Covenant United Reformed is a church in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan affiliated with the federation of confessional congregations known as the United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA). We believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and our only Savior from sin.
We accept the Bible as the inspired, inerrant, unchanging Word of God and seek to be reformed by that Word through the power of the Holy Spirit.
We believe that God speaks in Scripture in regard to acceptable worship. Our worship is centered around the preaching of God’s Holy Word and our sermons are Christ-centered.
Work of Christ on the Cross
We look to the Cross at Calvary because of the centrality of this place in terms of the person and work of Jesus Christ. It was on the Cross at Calvary that Jesus Christ cried out in agony, bled, died, and endured the wrath of God against the sins of his people. Jesus cried out on the cross, “It is finished!” There is nothing for the people of God to do to add to or take away from the work of the word of Jesus Christ. The church is to proclaim the gospel which is the good news about what Jesus Christ has done. Jesus Christ alone bore the penalty of God’s wrath against his people while on the cross, and thus, those who believe in him are forgiven of all their sins: past, present, and future.
Jesus Christ perfectly and perpetually obeyed the Law of God throughout his entire life on earth. This righteousness (Christ’s obedience) is imputed to the Christian by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. God imputes (credits, reckons) Jesus’ righteousness to the Christian as if they had been perfectly obedient all their lives. A Christian is not only forgiven but declared holy and righteous by God in union with Jesus Christ.
God raised Jesus from the dead, vindicating him as the suffering-righteous servant/Son who conquered sin, Satan, and death (our three great enemies). The physical resurrection of Jesus Christ is also a surety for the resurrection of the body of all Christians when Jesus returns. This reality offers unspeakable comfort, solace and hope for Christians as we continue to pilgrim in this sin-cursed world.
We are recipients of grace from beginning to end in terms of our salvation and seek to demonstrate ourselves as grateful children of the king. We worship God and in gratitude, we love and serve one another in light of who we are in Christ. Christ accomplished redemption for his people and the Holy Spirit applies that redemption to his people through Word and Sacrament.
This reality of salvation in Christ alone is summarized pastorally and beautifully in the first question of our catechism. We include it here for your reflection.
What is Your Only Comfort in Life and Death?
A. That I am not my own,1 but belong – body and soul, in life and in death2 to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ.3 He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood,4 and has set me free from the tyranny of the devil.5 He also watches over me in such a way6 that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven;7 in fact, all things must work together for my salvation.8 Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life9 and makes me whole-heartedly willing and ready from now on to live for him.10
Heidelberg Catechism question 1
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1. 1 Cor. 6:19-20
2. Rom. 14:7-9
3. 1 Cor. 3:23; Titus 2:14
4. 1 Pet. 1:18-19; 1 John 1:7
5. John 8:34-36; Heb. 2:14-15; 1 John 3:1-11
6. John 6:39-40; 10:27-30; 2 Thess. 3:3; 1 Pet. 1:5
7. Matt. 10:29-31; Luke 21:16-18
8. Rom. 8:28
9. Rom. 8:15-16;2 Cor. 1:21-22; 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14
10. Rom. 8:1-17
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