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Welcome! |
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Who Are These People? |
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Have you ever wondered, "Who are
those people in the Mid-Island Church of Christ?" You may have no knowledge
about us, or you may have some opinions based on something you have heard from
someone else. Either way, you may not have a very clear picture of who we are.
It is for this reason that this material has been provided for you. If you have
additional questions, feel free to call us for further information (516) 902-8425.
We are not a building
We are a newly formed congregation. We are currently worshipping in various
members' homes who have houses large enough to host several families. Every
church congregation must have its own starting point; it's first Sunday Worship
as a local congregation. While some may be used to much larger surroundings and
facilities, this is actually a very exciting time to be a member of such a
"church planting". Although we would someday soon like our own building, it is not
sacred or holy and it is not the church. The church is the people...
the souls! We call
ourselves the Mid-Island Church of Christ because of our location. We are
centrally located on Long Island, and a short drive from anywhere on Long
Island. We are a
"Church of Christ" because we are a church that belongs to Christ,
(Romans.16:16).
We are not a denomination
The Mid-Island church does not
claim to be just another denomination. We would like to be part of a unity
movement calling all people back to the Bible. Our mission is not to condemn
others, for God is the ultimate judge of all of us. Instead, we humbly attempt
to live under the control of Scripture. We strongly feel that this is a way that
is right and cannot be wrong. To be a Christian in the same way people in the
first century were Christians is a way we know is right. In the period of the
New Testament, there was only one church and it was the church that belonged to
Christ. Jesus was the head of this church and it was his spiritual body (Ephesians
1:22-23;
1
Corinthians 12:12). He gave himself for the church and he is its savior (Ephesians
5:23-27). This is the church we want to be. We are not saying we are perfect
at being what Jesus wants us to be, but we humbly make this our goal.
We are not shaped by culture
God has revealed himself to
humankind through the Bible. The Bible is divided into the Old Testament and the
New Testament. The Old Testament is designed to prepare us for and lead us to
Christ (Galatians
3:24;
John 1:17;
Hebrews
8:13;
10:1).
Christ and his church are revealed to us in the New Testament. The word of God
is truth (John
8:32;
17:17) and it provides us with all the information we need for living our
lives (2
Peter 1:3). Because God and his word do not change (Hebrews
13:8), We cannot change our beliefs to reflect a change a change in our
culture. For example; what God once said about the sins of homosexuality (Romans
1:26-27), sexual immorality (1
Corinthians 6:18), and the works of the flesh (Galatians
5:19-21) cannot be changed because culture has changed. In every generation,
we must reflect Christ in our lives. The apostle Paul said, "Let this mind be in
you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Philippians
2:5).
We wear the name of Christ
The church in the New Testament is
described in many ways and it does not have a particular name. We call ourselves
"Mid-Island Church of Christ" because we are a community of believers that
belongs to Christ. In
Paul's letter to the church at Rome, he said, "All the Churches of Christ greet
you" (Romans
16:16).
We are sinners saved by grace
Salvation is by grace through
faith (Ephesians
2:8-9). Righteousness before God is not earned by human merit and could not
be. Salvation is the free gift of God. However, God tells us in his word that
this free gift comes with conditions. For a sinner to have his sins washed away,
he or she must (1) believe the gospel (good news) about Jesus Christ (Mark
16:15-16); (2) repent of sins (Acts
2:38); (3) confess the name of Christ (Matthew
10:32-33;
Romans
10:10); and (4) be immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins (Acts
2:38,2:41;
8:12,
8:38;
22:16).
The grace of God that brings salvation also teaches us to deny ungodliness and
worldly lusts (Titus
2:11-12). This means we should apply the teachings of Christ and the
apostles to our lives.
We are Christians only
Being Christians means we must not
only pattern our lives after the teachings of Christ, but we also must pattern
the church and its worship according to what we find in the New Testament. This
means that we should meet upon the first day of the week (1
Corinthians 16:2) and come together into one place for worship and
fellowship (1
Corinthians 11:20). The church's worship should include the celebration of
the Lord's supper (Acts
20:7;
1 Corinthians 11:23-26), singing (Colossians
3:16;
1
Corinthians 14:15;
Romans
15:9), prayer (Acts
13:3), giving (1
Corinthians 16:1-2), and the preaching of God's word (1
Tim 4:14). The men of the congregation should take the lead in directing the
worship (1
Tim 2:8,
11-12;
1
Corinthians 14:34).
This is your invitation
This is your invitation to become
a part of our fellowship. We do not ask any more of you than what was asked of
believers in the first century. The people in the New Testament who wanted to
follow Jesus were asked to believe the gospel (Mark
16:15-16), repent of their sins (Acts
2:38), confess that they believe in Jesus (Romans
10:10), and be immersed in water so that their sins might be washed away (Acts
2:38;
22:16;
Romans
6:1-4;
Colossians 2:12). Following the plan of salvation in the New Testament makes
Christians only and the only Christians. There is no other plan or name by which
we can find salvation (Acts
4:12). We encourage you to join with us as we seek to restore New Testament
Christianity. Feel free to visit our services as often as you wish. We look
forward to seeing you Sunday!