| St.
Paul's Believes: God
- We believe in the God of the Scripture who is the creator of all things. He
is omnipotent, omnipresent, and omniscient. To Him there is no beginning and no
end. God's desire is to have a personal relationship with all people and gives
that privilege to all who believe in His Son Jesus the Christ. Jesus
the Christ - We believe in the virgin birth of Jesus as recorded in the scripture.
We believe that not only is Jesus the Christ the Son of God, but as John 1 declares,
Jesus is God in whom all things are created. Our salvation depends on our belief
in Him according to the confession of Peter in Matthew 16:16, "Thou art the Christ,
the Son of the living God. Our salvation depends on believing that Jesus died
on the cross for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose from the dead
on the third day. We believe He ascended into heaven to prepare the heavenly kingdom
for all God's children and that He will return to claim His church. Holy
Spirit - The Holy Spirit is the third part of the Trinity, which consists
of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was given
to the believers on the day of Pentecost after being promised by Jesus before
He ascended into heaven. The purpose of the Spirit is to be our comforter and
to discern the Word of God. He guides us into all truth.
Holy
Bible - The Bible consists of two parts, the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament deals with the history of the Israelite people, the promises
of God to His children, and the prophecy of the Messiah who is Jesus the Christ.
The second part is the New Testament which deals with the birth, life, death,
and resurrection of Jesus, as well as the birth of the church and the laws and
covenants the church is guided by. "All scripture is given by inspiration of God,
and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction
in righteousness." (II Timothy 3:16) Baptism
- Baptism is one of two ordinances of the church. The method of baptism has been
a divisive point to many churches and so we accept sprinkling, pouring, and immersion.
Baptism is an outward expression of the aforementioned statement of Jesus. Communion
- Communion is one of the two ordinances of the church. We practice open communion
to all believers in Jesus whether members of St. Paul's or not. We believe it
is by invitation of Jesus and that it is symbolic of the body and blood of Jesus.
We follow the instruction of the scripture that says "as often as you eat this
bread and drink this cup you show the Lord's death until He returns".
Membership
- Any baptized believer in Jesus who openly professes the aforementioned belief
in Jesus and comes before the congregation to affirm their faith and desire to
actively participate in the ministry of Christ and St. Paul's will be extended
the right hand of fellowship.
| 
