Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church

About

Our Worship All people were created by God to worship. In fact, all people do worship, even if they never attend church. The question is – who do we worship and how? There is nothing more fundamental and important in our lives than this question. Below is a summary of who and how we worship at Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church. Our Worship is God-Centered God’s Word plainly tells us that the chief purpose of every person in every activity is to glorify God (1 Cor. 10:31 ). The same is certainly true in worship. The triune God of the Bible – God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit – is the one, living and true God whom we gather to worship. When we assemble as God’s people each Lord’s Day, it is not so that we can be entertained but in order to “sing to the Lord” (Ps. 98:1). In worship, the author of Hebrews says that “you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem” (Heb. 12:22 ). Therefore, we are to “offer to God acceptable worship, with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:28 ). Our Worship is Scripture-Directed If we are to glorify God and keep Him central in our worship, we must allow His Word to direct our worship. We refer to this teaching as the regulative principle, for the simple reason that God ‘regulates’ (i.e. directs) what we do in worship. To go beyond the Protestant Reformation teaching of sola Scriptura in this matter is to suggest that we know better than God and to invite His punishment (Lev. 10:1-3; Heb. 12:18-25). We believe that including only those elements in our worship that God explicitly commands or implicitly approves in the Bible protects true Christian freedom to worship in the Spirit and in the truth of God’s Word (Jn. 4:23-24). For this reason, our worship services include the same elements as the New Testament church who devoted themselves to the reading and preaching of God’s Word, to prayer and singing praises, to the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to giving of tithes, and to fellowship (Acts 2:41-47). Our Worship is Covenant-Structured In striving to allow God’s Word to direct our worship, we find that the only way sinful people can approach a holy God is through God graciously condescending to enter into covenant with them (Gen. 17:7; Ezek. 37:26-27; Heb. 8:10 ). Characteristic of the covenant of grace is God initiating relationship with His people by revealing Himself and in turn His people responding to Him in worship (Isa. 6:1-8). We refer to this teaching as the dialogical principle, because there is a dialogue between God and His people in worship. This covenantal structure found in the Bible shapes our worship – God speaks to us through the reading and preaching of His Word and the sacraments, and we respond in praying, singing, and giving. The covenantal structure of our worship also leads us to welcome entire families to participate in corporate worship. When God entered into covenant with His people, He entered into covenant with both parents and their children (Gen. 17:7; Acts 2:39 ; 1 Cor. 7:12-14). Therefore, we believe that children should be included in our worship services as much as possible, because this time of hearing from God’s Word and of responding in worship is not just for adults but for young people as well. Our Beliefs The following six terms help to summarize our beliefs at Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church. Biblical We believe that God inspired (lit. ‘breathed-out’) the Bible of the Old and New Testament and that it is therefore God’s Word (2 Tim. 3:16 ; 1 Pet. 1:20-21). We believe that God has revealed Himself and the way of salvation in the Bible, showing us what we are to believe about God and what duty God requires of us (2 Tim. 3:14-17). We believe that the Bible is unlike every other book, because as God’s Word it is infallible and authoritative in all matters of faith and conduct. In all that we do and believe at Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church, we seek by God’s grace to be biblical. Confessional We believe that the teaching of God’s Word is accurately summarized in the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms. Therefore, our teaching reflects the tenets expressed in these writings, and all of our officers (i.e. pastor, elders, deacons) subscribe to them. While believing these documents to be in accord with the Bible’s teaching, we still firmly believe that they are subordinate to and are to be evaluated by the infallible Word of God. Nevertheless, we are convinced that the Westminster Confession of Faith and Catechisms are beneficial for preserving and upholding the Christian faith and for promoting Christian unity and fellowship. Catholic We believe and affirm the foundational doctrines of historic Christian orthodoxy that were affirmed by the Apostles’ Creed and the noteworthy ecumenical Councils of Nicea, Chalcedon, and Constantinople in the first millennium. These universal or catholic doctrines of the Christian church include fundamental beliefs such as the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, the atonement by Christ, and the Trinity. Even though these beliefs are reaffirmed in our confession and catechisms written at a later date (17th century), we believe it is important to recognize our connection with the early church. Evangelical We believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ and in the importance of spreading the gospel to all people. The word ‘evangelical’ finds its roots in the Greek word for ‘gospel’ or ‘good news’ and was originally applied to Protestant believers. We affirm the five phrases characteristic of historic Protestantism, namely that salvation is Sola Scriptura (‘by Scripture alone’), Solus Christus (in ‘Christ alone’), Sola Gratia (‘by grace alone’), Sola Fide (‘by faith alone’), Soli Deo Gloria (‘glory to God alone’). Although we believe that good works necessarily accompany saving faith, they are not the meritorious grounds for our justification. It is this gospel contained in the Scriptures which we embrace and declare. Reformed We believe in the distinctive biblical truths defended during the Reformation that distinguishes the Reformed tradition from other Protestant and Evangelical traditions. These beliefs have sometimes been called ‘the doctrines of grace,’ and they emphasize God’s sovereignty and power over all things, including our salvation (Eph. 1:3-6; Dan. 4:34-35). We believe that it is “by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast” (Eph. 2:8-9). This saving grace that God alone gives in Jesus Christ characterizes the covenant of grace in both the Old and New Testament and is at the heart of what it means to be “Reformed.” Presbyterian We believe that God has structured the church to be governed by a plurality of elders called ‘presbyters’ who have been gifted and called by God (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Tit. 1:5-16). These men who are elected by the congregation of Holy Trinity Presbyterian Church are called the ‘Session’ and are responsible for instructing the congregation in God’s Word (1 Tim. 3:2; Heb. 13:7), for exercising spiritual oversight and care of the congregation (Heb. 13:17 ; 1 Pet 5:2), and for being godly examples to the congregation (1 Pet. 5:3). These church officers together with all of the other elders in a given region form what is called ‘Presbytery’ (which simply means ‘the elders’) and has biblical precedent in Acts 15.