OVERVIEW OF OUR BELIEFS
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2. We believe in Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man at the same time, who became like us to bring about our salvation. 3. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is active in the world, bringing us to salvation. 4. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, giving us all we need to know about how to be saved. 5. We believe that we are all sinners by both nature and act and need God’s forgiveness and cleansing. 6. We believe that Jesus Christ died on the Cross and that, by trusting in His death, we can be restored to a right relation to God. 7. We believe that God has enabled us to turn to Him from sin but that He has not forced us to do so. 8. We believe that each person must repent, turn away from his sins, and trust Christ to accept him. 9. We believe that when we turn from sin and trust in Christ, the old record of sin is wiped clean, and we are born anew, thus becoming part of the family of God. 10. We believe that after being born anew, we need the fullness of God’s Spirit in our hearts. When we make a complete commitment to Him, He cleanses our spirit, fills us with His perfect love, and gives us the power to live victoriously. 11. We believe that the Church is the Body of Christ, carrying on His mission through the power of the Holy Spirit. 12. We believe in baptism and urge people to be baptized as Christians. 13. We believe in the Lord’s Supper. 14. We believe that God can heal. We pray for healing. We also believe that He can work through medical science. 15. We believe that Jesus Christ is coming again. 16. We believe that everyone will face the judgment of God with its rewards and punishments. |
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WHAT IS A NAZARENE?
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Every church has its distinctives -- practices or beliefs that set it apart from other groups. Sometimes this is confusing to people. They say, "If the Bible is true and Jesus was who He claimed to be, why are there so many different churches with so many different beliefs?" We are optimistic enough to believe that with all the differences in beliefs and practices, most Christian congregations still agree on 90-95% of Christian teaching, and that the other 5-10% we do not agree on falls in this category of "distinctive". While we get our name from Jesus of Nazareth, you might be asking what in the world is a modern-day Nazarene? Well..... We are not Baptists, but like the Baptists, we believe in calling people to repentance and to witnessing to their new life in Christ through public baptism. We are not Presbyterians, but like the Presbyterians, we believe in the power of the preaching of the Word Of God to bring about change in people's lives. We are not Lutherans, but like the Lutherans, we believe in salvation through Jesus Christ on the authority of Scripture alone, in salvation by faith alone and in salvation as gift of God's grace alone. We are not Charismatics -- No, we do not "speak in tongues" in our services -- but like the Charismatics we believe in the gifts of the Spirit, who gives people the power to live a Christlike life and to make a real difference in their world. We are not Episcopalians -- although John Wesley was a lifelong Anglican -- but like the Episcopalians we take worship seriously (we just choose to be a little less "formal" in our worship services). We are not Quakers or Moravians, but like these pietistic groups, we believe in living a careful life that testifies to the watching world that we belong to the Family Of God. And we are not United Methodists, although we have our roots in the Methodist tradition that grew out of John Wesley's revival movement in the 1700's. We have good fellowship with our United Methodist "cousins", but we are organizationally separate for historical reasons. We are a warm and friendly group of people who desire, with God's help, to live holy lives that bring honor and glory to Him. In three words our theology is "JESUS IS LORD!" We look to the Bible as our primary source for direction in our worship and our lifestyles. We are life-centered in our teaching and sensitive to the needs and concerns of others. We give people opportunities to put their faith in to action through various avenues of service. We are honored to take our place among the many who are called Christians. We laugh and cry together, rejoice and grieve together, grow together, and walk in faith together. We want you to know there is room for you in the Lake Norman Christian Ministries Family of Faith. Our mission is to help people “meet God, know God and love God.” We need you to be a part of this growing congregation and fulfill God’s plans for our family!
So be an active part of our e-Church community or join us at our campus soon!
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