statement of faith

These three persons are equally God, yet they are distinct so that there are not three Gods, but one God.

God the Father is eternally God, not made or created. The Father is creator, the divine mind that conceived and created all that is and who governs it perfectly.

God the Son was neither made nor created, but was begotten of the Father. The Son was sent to live a perfect life in obedience to the Law, to die a reconciling death, and to be resurrected the third day victorious over sin and death.Having been created for fellowship with God, humanity fell from its original innocence by the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve. As a result we are separated from God. It is through Christ that we are reconciled to God. This is totally of grace and independent of any good or effort on our part.The Son now sits at the right hand of the Father reigning and pleading the cause of the children of God. He will return in judgment to bring to full realization the kingdom of God.

The Holy Spirit is eternally God and proceeds from the Father and the Son. The Spirit is the sustainer who maintains us in faith and enlivens our hearts to follow Christ, both in life and in death.

God is revealed perfectly in Jesus Christ, God made man.

And yet, God has also provided us with written revelation. The Holy Scriptures are both testimony to the revelation of God in Christ and revelation per se. Accordingly they are the trustworthy and authoritative guide for all matters of faith and practice.

The church is the family of God, those who profess faith in Christ as well as their children. The church exists to worship God and to make Him known in the world.

This is done through the proclamation of the message of reconciliation, the Gospel. It is also done through deeds of mercy and justice that express to others God’s heart for mercy and justice–the values of the kingdom—that are echoes of the mercy and justice of God who in Christ achieved the forgiveness of the sins of His people and satisfied the penalty of sin, which is death.

The marks of the visible church are the proclamation of the Word of God, the administration of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord’s Supper, and the exercise of discipline. The sacraments are signs and seals of the working of God’s grace in our lives. Each of these three marks is also a means of grace in the life of the Christian.

Baptism is the visible sign of membership in the covenant community and is to be given to the children of Christian parents and to new converts. The promises of baptism come to fruition in the personal profession of faith in Jesus Christ that accompanies admission to the Lord’s Supper.

Baptism is the visible sign of membership in the covenant community and is to be given to the children of Christian parents and to new converts. The promises of baptism come to fruition in a personal profession of faith in Christ before the Session (or in Confirmation).

The Lord’s Supper is the rite of covenant renewal, reminding us that God is true to the promise He has made to us in the Gospel.

As a community of people seeking to be conformed to the image of Christ and to live faithfully into the New Life offered us in the Gospel, we will at times need the correction and accountability that comes from community. All such discipline involves speaking the truth in love, sharing one anothers burdens, and pointing one another to the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

To God be glory forever.