The Values Credo of First Baptist Church of Cedar Hill Worship: We believe worship is our response to God's nature and redemptive plan. This belief is reflected in our lives. Therefore, we offer our lives to motivate one another and draw others to Christ. Worship ascribes worth to God and should be at the core of all we do. So, we worship both personally and corporately. Personal worship includes prayer, Bible study, pursuing holiness, and obedience. Corporate worship includes preaching, teaching, music, prayer, giving, and proclaiming God's goodness within our congregation, which is the intent of our Sunday services. We aspire to have our worship services be creative, passionate reflections of God’s glory, power, and infinite worth. (Jer. 29:11-14, Heb. 12:28-29, I Chr 16:23-31, Rom 11:36, Rev 14:7, Rom 12:1-2, Matt 22:37-38, Col 3:16-17, I Cor 10:31, Ps 42:4, Ps 81:1, Ps 99:1-9, Ps 150, Ps 46:10, Ps 62:1, Ps 1:1-2, Dan 6:10, Phil 4:6-9, Acts 17:11) Bible Knowledge: We believe and affirm the teaching of God’s Word, the Bible, that serves as His written revelation to humanity. Thus the 66 books of the Bible are all inspired and given by the Holy Spirit and are foundational to building up followers of Jesus (making disciples), which is one of the fundamental purposes of the church. Therefore, we place a strong emphasis on sound Biblical teaching so that believers mature in their understanding and application of Scripture and become effective at reaching their communities and their world for Christ. (Josh 1:8, II Tim 3:14-17, Col 1:28-29, Eph 4:11-16, Col 3:16, Heb 6:1-2, I Cor 1:11, II Cor 3:18, Col 2:6-7, I Tim 4:15, II Tim 2:2, Matt 28:19-20, Prov 9:9, Ps 32:8, Titus 2:7-8.) Prayer: We believe that understanding and interacting with Scripture is the way to understanding God's nature and that prayer is how we pursue a closer relationship with Him. Thus, neither potential is complete in the life of a believer without the other; both are essential in connecting with God. The First Baptist Church of Cedar Hill community understands the importance of prayer in the life of every believer. Prayer should come from a place of thanksgiving and without ceasing, knowing that prayer cultivates unity. Prayer is intentional and instinctual in every trial and blessing here at FBC Cedar Hill. We understand prayer to God alone to be the only means of a believer's communication development and fellowship with God. No angel, saint, dead loved one, or anything outside of the Triune God should be contacted to petition, worship, or plea on behalf of God's children. We pray to the Father, through the Son, by the Holy Spirit. Praying to any of the three persons of the triune substance of God is beseeching and draws us closer to God as a whole. (Phi 4:6, Col. 4:2, 1 Tim. 2:1-4, 1 Thes. 5:17, Eph. 2:18; 6:18, Rom. 8:26; 12:12, 1 Tim. 2:8, Lev. 19:31, Deut. 18:9-14, Isa. 8:19, 1 Tim. 4:1, Lev. 20:6, Ecc. 9:5, 2 Cor. 11:14, Ps. 115:17, 1 Jn 4:1, Rev. 16:14, Is. 8:20) Welcoming: We welcome all people and seek to understand our differences as ways of more fully encountering the beauty and complexity of the image of God. We commit to creating a community where people of all ages, abilities, races, ethnicities, nationalities, experiences, backgrounds, and economic classes are celebrated as full participants. Together, we strive to be faithful followers and proclaimers of the Good News. "The welcoming church is more of an attitude or disposition. It represents the mindset of an outward focus rather than an inward focus. It is about serving rather than being served." "A welcoming church is a going church, and the members realize that the church is not a place confined to walls but a people determined to go. (Acts 2:42-47, Eph 4:11-16, Eph 4:32, Eph 5:21-27, John 13:34-35, Rom 12:10, Gal 3:27-28, Gal 6:2,10, I Cor 12:14-20, Col 3:13, Heb 10:24-25, I John 1:3,6-7, 1 Corinthians 5:5-6; 13; John 13:34-35 and Romans 2:24; 12:9-10, 1 Timothy 1:20; 2 Timothy 2:25; Matthew 18:15.) Encouragement: We believe that motivating one another toward love and good deeds is essential to the development of Christians and solidifies our reasoning for the constant encouragement to gather together with other believers. We encourage each other to take heart in our hope in God, where our help and hope originate—building one another up so that we continually remind one another of the peace in Christ who has already overcome this world. Reminding one another to be on guard and stand firm with the endurance and encouragement from God, knowing that our hope is in a God of renewal who gives us power, love, and self-control. So He who has started a good work in us continues until the day we are perfected by His renewal. (Hebrews 10:24-25, Ps 31:24; 121:1-2, John 16:33, 1 Cor. 10:13; 16:13, Rom. 15:5, Is. 40:31, 2 Tim 1:7, Phi. 1:6,) Fellowship: We believe fellowship, "koinonía," is a shared investment of faith and belonging as individuals in Christ Jesus and together as His bride, the Body of Christ, a mutual bond that preserves a healthy family fellowship amongst our Christian congregation. We can have fellowship with one another because our bond (fellowship) is first in the Son Jesus Christ so that we may walk in the light as He is in the light, fellowshipping in the unity of His cleansing blood. Thus, we stand united in solidarity as one body of many parts, not divided by race, nationality, or creed, as we have all been baptized into one body, the Body of Christ. (Acts 2:42, 1 John 1:3; 7, 2 Cor. 13:14, 1 Cor. 1:10; 12:12-27, Gal. 3:28, Rom. 12:16, 1 Peter 3:8, Ps 133:1, Ep 4:3,)