Our Beliefs Westminster Presbyterian Church of Waupaca County is a congregation of the Westminster Presbyterian Church in the United States. We believe that the Bible, God's holy and infallible word, is the only rule of faith and life. As accurate summaries of what is taught in the Bible, we adhere to all the orthodox creeds (e.g., Apostles Creed, Nicean Creed, Chalcedon Creed) and reformed confessions (specifically The Westminster Standards--The Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), The Larger Catechism, The Shorter Catechism, The Form of Presbyterial Church-Government, The Directory for Public Worship, The Directory for Family Worship) of the church. We are Presbyterian (rule by plurality of elders), postmillennial (Christ is ruling now and Christianity will be victorious in time and history), presuppositional (all thought and action is guided by one's presuppositions and Christians must be guided by the truth of the Bible), Reformed (the Bible is our only source for doctrine, church government and worship) and covenantal (there is one covenant of grace throughout history and our children are considered part of the covenant community). We adhere to the establishment principle as defined by the Westminster Standards. Further, we believe that both tables of the law apply to society. In addition, we affirm that the Bible is accurate not only in matters of doctrine but also in its relating of history. Therefore, we believe in a literal 24 hour 6 day creation by God, a young earth and a world-wide flood.
United Families At Westminster Presbyterian Church, our goal is to glorify Christ by building strong, united families equipped for His service. To this end, we have no age-segregated Sabbath school, youth groups or women's Bible studies. In fact, we avoid any activities that split the family and encourage our families to learn, worship, fellowship and serve together. We seek to help fathers fulfill their roles as covenant heads and spiritual leaders of their families through sound preaching of the Word and regular interaction with the elders. An important aspect of covenant headship is leading the family in daily family worship–reading the Bible, praying and praising God together. At WPCWC, our pastor and elders are committed to helping fathers perform this important duty. We also promote the federal headship of the husband by practicing male-only head of household congregational voting.
Homeschool OrientedAt WPCWC, we are committed to Christ-centered education for our children. We believe that it is wrong to send our covenant children into government schools where their faith will be undermined or even attacked outright. Because there is no neutrality, only education that is under-girded with a comprehensive Christian world-view is acceptable. While this can take place in a good Christian school, we believe the most natural and edifying place for education to take place is in the home.
Christ-centered WorshipUnlike the typical, broadly evangelical church of today which attempts to attract the newcomer with entertainment, at WPCWC, we seek to please God in our worship. This means that we limit our worship activities to those required by the Bible, i.e., Scripture reading, preaching/exposition of the Word, prayer, celebration of the sacraments (baptism and the Lord's Supper) and biblical praise. We believe that God has revealed how He is to be worshiped and therefore, sing only His words in our praise, the Psalms.
Solid PreachingLike the Reformers, our pastor and elders hold the preaching of God's Word to be central to the believer's growth in knowledge and grace. Therefore, sermons are doctrinally sound, exegetically solid and practical.
Covenant TheologyThe Bible teaches that throughout history there has only been one way to be saved–by God's grace through faith in the Redeemer, Jesus Christ. The covenants made with Adam, Noah, Moses, David built on each other and revealed progressively more of this one covenant of grace until its fulfillment in the coming of Christ. Like the believers in the Older Testament, we affirm that our children are part of the covenant community and entitled to the external benefits and obligations of that status. Therefore, we seek to raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord and fully expect them to profess faith in Christ.
Optimistic EschatologyThe Bible teaches that Christ's act of redemption was comprehensive, extending not only to individuals but also to families, communities, and nations. Because He is reigning in glory now, the earth will be, over time, more and more subdued until Christianity is triumphant.
Sumber: http://www.reformedonline.com/view/reformedonline/s36p1327.htm
19/09/2012
