PURPOSE
All things need to lead to Christ while focusing on a life of worship, discipleship, and service.
VISION
God has called His people to be a LIGHT in the world. To accomplish this, TLC will be a church that is purposeful and balanced in the following five areas:
ONE: Leaning on each other through Fellowship - we believe that TLC will grow warmer through fellowship. Fellowship is connecting and becoming one with the church family.
TWO: Instructing in God’s Truth through Discipleship - we believe that TLC will grow deeper through discipleship. Our goal is to see each partner equipped to be a fully-devoted Christ-follower.
THREE: Glorifying God through Worship - we believe that TLC will grow stronger through worship. Our goal is to love the Lord with our whole heart.
FOUR: Helping one another through Service - we believe that TLC will grow broader through service. Service is demonstrating God’s love to others by meeting their needs and healing their hurts in the name of Jesus.
FIVE: Telling others about Jesus through Evangelism - we believe that TLC will grow larger through evangelism. We are ambassadors for Christ with a commission to reach people with the Good News of Jesus.
ABOUT THE BIBLE
The Bible is God’s Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.
2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5
ABOUT GOD
God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.
Genesis 1:1,26,27, 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19;1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14; John 10:30; 15:26
ABOUT JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus was born of a virgin, lived a sinless human life, and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. In the same body in which He suffered and died, Jesus arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. He ascended to Heaven’s glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as
King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.
Matthew 1:22-23; Isaiah 9:6; Philippians 2:5-8; John 1:1-14; 14:1-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Luke 24:36-40; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 3:16; 6:14-15; Titus 2:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
ABOUT HUMAN BEINGS
People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God’s creation. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin”. This attitude separates people from God and causes us to be spiritually dead. Man cannot remove his own sinfulness, he must be spiritually reborn.
Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1-2; John 3:3-5
ABOUT SALVATION
Salvation is God’s free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only by trusting in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved from sin’s penalty. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus in faith and make ourselves available for the rebirth through baptism, one will be marked by the Holy Spirit as a chiId of God. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.
Acts 2:38;Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1
ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. He is present in the world to make men aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift when they are saved.
As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily.
2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16-17, 26; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18
ABOUT CHRISTIAN LIVING
Christ-followers are called to live in obedience to the commands of Jesus. We obey His commands because we love Him and He loves us. A Christian’s life should look like Jesus’ life – our actions should reflect His actions. For this reason, the Bible says we are to do good works and to not be conformed to the world but be transformed. Good works do not save us or keep us saved, they are simply the result of us becoming more like Jesus. Salvation is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian.
John 15:9-17; 1 John 4:7-21; 1 Peter 2:21; Matthew 5:16; Romans 12:1-2; John 10:29; Hebrews 10:10, 14
ABOUT ETERNITY
People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life.
Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.
John 3:16; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:17-23; Revelation 20:11-15; Matthew 25:46
ABOUT THE GIFTS OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The Holy Spirit is manifested through a variety of spiritual gifts to build and sanctify the church, demonstrate the validity of the resurrection, and confirm the power of the Gospel. The Bible lists of these gifts are not necessarily exhaustive, and the gifts may occur in various combinations. All believers are commanded to earnestly desire the manifestation of the gifts in their lives. These gifts always operate in harmony with the Scriptures and should never be used in violation of biblical parameters. (Hebrews 2:4; Romans 1:11,12 :4-8; Ephesians 4:16; II Timothy 1:5-16, 4:14; I Corinthians 12:1-31, 14:1-40; I Peter 4:10).
ABOUT THE CHURCH
The church is the Body of Christ, the habitation of God through the Spirit, with divine appointments for the fulfillment of Jesus’ great commission. Every person who is born of the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the body of believers. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1:22, 2:19-22; Hebrews 12:23; John 17:11, 20-23).
ABOUT SACRAMENTS
Water Baptism: Following faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the new convert is commanded by the Word of God to be baptized in water. (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38).
The Lord’s Supper: A unique time of communion in the presence of God when the elements of bread and grape juice (the Body and Blood of the Lord Jesus Christ) are taken in remembrance of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross (Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 16:16; Acts 8:12, 36-38; 10:47-48; I Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-25).
ABOUT THE SANCTITY OF HUMAN LIFE
From the moment of conception to the time of death, all human life is precious in the sight of God. (Luke 1:15; Galatians 1:15; Psalm 22:10; 71:6; 139:13-14; Mark 8:36; Psalm 72:14; Isaiah 43:4)
ABOUT MARRIAGE
We believe that marriage and family are institutions ordained by the Lord God Himself from the very beginning of human history and these are sacred institutions. Marriage is between one man and one woman. Any other definition of marriage is contrary to the clear teaching of the Holy Bible and against the expressed will of God. (Genesis 1:27-28; 2:20b-24; I Corinthians 7:2; Hebrews 13:4)
ABOUT SEXUALITY
We believe that God created men and women as sexual beings. Sexuality is an integral and beautiful part of creation. The Bible clearly teaches that any sexual act outside of marriage whether in thought, word, or deed is sin. (Genesis 1:27-28; Matthew 5:27-28; Proverbs 6:25-26; I Corinthians 6:9-10,18; I Thessalonians 4:3-8)
ABOUT THE RESURRECTION
Jesus Christ was physically resurrected from the dead in a glorified body three days after His death on the cross. In addition, both the saved and the lost will be resurrected; they that are saved to the resurrection of life and they that are lost to the resurrection of eternal damnation (Luke 24:16, 36, 39; John 2:19-21, 20:26-28, 21:4; Acts 24:15; I Corinthians 15:42, 44; Philippians 1:21-23, 3:21).
ABOUT HEAVEN
Heaven is the eternal dwelling place for all believers in the Gospel of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:3, 12, 20, 6:20, 19:21, 25:34; John 17:24; II Corinthians 5:1; Hebrews 11:16; I Peter 1:4).
About Hell
After living one life on earth, the unbelievers will be judged by God and sent to Hell where they will be eternally tormented with the Devil and the Fallen Angels (Matthew 25:41; Mark 9:43-48; Hebrews 9:27; Revelation 14:9-11, 20:12-15, 21:8).
ABOUT THE SECOND COMING
Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. This will occur at a date undisclosed by the Scriptures (Matthew 24:30, 26:63-64; Acts 1:9-11; I Thessalonians 4:15-17; II Thessalonians 1:7-8; Revelation 1:7)