WELCOME to our website and please know that we encourage you to visit Lower Skippack Mennonite Church as we seek to embody and proclaim Truth and to pursue Love and Unity.
What We Believe
The Scriptures
We believe that the Bible (the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testaments) is the
verbal, plenary, inspired Word of God (in the original writings) thus it is inerrant,
infallible, and the supreme and final authority in all matters of Faith, Doctrine,
Practice, Creeds and Conduct and that the Holy Spirit is the vital element in the
Revelation, Illumination and Operation of the Holy Scriptures in our lives. 2 Timothy
3:15-17; 2 Peter 1:19-21; Hebrews 1:1; John 16:12-13.
The Godhead
We believe in one triune God, eternally existing in three persons - Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit - co-eternal in being, co-identical in nature, co-equal in power and glory,
and having the same attributes and perfections. 2 Corinthians 13:14; 1 Peter 1:2; 1
John 5:7.
God the Father
We believe in God the Father, the first person of the Trinity, who is an intelligent,
spiritual and personal being, the Creator and sovereign ruler of all that exists, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power; that He concerns Himself
mercifully in the affairs of all people, that He is truly Father to those who become His
children through faith in Jesus Christ, that He hears and answers their prayers, and
that He saves from Hell and eternal death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ.
Genesis 17:1; Psalm 10:17; John 3:16; Romans 11:33; Titus 1:2; Revelation 4:8.
God the Son
We believe in the absolute deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the eternal Son of
God, the second person of the Trinity; in His virgin birth; in His perfect sinless
humanity; in His vicarious death through the shedding of His blood for the remission
of sins; in His visible, bodily resurrection and ascension; in His present high priestly
ministry in heaven for all believers; as being the only mediator between God and man; and in His second coming in the air for His saints and to the earth with His saints. Matthew 1:20-23; Luke 24:1-3,6; John 1:1; John 1:14; Acts 1:9-11; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18; 1 Timothy 2:5; Hebrews 9:26; Revelation 20:4.
God the Holy Spirit
We believe in the absolute deity of the Holy Spirit, who is the third person of the
Trinity, possessing intelligence, will, and emotions. His purpose is to exalt Christ,
convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; to call men to the Savior and
effect regeneration, to baptize all true believers into the body of Christ, at the moment of salvation, permanently indwelling, sealing, and thus securing them unto the day of redemption. He sanctifies, bestows spiritual gifts, guides, teaches, enlightens, empowers, and cultivates Christian character in the believer and that it is the privilege and duty of all born-again believers to be continually filled by the Holy Spirit. John 14:16, 17, 26; John 16:7-11; John 3:5; I Corinthians 12:13 Romans 8:9; Ephesians 4:30.
Creation
We believe that God created the heavens and the earth, including all life, each after its own kind, by direct act and not by any process of evolution. Genesis 1, 2; John 1:3; Colossians 1:16-17.
Man
We Believe:
1. That man was created in the image of God
2. That he sinned and thereby incurred both physical and spiritual death, which is
eternal separation from God
3. That all human beings are born with a sinful nature, and are sinners in thought,
word, and deed, absolutely guilty and lost and incapable of saving themselves by
their own works, being dead in trespasses and sins and are in need of being born
again. Genesis 2, 3; John 3:3,7; Romans 3:23; Romans 5; Romans 6:23;
Ephesians 2:1.
Salvation
We Believe:
1. That salvation is a gift of God in grace, wholly apart from any human merit and is
received by man through personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ whose precious
blood was shed for the forgiveness of our sins. John 1:12; Romans 4:5; Ephesians
1:7, 2:8, 9.
2. That the sacrifice of the blood of our Lord Jesus Christ was sufficient to pay for the
sins of all who have lived or shall ever live but that it becomes efficacious only for
those who will put their faith and trust in Him. We totally reject the doctrine of
Limited Atonement
3. That all true believers, once saved, are sealed and kept secure in Christ forever. We reject the teaching that a saved man can lose his salvation John 6:37; John 10:27-30; Romans 8:1, 27-30, 38-39.
4. That the salvation of sinners is wholly of grace through faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ, in virtue of His redemptive work on the cross, and that neither baptism, the
Lord's Supper, nor any other rite, ceremony, or work can avail one whit for the
sinner's salvation. Christ alone saves Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-9.
