Lawrence First Church of the Nazarene
AI summary — doctrinal positions on this page are inferred by AI from this church's own public statements and may be inaccurate.
Inherited from denomination
What Church of the Nazarene teaches
Positions bound by the denomination's confessional standards. This is what the tradition teaches; whether this specific congregation publicly holds each is a separate question — see Statements below.
Affirms
- Infant BaptismSTRONGWestminster XXVIII; Book of Concord SC IV; Council of Trent Session VII; Wesleyan Articles Art. XVII
- Marriage as one man and one womanSTRONGGenesis 2:24; Matthew 19:4–6; historic universal Christian teaching.
- Permissibility of divorce and remarriagestandardMatthew 19:9 (adultery ground); 1 Corinthians 7:15 (abandonment ground). Practice varies.
- Women in pastoral / ordained officestandardVarious denominational actions (TEC 1976, ELCA 1970s, PC(USA) 1956, AG 1935, CofE 1994 priests / 2014 bishops, etc.)
Denies
- Apostolic SuccessionstandardCongregational and presbyterian polity reject the necessity of tactile episcopal succession.
- Assumption of MarystandardUniversal Protestant rejection — not attested in Scripture; not received as dogma.
- Homosexual practice and biblical sexual ethicsSTRONGRomans 1:26–27; 1 Corinthians 6:9–10; historic universal Christian teaching.
- Immaculate ConceptionSTRONGUniversal Protestant + Orthodox rejection. Orthodox reject on the grounds that they hold prepurification at the Annunciation, not conception.
- Perpetual Virginity of MarystandardNatural reading of Matthew 13:55–56 (brothers of Jesus); typical modern Baptist / evangelical position.
- Real PresencestandardMemorialist / Zwinglian view; typical Baptist and Free Church position
- TransubstantiationSTRONGOrthodox reject the Aristotelian metaphysics; Lutherans use 'sacramental union'; 39 Articles Art. XXVIII rejects explicitly; Reformed/Baptist reject substance-change.
Wrestles with
- Believer's BaptismstandardPaedobaptist bodies practice adult baptism on credible profession where infant baptism was omitted, but do not consider it normative.
- Pacifism vs. just-warweakDefault just-war framework — usually unwritten. Inheriting at weak confidence.
In their own words
Statements
statement_of_faith
<!DOCTYPE html> What We Believe | Lawrence First Home About About Lawrence First What We Believe Values LFC Staff Gathering Times Sundays Wednesdays Blog Life Groups LFC Events LFC Kids LFC Teens LFC en Español Sermons Give Online Select Page What We Believe We believe in one God, the Creator of all things, who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. We believe in Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man at the same time, who became like us to bring about our salvation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is active in the world, bringing us to salvaSource ↗
about_us
<!DOCTYPE html> About | Lawrence First Home About About Lawrence First What We Believe Values LFC Staff Gathering Times Sundays Wednesdays Blog Life Groups LFC Events LFC Kids LFC Teens LFC en Español Sermons Give Online Select Page About Lawrence First Church Lawrence First Church is full of ordinary, everyday people who are trying our best to live God’s way. If that sounds like we don’t have it all figured out, you’re right! Faith is a journey toward God, and that journey was meant to be done together. When we say “together,” we don’t just mean those of us wSource ↗
about_us
<!DOCTYPE html> Values | Lawrence First Home About About Lawrence First What We Believe Values LFC Staff Gathering Times Sundays Wednesdays Blog Life Groups LFC Events LFC Kids LFC Teens LFC en Español Sermons Give Online Select Page LFC Values What we value impacts how we live. We have determined five key values that drive us each day. While love (for God and others) is the ultimate catalyst, we thought it was too big for this list. So, each value is expressed through love. The whole list is love! As a church, we love God and others in these primary ways: WSource ↗
mission
What We Believe | Lawrence First Home About About Lawrence First What We Believe Values LFC Staff Gathering Times Sundays Wednesdays Blog Life Groups LFC Events LFC Kids LFC Teens LFC en Español Sermons Give Online Select Page What We Believe We believe in one God, the Creator of all things, who reveals Himself as Father, Son, and Spirit. We believe in Jesus Christ, who is fully God and fully man at the same time, who became like us to bring about our salvation. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who is active in the world, bringing us to salvation. We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, giSource ↗
mission
Values | Lawrence First Home About About Lawrence First What We Believe Values LFC Staff Gathering Times Sundays Wednesdays Blog Life Groups LFC Events LFC Kids LFC Teens LFC en Español Sermons Give Online Select Page LFC Values What we value impacts how we live. We have determined five key values that drive us each day. While love (for God and others) is the ultimate catalyst, we thought it was too big for this list. So, each value is expressed through love. The whole list is love! As a church, we love God and others in these primary ways: WHOLE Loving by surrendering our entire lives to God.Source ↗
about
About | Lawrence First Home About About Lawrence First What We Believe Values LFC Staff Gathering Times Sundays Wednesdays Blog Life Groups LFC Events LFC Kids LFC Teens LFC en Español Sermons Give Online Select Page About Lawrence First Church Lawrence First Church is full of ordinary, everyday people who are trying our best to live God’s way. If that sounds like we don’t have it all figured out, you’re right! Faith is a journey toward God, and that journey was meant to be done together. When we say “together,” we don’t just mean those of us who are already here, but we believe LFC is a placeSource ↗
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