GRACE and FAITH
God's Word is NECESSARY in order to understand life on Planet Earth.
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Two things… no THREE ...are true about the
NECESSITY of the Scriptures: 1) The Bible is the only book in existence which tells us exactly what humanity is to believe concerning God, and what duties God requires of humanity. 2) The Bible clearly and authoritatively contains everything we need to know about becoming a Christian, living as a Christian, and growing as a Christian. 3) Without the Bible… we couldn’t know any of these things. |
GRACE and FAITH
What we believe
APOSTLES CREED
I BELIEVE in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
What we believe
APOSTLES CREED
I BELIEVE in God, the Father Almighty,
the Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord: who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell.
The third day He arose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence he shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy catholic church; the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.
NICENE CREED
WE BELIEVE in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
WE BELIEVE in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the Virgin Mary, and was made man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come.
Amen.
WHAT IS THE GOSPEL?
The word "gospel" means "good news". And the GOOD NEWS is that God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son, so that anyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus forgives sin and gives eternal life to all who believe (trust, cling to, rely on, and follow) him!
The Bible says, "You must understand that God has not sent his Son into the world to pass sentence upon it, but to save it—through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him, but anyone who does not believe in him stands already condemned, because he will not believe in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: that light (Jesus) has entered the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, because their actions are evil. Anybody who continues to do wrong hates the light and keeps away from it, for fear their sins will be exposed. But anybody who is living by the truth will come to the light to make it plain that all they have done has been done through God."
One of Jesus' disciples (his best friend, actually) was a man named John. He was a fisherman before Jesus called him to follow him. John wrote a letter to fellow Christians and said this: ""Whoever has the Son, has Life. Whoever does not have the Son, does not have life. I have written like this to you who already believe in the name of God’s Son so that you may be quite sure that, here and now, you possess eternal life."
Jesus said, "Your sins have been forgiven." That's GOOD NEWS.
The word "gospel" means "good news". And the GOOD NEWS is that God loved the world so much that he sent his only Son, so that anyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. The GOOD NEWS is that Jesus forgives sin and gives eternal life to all who believe (trust, cling to, rely on, and follow) him!
The Bible says, "You must understand that God has not sent his Son into the world to pass sentence upon it, but to save it—through him. There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him, but anyone who does not believe in him stands already condemned, because he will not believe in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: that light (Jesus) has entered the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, because their actions are evil. Anybody who continues to do wrong hates the light and keeps away from it, for fear their sins will be exposed. But anybody who is living by the truth will come to the light to make it plain that all they have done has been done through God."
One of Jesus' disciples (his best friend, actually) was a man named John. He was a fisherman before Jesus called him to follow him. John wrote a letter to fellow Christians and said this: ""Whoever has the Son, has Life. Whoever does not have the Son, does not have life. I have written like this to you who already believe in the name of God’s Son so that you may be quite sure that, here and now, you possess eternal life."
Jesus said, "Your sins have been forgiven." That's GOOD NEWS.
EVANGELICAL CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH STATEMENT OF FAITH
Believing the Bible to be our final authority for faith and Christian living, we affirm the following:
- That the universe is the purposeful creation of a personal, loving, almighty God.
- That all human beings are made in the image of the Creator and are of infinite worth.
- That our world is under the sway of sin as a result of a historical and a personal human rebellion against God, so that suffering, death and separation from God are the experience of humankind; and that without the intervention of God's grace, this will be the eternal state of all persons.
- That Jesus Christ, the incarnate Son of God, through his virgin birth, sinless life, sacrificial death on the Cross, and glorious resurrection and ascension, graciously offers new life to all who receive him by faith.
- That the Holy Spirit, indwelling believers, gives them a desire and an ability to follow biblical standards of conduct in their personal lives and in society.
- That the Christian faith is lived in the community of the church, where worship and witness are embodied through the spiritual gifts of its members.
- That Jesus Christ will return to this world, bring an end to history as we know it, inaugurate the final judgment, and welcome believers into his eternal kingdom.