Our values are simple "LOVE GOD, LIVE WITH GOD, & LIVE FOR GOD."

 

I. LOVE GOD

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Why do we love God?

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We realize we all have sinned. We have all done things that are displeasing to God.

•  "For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23)

• "There is no one who is innocent." (Romans 3:10-18)

 

We realize the penalty of sin we could not pay.

• "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)

• The punishment that we have earned for our sins is death. Not just physical death, but eternal death!

 

We understand Jesus' sacrifice.

• God demonstrates His love toward us in that "while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8)

• Jesus' death paid for the price of our sins. Jesus' resurrection proves that God accepted Jesus' death as the payment for our sins.

 

We accept the FREE GIFT of SALVATION available to everyone!

• "If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)

• "For everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." (Romans 10:13)

• Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sins and rescue us from eternal death. Salvation, the forgiveness of sins, is available to anyone who will trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.

 

We willfully enter into a RELATIONSHIP with GOD!

• "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Romans 5:1)

• Through Jesus Christ, we can have a relationship of harmony with God.

 

We no longer are condemned by our sins!

• "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." (Romans 8:1)

• Because of Jesus' death on our behalf, we will never be condemned for our sins.

 

We are secured and locked in FOREVER!

• "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)

 

We have been given a precious promise from God. 

• We love God because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)

• When we were unlovable, God still chose to love us. He went the extra mile before we knew another inch was needed. This is why we love HIM.  

 

II. LIVE WITH GOD

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What does it mean to live with God?

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When we receive God's love and accept the free gift of salvation, we are introduced to God's reflecting love. We see a picture of who he is, and we realize we do not look like the image we are seeing. To live with God is to be transformed to the image of God. We must allow God's love to transform us to a better us.

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• "Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect." (Romans 12:2)

• "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

• "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind." (Matthew 22:37)

• "For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13)

• "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not harm you, to give you hope and a future." (Jeremiah 29:11)

 

III. LIVE FOR GOD

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What does it mean to live for God?

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Believe it or not, we all live for something. It's our driving force from when we wake up to whenever we lay down. It's what motivates us to do all that we do. Living for Jesus means that pleasing Him is our ultimate objective. Colossians 1:10 breaks it down for us more clearly by stating, "so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God." We are motivated mainly by the goals of Jesus and His plans for our lives. Living for Jesus means:​

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​We have died to sin.

• The life of a believer who chooses to live for Jesus will daily consider themselves to be dead to sin and alive to Christ.

• Being dead to sin means we no longer consider sinning against God a worthwhile option.

• Though we will still stumble at times, sin no longer controls us.​

 

We have only one God.

• This is the first commandment. (Exodus 20:3)

• People can and do make gods out of anything. We can identify our false gods by simply asking ourselves, "What is it that I am unwilling to give up?" Whatever we refuse to give to God becomes our god.

• As followers of Jesus, we continuously search our hearts for anything that could steal our time and affection away from Him. (2 Corinthians 11:3)

 

We carefully study His Word.

• Accurately understanding God's Word is essential for all who want to evade deception and live in harmony with God and his people. 2 Timothy 2:15 says it this way, "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."

• Unless we know the heart of God, we will disregard His principles and lead others to do the same.

• We will discover His heart when we pursue the "whole will of God" and apply it to our daily lives. (Acts 20:27)

 

We use our gifts to serve God and people.

• We strive to live as Jesus lived, and we pattern our lives after His.

• We follow His example.

• Since He was kind, we emulate His kindness. Since He gave generously, we devote our time, resources, and energy to His purposes.

• We who live for Jesus will discover their spiritual gifts and utilize them to impact their world.

• We who live for Jesus find their greatest joy in serving Him and people.

 

We know where our true treasure lies.

• We who live for Jesus are not as worried about earthly possessions as the rest of the world is. (Matthew 6:25-33)

• While we freely enjoy and look forward to experiencing all of the blessings God has for us in this life, we are not to focus entirely on them. (Matthew 6:19-20).

• We set our focus on eternity and dedicate our efforts to things that have eternal significance. (Colossians 3:2)

• We take our passions and direct them toward investing in the lives of others so we can experience eternal life together with Jesus Christ. (Matthew 5:16 and 2 Corinthians 5:18)