JOIN US FOR WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY @ 10:45AM IN THE SANCTUARY OR ONFACEBOOK
Immanuel Church
Immanuel Church
JOIN US FOR WORSHIP THIS SUNDAY @ 10:45AM IN THE SANCTUARY OR ONFACEBOOK
What We Believe
Statement of Faith
Along with the guiding principles and core beliefs contained in the Apostles' Creed and Nicene Creed, Immanuel Church affirms the following Statement of Faith:
The Trinity
We believe that there is only one living and true God, infinite in every attribute, and that in the unity of God there are three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one in substance and equal in divinity.
(Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; 1 Corinthians 8:6;
2 Corinthians 13:13)
God the Father
We believe in God the Father, the eternal and infinite Sovereign of the universe. We believe that He is the Creator of Heaven and earth, holy in nature and purpose, omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent and unchangeable. He is the only source of holiness, justice, wisdom, love, goodness and truth. We believe that He interacts with humanity in justice and mercy, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from the power and penalty of sin all who come to Him through faith in His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
We believe in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ as God the Son. He was with the Father before the world began, and all Creation was made through Him. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin Mary, and is, therefore, fully God and fully man. He was sinless, and gave His life as a ransom by His death on the cross; making a full, perfect and sufficient sacrifice for the sins of the whole world. On the third day, He physically rose from the dead, forever defeating the powers of sin and death. He ascended into heaven, where He sits at the right hand of the Father as our High Priest and Advocate. He will personally and visibly return to judge the living and the dead, according to the eternal plan of God.
We believe in the divine person of the Holy Spirit as the third Person of the Trinity. The Spirit comes from the Father and the Son to convict humanity of their sin before God, and to regenerate, sanctify and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. The Holy Spirit indwells those who believe, and is our abiding helper, teacher, guide, comforter and seal of the permanence of God's salvation.
We believe that the Bible, the Word of God, is fully inspired in every word and without error in the original manuscripts. The 66 books of the Old and New Testaments are God's full, complete and perfect revelation of Himself and His plan for the redemption of the world. It was written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit and possesses supreme authority in all matters of Christian faith and conduct.
(Psalm 119:105; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; Hebrews 4:12-13; 2 Peter 1:19-21)
Humanity
We believe that God created humans in the image of God as two distinct biological genders. The male, Adam, was created by God from the dust of the ground, and the female, Eve, was created from Adam's side; the entire human race is descended from these two persons. God created humanity with free will, and Adam and Eve's original sin brought physical and spiritual death to all humanity. All humans are now sinners both by nature and by choice, and as a result, are alienated from God, totally depraved and unable to redeem themselves, and are subject to God's righteous judgment.
We believe that the only means of salvation from sin and death is accomplished by God's grace, through the death and resurrection of His only Son, Jesus Christ. This salvation is available to all who sincerely repent of sin, place their faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, and confess Him as their Savior and Lord.
We believe in the one, holy, universal Christian Church, the body and bride of Christ, a spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and all followers of Jesus are members. We believe in the local church, a congregation of believers who are gathered together for the purposes of corporate worship, prayer, fellowship, celebration of the Sacraments, discipleship and mission.
We believe that Christ has given the Church two sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion.
Baptism is commanded by our Lord Jesus Christ, and is the outward sign and profession of a believers identification with His death, burial and resurrection by immersion in water. Baptism may also be administered to infant children of believing parents, signifying the child's entry into the holy covenant relationship between Christ and His Church.
The Lord's Supper or Holy Communion is a proclamation of Jesus' death that His Church observes until His return. The bread and wine (or juice) are symbols of the body and blood of Christ which were broken and poured out for the forgiveness of sins. This sacrament is observed in the same manner as Jesus celebrated it with His disciples, in remembrance of Him.
(Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28)
Mission
We believe that God's plan is for all people to know and worship Him through Jesus Christ. When Jesus returned to the Father, He left His disciples the task of taking His good news to all nations, so that His kingdom will be filled with worshippers from every tribe, language, people and nation. We believe that God, through His Spirit, has inspired, empowered and equipped every one of His children to join Him and bear eternal fruit for His kingdom locally, regionally, nationally and globally.
We believe that after this life, all believers will be bodily resurrected (as Jesus was), and will enter into eternal fellowship with God, while unbelievers will suffer eternal separation from Him.
We believe in the Biblical guidelines for human sexuality: marriage as the union of one man and one woman in a God-instituted, covenantal relationship lasting a lifetime. We believe in fidelity and holiness in marriage and chastity outside of marriage as the only expression of human sexuality that is compatible with Biblical Christianity. We believe that Jesus offers healing through the Holy Spirit to people entrapped in sexual sin, breaking its power in them and allowing them to discover and experience their true identity and freedom in Christ.
