What does Emmanuel Presbyterian Church believe?

Emmanuel is part of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), within the Reformed tradition.

At the heart of our faith is a simple conviction: salvation is God’s gift of grace, received through trusting Jesus Christ, and lived for the glory of God.

We do not earn God’s love by our good works. We respond to a love that is already given.

Presbyterians believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, the Word who was with God and was God, and that this Word became flesh and lived among us. In Jesus we see God’s heart in human form: fully human, fully divine, for the sake of God’s love for people and for all creation.

As Presbyterians we share a set of common beliefs, yet we know that people understand and apply those beliefs in different ways. We value thoughtful faith, honest questions, and gracious conversation. A saying you will hear among us is, “We are better together.” Christ is the center of our community, not one single ideology or opinion.

If these brief answers awaken your curiosity, we hope you will keep asking. You are welcome to speak with Pastor Jane or one of Emmanuel’s ruling elders, or to explore the online PC(USA) resource called TheoAcademy here: http://www.theocademy.com/

How can Presbyterians have different understandings of belief?

One of our core convictions is that “God alone is Lord of the conscience.” This means that no pastor, elder, or council can control what another person must think or believe. We teach, we listen, we study together, and we trust the Holy Spirit to lead each person into truth in God’s time and way.

How do Presbyterians view Scripture?

We believe the Bible is the living Word of God and the unique witness to Jesus Christ. At the same time, we know that Scripture often needs careful interpretation. Two people can read the same passage and hear different things in it, because the Holy Spirit is at work in real lives with real stories.

How do you read the Bible faithfully if people see it differently?

We know it is easy to twist Scripture to say what we already want it to say, so we practice two habits. First, we pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit before and as we read. Second, we read Scripture with others. Community helps us see our blind spots and recognize our own agendas.

The “others” we read with might be scholars who have written commentaries, Christians from other cultures, or brothers and sisters whose life experiences differ from our own. For example, reading about Jesus with a person who lives on the streets can shed new light on his words, “The Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Above all, we try to interpret the Bible with what some call “a hermeneutic of love.” Any interpretation that harms or degrades others needs to be questioned. Through the Spirit’s work, and in community, our diverse insights deepen our grasp of Christ’s love and how that love calls us to serve.

We often ask questions like these as we read: Where is God in this passage? Where is love in this reading? Who is helped or hurt by my interpretation? How is this Scripture inviting me to live a more honest, loving, courageous life that reflects God’s love for me and my call to love others?

What is a central belief of Presbyterians?

We believe that God loves us. Each of us. This is the starting point of faith. We trust that God’s grace is always at work in our lives and in the world, even when we cannot see it, and even when people are resisting it.

We do not believe we are saved by our own efforts. We believe we are saved by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who lived and taught and gave himself for the reconciliation of all creation to God. As we grow in faith and follow Christ, God’s grace bears fruit in us over time: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

We believe God is a God of love, and this shapes how we see everything else, including creation. God made the world out of love and called it good. Our world is not a punishment or a place simply to endure while we wait for heaven. It is our home. We are called to exercise “dominion” over it the way God has dominion over us, that is, with care, respect, and love.

What is the incarnation?

“Incarnation” means “in the flesh.” It is the word Christians use to describe God becoming human in Jesus. God’s choice to come among us in this way is an act of love. In Jesus Christ, God enters human life with all its vulnerability, to reconcile the world to God. We celebrate the mystery of the incarnation especially in the seasons of Advent and Christmas.

What does it mean that Jesus paid the debt of our sin?

Christ’s death on the cross is often called “atonement,” which means making us “at one” with God again. The New Testament uses many images to describe what happened at the cross. One of them is the paying of a debt. This legal or economic picture suggests that in Jesus, God takes on the cost of our sin in order to free us.

There are other biblical images too: overcoming the power of sin and death, paying a ransom, reconciling estranged parties, making a final sacrifice, restoring true humanity. Each of these ways of speaking invites us to remove whatever separates us from God and others. The heart of them all is this: in Jesus, God takes the initiative to heal the breach between us. That is what love looks like. That is how we strive to speak about God, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and Scripture: in terms of God’s reconciling love.

Why do we feel separated from God?

Christians have wrestled with this question for centuries. Some look to the story of Adam and Eve in the garden and speak of a “fall” that wounded humanity and creation. Others simply observe that we live in a broken world and admit that we do not fully understand why.

