About St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
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St. Stephen's Episcopal Church is a diverse church family. We are a church with a great history, but an even brighter future as we seek to reach out through helping people become disciples of Jesus. We believe that our church is not just a place to go, but a people to join as a community. We welome you to St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Lakeland, Florida in Jesus' name.
We believe that, moved by love and in obedience to his Father, the eternal Son became human: the Word became flesh, fully God and fully human being, one Person in two natures. The man Jesus, the promised Messiah of Israel, was conceived through the miraculous agency of the Holy Spirit, and was born of the virgin Mary. He perfectly obeyed his heavenly Father, lived a sinless life, performed miraculous signs, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead on the third day, and ascended into heaven. As the mediatorial King, he is seated at the right hand of God the Father, exercising in heaven and on earth all of God's sovereignty, and is our High Priest and righteous Advocate. We believe that by his incarnation, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, Jesus Christ acted as our representative and substitute. He did this so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
About Eternity: We all were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin or in union with God through forgiveness and salvation. For the Christian, eternity is a place of eternal union and life with God.
About The Ministry: A divinely called and scripturally ordained ministry has been provided by our Lord for the fourfold purpose of leading the Church in: Evangelization of the world. Mark 16:15-20 Worship of God. John 4:23,24 Building a body of saints being perfected in the image of His Son. Ephesians 4:11-16, Meeting human need with ministries of love and compassion. Psalms 112:9, Galatians 2:10; 6:10, James 1:27