It’s official! Beginning Sunday August 16, 2015 we will gather to worship at 6:00PM as Patriarch Church.

In all we do, as the local Body of Christ, we long to bring Glory to God by expressing the Supremacy of Jesus and advancing His Gospel. Our prayer is to witness the power of the Gospel unto salvation and experience the joy of the saints in the depth of the Gospel. The central focus of our church will be on the following:

The Word – The Bible is the single source of truth and is the power to change lives. Each time we gather, the Scriptures will have the two fold purpose of teaching and preaching. God’s people need to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, studying truth deeply. At the same time, those who don’t know the Savior need the Gospel in a plain, understandable proclamation. The heart of each message will be focused on making disciples. The goal will be to present the truth in the Word of God to challenge and grow the mature believer, while parts of the message spoon feed the curious.

Prayer – We desire to be a church that gathers with a shared passion to experience the presence of God. Kingdom disciples need to hear God’s voice more than man’s good advice. They need to feel the presence of their Creator more than just sing a few songs and hear a helpful message. God’s people have a hunger to experience Him; and it’s a good hunger. This kind of God experience can be found through obeying His command to humble ourselves and pray and seek His face.

Sing to the LORD! – Worship through songs of praise has been a part of church gathering for millennia. People in love, love to sing! We will sing the heart songs from ages past, and new choruses that lift us to the Throne of God.

Lord’s Supper –The Lord’s Supper proclaims the Gospel. The Lord’s Supper brings about a deep remembrance of the Lord Jesus and is a looking forward to feasting with Christ. It is the reality of our faith based on the historical work of Jesus. Our souls feed by faith on what the broken body and spilled blood achieved for us – a justified and sanctified fellowship with the risen Christ. In addition the Lord’s Supper is savoring the new covenant, a call to love the church, especially the poor, and a call to self-examination.

Baptize – Christ commands baptism.  In the purpose of making disciples, we publically express union with Christ in His death and resurrection. This expression happens by immersion in water. It is accomplished in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  “We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.” So the imagery of baptism is death, burial, and resurrection. Christ was buried and raised to new life. The believer is raised symbolically to new life in Christ as the Church looks on rejoicing in the power and work of the Holy Spirit to regenerate hearts. We are the redeemed because Christ is the Redeemer!

Live for JESUS – The early church gathered to worship, learn, and be encouraged. Then they went out to change the world. The goal of the service is not to applaud the message or talk about how amazing the music was. The goal is to go back out into the world for which Christ died better equipped to live out and share our faith. AND WE DO IT TOGETHER!

Together we experience life by loving the Lord and each other in the Grace of God. Grace strengthens our souls by faith when we meditate on the Scriptures (Psalms 1:3). Grace strengthens our souls by faith when we see saints love each other sacrificially by the power of Christ (Matthew 5:16). Grace strengthens our souls by faith when we see the heavens declaring the glory of God (Psalm 19:1). Grace strengthens our souls by faith when we fulfill our ministry with God’s help (1 Timothy 3:13). Grace strengthens our souls by faith when fellow-Christians pray for each other (Ephesians 4:16).

I look forward to serving Christ and proclaiming His Gospel together as your pastor.

Blessings,

Mike