What We Believe

We believe in the following:

The triune God the Father

The Son, and the Holy Spirit

Jesus Christ is the true God and true man

The Holy Spirit is a divine person

The Old Testament and New Testament are God’s divinely inspired word.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God and are in need of salvation

It is the will of God that every believer be filled with the Holy Spirit

Healing is provided in the redemptive work of Christ and is available to every believer

The church consists of all those who have received Jesus Christ as their personal savior

There shall be bodily resurrection of the just and unjust

In the personal, visible, imminent return of Jesus Christ

We, Present Truth Prayer Center, believe in the bible plus nothing else. We believe that God has everything we need in the Word. God’s word expresses His thoughts, character, plans and purpose concerning us.

However, we do have a doctrine. The doctrine is nor from man, nor is it man’s interpretation, but the doctrine that Jesus Christ gave for his church (all churches) to follow. It is called the Doctrine of Christ, or the first principles of the Oracles of God as found in Hebrews 6:12.

We believe that it was God’s intention for His church to know this doctrine.

Hebrews 5:12 says, “For when the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principle of the oracles of God….”

In the scripture passage, it is saying that before you can teach someone the Word of God, you need someone to teach you this doctrine.

Hebrews 6:12 says “Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”

NOTE THE PRINCIPLES OF THE DOCTRINE OF CHRIST:

1. Repentance from dead works
2. Faith toward God
3. The doctrine of baptisms
4. Laying on of hands
5. Resurrection of the dead
6. Eternal judgment

The Scriptures

The Bible is the inspired Word of God. It is the product of holy men of old who spoke and wrote as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. We accept the New Covenant, as recorded in the New Testament, as our infallible guide in matters pertaining to conduct and doctrine (II Timothy 3:16; I Thessalonians 2:3; 2 Peter 4:21).

THE GODHEAD

Our God is One, but manifested in three persons: The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit (Philipians 2:6; St. Matthew 3:16-17).

MAN, HIS FALL AND REDEMPTION

Man is a created being made in the likeness and image of God. However, through Adam's transgression and fall, sin came into the world. All have sinned and come short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:23). As it is written, there is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was manifested to undo the work of the devil. He shed His blood and gave His life to redeem and restore man back to God (Romans 5:12; Romans 3:9-10; I John 3:8; Galatians 3:13-14). Salvation is the gift of God to man, separate from works and the law. It is made operative by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, producing works acceptable to God (Ephesians 2:8).

ETERNAL LIFE AND NEW BIRTH

Man's first step toward salvation is Godly sorrow that worketh repentance. The new birth is necessary for all men. When it is fulfilled, it produces eternal life (II Corinthians 7:10; I John 5:12; St. John 3:3-5).

WATER BAPTISM

Baptism in water is by emersion and a direct commandment of our Lord. It is for believers only. This ordinance is a symbol of the Christian's identification with Christ in His death, burial' and resurrection (St. Matthew 28:19; Romans 6:4; Colossians 2:12; Acts 8:36-39). The following recommendation regarding the Water Baptismal formula is adopted; "On the confession of your faith in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost in Jesus Name, Amen."

BAPTISM IN THE HOLY GHOST

The baptism in the Holy Ghost with fire is a gift from God, as promised by the Lord Jesus Christ to those who are believers in this to the new birth. This experience is accompanied by the initial evidence of speaking in tongues as the Holy Spirit Himself gives utterance (St. Matthew 3:11; St. John 14:16-17; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:38-39; Acts 19:1-7; Acts 2:4).

SANCTIFICATION

The Bible teaches that without holiness no man can see the Lord. We believe in the doctrine of sanctification as a definite progressive work of grace that commences at the time of regeneration and continues until the consummation of salvation (Hebrews 12:14; I Thessalonians 5:23; II Peter 3:18; II Corinthians 3:18; Philippians 3:12-14; I Corinthians 1:30).

DIVINE HEALING

Healing is for the physical illness of the human body and is wrought by the power of God through the prayer of faith and by laying on of hands. It is provided for by the atonement of Christ and is the privilege of every member of the Church today (St. Mark 16:18; James 5:14-20; I Peter 2:24; St. Matthew 8:17; Isaiah 53:5).

RESURRECTION OF THE JUST AND THE RETURN OF OUR LORD

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (I Thessalonians 4:16-17). Following the tribulation, He shall return to earth as King of kings and Lord of lords together with His saints who shall be kings and priests. He shall reign a thousand years (Revelation 20:6).

COMMUNION - THE LORD'S SUPPER

Until He comes, we partake of Lord's Supper to illustrate the Lord's death (I Corinthians 11:23-31). The bread symbolizes the Lord's broken body. (Isaiah 53:5; I Corinthians 11:24) The cup represents the new covenant of His blood which provides us with forgiveness and relationship with God. (Hebrews 9; I Corinthians 11:25) Christians realize that salvation is provided through the finished work of Christ and these sacraments are symbolic of His finished work. I Corinthians 11:27 said that if anyone takes of these sacraments unworthily, he is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

LAYING ON OF HANDS

This is a simple belief that God's power and anointing, or any other necessary quality can be transmitted by one person touching another. Laying on of hands was practiced by the Levitical Priesthood. Jesus practiced it in St. Mark 10:13-16 as a blessing. This is our procedure for baby dedication instead of baptism. We also practice laying on of hands for healing (St. Mark 5; Acts 28:8; Acts 19:11-12); to confer office (Acts 6:6); to receive the Holy Ghost (Acts 8:16-18); to believe words spoken, to receive and cultivate the anointing; for ordination to consecrate and receive the necessary ministry tools (I Timothy 4:14).

The following are the core beliefs of Present Truth Prayer Center based on the foundational truths taught in the bible. All of our teaching and ministry is rooted in and flows out of these biblical doctrines.

GOD

There is one eternally existing God who has three distinct persons: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is the creator of all that exists, both visible and invisible, and is therefore worthy of all glory and praise.  God is perfect in love, power, holiness, goodness, knowledge, wisdom,  justice, and mercy. He is unchangeable and therefore is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

REVELATION

God has revealed himself to us through his Son, Jesus Christ, who is the visible image of the invisible God, the holy scriptures, and through all of creation itself.

MANKIND

Humans, both male and female, were created in God's image for His glory. The first humans, Adam and Eve, were created without sin and appointed as caretakers of the rest of God's creations.

THE FALL

When Adam and Eve chose not to obey God they ceased to be what they were made to be and became distorted images of God. This caused them to fall out of fellowship with God, and fractured all of creation ever since that time.

SALVATION

Jesus Christ came to reconcile us with God. He lived a life without sin and willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our transgressions. God raised him from the dead and now, by grace, offers as a free gift eternal life to all who follow Christ, by faith, as their Lord and Savior. That is why salvation can be found in Christ alone.

THE CHURCH

The Church is meant to be the visible body of Christ, sent into the world to glorify God and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

RESUrRECTION

Jesus Christ is returning one day to judge both the living and the dead and to usher in the fullness of God's kingdom on earth.