WHAT WE BELIEVE

Simply put, we believe the Bible. We believe that “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly finished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

We believe all of the Word of God, and the inclusion here of some things from the Word should not be understood as excluding anything else from the Word. Having said that, some of those things we believe include:

We believe that “in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth” (Genesis 1:1).

We believe that “in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” and that “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world knew Him not” (John 1:1,10).

We believe “…that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures” (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).

We believe that “he that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16).

We believe that in the first century “the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47) and that he still does so today.

We believe that Jesus promised, “upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” therefore the church was established by Jesus and belongs to Him, furthermore we believe that “Christ is the head of the church; and He is the savior of the body” (Ephesians 5:23).

We believe that Jesus promised, “I go to prepare a place for you. And If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2-3).

We believe that one day “…we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ” and at that time we will hear either, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:21) or “depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matthew 25:41).

What to Expect when You Visit the Flippin Church of Christ

The church of Christ is made up of baptized believers in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. We strive to be a welcoming group of people who reflect the love of Christ. In particular, if you visit our services, we hope you will find:

Friendliness

You can expect a warm, friendly welcome. We believe that one of the basic foundation principles of Christianity is love and friendship toward our fellow man (Matthew 22:36-40). You will be greeted with kindness and courtesy. Why not give us the opportunity to become your friend. (cf. Proverbs 18:24).

Order

You can expect our service to be with reverence and order. We try to avoid the extremes of ritualism on the one hand or emotionalism on the other. Instead, we try to worship God with both joy and respect. We strive to engage in all worship and service with decency and order. (1 Corinthians 14:40).

Simplicity

You can expect our worship to be simple. Its simple because it is based entirely on the worship authorized in the New Testament. Jesus taught that our worship was to be conducted in spirit and truth. (John 4:24). Our worship to God includes the Lord’s Supper, giving, singing, prayer and teaching the Gospel. Each of these is done in a way consistent with the worship of the first century Christians, as described in God’s world (Acts 2-42; 1 Corinthians 16:2; Ephesians 5:19; 1 Timothy 2:1; Acts 20:7).

Singing

You can expect congregational singing. Singing is a vital part of our worship. All members of our congregation will blend their voices together in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. The purpose of our songs is to praise God, to teach and admonish one another through our singing. (Ephesians 5-19; Colossians 3:16). Since the command to sing is specific and addressed to the individual, we do not add a mechanical instrument of music in our worship in songs. For the same reason we do not have choirs to sing for us or any type of mood music to entertain us.

Preaching

You can expect simple, Bible-based preaching. Our goal is to preach the pure, unadulterated word of God, with nothing added and nothing taken away (Revelation 22:18-19). Frequent references to the Scriptures will be made, typically with book, chapter and verse given so that you can study these things for yourself. While we try to keep lessons interesting, our goal is to worship, not to entertain.

The Lord’s Supper

Upon the first day of the week, we come together to break bread, as they did in the first century (Acts 20:7). The Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ, Himself (Luke 22:19-20), and so we partake of the fruit of the vine and unleavened bread in remembrance of the sacrifice He made on the cross for our sake. We partake of this every first day of the week, just as we separately take a free-will offering on the first day of every week, given that the same language is used in regard to both in the New Testament (compare Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2).