new heavens and the new earth will be a place where everything will be the way it was meant to be...and so much more! In heaven, we will serve God perfectly, find ever increasing joy, and be healed of all wounds.