OUR BELIEFS
"
...The faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints" (Jude
3) We confess and believe all that is taught in the Old and
New Testaments, which are the inspired and infallible word
of God. We summarize Scriptural teaching regarding the holy
Trinity and Christ in the great ecumenical creeds of the
ancient church: the Apostles'
Creed, Nicene Creed, Athanasian
Creed, and the Definition
of Chalcedon. We also confess the
Three Forms of Unity: the Heidelberg
Catechism, the Belgic
Confession, and the Canons
of Dort; which teach that Scripture
alone is our only guide for faith and life, that we are saved
from sin and eternal wrath only by God's grace alone, through
faith alone in the perfect righteousness of Christ alone,
to the glory of God alone. As a historic Reformed church,
we trace our heritage from the Apostles through the ancient
church to the Protestant
Reformation.
WORD AND SACRAMENTS
"
They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and...to
the breaking of bread." (Acts 2:42) According to Scripture,
the Holy Spirit creates true faith through the preaching
of the "word of God" (Romans
10:17), which is the gospel, and confirms and assures our
faith by the administration of the holy sacraments, namely,
baptism (Col 2:11-12) and the Lord's Supper (1 Cor 11:17-34).
These means of grace are the center-points of our worship.
CHRIST-CENTERED PREACHING
"
But we preach Christ crucified" (1 Cor 1.23) Biblical
preaching distinguishes between the two parts of God's
word: law and gospel, the bad news and the good
news.
The law demands perfect obedience from sinners and the
gospel tells us that Christ has performed that obedience
on behalf
of all who trust in him. God meets with us in worship,
putting to death our old nature through the law and renewing
our
new nature by the gospel, feeding us with Christ, "the
bread from heaven" (John 6:50), the nourishment of
our souls.
REVERENT WORSHIP
"
Come let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the
Lord our maker" (Psalm 95:6) The presence of God is
holy ground (Exodus 3:5), therefore he calls his people to
worship "with
reverence and awe" (Hebrews
12:29) and to "rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11).
Biblical worship is not entertainment, emotional experience
or fads, but is directed to our Triune God who sits upon
the throne and is glorified through his people
(Revelation 4-5).
THE LORD'S DAY
"
Call the Sabbath a delight" (Isaiah 58:13) The "Lord's
Day" (Revelation 1:10) is a commemoration
of the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ, on "the
day the Lord has made" (Psalm 118:24). We gather,
therefore to "rejoice and be glad in it" (Psalm
118:24) as God speaks to us through his word and we respond
to him in
song, prayer, offering, and fellowship. He has given us
this day as a gift, to rejoice in his creation (Exodus
20:11)
and redemption (Deuteronomy 5:15), by gathering in the
morning and evening as a church family.
CHILDREN AND FAMILY
"
I will establish my covenant between me and you and your
descendents" (Genesis 17:7) God has made his covenant
of grace, in both the Old and New Testaments, with believing
parents and their children
(Acts
2:39; Ephesians 6:1). Therefore we administer covenant
baptism to unbaptized converts and to the children
of believers (Genesis 17; Colossians 2:11-12). We administer
the Lord's
Supper regularly (Acts 2:42) to those who are baptized
and have made profession of faith and are members in good
standing
of a true church (1 Corinthians 5:2; 11:20-34). As godly
families, whether single or married, with or without children,
we highly encourage family devotions.
SHARING OUR FAITH
"
You are the salt of the earth...You are the light of the
world" (Matthew 5:13-14)
In addition to growing in the faith, we desire to share the
gospel with those outside the church, by our words and lifestyle.
We not only prepare ourselves to give an answer for the hope
that is in us (1 Peter 3:15), but we pray that many shall
believe the gospel.
ACCOUNTABILITY
"
In the multitude of counselors there is safety" (Proverbs
11:14) Christians were not delivered to live apart from
the church but were united to Christ to be part of his
church (Ephesians
4:4-6). Just as the apostolic church met and submitted
to one another (Acts 15), so we belong to a larger body
of congregations
because we believe the Bible demands accountability. For
this reason, we are affiliated with the United Reformed
Churches of North America . The creeds, confessions
and historic liturgies of the church also link us to other
believers across time, geographical boundaries and cultures.
