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Ordinance to rename Cross Street to Walkertown Way
DAILY DEVOTIONS
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"There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all and through all, and in you all." Ephesians 4:4-6 OUR BELIEF1. WE BELIEVE that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God, the supreme authority for man, and that according to its precepts all men will one day be judged. 2. WE BELIEVE that there is but one God who is in three persons; Father, Son, Holy Spirit; that their purposes are one and their offices and actions are completely harmonious. Among the attributes of God these characteristics are found in the superlative degree: Holiness, Love, Mercy, Righteousness, Righteous Anger, Omnipotence, Omniscience, Omnipresence, Eternity, Immutability, Truth. We know by His Word and by personal experience that, "He doeth all things well." 3. WE BELIEVE that all men are fallen and sinful by nature, by choice and by practice; that all are lost and under the condemnation of God's law. We believe that in order to be saved and become righteous it is necessary to repent, to forsake sin and to turn to God--accepting Christ's vicarious sacrifice by faith to wash away sin's stain; to receive a new nature within; to follow the leading of the indwelling Holy Spirit. Further, we realize that in order to enter God's Heavenly Home we must fulfill His requirements and accept His invitation. (Eph. 2:8,9), "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." 4. WE ACCEPT as unchangeable truth the statement of God's Word that having once received Christ as our personal Saviour, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus," (Romans 8:1) and that having received "Eternal Life" from God there is no possibility of God allowing His word to be broken and us to become lost again. 5. WE BELIEVE that the church is the only organization Christ left behind to carry on His work in the world, and that it is incumbent upon every Christian to join the local church and to enthusiastically enter its program, winning souls to Christ. We believe Christ gave us two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's Supper, which every man should observe in obedience to Him and as a testimony before the world; that, though there is no saving merit in either, both are sobering ceremonies which should draw us closer to our Saviour, and none can call himself a good Christian who refuses to obey these commands. Therefore, we exclude from membership in this local church any who refuse to observe these ordinances exactly as Christ commanded us. 6. WE BELIEVE that Jesus is coming again to receive His saints, raising from the grave those who sleep in death; that He will personally and literally reign over all the earth for 1,000 glorious years, that all men will be judged; that those who have accepted Christ as Saviour during this life will live forever with God in prepared mansions in heaven; that those who refuse the salvation Christ offers will spend eternity in the awful punishment of Hell, prepared for Satan and his angels. 7. WE BELIEVE in the stewardship of our lives: that our minds, talents, time, money, health, loved ones, and all things belong to the Lord. We believe that we will each be called upon to give account of our stewardship for God's glory and that a tenth of all our material wealth is His and should be brought each week to His storehouse. We believe that we have not given an offering until we have paid the tithe and given above it from the nine-tenths that remain. Malachi 3:10, "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse and prove me. The Bible method of financing the Lord's work is with tithes and offerings. God has wonderfully blessed this method, and He has promised to bless individually all those who conscientiously, consistently and consecratedly tithe their income. Bring first-fruits -- "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the first-fruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine" (Proverbs 3:9-10). We believe the tithe is God's method of promoting His worldwide program because: A. The Old Testament COMMANDS it: (1) Deuteronomy 14:28, "Thou shalt bring forth the tithe of thine increase." (2) Deuteronomy 8:18, "Thou shalt remember the Lord thy God, for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth." B. The New Testament COMMENDS it: (1) Matthew 23:23, "Ye tithe mint and anise and cumin, these ought ye to have done." (2) I Corinthians 16:2, "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." C. The Holy Spirit COOPERATES with us when we tithe: Mark 16:15, "Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." It is not possible for all of us to go personally into all the world with the Gospel; but when we tithe our income and give to the Faith Promise Plan for Missions Giving, we cooperate with God in this great mission and have the right to claim the promise, "Lo I am with you always, even unto the end of the age" (Matthew 28:20). D. God COMPENSATES those who tithe: Luke 6:38, "Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure pressed down, and shaken together and running over shall men give unto your bosom." David said, "I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread" (Psalm 37:25). E. God COLLECTS the tithe: Matthew 13:12, "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance; but whatsoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." Malachi 3:8, "Will a man rob god? Yet ye have robbed me, But he say, wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings." When we withhold from God that which belongs to Him, we rob ourselves. I Samuel 8:11-15, "And he said, This will be the manner of the king that shall reign over you: He will take your sons, and appoint them for himself, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and some shall run before his chariots. And he will appoint him captains over thousands, and captains over fifties; and will set them to ear his ground, and to reap his harvest, and to make his instruments of war, and instruments of his chariots. And he will take your daughters to be confectionaries, and to be cooks, and to be bakers. And he will take your fields, and your vineyards, and your olive yards, even the best of them, and give them to his servants. And he will take the tenth of your seed, and of your vineyards, and give to his officers, and to his servants." OUR CHURCH IS . . . 1. EVANGELISTIC. The winning of souls is primary with Morning Star Baptist Church. We endeavor to win souls by all types of evangelism -- personal, mass, and door-to-door. Our people are engaging in this endeavor through our Philip Evangelistic Ministry. 2. MISSIONARY. In addition to our church program of evangelism, we are assisting in both home and foreign missions. 3. FUNDAMENTAL. We are founded on the Word of God. We believe the Bible is God's infallible, inspired Word. As a church, we seek to love, to care for, and to meet needs of humanity, while upholding the redemptive truths and righteousness of Jesus Christ. 4. PREMILLENNIAL. The Lord Jesus said, "I will come again." It is our firm conviction that the Lord may come at any moment and receive His own. His coming for the saints precedes the tribulation, after which He comes with His saints to reign for a thousand years. Under girding our evangelistic and missionary zeal is our faith in the Lord's return.
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