What is Resurrection Orthodox Presbyterian Church?
Resurrection is a congregation of the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. We have a long name, and there’s quite a bit of history to it. But the essence of who we are as a congregation is simple: Resurrection is a church that practices serious Christianity for real life. What does this mean?
Serious Christians
The first thing it means is that we are serious Christians. We believe that there is a God who made and rules everything. This God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is both honest and good: he will never lie about our sins, but he did die for them. We believe that Jesus Christ is God the Son who lived, died, and literally rose from the dead to rescue us from the wrath of God and the ruinous power of our own self-worship. We believe that connecting to Jesus by faith changes all of life – both now and forever. And we believe that God the Holy Spirit speaks to us today in the Bible.
In sum, we believe that the purpose of human life is to glorify and enjoy God – to be changed forever not by what we do, but by who we trust. We exist as a church to pursue these things together – and we invite you to join us. For more specifics, check out our Reformed distinctives.
Committed to the Bible
The second thing it means to practice serious Christianity for real life is that we are committed to the Bible – all of it – even the parts that are unpopular or make us uncomfortable. We aren’t afraid of the hard questions this creates, because we don’t believe that the Bible is just another book. Though it’s written in human language, we believe that the Bible is actually the Word of God. And if God is who the Bible says he is, then nothing in the Bible is too hard for him. He can intervene in history. He can enter history. He can even raise the dead. These things are supernatural, certainly – but they are not irrational. At Resurrection, everything we do is centered on the Bible.
If you are interested in learning how to read the Bible, check out our 9-part video series.
Connected to the Wider Church
The third thing it means to practice serious Christianity for real life is to recognize that we are not the first generation of Christians in history – nor are we the only Christians in the world. At Resurrection, we confess and enjoy the fact that we are connected to the church of history and the church globally. We rejoice in the fact that we are but one small branch on a much larger tree – the kingdom of our Lord Jesus that spans across every age, place, language, and race.
Our Worship
Our worship services are simple and centered on the Word of God. We read and preach from the Bible. We pray, confess our faith, and celebrate the sacraments. We sing hymns and psalms of the Christian faith with historic musical accompaniment. We recite the creeds of the ancient church, along with the confessions and catechisms of the Reformation.
There is a beautiful simplicity to these forms, and we believe they help us follow Jesus better – locally, globally, and historically.
Locally, the use of an ordered liturgy enables every person in the congregation, regardless of age or experience, to worship together. Globally, the use of creeds enables us every week to join our brothers and sisters around the world in confessing our common faith using the same words. And historically, the use of historic musical forms enables us to step out of the carnival of contemporary life – and into the theatre of the eternal.
To read more about our understanding of worship, check out our Reformed distinctives.
Our Logistics: What to Expect When You Visit
If you are visiting for worship, please take a hymnal to use as you enter. If you didn’t bring a Bible, you may borrow one from the cart. If you don’t own a Bible, please take one from the booktable and keep it as a gift.
We love having children in our services and we don’t mind the noise. But if you need to take your children out – or vice versa! – a staffed nursery is available with an audio broadcast of the service.
If you are visiting from the university and know of those who need a lift, please tell us. We are always ready to provide transportation for students who want to worship.
We invite you to join us for worship this Sunday!