- WHAT WE DO and WHY?Every church has reasons for doing what they do and they have reasons for not doing what they don't do. We want you to know why we do what we do; so that, you can be an active part in what God is doing here at First Christian Church.
PURSUE DAILY WORSHIP
Romans 12:1 New Living Translation (NLT)
And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.
We are all born worshipping. The issue, however, is whether we worship the Creator (God) or the created (anything else). At First Christian, we believe worshipping God— the Creator of all — is the primary purpose of our lives. We seek to worship God (God the Father, the Son — Jesus — and the Holy Spirit) in everything we do in all parts of our lives. One way we do that is through worship services where we can gather to celebrate God’s mercy toward us. You see, while we were still sinners, Jesus Christ died to pay the penalty for our sins (past, present and future). We believe this is worthy of a set-aside time each week to join one another to learn, remember and celebrate through listening to preaching together, singing together, taking communion together, celebrating baptisms together, and giving to advance God’s mission.
WHY DO WE SING?
The Bible repeatedly tells us to sing to the Lord. It mentions psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (as well as new songs). Singing is a natural part of life. We sing about things we are joyful about. We go to concerts to sing along with our favorite bands and other people. As Christians, we have a joy so deep we can’t help but sing often about God’s redemption of us. We sing songs of victory, thanksgiving, and repentance. We sing old songs in new ways. We sing new songs. We sing songs written specifically for this gathered body of believers and what God is teaching us in this time and place. Singing at First Christian is a participatory activity. Sometimes accompanied by raised hands, but always with raised voices. The style we utilize is simply to communicate the gospel in a musical language that is most understandable in our time and place. God is a God of diversity so we have diverse sounds in varying bands.WHY DO WE TAKE COMMUNION?
Communion is where we remember the one who gave His life for sinners. Jesus Christ came to give His life as a perfect sacrifice for us. His body was broken and beaten beyond recognition. So we take a piece of bread and remember the physical sacrifice of Jesus. He took our sin on himself. He poured out his blood for our sins. So we take a cup of juice that represents the blood and forgiveness. We take communion each week during our services to reflect the model set in the book of Acts. Our time of communion is for all believers, regardless of church affiliation. However, communion is for believers to remember Jesus’ sacrifice. We ask that non-believers let the emblems pass by them and repent of sin and follow Christ, then take communion with us.
WHY DO WE PREACH?
Preaching is God’s method for getting the gospel (the good news) to sinners (which is all of us). Jesus preached during his time on earth, so it is very important to include in our worship services.
Sermons at First Christian call sinners to repentance and seek to teach those who are following Jesus about a life empowered by the Holy Spirit.
PURSUE GOD & LIFE TOGETHER
Matthew 28:18-20 New Living Translation (NLT)
18 Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. 19 Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations,[a] baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 20 Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”
Jesus commanded us to go into the world and make disciples. One of the most important — and often most overlooked — purposes of the church is to disciple people into a closer walk with God. So the goal at First Christian is to help individuals grow beyond who they are into who God wants them to be. We believe fully-committed followers of Jesus can change the world one person at a time.
WHY DO WE PURSUE LIFE TOGETHER?
Through our different types of small groups (community groups, connection groups, care groups, Sunday school groups) and by in involving people in ministry together, we hope to help individuals grow to be completely committed followers of Christ. We truly believe that when we do life together, we are made more complete. We believe that doing life together helps us keep each other accountable, it helps us build each other up, it helps us carry the burdens of others and it truly is the model that Jesus showed us by doing life together with his disciples.
PURSUE GENEROSITY & RESTORATION
Philippians 2:2 New Living Translation (NLT)
2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose.
Jesus said to go to the whole world and make disciples. In fact, Jesus came to seek and save the lost and He gave us the task of continuing that ministry. Lost people matter to God so we want to be a church that reaches un-churched and never-churched peoples. We intentionally, aggressively and creatively reach out into this community and around the world.
WHY DO WE SERVE OTHER PEOPLE?
First Christian Church of Scottsburg creates events, trains our people, and gives our resources heavily to carry out the love of Jesus Christ locally and around the world. We believe that by encouraging the needy and by helping meet the needs of all people - we give people the opportunity to experience real life change in Jesus. When the needs of people go unmet, they may never be open to the new life that is available through God's plan - Jesus! We also believe that when we use our time, talents and resources for the Kingdom of God we are blessed and God is glorified.
WHY DO WE GIVE/COLLECT AN OFFERING?
As followers of Christ, our goal should be complete generosity with every part of our lives. That includes our time, talents and resources. The funds given during the time of giving/offering at First Christian are used to advance God’s kingdom in the time and place where God has placed us. Ministry is not cheap or free and it takes a family committing to the goal together. Giving is an act of worship, saying that God is above and in control of all — even our finances. Giving is also an act of thanksgiving, as we are thankful that God was generous to us through the gift of his son, Jesus. We seek to give joyfully and sacrificially as well as we desire to see God’s kingdom advance to all corners of the world as well as here at home. Matthew 10:1-8
