THE BIBLE
THE BIBLE
Here at Merkinch Free Church we believe and will teach that the Bible is the written word of God, inspired by the Holy Spirt. It is necessary to reveal God's will for man's salvation and is final in its authority for all that we are to believe about God and all that God requires of us.
GOD
GOD
The Bible teaches us that there is one God, eternally existing in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who is infinitely perfect in holiness and love. He is the Creator of all things and sovereignly rules all things. He alone is to be glorified.
US AND SIN
US & SIN
Humanity was created by God, male and female, in his likeness to live in his blessedness. Yet, man sinned against God and fell from their original righteousness into sin. As a result, all men are sinners by nature and are under God's wrath and curse, save by God's grace alone.
JESUS CHRIST
JESUS CHRIST
Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God. Jesus, by his righteous life and sacrificial death as the representative of and substitute for his people, reconciles sinners who repent of their sin and believe in him alone for salvation. Jesus, having been resurrected from the dead and ascended into heaven, will return at the last day to judge all humanity and to eternally save his people.
Salvation
SALVATION
We believe that salvation is the work of God alone. He purposed from all eternity to save sinners, and, by his grace and for his glory, sovereignly elected a people to be saved. These sinners who, effectually persuaded by the Holy Spirit, repent of their sin and believe in Jesus Christ alone for salvation are accepted as righteous by God. Believers, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, are enabled to live in holiness, will persevere to the end and, at death, will enter into God's eternal blessedness.
THE CHURCH
THE CHURCH
It is our conviction that the church includes all who believe in Jesus Christ and their children. God's grace is available to all in it, through the preaching of God’s word, prayer, and the administering of the sacraments of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
Merkinch Free Church is a church plant from the Free North Church. As a congregation, we are proud to be a part of the Free Church of Scotland. We believe and publicly confess the words of the historic Apostles' and Nicene Creeds. We also affirm the standards of the Westminster Confession of Faith and its Larger and Shorter Catechisms, as faithfully representing the teaching of Scripture. For these reasons, all leaders in Merkinch Free Church are required to affirm the Westminster Confession of Faith and to seek to live in the light of it.
Our Beliefs
We exist to show and share the good news of Jesus to each other through community and discipleship, and to others as we ask the Spirit of God to give new life in Jesus to the local people we live around in the Merkinch and South Kessock.
Our Values
Community
We are a community where believers can connect with other believers, with Christ at the centre of all that we do (1 John 1). We want to be a church family that commits itself to those defined as “one another” in Scripture. Our desire is that all members will never go through life with unmet needs (Acts 2:44).
DISCIPLESHIP
We focus on discipleship and accountability within the culture of the church. This is to encourage each other and to prompt each other to worship Jesus in every sphere of life and to pursue him in our lives.
As Dietrich Bonhoeffer writes, "Christianity without discipleship is always Christianity without Christ."
NEW LIFE
Jesus said, "...if [I set] you free, you really will be free" (John 8:36, CSB). We are excited for others to know this freedom only Jesus can give! So our mission is to share the good news of the rescue Jesus offers when we confess our sins and trust in his life, death, and resurrection. We want to share it with our mouths and live it in our lives. We want it to be seen in our love for one another as a church family.
LOCAL
Jesus came to live with us and show the goodness of following him. He met people where they were at. He still does.
We want to do that, too. So we are a church that lives in this community. We want to show the goodness of Jesus in a way that is true to His word and also makes sense to the people we meet.
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