He is the Name above all names, God, The Son of God, our Bridegroom, our Best Friend, the Messiah, the Savior for all mankind, the King of Kings, Lord of Lords, the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, the Root of David, our Redeemer, Immanuel, the Rock, the Word, the Resurrection, the Way, the Truth, the Life and Lord of all. As foretold in God’s word by the prophets, Jesus lived a pure and sinless life, yet gave Himself on the cross as a Living Sacrifice, taking the shame and punishment for our sins before God. This was an act of love to save man from his own destructive self and destroying one another on earth, as well as eternal damnation in eternity. Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave through the resurrection three days after He was crucified on the cross at Calvary, and therefore, lives to intercede and live in all who believe in Him and are ‘born again.’ There is no other way to be saved, enter into Heaven, or know the Father except through Him. Jesus Christ is the incarnate God, fully God and fully man, and currently sits at the right hand of the Father.

Our heart is that you would abide in Jesus and He in you, convinced that you can do nothing apart from Jesus and that He is sufficient for all things.

John 15:4-5 • 2 Peter 1:3 • Philip 2:9 • John 1:1 • John 3:16, 29, 15:14 • Luke 2:11 • Rev 5:5, 19:16 • Is 9:6; Gal 4:4-5 • Matt 1:23 • 1 Cor 10:4 • Rom 10:9 • 1 Cor 12:3 • Rom 5:8 • 1 John 4:10 • Matt 27:52-53 • Rev 1:18 • 1 Peter 2:21, 3:19 • Heb 10:12 • Eph 1:20 • Romans 8:34

The Father is Spirit yet When you see Jesus, you see the Father. To know Jesus, it is to know Him.; however, the Father represents several characteristics of God’s nature that are vitally important for believers to know and understand. The Father represents both the mothering and fathering heart of God, as he created both male and female in His image and likeness. The Father chooses to represent Himself as a Father instead of a mother for several reasons that can be discussed personally with church leadership in greater context.

The Father longs for us to become His sons and daughters. By His plan, the Father sent Jesus to us to reveal His heart, and He sends the Holy Spirit into our hearts when we are born again., and adopts The Father draws us to Jesus, who cleanses us from sin and reconciles us to the Father, and the Father adopts us into God’s family. those who look to Christ as their Savior and are born again. God is all about family, and without the nature and character of the Father, there would be no Kingdom, no one called a “child of God”, and most importantly, no Jesus Christ.

Our heart is for you to know and trust the Father as author of everything seen and unseen, believing that He is good, just and merciful and the giver of every good and perfect gift, knowing what you need even before you ask Him.

Deuteronomy 32:6 • I Corinthians 8:6 • Colossians 1:16 • Luke 6:36 • Matthew 5:45

Psalm 86:15 • 2 John 1:4 James 1:17 • Matthew 6:8,32 • John 14:9-11 • Genesis 1:27 • John 1:12-13 Romans 8:15, 19 • John 3:16 • John 16:27 • Ephesians 3:14-15 • John 6:44

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit has functions that are unique to Himself and specifically for believers. These functions (or purposes) are: comfort, guidance, counsel, and preparation of the Bride (the church) for the Bridegroom (Jesus). The Holy Spirit also exposes and convicts men of sin, righteousness, and judgment. The Holy Spirit indwells the believer upon the salvation experience, sealing them until the day of their redemption. The Holy Spirit also fully fills and empowers the believer when they ask the Father and allow themselves to be Baptized by Jesus Christ.

Our heart is for you to be led by the Spirit in everything, knowing Him as Lord through trust, intimacy, and dependence, bearing the fruit that He produces, especially God’s perfect love.

Romans 8:14 • 2 Corinthians 3:17 • Galatians 5:22-23 • John 14:16-18, 16:13 • Matthew 25:4 John 16:7-11 2 Cor 1:22 • Acts 1:8 • Matthew 3:11 • 1 John 2:20

God is Love! Before the foundations of the earth, God was one-in-three: The Father, The Son, and The Holy Spirit. Through three unique beings, they are one in the same. This is a profound mystery, yet similar to the human being as a three-part person (spirit, soul, and body). God is one. Though one, each Person of God has unique functions. The trinity also represents family, love, and how God dreamed of you before the earth was created. God longed to share and celebrate His love with us, and therefore, created us in His image and likeness. Our heart is that you would be one with God, belonging to Him and growing in His love. God is spirit and his words are spirit.

Our heart is that you would receive the spiritual life God offers through Jesus and grow in His likeness, speaking spiritual words of life over yourself and others.

