Mannington Church of Christ
What Do I Need to Know
The Bible is accepted as our authority for all we do in worship and daily life.
Because we love God, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. He who does not love Me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent me." John 14: 23-24
Because it is what will judge us, " He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him — the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day." John 12:48-49
We believe:
God created a perfect world for us and shared it with us. "Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good." Genesis 1:31 God placed Adam and Eve in a garden and walked in it with them. Genesis 2:8 and 3:8
Man sinned and lost his good relationship with God." So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves coverings. And they heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden.
Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, "Where are you?" So he said, "I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; and I hid myself." And He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree of which I commanded you that you should not eat?" Adam said,"The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate."
And the LORD God said to the woman, "What is this you have done?"The woman said,"The serpent deceived me, and I ate."
So the LORD God said to the serpent:"Because you have done this,You are cursed more than all cattle,And more than every beast of the field;On your belly you shall go,And you shall eat dust All the days of your life. And I will put enmity Between you and the woman,And between your seed and her Seed;He shall bruise your head,And you shall bruise His heel."
To the woman He said:"I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception;In pain you shall bring forth children;Your desire shall be for your husband,And he shall rule over you."
Then to Adam He said,"Because you have heeded the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree of which I commanded you, saying, 'You shall not eat of it':"Cursed is the ground for your sake;In toil you shall eat of it All the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread Till you return to the ground,For out of it you were taken;For dust you are,And to dust you shall return."
And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living. Also for Adam and his wife the LORD God made tunics of skin, and clothed them.
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever" — therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life. Genesis 3:6-24
We all have sinned in our own way and deserve to be separated from God forever. -"For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, Rom 3:23 "Therefore, just as through one man sin entered the world, and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men, because all sinned-" Romans 5:12
In the Old Testament, God told the people to sacrifice a lamb or goat when they sinned and that animal would die instead of them. Leviticus 16:11 This was getting us ready for the final sacrifice - Jesus Christ - the lamb of God, who would die in our place.
GOD HAS A PLAN FOR US TO BE WITH HIM AGAIN-"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." John 3:16-17
God sent Jesus to be with us, to show us how to live and to show us what God is like. He also sent Him to be the final sacrifice for our sins. He is called the lamb of God, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" John 1:29 .When Jesus died on the cross, (God's lamb instead of us) he made possible the forgiveness of sins for all who would be covered by His blood.
WHAT DO WE HAVE TO DO TO BE RIGHT WITH GOD AGAIN? This is the question asked by all who realize the wrong way they have been living and that they are without God in their lives. Acts 2:37 Here is the answer.....Then Peter said to them,"Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call." Acts 2:38-39
Baptism is the point we exchange our sinful selves and put on the righteousness that only Christ can give us. " For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ." Galatians 3:
Baptism is when we have our sins washed away. "And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized , and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord." Acts 22:16
Walk with God again - forget your past - follow his commandments and be faithful. " But if we walk in the light as He is in the light , we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." John 1:7-10
Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. Revelation 2:10
Come to church-meet with the group of people who have had their sins washed away "So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved." Acts 2:46-47