Statement of Faith

"The Story of Creation to New Creation"

Theology is a fancy word from two Greek words, "theos" (God) and "logos" (word).  Theology is words about God.  When we put to words what we believe about God, we discover that He has been writing a story of hope and redemption for the whole world.

We believe God has given us the Scriptures, composed of 66 books in the Old and New Testaments to be the final authority for faith and practice of the Church.  Properly understood and received by the community of faith with the aid of the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures are the Church’s true, trustworthy, and faithful guide, ‘profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness ,’ (2 Timothy 3:16), never failing or erring in their purposes, and never returning void when they are faithfully lived and proclaimed.

God has revealed Himself in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ; in the Scriptures; and in the material creation.  He is the only fitting object of our worship.  He is perfectly and infinitely loving, just and holy.

God, in the beginning, created all things very good.  He was and always will be in perfect relationship with Himself- Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.  God, in community with Himself, also created human beings to be His image bearers to serve and cultivate His very good creation.  These image bearers, human beings, were called to live in harmonious relationship with God and also in relationship with each other.

The enemy, our Adversary, tempted these first human beings.  They believed his counsel and then acted upon it.  Evil and sin entered the world through their disobedience.  Through their sin and the ongoing rebellion of all human beings we are unable to please God and are alienated from Him.  Relationship with God, each other, and creation has been broken because of this disobedience and rebellion.  Redemption is needed.

God did not abandon his creation to brokenness and corruption.  God promised to bring restoration and blessing to this broken world.  God invites human beings to be a part of that ongoing restoration and blessing as He works to redeem a people for Himself.  This work of initiating redemption through covenant, can be clearly seen with the initial and subsequent blessing of Abraham and his descendents.  God called to Himself a chosen people who would bless the rest of the world.  He rescued His people from oppression and slavery, and gave them a mission at Mt. Sinai.  They were to be God’s treasured possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy people.  They became the nation of Israel.  Their story is one of great promise, great struggle, great loss, and great hope.  Though they suffered exile when they forgot God, still God pursued His people, preserved the faithful, and promised through them the gift of a "Messiah," a savior, through whom all the nations would be blessed.

We believe that this promised Savior, Jesus Christ, was sent by God in human flesh.  All of history was building for this moment.  He was born of the Virgin Mary.  He lived a perfect, sinless life on earth.  He fully embodied the mission of God.  He came to proclaim a new arrival of the kingdom of God.  He came to preach good news to the poor, to bind up the brokenhearted and set captives free.  Through the incarnation, suffering, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, God graciously provides for redemption from sin.  The only proper response to this gift is repentance and joyous faith.  While we cannot grasp the full nature and extent of God’s grace in offering the gift of salvation, we are warned that God will not violate His image bearers freedom to reject Him, and that everlasting separation and anguish ultimately await those who turn away from God.  We therefore expectantly and hopefully proclaim the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ and call all people everywhere to repentance and faith in him.

God, in Jesus Christ, is now reconciling us to ourselves, each other, and creation.  God indwells us and equips us through His Spirit, the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit convicts, teaches, and comforts us as we live God’s mission of bringing restoration and blessing to this broken world.  The Holy Spirit affirms that all believers in Jesus Christ are children of God.  All who identify themselves with Jesus Christ are a part of the Universal Church that is kept in unity by the Holy Spirit of God.

The regular celebration of the Lord’s Supper and Baptism are vital to the life of our congregation as they remind us of our place in God’s Kingdom.  These spiritual practices ground us in Jesus Christ, and they remind us that we are a part of God’s ongoing work.  Through these celebrations we are reminded of our identity and calling to live out the way of Jesus in the giving of ourselves.

We believe Jesus will return to judge the world, bringing an end to injustice and restoring all things to Himself, so that His purposes for all creation are fulfilled.  Creation itself is groaning and longing for this day.  God will, once again, make his dwelling with human beings.  There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things will have passed away.  This is what we hope for.  This is what we give ourselves to living out now.