If you're wondering what it means to have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ, we hope you'll read through the text below. If you'd like to talk with a pastor, click the blue button at the bottom of the page.

God’s Image

Our relational problems with God began when our human nature was corrupted by our first parents’ sin (Romans 5:12). Since Adam and Eve, every human knows what it means to fail loved ones, hurt others, and abandon one’s own ideals. All of us know shame and remorse. We were made in God’s image (Genesis 1:26-27). When we sin we are going against our original nature, and something deep inside of us winces. The guilt we feel is an echo of the pain our heart registers any time sin distances us from the relationship we were designed to have with our God.

God’s Holiness
Jesus came as the perfect bearer of God’s image. Though he was divine, Jesus took on human qualities (Philippians 2:6-11). He was like us in every way except one: he was without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Christ’s holiness does two things for us. First, it shows us how to live for God. If a life were full of love and empty of selfishness, then it would look like Jesus’ life (1 John 3:16). But what if such conduct and fellowship elude us? Then we need the second provision of Jesus’ holiness. That provision moves beyond showing us how to live for God and actually enables us to live with God by satisfying his standards.

God’s Justice
Since the Son of God had no sin, his willingness to suffer on a cross and accept the penalty we deserve is far beyond any recompense that humanity could provide. God accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as a substitute for our punishment (1 Peter 2:24). He paid the debt to justice we could not pay (Psalm 47:7-9). His suffering atones for (covers) our wrongs (1 John 4:10). His death rescues us from the hell we deserve.

Christ’s Righteousness
Christ’s sacrifice satisfies divine justice (Romans 3:20-26). My spiritual status becomes just-as-if-I-had-never-sinned (Isaiah 1:18). Theologians refer to God’s declaration of this new holy status as “justification.” Justification results from an amazing exchange that took place on the cross of Christ. He took our sin on himself and consequently provided us with his righteous status (2 Corinthians 5:21). He became like us (sinful), so that we could become like him (holy).

God’s Love
But how do we make sure that the provisions of Christ apply to us? The answer lies in knowing that God provides what he requires. God does not require us to earn his pardon. He does not tell us to do some great spiritual task or to feel especially deep remorse to compensate for our sin. Instead, the good news is that God provides his pardon by grace alone (Romans 3:23-24). He gives his love to us rather than requiring us to gain it. His love is an unconditional gift. The Bible says, “We love because he loved us” (1 John 4:19). God takes the initiative to demonstrate his unconditional love.

Faith in Christ
This grace applies to all who believe in Jesus. God does not say that he will save those who climb mountains or clean up their addictions or relieve poverty or reach some designated level of goodness. He saves those who simply believe in Jesus as their Savior (John 3:16). Faith in Christ alone—a forsaking of the self (personal goodness or performance) as the basis of divine approval—is the effect God works in our hearts as he uses all our desperations and disappointments to bring us to complete dependence on him. When we have no basis of hope but Jesus, we turn from everything else to him. That is one reason Paul says that even the faith we have is a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8-9). Saving faith cannot be something we conjure by our efforts. If God did not make our hearts beat for him, then we would be spiritually dead (Ezekiel 36:26).

Rest in Christ
As we open our hearts to the reality of God’s unconditional love, we discover a sweet and satisfying peace in all our circumstances (Romans 5:1-2). Rather than worrying endlessly about satisfying God’s expectations or placating his anger, we find unending divine acceptance and assurance that he is working all things for our eternal good (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 2:17-19). We rest in the grace that covers our sin, overcomes our failings, and grants us the righteousness of Christ. God loves us as much as he loves Jesus. For all who have grieved their guilt, regretted their failures, and feared their future, this love is wonderful comfort in which to rest.

Excerpted from What is the Gospel? by Bryan Chapell, The Gospel Coalition Booklets, edited by D.A. Carson and Timothy Keller Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2011

The foundation of our beliefs and the only infallible authority for glorifying and enjoying God is the Bible, which is the Word of God and is made up of the Old and New Testaments. The Westminster Standards, which consist of the Confession of Faith, Larger Catechism, and Shorter Catechism, are a comprehensive statement of what we believe the Bible teaches and have been subscribed to by the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) as a faithful expression of Biblical truth. As Bible-believing Presbyterians, we have a representative form of government, where leaders (elders, in the Bible called presbyters, and deacons) are elected by the people, and we have a commitment to work together in mission with other churches sharing our faith commitments.

If you'd like to learn more about the differences between the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) and the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. (PCUSA), click here to read an interview our Senior Pastor Emeritus Dr. Bryan Chapell gave in October of 2015.

If you'd like to know more about what our church believes about baptism, we'd like to invite you to watch these videos below:

Why Baptism?

Our Senior Pastor Emeritus, Dr. Bryan Chapell, explains why we practice baptism in this sermon from January 29, 2017, titled, "Here We Come for Cleansing."

Modes of Baptism

Pastor Bryan shares why all modes of baptism (immersion, pouring, sprinkling) are acceptable biblically in this sermon recorded on Sunday, January 11, 2015.

Infant Baptism

Pastor Bryan explains how baptism is a sign of God's covenant relationship with his people. Recorded Sunday, June 22, 2014.