![]() When the work of His Church is completed, we look forward to the returning of the King of Kings to rule eternally as “the kingdom of the world becomes the kingdom of our Lord”, Jesus Christ. We strive to have the prayer of Jesus Christ answered through the faithful ministry of His Church, longing for God’s will to be done and His kingdom to come to earth as it is in heaven. We embrace our call to be conformed to the image of Christ through the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We labor in unity as the Body of Christ, believing that we are to continue the work that He began through His earthly ministry. We look forward to that Day when, through the faithful ministry of the Church, the message of salvation in Christ Jesus prevails throughout the world in every tribe, tongue and nation. The Church, the Body of Christ, exists to prevail against the darkness that keeps people ignorant of God’s saving grace, that keeps people living in the destruction sin brings on them and others, and that keeps people from knowing the joy of the presence of God as His beloved people reconciled through the life, death and resurrection of Christ. Like a father who runs to welcome the prodigal home, and like a mother who will not forsake her nursing child, God is faithful to love and forgive unconditionally by His grace alone, and His covenant promise to save all who believe from every family on earth is sure. Through faith in Christ, people from every tribe, tongue, and nation are now the covenant people of God. God delivered the people of Israel from slavery through a sacrificial lamb, and continues to deliver people of all nations through the sacrifice of the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. In everlasting love, God chose a covenant people to bless all families of the earth – the nation Israel. He empowers us to be a witness of Christ’s saving grace among all peoples as Lord and Savior, to purify the church and culture, to hear the voices of the needy, and to work with others to bring the Kingdom life of justice, freedom, and peace to a broken world.īecause of our sin against God, all mankind deserves condemnation, separated from Him forever, yet God acts with justice and mercy to redeem His creation by calling a new community to Himself. The Spirit binds us to God unconditionally and irrevocably. He gifts men and women to minister to one another in Christ’s Church. His sustaining life in us is symbolized through the taking of the bread of life and the cup of the New Covenant through communion. His saving work in us is symbolized in the waters of baptism. The Spirit indwells all believers, ruling over our faith and life in Christ and guiding us through inspired Scriptures and the fellowship of the Church. The Spirit justifies us by grace through faith in Christ, sets us free to live like Jesus (loving God and neighbor), and binds us together with all believers in the one Body of Christ the Church. We trust in the Holy Spirit, the giver and regenerator of life. God the Father raised Christ from the dead, breaking the power of sin, delivering us from death, defeating all enemies, and granting us new and eternal life by faith in Him. He was crucified, suffering the depths of human pain and death, giving His life as a sacrifice to atone for the sins of the world. Jesus was unjustly condemned for blasphemy and treason. He ushered in this Kingdom through the teaching of the good news of God’s grace to the humble, announcing freedom to those in spiritual darkness, modeling Kingdom life by word and deed, blessing the children, healing the sick, mending the brokenhearted, eating with outcasts, forgiving sinners, and calling all to turn from their darkness and believe in the light of God’s forgiving grace. Jesus proclaimed the loving rule of God and prayed to His Heavenly Father, “Your Kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. We trust in Jesus Christ fully human and fully God. Ignoring God's commandments, we violate the image of God in others and ourselves, accept lies as truth, exploit neighbor and nature, and bring condemnation upon ourselves and upon the world that was entrusted to our care. But we rebel against God and hide from our Creator. In sovereign love, God created the world good and creates everyone equally in His image - male and female of every race - to live as one people eternally under His authority and care. We trust in God whom Jesus called “Father”. Through the love of the Father God, His forgiving grace through our Lord Jesus Christ His Son, and our communion in the Holy Spirit, we are united by faith to the one triune God, our Holy God and Redeemer In this life and through eternity, we exist to worship God and enjoy our relationship with Him.
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