God Is…
- We believe in the one true God who reveals Himself in the Bible as triune, meaning He is one God in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
- When we rebel against God’s Word, it causes brokenness in all our relationships, including with God. But God loves us enough to heal that brokenness for us through the person and work of His Son, Jesus, true God and true man.
- While all other religions teach that the goal of life is something we must know or do, the Bible teaches that we are known by God and that salvation has already been done for us by Jesus.
There Is One God…
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one (Deuteronomy 6:4).
In Three Persons.
But when the fullness of time came, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father (Galatians 4:4-6)!
God the Father
Creator of all things
There is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist (1 Cor. 8:6a).
God the Son
The Word of God become flesh, the Savior of the whole world.
In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen His glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:1, 14).
God the Holy Spirit
The Giver and Grower of faith, the Intercessor on our behalf
(Jesus said), “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (John 14:25-26).
The Problem
Human beings have a natural desire to rebel and to ignore God’s principles for living. The Bible calls this attitude – and the words and actions that flow from it – sin.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us (1 John 1:8).
Sin breaks our close relationship with God, which causes problems in every area of our lives, and our natural instinct is to try and fix this ourselves – but we can’t.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked (Eph. 2:1-2a).
Something dead cannot heal itself; think of trying to clean an oil stain from a white sheet while your hands are covered in oil: we just make things worse, because we are too unclean to make ourselves clean. So, God sent His Son, Jesus, to be born for us; to live for us, to die for us, and to rise again for us – all to pay the price for our sins and offer us the free gift of everlasting life with Him.
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience – among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ – by grace you have been saved (Ephesians 2:1-5).
Life As a Christian…
As Christians, we are no better than anyone else. We acknowledge our sin and our inability to save ourselves, so we look to God and the free gift of salvation He offers everyone through His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ.
So the Christian life, and so many people get this wrong, is not about trying to be a good enough person to earn heaven or please God. There is nothing we can do to make God love us more – or love us less. The Christian life is about responding to the free gift of salvation by living a life filled with good works that show God’s love for our neighbor through us. And when we mess this up, we know that we are forgiven and can start again.
Worship Is…
Worship is more than music; it is the combination of Word and Sacrament. Word is everything that has to do with God’s Word, found in the Bible. It’s the Scripture readings, it’s the sermon (which proclaims, teaches, and applies God’s timeless Truth to our lives today), it’s the liturgy (the parts of the service we say, chant or sing), it’s the prayers, and it’s the songs and hymns we sing.
A Sacrament is anything 1) instituted by God, 2) composed of the Word of God and a physical element, and 3) contain and convey the grace and mercy of almighty God. We believe there are two Sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper (communion).
Baptism is for everyone
Baptism is the actual forgiveness of sins through the combination of ordinary water and God’s Word, by which God brings us from death into life, adopting us as members of His eternal family.
Because baptism is commanded and not restricted, and because faith is a gift that does not require understanding, anyone may be baptized, regardless of his or her age or mental acuity. If you or your child would like to be baptized, please contact the church office and we would be happy to schedule it.
Don’t know if you were baptized, or if it “counted?” As long as it is done with water and God’s Word, it does not matter if you were immersed, sprinkled or poured over, and it doesn’t matter if you were “baptized Lutheran,” as long as you were baptized with water in the name of the triune God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in[a] the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20).”
There is one body and one Spirit – just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call – one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all (Ephesians 4:4-6).
Baptism… now saves you (1 Peter 3:18).
And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and for your children and for all who are far off, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself (Acts 2:38-39).
Communion is Not for Everyone… Yet.
The Lord’s Supper is for all believers who have been instructed in the faith. We believe and confess that communion is the actual forgiveness of sins by the power of Christ’s true body and blood, present by faith through the combination of ordinary bread and wine with God’s extraordinary Word.
Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself (1 Corinthians 11:27-29).
Because this is a serious warning, we take it seriously. We don’t want anyone to drink judgment on him or herself because they don’t know any better. If you are willing to take God at His Word and believe this, to confess your sins and turn back to God, and to forgive as you have been forgiven, then we invite you to commune with us at the Lord’s table. If you are unsure, we invite you to speak with a Pastor.
Asking yourself these questions in silent reflection is a good idea before you take the Lord’s Supper:
- Am I truly sorry for my sins?
- Am I truly repentant (wanting to turn from sin, to God)?
- Am I truly willing to forgive those with whom I am communing?
- Do I truly believe that the body and blood of Jesus are present in the bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper?