BELIEFS

AFFIRMATION OF FAITH

• We believe the Bible to be the inspired and only infallible written Word of God.
• We believe that there is One God, eternally existent in three Persons; God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
• We believe in the Blessed Hope, which is the rapture of the Church of God, which is in Christ at His return.
• We believe that the only means of being cleansed from sin, is through repentance, faith in the precious Blood of Jesus Christ and being baptized in water.
• We believe that regeneration by the Holy Ghost is absolutely essential for personal salvation.
• We believe that the redemptive work of Christ on the Cross provides healing for the human body in answer to believing in prayer.
• We believe that the baptism in the Holy Ghost, according to Acts 2:4, is given to believers who asks for it.
• We believe in the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling, the Christian is enabled to live a Holy and separated life in this present world, Amen.

Psalms 134:2
"Lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord."

Psalms 63:4
"Thus I bless thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in thy name."

I Timothy 2:8
"I will therefore that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting"

WHY DO WE BOW DOWN AND KNEEL?

Psalms 95:6
"O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the Lord our maker."

WHY DO WE ANOINT WITH OIL AND PRAY FOR THE SICK?

James 5:14-I5
"Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him."

WATER BAPTISM

What about baptism?"
Baptism is a vital part of the believer's life, yet there seems to be a great deal of confusion as the importance of baptism, as well as the method in which we should baptize. This information has been prepared to help you understand the importance that Jesus placed on baptism, as well as the proper method with which to be baptized.

Jesus said, "Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Matthew 28:19.

Every conversion that is described in any detail at all in the New Testament after the establishment of the church includes baptism. Belief was always a prerequisite. True belief in Jesus as Savior and Lord was the condition that had to exist before on Christian baptized another, Acts 8:36-38. Baptism was never willingly administered to an unbeliever. It is impossible to obey the Lord and at the same time refuse to be baptized. It is not only a great responsibility to be baptized, but a wonderful, glorious opportunity to be identified with our Lord in this marvelous way.

Baptism ". . .means the ability to face God with a clear conscience, for there is in every true baptism the virtue of Christ's rising from the dead.", I Peter 3:21. We must be very careful not to conclude that baptism saves, for Ephesians 2:8-9 says, " by grace are you saved through faith."We are not saved by church membership, faithful attendance, the Lord's supper, or baptism, or all of these things put together. We trust ourselves to Jesus Christ as our Savior, and He alone has the power to save.

Baptism symbolize the death burial, and resurrection of Jesus and our own relationship to His victory over sin, death and the grave, Roman 6:35. The one being baptized is presenting himself as a dead person to be buried with Christ saying, "I am finished with the old life. I want to live in the power of the Resurrection Life of Jesus. I will be loyal to the kingdom of god."


WHY DO WE PARTICIPATE IN THE LORDS SUPPER?

At Progressive Ministries Worship Center members come from many different backgrounds. Some of us are experiencing new spiritual ideas for the first time. Some have come from churches which place great emphasis on formality and ritual, some from churches which have placed their focus on the concerns of social welfare, and still others from churches, much like our's which center their ministry in the Bible.

Nowhere is there a greater diversity of experience than in the manner in] which we celebrate the Lord's Supper. Even some of the strong Bible believing churches practice the Lord's Supper in different ways or at different intervals than we do here at Progressive Ministries Worship Center.

For these reasons, it is good to see what the Bible teaches about this memorial given to us by the Lord.

"And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed it and broke it, and gave it to them and said, Take, eat, this is My Body. Then He took the cup, and when He had given thanks He gave it to them, and they all drank from it. And he said to them, This is my Blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many. Assuredly, I say to you, I will no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when l drink it new in the Kingdom of God." (Mark 14:22-25).

The Lord Himself commanded us to do this!
The Apostle Paul wrote, "For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus in the night in which He was betrayed took bread... (and)took the cup also saying. Do this In remembrance of Me. For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup you proclaim the Lord's death until He comes."

Just as we follow the Lord's command to be baptized and understand it to be a picture of His death, burial, and resurrection. We follow His command to partake of the communion feast with one another and understand that this is a picture of His body being crucified on the cross and His Blood being shed for our sins. The central purpose of the Lord's Supper is to bring the sacrifice Christ and all its blessed results to mind. Each time around the table we are again reminded of how great His love is for each of us is. Paul emphatically tells us that we should not eat or drink "without recognizing His Body" (I Corinthians 11:29).