About us

We teach that there is only one true God (John 17:3), the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19-20). He created all things (Revelation 4:11) and upholds all things by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). He is a God of truth and without iniquity, He is just and right (Deuteronomy 32:4) and He shall judge the world (Psalm 9:8).

We teach that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience (Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Acts 4:3-4).

We teach the total deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. We teach that He is the manifestation of God in the flesh. We teach that He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We teach that He is truly God and truly man (John 1:1, 1:14, 1:18; John 14:8-9; 1 Timothy 3:16).

We teach that the Scriptures of the Old Testament and New Testament are verbally inspired by God and inerrant in their original writings. We teach that the 66 books of the Old Testament and the New Testament are God’s complete and sufficient revelation and therefore carry God’s authority for the total well-being of mankind (Psalm 119:97-104Psalm 119:160; Matthew 5:18; John 5:46-47; John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-16).

We teach the total deity of the Holy Spirit and that His ministry is to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ (John 16:14). The Holy Spirit regenerates the sinner (Titus 3:5), baptizing the believer into one body of which Christ is the head (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 5:23). The Holy Spirit indwells, guides, instructs, fills, comforts and empowers the believer for godly living (John 14:26; John 16:13; Romans 5:5; 1 Corinthians 3:16). The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, of God’s righteousness and of coming judgment (John 16:8-11).

We teach that man was created in innocence under the law of his Maker but, by voluntarily sinning, fell from his innocent state. Consequently, all mankind is sinful (Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 1:18; Romans 3:10-19; Romans 5:1-2).

We teach the resurrection of the body of our Lord Jesus Christ, His ascension into heaven and His present life for us as High Priest and Advocate (Acts 1:3; Acts 1:9; Hebrews 7:25-26).

We teach “that blessed hope,” the personal, bodily, and imminent return of our Lord Jesus Christ. His return has a vital bearing on the personal life and service of the believer (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

We teach the bodily resurrection of both the saved and the lost. The saved are raised to eternal, conscious bliss in heaven (Matthew 25:34; John 14:2; 2 Corinthians 5:1; Revelation 2:7), and the lost are raised to eternal torment in hell in conscious separation from God. (Matthew 8:11; Matthew 10:28; Matthew 13:49-50; Mark 9:47-48; Luke 12:5; Revelation 21:8).

Upon justification, a believer becomes part of the body of Christ, which is the church. There is one church universal, composed of all those throughout the world who acknowledge Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord. The Scriptures command believers to gather in order to devote themselves to worship, prayer, teaching of the Word, observance of the ordinances (baptism and communion), fellowship, service to the body through the development and use of talents and gifts, and outreach to the world in fulfillment of the command of Christ to make disciples of all believers (Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 2:42-46; Romans 12:1; 1 Corinthians 14:26; Ephesians 2:16; 5:23).

Wherever God’s people meet regularly in obedience to this command, there is the local expression of the church – under the watchful care of a plurality of elders. The church’s members are to work together in love and unity, intent on the ultimate purpose of glorifying Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16).

Realizing that the cause of Christ extends beyond any one local fellowship, we commit ourselves to an ongoing ministry of extending the call of Christ to make disciples around the world (Matthew 28:19-20).

We teach that baptism and communion are the two ordinances required in the church. We believe that Christian baptism by immersion in water is a public identification with Jesus Christ in His death, burial and resurrection. Although baptism is not required for salvation, it is commanded of all believers and is for believers only (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 2:38, 41; Acts 18:18). Scripture shows that a person was baptized after personally receiving forgiveness of sin by grace through faith in and repentance through Jesus Christ. The waters of baptism are a symbol of our death, burial, and resurrection to newness of life that happens when we become a new creation in Christ (Romans 6:1-4; 2 Corinthians 5:17; Colossians 2:12).

Communion is the commemoration by believers of Christ’s death and a reminder – through the bread and the juice – of the Savior’s broken body and shed blood. Communion is to be a time of confession of our sin and should be preceded by careful self-examination (Acts 4:13; Romans 6:3-6; 1 Corinthians 11:20-29).

We hold to the verbal, plenary inspiration of that Scriptures and the conviction that they contain all the words of God that we need in order to completely trust and obey Him. The Scriptures are inerrant in their original writings (Psalm 119:97-104; Psalm 119:160; Matthew 5:18; John 5:46-47; John 10:35; 2 Timothy 3:15-16), and are infallible in their instruction (Proverbs 6:32; 2 Peter 1:19); eternal in duration (Isaiah 40:8; 1 Peter 1:23-25); the final authority and the standard for faith and practice (Matthew 4:4; Psalm 119); and sufficient for counsel in every issue of life (Psalm 19:14-17; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). We teach that the very words of Scripture in the original Hebrew, Greek and Aramaic are inspired by God. Therefore, we believe that the Bible versions which translate God’s Word most literally into modern English should be preferred.

We teach that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female.  These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God. (Genesis 1:26-27; 2:18)
Rejection of one’s biologically-born sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We teach that the term “marriage” has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture. (Genesis 2:18-25)

We teach that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. (1 Corinthians 6:18; 7:2-5; Hebrews 13:4)

We teach that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God. (Matthew 15:18-20; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

We teach that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:19-21; Romans 10:9-10; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11)

We teach that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity. (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31)  Such terms must be defined by the instruction of Scripture and the example of Christ.  Otherwise hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Living Stones Church.

We teach that human life begins at conception (Psalm 51:5). All human life is included in the description of creation that each individual human is made in the image of God and after God’s likeness (Genesis 1:26), thereby making them distinct and unique from all other creation and affording each individual dignity, respect, and protection. We teach that intentionally ending of the life of a human being outside of allowances in Scripture (such as in the context of a biblically allowable war) is condemned by Scripture (Exodus 20:13; Matthew 5:21; 19:18).