Worship Services
n every Lord's
Day two worship services are held in each local church.
They take place mostly in the morning and afternoon.
The liturgy in these services is based on biblical practice and principle. The result is that the opening blessing and greeting are taken from the Word. The songs that are sung are taken either from the Psalms or from other parts of Scripture that have been put to music. The prayers contain praise to God, confession of sin, pleas for pardon and blessing, as well as requests for help, healing and guidance. The heart of the service centers around the reading and proclamation of God's Word. An offering is held and is either for the work done by the deacons among the needy or for some other worthy cause in God's church and kingdom. The service concludes with a closing benediction which is also taken from the Word.
In one of the services, usually the afternoon service, the Heidelberg Catechism is used as a guideline for the preaching. This means that the minister reads the appropriate Lord's day and has a sermon on the particular point of Scriptural teaching summarized by the Catechism.
The sacraments of baptism and Lord's Supper are administered in the worship services. As soon as it is feasible, parents request to have their newborn child baptized in the assembly of God's people. As for the Lord's Supper, it is celebrated every two or three months. The frequency and manner of this celebration is determined by each local church council.
Instruction
he young people
in each local church attend classes in which they are
taught about the doctrine of the church. These classes
begin most often at the age of twelve years and continue
until such a time as these young members express a desire
to publicly profess their faith and be admitted to the
sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
In these classes the Heidelberg Catechism is used as the teaching guide. Once the students are sufficiently at home in the Scriptures and the Catechism, attention often shifts to the other confessions and to the history of the church.
These classes are usually taught by the local pastor. If the local church is quite large, the pastor may be assisted by an elder or by other able church members.
In many churches, courses for adult instruction are also offered.
Bible Studies
he study of
God's Word by all members is an ongoing activity in each
local church. It begins in the early Fall, continues
throughout the Winter months and concludes in late
Spring. During this time a book of the Bible is usually
studied in an indepth manner. From time to time, certain
Bible themes, different ethical topics, current issues,
or the confessions of the church may also be dealt with
in a systematic way.
The method of study varies from the inductive approach which begins with the text of the Bible and forms conclusions from it, to the deductive approach which begins with an introduction by one of the participants. The purpose of an introduction is to draw out the central themes contained in a Bible passage and to stimulate discussion on it.
This program of study is often aided by resources found in library of the church.
Relations with other churches
he Canadian
Reformed churches take seriously the call of Christ with
regard to the unity of the church. As mentioned in the
page on our history, it was not our intention to
institute another Reformed church federation in North
America if this could have been avoided. The fact that
membership in the Protestant Reformed Church and the
Christian Reformed church proved impossible was a sad
development.
Once the churches were established, attempts again were made to deal with the differences between ourselves and the Christian Reformed church. Some progress was initially made, but as time went on, it became obvious that the Christian Reformed Church was not willing to sever its ties with the increasingly liberal Reformed Churches in Netherlands. It also became apparent that the thinking of this church on matters of biblical authority and church government was having a greater and greater influence on the Christian Reformed church.
On a local level, there has been and continues to be contact with a number of other Reformed churches. Federative unity with the United Reformed Churches of North America is currently being pursued, these churches having been recognized as true churches. We have a relationship of ecclesiastical fellowship (sister church) with the Free Reformed Churches in Australia, the Presbyterian Church in Korea, the Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated), the Free Church of Scotland, the Free Reformed Churches of South Africa, the Reformed Churches in Brazil, the Reformed Church in the United States,the Orthodox Presbyterian Church, the Reformed Churches in New Zealand, and the L’Église reformée du Québec. There are also contacts with the Free Reformed Churches of North America and the Orthodox Christian Reformed Church.
What does a relationship of ecclesiastical fellowship encompass? Without going into all the specifics, it relates to helping each other remain true to the Reformed faith, keeping each other informed about major ecclesiastical decisions, accepting each other's members, inviting delegates to each other's assemblies or synods, allowing each other's ministers to preach the Word, keeping each other informed about relations with other parties.
Finally, as churches we are also a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches, an ecumenical organization that meets every four years in different parts of the world. Its purpose is to assist the member churches, to promote unity among the members and to advance the cause of the Reformed Christian faith in this world.
