Our Name
Sovereign Grace
Bible Church (SGBC) proclaims the historic Gospel (good news) of Jesus Christ
which has endured throughout the ages - the gospel which makes known the love
of a just God for a fallen world. Our name states basically what we are about.
Sovereign
God rules and is in control of every circumstance of life. He
initiates and sets the terms for our acceptance with Him. We may fully trust
Him!
Grace
God in Jesus Christ freely showers us with His goodness, though we have merited
only His condemnation and judgement. We may call upon Him for a full and free
forgiveness of sin in Jesus Christ!
Bible
The Bible is the authoritative and inspired source of truth for all matters
relating to our lives, relationships and beliefs. Therefore, we may obtain a
wisdom not our own to enable us to live a life that honors God!
Church
In both the Old and New Testaments, God has established a body of committed
believers joined together for the purpose of worship, edification, fellowship,
growth, discipline and service. We may learn to love one another and
demonstrate that we are disciples of Christ!
Our Perspective
SGBC is an independent church not affiliated with any denominational
institution. We are believers from a variety of church backgrounds. We enjoy
and benefit from fellowship and joint endeavors with like-minded churches. SGBC
emphasizes the Bible as God's present speech (word) to humankind. It reveals
all we need to know about Him and what He expects of us as His creation.
Although the Bible was written centuries ago, we believe that its teachings
bear directly on the ethical, social, and material issues of our day and lives.
We believe the highest purpose of the church is to glorify God. To this end we
emphasize worship in our services; the singing, prayer, preaching and communion
are all structured to promote a God-centered atmosphere. The church is to
reflect the compassion and concern Jesus Christ had for society in His day and
continues to have in ours. So we provide a recurring series of Bible studies on
the biblical gospel dealing with such matters as:
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Who is God?
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Who is Christ and why did He come?
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How does God's Law apply today?
We provide counseling which promotes
the application of the great truths of the Bible to one's daily life.
We hold to the historic reformed
view of theology, i.e., those teachings that God restored to His church by
using such men as Martin Luther and John Calvin. Reformed theology is reflected
in creeds as the Westminster Confession of Faith and the London Baptist
Confession of 1689. Two statements of faith are available upon request. One is
a brief two-page summary of our understanding of what the Bible teaches on key
subjects. The official statement of faith adopted by SGBC is the Baptist
Confession of Faith of 1689, with minor modifications. This 70-page document
and an insert identifying the minor modifications is
available upon request.