What We Believe

We rejoice in the fact that “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16; Acts 4:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 1 Peter 3:18).
 
We believe this salvation is a gift of God’s grace, appropriated through faith alone in the Lord Jesus Christ.  This faith is a gift of divine grace, and is not simply knowledge of Jesus Christ, but is an act of personal trust accompanied by the miracles of regeneration and justification, leading to sanctification and glorification.
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Sunday Morning Sermon:

Message: The Beast Part 2
Scripture: Revelation 13: 1-10
Updated: 6/20/21

Sunday Night Theology Class:

The Sixth and Seventh Plague Part 1
Exodus 9: 8-35
Posted: 6/20/21
CLICK HERE for more Theology Class messages.

Wednesday Special:

The Lord Stood With Me
2 Timothy 4: 9-18
Posted: 2/15/21

Weekly Pastor's Pen:

The Worst Form of Failure
Matthew 16:24-28
Our subject for this lesson is The Worst Form of Failure, and I take that subject from the words of our Lord in v. 26: “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
 
In Jesus’ widely known and loved Sermon on the Mount, He referred to many subjects that concerns the pattern for righteous living.  And one of those subjects was “anxiety.” 
 
He said to the disciples, “… Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on.  Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?  Behold the fowls of the air:  for they sow not, neither do they reap. Nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them.  Are ye not much better than they?  Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?  And why take ye thought for raiment?  Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:  And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.  Take therefore no thought for the morrow:  for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.  Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof” (Matthew 6:25-34).
 
Now the background for our text begins in Matthew 16:13 and runs through Matthew 16:23. And our text verse is v. 26 where Jesus said, “For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
 
The great missionary William Carey once said, “I’m not afraid of failure.  I’m afraid of succeeding at things that don’t matter.”
 
Now there are a lot of things in life that we do, there are a lot of things in life we could succeed at, but we come to realize there are very few things that actually matter.  They’re very few things that will make a difference to the world and to the people we care for.
 
I think one of the great tragedies of getting older is to look back over our life and see that we have succeeded in all kinds of lesser things, but we have failed at the greater things – the things that are important to life.  I think there will be a lot of dads, a lot of moms, a lot of grandfathers, and a lot of grandmothers, that will be setting around one day in their older age and reflect back on their life and will have more regrets than anything else.
 
Just think how many people have gone to the grave with extravagant wealth and all kinds of nice possessions but with a broken marriage and with children who barely know them – staggering.
 
I recently read of a man who had built a huge house (10,000 sq. feet) for his wife and himself to have parties with their friends.  The kids apparently weren’t important anymore – they had raised them, they had educated them, and now it’s our time to enjoy our success and relive our youth. 
 
But all of a sudden their marriage ended, the wife left and now the man was living alone in a ten thousand square foot home.  By one measure the man succeeded – he had a giant home and an amazing car and the wealth to support it all.  But by more important measures he had failed.  And by those measures he had nothing.  The article said, “He was wealthy but destitute all at once.  He was an object of envy but an object of pity.”
 
Now let me make something clear:  It’s not that lesser things are always bad.  Some lesser things are actually very good.  It’s just that they are, by definition, lesser things.  They are not matters of first importance.
 
There is an order to life and we all know that sometimes those lesser things can look so attractive.  They can be so distracting.  They can keep us from giving attention to the things that matter far more.  Succeeding at the lesser things at the cost of the greater things is its own form of failure.
 
It’s like Jesus said, “… what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
 
People are so tempted to throw away all the big things to succeed at the lesser things.  We can’t deny it:  Succeeding at lesser things at the cost of the greater things is the worst form of failure.  How will life after death greet you?  Will it be heaven or will it be hell?  How do you know?  What matters most to you in life?  What matters most to God?  Can you honestly say that you are living for the glory of God, or for the glory of self?
 
Jerry W. Arnold
All Rights Reserved
Posted: 6/20/21
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Weekly Bible Study Sermon:
St. John Chapter 12

The Final Call Part 2
John 12: 35-50
Posted: 6/20/21
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Our Kid's Corner:

BIBLE STORIES:
"An Unusual Baby Basket Part 1"

​CLICK HERE to visit our Bible Stories tab and view this children's message as well as others!

