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Hickory Grove PCA
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The Gospel is the power of God for Worship, Missions, and Renewal
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CORE VALUES
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1. Faith as "Receiving" from Christ
Christ knows our weakness, and when we are weak he is strong. I can put my faith in Him and move out in weakness, resting in the realization that he will never leave me nor forsake me, and receiving power from Christ to “go and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
2. Overflowing Ministry
Ministry comes from a heart overflowing with Christ. We must be receiving Christ in a real and present way in order for our faith to have content and work toward others. Our ministry is to point people to Jesus, who is the living water, the only water that satisfies the deepest longings of our heart. “We love because God first loved us.”
3. Biblical Hospitality
In practicing Biblical hospitality, radically opening our lives, homes and church to the needy, we catch a true vision of the Gospel and experience for ourselves what Jesus has done for us. Otherwise, we become stale and hard-hearted, and over time “in-grown” losing God’s heart for the lost. There is no better way to be dispossessed of our own righteousness than to love others radically different from us.
4. Enjoying Repentance
Our “anxious fears” and “offensive ways” break intimacy with God. Because our hearts are deceitful and wicked above all things, we can not see the organic network of sin that drives our behaviors. The result is that we seeing our sin feels mean and harsh. Though there is a worldly sorrow that leads to death, there is Godly sorrow that always leads to life. Though painful, we can discover joy in repentance, as the barriers to intimacy between us and God are removed.
5. Risk or Rust
The Gospel is too good. If we only consume the sweetness of Christ for our personal well-being, we end of dying on the inside. The Gospel was meant to be living water for the disciple that flows out to others. A disciple is someone who fails often and needs lots of grace since he is so active in God’s Kingdom advance. When Christian growth is reduced to personal change only, we miss out on the great adventure of conquering the world for Christ by making disciples. This requires a commitment to relational evangelism and discipling, bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to unbelievers and believers alike.
6. Leading in Repentance and Faith
It is the power of the Gospel that brings us into family relationship with God. It is the same power that changes us. Therefore, ongoing repentance and faith characterizes the life of a Christian. We must be a "sinner-safe" church where the leaders lead in struggling openly with problems and risk failure in pursuit, being changed themselves, and of loving others. We should not mistake being a “sinner-safe” church with lawlessness. We love God’s law and are disciplined by God as Sons, calling “sin” sin, living in the light of God’s presence always.
7. Team Ministry and Shared Responsibility Scripture is filled with exciting examples of teamwork, both in Jesus’ own ministry and that of the early church leaders. Multiple leaders and manifold gifts are essential if the body of Christ is to work as it was designed. We must delight in the diversity God brings together, and encourage individuals to live as a family of believers. Plurality of elders and deacons, as well as accountability that begins with leadership and is active throughout the body of believers is the best environment for carrying out God’s kingdom mandate. Godly church discipline provides and opportunity for faith to work in love, strengthening the leadership, individuals, and the body itself.
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“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)
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