Bethany United Reformed Church

WE CONFESS
We are a church of Jesus Christ. We believe that the entire Bible is the Word of God and our only authority for faith and life. We proclaim Jesus Christ to be our Savior and Lord, and the only source of a victorious life. We seek to serve God in all of life: at home, in the community, and in the world.

OUR NAME
BETHANY Jesus blessed the disciples as He ascended into heaven at Bethany, a small village outside of Jerusalem. His disciples responded by worshiping Him with great joy and praising God. As disciples of Christ we praise God and worship Jesus with great joy for the blessings that are ours in Christ.

UNITED We are Christians united in Faith, Word, and in doctrine, affiliated with the United Reformed Churches of North America.

REFORMED This name relates us directly to the historic Protestant Reformation declaring faith in Christ as the only way of salvation and the Bible as the inspired word of God. We believe that the historic confessions of the church accurately confess the teaching of Scripture. We federate with other churches and call ourselves The United Reformed Churches of North America.

CHURCH We call ourselves a “church” because we have been brought together by God, committing ourselves to mutual support and to shared service in the community where Christ has placed us.

Here are some examples of the Biblical teachings we confess found in the Heidelberg Catechism:

LORD'S DAY 1

1 Q. What is your only comfort
in life and in death?

A.  That I am not my own,
    but belong--
      body and soul,
      in life and in death--
    to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.
      He has fully paid for all my sins
                 with his precious blood,
      and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.
      He also watches over me in such a way
      that not a hair can fall from my head
      without the will of my Father in heaven:
      in fact, all things must work together
             for my salvation.

    Because I belong to him,
    Christ, by his Holy Spirit,
    assures me of eternal life
    and makes me wholeheartedly willing and ready
    from now on to live for him.

60 Q. How are you right with God?

A.  Only by true faith in Jesus Christ.

    Even though my conscience accuses me
      of having grievously sinned against all God's
                commandments
      and of never having kept any of them,
    and even though I am still inclined toward all evil,
          nevertheless,
      without my deserving it at all,
      out of sheer grace,
    God grants and credits to me
    the perfect satisfaction, righteousness, and holiness
              of Christ,
      as if I had never sinned nor been a sinner,
      as if I had been as perfectly obedient
        as Christ was obedient for me.

    All I need to do
    is to accept this gift of God with a believing heart.

Profess these words of faith with us and let us know if you have any questions regarding the gospel of Christ.