"The Little Church by the Side of the Road"
JESUS - Jesus is God in the flesh, the Son of God. Jesus gave His life for the remission of our sins. He is the Son of God, Second Person in the Trinity. Through Jesus, man is made free from sin. I believe He is coming back. Jesus is the image of the invisible God, Firstborn of all creation. He is the fullness of all Deity, the Head over every power and authority.
HOLY SPIRIT - The Holy Spirit is God and works in the heart of the believer to help discern, direct, empower, comfort, and convict. The Holy Spirit moves sinners to repentance, whichleads to changes in conduct, morals, character, and life values.
BIBLE - The Bible is th Word of God. We believe the Word of God is truth. It reveals to us the nature and character of God. It is the supreme standard by which we should live and will be judged. From Genesis to Revelations, the Word of God found in the Holy Bible is truth without error.
SALVATION - Salvation is the deliverance from the power and penalty of sin. Jesus gave His life for our slavation. Grace constitutes salvation. We need salvation to restore us into the right relationship with God the Father. Every man has a right to salvation through Jesus Christ. All of mankind are important to God.
SIN - Sin is living contrary to the Will and Word of God. Sin is disobedience to God. Sin creates an obstacle to learning because of the unholy disposition to the mind and immoral behavior. "Sin gives birth to eternal death."
MAN - Man is a living being, created inthe image of God. His image consisted of rationality and holiness. He was created solely to honor and worship God. Man was created by God, for God, for good. Man is body and soul, human and divine. Man fell from his holy position through transgression (sinning).
SERVANT OF GOD - All born again and converted believers in Jesus Christ (female and male) have been given a gift which must be surrendered in service to God, for the building of the Kingdom on earth and for pointing souls towards life eternal. All believers are called to service in God's Kingdom.
SANCTIFICATION - Throught the progressive work of sanctification, we learn to be set apart for the purposes of God. Sanctification begins in regeneration. It is promoted through the study of th Word of God, faith, love, hope, prayer, self-denial, and self-examination by the power of the Holy Spirit.
REGENERATION OR THE NEW BIRTH, is a work of God’s grace, whereby believers become new creatures in Christ Jesus. It is a change of heart wrought by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin, to which the sinner responds in repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ. Repentance is a genuine turning from sin toward God. Faith is the acceptance of Jesus Christ and commitment of the entire personality to him as Lord and Savior. Justification is God’s gracious and full acquittal upon principles of His righteousness of all sinners who repent and believe in Christ. Justification brings the believer into a relationship of peace and favor with God.
THE CHURCH - A New Testament church is a local body of baptized believers who are associated by covenant in the faith and fellowship of the gospel, observing the two ordinances of Christ, committed to His teachings, exercising the gifts, rights and privileges invested in them by His Word and seeking to extend the gospel to the ends of the earth. The church is an autonomous body, operating under the lordship of Jesus Christ. Its scriptural officers are pastors and deacons. The church is the body of Christ and includes all of the redeemed regardless of age.
ORDINANCES (Baptism and the Lord’s Supper): Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in Christ, in water in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried and risen Savior, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, partaking of the bread and the cup, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming.
STEWARDSHIP/GIVING: God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians are under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, and liberally for the advancement of the Lord’s work on earth.
