Modern/Vintage

A significant priority of “Sovereign Grace” is to pursue historic orthodox Christian beliefs while being who we are in the time and place that God has ordained. There are many “churches” today embracing social trends that violate the fundamentals of the Christian faith. We hold with a tight fist the historical, biblical beliefs upon which truth and life are based. We regularly look back to historical interpretations, creeds, and confessions to confirm our interpretations, and stand firm on these tried and tested doctrines. In this way we are vintage, we strive to align with historical, orthodox Christianity.

In Acts 17 Paul said, “And he [God] made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place…” We have been placed in this geographical location, in the time and culture that we’re in by God’s design. Knowing this, we are free to be who He ordained us to be in this place and period. We are not seeking to be like the world. We are not “contextualizing.” We are simply accepting that fashion trends, musical trends, language, etc. change over time, so we hold these with an open hand. We don’t have to look and sound like a culture from 50 years ago to be Christians, and 50 years from now “Sovereign Grace” will be free to be who they are in that time and culture. In this way we are modern, being who we are in the time, location, and culture God has ordained. Being who we are refers to non-moral geographical and cultural trends. No matter where we live or what culture we’re in we must bow to the commands and restrictions of Scripture.

God Centered

The highest aim for each human is to know God, glorify God, and enjoy God. The goal of the gospel is to bring humans into this fellowship with God. Therefore, our top priority in gathering, singing, preaching, listening, reading, etc. is to know God, His truth, His character, His expectations etc. The first priority is to increase our view of God, which naturally increases our worship of God. This means that everything we do has to be primarily about God, not humans. This also means that we pursue knowing God primarily through the means by which He reveals Himself, Scripture.

Body of Christ

Wrapping Himself in human flesh, Jesus fulfilled the law, atoned for sin, conquered death, and ascended to seal His covenant with His people. Jesus’s covenant people are the Church, which we see birthed in Acts 2. Every book written after Acts was written to deliver theology and instructions to churches, not the world. For the health of the church we must follow this pattern and deliver good theology and instructions from Scripture. Because the Church is the precious bride of Christ, and He’s returning for her, we must seek unity within the church and the purity of the church through membership and ongoing discipleship.

There are numerous instructions in Scripture for children of God and His church. There is one message to the world, the gospel. As children of God, we need to continually hear the gospel and that will happen as the first two core values are carried out. To expand the glory God receives and because we care deeply for the lost around us we must be encouraging our members to share the gospel with those God puts in their path. Because we never know who is among us in our gatherings, what we sing, teach, preach, etc. must include the holiness of God, the depravity and need of man, redemption through Christ, and the glorification of the saints.