Our Standard of Behavior
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit:
I base my life on Jesus Christ and His Word
as a sacrifice of worship.
In obedience to the Father and empowered by the Holy Spirit,
I will live in fellowship with others
as a witness to the world.
I am willing to live, suffer and rise with Jesus.
Our standard of behavior will be measured by our mutual commitment to God, to one another and service to the world. Let us commit to:
1. Base our lives on Jesus Christ and His Word as a sacrifice of worship.
| Matthew 22:37-40 I John 1:9 Romans 12:1-2 Matthew 16:24 Psalms 119:9-11 Philippians 2:5-11 |
Each day we will follow the words of Scripture that instruct us to: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Because we are lost and cannot find our way, we believe that “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” We choose to “offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God as a spiritual act of worship.” We will no longer conform to the behaviors and lifestyles of this world, but will instead be “transformed by the renewing of our minds.” To follow our Savior we must “deny ourselves and pick up our cross.” We recognize that on our own we do not have the strength to live pure before God, and declare to our Lord that we will “seek you with all our hearts; do not let us stray from your commands. We have hidden your word in our hearts so that we might not sin against you.” We choose to follow in the steps of Jesus who humbled himself on this earth. “Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: who, being in the very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death – even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to highest place and gave him the name that is above every name.” |
2. Live in FELLOWSHIP with others showing deference to one another and demonstrating the love and gifts of the living God.
| Matthew 20:26-28
Romans 12:9-18 Ephesians 4:11-12 John 13:34-35 I Corinthians 12:7-11 I Corinthians 14:26 |
We choose to prefer others to ourselves following the words and life of Jesus: “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” We will honor the Lord with our behavior and our conversation. “Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Share with God’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everybody. If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” We belong to God’s family through the sacrificial blood and eternal grace of Jesus Christ and joyfully submit to those God has placed in authority over us. We believe the purpose of leadership is to serve and equip others to become like Christ. “He gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.” God has given us the responsibility to generously demonstrate His love toward each other. Jesus said: “Love one another as I have loved you. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.“ We humbly ask the Father to use us as instruments so that others may experience His abundant blessings. “So in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” God desires His purposes to be plainly evident so that the community of believers would all benefit. “Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” We gather together in the name of the Lord with an expectation that God will speak through each of us for one another. “Everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” |
3. Be a WITNESS to His world sharing both the words and deeds of His Kingdom and anticipating His soon coming return.
| Acts 1:4,8
Matthew 28:19-20 Luke 10:1-11 I John 3:8 Isaiah 58:6,7 Matthew 24:14 |
Jesus instructed His disciples to be filled with the Holy Spirit before they were to go and make disciples of all ethnic peoples. “Wait for the gift my Father has promised…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Jesus instructed His followers to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” The Lord sends his followers ahead to the places and people where He is about to go. When we hear his voice we are to completely obey, not coveting anything of our own, and declare “peace to each house. If a man of peace is there, your peace will rest on him; if not, it will return to you. Stay in that house, eating and drinking whatever they give you. Heal the sick who are there and tell them, ‘the kingdom of God is near you’.” The proclamation of the kingdom must follow the life and message of Jesus Christ, who came to destroy evil. “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” Our lives must be lived in humility and kindness before those whose lives have been broken. We are to “loose the chains of injustice, set the oppressed free, share our food with the hungry and provide shelter and clothing to the poor.” It is only then that we can expect that our “light will break forth like the dawn, and our healing will quickly appear; our righteousness will go before us, and the glory of the Lord will be your rear guard.” We eagerly await the literal return of our Savior. He has promised that when “the gospel of the Kingdom has been preached in all the world as a testimony to all nations, the end will come.” We will work each day to see this become a reality and when the signs of the times point to His return, we will “stand up and lift up our heads, because our Redemption is drawing near.” Come quickly, Lord Jesus! |
4. Live, suffer and rise with Jesus. We prayerfully promise to:
| Psalm 116:14 |
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