As I said in part 1 of this blog series, I was baptized into the Presbyterian church as a baby, and as I grew up I just went along with out beliefs for I never really knew exactly what it was that set us Presbyterians apart from the other protestant faiths outside of the notion of predestination even tho I had written a paper about it for my religion class that I had to take in college.
It wasn’t until recently that a comment from my pastor during one of his sermons sparked an interest in learning more about my faith in a in depth way, and learn about the finer details of just what exactly makes up being Presbyterian hence this blog idea was born.
Presbyterian Principles
Presbyterians believe in a sovereign God: The Presbyterian Church has a strong view of the majesty, power, and omnipotence of God. This informs many things we do. Our worship is reverent and seeks to focus our hearts and minds on God. We believe that God works in people’s hearts in God’s own timing and therefore we do not try to orchestrate then when’s and how’s of people’s salvation The belief in a sovereign God is also foundational to the difficult and often misunderstood doctrine of predestination. Predestination states:
“That God chooses us first before we ever think about responding to God. God’s choice and our response complete our salvation.”
Presbyterians are formed and reformed by the Bible:Presbyterians believe in the Bible and use it as the unique and authoritative guide for how to live and what to believe. The sermons on Sunday try to explain and interpret the Bible rather then the preacher’s latest ideas. We encourage people to read the Bible in their own devotional times and participate in group settings such as Sunday school and Wednesday evening classes. For Presbyterians the Bible is not just read by preachers and scholars, but we believe that the Bible is so clear in its major themes and principles that everybody can understand the story of salvation primarily by reading the Bible on a regular and consistent basis.
Personal note: this is something that I hope that I can improve upon while I am serving on the World Race as try as I might to get it in now, I do find it quite difficult to find the time to spend in the Word. This is the number one reason why I am so glad for BSF as that has allowed me to study the Word on a regular basis for most of the year.
Presbyterians are a people of community: Presbyterians believe that you cannot live the Christian life effectively apart from other people. God has given us the church for our mutual support, correction, and encouragement. We need a relationship with other Christians in order to be all that God intends us to be. We need to do the work of Christ with other people. We believe that God calls people to be connected with a local congregation and church membership as that is the way we recognize and celebrate that calling.
Personal note: This is the number one reason that I love BSF and the idea of community was also something that drew me to the World Race since there was a time in my life that I felt like I was the only Christian, and was one of the reasons why I was never vocal about my faith when I was younger, and it also was the reason that it took me awhile to find and heed my call to mission work.
Presbyterians are a people of Mission:Presbyterians believe that we cannot simply live in our own sheltered world. God has called us to take the gospel to the entire world. God has called us to exhibit the kingdom of Christ to our community. The Presbyterian church sends missionaries into all corners of the globe. through the regular offerings of local churches. Our denomination has been instrumental in taking the gospel to many other countries in this century. Each local congregation participates in mission activities in its specific community, on a national level and on a global scale. Presbyterians have always looked outside themselves and their own concerns to work to fulfill Christ’s great commission.
Personal note: God really does have a sense of humor on so many levels as seen in my life.
Presbyterians are a people of the mind: Presbyterians believe that the mind is a terrible thing to waste. God has given us our minds as gracious gifts. Our reasoning faculties ought to be trained for the service of God. It is why we encourage everyone to grow in the knowledge of the Bible, church history, theology, and an understanding of the spiritual disciplines of the Christian life.
Presbyterians have 2 sacraments:The Presbyterian church does not have many ceremonies or rituals. This is because we do not want to distract from the 2 most important ceremonies Christ left the church: Baptism & The Lord’s supper. We believe that these are the only 2 ceremonies which we call sacraments which Christ instituted for the church throughout the ages.
Baptism is administered only once as a sign of our forgiveness from sin and our entrance into the family of God. We administer baptism to infants and children in anticipation of their faith and with the promise of parents to raise them in the “training and instruction of the Lord”. We also administer the sacrament of baptism to adults upon their public profession of faith.
The sacrament of the Lord’s Supper is repeated often in the Presbyterian church. My church celebrates it on the 1st sunday of the month. This ceremony reminds us over and over that we need spiritual nourishment Christ brings to us and that Christ our living savoir is present with us, now and in the future.
So there you have it a brief look in my faith that has played a huge part in my life, and what makes being Presbyterian a Presbyterian.
Til next time you fellow Sister in Christ,
Bonnie
Psalms 18:2
P squad
YOLO
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