Core Values
People and organizations have values. You can tell what others value by how they live. At First Moss Bluff we feel like it’s crucial to determine what God says our values should be and live those out as a church family. In other words, the values that characterized the lives of Christians in the Bible should be the same values that we have today. So, we have taken our values straight out of God’s Word and do our best to live those out. Our strategies and how we carry these values out may change over time but the values themselves will remain because of their tie to God’s truth.
Biblical Authority (2 Tim 3:16-17)
We believe that the Scriptures were given not just inform us about God but to transform us to be like Jesus. That means that we have to invest time and think about what God is communicating through His Word and about how it should change our behaviors.
Spiritual Intimacy (Mark 1:35)
We believe that God wants everyone to grow spiritually. That means primarily that God sent His Son to die for us so that we would have a relationship with Him instead of following a set of prescribed mechanical rules.
Authentic Community (Acts 2:40-47)
We believe that God wants us to live connected to each other—not isolated from each other. So, living in biblical community means that we choose to connect with, include, and involve others in our lives. It means that we all have a place to belong.
Personal Ministry (Rom 12:4-8)
We believe that everyone plays a part in God’s redemption story. You and I are not created where we are and when we are by accident. God has wired each of us for meaningful investment in the community, which requires us to move.
Global Responsibility (Acts 1:8)
We believe that part of our responsibility is to advance God’s Kingdom in the world, starting in Moss Bluff and to Calcasieu Parish, then to Louisiana and the Southeast, and then to the world. We are called to care for our neighborhoods as well as for the nations.
What we believe about…
The Bible
We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme and final authority in all matters of faith and life. 2 Tim. 3:16; 2 Pt. 1:20, 21; Mk. 13:31; Jn. 8:31, 32; John 20:31; Acts 20:32
The Trinity
We believe that there is one living and true God, eternally existing in three persons; that these are equal in every divine perfection, and that they execute distinct but harmonious offices in the work of creation, providence, and redemption. Gen. 1:1, 26; Jn. 1:1, 3; Matt. 28:19; Rom. 1:19, 20; Eph. 4:5-6
God The Father
We believe in God the Father, an infinite, personal spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power, and love. We believe that He infallibly foreknows all that shall come to pass, that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and spiritual death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. Lk. 10:21, 22; Matt. 23:9; Jn. 3:16; 6:27; Rom. 1:7; 1 Tim. 1:1, 2; 2:5, 6; 1 Pt. 1:3; Rev. 1:6
Jesus Christ
We believe in Jesus Christ, God's only begotten Son, eternally existing, conceived by the Holy Spirit. We believe in His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, and teachings. We believe in His substitutionary atoning death, bodily resurrection, ascension into heaven, perpetual intercession for His people, and personal visible return to earth. Matt. 1:18-25; Lk. 1:26-38; Jn. 1:1; 20:28; Rom. 8:46; 9:5; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pt. 2:21-23; Jn. 20:30, 31; Matt. 20:28; Eph. 1:4; Acts 1:11; Rom. 5:6-10; Heb. 7:25; 9:28; 1 Tim. 3:16
The Holy Spirit
We believe that the Holy Spirit is a divine Person, equal with God the Father and God the Son. He came to convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, and to regenerate, sanctify, and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that the Holy Spirit indwells every believer in Christ, and that He is an abiding helper, teacher, and guide. Jn. 14:16, 17, 26; 15:26, 27; Jn. 16:9-14; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; 6:19; Gal. 5:22-26
Salvation
We believe that man was created by God in His own image; that he sinned and thereby incurred physical, spiritual, and eternal death, which is separation from God; that as a consequence, all human beings are born with a sinful nature and are sinners by choice and therefore under condemnation. Salvation is a free gift from God to man. Man can never make up for his sin by self-improvement or good works. We believe that those who repent and trust Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are regenerated by the Holy Spirit and become new creatures, delivered from condemnation and receive eternal life. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith. Gen. 1:26; 5:2; Gen. 3; Gen. 2:17; 3:19; Eccl.2:11; Jn. 3:14; 5:24; Jn. 5:30; 7:13; 8:12; 10:26; Rom. 9:22; 2 Thess. 1:9; Rev. 19:3, 20; 20:10, 14, 15; 21:18; Ps. 51:7; Jer. 17:9; Js. 1:14; Rom. 3:19; Prov. 28:13; 1 Jn. 1:9; Jn. 3:16; Jn. 1:13; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 8:1; Rom. 6:23; Eph. 2:8-9; Jn. 14:6; 1:12; Titus 3:5; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 5:1
Eternal Security
We believe the security of our salvation rests upon the gift that God has given us in the death, burial, and resurrection of His Son, Jesus Christ.It is impossible to lose your salvation because it is maintained by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian.It is the sealing and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit that gives us this security. There is a falling away of some believers, but if it persists; it shows that their faith was not genuine and they were not born of God.Jn. 10:29-30; 2 Tim. 1:12; Heb. 7:25, 10:10-14; 1 Pt. 1:3-5; Rom. 8:38-39, 11:29; Eph. 1:13-14; 1 Jn. 2:19; Lk. 8:9-14
Eternity
We believe man was created to exist forever. He will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or in union 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. Jn. 3:16; 1 Jn. 2:25; 5:11-13; Rom. 6:23; Rev. 20:15
The Church
We believe in the local church, consisting of a company of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized on a credible profession of faith, and associated for worship, good works, and fellowship. We believe that God has laid upon the members of the local church the primary task of giving the gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. Eph. 2:19-22; Acts 1:8; Eph. 5:19-21; Acts 2:42; Heb. 10:23-25
Christian Maturity
We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and the well-being of his fellow men; that his conduct should be blameless before the world; that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions; and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ. 1 Cor. 10:31; Rom. 12:1-3; Heb. 12:1-2; Jn. 14:15, 23-24; 2 Cor. 9:6-9; 1 Cor. 1:9-10
Church Ordinances
We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church, Baptism and the Lord's Supper. We believe that Christian Baptism is the immersion of the believer in the water into the name of the triune God. We believe that the Lord's Supper was instituted by Christ for commemoration of His death. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. Matt. 28:18-20; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 11:23-26
Last Things
We believe in the personal and visible return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth and the establishment of His kingdom.We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment, the eternal joy of the righteous and the endless suffering of the wicked. Matt. 16:27; Mk. 14:62; Jn. 14:3; Acts 1:11; Phil. 3:20; 1 Thess. 4:15; 2 Tim. 4:1; Titus 2:13
