Creekside Chapel	Fedruary 2010
Allegany, NY
Pastor: Ken Tesch

What we believe, what we do, who we are:

Scripture - We believe the entire Bible is God’s word, every bit of it.  It is our authority in all spiritual matters.  Psalm 119:89-96, 2 Peter 1:16-21.

Salvation - God made one way of salvation and He made that way clear.  Jesus is the only way.

There is no other way for us to be saved.  Jesus blood can cleanse us from all sin if we agree with Him about our human condition apart from Christ (all have sinned), repent of our sin (turn from it) and ask Jesus to be our Savior and submit to Him as Lord of our life (turning from self centered fulfillment to God centered submission, recognizing His good plans for our life).  John 3:16, Romans 5:8-11, Ephesians 1:7-8. Romans 8:28.

New Life in Christ - A new life and a right relationship with God are made possible through the redemptive acts of God in Jesus Christ.  God, by His Spirit, acts to impart new life and put people into a relationship with Himself as they repent and their faith responds to His grace.  Justification, regeneration, and adoption speak significantly to entrance into and continue in the new life.  Colossians 3:9-10, Acts 13:38-39.

Church - The church is the body of Christ in the world.  Jesus died for the church and we need it to grow and be accountable to one another.  We were not created to live alone and we were not created to experience our Christian life alone.  Hebrews 10:25.   

Reaching out - The church exists to reach people with the love of Jesus and help them come to know Jesus as their Savior.  We are not a social club that exists for its own members.   We exist to reach those who do not know Jesus as Savior with the Good News that Jesus loves them and they can know Him as Savior.  Matthew 28:18-20. 

Prayer - Prayer is vital to everything we do.  We believe when we pray with a pure heart, God hears us and engages with us in our concerns, hopes, needs and worship.  God acts powerfully when God’s people pray.  We have power and authority in prayer and our prayers reach the throne room of God the Father because of Jesus who is our intercessor.  Hebrews 10:19-22.

Jesus - He is God.  He always was and always will be.  God was Himself in Christ to reconcile people to God.  Conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, He joined together the deity of God and the humanity of humankind.  Jesus of Nazareth was God in human flesh, truly God and truly human.  He came to save us.  For us, the Son of God suffered, was crucified, died and was buried.  He poured out His life as a blameless sacrifice for our sin and transgressions.  He rose from the dead and is eternally alive and sits at the right hand of God the Father.  Matthew 1:21; 20:28; 26:27-28.  2 Corinthians 5:18-19.  Hebrews 9:14-15.   Matthew 25:31-32, Romans 8:33-34, Hebrews 1:1-4.

Father - He is God.  He always was and always will be.  He sent His only son for us that we might be able to be with Him in heaven forever.  The Father loves us and considers us His children when we know His Son as our Lord and Savior. 

Holy Spirit - Draws us to Jesus.  Convicts (convinces) us of our sin.  Shows us our great need for salvation.  Seals us when we come to know Jesus as Savior.  Gives us Spirit (supernatural) gifts when we come to Jesus as Savior so we can use those gifts for the glory of God and the increasing of the kingdom of God.

Trinity - There is but one living and true God, the maker and preserver of all things.  And in the unity of this Godhead there are three persons: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit.  These three are one in eternity, deity and purpose; everlasting, of infinite power, wisdom and goodness.
Genesis 1:1-2, Exodus 3:13-15, John 1:1-3, 2 Corinthians 13:14.

Satan - was defeated on the cross.
Genesis 3:15, Matthew 28:18,   1 Corinthians 15:56-57. 

Worship - We worship because of who God is, what He has done for us and all the promises and blessings He bestows upon us in Christ.  Worship is the natural outpouring of our expression of love for all God is and all He is doing in us, through us and for us. 

Free Grace - God is pouring out free grace upon humanity every day.  We receive sunshine, comfort, food, life because God wants all people to turn to Him and be saved. 

Free will - God created human beings in His own image, innocent, morally free and responsible to choose between good and evil, right and wrong.  By the sin of Adam, humans as the offspring of Adam are corrupted in their very nature so that from birth they are inclined to sin.  They are unable by their own strength and work to restore themselves in right relationship with God to merit eternal salvation.  God, the Omnipotent, provides all resources of the Trinity to make it possible for humans to respond to His grace through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.  God did not create robots, He created human beings with the capacity to love Him.  God wants us to love Him because he first loved us.  To love Him because we turn to Him with our free will and give Him our love.  Romans 5:17-19, Ephesians 2:8-10. 

Sin - All sin is rebellion against God.  Breaking His laws, commands, hurting others, etc.  Jesus came to save sinners and grace is available to all who confess and repent.  Romans 3:23

Religion - We are not religious, we are relational.  God is relational.  God does not desire our religion, He desires us.  He does not want a relationship based upon a to do list of routines and repeated words, He wants a vibrant, living, life changing relationship with us.  Matthew 23:1-12.   Luke 11:37-46.

Discipleship - Is learning and growing in the Word of God and our faith.  Discipleship is not a suggestion and we give opportunity to every believer who desires to learn and grow ways to do so.  Hebrews 6:1.

Our struggle - Is with our fallen nature (heart - mind) not our flesh.  Romans 8:1-14.  Romans 12:1-2.

Removal of the church - Also called the rapture is the next prophetic event.  Jesus will come in the clouds and the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive and remain will be taken up to be with Him.  When will this happen?  No one knows for sure but the signs of our times as interpreted through the Biblical account of what the last days will be like are similar.  1 Thessalonians 4:13-18.

Communion - Is a channel of grace.  It is not the literal body and blood of Jesus but we do receive grace when we receive communion. 

Baptism - Is a channel of grace.  When we are baptized, Jesus blesses us and gives us grace.  Baptism is not salvation.  We are saved by the blood of Jesus, not by water. 

Love - We are called to love the Lord with all our heart and others as our self.
Mark 12:28-31.

Good works - Cannot and do not save us.  They are the result of a life in love with Jesus and are done that others may see Jesus in our good works, experience His love through us and want to know the source of the love, Jesus.    Ephesians 2:8-10, Romans 3:27-28, Matthew 7:16-20, 2 Timothy 1:8-9.

Open Church - We are an open church.  Our meetings are open, our books are open, our ears are open.  We want you to feel loved, welcome, cared for.  We are a church without agenda except to make Christ known to a lost and dying world. 

Hope this helps.
Pastor Ken
Creekside Chapel.