John 14:20 • John 17:21 • 1 Corinthians 6:17 • John 17:6 • 1 Corinthians 3:23 • Romans 14:8 John 10:14 John 13:34-35 • 1 John 15:10-12 • 1 Thessalonians 3:12 • John 4:24 • John 6:63 • 1 John 5:11-12 • John 1:4 • 2 Corinthians 3:18 • Romans 8:29 • Galatians 4:19 • Proverbs 18:21 Ephesians 4:29 • Genesis 1:2, 26 • John 1:1 • Hebrews 1:3 • Col 1:15-17 • Dt 6:4 • 1 John 4:8

The Bible is God’s infallible Word to mankind. Every word has a divine purpose to guide, instruct, comfort, rebuke, and train anyone who believes and adheres to it. The Bible is God’s Word, Jesus Christ Himself, and thus is a living and active book that fills our lives with love and adventure as we journey through life with God and one another. Though penned by man, the Bible has been fully authored by God as He inspired men to instruct and document happenings in both the Old and New Testament. The Bible is the final authority on what we teach, what we believe, and how we are to live.

Our heart is that you would abide in God’s Word, so that you would know the truth and be made free in God, who made both you and the world by His Word.

John 8:31:32 • Psalm 119:45 • Romans 8:2 • Psalm 39:13 • Hebrews 11:33 • Psalm 119:9, 11, 105, 130 • John 1:1-14, 17:17 • Col 1:16-17 • 2 Tim 3:16-17• 2Peter 1:20-21 • 1Thessalonians 2:13

All born again believers are part of a general assembly and church of God. Believers are also part of the body of Christ, which in turn make up this church. Though we are part of a grander global church naturally and spiritually, we are also called to assemble for fellowship, worship, prayer, guidance, and instruction. Also known as a church congregation or meeting, the local church plays a vital role in advancing the Kingdom of God in the hearts of man and on this earth. We believe that it is biblical for believers to attend and be a part of a local congregation of like- minded believers. We also believe that God is going to use the church to fulfill His redemptive purposes on earth, as well as to equip and train saints for the work of the ministry.

Our heart is that God will place you in a local church where you can receive and give spiritual life to the body of Christ as He has designed you to do.

Acts 2:42, 46 • 1 Cor 12:27 • Eph 4:12 • Heb 10:25, 12:22-24

We fully believe that you must be born again in order to know Jesus and fully experience God’s love and power for us as His sons and daughters. Being born again is the first step to a transformed life and to fully “see” the Kingdom of God activated in your life.

God’s House should be a “House of Prayer,” and that when believers assemble prayer should be a primary focus. We also believe that teaching people how to pray, and challenging them to live a lifestyle of constant prayer and communion with God is fundamental because each believer is the temple of God. Prayer is one of the most prominent corporate disciplines employed at Rock City Church. It is also one of the most prominent individual disciplines because we must abide in Christ and meet Him in the secret place.

Our heart is that you would pray in secret and without ceasing, communing with God in everything.

Psalm 24:3-6, 27:4-5, 37:4, 91:1 • Matt 5:44, 6:6-15, 21:13 • Mark 9:29, 11:17 • Luke 19:46 • John 6:15 • Acts 1:14 • Philip 1:4 • 1 Tim 4:5 • Col 4:2 • Acts 6:4 • 1 Cor 6:19 • 2 Cor 6:16 • 1 Thess 5:17 • 1 John 4:14 • John 15:7

Water baptism is commanded by God as a demonstration of our commitment to God. Symbolic of the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, water baptism is a physical act that is carried out by full-submersion in water publicly. Water baptism is an outward reflection of an inward expression. Without a heart commitment of repentance, and being born again, water baptism has no effect on a person. The final purpose of water baptism is to clearly and openly express to God and man that the believer is committed to live for Christ and make them their Lord. Baptism is performed by ordained and lay ministers of our church, and is not a prerequisite to salvation.

Our heart is that you would identify with Christ in everything he has given us, including water baptism.

