Choosing Joy!

Message Series 

Life can be tough for us all. As Paul entered the city of Philippi to preach the good news of Jesus—the first place in Europe the gospel was shared that we know of—he was promptly imprisoned! Once released, he started a vibrant church there. Most of the members struggled financially, but faith in God gave them a generosity beyond their means. They helped Paul over and over in the months and years to come.

Later, Paul was imprisoned yet again—this time in Rome, after he had appealed to Caesar and was awaiting the emperor’s ruling. As he writes a love letter to this special church, his main message to them is that, in spite of the circumstances of life, no matter how difficult, in Christ you can choose joy! 

This is a message for us all. Join us in this series as we learn many practical lessons in life—especially how we can rejoice in the Lord and can learn to say, with Paul, "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."

This message series begins September 8, 2019.

See "Upcoming Messages" under "Sermons" menu tab for individual messages... 

Everyone Needs a Church...

To answer the questions of life . . .

Questions like, “Who am I?” “What’s my purpose?” “What is God really like?” and “Why do bad things happen?” Jesus Christ and His church are uniquely qualified to answer life’s most basic questions.

To share life’s happiness...

The precious moments of life are meant to be shared: the beginning of new life together in marriage, the birth of a new child, the baptism of new believers... these milestones, plus the joy of simple pleasures, are enhanced by the community of a loving congregation.

To help face tragedies...

Everyone faces trouble in life: sorrows, disappointments, sickness, death. Needed support and comfort flows freely from those who share a common faith. How much we need one another in times like these!

To teach about God and the purposes He has for us...

Survey after survey reveals an overwhelming belief in God. But what is He like? How do we know Him? God has answered those questions through the Bible, the special book that is the guide for the church.

To share God’s message and help those in need...

We can do more together than we can do alone. God has always called together a community of believers to help one another and to spread the good news of Jesus Christ. His message can bring healing to a hurting world. Yes, everyone needs a church, and at Ancient City Church, we would love to be yours!  

Ancient City Baptist Church:
Pursuing Life in Christ with Passion and Purpose

Ancient City Baptist Church:

We are told in Scripture that we belong to each other and are to gather together as the people of God.

Pursuing:

We are on a journey through life; we have not yet arrived! Jesus told us to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” We invite you to join us on this wonderful journey to achieve God's plan for our lives, individually and together...

Life in Christ:

Jesus said that he came “that you might have life, and might have it more abundantly.” Jesus was sent that we might have life, abundant and eternal. The abundant life we enjoy here includes what is called the fruit of the Spirit: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control." He offers what we have been looking for! We do not simply pursue life; we are pursuing life in Christ! Here at Ancient City, we speak of balanced growth in life, growing in "head, heart, hands, and feet." [Here's what we mean.]

Passion:

In the greatest of all the commandments, as identified by Jesus, we are told, first, to love God with "all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength," and second, to "love your neighbor as yourself." The top two commands are both about love. We are to live passionate lives of love!

Purpose:

The Great Commission of Jesus gives us one of our primary purposes as a church: “make disciples of all nations.” We have a purpose, a mission to fulfill. We are to help others discover how to have peace with God and to find the abundant and eternal life in Christ he offers to us!

This is what we are all about—pursuing life in Christ with passion and purpose! We invite you to join hands with us.

Beliefs and Affiliations:

Ancient City Baptist Church stands in the tradition of the basic beliefs uniting all authentic believers in Jesus since he began his church, and we hold specific beliefs that are distinctives of Baptists. We are Christians (or believers in Jesus) first. We use Baptist as an adjective describing how we live out our faith. Thus, we are Baptist Christians.

We believe that there is one true God, Creator of all that exists, who himself reveals himself to us in three distinct personalities: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), and God the Holy Spirit. This has come to be called the Trinity over the centuries—one God who exists in three persons. This is a mystery but the clear teaching of Scripture.

We believe that the Bible is the God-preserved record of God's revelation of himself to humankind: it tells us who God is and who we are and God's purposes for us. We trust that the Bible is the most sure authority we have for the voice of God, and Jesus himself taught us how to properly understand all of God's Word, both the Old and New Testaments. We evaluate all messages that are claimed to be from God by his Word.

We believe that Jesus is the Son of God who was sent to earth to live a perfect life, die a sacrificial death, and experience a triumphant resurrection by the power of God so that our sins might be forgiven and that we can live the life that God has designed for us—a life "abundant" and "eternal." This forgiveness of sin is called salvation and is received by God's grace through our trusting in Jesus and confessing him as Lord of our lives. Our response also includes repentance, or turning away, from our sin. We cannot work our way to heaven or to rightness with God. It is a gift of grace through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

We believe that all humankind is made in the image and likeness of God as the crown of his Creation; we are to be faithful stewards of the Creation. However, because of the disobedience of the first man and woman, we fell into sin—and all of us (with the exception of Jesus) have followed into sin, both by nature and by choice. We all are in need of a Savior. Each of us will live forever; those who are believers in Jesus will live forever with him and other believers in the place he has prepared for us. Those who do not receive forgiveness of their sins will be eternally separated from God and his love.

We believe that God desires for each one of us, after placing our faith in Jesus to receive our salvation, to grow in his grace, maturing as believers so that we might become more like Jesus. This growth is the result of our salvation, not the way we receive our salvation. God's Holy Spirit works in our lives to draw us to belief in God, and the Spirit comes into our lives to indwell us when we trust in Jesus, and he leads us into maturity in the faith.

We believe that water baptism is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus and a symbol of our own new life in Christ. As such, we baptize believers by immersion in water. (While we dedicate infants and their parents, we therefore do not baptize people until they decide to trust in Jesus as Lord of their lives.)

We believe that once we authentically trust in Jesus, we are secure in our salvation and cannot lose it. Each person is adopted into God's family when he or she believes in Jesus, and no one will be cast away who has truly believed, and no one can be snatched away from God's hand. We can bask in the security that we belong to God and do not need to have constant fear about our place with him. Our love for God and the work of his Spirit in our lives, though, bring us back to confession of our sins and renewed joy of our fellowship with God when we stray from him and his ways.

We believe that as believers we are to join together in local churches for worship, fellowship, and ministry, and our prime ministry to others is to spread the good news that God is in Christ Jesus, reconciling himself to the world the world to himself. We are to share our faith with others and be a blessing to our communities.

There is much more that we believe, but we hope this gives you a good idea. We are glad to answer other questions about our faith.

We voluntarily partner with other bodies of Christians for fellowship, encouragement, and, most importantly, to share the good news (or gospel) of Jesus with people all around the world. We voluntarily work together with the Southern Baptist Convention, the Florida Baptist Convention, and the St. Johns River Baptist Association. Our church, like all churches who partner with such groups, does not believe that any other group speaks completely for us. We join together by commonality of purpose and agreement in our most basic beliefs. Through these partnerships, we help support thousands of missionaries in our nation and around the world throught the work of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention and the North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. 

We also partner with other churches, ministries, and mission organizations as decided upon by our church body.