The Three Streams
The three “streams” then, are Scripture (the Bible), the Holy Spirit, and the Sacraments.
Scripture: The Bible, made up of the Old and New Testaments, is a unified collection of stories, teachings, poems, and letters that we believe contain God’s message to the world. These writings tell us about Jesus, God’s Son, and the redemption, freedom, and forgiveness which are freely available through Him. We also believe that they contain everything we need to know about how to live our lives and even equip us to do so. That is why we focus on learning what the Bible tells us about God and ourselves, and how it affects our day-to-day living.
Spirit: We believe that God’s Spirit is also vital for the life of the Church. While the Scriptures teach and equip us, they can only do so by the Spirit’s power. After Jesus returned to Heaven, God sent His Spirit to earth to guide His followers and to help them to live together as a community. The Spirit connects the Church to Jesus and God the Father, and in doing so He comforts, guides, teaches, leads, equips, unites, and prays for us. Our Church does not exist without the Spirit of God.
Sacraments: In addition to the Scriptures and the Spirit, God also gave His Church the Sacraments. Jesus has commissioned His followers to do two things as they live out their lives: be baptized, and to remember His death through bread and wine. Christian baptism is both a public declaration of faith in Jesus, as well as a commissioning by the Church to a life of Christian mission. This is an important part of the Christian life, as through this a follower identifies with and is somehow united to Jesus in His death and resurrection. It is in Eucharist, or Communion, that Christians remember Jesus’ death. This is an important part of our fellowship with one another and with God, as it strengthens us in our faith and reminds us of the centrality of Jesus’ death on our behalf.