doctrinal statement
THE SET UP-We believe God is love, (1 John 4:16-18) and is good, and just. That God is the creator and sustainer of all things. Humankind was created in the image of God, (Genesis 1:27). God gave humankind free will in order that we might know love, and live life to our fullest potential. We each have chosen to use that freedom to separate ourselves from God by believing lies and mistrusting His heart towards us, (Romans 3:23; 6:23), due in large part to God’s fallen angels who are warring for our allegiance and our minds, (Eph 6:12). Since God is love and is the source of all life, naturally separation from God means death, fear, and hate. (Roman 6:23) God revealed Himself, His will, and His holiness to the nation of Israel, using them as a light to all other people (Jeremiah 4:1-2). We believe the Bible is divinely inspired and compiled, and is the Word of God, (John 1:1). God revealed Himself through history mainly as a benevolent Father; we believe God to be Spirit, and therefore not gendered by our definitions, but that the fatherhood of God is an important part of the revelation He has given us.
THE SOLUTION-God sent His Son Jesus, (Matthew 3:16-17, 1 John 4), born of the Virgin Mary, to die, the death of our chosen separation from God, in our place. We believe His death by crucifixion mysteriously served as a sacrifice that freed us from our state of separation from God, (John 3:16), and that His life was a representation of the kind of life we can live through His Spirit, (John 14:12-17). We believe those who believe in Jesus will live eternally with Him, (Romans 6:23, 1 John 5:10-12) and that death is just a doorway into heaven for those who love God. We believe God will honor the freedom and choosing of those who will not receive the truth or His love and that they will be separated from God, (Matt 13:49-50).
THE POWER-We believe Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into heaven, (John 20, Acts 1:9-11). We believe He sent His Spirit to dwell in those that believe in Him, (John 14:15-17; John 14:26; Acts 2:38), and help them to express the power of God through unique gifts, (1 Corinthians 7:7). We believe that in Christ we have been given authority to commune with God directly as His children, (Matthew 6:9-13), to ask in Jesus name, and receive from God’s hand, (Eph 3:12) to bind demonic forces, (Matt 18:18), and loose the will of God in the world through prayer and our faith put into practice, (John 14:13). We believe we are all called to minister to one another and to fulfill the great commission to tell others the good news of Jesus Christ, (Mark 16:15). We believe that God intends His Spirit to lead us into all truth, (John 16:13), and to guide us into a correct way of living, in relation to Himself, one another, and our planet, (Romans 12:2). We believe that the foremost characteristics of one who truly follows Christ are love and humility. (Mark 12:30,31; John 13:35; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Phil 2:3-9; Col 3:13, 1 John 3)
THE PLAN-We believe Jesus is coming back again to destroy the forces of evil, (Matt 24 and 25) and gather His own unto Himself, (John 14:3l; Rev 14:7). We believe God is ultimately in control and will bring about His purposes, justice, and truth in time, (Rev 16:5-7). We believe there is nothing that happens that God does not allow, as God is omnipotent, (Gen 17:1; Ps 89; Ps 139), but that God also does not want death, suffering, and sin as God is also all loving, (2 Peter 3:9), and omniscient, and therefore aware of each and every molecule of creation, (Matt 10:30). Though we don’t understand all the reasons, (Eph 2:6,7), why God is allowing what God is allowing, we trust His heart as revealed through His word, and in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, (Luke 10:22; Luke 13:44-50; I Cor 2:9-10; I Pet 1:12-13).