Gospel:
The good news of the Gospel provides the answer to every question raised concerning the human condition. Through the Gospel we learn of the disease of sin, its costly cure, and the glorious hope secured through the Lord Jesus Christ. C.S. Lewis wrote, “I believe in Christianity as I believe the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but by it I see everything else”. It is through the Go
spel that a community must love, learn, and live together.
1. The Gospel is the good news that God has
done everything necessary to capture our
hearts and redeem our lives at the cost of
the life of His own Son. (Romans 5:8, 2
Peter 1:3-4)
2. Worship is the outward expression of an
internal work of grace through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ and a vital mark of a
genuine community of faith. (Psalm 13:6,
51:14, 57:9-11, Acts 2:42-47, Colossians
3:16, Hebrews 10:24-25)
3. The Gospel that saves is the same Gospel
that transforms the lives of believers. Our
growth in grace through the ministry of the
church is God’s gracious provision for the
His people. (Colossians 2:6-7, Ephesians
4:1-3, 12-16)
4. Community (life together) is a vital part of
the personal and corporate spiritual growth
of the body of Christ. (Acts 2:42-47,
Ephesians 4:12-16, Hebrews 10:24-25)
Community:
God is gathering people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation for the praise of His glorious grace in Christ Jesus. (Revelation 5:9). He is creating a special people (I Peter 2:9-10) through the ministry of the church. As the body of Christ, each distinct and unique member of the church must work together in order for the whole body to flourish as one.
1. God paints His creation with a full palate of
color, with great attention to detail, and a
gloriously expressive beauty. Diversity is
essential in the very nature of God.
2. Sin, having separated us from God (Genesis
3) and from one another (Genesis 4,11)
required the substitutionary atonement of
the Lord Jesus Christ to unite all things in
Him.
3. The Gospel both unites and divides,
therefore, unity can only be defined through
our relationship with Christ.
4. In Christ, the church of God grows together
into a sort of third culture, diverse yet united
through Christ Jesus. Mission:
Following the example of our missionary God, the people of God engage in the mission of God in the world until He returns and the mission is no more. Our chief desire is the worship of God and the community of faith labors on mission to that end in the hearts of all that have ears to hear.
1. God is a missionary God. The Father sends
the Son. The Father and the Son send the
Holy Spirit. Christ sends us.
2. The mission of God is the salvation of lost
sinners for the glory of His name.
3. The fruit of Gospel change is Gospel love
and Gospel mercy.
4. The mission of God is the only core value of
the church that will cease and must be
sought with an urgency motivated by the
brevity of this life and the reality of death.
