WHAT WE BELIEVE

WHAT WE BELIEVE

“God is love, and those who live in love live in God, and God lives in them” 1 John 4:16

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We believe we should share that good news of Jesus, equip people in their faith journey and see them live their faith out, in the world.

We are devoted to worshipping God and his Son Jesus through prayer and praise. Being a Christian is far more than knowing the facts of Jesus’ life, or agreeing to what Christians hold as true. It is a way of living, based on the belief that God is love, and the more we make that love present, the more God is revealed in the world.

At the church we believe in:

• The one true God who lives eternally in three persons—the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

• The love, grace and sovereignty of God in creating, sustaining, ruling, redeeming and judging the world.

• The dignity of all people, made male and female in God's image to love, be holy and care for creation, yet corrupted by sin, which incurs divine wrath and judgement.

• The incarnation of God’s eternal Son, the Lord Jesus Christ—born of the virgin Mary; truly divine and truly human, yet without sin.

• The atoning sacrifice of Christ on the cross: dying in our place, paying the price of sin and defeating evil, so reconciling us with God.

• The bodily resurrection of Christ, the first fruits of our resurrection; his ascension to the Father, and his reign and mediation as the only Saviour of the world.

• The justification of sinners solely by the grace of God through faith in Christ.

• The ministry of God the Holy Spirit, who leads us to repentance, unites us with Christ through new birth, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness.

Jesus taught and lived a life of loving God and loving our neighbour. He was deeply concerned with the inequity of wealth, where some starved and some lived in luxury. He challenged unjust systems in his own society, basing his ministry of healing and preaching on compassion for the poor and those who were shunned by society, such as lepers, prostitutes, people of other religions, criminals, the “unclean”.

Jesus’ ministry did not end with his death on the Cross. When his disciples discovered three days later his empty tomb, they realised that death was not the end of Jesus’ ministry among us. By showing that love is stronger than death, Jesus enabled his followers to know something of the fullness of life into which all people are called. We believe that is true, because Jesus is at work in us today – and his love will never cease.