Everyone at some point in their life will likely pray to God. Almost all religions have prayer as a central part of their beliefs. However, the prayers that God delights to hear and answers affirmatively
are prayers that are grounded
in His word. Therefore, it is not enough to simply pray. We must pray according to His will with a heart that is ready to submit to His will whatever His will may be. It is essential to know what His will is so that we can unite and pray in alignment with it.
Then and only then is prayer effective.
All other prayers are at best vain and at worst detestable to God. What we believe about God is most important. This is what we believe.
We believe the Bible, containing 66 books, is the only perfect and authoritative Word of God.
We believe it is strictly forbidden to add or subtract from the message of the Bible via dreams, visions, or any other form of revelation. Any message from God will be consistent with and will not override anything in Scripture.
Anything else is from the evil one. (Rev. 22:19)
We believe there is only one God that exists in 3 distinct persons (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) and these 3 are one. (Matt. 28:19)
We believe God is most loving, compassionate, patient and merciful. He loves His creation and especially mankind, who are made in His image.
We believe God hates sin, is not tempted by sin, does not tempt others to sin and will not tolerate sin. His wrath against sin is terrible and demands exact justice and He will not let the guilty go free without full payment.
We believe Jesus is the only eternal Son of God. (Matt. 16:16)
We believe that all have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. All of us justly deserve to be punished with eternal death away from the goodness of the Lord (Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23)
We believe that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son to save us from continuing to be a slave to sin and His judgment against sin.
(Acts 4:12)
We believe we are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone and that our works contribute nothing to our salvation.
(Eph 2:8)
We believe Jesus Christ was born of the virgin Mary and is the Word of God incarnate.
(Luke 1:33-35, John 1)
We believe Jesus Christ is both God and man and that he is the only mediator between God and man.
(1 Timothy 2:5)
We believe Jesus Christ was crucified, died, and rose again on the third day.
(Romans 10:9)
We believe those who trust in Jesus will rise again on the last day when He returns.
(John 6:39)
We believe those who don't trust in Jesus will perish forever under the wrath of God and will be eternally cut off from the goodness of God.
(John 3:18)
We believe Jesus desires unity for His church. Unity in our love. Unity in the Holy Spirit. Unity in the Word of God. Unity in our core gospel beliefs. Unity in our faith. Unity in our mission. Unity in our prayers.
(John 17:10)
We believe Jesus desires diversity for His church. Diversity in personality. Diversity in culture. Diversity in language. Diversity in gifts. Diversity in ethnicity.
(1 Corinthians 12, Rev. 5:9)
We believe every believer is called to a life of perpetual repentance from sin, the pursuit of holiness and good works.
(Matt. 4:17, 1 Peter 1:16)
We believe Christ's kingdom is not of this world and that this world is destined for destruction but those who trust in Christ look forward to a new Heaven and Earth wherein dwells righteousness.
(John 18:36)
We believe every believer is called to be a witness for Christ and engage in the Great Commission given by Christ to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:19-20,Acts 1:8)
(John 18:36)
We desire to be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to help us love, worship, and obey Jesus as revealed in the Bible.
(Eph. 5:18)
We love our neighbors with a desire that they will be filled with the Holy Spirit in order to help them love, worship, and obey Jesus as revealed in the Bible.
(Matt. 22:36)
We believe we are commanded and compelled by the love of Jesus to love and pray for all people unconditionally, even those who hate and mistreat us. (Matt. 5:44)
We are commanded to persistently pray for all people so that they may be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
(1 Tim. 2:1)
We believe it is forbidden to pray for the dead and to the dead because it is appointed unto man once to die and then the judgment.(Heb. 9:27)
Current biblical/cultural issues
We are highlighting the following biblical and cultural issues, not because they are worse than all others, but because there is much disagreement and confusion regarding them. If you
should know a person, whether an unbeliever or believer, that disagrees with us in the following issues it is essential to show kindness, love and respect in our disagreement. It's better to pray
for them than argue or fight with them.
If a professing believer is living in sin and has been confronted by the church yet refuses to repent then do not associate or fellowship with such a person. Treat and pray for them as an unbeliever (1 Cor. 5, Matt. 18:15-20).
It is infinitely more important not to offend God even if it means offending the entire world. Let God be true and every man a liar. All glory, honor and obedience is due to God and God alone.