Sanctification
We believe in the positional and progressive sanctification of the believer. Positional
being the immediate sanctification of the believer in the eyes of God upon their
acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior: and progressive being the experiential
sanctification here on earth. It is carried on in the hearts and lives of the believers by
their realization and application of their union with Christ in His death for sin and their
death to sin and, by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in the continued use of
the appointed means, especially the Word of God, self-examination, self-denial, and
prayer. John 17:17; Romans 6:6-11; 2 Corinthians 6:17; 7:1; Ephesians 4:24; 1 Peter
1:2.
Separation - Personal
We Believe That:
1. Every Christian should be personally separated from the world unto God;
2. Believers are in the world but not of it
3. The Christian is not to love the world or be conformed to it
4. He is a pilgrim and a stranger here and should "walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit" 1 John 2:15-17; 1 John 5:4.
The Church - Local
We Believe That the Local Church:
1. Is a congregation of born-again believers, saved by the precious blood of Christ,
observing the ordinances of Christ Baptism and the Lord's Supper
2. Is governed by His laws, and exercising the rights and privileges expressed in the
Word of God.
3. Has the absolute right of self-government, free from the interference of any
hierarchy of individuals or organizations.
4. Has the responsibility, along with its officers, to separate from and forsake all that
might dishonor God or cast discredit on His cause, or weaken the local testimony,
to glorify, worship and praise God, to teach, exhort and edify the saints and to seek
to win others to Christ even to the "uttermost part of the earth" Acts 8:1; 1
Corinthians 16:19; Revelation 2:1,8,12,18; Revelation 3:1,7,14.
Ordinances
We Believe That:
1. Christ committed to the Church the ordinances of Baptism and the Lord's Supper
2. Christian Baptism is the immersion in water of the believer, thus setting forth in
symbol his union, and identification with Christ in His death, burial, and
resurrection, that is the believer's death to power of sin, burial of the old life and
resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus and that it is a testimony of
His faith in the final resurrection of the dead.
3. The baptism of infants has no scriptural foundation
4. The Lord's Supper is a commemoration of the Lord's death until He comes; and that in this ordinance, the Lord's Table should be open to all regenerated persons living in fellowship with and obedience to Jesus Christ. Matthew 26:26-30; 28:19; Mark 4:23-26; Luke 22:19-20; Acts 8:26-39; 16:30-34; 18:8; Romans 6:3-5; 1
Corinthians 11:23-29.
The Blessed Hope
We believe in "that blessed hope" which is the literal, bodily, personal, pretribulational
and imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in the air to catch away His Church, also in the literal, bodily, personal, visible, glorious, pre-millennial return of Christ to the earth to judge the living nations and to set up His kingdom. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 20.
The Resurrection of Man
We believe in the bodily resurrection of all men accomplished by means of two
resurrections - the resurrection of believers to everlasting life (at the Rapture), and the second, in the resurrection of the lost to everlasting, conscious punishment (following the millennium). Revelation 4:1; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Daniel 9:24-27; Revelation 20:1-6, 7-15.
The Eternal State
1. We believe that the souls of those who have trusted in the Lord Jesus Christ for
salvation will immediately pass into the presence of the Lord at death.
2. There they shall remain in conscious bliss until the resurrection of the body at
Christ's coming for His Church.
3. At that time, the soul shall be united to the resurrected body and live eternally with
the Lord in glory.
4. The souls of unbelievers shall remain after death in conscious torment until the
final judgment at The Great White Throne at the close of the millennium.
5. At that time, the soul shall be united with a body fitted for eternal punishment and
cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished, in outer
darkness, with everlasting separation from the Lord and from the glory of His
power. Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:8; Philippians 1:23; 2
Thessalonians 1:7-9; Revelation 20:11-15.
