These core values describe who we are as Our Savior’s Church. They communicate who God has called us to be and direct where we’re going. As a church family, our goal is to live where Jesus’ Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) and His Great Commandment (Matthew 22:37-40) meet.
“Gospel doctrine creates a gospel culture. The doctrines of grace create a culture of grace, a social environment of acceptance and hope and freedom and joy. Jesus himself touches us through his truths to create a new kind of community. Without the doctrines, the culture alone is fragile. Without the culture, the doctrines alone appear pointless.” – Ray Ortland
BIBLE
We value the Bible as God’s revealed truth and the catalyst for life transformation and change. The Word of God is one of the greatest gifts He has given us. It’s so many things – divinely inspired, relevant, applicable, perfect, supernatural, simple, complex, comforting and challenging. It literally is the last word – nothing will be added to it and it has the final say in questions of how we live our lives, lead our families, and function as a church.
The Bible is not a self-help book, it’s not a collection of ancient sayings that may or may not apply in today’s world, and it’s not a mysterious book of answers to life’s most confusing questions. More than anything else, the Bible shows us who God is. As we come to know God and walk deeper into a relationship with Him through reading His Word, He begins to change us. In the process, God gives us His character. What comes naturally to Him that’s so hard for us (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, compassion, mercy, justice, etc.) begins to show up in our lives.
Like any relationship this takes work – it takes commitment. We’ve got to be willing to wrestle, to work through difficult issues, to ask ourselves hard questions and to hear things that may be difficult for us. But when we do, we’ll never be the same.