Cascade Fellowship | What We Believe

WHAT WE BELIEVE

We believe in one God, maker and giver of all life. God created you in His very own image and He loves you and has a plan for you!
Though God created humans in His image, we went our own way. All humans are sinful and do not measure up to God's perfect standard. Because God is holy, He cannot accept us in our sinful state. Because God is also just He must punish every sin. The punishment for sin is death. There is nothing I can do to make myself acceptable to God, no matter how hard I try.
Yet God is loving and merciful. He provided a substitute. In His love and mercy, God provided someone to take the punishment for me. No other creature could do the job, so God the Father sent God the Son to be this substitute. The birth of God the Son, Jesus, being born on earth is celebrated as Christmas.
Jesus Christ, God's Son, is truly human. This is important because a human had to pay the price for humanity's sin. But He was not a sinful human, because a sinner could never pay the debt for another sinner. Jesus Christ is also fully God. Only by God's power in Him could Jesus Christ bear the full weight of God's anger against the sin of humanity.
God put my sin on Jesus and punished Him in my place at the cross. Jesus died and was buried. On the third day Jesus rose from the dead, which we celebrate as Easter. The Resurrection of Jesus is a great celebration for Christians! The resurrection of Jesus proved that my two enemies - sin and death - have been completely overcome, guaranteeing my own glorious resurrection.
Jesus offers forgiveness of sin and the gift of eternal life with Him to those who, through the Spirit's work and by true faith, trust Him to save them from sin and death, to a new life lived with and for Him.
By His Spirit, Christ renews me to be like Him. When I live like Him, I show my thankfulness to God for new life and give praise to Him through my actions and relationships. My life becomes a testimony to others so many people may also come to love and serve Him out of gratitude.

We are part of a larger denomination, the Christian Reformed Church. For more information see their website: www.crcna.org

Many of our beliefs are summarized in the following confessions or creeds:

COMmITMENT

BAPTISM

Baptism reminds and assures us that “as surely as water washes away dirt from the body, so certainly Christ's blood and his spirit wash away all of our sins” (Heidelberg Catechism, Q&A. 69).

In the Christian Reformed Church (CRC), baptism is performed by a pastor. The usual method of baptism is by the sprinkling of water on the forehead of the person to be baptized, but other methods (such as going in the water / immersion) may also be used. The CRC uses infant baptism (for children of believing parents) as well as adult baptism (for adults who join but have not previously been baptized in a christian church).

Interested in getting baptized or baptizing your child? Contact the office by email or phone: 616-949-4342.

PROFESSION OF FAITH

In the book of Romans (in the Bible), Paul says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved” (Rom. 10:9-10). While baptism declares that one is united with Christ in his death and resurrection, a public profession of faith declares that Jesus is Lord of your life.

Learn about making Profession of Faith! Contact the office by email or phone: 616-949-4342.

COMMUNION / LORD'S SUPPER

Jesus taught his disciples to continue to observe the Lord’s Supper, or Communion. (Matthew 26:26-30; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:14-20)

The Lord’s Supper is a testimony of Jesus' work on earth. The communion elements are bread, juice and the church. When we celebrate communion, the pastor and elders lead the congregation in a time of worship and reflection.

WHAT IS CHURCH MEMBERSHIP?

Membership in a church expresses commitment not only to God, but also a body of believers, His church. God uses the Church to accomplish a number of purposes: provide us with instruction from God’s Word (1 Tim. 4:13; 2 Tim. 4:2), opportunities to serve and build one another up through the use of spiritual gifts (Rom. 12:3-8; 1 Cor. 12:4-31; 1 Pet. 4:10-11), participation in sacraments (Baptism, Profession of Faith, Lord's Supper / Communion) (Luke 22:19; Acts 2:38-42), and the chance to proclaim the gospel to those who do not know Jesus (Matt. 28:18-20). When a person becomes a member of a church, he or she submits to the care and authority of the church elders whom God placed in that church community.

If you're new to being part of a church or just want to learn more about Cascade Fellowship - Discover Cascade is a great place to start! Contact the church office by email or phone at 616-949-4342 for more questions, or if interested in joining.

DISCIPLE / DISCIPLESHIP

What does it mean to be a disciple?

At Cascade we believe that discipleship - the process of knowing God, growing in God, serving God and sharing God, doesn't stop and start at certain ages or stages in life. It's continual. Being a disciple of Jesus is a lifelong journey!

There are lots of discipleship opportunities at Cascade. Make sure to check out the Next Steps page and the Connect page for more information.

Questions about what you believe? We'd love to chat with you.

We are ready to listen and help you navigate what having a relationship with Jesus looks like!

Call today: 616-949-4342.