who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The LORD works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel.
Author:
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Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God, to receive Jesus Christ as the Lord, Savior, and, supreme Treasure of our lives, and, on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God, angels and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
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We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, to walk together in Christian love, to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness and peace; to promote its spirituality and fruitfulness; to sustain its worship, ordinances, and discipline; to welcome, and test biblically, instruction from the Scriptures by the elders of the church which accords with the Elder Affirmation of Faith, seeking to grow toward biblical unity in the truth; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.
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We also engage to maintain family and personal devotions; to educate our children in the Christian faith; to seek the salvation of our kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment, to avoid all tattling, backbiting and excessive anger; to seek God’s help in abstaining from all drugs, food, drink, and practices which bring unwarranted harm to the body or jeopardize our own or another’s faith.
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We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Elder Affirmation, seeking to grow toward biblical unity in the truth; to courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay.
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We moreover engage that when we remove from this place, we will, if possible, unite with a likeminded church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant.
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We acknowledge that implicit within this covenant is the consent to be governed by the Relational Commitments that have been officially adopted by the church and that address peacemaking and reconciliation, accountability and church discipline, marriage and divorce, counseling and confidentiality, and the protection of our children.
United Under the Elder Affirmation of Faith - Ten Dimensions We believe that congregations, campuses, and churches that embrace Bethlehem's mission statement and the Elder Affirmation of Faith should be pursuing an experienc of church life that is marked by the following ten dimensions.
Worship: Enjoying and displaying the worth of Christ in God-centered, Christexalting, Spirit-led, Bible-saturated corporate worship, including congregational singing and expository exultation. Prayer: Commitment to depend on God's grace and mercy in personal, family and corporate prayer, so that in all our blessings the Giver will get the glory.
Education: Personal efforts to grow and help each other grow in Biblical truth and wisdom and faith and love, which show Christ as our supreme treasure.
Mutual Care: Corporate commitment to pursue a life together in sacrificial faith sustaining care for each other in loving relationships at every level of youth and age, joy and sorrow, comfort and crisis, health and brokenness.
Witness: Personal and corporate strategies of wartime living, courageous witness, and social action to show the supreme value of Christ to fallen people and fallen culture.
Racial Harmony: Intentional efforts to display love across racial and cultural lines and be a church that models the fruit of that love.
Compassion: Personal and corporate expressions of compassion to relieve human suffering, near and far, by means of short-term intervention and long-term personal and structural change, in order to show the justice, mercy and soulsatisfying beauty of Christ - forever.
Missions: Corporate efforts in cross-cultural missions for the sake of the Name of Christ among unreached peoples.
Leadership: Humble submission to spiritual, biblically qualified elders who lead by example, not dominion, and with joy, not under compulsion, to equip the saints for the work of the ministry, including aggressive efforts to multiply congregational leaders.
Legacy: The commitment of church and parents to train up succeeding generations of children and youth who live the vision of this church.