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Who Are We?
The last command that our Savior gave us before returning to the Father was to; "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."(Mat 28:19-20 KJV). This is why we are here. The Mountain Empire regional Mission of the Church of the Church of God (Seventh Day) was formed to promote the development of a fellowship of believers in our region that want to worship God and come into a relationship with him through his son Jesus. As such, we aspire to be a growing community of believers that believe that Jesus, through a living faith in Him, is the only way to be brought into a living and vital relationship with God our Father. Everyone who agrees to work together for the individual and collective goals set forth in this statement is welcome to attend. In the context of history we are protestants believing that the primary areas of concern are as follows;
1. Only Scripture, the Holy Bible, is to be our instruction manual to reveal to us God's will for our lives. "And Jesus answered him, saying, It is written, That man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God." (Luke 4:4 KJV)
2. Only Grace , God's precious gift of his Son on the Cross to pay for our sins, is the basis for our righteousness and salvation. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast."(Eph 2:8-9 KJV)
3. Only Faith, a living faith, made possible by the power of the Holy Spirit filling our lives, is the proper response to God's grace. Our lives should reflect, to the degree of our maturity, his presence in us. (John 1:12 KJV) "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:" In some areas we have chosen to protest a little more than the rest of the protestant community relating to certain practices of modern Christianity. Some of us feel and express more liberty in these secondary issues than others but the salvation of a believer is not questioned and diligence in our day to day walk is encouraged. "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb 11:6 KJV) In these areas of secondary importance we must exercise restraint so as not to flaunt our liberty or to question the sincerity of our brethren. Everything we do and how we live is a reflection of our personal relationship with God our Father through Jesus our Lord. Our obedience, rather than being the reason we are saved, is only the expression of our personal relationship with him and we shall each appear before him to give account of ourselves individually. Therefore, diligence is always encouraged. "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." (Rev. 22:12 KJV)
William C. Hicks, Pastor
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