West Union Church of Christ

God is seen through three distinct personalities (often called the Godhead). God the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit. All have worked together throughout the ages (Genesis 1:26) and are all One (Ephesians 4:6). God the Father is the One who planned everything from the dawn of creation (Genesis 1:1), to the Son’s return (Matthew 24:44). He planned the voluntary sacrifice of Christ before creation (Ephesians 1:3-5), foretold these things in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:15), and it was fulfilled in the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, providing man with the opportunity to have our sins forgiven (John 3:16; Ephesians 1:7). When the Lord returns, He will judge the nations (Philippians 2:9-11).

Jesus Christ is the One who enacted God’s plan, being involved in Creation (John 1:1-4) and temporarily gave up immortality and put on mortality (Philippians 2:5-11) to become our perfect sacrifice. Through His blood, He purchased the New Testament Church (Matthew 16:18), which we believe is the only route to everlasting life in Heaven (John 14:6). After the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, he remained on the earth for forty days teaching ‘many infallible proofs’ (Acts 1:1-3), which concerns the New Testament Church. He then ascended to Heaven (Acts 1:9-11), where He is currently preparing a place for those who love Him (John 14:1-3).

The Holy Spirit is perhaps the least mentioned part of the Godhead, but that does not make the Holy Spirit any less important. The Holy Spirit was foretold to the Twelve that the Spirit will be the guide to truth (John 16:13). Upon being baptized into Christ, one receives the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) as a down payment (Ephesians 1:13-14) until the Second Coming. The Holy Spirit was involved in the process of creating the Bible through the act of inspiration (2 Timothy 3:16-17), which can change the hearts of man (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12). However, this does not mean that one can perform spiritual gifts through the Spirit today, for they have ceased (1 Corinthians 13:8-12) due to the world having access of God’s complete revelation (the Bible).

The West Union Church of Christ abides by the New Testament Church pattern of worship. The members assemble on Sundays to have fellowship and to worship God in spirit and truth (John 4:23-24; Hebrews 10:25). There are five acts involved in our worship service:

Singing: We believe in acapella singing in our worship due to musical instruments not being mentioned as being a part of worship (Ephesians 5:19; Colossians 3:16).

The Lord’s Supper: We partake of the Lord’s Supper every Sunday to think upon Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross (Matthew 26:26-28; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 11:23-28). There are two emblems that we have for communion: Unleavened bread (which represents the body of Christ) and grape juice (the fruit of the vine) which represents the blood of Christ. We partake these solemnly and not make it as a feast, as the Corinthians made that very error(1 Corinthians 11:17-22).

Contribution: The West Union Church of Christ has no fundraisers, but we do give a portion of what we earn weekly to help fund the church (1 Corinthians 16:1-2). We give, knowing that we can never repay what the Lord has done for us, but we give cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7), knowing that the offering will help spread the truth in our community, nation, and the world.

Prayer: The West Union Church of Christ prays in the beginning and end of our worship service. However, that does not mean that prayer should be exclusive to the worship service. Jesus went away from the multitudes to pray on multiple occasions. Prayer is how one communicates to God, and God communicates to us through His word. Prayer is a powerful tool (James 5:16), if used in the proper setting and within proper means.

Preaching: The West Union Church of Christ has two sermons preached per week in our Sunday AM and PM services.

Baptism is the first step to enter the Lord’s church. Due to this, it must be done in a proper manner and a proper method. The New Testament conveys baptism as a burial (John 3:23; Acts 8:34-37; Romans 6:3-4), where our old lives are buried and pass on (Ephesians 4:17-23), and our new life as a child of God begins. With immersion, it must be done with the individual knowing completely the reason why it is needed. Following the immersion, the Holy Spirit then resides in the individual as a down payment, which will be paid in full if one remains faithful until either one’s death or the Lord’s return (Revelation 2:10b)