1. First Commandment Living 

The purpose of our lives, our highest calling, is to love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, and mind. The second commandment, to love our neighbor as ourselves, is an outgrowth of the first. This means that all of our Christian service and good deeds toward others come first from loving and being loved by God. A life spent in pursuit of the first commandment will in the end gain the highest reward, to know and be known by God. To bypass this in one’s Christian walk is to miss the purpose of creation and salvation. (Matt 22:37-39; 1 Cor 13:1-3; John 17:3; Matt 7: 21-23)

2. God’s Word, our Foundation 

The Word, in its entirety, is preeminent both in our lives as individuals and in our corporate body. First and foremost, God’s Word is a revelation of God Himself. His Holy Word directs, instructs, and transforms. It places moral boundaries on our lives to protect us from the destructive effects of sin. (John 17:17; 2 Tim 3:16; Hebrews 4:12; 1 Pet 2:1-2)

3. The Church Service is for the Lord

The purpose of our church service is first and foremost to minister to the Lord, and in this, we too will be ministered to and filled. Our worship is for His enjoyment more than ours. Even the preaching of the Word is a time for Him to reveal Himself to us. The entire service—whether worship, Word, or ministry—belongs to Him. (Rom 12:1; Ephesians 2:19-22; Psalm 122:1; Hebrews 12:28-29; Colossians 1:16)

4. Behold and Become

To behold Jesus is to meditate on His attributes in worship, in the reading of the Word, and in prayer. It’s to experience His person and power. It is time spent loving Him corporately and privately. This is the means by which we become like Jesus. One day we will see Jesus face to face, and in that moment, we will be fully transformed into His image. But, until that day, we are being progressively sanctified as we behold Him in our present lives. We learn in the gospel of John that Jesus is the Word made flesh and that it’s the Word that sanctifies us. (John 1:1; 17:17; 2 Corinthians 3:16-18; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 John 3:2;)

5. Prayer: Thanksgiving, Worship, Intercession

Although there are many scriptural ways of praying, as a corporate body, we value prayer that comes out of thanksgiving and worship. Psalm 100:4 lays out how God’s people were to enter the tabernacle—full of thanksgiving and praise—which is an Old Testament picture of how we come into the presence of the Lord today. Our thanksgiving will naturally give way to worship and adoration as we recount all the things He has done for us. As we worship and magnify the Lord, the Holy Spirit begins to manifest and speak what’s on the Father’s heart. True worship opens our spiritual ears and allows the Holy Spirit to direct the agenda in prayer and intercession. (Psalm 100:4; 116:17; James 4:8; Romans 8:26-27; Proverbs 3:6; Philippians 4:4-7)

6. Gifts of the Spirit

From the moment the Holy Spirit was poured out in Acts 2, we see in the New Testament manifestations of miraculous gifts. From the epistles, we see that these gifts were taught and practiced by all, weren’t limited to the Apostles, and were given for the edification of the Church, as well as for a demonstration of God’s power to unbelievers. We desire to see these gifts flourishing and growing both in our services and in our personal lives as we stay grounded in scripture. These gifts are supernatural in nature and do not flow from our own human inclinations or talents. (Acts 2; 1 Corinthians 12 and 14; Acts 6:8, Mark 16:17-18; Romans 12:6-8; 1 Thessalonians 5:19-21; 1 John 4:1; Joel 2:28-29; Matthew 10:7-14)

7. Evangelism and Discipleship

Jesus commands us in the Gospels to go into all the world, preach the gospel, and make disciples. This has sometimes been ignored or minimized in Church settings, or its been assumed that this command is only for those in ministry. We desire to make this commandment central to our church body, that as we come together to be filled with His presence, we will then go out and minister life and hope to a broken world. This is God’s primary method of growth for the local Church.  (Matthew 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Luke 24: 46; Acts 2:38-47; 1 Peter 3:15; Matthew 9:37-38)

8. Fellowship

In Acts 2, we see a picture of a Church that is fellowshipping around their devotion to the Lord. He is the reason for their community. We desire that fellowship would not just be built around common interests but around our desire to encounter Christ together. The Church in Acts practically functioned as a family, sharing each other’s needs and daily life. In contrast, so much of Church today can be impersonal. We desire to be a place where we bear each other’s burdens and encourage each other as we follow Jesus. (Acts 2; Hebrews 10:24-25; 1 John 1:7; Galatians 6:2; John 13:35)