At Lake Mac Church, we’re all about Jesus—the Jesus revealed to us in the pages of God’s written Word, the Bible.
If you’re interested in finding out more about Jesus check out our Jesus page.
If you’re interested to know what our beliefs and values see below. Click on each of the beliefs or values below to find out more about it.
Beliefs
God
God is the eternal, personal, good Creator of all things. All creation is always known to him, seen by him, and under his sovereign control. God exists eternally as a unity of three persons; the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. God has truly revealed himself to humanity as both loving and just by his Word and through his Son,
Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ
Jesus Christ is “God; the Son”; “the Eternal Word of God the Father”, who has become fully human, while never ceasing to be fully divine. The eternal Person of Jesus Christ was the agent of all creation and eternally sustains the existence of all things. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit in the virgin Mary. He lived in Nazareth, performed divine miracles, was crucified, died, was buried, and was physically resurrected. He ascended to heaven to rule as Lord and is ready to return as the final judge of all mankind.
The Holy Spirit
God’s Spirit is the personal, living being of the triune God. He works to change the sinful hearts and minds of disobedient people. He directed people writing the Bible and now opens our eyes to understand and believe the truth of the gospel of Jesus. He dwells in each Christian and unites us to Jesus by this faith, so we enjoy a new life with God. Then he works in us to make our characters more like Jesus; full of love for God and others.
The Bible
The Bible is the exact record of what God chose to say through God’s Spirit guiding his human authors – it is true in everything it affirms. So the Bible is how the invisible God speaks to us, as he interprets his powerful deeds in history. The Bible unveils God; his majestic goodness, love and justice. And the Bible outlines God’s plans and purposes, climaxing in the person of his Son Jesus. The Bible enables us to know Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, and to know how to live and please Jesus. The Bible is God’s completely sufficient means to teach, rebuke, correct and train us to live as God wants.
Salvation
As disobedient creatures, we deserve to be judged by our righteous God. But our loving God doesn’t treat us as we deserve. He initiated his plan to save us through his willing and righteous Son, Jesus. On the cross, God judges Jesus for our wrongdoing. Therefore, God graciously promises to forgive us, wipe away our guilt and give us new life. We are to trust Jesus and his death alone to be saved. Our good works play no part in gaining salvation for ourselves.
The Church
The Church is God’s family, people He bought with his own blood and adopted as His own children. Church consists of all Christians in history united to God’s risen Son, and so gathered now in heaven with Jesus singing our Father’s praises. HBC is one of many earthly churches visibly expressing this as we gather as a loving family. We hear our Father speak to us, talk to and praise our Father, and encourage each other to obey Jesus more.
The Christian Life
After being saved, the Christian life is to become more like our Lord Jesus in our attitudes, motives and actions according to his commands. This is a constant inward battle between our sinful desires and godly desires, only ceasing when we’re taken to heaven. So we strive by God’s Spirit not to give up but to grow to know, obey, love and enjoy God more, whilst we’re persecuted and ridiculed like Jesus. This strengthens our faith in Jesus, and teaches us to long for heaven, when we will fully experience God’s blessings.
Values
For us, the Jesus way of life is:
Biblically based
We are thoroughly committed to the Bible, it’s where we meet Jesus the word of life, the only name by which we are saved. It’s God’s word, sufficient to guide and equip into our new way of life in Jesus.
2 Timothy 3:16 "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, o that the servant of God a may be thoroughly equipped for every good work."
Prayerful
We are 100% dependant on God, enabled, empowered and equipped by His Spirit. And so we prayerfully depend on Him. In Christ we have a Father who loves us, hears us and answers our Prayers. We are doing His work, enabled by His Spirit, and we will depend on Him for it.
Psalms 127:1 "Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain."
Acts 1:8 "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Relentlessly Missional
We will do anything short of sin to reach people who don’t know Christ. We will be selfless and make sacrifices for Jesus' mission and His church.
1 Corinthians 9:19 "Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.… I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings."
A Life of Love
We will consider other better than ourselves, humbly and selflessly loving and serving them. We are outrageously generous, and diligent in all we do as we love and serve the world and especially one another in the unity of the Spirit, using the gifts God has given us for His Glory and the good of others.
Galations 6:9 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people,especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
1 Peter 4:10 "Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others,
as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms."
Joyful
Belonging to Jesus means becoming God’s children and gaining an eternal inheritance!With joy we receive it, work, suffer and live for it, and long for it!
Matthew 13:44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field."
Luke 6:22-23 "Blessed are you when people hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven."
Romans 15:13 "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Holy
Becoming God's children means taking on our Father's characteristics. God makes us holy, and calls us to live holy lives as His people, as we put sin to death and take on the likeness of Jesus.
Ephesians 4:22 "You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness."