God is the personal creator and ruler of everything. He has eternally existed in perfect community—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God. He is holy, all-powerful, all knowing, unchanging, and full of mercy and grace.

See Genesis 1:1,26,27; 3:22; Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; and 2 Corinthians 13:14.

Jesus Christ, God’s Son, became fully human when he was born of the Virgin Mary. He was fully human and fully God. He lived a perfect life in place of our imperfect lives; died, as our substitute, the death we deserved to die because of our self-centeredness; and physically rose from the dead. He offers us full life by the promise of his own resurrection. He then ascended into heaven and today is our representative, intercessor, and advocate with God the Father.

See Matthew 1:22,23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5, 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; I Timothy 6:14,15; and Titus 2:13.

The Holy Spirit is co-equal with the Father and the Son of God. We experience the full life and presence of God in our relationship with God the Spirit. He is present in the world to make men and women aware of their need for Jesus Christ. He also lives in every Christian from the moment of salvation. He provides the Christian with power for living, understanding of spiritual truth, and guidance in doing what is right. He gives every believer a spiritual gift(s). As Christians, we seek to live under His control daily.

See 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; I Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; and Ephesians 5:1.

The Bible (66 books of the Old and New Testament) is God’s completely true story about who He is, what He has done, what He is doing, and what He will do. It contains the Old and New Testaments and it is totally unique. It was written by human authors under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. It is our primary and final source of authority.

See 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; and Proverbs 30:5.

People are made in the spiritual image of God to be like Him in character and to be in relationship with Him and with one another. People are the supreme object of God’s affection. Although every person has tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience toward God called “sin.” This attitude separates people from God and causes many problems in life.

See Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; and Isaiah 59:1-2.

We are connected to God in only one way—by choosing to accept the offer of forgiveness and reconciliation God offers to us by Christ’s life and resurrection. If we ask Him to, God treats us as if we were Christ, because He treated Christ as if he were us. God’s gift of grace makes us His adopted daughters and sons. There is nothing we can do to deserve this life—it is all a gift of God, and our job is to simply receive it. When we do, God begins the process of changing our hearts and minds from the inside out and making our characters more and more like Jesus. He will continue this process in us until He completes it in heaven.

Because of our relationship with God, we will want our lives to please Him. He will show us how to make this happen. We will also hope for unburdened relationships with all those around us. As we become more and more like Him, this becomes possible in our lives.

See Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26, Romans 5: John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10, 14 and 1 Peter 1:3-5.

People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is hell. To be eternally in union with Him is eternal life. Heaven and Hell are places of eternal existence.

In His own time and in His own way, God will bring the world, as we know it to an end. According to His promise, Christ will return personally and visibly to judge the living and the dead and to begin the new era of God’s universally visible reign that will last forever.

See John 3:16; John 14:17; Romans 6:23; 8:17-18; Revelation 20:15; and 1 Corinthians 2:7-9.