The
Harrisburg,
Illinois First
Christian Church
is an independent,
congregationally governed
community of Christians.
We do not believe that we
are the only Christians, but
we do seek to be
"Christians only".
Our Aim:
Here at
the First Christian
Church, our aim is to
reproduce in doctrine and
practice the church as
Christ intended it to be.
So, we follow the
pattern established by the
apostles in the early
church as revealed in
the New
Testament, as far as
possible. We do not
follow any creed written
by men; our sole guidebook
is God's
Word, as revealed in
the Bible. In
matters of opinion, where
there is no definite
statement from the
Bible, we practice liberty
and in essentials we
believe in unity.
How Are We
Saved?:
We
believe that salvation
comes by God's grace,
through faith in Jesus
Christ, the Son of
God (Ephesians
2:8-10).
Furthermore, the Bible
teaches that we must
repent of our sins; that
is, we must be truly
sorry forthe sin in our
lives and turn our backs
on those sins and live
in a way that is pleasing
to God (2 Corinthians
7:9,10). We must
confess that "Jesus
is Lord" with our lips and
with our lives
(Matthew 10:32,33; Romans
10:10; Matthew 7:21-23).
We believe the New
Testament (Acts 2:38)
teaches repentance and
baptism for the remission
of sins.
What About
Baptism?:
We
believe that baptism is by
immersion (Acts 8:38) and
that baptism is
not a work, but an act of
faith and obedience to
God's command
(Acts 22:16; 1 Peter
3:21). Romans 6:1-6
teaches that baptism is a
burial in which the old
way of life is put to
death and a person rises
from the water to "live a
new life".
The Holy
Spirit & the
Believer:
Acts
2:38 teaches us that at
their baptism, believers
receive "the gift
of the Holy Spirit". We understand
this to mean that
God's Spirit comes to live
in our hearts as our
divine Helper (John
14:16). He helps us
overcome sin in our lives
(Romans 8:13) and gives
us strength to live for
Him (Ephesians 3:16). He
intercedes for us in
our prayers (Romans 8:26)
and equips us with
spiritual gifts for service to
meet the needs of
the church (1 Corinthians
12:4-11).
The
Communion Service:
We
observe the Lord's
Supper every Sunday as
was the practice of
the early church (Acts
20:7). The Communion is a
memorial service
honoring Jesus' death,
burial, and resurrection
(see 1 Corinthians
11:23-26), and it was
Jesus' commandment that
His followers should
share in it (Matthew
26:26-28). Therefore, we
believe that no one has
the right to open or close
this service to anyone. We
ask only that
people follow the words of
the
Apostle Paul and
"examine themselves
before they
eat and drink" (1
Corinthians 11:28).
The
Christian Lifestyle:
We
believe that our Christian
faith must reveal itself
in our lives and
character. The qualities
known as "the fruit
of the Spirit" must be seen in
our lives: "love,
joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness,
and
self-control" (Galatians 5:22,23).
Becoming
Like Jesus:
Our
primary goal as Christians
is to become like Jesus
Christ, in every aspect
of our character,
demonstrating His love in
all that we do. There are
several scriptures
that point out to us the
importance of being
"transformed by the
renewing of our minds"
(Romans 12:2). Romans 8:29
points out that it is
God's intention that we be
"conformed to the image of
His Son". Again,
2 Corinthians 3:18 states
that we "are being
transformed into His
likeness". This
transformation doesn't
occur overnight; it comes
only
over a period of maturing
in our faith and through
the power of God's
Holy Spirit working through
us.
Some
Foundational Beliefs:
We believe in the
all-powerful,
all-knowing, eternal and
triune God (Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit) who
created, sustains, and rules
over all things.
We
believe the Bible is God's
written revelation of truth
for mankind. It
is the infallible, inspired Word of
God and has
final authority in all
matters of faith, doctrine,
practice, and daily life.
We are
committed to the Great
Commandment to love God and love
people
(Matthew 22:37-40) and to the
Great
Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) to
make
disciples of all people.
Those
who do not accept Jesus as
Savior and the Lord of their
life will
likely find little fulfillment
in this life and will
definitely find
torment in the life to come
because they have rejected His
rule over
their lives. Those who accept
Him discover a life full of
meaning and
purpose and will enjoy
eternity with Him.
In
love, we seek to meet the
needs of all people but
especially their need
to know the Lord.
Though
times have changed, people are
still people, Jesus is still
the same
yesterday, today, and forever,
and the gospel is still the power of
God for
salvation.
The
church is the "body of
Christ" and each member is to
contribute
to the growth and well-being
of the body and is to do his
part in
fulfilling the work Christ has
given us to do.
Come Joins
Us!
If you
are not a Christian, we want to help you
come to know
God in a real and personal
way. He can give you an abundant
life now and
eternal life with Him to
come. If you are already a
believer and are looking for a
place to
worship and serve God and to
be uplifted and to lift up
others, we
invite you to join with us.