CHILDREN'S CHURCH:
​"Fearfully & Wonderfully Made"

CLICK HERE to visit our Children's Church tab and view the audio sermons available for kids!
VISIT OUR ACTIVITIES PAGE

Our Q&A:

"Are Jesus and Satan Brothers?"

CLICK HERE​ to find out the answer to this question as well as many others!

"The Sin Against the Holy Spirit"

CLICK HERE to view other Q&A audio material.

God's Simple Plan of Salvation
(A Message from Lifegate)

My Friend: I am asking you the most important question of life. Your joy or your sorrow for all eternity depends upon your answer. The question is: Are you saved? It is not a question of how good you are, nor if you are a church member, but are you saved? Are you sure you will go to Heaven when you die?

God says in order to go to Heaven, you must be born again. In John 3:7, Jesus said to Nicodemus, “Ye must be born again.”

In the Bible God gives us the plan of how to be born again which means to be saved. His plan is simple! You can be saved today. How?

First, my friend, you must realize you are a sinner. “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Because you are a sinner, you are condemned to death. “For the wages [payment] of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). This includes eternal separation from God in Hell.

“ . . . it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

But God loved you so much He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus, to bear your sin and die in your place. “ . . . He hath made Him [Jesus, Who knew no sin] to be sin for us . . . that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Jesus had to shed His blood and die. “For the life of the flesh is in the blood” (Lev. 17:11). “ . . . without shedding of blood is no remission [pardon]” (Hebrews 9:22).

“ . . . God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Although we cannot understand how, God said my sins and your sins were laid upon Jesus and He died in our place. He became our substitute. It is true. God cannot lie.

My friend, “God . . . commandeth all men everywhere to repent” (Acts 17:30). This repentance is a change of mind that agrees with God that one is a sinner, and also agrees with what Jesus did for us on the Cross.

In Acts 16:30-31, the Philippian jailer asked Paul and Silas: “ . . . ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved . . . .’ ”

Simply believe on Him as the one who bore your sin, died in your place, was buried, and whom God resurrected. His resurrection powerfully assures that the believer can claim everlasting life when Jesus is received as Savior.

“But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” (John 1:12).

“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Romans 10:13).
Whosoever includes you. Shall be saved means not maybe, nor can, but shall be saved.
Surely, you realize you are a sinner. Right now, wherever you are, repenting, lift your heart to God in prayer.

In Luke 18:13, the sinner prayed: “God be merciful to me a sinner.” Just pray: “Oh God, I know I am a sinner. I believe Jesus was my substitute when He died on the Cross. I believe His shed blood, death, burial, and resurrection were for me. I now receive Him as my Savior. I thank You for the forgiveness of my sins, the gift of salvation and everlasting life, because of Your merciful grace. Amen.”

Just take God at His word and claim His salvation by faith. Believe, and you will be saved. No church, no lodge, no good works can save you. Remember, God does the saving. All of it!

God’s simple plan of salvation is: You are a sinner. Therefore, unless you believe on Jesus Who died in your place, you will spend eternity in Hell. If you believe on Him as your crucified, buried, and risen Savior, you receive forgiveness for all of your sins and His gift of eternal salvation by faith.

You say, “Surely, it cannot be that simple.” Yes, that simple! It is scriptural. It is God’s plan. My friend, believe on Jesus and receive Him as Savior today.

If His plan is not perfectly clear, read this tract over and over, without laying it down, until you understand it. Your soul is worth more than all the world.

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36).
Be sure you are saved. If you lose your soul, you miss Heaven and lose all. Please! Let God save you this very moment.

God’s power will save you, keep you saved, and enable you to live a victorious Christian life. “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, Who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Do not trust your feelings. They change. Stand on God’s promises. They never change. After you are saved, there are three things to practice daily for spiritual growth:
  • Pray -- you talk to God.
  • Read your Bible -- God talks to you.
  • Witness -- you talk for God.
You should be baptized in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ as a public testimony of your salvation, and then unite with a Bible-believing church without delay. “Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord . . . .” (2 Timothy 1:8)

“Whosoever therefore shall confess [testify of] Me before men, him will I confess also before My Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 10:32).

Copyright: Robert Ford Porter, 1991
Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.  All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.  The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.  I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.                                                                                                          John 10:7-11
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