WHAT WE BELIEVE
We believe that faith starts with Jesus- understanding who He is, what He’s done, and what that means for us.
About God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)
We believe in God the Father Almighty, Creator of all things visible and invisible. There is only one true God. He is the Creator of all life and the Supreme Ruler of the universe. He has always been (He is eternal) and co-exists equally in three Persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit. We learn about God through His creation, His Word, and His Son. God loves us more than we can imagine.
Genesis 1:26-27; Deuteronomy 6:4; Job 38:1-41:34; Matthew 3:13-17; John 3:16; Romans 1:19-20; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Ephesians 4:6
Jesus
Jesus Christ is the one and only Son of God. Co-equal with God the Father and God the Spirit. He was completely God while at the same time being fully man. Jesus revealed to us who God is. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He came to earth and became man. His miraculous acts, sinless life, and life-changing teachings all confirm the fact that He is God’s Son. His purpose for coming to Earth was to show God’s love by dying on a cross as an atonement for sin; that is He took upon Himself the sins of all mankind and paid the penalty that our sins deserve. His bodily resurrection from the grave and His promise to return someday are testimonies to the fact that He is the King of kings and Lord of lords. Jesus desires the deepest of relationship with every person. Jesus will return in victory to rule forever.
Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:1,14,18; Acts 10:37-43; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Philippians 2:5-11; Colossians 1:15-21; Hebrews 1:1-3
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son. The Holy Spirit convicts people of sin, helps us in our weakness and intercedes for us in prayer and empowers us to a fruitful Christian life. The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian as a Helper and Guide. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that a person comes to salvation. At the point of salvation, the Holy Spirit comes to live in our physical bodies as His home and He begins the work of sanctification (the act of making holy) in us. Though we will never be sinless in this life the Holy Spirit does help us sin less as we conform more to the image of Christ. The works of the flesh begin to fade and the fruit of the Spirit begins to appear as we allow God’s spirit to lead us on a daily basis.
John 14:16-17; John 16:7-13; Acts 2:38; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Ephesians 3:16-20; Ephesians 5:18; 2 Corinthians 3:18; Galatians 5:19-25; Romans 8:13,14
The Bible
The Bible is God’s inspired (God-breathed) written Word and consequently without error and is truth. We believe the Bible teaches that God is the Creator and Sustainer of human life; that God creates each person in His image; and that life is therefore sacred, from conception to natural death.
Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119:105, 160; John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21
Salvation
We need salvation because we all have willfully sinned against God. Sin separates us from God who desires relationship with us. Because of sin, we are lost and without hope apart from Jesus Christ. It is impossible for any man to restore their broken relationship or achieve a right relationship with God by any amount of personal goodness, religious deeds, or by belonging to a church.
The death of Jesus was not an accident. It was God’s plan from the beginning to save us from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ. The Bible calls God’s plan an act of love and grace. His grace is His gift to us. The way we receive His gift is by entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus by placing our trust and faith in Him. When we decide that we will follow Jesus for the rest of our lives, we demonstrate our trust in Jesus by obeying His command to be immersed (baptized) in water illustrating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus.
Isaiah 59:2; John 3:16; John 14:6; Acts 2:37-39; Romans 3:10, 11, 23; Romans 6:3-4; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-8
The Church
The Church is God’s spiritual family. It is made up of all those who have chosen to place their trust and faith in Jesus and who are His followers (disciples). The Church is not a building or one particular group of believers. To belong to the Church, is to belong to Jesus. The Bible uses the analogy that Jesus is the Head of the Church, which is His body. God’s will is for the Church to gather regularly to worship its Head, Jesus, to use its various gifts and abilities to serve its Head, to love and encourage those who are in the body, and to work diligently to maintain the unity of the body. As the members of His Church love one another and maintain unity of purpose and relationship, the world around us will recognize that we belong to Jesus.
The Church or body is to seek to do the will of God, which includes making and growing followers of Jesus Christ.
Matthew 16:15-18; John 17:20-23; John 13:34-35; Acts 2:42-47; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27; Ephesians 1:22-23; Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-10
Man
We are created in the spiritual likeness or image of God. God gave us free will; we have the ability to choose to love as God loves, to choose to do right in the likeness of God’s righteousness, and to choose to value what God values. God created us because He wants a family who will love Him because we want to love Him, and not because we have to love Him. The first man, Adam, chose to sin, and now every person lives in a marred creation with a marred spiritual nature. As a result, every person will eventually choose to sin and subsequently become separated from God.
Genesis 1:27; Genesis 3:1-24; Psalm 8:3-6; John 4:24; Ephesians 1:4-6; Romans 3:23
Marriage & Human Sexuality
Stonecreek Christian Church believes that God creates each person as male or female; that these two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the “image of God’ in humankind. We believe that each person’s biological gender is an intrinsic, immutable aspect of his or her nature and identity. Male and female – sexually and biologically different but with equal value and access to God through faith in Jesus Christ. Adam and Eve were created to complement each other in a one-flesh union we call marriage. We also believe in the value of each individual. Singleness is an equally holy pursuit and expression for followers of Jesus.
We believe the Bible teaches that God established marriage in the beginning as a lifelong, exclusive relationship between one man and one woman. It is only within the covenantal relationship of marriage that God has reserved sexual intimacy as an expression of love and commitment between married couples and He declares it good! We believe that the Bible teaches that any intimate expression of sexuality outside of Biblical marriage is sin. The marriage relationship can serve as an example of the love Christ has for the Church.
Genesis 1:27-31, Genesis 2:21-24, Ephesians 5:31-32
Eternity
When God created you and me, He created us with a soul which will never cease to exist. Those who choose to follow Jesus as Lord, and have a growing relationship with Him, will spend eternity with God in Heaven. Those who reject Jesus by refusing to follow Him will spend eternity in Hell. Heaven, like salvation and grace, is a gift of God. Hell is the due consequence for those who have not accepted God’s offer of forgiveness. Heaven and Hell are real places.
Ezekiel 18:20; Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 25:31-46; Luke 16:19-31; John 14:1-6; Romans 6:23; Philippians 3:17-21; Revelation 20:15
We Believe
The Church (God’s Redeemed People)
We believe that faith starts with Jesus- understanding who He is, what He’s done, and what that means for us.
We believe in the Church of Jesus Christ, founded on the Day of Pentecost, consisting of all Christians everywhere, and organized into local assemblies, called churches.
We believe the Bible teaches that every Christian should be an active member of a local church.
We believe that the Elders of the church are the overseers of its affairs and the shepherds of its members; that they are the final interpretive authority of the Bible's meaning and application for the church; and that they are responsible for the oversight, instruction, edification, discipline, and restoration of church members.
We believe the Bible instructs CHURCH MEMBERS to:
Meet together regularly for fellowship, worship, teaching, and the Lord's Supper.
Use our natural abilities and spiritual gifts to serve one another.
Love one another, bear with one another, accept one another, and forgive one another.
Seek unity, agreement, and peace with one another.
Bear one another’s burdens and pray for one another.
Spur one another to love and good deeds.
Submit to the authority of the elders of the church.
Support the church financially.
Pursue personal holiness and obedience to God's Word.
Strive together to fulfill the Great Commission.