SKEPTICAL OF CHRISTIANITY?

Whether you are searching out the Christian faith or stumbled here by chance, we want to help you.

So where do YOU fit? Everyone is welcome to attend our worship services. One of the best ways to discover Christianity is to see what we do in our worship. You are welcome because you are our neighbor, and we love our neighbors. We think it is exceedingly good for people to examine the claims of Christianity. 

Christianity is multifaceted. Theologian Michael Horton talks about the four D’s of Christianity. Drama, Doctrine, Doxology, and Discipleship (Core Christianity, pp. 17-20). These are all facets of what Christianity is, though many traditions emphasize one or two to the detriment of the others. 

  • It is a drama because it is a story, yet not fiction. We believe that real events happened, events that can be investigated. We believe that God, the author of the story, has revealed himself in history to mankind.

    And this revelation in the story of humanity gives way to the doctrines of the faith. Doctrines are answers to why God has revealed himself: what is the purpose of this revelation which was committed to writing by the holy prophets and apostles?

  • The doctrines of Christianity are defined. Christianity is not some wax nose, or a label indiscriminately applied to everything. B. B. Warfield, an early 20th-century theologian of Princeton Seminary, noted:

    “If everything that is called Christianity in these days is Christianity, then there is no such thing as Christianity. A name applied indiscriminately to everything, designates nothing.” - “‘Redeemer’ and ‘Redemption’”, Princeton Theological Review, p. 199

    Christianity has always been defined by belief and confessing those beliefs together (Romans 10:5-13, 1 Timothy 3:16). The Church is creedal in confessing the ecumenical creeds such as the Apostles’ Creed, the Nicene Creed, and the Athanasian Creed to summarize the teaching of Scripture. Finally, in our Reformed tradition, we confess in addition to the Ecumenical Creeds the Three Forms of Unity (The Belgic Confession, The Heidelberg Catechism, and the Canons of Dort). When we confess these, we unite ourselves to the church throughout the ages by that common confession, and to the churches arising out of the Reformation.

    We believe Christianity should be examined and can withstand such an examination. We are not asking seekers or members to believe irrationally. Though we believe in things that cannot be seen, we do not think that we cannot reason together about things that are transcendent.

  • When we understand and believe that God the author revealed himself in the story and that he did so to have a restored relationship with his people (the Church), we are led to doxology. When we understand the story and its meaning, we are led into thankful praise of that God. We come together in the Church (literally the assembly) called by God to praise him in worship, which is what we do at our church. Our worship is shaped primarily by God’s word to us in the Holy Scriptures. We also express our unity to the universal church by confessing creeds and singing the psalms.

  • Finally, we believe that thankful praise results in discipleship. We do not do good to be accepted, but we do good because we are thankful to God. We are sharpened and formed as Christians in a thankful, worshipping community. It is gratitude that produces our prayers and obedience, not guilt. Thus we find catechesis, which means Christian instruction, to be an integral part of the worship and discipleship of the Church.

If you find this difficult to believe, our pastors are here to help you wrestle with these difficult questions. Use our contact form or our chat box in the bottom right to reach out to us! Or just visit us on a Sunday morning!

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