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Morning Worship at 10:00am
Sunday School/Catechism 11:30am
Evening Worship at 7:00pm
WHAT WE BELIEVE
AT NEW HAVEN URC
We are a Biblical Church
We believe that the Bible is at the center of all we do. We believe the Bible to be the inspired Word of God (the very words of God), infallible and inerrant (incapable of error and without error), and authoritative for all of life.
We believe the teaching of the Bible is faithfully summarized in the ecumenical creeds: the Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds.
We are a Christian Church
We believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and is the only way to salvation for sinners (John 14:6). As Christians we are followers and disciples of Jesus Christ, striving to live for Him every day.
We are a Reformed Confessional Church
We stand in the tradition of the historic sixteenth century Protestant Reformation and subscribe to the clear interpretation of the Bible expressed in the Three Forms of Unity:
- The Belgic Confession
- Heidelberg Catechism
- Canons of Dort
The Apostles’ Creed to which we adhere to:
1. I believe in God the Father, Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
2. And in Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, our Lord;
3. Who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary;
4. Suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell;
5. The third day He rose again from the dead;
6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
7. From thence He shall come to judge the living and the dead.
8. I believe in the Holy Spirit.
9. I believe a holy catholic Church, the communion of saints;
10. The forgiveness of sins;
11. The resurrection of the body;
12. And the life everlasting. AMEN.
What is the Bible?
The Bible is about truth. Some people search for truth within themselves. When you do that you end with no truth, that is, without absolute truth. What is true for one person is not necessarily true for another. Much of our culture operates on this rocky assumption. The Bible is God’s truth. God revealed his truth to humanity by way of human writers, speaking in normal human language. The Bible summarizes one message, something like a physician’s diagnosis. It tells us who we are, what is our problem, what are the results of that problem, and what is the remedy for our problem.
Who is God?
God is the all wise, all powerful, all holy, all loving Being who created all things for his honor and glory. He is all truth and all justice. We exist because of Him, and we exist for Him. He created us to live in a relationship with Him. It is our pride and arrogance which has destroyed that relationship and brought the brokenness of our world.
What is sin?
Sin is the name that the Bible gives to our problem. We all – not just the criminal or even your rebellious teenager – have a problem with authority. Sin amounts to making yourself the center of the universe. More important than the One who made us, who gives us food, jobs, friends, breath, life! The implication of sin is that not one of us is the way God made us. Everyone needs to be remade in God’s image or they will die in their sin.
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What is Death?
Death is familiar to us all; and yet we try to keep it unfamiliar. We mock death at Halloween; yet we cheapen life through terrorism, through violence and abuse, and even through belittling of others. Death is unnatural to us; we were not created to die. Death came into existence because we rejected the God of life. Those who want nothing to do with God throughout their life will have their desires satisfied in an eternity without God. But, all those who believe God’s good news through Jesus discover that they are amazingly guaranteed an unending life of joy in heaven.
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What has God done about our Fallen Predicament?
Well, this will take your breath away, even as it has done for many. Since, by our sin, we have earned God’s death sentence, amazingly God had his own Son, Jesus, take upon Himself the full punishment of our sins through His suffering of shame, and death on a cross. He was placed in a tomb and raised to life again after three days. He then ascended into heaven to sit at the Father’s right hand and send His Holy Spirit.
What is the Good News?
The Bible’s message is often called the Gospel, which simply means good news. It is good news because in his kindness, God tells us of his plan to remedy our problem which is uncovered as we read the Bible.
What is Faith?
“Just believe” is what we are told today. But what must we believe? Is faith some sort of inner stirrings, or is faith an objective gift that God gives to us? The Bible tells us that faith involves understanding something of what you believe, leaning on what you trust, and a determination to live in the light of your trust! In the case of the Bible, faith is trusting that all that Jesus has done to make amends for our sin; and then living a life of following him.
What is Worship?
Broadly speaking, worship describes the life of following Jesus. Worship is giving your life to God, rendering adoration to Him, expressing gratitude to Him. This is the attitude of a forgiven person in their family, in their study, in their work, in their recreation. Specifically, though, worship is that activity of Sunday gathering to reflect the Church in heaven by listening to God, praising God, praying to God, and expressing our thanks to Him. This worship is gathering together as a family of sinful people who have graciously been pardoned and been received into God’s family. Worship is a gathering of struggling believers encouraging each other in the battles of life. We receive that strength from hearing God’s Word, from seeing baptism with water to remind us of being cleansed from our sin, and from seeing and feeding on the bread and wine during the fellowship of communion to remind us of the broken body and poured our blood of our Savior to remedy our problem.
Why do we call ourselves “Reformed"?
This is really quite simple, but important. We are “reformed” because we trace our theological roots back to the Protestant Reformation of the 16th century. This means that our relationship with our holy God is based on the teaching of the Bible alone, about Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone.