Faith
At Jefferson Avenue, we believe that salvation is the biggest decision someone can make in life. While we also believe it is an urgent decision, we know that it may be new to you and that you may have questions. We desire to provide the information necessary to guide you toward what we believe is God's will for you. Don't stop now, continue reading. If you prefer to speak to someone in person or simply want to visit Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church, let us know below.
Whether you are just exploring the website or interested in attending one of our online streams or attending in person for the first time, we want to be there for each step of the journey. Let us know how we can minister to you.
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The idea of church (or fellowship with other believers) was something that Jesus encouraged with the apostles after His resurrection. Matthew 16, Jesus says "On this rock I will build my church".
From there, the Book of Acts has many references on the initial formation of the church including the miraculous spread of the message through the power of the Holy Spirt.
Over 2000 years later, God is still at work in our world. Whether we have a good day or a bad day, our Comfort is in Jesus Christ. For it is through some of these bad days that we end up somewhere we never thought was possible on our own. Jesus gives us purpose. That purpose is to share the Gospel and to do this, we learn about Jesus through the church setting together.
Whether you have never experienced church, or are maybe a little sckeptical or just new to the area looking for a place to join, we encourage you to visit. We are all imperfect people but have a desire to discover and learn together, support each other through love and prayer and then go out and serve together and through our individual lives.
Christianity has a long history rooting back centuries however the important part starts with FAITH. Faith is defined as having a "complete trust or confidence in someone or something. The biggest difference to faith in Jesus versus faith in anything in this world is that it takes a belief that someone physically unseen is real; that Jesus is alive and that He paid the ultimate sacrifice by taking all the sins of the world on His own. Through death, he paid the price so that if we believe, we may experience life eternally in the presence of our Heavenly Father!
We often use the word FAITH as an acronym to describe the steps.
F
F
The F in Faith stands for Forgiveness
We can not have eternal life in heaven without God's forgiveness.
Ephesians 1:7 says: "In him [Jesus] we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."
It is through this redemption and grace that God actively pursues us and desires us to come to a deeper knowledge of his will for your life.
A
A
The A in Faith stands for Available
Forgiveness is available to all that ask! One of the most familiar verses in the Bible, John 3:16 states: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life."
The take away here is that it is not automatic. In Matthew 7:21: "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
I
I
The I in Faith stands for Impossible
It is impossible for God to allow sin into heaven. We must make an active choose to obey God's will and even when we mess up, we recognize the error, ask for forgiveness and choose to repent so that we may try as best as we humanly can to avoid the sin in the future.
James 2:13 says: "For judgement is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumps over judgement."
Because of who God is: He has made available to us his mercy. God is loving and just but his judgement will be against sin.
Because of who we are: by nature, we are all sinners. Romans 3:23 states: "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" however, the story doesn't end there...
T
T
The T in Faith stands for Turn
To turn, in the Biblical sense, means repent. We have the ability to turn away from sinful activity and to turn toward someone; Jesus Christ alone! In Luke 13:3, Jesus states "unless you repent, you will all likewise perish." however "if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans 10:9)
The choice is yours!
H
H
The H in Faith stands for Heaven
While on this earth, it is written in Scripture that "the thief [Satan] comes only to steal and kill and destroy. [Jesus] came that they may have life and have it abundantly. (John 10:10). Furthermore, Jesus also said: "Believe in God; believe also in me ... I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (excerpts from John 14:1-3).
FAITH as detailed above is the belief or loyality to God. With faith we believe the Bible is the Holy Word of God and that through His Son, we also can be saved by grace.
GRACE is a gift from God that grants us the eternal life we all seek. This gift is free as long as we accept God's Son and believe that He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life as stated in John 14:6.
Accepting Christ is just the beginning of a wonderful adventure with God! So what's next? How do you do this?
Becoming a Christian is as simple as three steps:
If you feel that little tug deep inside, that is the Holy Spirit guiding to you towards making this decision. You may not fully understand it all at the beginning and that is okay! All Christians continuously learn more about God each and every day. However, if you would like to put your faith in Jesus, take away all distractions and consider a prayer like this ... (it's okay if you read it to God as long as you are sincere in the words you pray).
"Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner and have fallen short of your expectations in many ways. I believe that you died for my sins and through the faith in your death and resurrection, I ask that you come into my heart and lead my life as my personal Savior and Lord. From this day forward, I will follow you by living a life that pleases you. Thank you Lord, Jesus, for saving me. Amen"
If you said that prayer, congratulations on a new life with Jesus! We desire to continue to provide resources and encouragement as you take steps each day to live a life according to the will of God. A couple things that we believe in doing after making this decision is:
Baptism is ultimately, a symbol. Jesus led the way with water baptism when John, the Baptiser immersed Jesus.
We believe, that when someone is baptized, they are showing that they have confessed and embraced Jesus as their personal Savior, accepted that Jesus died on the cross to pay for their sin, and recognized that He was buried and rose from the dead on the third day.
We call it a ordinance, which is a fancy word for ritual, but don't let that scare you. While is has spiritual significance, we do this by being completely immersed in water, then brought back up to the surface, again, to symbolize Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection.
It is symbol identifying you to the local church as a fellow believer in Jesus, and to your family and friends that you have chosen to embrace the lifestyle of a follower of Jesus Christ.
It is not a requirement for salvation for it reads in Ephesians 2:8-9, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." While it is not required for salvation, we accept this as one of the three ways to become a member of Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church. Read more on church membership.
Some call it Communion, some call it The Lord’s Supper.
This also is a symbol used by those who follow Jesus to remember His death on the cross to pay for our sins. It originated from the Passover meal celebrated by the Jews to commemorate their deliverance from slavery in Egypt about 3500 years ago. While Jesus was on this earth, he demonstrated this by taking a portion of the bread used in the Passover meal, blessed it, broke it and passed it out to His disciples, telling them,
“Take and eat, for this is My body, which is given for you.”
Then, He took one of the cups of wine from the Passover table, and said,
"This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
(Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:19-20; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25, CSB)
The cup and the bread are symbols of Jesus’ sacrifice on our behalf to pay the death penalty for our sins. We choose to use grape juice instead of wine, but the symbolism remains the same.
“For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes”