A community of Christians aiming to live as the Light of the World.
Spurring one another on to live a bright life of faith in Jesus,
built on the Bible,
shaped by the Spirit,
lived out in love.
This is not just a nice phrase, it is our mission statement, an expression of who we want to be.
A community of Christians :- Church consists of people, individuals who are trusting in Jesus as their saviour. We are working out our salvation in the context of the corporate life of the local body of Christ. {Paul gives a good description of church in who he is writing to as the Corinth Church - 1 Corinthians 1:2}
Aiming :- These individuals are not perfect and make no claim to be. We acknowledge our own frailty and the failings of others when we fall short of our high calling. We confess our sins and forgive others their's and rejoice that our God's throne is where we can obtain forgiveness, mercy and grace in our hour of need. {Even Paul the Apostle who wrote much of the New Testament had to acknowledge is own imperfection -Philippians 3:12 and John teaches us that to claim we do not sin is to deceive ourselves, but that confession leads to forgiveness, cleansing and to having the Word in us.-1 John 1:5-10 - Hebrews' writer urges us to come to the throne of grace.Hebrews 4:14-16
To live :- Christianity is about all areas of an individual's life, 24-7 365 days a year. We want to be real about our Christianity not just during the three hours on Sunday morning when we are at The Gathering but @ home, @ work @the shops, even behind the wheel of the car when we are late and stuck in traffic. {James gives a great picture of how this should be and like John warns against self deception - James 1:21-27}
As the Light of the World :- Jesus died that those who followed him should no longer live for themselves but for Him and to continue his mission of reconciling people to Father God. We are living to see people's lives transformed by the power of the goodnews of the Light, King Jesus. We are a city set on hill, shining bright so that others will see and glorify our Father in heaven. { Matthew 5:13-16}
"The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in the land of the shadow of death, upon them a light has shined"