Mark 1:8-11 • Acts 19:3 • Romans 6:1-4 • Ephesians 4:5 • 1 Peter 3:21 • Hebrews 6:2

Everyone is born as a sinner due to “original sin”. This was the sin-nature brought through Adam and Eve’s disobedience in the Garden of Eden. Because of sin (disobedience to God’s commandments), man becomes destructive on earth, separated from God’s character and nature, and cannot enter eternity with Him. Salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. No other god, belief, religion, or spiritual enlightenment can bring about salvation or entrance into Heaven. Salvation is a free gift from God and is attained by grace alone. No works or good deeds on earth can produce salvation. Only through the acceptance of Jesus Christ as your Lord can you be born again, and only when we are born again can we enter an intimate relationship with God (on earth and in eternity). Once a believer experiences this transformation, they are sealed with the Holy Spirit until the day of redemption. To be saved is an on- going process of renewal and preparation for the ultimate union with Christ.

Our heart is for you to receive Jesus as your Savior and King through faith in him and to walk in him as you received him -- confident of His presence and power through the Holy Spirit.

Colossians 2:6 • 1 Cor 15:22 • Romans 5:12-21, 6:8-10, 10:8-11 • Eph 2:8

John 1:13, 3:3,16, 14:6 • 2 Cor 1:22, 5:17 • Eph 4:30 • Acts 2:21, 3:19 • 1 John 5:5

Complete physical, mental, and spiritual healing was provided by Christ through His death on the cross. We do believe that a complete physical manifestation of healing only comes from God, and that several factors either enable or inhibit this from happening. It is important that we pursue what God is saying, ask for wisdom concerning the matter, and seek revelation knowledge about healing for each individual. Sometimes, the sickness is sent on demonic assignment to steal, kill, and destroy. Sometimes, it’s initiated by natural causes like exposure to toxic chemicals or maybe a genetic predisposition. This is why knowing ‘how’ to pray is so important. Ultimately, we believe that healing is accomplished even in death with the promise and hope of eternal life with Christ, but because Jesus healed here on earth, because He never said ‘no’ to someone asking for healing, we will pursue it on earth, as it is in Heaven, as a church.

Our heart is that you would pray for healing with confidence in God’s nature and promises.

Psalms 30:2, 103:3,13, 107:20,147:3 • Prov 16:24 • Is 53 • Matt 9:26, 36, 19:2, 21:14 • Mark 3:2, 16:18 • Luke 9:2 • 1 Cor 12:9 • James 5:14

The Kingdom of God is a spiritual and natural rule and reign of God over His people. The Kingdom of God starts in the hearts of man, and spreads to natural, cultural, and spiritual environments as true Christians honor and obey His commandments. As people come to know Him, the Kingdom of God becomes a reality in man’s personal life, family life, the marketplace, the economy, in government, and in driving out darkness on the earth.

Our heart is for you to live as a citizen of heaven and an ambassador of God’s kingdom on earth.

Prov 29:2 • Mark 1:15 • Luke 9:2, 10:9 • John 3:3 • Romans 14:17 • 1 Cor 6:9-10 • Gal 5:19-26 • 2 Cor 5:20 • Eph 2:19, 6:20 • Philip 3:20

Jesus Christ’s shed blood and death on the cross began the New Covenant. At this time, the veil of the temple separating God and man was ripped in two by the Holy Spirit, which in turn now allows all believers to come boldly before the Throne of Grace to obtain mercy. Though filled with many great promises from God, the Old Covenant was incomplete in that man could not meet its requirements.

Hence, the Old Covenant is called, “the law of sin and death.” Through the life of Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit, man can now experience intimate relationship with God, knowing Him the way He wants to be known, in Spirit and Truth under a new and better law: the law of “life and liberty.” We believe that Christ is the fulfillment of the Old Testament law, which in turn could inaugurate the New Covenant for anyone who believes in Him. We also believe that God now writes His Word on our hearts and puts a new Spirit in us according to the New Covenant.

Our heart is that you would experience life, liberty, and peace through an intimate relationship with God by the Holy Spirit.

Rom 14:17 • Rom 8:2 • Galatians 5:18 • 1 Cor 15:56 • Galatians 6:2 • Philippians 3:9 • James 2:12 • Jer 31:31 Ez 36:25-30 • 1 John 5:6-8 • Luke 22:20 • 1 Cor 11:25 • 2 Cor 3:2, 6-18 • Hebrews 8:8, 9:15, 12:24 • Matt 5:17, 26:54 • Acts 2:21, 3:18 • Rom 3:21 • 2 Cor 1:22 • John 4:23 • Acts 13:27 • Rom 8:4

Commanded by Christ in scripture, communion is an ordinance instituted by Him to bring remembrance and proclamation of the Lord's death and return. Observing communion allows opportunity for sanctification and healing when the believer’s heart and motives are right. Communion should always be observed with the utmost respect and reverence before God. Unbelievers should never observe communion, as this is a spiritual act reserved solely for believers.

