Matthew 22:34-40Â (NIV)
“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: ‘Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?’ Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’ “Jesus told us that everything hangs on two commandments:
Love God, and love your neighbor.
We believe that worship is our primary vehicle for expressing our love to God. Â As we draw near, with praise and adoration, we are changed from the inside out. We believe that all true ministry originates out of intimacy with God, who then moves and empowers us to reach out to the world around us. Â Our worship, rather than ending when the music fades, continues to be expressed in countless other ways as we seek to truly love our neighbor as ourselves.
We believe that we cannot truly love God, and love our neighbor, without confronting poverty, crime, disease, hunger, injustice, and the myriad of strained and broken relationships that surround us. Â It is not possible to care about people, without caring about their condition, and so we reach out to freely give that which we have so freely been given.