Distinctives
There are many distinctives that separate the Reformed Church in the U.S. from other denominations. We believe these arise from a careful application of the Word of God in the life of our church.
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We worship weekly every Lord’s Day (Sunday), in accordance with the New Testament practice; in which the reading and preaching of God’s Word are the central elements. Prayers, hymns and offerings of the congregation are the necessary responses to God’s Word. The Scriptures teach us that God seeks those who worship him in Spirit and in truth. Accordingly, we are called to worship God in an orderly manner, “with reverence and awe, for our God is a consuming fire.” Worship is to be carried out according to God’s commandments and not according to the commandments of men. (Mark 7:7)
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We seek to uphold, by the grace of God, the three marks of a true Church: the preaching of the pure teaching of the Gospel, the proper distribution of the sacraments, and the faithful exercise of Christian discipline.
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We see the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as secondary yet necessary symbols of God’s grace in Christ. Baptism is a sign of God’s covenant and is properly administered to those who come as adults to trust in Christ as well as children of believers in their infancy. The proper recipients of the Lord’s Supper are members of the Church who have made a profession of their faith in Christ.
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We believe that all Christians are called upon to join in the membership and fellowship of a true Church. The local church consists of Christian believers and their children. The members of a Reformed Church hold to the classic formulations of Reformed theology which came out of the Reformation period: the Heidelberg Catechism, Belgic Confession of Faith, and Canons of Dort.
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We understand that the biblical model of church government requires that the church is to be nurtured and governed by the New Testament offices of Pastors, Elders and Deacons.
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We Strive to pass down to our children “the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3). Covenantal training by parents and through Sunday school and Catechism classes prepare our youth for public profession of faith, and equip them for a life of service to God.
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We endeavor to grow in our own understanding of the faith, as well as spread the Gospel news and call the lost to Christ, as the Scriptures exhort. This we do in prayerful and confident expectation that God will be pleased to call many to faith in His dear Son through the ministry of the Reformed Church.
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We labor to counsel, comfort, and edify believers by God’s Word and Spirit so their lives are conformed to the will of God, and out of thankfulness serve Him in His kingdom until Christ returns.
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We discuss marriage, family, child training, and other personal relationships within the church from the solid theological basis of the Biblical notion of covenant theology, as interpreted by the historic Reformed tradition.
[Adapted from the Grace Reformed Church web site, Greeley, Colorado]