Our heart is for you to remember you are not your own but bought by Christ through His sacrifice.

Matt 26:26-28 • Mark 14:22-24 • 1 Cor 11:17-34, 6:19-20, 7:23 • Isa 55:1 • Rev 22:17 • John 20:26-29

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire is a second baptismal experience that is fully spiritual in nature. Though physical manifestations in the body can occur in certain individuals, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is a complete filling and empowering of the Holy Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit and Fire has many purposes; however, the primary ones are: spiritual cleansing, renewal, empowerment for good works, impartation of spiritual gifts, and a greater discernment to live a spirit-led life.

Our heart is for Jesus to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with Fire to deepen your relationship with Him and dependency on Him.

Matt 3:11-12 • Mark 1:8, 16:15-20 • Acts 1:8, 2, 8:12-17, 18-25-26, 19:1-6 • Heb 6:2 • Luke 3:16

There are nine spiritual gifts that are manifested in man by the Holy Spirit. At any given time, these gifts can operate in a believer as the Spirit wills for the common good of all. The nine gifts are: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, diversity of tongues, and interpretation of tongues. The purpose of these gifts is to edify and strengthen the Body of Christ, as well as the individual believer in their knowledge and understanding of His love, character, and will for their lives. At Rock City church, we pursue love first and desire all the gifts, especially that we would prophesy, which is the greatest gift to employ corporately.

Our heart is that you would desire, experience, and be built up with us in God’s spiritual gifts.

Acts 1:8; 2; 3:6-9, 4:29-31 • Mark 16:15-20 • Rom 15:19 • 1 Cor 1:18, 2:4-5, 4:20; 12; 14:1 • Eph 1:19-23, 4:7-8, 6:10 • 1 Cor 13 • John 13:35

God gives everyone inherent talents and abilities for service in the Body of Christ. These gifts are: prophecy, serving, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership and mercy. They are often renamed to reflect how they are employed or expressed in ministry. God uniquely wires each person to operate in these gifts in a profound way. By understanding how God has wired you in the operation of these gifts, believers can gain a greater understanding of their purpose in the Body of Christ and mission on this earth.

Our heart is for you to discover and develop what God has put in you to give to others.

Romans 12:6-8 • 1 Peter 4:10-11 • Eph 2:10

Though not officially called “offices” in scripture, we have chosen to call them offices for a better understanding of their official function in the Body of Christ. The ministry offices are: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. They work together in concert to build up the Body of Christ in the unity of faith and the knowledge of the Son of God. They also produce maturity and growth in understanding the fullness of Christ. Rock City believes each office is necessary to fully train and equip believers to follow Jesus and to show others how to follow Jesus. We look to appoint leaders in these offices who submit to one another and promote harmony among these interdependent functions.

Our heart is for holistic discipleship to help you grow in knowledge of and dependence on Christ.

Ephesians 4:11-13 • 1 Cor 12: 28 • Eph 5:21

There are two types of tongues. 1) The gift of the “diversity of tongues” mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:10, and 2) The personal “prayer language” of tongues mentioned in 1 Corinthians 14:2, 4. The first mentioned tongue comes with an interpretation to strengthen the Body of Christ. The second mentioned tongue is personal prayer language known as “praying in the Spirit.”. This means that the Holy Spirit intercedes through us in prayer, enabling us to pray the mysteries of God and to pray for the things we know not how to pray. This prayer language also builds up the individual believer. This personal prayer language is evidence of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit when it is accompanied by spiritual fruit.

Our heart is that God would build you up spiritually through praying in tongues more and more.

Acts 2:4 • Romans 8:26-27 • 1 Cor 12:10, 14:2,4,14, 18, 19:6, 39 • Eph 6:18 • Jude 20

Praying for people with a personal touch is scriptural. As a “point of contact” between people, laying on of hands can have a profound impact on a person’s faith as it expresses vulnerability and admission of need before God. We believe that healing power only comes through God, but that the Holy Spirit can use gifts in a believer to strengthen, encourage, and heal the person receiving prayer. At Rock City Church, only approved ministers on the prayer team are sanctioned to pray and touch another person through prayer. Training and protocol are implemented in a prayer team member’s life through education and accountability.

Our heart is for you to receive all God has prepared for you in vulnerability, care, and obedience by laying on of hands.

Acts 8:17-18, 9:12, 13:31, 19:6 • Tim 4:14 • Hebrews 6:2 • James 5:14