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Jesus Christ is to be glorified in the Church
The church should exalt Christ alone. He is worthy of all praise and preeminence in every facet of every meeting. Men no matter how gifted and ministries regardless of their accomplishments, are not to be given the praise and glory due unto God alone.)
The Church is God's house - Not Man's
As such it should be God-centered and not man-centered. The church is to be an oasis for thirsty souls seeking the grace of God through Christ, not operated according to humanistic philosophies nor guided by cultural pressures.)
Evangelism should be Biblical not mechanical
Evangelism is to be driven by a desire to see God's glory declared throughout the whole earth, to see salvation come to those who believe the gospel and to leave unbelievers without excuse. Mechanical gospel presentations, appeals based solely on emotion and the repeating a prayer cannot be allowed to become alternatives to genuine Spirit led gospel evangelism.)
Grace governs the Christian's life
The same Spirit of God that brings true saving grace also brings true teaching grace, which instructs the believer to “deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, and live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world.” (Titus 2:11-12) The absence of this grace being operational in a persons life indicates the absence of saving grace. True believers in Christ are to be directed to Christ rather than the commands and traditions of men.)
Salvation brings a radical change
The “new birth” is evidenced by a sense of sin, repentance toward God, sincere faith” toward Christ and a desire to live according to the Word of God. Christian fellowship is to be in Christian unity, servanthood, accountability and generosity. A Christian performs acts of mercy & kindness motivated by Christian love, as directed by the Spirit of God, done in a Scriptural manner and empowered by God-given abilities.)
Preaching is vital to the life of the church
The survival and growth of a church is directly linked to confident and joyful exposition of the Scriptures. Since preaching is God's appointed method for proclaiming the infinitely valuable realities of the Scripture it is to remain central in the church and is not to be replaced by other forms of communicating the gospel. The use of self-improvement, self-esteem or self-fulfillment cannot become alternatives to the gospel or its teachings.)
The Bible Sets The Pattern For The Church
Since the church belongs to God, the church is to conduct it's meetings and worship in the manner which God prescribes in His Word. Worship is to be God-focused, Scriptural, personal, joyful and authentic. Worship cannot be replaced by unbiblical man-centered emotional religious entertainment.Communion
The Lord’s Supper is one of the two ordinances given by Christ to the church. It is to be practiced regularly for the remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for His people. In 1 Corrinthians the Apostle Paul gives instructions as to how this symbolic act is to be observed by the church. Christ used the elements of the supper as symbols of His body and blood that were to be offered to satisfy divine justice. Although Jesus, had committed no sin, He willingly gave Himself as a sacrifice, and accepted the penalty for His people’s sin, so that they would not be punished for it themselves. He gave the church this ordinance in order to remind us of the sacrifice of His broken body and the blood that He shed for us. This ordinance symbolizes believers taking spiritual nourishment from the death of Christ. Therefore, it is restricted to those who have made a credible profession of faith in Christ and are members in good standing of an evangelical church in which the gospel is clearly preached. Currently at WRBA we celebrate the Lord’s Supper during morning worship on the first Sunday of each month. We understand that the occasion can arise in which a Christian is not a member of any church, but is actively seeking membership. If such is your case please make this known to the pastor before we participate in the Lord’s Supper prior to the service so that we may hear your profession of faith in Christ.
