We believe…
…There is one God who made & passionately cares for everything that exists, including you.
…God has shown himself to humanity as Father, Son & Holy Spirit…three persons, one God.
Early believers called that “the Trinity” & collected their confession of faith in the Apostle’s, Nicene, & Athanasian Creeds. We believe those are true and accurate articulations of the Christian Faith.
…God’s deepest desire is to live in intimate personal relationship with all that he has made, including you.
Humans are made in God’s image to reflect his character, carry his presence, & fulfill his purposes here on earth. Because of how God made us, every human bears unique worth, value & dignity. What the Bible calls “sin” is our willful refusal to carry out God’s intention and our determination to live apart from our relationship with God. All people and all relationships are corrupted by human sinfulness.
…God’s very essence is love. Out of His desire to live in a relationship with us, God became human in Jesus Christ, God’s Son.
God sent Jesus to make things right between God and us. Jesus Christ died for our sin, and rose from the dead that we might be reconciled to God. Jesus also broke the power of death by rising from the dead. He alone is our hope and the only real and lasting hope for the world. The only means by which we can be brought into relationship with God is through trusting in Jesus for forgiveness and life.
…The Holy Spirit is the presence of Jesus Christ among us now. The Spirit always points us to the person and work of Jesus and lives in us and equips us for service as his people.
The Spirit gives gifts to all who believe. We believe in all the gifts of the Spirit and encourage people to grow in using those gifts for widening the expanse of God’s rule on earth as it is in heaven.
…Reconciliation with God is a free gift. The death of Christ on the cross is the only sufficient payment for sin. …His resurrection from the dead secures eternal life for all who trust in him.
Through faith alone in Jesus Christ, we receive forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift. All who put their trust in Christ as Saviour can be assured of eternal life. Being made right with God through faith, we enter a lifelong process of change and growth into the living likeness of Jesus. The Holy Spirit reproduces Christ’s character in us.
…The Bible is God’s Word to us.
Through the Bible, God reveals himself to us. The entire Bible is God-breathed and God-inspired. So we accept the Bible as the authority that determines what we are to believe and how we should live. The good news about Jesus is the key to understanding the whole Bible.
…The church is Christ’s body here on earth.
The local congregation and the world-wide fellowship of believers are His Body, called to worship Him, serve Him and be agents of sharing the Good News of Jesus in its fullness with the world. When the church lives true to its calling, we reveal glimpses of God’s rule over all things for all to experience.
…Baptism and Communion are Christ’s gifts to his church for creating and growing our faith.
Through Baptism, God, by water and His Word, claims us as his own children and freely grants forgiveness of sin and life, now and forever. We affirm and practice baptism for people of all ages.
Jesus says about the bread and wine of communion, “this is my body…this is my blood.” We take Jesus at his word that he is truly present in the bread and wine and through them brings to us forgiveness of sin and life, now and forever.
…Jesus will return to bring life as we know it to a close and fully consummate his reign over all things in absolute justice.
Though we don’t know the day or hour, we joyfully proclaim His imminent return to inspire all people to live fully in relationship with God and others now.
Living Water identifies with the renewal movement begun in the Lutheran Reformation.
We affirm the centrality of grace through faith alone, Christ alone, and Scripture alone.
We affirm and identify with the confessions of the Lutheran Church.
However, our overriding desire is to see the Rule of Christ advance by any faithful means through any faithful people,and we want to serve that purpose alongside other brother and sister followers of Jesus.
We invite you to come along with us as we go along with Jesus.
