Pastor's Introduction and Greeting
I am very glad that you have come to visit our webpage. Perhaps you have come to our site because you are among the many in our city who have given up on church because there doesn't seem to be anything in it. The sad truth is, many churches are so enamoured either with the traditions of men or with the latest innovations about how to “do church” that what you experienced may indeed have been little more than fluff. We want you to know that church should not be that way!
We hope you will find what we are doing to be refreshingly different. We do not believe that coming before the living God who made heaven and earth, who is the searcher of every human heart, and who is the just judge of all the earth, is a casual affair at all where we can do whatever we want (see no fluff worship)! We believe that He is worthy of glory and honor and that this places very high demands on us—that it matters very much what we believe and how we live, as well as how we worship. We therefore are very earnest about preaching and teaching the whole counsel of God from the Bible—both the parts that are attractive and the parts that are not so attractive (see no fluff preaching). We believe the Bible to be God’s message to us and something that we can’t view selectively (see no fluff doctrine). And because we believe hearing and following His Word is of the utmost importance, we ask every member to enter into a covenant before God to follow Him, and if we see someone slipping, we lovingly go to that one to call him or her back to the right way (no fluff accountability). We find that as we come to God in this way, the outcome is joy. Though He is holy and though He regards all of us as wretched sinners worthy to be condemned (because that is what we are), we have found that in facing up to our sin, we are all the more appreciative of His grace and mercy through Jesus Christ! Rather than trying to pretend that we are worthy of God’s acceptance, we have found a much greater security and delight in knowing that we are accepted of God through the offering of Jesus Christ on the cross-- that through Him, we are forgiven of our sins and promised the hope of a new life that really does honor God. We will not be perfected until we see Jesus in glory, but in Jesus we are already completely forgiven and permanently transformed to be servants of God. And we rejoice in hope that when Christ has completed His work in us at the last day, we will be like Him, able to love as He loves and able to serve as He serves in a new heaven and a new earth that is full of righteousness. The fluff church tries to find comfort in bolstering up self-esteem, but the no fluff church glories in Christ and His cross (at least that is what we aim to do) instead of trying to find glory in ourselves. We are excited about the work that He has begun in us and the happiness that this has brought to our marriages and our families. We delight in sharing our joy and our hope with others, and we cordially invite you to come and worship with us (contact information). Sincerely, John R Shearouse Pastor, Covenant Reformed Presbyterian Church Halifax, NS |