The Shirley Family
In the heart of a community, where faith is the cornerstone of life, the Shirley family embarks on their journey, deeply rooted in the teachings and truths of the Bible. Here is their story, woven from the scriptures they hold dear:
Our Beliefs
The Word of God
We Believe — the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God.
"All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness," - 2 Timothy 3:16
"and consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given him, wrote to you, as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction." - 2 Peter 3:15-16
"So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what pleases Me, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it." - Isaiah 55:11
The Trinity
We Believe — there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." - John 1:1
"The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, be with you all." - 2 Corinthians 13:14
"Now it happened that in those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit like a dove descending upon Him;" - Mark 1:9-10
"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me." - John 17:20-23
Jesus Christ
We Believe — in the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His virgin birth, sinless life, miracles, atoning death on the cross, bodily resurrection, bodily ascension into heaven, and His personal return once again in power and glory.
"For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God." - John 5:18
"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace her, planned to send her away secretly. But when he had considered this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, 'Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife; for the One who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. And she will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.' Now all this took place in order that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet would be fulfilled, saying, 'Behold, the virgin shall be with child and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,' which translated means, 'God with us.'" - Matthew 1:18-23
"And Jesus seeing their faith said to the paralytic, 'Child, your sins are forgiven.' But some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, 'Why does this man speak that way? He is blaspheming; who can forgive sins but God alone?' Immediately Jesus, aware in His spirit that they were reasoning that way within themselves, said to them, 'Why are you reasoning about these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, "Your sins are forgiven"; or to say, "Get up, and pick up your pallet and walk"? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins'—He said to the paralytic, 'I say to you, get up, pick up your pallet and go home.' And he got up and immediately picked up the pallet and went out in the sight of everyone, so that they were all amazed and were glorifying God, saying, 'We have never seen anything like this.'" - Mark 2:5-12
Salvation
We Believe — that for the salvation of lost and sinful man, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential.
"For we ourselves also once were foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness and affection of God our Savior appeared, He saved us, not by works which we did in righteousness, but according to His mercy, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that having been justified by His grace, we would become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." - Titus 3:3-7
"For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them." - Ephesians 2:8-10
Baptism
We Believe — that repentant believers in Christ should be baptized in water, by immersion.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to keep all that I commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." - Matthew 28:18-20
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.' Now when they heard this, they were pierced to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, 'Men, brothers, what should we do?' And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.' And with many other words he solemnly bore witness and kept on exhorting them, saying, 'Be saved from this crooked generation!' So then, those who had received his word were baptized; and that day there were added about three thousand souls." - Acts 2:36-41
The Holy Spirit
We Believe — in the present ministry of the Holy Spirit by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life.
"Or do you not know that your body is a sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you were bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body." - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
"And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." - Romans 8:26-27
The Resurrection
We Believe — in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost.
"Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment." - John 5:27-29
Unity in Christ
We Believe — that, because all believers are spiritually united in the Lord Jesus Christ, we should cooperate in all possible ways in God’s work.
"For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:26-28
"For even as the body is one and yet has many members, and all the members of the body, though they are many, are one body, so also is Christ. For also by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we were all made to drink of one Spirit." - 1 Corinthians 12:12-13
This narrative of faith, love, and unity forms the foundation of the Shirley family's journey through life, dedicated to living out these beliefs in a world in need of their light.