Separation of Church and State
We Believe That:
1. Every human being has the right to direct relationship with God and is responsible
to God and his brethren alone in all matters of faith
2. Each local church, according to the New Testament is independent and completely
autonomous and not rightly subject to interference by any ecclesiastical or political
authority
3. Separation of church and state does not mean that we as Christians are prohibited
from involvement in government
4. Civil government is of divine appointment for the good of human society
5. Magistrates are to be prayed for and conscientiously honored and obeyed, except
when they are in defiance of the Word of God. Ecclesiastes 12:13; Romans 13; 1
Corinthians 5:11-13; 1 Timothy 2:5
Marriage
We Believe That:
1. God has ordained the institution of marriage and that it is to be the union of one
man and one woman. Genesis 1:27-28; 2:18-24
2. Marriage is both a sacred and honorable relationship.1 Corinthians 7:2; Hebrews
13:4.
3. Marriage is a covenantal relationship picturing God's unbreakable faithfulness to
Israel and the unbreakable covenantal relationship of Christ to His beloved
Church. It is a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman. Therefore, what
God has joined together, let no man put asunder. Malachi 2:14,16; Matthew 19:4-
6; Mark 10:9; Ephesians 5:22-32
4. Marriage of a believer to an unbeliever is forbidden in scripture. 2 Corinthians
6:14, 7:1; Galatians 6:7
5. Marriage is the only place for sexual intimacy. For those who have stepped outside
God’s plan of sexuality, there is always the offer of forgiveness. 1 Corinthians
6:18-20; 7:3-5; 1 Thessalonians4:3-7; 1 John 1:9
6. This church encourages those whose marriages are struggling to seek counsel and instruction from a member of the pastoral staff or to receive a referral to a
professional Christian counselor. The church is here to strengthen your marriage.
Divorce
It is against God’s will that a marriage is not saved, and divorce occurs. It is further
unfortunate to all involved when the divorce cannot be reconciled, and the original
marriage cannot be reconstituted due to one of the individual’s marrying another
husband or wife. This action is not part of God’s will for marriage. The original
marriage was performed with God being a witness of the marital vows and it is a sin to violate these vows.
God intended that the marriage covenant be an indissoluble union. But in this finite and fallen world commitments made are sometimes broken and not fulfilled. Because our church recognizes both the divine origin of marriage and the devastating effects of divorce, we are deeply committed to preserving marriages and preventing divorce
whenever possible. However, although we hold to a high view of the marriage
covenant, God’s Word does permit (though does not mandate) divorce and remarriage under the following, limited circumstances, thus breaking the marriage bond:
1. When a spouse breaks the marriage covenant by committing sexual immorality.
Matthew 5:32; 19:9
2. When an unbelieving spouse breaks the marriage covenant by deserting or
abandoning the other spouse. 1 Corinthians 7:15
3. The death of one’s spouse breaks the marriage bond, allowing remarriage for a
believing widow or widower if the marriage is to a believer. Romans 7:2-3; 1
Corinthians 7:39.
Charismatic Movement
That the gift of tongues, as seen in Scripture was one of the sign gifts used to validate God's messengers and that it ceased with those who possessed it - the apostles since it no longer has any purpose; that the restrictions of I Corinthians 14 were given at that time -- AD 67 -- for the next 30 years, AD 90-100, when it would cease. That there shall be no thought of excluding from fellowship or from service within the church, members who claim to have had a glossolalia experience. However, for the sake of the unity of the church family, and for the preservation of smooth and harmonious working relationships as a team, it is expected that those who claim the gift of tongues refrain from its expression. It is no longer relevant for the church today.
Alternate Lifestyles
With respect to our culture that is ever-embracing alternate lifestyles, we believe that
the term "marriage" is defined only in the context of the union of one man and one
woman; all other claims on marriage such as homosexuality, bisexuality, changing of
one's sex due to disagreement with one's biological sex, is sinful and offensive to God (Leviticus 18:22-23; Deuteronomy 22:5; Matthew 15:19; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10) as they are the constructs of man and violate the intent of God (Romans 1:21-25). God's plan for human sexuality is good and is the only one to be followed. For those struggling with this issue, Christ-centered counsel, instruction, and encouragement are available from the pastoral staff at LSMC, as well a referral to a professional Christian counselor.
We gladly welcome all who are of the same heart and mind as we endeavor to strengthen the body of Christ in order to become a blessing to the nations of the world (Genesis 12:2; Matthew 28:18-20).