THE SCRIPTURES:

The Bible from Genesis to Revelation is the inspired Word of God, written by faithful men, under the direction and anointing of the Holy Spirit and is wholly true, pure and consistent within itself.

Psalm 119:160; The entirety of Your word is truth.

Proverbs 30:5; Every word of God is pure.

2nd Timothy 3:16; All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.

2nd Peter 1:20; No prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation.

GOD:

There is one God who manifests Himself in three persons without division of nature, essence, or being; God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit. He is infinite, perfect, eternal and living. God is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent and complete within Himself. He defines Himself by Himself. Love is His highest attribute and motivation.

Romans 1:20; His invisible attributes are clearly seen...even His eternal power and Godhead.

1st John 4:8; God is love. 1st John 4:7; Love is of God.

GOD THE FATHER:

As a Father, God governs all of creation through His irrefutable authority and divine power. Because He is a Father, His goal is to establish an eternal family of His children who are born again through the redemptive power of Jesus Christ and His shed blood. As a Father, He loves, He cares, He provides, He instructs and He disciplines.

Matthew 6:9-10; Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come.

Your will be done

1st Peter 5:6; Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you

in due time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.

Hebrews 12:6; For whom the Lord loves He chastens.

GOD THE SON:

Jesus is the Messiah and God in the flesh, Who dwelt among us. He is both Son of God and Son of Man. He was begotten by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary and He is the ONLY sufficient mediator between God and man. There is salvation in no other. He is described as the WORD, meaning that He is the embodiment of the entire Scripture. Christ's bodily resurrection from the dead and appearance to many is the proof of His victory over hell, death and the grave. He ascended in the presence of many witnesses and now sits at the right hand of the Father ruling and reigning in all authority. He is coming again and He will be THE judge at the end of the age.

Colossians 1:16-17; All things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.

John 5:22-23; Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,

that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father.

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT:

The Holy Spirit is God. He is the Gift from Christ. He dictated the Scriptures to faithful men who were the writers of the Bible. He illuminates and quickens God's Word. He comforts, teaches, guides and empowers the believer. His presence is known by the fruit of the Spirit manifested in the believer.

Galatians 5:22-23; The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT:

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and His nine Supernatural Gifts are normative for the believer in the Church today. The Holy Spirit does not compartmentalize Himself or deny any part of who He is or what He does in any season or time.

Acts 10:44 & 46; the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word...They heard them

speak with tongues and magnify God.

1st Corinthians 12:7-10; The manifestation of the Spirit is; 1.) The word of wisdom

2.) The word of knowledge 3.) Faith 4.) Gifts of healing 5.) The working of miracles

6.) Prophecy 7.) Discerning of spirits 8.) Different kinds of tongues 9.) Interpretation of tongues.

MAN:

Man is created in the image of God. In the creation man was perfect, but fell to the temptation of Satan and went from immortal to mortal, now having to taste death. It is this sin that all of us inherits when we appear on this planet and this sin creates our separation from God. The very nature of man without Christ is wicked.

Jeremiah 17:9; The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked.

Romans 3:10; There is none righteous, no, not one.

Romans 3:23; For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.

SIN:

Sin is anything that falls short of the glory of God. Sin is the mindset or act that violates God's law. It is iniquity, wickedness and an offense to God.

1st John 5:17; All wrongdoing is sin.

1st John 3:4; Sin is lawlessness.

Romans 14:23; Everything that does not come from faith is sin.

James 4:17; Anyone who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

Romans 6:23; For the wages of sin is death.

SALVATION:

Salvation is the free gift of God. It is by the grace of God, through faith in Christ, that restores us to the Father and takes away our sin. There is no other way to salvation except through Christ. By the preaching of the Gospel, salvation is offered to mankind. It demands a response and repentance. The proof of salvation is submission to Christ and following hard after Him. Salvation means that we are free of the final judgment that leads to damnation with its attendant "fire and brimstone."

Ephesians 2:8; For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves;

it is the gift of God.

Acts 4:12; Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.

THE CHURCH: "Ekklesia"

The "called out ones" who have Christ as their Savior and Lord. The church is also called the "Body of Christ," the "Bride of Christ" and the "Saints." Furthermore the church is referred to as a "family," "army," and "temple." The church is governed by its "Head" who is Jesus Christ. He has provided elders to rule in love, to disciple and to pastor. The Elders are gift men: Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, Teacher. Their oversight (to bishop) is clearly defined by the Scriptures, which govern them.

Matthew 16:18; (Jesus speaking) "I will build My church."

Ephesians 4:11-12; He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists,

and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ.

COVENANT LIFE:

Our Father is a covenantal God. His covenant with us is sealed by Christ's blood making His promises available to us. Our covenant with Him is to love and obey Him and receive and walk in His promises. Our covenant with one another is this, "to love one another." Church life is vital to the believer and involves reciprocity in receiving and giving. This include finances, resources, abilities and giftings. We recognize that the tithe is the fundamental currency of covenant life.

Hebrews 13:20-21; Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead,

that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing

in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Genesis 14:18; Then Melchizedek (a Christophany) King of Salem (Jerusalem) brought out bread and wine (the communion); He was the Priest of God Most High. And (Abraham) gave him a tithe of all.

THE BIBLICAL ORDINANCES OF THE CHURCH:

Baptism - By immersion for all believers

The Lord's Supper - Communion

Marriage - The "echad" (becoming one) of a man (husband) and a woman (wife)

Ordination - Official recognition before witnesses of the call to serve and lead

CHRIST'S RETURN:

This is also known as "the second coming." The Scriptures are clear that Christ is coming again, 1st for the Saints (rapture), then with the Saints and the armies of heaven to set up His Kingdom and His rule on earth (the millennial reign). Many Scriptures exhort us to continually look heavenward.

1st Thessalonians 4:16-17; For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,

with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds

to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.

Jude 1:14; Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of His saints.

Matthew 6:10; Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Luke 21:28; "Look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near.”

THE FINAL JUDGMENT:

At the end of the age every human will stand before Christ to be judged; the righteous for their eternal reward, the wicked for their eternal punishment.

Colossians 3:24-25; from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance;

for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he has done,

and there is no partiality.

Daniel 5:27; You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting.

COLLEGIALITY:

This is known as the fellowship of leadership. Amongst churches and church leaders we strive to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace recognizing that some peripheral doctrinal difference should not be off-putting. Some examples: differences in eschatology, work of the Holy Spirit, tribulation period, millennial reign etc.

Ephesians 4:1-6; I...beseech you to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called,

with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love,

endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit,

just as you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism;

one God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.