WE BELIEVE... The Bible to be the inerrant Word of God. It is our only ultimate and infallible authority for our faith and practice. That there is one God, eternally existent in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In the true deity and full humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ, in His virgin birth, in His sinless life, in His miracles, in His vicarious death through His shed blood, in His bodily resurrection, in His ascension to the right hand of the Father and in His personal return in power and glory. That because of Adam's sin all mankind is in rebellion against God. For the salvation of such lost and sinful men, regeneration by the Holy Spirit is necessary. That salvation is by grace through faith alone, in Christ alone. In the present ministry of the Holy Spirit, by whose indwelling the Christian is enabled to live a godly life. In the resurrection of both the saved and the lost; those who are saved to the resurrection of life, and those who are lost to a resurrection of damnation. In spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ. WHY SHOULD I CONSIDER LAKEVIEW CHURCH? (What makes Lakeview unique to other churches in Lake County, IL)? Evangelical churches have similar doctrinal statements, similar concerns and similar programs. Evangelical churches confess faith in Christ and declare their love for the Lord and for people. Though understanding how people come to Christ and how they grow in faith may vary considerably, most evangelical churches would express commitment to see people trust Christ as Savior and to see believers taught and equipped to live lives of godliness. We affirm that. So what makes us different than most? Evangelical churches affirm that all we do should be done to the glory of God. They believe the Scripture is God's Word, and thus give attention to teaching and preaching the Bible. If asked, most would claim to be God-centered in their ministry. Evangelical churches care about families, so most would affirm their commitment to reaching children, youth and adults. Most evangelical churches care about their community. They also care about the world. Again, we agree. So what makes us different? Sometimes affirmation and practice do not match. Most would affirm the supremacy of God in all things, but how we worship may suggest otherwise. We may say we come together to worship God, but our Sunday morning experience is really about us, about what we like, about our preferences, about answering the question, "what's in it for me?" Rather than seeking the supremacy of God in all things, we have slipped into a "me" focus, in worship and in everything else. 0, that our dominant experience would be the precious weight of the glory of God! The intention of Lakeview Church is to recognize that God is central in our worship. We begin with God as He calls us to worship. We end with God as He gives His Scriptural benediction. Singing is not viewed as performance, but an offering of praise to God. The songs we sing are chosen for content consistent with Scripture and substantive in meaning, expressing our worship to Him, making an effort to avoid empty sentimentalism and meaningless repetition. God is central, so His Word is prominent. We do not neglect the public reading of Scripture. When brought into His holy presence and made aware of His greatness and goodness, we cannot escape an awareness of our sin. Time is taken to confess our sin, acknowledging our need for His cleansing, and yet affirming His gracious pardon! Since God is central in our worship, preaching is about God, an exposition of His Word, making Him known to us. Our focus in worship is not how we can be happy or content or better at whatever, but on the greatness and glory of God (see God-Centered worship below). The supremacy of God in all things carries over into our approach to Christian Education. God's chosen method is through families with the husband and father taking the lead. While children and youth and singles and everyone else are all important, emphasis must be given to men, instructing husbands and fathers to lead their families toward the supremacy of God in all things. Lakeview Church is not for everyone, but if these issues strike a cord in your heart, we would encourage you to visit with us and take some time to speak with our leadership. We have in no way arrived, but we are headed in what we believe to be the right direction for us. Perhaps this is the right direction for you as well. Thanks for taking the time to read this and giving consideration to this church.
GOD CENTERED WORSHIP...
For the past few years we have been attempting to communicate one central truth through our worship of God, namely “it’s all about Him; it’s not about us”. Our desire has been to plan and participate in worship that is “God-centered” as opposed to “man-centered”. What does God-centered worship look like? It is worship “which glorifies God, the Holy God, whose gracious salvation is a free undeserved gift. Therefore, God-centered worship can be described as objective; with awe it glorifies the sovereign God yet it is essentially thankful." When worship becomes concerned with subjective feelings ("I like it" or "I got something out of it" or "It made me feel so much closer to God," etc.) it becomes individualized (“man-centered”) and thus subtly places the focus on us rather than on God. Over the past few months, we have been working to develop a God-centered order of service. From the call to worship all the way through to the benediction, the elements of our service should work together to direct our worship to our great God and King. But we realize that if we are not conscious of the importance and purpose of each act of worship, the service can quickly work to obscure Christ rather than elevate Him. So understanding why we do what we do can be incredibly helpful to impress upon us the importance and significance of what we are doing. We are here to worship God, and the elements of the service are designed to enable us to do just that. But the elements of the service are windows- we are to see through them to Christ. So as we make these changes, which are good, we want to make sure that we all understand just how we are to see through them to Christ.
Our Preparation (Psalm 132:7-9)
Each Lord’s Day, we begin with a short time set apart for us to prepare ourselves for worship. We believe this preparation time to be a very important element that is often neglected by Christians. We hope that you find it beneficial. Here are a few suggestions on how you might use this time: Pray that God’s Word will be faithfully and powerfully proclaimed throughout the service. Ask God to give you an attentive and joyful heart that is receptive to His Word. Pray for the Holy Spirit to uphold those leading worship. Meditate on the scriptural readings in our service or perhaps the words to a creed or a song we will be singing. The idea here is to get ready, to prepare to enter into God’s presence. His Call (Psalm 95:1-8)
Worship begins as we hear the words of Scripture declaring that it is God Himself who has called us together to worship. The call to worship is God addressing us through His Word, telling us it is now time to leave the mundane behind, to lift up our hearts and to turn our thoughts toward Him. We should strive to be mindful throughout the service that it is God who calls us into His presence and into intimate communion with Him. As the service moves forward, we now call upon God to bless our worship, which is about to follow. The invocation reminds us that God is faithful, and as we gather together around His Word, He will truly be present among His people. Our Guilt Reading God’s Law (Psalm 119:72, Nehemiah 8:1-3)
The reading of God’s Law is placed near the beginning of our service so that we may be prepared to confess our sins to God. The Law is meant to give knowledge of sin and to show us our need for pardon (Rom. 3:19-20; 4:15; 7:7-12). As it is read before the congregation, the Law serves to destroy any self-righteousness we may have brought with us, and to dash to the ground any hope of earning favor before God. Our thoughts are directed toward the holiness of God and our own sinful shortcomings. At the end of the reading it should be clear that no one is worthy to approach our holy God by resting upon his own merit, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”. Confession of Sin (1 John 1:8-10)
Having heard the difficult words of the Law, we now publicly and privately acknowledge that what God’s Word says about us is true. We confess that we have broken God’s Law in thought, word, and deed, and therefore stand guilty before Him, having no hope apart from His great mercy and grace. A time of silent prayer follows the public confession, so that we might privately confess our particular sins and reflect upon our condition apart from Christ Jesus. His Grace/ Declaration of Pardon (Titus 3:5-8)
By virtue of Christ’s finished work and our profession of faith in Him, the leader here declares the truth of God’s promise to us, that “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). The authority to declare pardon is not his own, but belongs to God alone. But as a minister of the Gospel, it is both his privilege and duty to declare the wonderful message of God’s grace to His people, the message of pardon to sinners who believe. Our Response The rest of the service is primarily concerned with our response to God in light of the grace He has given us. We will sing, and read, and recite and give, and hear the Word preached; all to the glory of God. His Benediction (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Here, God’s benediction, or blessing, is pronounced upon His covenant people. This “good word” from God formally closes our service, blessing us until we gather together again next Sunday. The service ends much like it began, with God’s Word to His people. | 
