About First Church Congregational UCC
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At First Church Congregational UCC, Methuen in Massachusetts, we believe what The Bible tells us, and The Bible says we have all sinned. Do you believe you are a sinner in the sight of God? As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one. For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God. The Bible says that the penalty of our sin is death, and that because we have sinned, we deserve the lake of fire (hell.) For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
At First Church Congregational UCC in Methuen, we believe in the Holy Trinity. God the Father, an infinite, personal Spirit, perfect in holiness, wisdom, power and love. We believe He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. We believe that Jesus Christ is God's eternal Son, and has precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections as God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. We believe further, that He is not only true God, but true man, conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. We also believe in His sinless life, His substitutionary atonement, His bodily resurrection from the dead, His ascension into heaven, His priestly intercession on behalf of His people, and His personal, visible, return from heaven.
About Religious Liberty: God alone is Lord of the conscience, and He has left it free from the doctrines and commandments of men which are contrary to His Word or not contained in it. Church and state should be separate. The state owes to every church protection and full freedom in the pursuit of its spiritual ends. In providing for such freedom no ecclesiastical group or denomination should be favored by the state more than others.
About Love: God is love. He loves us and wants for us to spend eternity with Him. He also wants for us to express His love to others by meeting them where they are in life with the message of salvation.