What we believe

IN ESSENTIAL BELIEFS, WE HAVE UNITY.

"There is one Body and one Spirit; there is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one God and Father of us all."
Ephesians 4:4-6

IN NON-ESSENTIAL BELIEFS, WE HAVE FREEDOM.

"Accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters. Who are you to judge someone else's servant? To his own master he stands or falls; So then each of us will give an account of himself to God. So whatever you believe about these things keep between yourself and God." - Romans 14:1,4,12,22

IN ALL OUR BELIEFS, WE SHOW LOVE.

"...If I hold in my mind not only all human knowledge but also the very secrets of God, and if I have the faith that can move mountains, but have no love, I amount to nothing at all." - 1 Corinthians 13:2

  • God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.

    References:
    Genesis 1:1,26-27, 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19;1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14

  • Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven's glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

    References:
    Matthew 1:22, 23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13

  • The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved. As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily.

    References:
    2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16-17; Acts 1:8;1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18

  • The Bible is God's Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.

    References:
    2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5

    ** Listen to one of our pastors preach on why the Bible is trustworthy and authoritative HERE. **

  • We are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the pinnacle of God's creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called "sin". This attitude separates people from God and causes many problems in life.

    References:
    Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1-2

  • Salvation is God's free gift to us but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God's offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin's penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith (what the Bible called repentance) we are saved. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.

    References:
    Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1

  • Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. If you have been genuinely saved, you cannot "lose" it. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security.

    References:
    John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10,14; 1 Peter 1:3-5

  • People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.


    John 3:16; John 14:1-7; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:17-18; Revelation 20:15; 1 Corinthians 2:7-9

  • God established marriage as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. The Bible teaches and commands that sexual practices be limited to that between a man and a woman who are married exclusively to one another.  All other sexual practices are contrary to the creational intention of a loving and gracious God.

    References:
    Genesis 2:24-25; Matthew 19:4-6,9; Exodus 20:14; Romans 1:18-32

Essentials we believe

  • We believe that our worship is rooted in our knowledge of who God is, driven by our affections, and expressed through our actions. Our worship is a lifestyle of giving praise unto the Lord through the means of singing, giving, serving, and obeying His laws.

  • The Psalms are helpful in understanding all the variations of human emotion conveyed in worship and poetry. A Psalm will speak to a sense of self and struggle, attempting to reconcile and surrender in faith (Ps 6/Ps 38/Ps 42). Other times will soar in depth and awe of God’s holiness and wonder (Ps 103/Ps 8).The ultimate aim of all worship is glorifying God and making much of His name. Songs are intentionally chosen for this purpose. New songs are introduced each month with the following questions in mind: 
(1) Is the song theologically sound?

 (2) Is the song singable?
 (3) Is the song relatable to our congregation?

    Most worship artists use the model of the Psalms as a way to express in contemporary worship all the emotions God has filled us with. What is important to remember is that worship should always flow from a seeking heart and should point to the ultimate, which is not us! Not everyone is in the same season of life or state of emotion when they come on a Sunday - songs should reflect the spectrum of our emotions and align us to God’s view, how his Son fills our deepest needs and help redirect our thoughts, minds and attitudes. David would start with himself often and land on the goodness of God in the end. Our worship sets should be viewed as a whole — not as parts.

    Every song we sing addresses God in some way. Whether it be the actual names of the Lord, including singing the name of Jesus, or how we address him directly as “You.” The songs we sing are often used as prayers to our Lord, so when we sing “Your love is fierce,” or “You are worthy of it all,” we are indeed addressing our Lord and our God.

  • The Worship Answer Book by Rick Muchow says, “There is no disputing that the Scripture speaks of loud worship: ‘Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise’ (Psalm 33:3). ‘All the Levites who were musicians… [played] cymbals, harps, and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets’ (2 Chronicles 5:12).

    A musical reference even is used to describe a loud noise in heaven: ‘And I heard a voice from heaven, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder, and the voice which I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps” (Revelation 14:2).’

    While loud is biblical and can be useful, too loud is neither. With that in mind, we are always evaluating and monitoring the decibel level of our services with a decibel meter. It’s important to understand, though, that everyone has different preferences - some will say our service is too loud while others will say it’s not loud enough.

    In both instances, accommodations are made, as sitting closer to the front and towards the middle will be louder than the sides and the corners. Ear plugs are also made available in a basket as you enter the Worship Center.

    Sound levels within the Worship Center average from 88-92 dbA during the music with some peaks up to 97 dbA for up to a few seconds, which is similar to that of a hand drill. These limits we adhere to are deemed safe within OSHA limits which specifies that noise must be less than 110 dbA for a half hour period (1910.95(b)(2)). Our time of worship through song stays within those limits and the songs are not kept at a constant volume throughout the service.

Worship Service Info