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With
Christians of many communions, Our
Creator God intended that man have a covenant relationship with Him. We believe that because of Adam’s
sin in the Garden of Eden, mankind has broken our covenant with God. The sin nature of Adam is inherited in
his descendants and has brought death.
We are in need of redemption because mankind has sinned and comes
short of the Glory of God in Jesus Christ. Christians
share a common belief, regardless of their denomination or background, that
salvation comes through the grace of God by faith in the life, death,
burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The key element of the gospel of
salvation is the incarnation of Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary, was
tempted by Satan, healed the sick, cast out demons, and raised the
dead. Jesus ministered to all people
who were in need of a Redeemer in a hurting world, regardless of their
background, race, culture or class.
Jesus later was tried illegally for claiming to be the Son of
God. He was beaten and went through
an agonizing and torturous death by crucifixion. When Jesus said “it is finished”, He had
finished paying for the sins of the entire world in all times. After taking the Old Testament saints
triumphantly to heaven following his atoning work, Jesus rose up from the dead. Jesus was victorious over sin, death and
the grave. Forty days later he
ascended to heaven after promising to send the Holy Spirit. Jesus will return again in glory and will
reign forever. Because God truly
loves us despite our sin, God calls us to repentance, forgives us
completely when we repent, and give us grace when we accept Jesus Christ as
Lord and Savior. As
new persons in Christ, we become members of the body of Christ. We are initiated and incorporated
into the body of Christ by the sacrament of baptism signifying that we have
received the promise of the Holy Spirit who transforms us. Through the sacrament of the Lord’s
Supper, we commemorate the life and work of Christ on the cross. In fellowship with other like-minded
believers we celebrate the risen presence of Jesus Christ as we offer up
our sacrifices of praise and worship, tithes and offerings, and time and
talents. Membership at The
Holy Spirit of God is involved in our personal lives and in the church. The church is the body of believers who
have received Jesus Christ as personal Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit works through the church
by convicting unbelievers and believers of sin, comforting those in a time
of trouble, and empowering Christians to live in a closer walk with Jesus. The Holy Spirit ministers to the church
through spiritual gifts, given as the Spirit wills. The gifts of the Holy Spirit as confirmed
by the Apostle Paul include the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge,
faith, healing, working of miracles,
discerning of spirits, speaking in tongues, translation of tongues,
apostleship, pastoring, teaching,
evangelism, prophecy, hospitality/helps and administration. We
share with other Christians the belief that the Holy Scripture is our
authority as given by the early church as the inspired Word of God. The Word of God is alive and
powerful, and is God-breathed. The
Bible is comprised of sixty-six books written by dozens of authors, is
inerrant and infallible in its purpose.
The eternal message of the Bible is the demonstration of God’s love
for man throughout history. For
spiritual edification and growth, the Holy Scriptures provide an essential
light on the pathway of life and a guidebook for how to follow Christ in
this world. We look expectantly to
the second coming of Christ and to joys of heaven to follow this life. |