Regarding Gender: We believe God made man in His image both male and female.
We believe our biological sex is what God intends us to be and it is a sin for us to change it.
We believe that gender and sexual confusion is reprehensible to God
and is a Satanic perversion of God's creative and redemptive plan for mankind. (Gen. 1, Matt. 19:4)
Regarding Marriage/Family: We believe marriage is between one man and one woman. God's design for marriage is that they should become one flesh.
What God has joined together no person should separate (Gen. 1, Matt. 19:4). We believe the blueprint for the family is clearly defined in Ephesians 5:22 - 6:3.
The husband is the head of the wife and the wife should submit to and respect her husband. The husband should love his wife as Christ loves His church. Fathers
should not provoke their children to anger but should bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. Children should honor and obey
their father and mother.
Regarding Sexuality: We believe sexual relations outside of marriage is a sin. We believe homosexuality is a sin. We believe engaging in pornography is a sin. (Rom, 1, 1 Cor. 6)
Racial/Ethnic/Systemic Injustice: We believe that all human beings are born into sin and are capable of unimaginable atrocities towards their fellow human.
We do NOT believe that sin is amplified or inherently worse in a
particular race or ethnicity. We believe all human beings, because of their rejection of God's authority, are enslaved to sin and Satan and therefore are capable
of all kinds of injustices. Even though some people groups have mistreated and oppressed other people groups throughout history, this is not
evidence that they are more wicked than the people they oppressed. It just means they were given the power and opportunity to exercise their wickedness. Had the oppressed people
been given the same position of power they would have had the same wicked compulsion to mistreat and oppress others. We know this from Scripture. This is why Jesus
is the only solution to mitigate human injustice and He is the only satisfaction for Divine justice. (Romans 1, Psalm 14)
Regarding the Gospel:
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is very exclusive.
It instructs us that man, in his natural state, is in rebellion towards God.
It instructs us that all men have sinned and come short of the glory of God.
It instructs us that only those who believe in Jesus, as God's Son and Savior, will be saved from God's wrath against unrighteousness, forgiven of our sins and be adopted into His family as children.
This is the Gospel. We do not believe it is right to add, subtract, mingle or confuse the gospel message with political, social, economic, racial or environmental agendas no matter how good the agenda may be.
Christ died to redeem and reconcile people to God. He did not come to redeem worldly systems but at His coming will destroy them all. All we be made right when He returns and only when He returns. (Gal. 6:11-15)
Regarding Prosperity/Healing: We believe we are called to suffer and will be hated by all people for Christ's name sake, therefore, we reject any notion that God has promised His people a life free of sickness and poverty. God's people are NOT guaranteed to have
an earthly prosperous life. We believe that God is able to and still heals in miraculous ways today. We also believe that God is able and still prospers His children in material ways. However, we reject the teaching
that God has promised that He would do that all the time. (2 Tim. 3:12). The solution to every problem and the fulfillment of every longing will occur when Jesus comes again and only when He comes again until that time there will be trials and tribulation. (Rev. 22, 2 Peter 3).
Regarding Abortion: We believe destroying the life of a baby in the womb is murder and the Pro-Choice/Abortion agenda is an attack on the most helpless and innocent of our society and is reprehensible to God. (Matt. 19:14)
Regarding Materialism: We are called to seek first the Kingdom of God and not put our trust or find our identity in material things. We are called to turn from a life of covetousness and greed to generosity. (Luke 12:15)
Regarding Church Unity: We believe Jesus desires His church to be one even as He and the Father are one. We believe His church is comprised of all the true believers throughout all time.
However, we believe there are
deceptive religious systems that have so badly corrupted the Gospel of Christ that they are
NOT legitimate expressions of His church. We encourage every believer to abandon their allegiance to denominations and personalities. We encourage every believer to rely on the Scriptures alone
and not on the writings of man. We encourage every believer to rely only on the Holy Spirit to teach them to believe, obey, and share the Scriptures.
Our desire is to abide in Christ alone and let His words abide in us. If, and only if, we do this will we increase in the unity that He desires for His church.
If you believe in Jesus and want to abide in Him and His words abide in you then we want to join with you. If you have a burden to pray for the lost sheep of
this world so that they might be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth, then we want to partner with you in covering all of them in prayer. (John 17,Matt. 23:8-12)