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What do we believe?
You may read the following sections in their entirety
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| Meaning of "Christian Reformed" | A Walk through the church |
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The Bible | God's Family
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Sharing the Good News |
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Jesus is Lord | A New Beginning
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WHAT DOES "CHRISTIAN REFORMED" MEAN?
We are Hope Christian Reformed Church a member of the many Christian Reformed
Churches of North America. Well, you asked about us so here goes..........
The Christian Reformed Church calls itself "Christian" because it forms one
small part of Christ's church on earth. It recognizes as fellow-Christians all
people who accept the teachings of the Bible as they are so beautifully
summarized in the Apostles' Creed. This includes believers from many
denominations such as Roman Catholic, Orthodox, Lutheran, Baptist, Presbyterian,
and Pentecostal. We may disagree with these believers on some practices or
teachings. But we recognize them as brothers and sisters in Christ if they
believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and if they confess that Jesus
died for their sins, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven.
The CRC calls itself "Reformed" because it stands in the tradition of the
Reformed churches. These churches follow the teachings of the sixteenth-century
church reformer John Calvin. Calvin struggled valiantly to return Christianity
back to its biblical roots. CRC teachings are closely akin to Presbyterian and
other Reformed churches, and it enjoys solid relationships with many of them.
On the meaning of the term "Reformed", one of our former pastors, Richard E.
Grift, stated, "We are a Bible believing church. We accept both the Old and New Testaments as
the revelation of God for the purpose of leading people into a saving
relationship with him through the death of Jesus Christ for the sins of human
beings and through his resurrection from the dead."
The term "Reformed" or "Reformation" for our churches comes from the
international reformational movement of the 16th Century when Bible believing
Christians tried to reform the Roman Catholic church. The mottos of the
reformation included "Scripture alone" as the only source of knowledge for
salvation, "Christ alone" as the way of salvation, through God's "grace alone"
and not by our flawed, sinful works, and through "faith alone" in God's son,
Jesus Christ, as the only way to receive that salvation.
When the desired reformation failed to happen in the Roman Catholic church,
many Reformed and Lutheran churches formed, which still exist to this day, some
which remain faithful to these Scriptural mottos and some which do not. As for
whether we believe in the whole Bible, yes, it was and remains the goal of the
Reformation to let the entire Bible guide and direct our lives. We believe that
"all Scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting
and training in righteousness." (2 Timothy 3:16, The Bible). While it may be
true that we don't always live up to our ideal to believe in the whole Bible, it
is our goal to submit all of our lives to the teaching and instruction of
Scripture."
Visit the CRC in North America
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A WALK THROUGH THE CHURCH
- A THREE MINUTE TOUR -
Here is a walk through the church - a Three-Minute Tour of the Christian
Reformed Church as presented by the Christian Reformed Church In North America.
Walking is a pleasant activity. It strains neither the heart, the lungs, nor
the mind - and yet it is good for all three.
We in the Christian Reformed Church share some basic beliefs about God, the
Bible, and life. We offer you a short walk through our church. In the next three
minutes you can observe something about how Christian Reformed people worship,
study, pray, shop, vote, work, parent, play.
When you walk through something you don't stay in it. We aren't
trying to trap you in our church - we expect you at this point to walk right out
the door at the other end. But you will at least have seen us as we are.
And if you want to return sometime, to observe some more or even to stay, you
know that we will always be happy to have you.
In the Beginning ...
The Bible begins with the words "In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth"
(Genesis 1:1). Everything - whatever is on earth or in the earth, the vast
universe around us, the spirit world we cannot see - exists because God brought
it into being.
What God made he provides for and controls, so that every happening today and
all the news of tomorrow takes place by his permission and plan.
God himself exists without a beginning. He is spirit and is present
everywhere, even though we cannot see him. He is perfectly good. He is only one
God - one being. At the same time he is three persons: God the Father, God the
son (Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit.
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THE BIBLE
God speaks to us though the Bible. The spirit of God guided the Bible writers
so that they wrote without error. The Bible contains all we need to know about
God, about ourselves, and about life here and hereafter. It contains good news
and bad news.
Bad News
God requires that we love God more than anyone or anything else, and that we
love other people with the same kind of love we normally have for ourselves
(Matthew 22:37-40).
