GOLDTHWAITE

We hope you will come visit us in person soon, but we know you might like to know first a little bit about what we believe.

About our role... We are to live as Jesus’ presence in our world. The early Christians continually were “praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved” (Acts 2:47).

About the Bible… The Bible is a collection of books written by men, working by God’s direction, which tells us how to live and also how to conduct our lives as creations of God and members of His family. The Word of God is TRUTH for humanity. See 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119:105; John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Peter 1:20-21

About God… There is only one God. He is the Creator of all life and the supreme Ruler of the universe. He shows Himself to men as the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God loves us more than we can imagine and passionately desires a relationship with us. See Genesis 1:26-27; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:13-17; John 3:16; Romans 1:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6

About Salvation… The Bible tells us there is nothing we can do to deserve or earn our relationship with God. Instead, it rests on the love, grace and initiative of God. We come into contact with the grace of God and establish that relationship through faith in the saving work of Jesus Christ. Faith involves several specific actions.

• It involves confessing to others that Jesus is Lord and accepting as true that God raised Him from the dead.
• Faith involves the changing of the heart and life to live so that God is pleased with us and enjoys His relationship with us.
• Faith requires being immersed in water (baptism) to personally share in Christ’s saving actions so that our sins can be removed and we can come up out of the water as God’s children.
• Faith also involves living with commitment toward God and with compassion toward those around us.

These several actions do not cause our salvation to happen in and of themselves. They are simply the ways God has provided for us to receive the salvation given us in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. See Romans 5:6-8; John 3:16; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:21-26; Romans 10:9-10; Acts 2:38; Acts 3:19; Galatians 3:26-27; Acts 16:29-34; Acts 22:16; Galatians 5:6; James 2:14-16

About Jesus Christ… God came to earth in human form as Jesus Christ, Who is the one and only Son. He lived a sinless life, was crucified for the sins of us all, was buried, rose again from the dead and ascended to Heaven. He is the only One Who can restore our broken relationship with God the Father. See Colossians 1:13-23; Colossians 2:8-14; 1 Corinthians 15:3-8; Matthew 22:36-40; John 14:1-3; Hebrews 1:1-3; Acts 10:42-43; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

About the Holy Spirit… The Holy Spirit is a Helper and Guide sent to dwell inside all who have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. He is a daily Helper and Guide for everyone who has a relationship with God. He teaches, comforts and empowers us, giving each follower diverse gifts, fostering unity, interdependence, productivity, Christ-like character, and love among other members of God’s family. See Romans 5:5; John 14:16-17; John 16:7-13; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 3:16-20; Ephesians 5:18; Galatians 5:16-25; Ephesians 4:3-4; John 14:26

About Man… We are all created by God, in His spiritual likeness, to live in a relationship with Him. God also gave us free will – the ability to choose to have a relationship with Him or not. Through our sin, we break our intended relationship with God and we experience the destructive consequences of that broken relationship, spiritually and socially, in this life and beyond. See Genesis 1:27; Genesis 3:1-24; Romans 3:9-28; Romans 6:23; John 5:24; Ephesians 2:1-10; Psalm 8:3-6

About the Church… The church is God’s spiritual family and Jesus Christ is its Head. The church is not a building or one particular group of believers, but is one united spiritual body made up of all who have done what Christ wants them to do. The purpose of the church is to please God by helping its members’ faith grow stronger, by teaching what the Bible says, by spending time together, and by spreading the Good News about what God has done for humans through Jesus Christ to the entire world. See Matthew 16:15-18; John 17:20-23; John 13:34-35; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-10