1 Corinthians 13 defines love in this way.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
For Christians, the ultimate standard for love is found in Jesus Christ, who sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world world.
Jesus Christ was born to His mother, Mary, and her husband Joseph in Bethlehem. He is the Son of God who decided to take human form for us, being inseparably human and divine. He is true God and true human being who was born, suffered, died, and rose again to pay the price for all humanity's sins.
The Bible is the inspired, inerrant Word of God. God used dozens of authors throughout history to compose a holistic revelation of Himself to fallen humanity. It is divided into the Old Testament, which predates the birth of Jesus, and the New Testament, which contains a record of Jesus' life and the life of the early church.
Heaven is the dwelling place of God, a place of perfection with no suffering, pain, or death. We look forward to the day when Christ returns and renews heaven and earth so that that perfection is experienced everywhere.
Hell is the total absence of God. Hell is a place without love, without kindness, without grace, without patience, without joy, and without peace.
Prayer is talking to God and trusting in His promise to listen.
Sin is anything and everything that is contrary to God's perfect will.
Christianity is a global religion that believes Jesus Christ is the Son of God who died on a cross as a sacrifice for the sins of humanity. We also believe that He rose from the dead on the third day, signaling His ultimate victory over sin and death. You can read more about what that entails here.
Yes. The Catholic Church believes in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ for salvation. Lutherans (what Edgewater is) have some theological differences with our Catholic brothers and sisters, but we believe they are still Christians.
There are a few answers to the origin of Christianity. One could point to the birth or resurrection or ascension of Jesus as a starting point for Christianity, Pentecost (an event recorded in Acts 2:1-41) is frequently pointed to as the start of the church as a loose organization, and Christianity was first recognized by the Romans as an established religion in 313AD with the Edict of Milan.
Jesus was born in Bethlehem as prophesied in Micah 5:2.
That really depends on how you count "branches." In broad strokes, Christianity is often split into two major categories, Catholicism and Protestantism, and sometimes Orthodox churches are put into their own category. Lutherans (what Edgewater is) are sometimes credited as having one foot in both of those two world. If you would like to count individual denominations, the number is huge and regularly changes - especially if you count individual churches that aren't affiliate with a larger church.
Yes, we believe in the death and resurrection for the forgiveness of sins.
Yes, we believe that the Holy Spirit works in baptism and that it does not depend on the understanding of the baptized. As a result, we do not withhold the gift of baptism from infants.