Our first parents, Adam and Eve, failed to meet this requirement. Although
God had created the first humans with the ability to be good (like he is), they
chose rather to disobey God. Thus they spoiled their natural goodness and the
perfect world in which God placed them - taking the whole human race into sin
with them. The results of their disobedience - suffering, death, and judgment -
were passed on to all their descendants, including you and me (Genesis 1-3,
Romans 5:12).
Good News
All through Old Testament times the prophets told of God's plan for a Saviour.
Finally, God sent his Son into the world by causing the miraculous pregnancy of
a virgin woman. The son to whom Mary gave birth was and is the sinless Son of
God (Matthew 1:18-25, Luke 1:26-35).
This divine/human person was named Jesus, which means Saviour, "because he
will save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). Jesus endured the
justified anger of God against sin by his humiliating and painful death on the
cross. Also according to God's plan, Jesus arose from the grave and then
ascended into heaven as our living Saviour.
Believe
A well-known Bible verse is John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that he
gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life." God will forgive my sins only when I believe that Jesus
truly suffered and died in my place and I surrender my life to him.
The ability to believe comes from God. Just as the saving work of Jesus is
the work of God, so our personal response of faith is the work of God in our
hearts (Ephesians 2:8). What is more, through regular study of the Bible - alone
and with other Christians - God will make our faith in Jesus strong and sure.
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GOD'S FAMILY
The basic meaning of the word church is people - people who believe in
Jesus as their Saviour and Lord. The Christian Reformed Church is part of the
great church that Christ is gathering together out of the entire human race from
the beginning of the world to its end. The Christian Reformed Church embraces
people of many different nationalities and races - American, Canadian, Korean,
Vietnamese, Chinese, French, Black, Hispanic, Filipino, North American Indian.
When we belong to this great family of God, we also belong to each other as
brothers and sisters under God. We are to pray for one another, serve each other
in love, and together serve the Lord.
God has given us the Bible to strengthen our faith. He further strengthen our
faith by means of baptism and the Lord's supper.
Christ also cares for his church through the service of local church leaders:
ministers, evangelists, elders, and deacons. These leaders are selected by the
local congregation.
Two or more times per year, each congregation delegates a minister and an
elder to a regional assembly called a classis. Once annually each classis in the
United States and Canada delegates two ministers and two elders to the
denomination's broadest assembly, the synod.
Parents and Promises
Children of believers are members of Christ's church and receive baptism as a
sign of that membership. Children become full-fledged members upon public
profession of faith. This profession is preceded by careful Christian training.
Responsibility for such training begins with parents, who are to train their
children by personal instruction and Christian example. The church takes part in
the training of children and youth through careful instruction in the Bible and
through clubs for various ages and interest groups.
Parent-operated Christian schools and colleges supplement the Christian
training of the home and the church in most communities served by Christian
Reformed Church.
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SHARING THE GOOD NEWS
All Christians take part in telling the good news about salvation in Jesus,
in order that others presently outside the church may be welcomed into its
fellowship.
Each local Christian Reformed congregation is eager to tell the good news to
the people of its own community. In addition, the Christian Reformed Church
sponsors mission programs throughout the U.S. and Canada, as well as in many
other countries. The Christian Reformed radio voice to your local community -
and to the world - is the Back to God Hour.
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JESUS IS LORD
Jesus Christ is Lord over all. His lordship is to be honored in every aspect
of life - individual and social. Living under his lordship, we are to marry in
the Lord and are to train our children in the Lord; we are to speak to the
conscience of society for the Lord. He is Lord of the marketplace, the capitol
building, the university, the sports stadium.
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A NEW BEGINNING
As soon as Jesus returned to heaven, angels told his followers that some day
he would return in the same way as they saw him leave (Acts 1:11). Some day -
and only God the father knows the day or the hour - Jesus will come again to
judge all the people and to bring about a new heaven and a new earth. The
unknown time of Christ's return and the uncertainty of life itself urge us to
believe in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord today!
As Christians we look forward to Christ's return with eagerness, for we know
that "he who began a good work in [us] will bring it to completion at the day of
Jesus Christ" (Philippians 1:6). To God be the glory!
Thanks for coming with us on this little tour. We hope that you enjoyed the
visit and that what you saw helps you to feel that you know us. We would be
happy to learn more about you if you care to tell us. In any event, be assured
that we will be glad to see you again when you return. And we'll be delighted if
you decide to stay.
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