About us
Meet the Leadership team:
Stuart Cullen
Pastor
Stuart has served as pastor at Emmanuel since 2016. Before that he worked in Yorkshire inspecting water.
John Wilkinson
Elder
Peter Birley
Elder
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What we believe
1. God
There is one God, who exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. God is unchangeable in his holiness, justice, wisdom and love. He is the almighty Creator; Saviour and Judge who sustains and governs all things according to his sovereign will for his own glory.
2. The Bible
God has revealed himself in the Bible, which consists of the Old and New Testaments alone. Every word was inspired by God through human authors, so that the Bible as originally given is in its entirety the Word of God, without error and fully reliable in fact and doctrine. The Bible alone speaks with final authority and is always sufficient for all matters of belief and practice.
3. The Human Race
All men and women, being created in the image of God, have inherent and equal dignity and worth. Their greatest purpose is to obey, worship and love God. As a result of the fall of our first parents, every aspect of human nature has been corrupted and all men and women are without spiritual life, guilty sinners and hostile to God. Every person is therefore under the just condemnation of God and needs to be born again, forgiven and reconciled to God in order to know and please him.
4. The Lord Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, and lived a sinless life in obedience to the Father. He taught with authority and all his words are true. On the cross he died in the place of sinners, bearing God’s punishment for their sin, redeeming them by his blood. He rose from the dead and in his resurrection body ascended into heaven where he is exalted as Lord of all. He intercedes for his people in the presence of the Father.
5. Salvation
Salvation is entirely a work of God’s grace and cannot be earned or deserved. It has been accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ and is offered to all in the gospel. God in his love forgives sinners whom he calls, granting them repentance and faith. All who believe in Christ are justified by faith alone, adopted into the family of God and receive eternal life.
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6. The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit has been sent from heaven to glorify Christ and to apply his work of salvation. He convicts sinners, imparts spiritual life and gives a true understanding of the Scriptures. He indwells all believers, brings assurance of salvation and produces increasing likeness to Christ. He builds up the Church and empowers its members for worship, service and mission.
7. The Church
The universal Church is the body of which Christ is the head and to which all who are saved belong. It is made visible in local churches, which are congregations of believers who are committed to each other for the worship of God, the preaching of the Word, the administering of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper; for pastoral care and discipline, and for evangelism. The unity of the body of Christ is expressed within and between churches by mutual love, care and encouragement. True fellowship between churches exists only where they are faithful to the gospel.
8. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper
Baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been given to the churches by Christ as visible signs of the gospel. Baptism is a symbol of union with Christ and entry into his Church but does not impart spiritual life. The Lord’s Supper is a commemoration of Christ’s sacrifice offered once for all and involves no change in the bread and wine. All its blessings are received by faith.
9. The Future
The Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will be sent to eternal punishment and the righteous will be welcomed into a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever.
10. Marriage
We believe that the Bible teaches that Marriage is the union of one man and one woman for life, and that sexual intimacy is a gift from God to be enjoyed exclusively within the context of marriage.
What is a "Christian"?
A Christian is someone with a deep personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The word "Christian" is used 3 times in the New Testament and each instance is referring to the first “Christians” of the early church.
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"So it was that for a whole year they assembled with the church and taught a great many people. And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch." (Acts 11:26).
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"Then Agrippa said to Paul, 'You almost persuade me to become a Christian.'" (Acts 26:28).
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"Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter." (1 Peter 4:16).
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The Bible says that good works do not make us acceptable to God. A person can live to a high moral standard, give money to the poor, go to church, and serve their neighbours, and yet not be a “Christian.”
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Simply put, each one of us has, and do, do things wrong, we don't honour God's name or day, we engage in wrong relationships, we steal in many ways, we tell untruths in many ways, we use unclean speech. All of this offends God, and separates us from Him. Do you think that God says in His word that we should do some things and not do others but doesn't care if we ignore Him? No, he clearly says in the Bible that "there shall by no means enter it (Heaven) anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie", (Revelation 21:27)
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The Bible says that after we die there is a judgement, the things we do wrong must be punished! But God is a loving God and wants us to be with Him so
He sent someone else to take the punishment for us, the Lord Jesus Christ. He died on the cross taking the blame for you, and He rose again to prove He'd done it and to have a personal relationship with you.
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But there must be a response from you.
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1. You must accept that you have done things wrong, you are a sinner, and ask for forgiveness.
2. You must trust God to forgive you and believe that Jesus has already taken your punishment.
3. You must turn away from the things you used to do wrong and undertake to follow Jesus.
The 'Good News' of the Bible teaches that Heaven is not a reward but a gift, it says "The wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23)
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Maybe you could use this Prayer:
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Lord Jesus, I know I've done things wrong that offend you and I'm sorry. Thank you for taking my punishment and please forgive me. I want to be the person You want me to be so please help me.
Can you say this to God and mean it..?
If you can, contact us, and we can help you get to know Him better.
If you can't as yet, still contact us, and we can help you get to know Him.