Why Presbyterian?
Faith
of the Reformed Tradition
The
Church affirms ecclesia reformata, semper reformanda, that is,
"the church reformed, always reforming," according to the Word of God
and the call of the Spirit. The Presbyterian
Church (U.S.A.) is of the reformed tradition identifying with the affirmation
of the Protestant Reformation, the focus of which is God's everlasting grace in
Jesus Christ.
Central
to the reformed tradition is the affirmation of the majesty, holiness and
providence of God who creates, sustains, rules and redeems the world in the
freedom of sovereign righteousness and love.
To say it succinctly: God in Jesus Christ is the judge of all humankind
disclosing the depth of sin in the world.
At the same time, all who put their trust in Christ face divine judgment
without fear, for the judge is their redeemer.
We are justified (saved) by grace through faith.
Reformed
Beliefs
Trinity
The
Trinity is a term used to capture the essence of the three primary ways God has
chosen to express his nature:
Father
God
is the Creator of all things. He loves,
forgives and cares for each of us. The
God of the Old and New Testaments is one, and has chosen a people to be his own
and will never forsake them. We're a
part of that people. God is all knowing, all-powerful, and everywhere present.
Son
Jesus,
by his birth, life, death and resurrection shows us the depth of God's love and
grace. Jesus died on the cross and was
raised from the dead to conquer sin and death.
Jesus calls us to be his disciples and to tell others about the power of
God's forgiving love. Jesus is our model
teacher by word and example. But more
than this, Jesus is also the Son of God and our Savior.
Holy
Spirit
When
we say "Holy Spirit" we mean God's power or presence in and among us,
other than that which the world can provide.
The Holy Spirit is the power of God working in the world to sustain,
guide, enlighten and enable us to be Christian in our thoughts and
behavior. The Holy Spirit is the living
presence of God in our lives.
Worship
Something
or someone rules in the heart of every human being. As Christians we believe that the Living God,
known to us in Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit, rules in our
hearts.
Each
Sunday morning, and in our personal lives, we worship the ruler of our
hearts. Christian worship is central to
our shared lives. It is the celebration
of the Resurrection. It is a time to
gather together to thank and praise God for His goodness.
In
worship we hear the Scriptures read and proclaimed. We praise God through music, we pray for his
strength to be helpful to others, we respond with our lives and gifts.
We
share two sacraments or "signs" of God's faithful love: baptism, which is the welcome sign into
Christ's church family; and holy communion which is
the constant reminder of Jesus' sacrificial love and forgiveness to all. The common, everyday elements of water, bread
and fruit of the vine are the visible signs of Jesus' care and constant presence
among his people.
Stewardship and Evangelism
Everything
we have or possess is a gift from God.
God the creator made all things and gave human beings the responsibility
to care for his creation. Stewardship is
the measure of our use of our lives and God's resources entrusted to us. Stewardship is measured by our decisions and
actions concerning the use of our time, talents and tithe.
The
word "Evangelism" means to "tell the Good News." Outreach is a way of telling the Good News to
all kinds of people through words, actions and financial resources.
The Bible
The
word Bible means "library."
The Holy Bible is God's library!
It is a collection of books written by divinely inspired people. The Bible has two parts: The Old Testament and the New Testament. It tells of God's covenant relationship with
humanity. The Old Testament is based on
the covenant of law. The New Testament
tells us of the covenant of faith in Jesus who fulfilled the Old Testament law
by his death and resurrection, conquering sin.
The Bible is the best book in this world because it directs us to God's
"Living Word," which is Jesus.
It is our guide for daily living.
It is the "only infallible rule of faith and practice."
The Church
The
Church is a community of human beings called to be God's people in the
world. We gather so we may be
strengthened to share the "news" in every way, every place, every day!
The
word "Church" comes from the Greek word ecclesia, which means
"called out," or chosen for a purpose. The church is made up of people chosen for a
purpose.
The
Christian church had its birth on Pentecost when the Holy Spirit gave simple
human beings the power to be witnesses to God's loving forgiveness shown in the
Risen Jesus Christ. Jesus is the head of
the
Constitution of the Presbyterian
Church
The
Constitution of the Presbyterian Church consists of:
·
The Book of Confessions
·
The Book of Order
The
Presbyterian Church states its faith and bears witness to God's grace in Jesus
Christ in the creeds and confessions in The Book of Confessions. In
these confessional statements the church declares to its members and to the
world who and what it is, what it believes, what it resolves to do.
These
statements identify the church as a community of people known by its
convictions as well as by its actions.
They guide the church in its study and interpretation of the Scriptures;
they summarize the essence of Christian tradition; they direct the church in
maintaining sound doctrines; they equip the church for its work of
proclamation.
Contained
in the Book of Confessions are the following
creeds or confessions.
|
Name |
Purpose |
|
Nicene
Creed |
To
settle controversy about the nature and meaning of Jesus Christ |
|
Apostles'
Creed |
To unify
the early church with one statement of faith all could accept |
|
Scots
Confession |
To
proclaim Protestant faith in |
|
|
To
explain the differences between the Presbyterians, Lutherans and Catholics |
|
Second Helvetic |
To
describe the experience of the Confessing Christian Life |
|
|
To
state Protestant beliefs in a way that would help Protestant groups in |
|
Shorter
Catechism |
To teach
Protestant children the Westminster Confession of Faith |
|
Larger
Catechism |
To
provide a longer, more detailed version of the Shorter Catechism |
|
Barmen
Declaration |
To
protest the rise of Hitler Nazism |
|
Confession
of 1967 |
To state
the faith in today's words; a call for reconciliation |
|
Brief
Statement of Faith |
To
provide a short modern statement of Faith to use in worship and at other
times |
The Book
of Order contains the Form
of Government, Directory of Worship, and Rules of Discipline.
Presbyterian
Church Government
The
uniqueness of the Presbyterian Church is discovered in its form of
government. Taken from the word"
presbyter" or elder, the Presbyterian Church features a form of government
in which elders are called to share gifts of leadership on behalf of the
congregation.
The
Presbyterian Church does not place power in individuals, but predominately
places power in groups. Because we each
have a limited frame of vision, we trust that we can be most effective when we
are alert to Christ's promise, "where two are more are gathered in my
name, there I am in the midst of them." (Matthew 18:20)
Many
persons believe that our own form of federal government is a direct outgrowth
of the influence of the Presbyterian Church.
Many of our forebears were Presbyterians, and they naturally brought
their traditions with them as our own government evolved and was shaped in this
land.
The Session
The
Session is essentially the governing board for our church. Both our pastor and the elders elected by the
congregation serve on the Session. The
Session at
The
Board of Deacons
Southminster
has 12 deacons who serve as shepherds to our congregational family. One deacon serves each of Southminster's 11
geographical districts. In order to maintain a sense of
continuity, each deacon serves on the board for a minimum of three years.
Your
deacon is a care-giver... a shepherd - seeing to the pastoral needs
of each and every member of his or her "flock." It is
not at all uncommon to receive a phone call from your deacon to invite you to a
social function or just to see how you and your family are doing. If you
would like to know who your deacon is, please call the church office.