GOD

We believe there is one divine being who has existed eternally. God is the Creator, Ruler, and Sustainer of the universe. He exists and reveals himself to humanity in three distinct, equally divine personalities: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is the personification of pure love and deeply desires a personal, eternal loving relationship with us. (Genesis 1:1, 26-27; Psalm 90:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2)

JESUS

Jesus of Nazareth is the eternal Son of God and is equal with the Father. Jesus chose voluntarily to take on humanity, was conceived of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and born both fully human and fully divine. He lived a sinless human life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He rose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death. Jesus has brought the kingdom rule of God into our world. He ascended to Heaven and will return again someday. (Matthew 1:22-23; John 1:1-18; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14-15; 1 Corinthians 15:3-4; Romans 1:3-4; Acts 1:1-11; Titus 2:13)

HOLY SPIRIT

The Holy Spirit is equal with the Father and Jesus the Son of God. He lives in every Christ follower from the moment of salvation. He provides us with the power to live a fruitful, victorious life, assists in our understanding of spiritual truth, and provides boldness in sharing the good news of Jesus with others. The Holy Spirit transforms us into increasing holiness as we yield our will to His. He also gives each Christ-follower a spiritual gift or gifts for the purpose of serving others. (2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13; 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12; 3:16; 12:4-11; Ephesians 1:13;Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 6:11-13)

OPPORTUNITIES FOR NEW LIFE

We believe God created all of humanity in his image to live in relationship with him. Being made in God’s image, we were designed for relationships. But due to our own willful rebellion against God, we are alienated from him and are consequently lost and without hope. Jesus Christ is our only hope for reconciliation through forgiveness. Salvation—the forgiveness of our sins and deliverance by the power of the Spirit of Christ—cannot be earned, but is given freely by the grace of God through the sacrifice of Jesus. We connect with this grace-gift of God when by faith we surrender our lives at baptism. (Acts 4:12; 2:38; Romans 3:23-24; Romans 5:1-11, 6:1-11, 23; Ephesians 2:8-10; Colossians 2:10-12; 1 Peter 3:21; Titus 3:4-6)

THE BIBLE

We believe the Bible is God’s “love letter” revealing his character to humanity and His written Word. The process that God used to give us His Word is called inspiration, which means "God-breathed", which makes the Bible accurate, reliable, and completely trustworthy. It tells us who God is, why He loves us, and what His plans are for us. We accept the Bible as the final authority in determining how we are to behave (live our lives) and what we are to believe (doctrine). (Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119:105, 160; John 17:17; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; 1 Timothy 4:1, 17)

ABOUT SALVATION

We need salvation because we have sinned. Sin separates us from God who desires relationship with us. It is impossible for any man to restore that broken relationship with God by any amount of personal goodness, religious deeds, or by belonging to a church. We cannot earn, merit or achieve a right relationship with God by our own efforts. The death of Jesus was not an accident. It was God’s plan from the beginning to save us from our sins through the death of Jesus Christ. The Bible calls God’s act of love, "grace". His grace is His gift to us. The way we receive His gift is by entering into a covenant relationship with Jesus by placing our trust and faith in Him. When we decide that we will follow Jesus for the rest of our lives, we demonstrate our trust in Jesus by obeying His command to be immersed (baptized) in water demonstrating the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. (Isaiah 59:2; John 3:16; John 14:6; Acts 2:37-39;  Romans 3:10,11,23; Romans 6:3-4; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Ephesians 2:1-10; Titus 3:3-8)

OUR HERITAGE

Sunset is a non-denominational church that is part of a world-wide fellowship commonly known as the Churches of Christ. Congregations within this fellowship are autonomous yet bound together by shared convictions derived from the word of God. Our heritage is rooted in the Restoration Movement, a centuries old effort on the part of God’s Spirit and God’s people to call believers to a relationship with Christ and each other based on the authority of God’s Word. We strive to be Christians only while acknowledging that we are not the only Christians.