The Preaching of
God's Word

   We believe in one God; The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (also known as the Holy Trinity). This God created the universe and everything in it, ourselves included. This God has made Himself known to mankind through the things He has created and most clearly, through the Bible, which is the written Word of God. We believe the Bible to be the final authority for what we believe and how we live.

   We believe that the human race, created to live in perfect harmony with God, rebelled against Him in the sin of our first parents Adam and Eve. All their descendants (i.e. the entire human race) are guilty of sin and deserve eternal condemnation and punishment.

   We believe that God sent His own Son in our human flesh in the person of Jesus Christ to save from sin all whom God has chosen for eternal life. Jesus accomplished this by living a perfect life on earth and dying on the cross in the place of sinners. We believe that after three days God raised Jesus back to life and that He now lives forever.

   We believe that to be saved a person must confess his or her sins to God, turn from those sins and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Savior. All those who, by God’s grace, do this have their sins forgiven and receive eternal life.

   We believe that as Christians we are obligated to show our thankfulness to God for His salvation by living lives which conform to His laws and commands as revealed in the Bible.

   We believe that all human history is moving towards its conclusion, which shall be the return of Jesus Christ to judge the living and the dead. At that time, God’s Kingdom will be fully established on earth and God and His people will live together in a new creation forever.
 
   The teachings of the Bible are summarized in three creeds (literally, beliefs). These three creeds (see links below) are embraced by the majority of those in this world who are true Christians. They were written in difference ages of the New Testament Church to give clear, biblical teachings in the face of heresies in their respective times. We believe that these creeds accurately summarize biblical teachings and so we embrace them as ours.

                                            The Apostles Creed         The Nicene Creed          The Athanasian Creed

   We also embrace certain historic, doctrinal standards (see links below) which we call the Three Forms of Unity. These standards are faithful summaries of the basic doctrines and teachings of the Scriptures, and for generations they have been used as teaching tools within our Reformed churches. These Standards highlight many of the distinctive features of the Biblical and Reformed faith, like God’s sovereignty, salvation by grace alone, and the extent and sufficiency of Christ’s atonement.

                                          The Heidelberg Catechism      The Belgic Confess      The Canons of Dort

   We believe that the Bible, God’s Word, informs and regulates all worship. Everything we do in our service of worship is drawn from basic principles of worship found in both the Old and New Testament. We believe that the church’s worship is structured around two things:
           · God graciously ‘speaking’ to His people as witnessed through the salutation and benediction, the reading of the Ten              Commandments, and the reading and preaching of God’s Word; and
           · God’s people lovingly responding to Him as expressed in our confession of sin and prayers, in the songs we sing, in the gifts              and offerings we bring, and just as importantly, in our daily lives of obedience.