Welcome to Our Visitors

Dear Neighbor,

We would like to introduce you to the Lord’s church meeting in Vestavia Hills, AL, and invite you to open God’s word with us and see what His will is for our lives. You are welcome to our assemblies, and we hope that you will let us share God’s message with you.

We are a group in this local area striving to follow the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, as is provided for us in the Bible. As Christians, we share a common faith and salvation (Jude 3; Titus 1:4). We have agreed to work together in order to accomplish God’s work in this area and to do what disciples did in the first century when they come together as a church (For example, see Acts 20:7 and 1 Cor. 11:18ff).

Are We A Denomination? No. Denominationalism is based upon division, and division based on differing names and doctrines is not what the Lord wants (see 1 Cor. 1:10-13; Eph. 4:1-6; John 17:20-21). The Bible teaches against following after men and man-made doctrines (Matt. 15:7-9; Col. 2:20-23). We are determined to follow only the Bible and do only what is authorized by God therein. We have no binding creeds aside from Scripture, and no denominational alliances with a “super-body” or national organization. We have no councils, synods, or earthly headquarters to make decisions for us. We support no outside institutions to do our work. We believe that Jesus Christ is the head of the church (Col. 1:18) and anything we do, believe, or teach needs to originate from Scripture (1 Pet. 4: 11). Each congregation in the New Testament was self-governing, independently working to do God’s will. We strive to follow that pattern in the New Testament. We believe this to be the safe course as we make it our aim to please God. When a church simply follows only what the Bible teaches, it will not be a denomination, since there were none in the first century. We are trying to follow the Bible in every way and only be what the Lord has authorized. We invite you to join us in this effort.

What About Our Worship? In the New Testament, we find that the disciples met upon the first day of the week as a church to partake of the Lord’s supper (Acts 2:42; Acts 20:7). They engaged in singing in order to praise God and build up one another (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3: 16). They engaged in prayer and in the teaching of God’s word (Acts 2:42), and they gave of their means in order to carry out the Lord’s work (for an example, see 1 Cor. 16:1-2). All of these we will do when we meet together on the first day of the week because we can read about them in the New Testament.

What Do We Teach About Salvation? We teach that salvation is a gift of God “by grace through faith” (Eph. 2:8-9). When one hears God’s word and believes, that person acts by repenting of sins, confessing Jesus as Lord, and being baptized into Christ for the remission of sins (Rom. 10:9-10, 17; Acts 2:38). Those who come to God must believe that He is, and that He rewards those who seek Him, for without faith it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). Yet true faith will act upon what God says, and though we are to obey God, we know that we cannot earn our salvation. We are simply responding by faith to God’s grace in the way God tells us to.

Our plea is to go back to the Bible. We urge all people to forsake denominationalism, renounce all man-made creeds and doctrines, and follow the pure teachings of Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed” (John 8:31). It does matter what we believe and practice. We are not saying that we are flawless, but we are pointing to the written standard given by the One who is flawless. We are seeking to unite upon this standard, and we believe that the standard is given in such a way that we can know God’s will from and follow it. 

Our plea is for unity. True unity is a “unity of the Spirit,” which means it must be based upon the things revealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4: 1-6). The Spirit has revealed God’s mind (1 Cor. 2:10-13), and knowing God’s mind is the only way we can know whether or not we are doing what God wants. Therefore, our plea is to go back to the Bible as the revelation of God’s mind and follow it fully. This is the only way to have the unity God desires of those who seek to follow Him.

If you have any questions, or would like to open up the Bible with us, please let us know. We will be happy to work with you in your spiritual needs.

Sincerely,

The Lord's church in Vestavia Hills