What Makes Us Presbyterians in Our Beliefs



Number 5. We Trust in God’s Sovereign Care

“We know that all things work together for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28

We do not believe that our faith will protect us from the suffering and grief common to life on earth, but trust that God controls our future; that the Holy Spirit will sustain us through hardship; and that our Heavenly Father will weave His good and glorious purpose from our struggles.



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Number 6. Election - - We Are Chosen By God

Throughout Scripture, God chooses His people - - from Genesis to Revelation, God’s journey is intended to lead the world to Christ. God seeks to have a people who have been “called out” by Him. God makes this possible for His people, and helps them to understand His intentions.

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” Genesis 12:1-3

“And Ezra said: "You are the LORD, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you. You are the LORD, the God who chose Abram and brought him out of Ur of the Chaldeans and gave him the name Abraham; and you found his heart faithful before you, and made with him a covenant to give to his descendants the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Jebusite, and the Girgashite; and you have fulfilled your promise, for you are righteous.”
Nehemiah 9:6-8

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, just as he chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before him in love. He destined us for adoption as his children through Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace that he freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.”
Ephesians 1:3-6

“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, in order that you may proclaim the mighty acts of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” I Peter 2:9-10



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Number 7. Covenant – God Seeks a Covenant Relationship

“Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’ So Abram went, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. Abram took his wife Sarai and his brother’s son Lot, and all the possessions that they had gathered, and the persons whom they had acquired in Haran; and they set forth to go to the land of Canaan. When they had come to the land of Canaan, Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. Then the LORD appeared to Abram, and said, ‘To your offspring I will give this land.’ So he built there an altar to the LORD, who had appeared to him. From there he moved on to the hill country on the east of Bethel, and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east; and there he built an altar to the LORD and invoked the name of the LORD. And Abram journeyed on by stages toward the Negeb. Now there was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to reside there as an alien, for the famine was severe in the land. When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to his wife Sarai, ‘I know well that you are a woman beautiful in appearance; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, “This is his wife”; then they will kill me, but they will let you live. Say you are my sister, so that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared on your account.’ When Abram entered Egypt the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. When the officials of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh’s house. And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male and female slaves, female donkeys, and camels. But the LORD afflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife. So Pharaoh called Abram, and said, ‘What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? Why did you say, “She is my sister,” so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife, take her, and be gone.’ And Pharaoh gave his men orders concerning him; and they set him on the way, with his wife and all that he had.“ Genesis 12

“Now this is the commandment--the statutes and the ordinances--that the LORD your God charged me to teach you to observe in the land that you are about to cross into and occupy, so that you and your children and your children's children, may fear the LORD your God all the days of your life, and keep all his decrees and his commandments that I am commanding you, so that your days may be long. Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe them diligently, so that it may go well with you, and so that you may multiply greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Hear, O Israel: The LORD is our God, the LORD alone. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. Keep these words that I am commanding you today in your heart. Recite them to your children and talk about them when you are at home and when you are away, when you lie down and when you rise. Bind them as a sign on your hand, fix them as an emblem on your forehead, and write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. Deuteronomy 6:1-9

“The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt--a covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, says the LORD. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No longer shall they teach one another, or say to each other, "Know the LORD," for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD; for I will forgive their iniquity, and remember their sin no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34

“Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Surely we do not need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you or from you, do we? You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all; and you show that you are a letter of Christ, prepared by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are competent of ourselves to claim anything as coming from us; our competence is from God, who has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
II Corinthians 3:1-6a

The great God of creation also seeks a covenant people. His covenant is intended to be a way of life, modeled with complete love for Him and for neighbor. This covenant became known as Christ himself as the new covenant, and the early Christians were called ministers of the new covenant. Called to recognize Christ’s presence and the special grace He provides, we are called to be people of the new covenant in Christ.



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Number 8. Stewardship of All of Life

“Therefore, by the mercies of God, present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your truest form of worship.” Romans 12:1

Our Creator has entrusted each of us with good gifts for us to manage according to His purposes. Therefore we strive to be faithful in our relationships, and with the time and the money we’ve been blessed to receive. We also seek to be good caretakers of the earth. Scripture helps us recognize that we are called to faithfully use time, talents, and treasures to the glory of God. At First Presbyterian, we encourage all of our members to be good stewards and to commit to these practices. For this to take place, we are called to recognize that each of us may have to make “adjustments” to our busy lifestyles and life practices.



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Number 9. Sin

As Presbyterians we understand that sin is the human element of separation from Godly living and purpose. We recognize that without Christ we cannot find a true sense of forgiveness. Christ has saved us from our sins.

“But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:8

“For there is one God; there is also one mediator between God and humankind, Christ Jesus, himself human,” I Timothy 2:5



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Number 10. Obedience

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9

“But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream.”
Amos 5:24

God calls for His people to seek obedience to His will for the world. In the process of this we embrace a concern for peace and justice. We recognize God’s concern that all people be treated with fairness and dignity, having a livelihood that provides them with adequate food, housing, and health care, and so we work for a more just social order, and respond generously to those in need. Recognizing a tendency to exclude them in the past, we shall encourage women to accept the invitation to serve as leaders. Trying to follow Jesus, we shall seek to build relationships with those of differing races, and make peace between neighbors.

Fully aware of differing philosophies as to how we can make our world more just and righteous, we will listen to each other’s views as we study the scriptures.

Along with these essentials, we also embrace two others important to our journey.



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Two Characteristics We Embrace At First Presbyterian



Number 11. Thinking Our Faith

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” Matthew 22:37

As we seek to apply scripture faithfully in our own time and place, we will study it diligently, seeking to interpret individual verses in context with the whole of biblical teaching. Also, we shall consider the insights of the physical and social sciences when grappling to understand contemporary issues, remembering that while science may tell us how things happen, the Bible tells us why.



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Number 12. Being a Witness

“You are the salt of the earth…You are the light of the world…In the same way, let your light shine before people, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:13a, 14a, 16

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you will be my witnesses.” Acts 1:8

It is the responsibility of every Christian to share the Good News with those with whom God brings us into contact. We practice personal sharing about Christ and inviting friends to church. We also bear witness by supporting ministries and missions which address the difficult situations of people in need.



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These core beliefs have been developed from The PCUSA Book of Order, utilizing resources from Presbyterians: People of the Middle Way, and The Connecting Church.