Prepared
We desire to be a community prepared to live as Christ followers by God’s grace.
As Christ followers we seek to live the kind of life that God intends for us to live, and God’s grace makes this possible. Preparedness for this kind of living involves redemption and transformation. Redemption is an act of God’s grace in which he rescues us from ourselves. Left to our own devices we seek personal glory and praise at all costs, blind to the reality that this kind of self-gratification destroys us physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Jesus sets us free from this self-destruction. He calls us to trust in and follow him. And by God’s grace we experience new life and true identity in Christ. Transformation is the process by which Christians become more and more like Christ. Even though Christians have been redeemed and thus freed from the need to earn God’s favor, the natural tendency for Christians is to retreat from this freedom. God’s grace frees us and makes it possible for us to enjoy that freedom. This grace, when operative in the life of a Christian, is demonstrated in Christian obedience and godly living (Gal 5).
In order to live as Christ followers who are experiencing redemption and transformation, City Church seeks to be a community of people who hunger to know God through his word. We satisfy this hunger in part through the daily study of the Scriptures, both individually and corporately. Scripture reveals our need for Christ and guides us into knowing him (Psalm 119:105; Rom 10:17). The Scriptures not only provide us knowledge about God but serve as a Spirit-illuminated conduit for growing in our relationship with Him. We intentionally spend time hearing from God in His Word, reflecting on what it reveals about Him and His mission for us, and responding with joyful wonder and humble obedience.