What we can say is that God created us with real freedom, and we often use that freedom in ways that wound ourselves and others. Whenever we choose not to love, we experience distance from God. Scripture calls this sin. Jesus steps into the middle of this pain and separation and calls us back to God in love.

What about Adam and Eve and other Bible stories that are hard to believe?

In the Presbyterian tradition, it is acceptable to say, “I am not sure these stories are literal history, but they still tell the truth about God and us.” Many of the biblical stories, such as creation, Noah and the flood, or Jonah and the great fish, have long been understood as holy stories that carry deep theological meaning, whether or not they match modern expectations about science or history.

You do not have to believe the Bible is free from every scientific or historical error to be a Christian. We take the Bible seriously as a living witness to God, not as a book that can be reduced to a list of objective facts. In response to strict literalism, some Presbyterians say, “I take the Bible too seriously to read it only literally.”

By reading Scripture, especially the stories of Jesus, we come to know God’s character more deeply. Looking at Jesus, we discover that God cares about healing, the outcast, the way we treat one another, and the whole of our daily lives. We discover that God loves us and is working with us so that our lives reflect these truths.

There is a story about the theologian Karl Barth that many Presbyterians enjoy. When asked whether he really believed a serpent could talk to Eve, he replied, “I am not interested in whether the serpent could talk. I am interested in what it had to say.” In other words, we trust that the Spirit can use Scripture to speak to us, even when we bring questions or doubts.

Do Presbyterians believe in predestination?

Yes, but probably not in the way people often imagine. Predestination is not the idea that every detail of our lives has been pre-planned. That would be closer to “predeterminism.”

Predestination, as we understand it, is the good news that our salvation is entirely God’s gift. God has chosen to love and claim us in Christ before we could ever choose God. There is nothing we can do to earn this grace and nothing we can do to make God stop loving us. Only God predestines. It is never something human beings are allowed to declare over one another. In short, it is God who knows and declares, not humans.

Why do you baptize babies as well as adults?

We baptize adults who are ready to profess their faith, and we also baptize infants and children. In both cases, baptism is about what God does before anything we do. When we baptize children, we are saying that God’s grace reaches out to them even before they can understand it or respond.

As children grow, they are invited to claim these promises for themselves in a service called Confirmation. There they affirm the vows their parents and the congregation made on their behalf and become active, confessing members of the church.

Do you have communion?

Yes. The Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, is one of our two sacraments, along with Baptism. Communion has its roots in the Passover meal that Jesus shared with his disciples. At Emmanuel, we normally celebrate Communion every first Sunday of the month in worship.

The invitation to the Lord’s table is extended to all who desire to follow Christ. Access to the table is not a reward for the worthy but a gift for people who come in faith, repentance, and love, even if that faith feels small. Those who doubt or struggle are especially welcome, so that they may be strengthened by the assurance of God’s love and grace.

Are you a political church?

We are a small congregation, and theologically we are a “big tent” church. Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and people who are weary of politics all gather here to worship God, learn, grow, and serve together.

We do not endorse political parties or platforms. Remember, we believe that God alone is Lord of the conscience.

At the same time, we know that the claims of the gospel touch every part of life, including public life. Each of us must discern faithfully how to live out our faith in the world. Together we seek to observe the needs around us, study Scripture, examine our biases, and discern how Christ is calling us to act in this moment of history. We seek to serve, care, feed, build, and grow with each other and those in need to whom God calls us.

Presbyterian theology emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of Scripture, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. Many Christians share these convictions. What is distinctive about Presbyterians is how we organize and lead the church.

What is different about Presbyterians in terms of church structure?

The word “Presbyterian” comes from the New Testament word “presbyteroi,” which means “elders.” We are part of the Reformed tradition, and our particular way of ordering the church is called “presbyterian polity.”

In the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), pastors and lay leaders called ruling elders share leadership. Men and women serve together at every level. Our Book of Order gives guidelines for how we make decisions and care for one another.

The church is not governed from the top down. Authority is shared in councils that begin at the local level (the session of each congregation) and connect outward to the presbytery, synod, and General Assembly. In all of this, we trust that Christ is the head of the church and that the Holy Spirit works through the prayerful discernment of God’s people together.

If you would like to talk more about any of these beliefs, to ask your own questions, or simply to wonder out loud, you are warmly invited to reach out to us. Faith grows best in conversation and community.