Our Local Church History (brief)
This section is under construction. :)
What do we believe?
Beliefs are very important! Especially for churches! They craft our reality, our vibe, our feel, our actions, our direction. In common industries, like paper-milling, autos, and food production we might think beliefs matter less - and that would probably be true. But, even there, beliefs do make a difference! If you're making paper, what do you believe about the best processes and our environment? (your core beliefs shape your market or audience). In auto-making, is safety a priority, value, or belief? In food production, do you value health and transparent-friendly-family-oriented processes? The lists go on. Beliefs definitely matter! We believe that. We also believe God's love calls us to love people who may believe differently than we do. Love is above all (1 Cor. 13). Do you believe that?
We also believe God's love calls us to love people who may believe differently than we do. Love is above all (1 Cor. 13). Do you believe that?
In our church, you'll probably find us similar in some ways to other churches you're familiar with, but unique and distinct at the same time! Let's find out how.
OUR BELIEFS:
- The Bible - God's Holy Word! As Adventists, we take a high view of scripture. God's word, the Bible, is inspired from cover to cover! We want to take God's word seriously from cover to cover, all within its proper context and the framework of Jesus and His wonderful "good news," the gospel! The New Testament scriptures teach us: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:" (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible is the very basis for all of our beliefs! At the heart of scripture is Jesus and His plan of salvation!
- God - God the Father is our loving Creator and Maker, along with Jesus (His Son), and the Holy Spirit. All eternal, all unique, yet all connected as One. God is holy, righteous, merciful, kind, loving, good, true, perfect, a lover of beauty, and creator of all good! He loves us all and wants to save us for eternity, in holy bliss.
- Christ Jesus - Jesus is God's son. He's divine! Fully God, who became a human being, taking on our human "flesh," to live among us, and die for our sins on the cross of Calvary. Through Jesus alone, we can have life! He is "the way, the truth, and the life" and "no one comes to the Father, except through Him" (John 14:6). "Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God:" (1 John 4:2).
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Salvation - We are "saved by grace through faith" in Jesus. "Not of works, lest any man should boast." In this salvation, Jesus works on us - "we are His workmanship," recreated "in Christ Jesus unto good works," to bring glory to God for all He is doing in our lives! (Read Ephesians 2:8-10). So, we are saved (i.e. justified - made at peace with God, through Jesus), being saved (i.e. transformed by Jesus after His holiness; aka being "sanctified,"), and will be saved (i.e. delivered from this evil world; aka glorified, by Jesus) when Jesus comes again! I'm glad God is at work in our lives, how about you?
Jesus saves! He's working on us. Praise God!I'm glad God is at work in our lives, how about you?
- Communion / Lord's Supper - We also practice the communion service or Lord's Supper generally on a quarterly basis to "proclaim His death, until He comes" 1 Cor. 11:26). We believe in using grape juice (unfermented - non-alcoholic - as the blood of Christ is uncorrupted or pure), and unleavened bread, because Christ Jesus had no "leaven" of sin (He is God's "unleavened" bread, from Heaven). When we do this service, we practice "open communion" meaning that any wishing to partake of Christ's symbolic blood and body, of His fellowship, His death and suffering for us, are fully welcome to partake of it (you need not be a member, just one who believes or wishes to believe in Christ and all He has done for us).
- Commandments - God's holy commandments are good, righteous, and true. We cannot find any fault in them for they are all perfect! Jesus wants us to keep His commandments, out of love for Him! "If ye love Me, keep My commandments" (John 14:15). We believe that all of God's commandments are important, and Jesus taught us to observe them all (Matthew 28:19-20). God has given us choices to make, and we must choose whether we will live a life of obeying God, and all He has said, or not. In the end, God will hold all, believers and non-believers, accountable for our choices (Read James' teaching on this; James 2:10-12). We live to obey God, not to earn anything (because we cannot), but because we love God and desire Him and His ways. The "Seventh-day" in our name, refers to our belief in keeping the "7th day Sabbath" holy as God has commanded us (Exodus 20:8-11), as Jesus exemplified (Luke 4:16), and as Jesus taught us (Mark 2:27-28; 3:4-5).
- Coming Again - Jesus promised that He would "come again" (John 14:1-3). We are awaiting His soon return, and believe our lives should be oriented around that great event, looking forward to it, and helping the world to get ready for it! This is where we get the word "Adventist" in our name - it's all in the name. :) [The word "Advent" means "the coming" of]
- The Holy Spirit and Spiritual Gifts - We believe that God gives "gifts unto men," to His church, through the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:8, 11-13). The church awaiting His coming should "come behind in no gift" (1 Cor. 1:7). God wants to empower His church with the gift and gifts of His Spirit, even today (Acts 2: 17-18; 1 Corinthians 12). Spiritual gifts vary and are of God's choosing, by His Spirit. We also believe that there are BOTH counterfeit and genuine spiritual gifts in our world today. THE HOLY BIBLE, God's word, must be the test of every gift or experience (Isaiah 8:20; 1 John 4:1 - these principles apply to any possible gift).
- Bible Prophecy & God's End-time Message: Beyond spiritual gifts in the last days, we especially believe that God's spiritual gifts have been manifested to His church throughout history and we must be diligent students of Bible Prophecy, which God has revealed to us for our well-being, as a guiding light in these dark times. We need to know the message of Bible prophecy, correctly and clearly (such as in Daniel and Revelation), here in these last days of earth's history as we know it! In this way also, we can prepare for His coming (2 Peter 1:19-21). The prophetic message contained in Revelation 14:6-12 deserves special attention.
For a more complete list of fundamental beliefs of Seventh-day Adventists (as summarized from the Bible - the Bible is our true "creed"), please explore them from our world church website, www.Adventist.org/beliefs.
Why do we exist?
We exist to
- develop intimacy with God,
- fellowship with believers, and develop
- life-saving Christian influence within our community ("Let your light so shine before men..." - Jesus; Matthew 5:16), sharing God's love and life-saving message with all!
We exist to share the last-day message of God's holy word which will help people everywhere to prepare for the soon-coming of Jesus Christ by developing a saved and saving relationship with Him. We believe God's message in Revelation 14:6-12 heralds His last-day call to all on planet earth to prepare for His soon return! (The substance of this message therefore is important for all to understand. Verses 14-15 tell us that Jesus' return follows the proclamation of this threefold prophetic message, which ripens the two harvests - the saved and the lost - before Jesus comes!).
Connect with us to learn more!
You are more than welcome! Please Come!
Woodward SDA Church is located in Woodward, Oklahoma. We'd love to have you visit us! Our map location is here. Please come visit us!
We are so excited about how God is changing lives through this church family! We would love for you to be a part of it! You’re welcome to visit this site any time for updates or messages, and if you’re ever in the Woodward area we’d love to meet you face to face!
We look forward to meeting you! God bless you!
Not Sure What to Expect?
Read "What to Expect When Visiting" (aka Plan Your Visit)