What We Believe

As our name indicates, we confess the faith of the Church as understood and taught by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther who was a key leader of the Protestant Reformation early in the 16th Century.  

Authoritative Sources

We contend that the only knowledge we have of God and his commands come to us by his Word found in scripture (a.k.a., The Bible).  The Old Testament and New Testaments were inspired by his Holy Spirit and written through the words of prophets in the Old Testament and by the words of Jesus and his apostles in the New Testament.

However, we also believe that the confessions of the Lutheran Church contained in the Book of Concord, especially the Augsburg Confession of 1530, to be correct explanations of the Bible which we can depend upon as well, and do not contradict the Bible.

As for ecumenical creeds, we trust that the Apostle's, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds to all be faithful confessions of the faith.

Chief Doctrines

We are Trinitarian in our understanding of God.  We believe that He is Creator of the universe (God the Father), Redeemer of all humanity (God the Son--Jesus), and the Sanctifier (God the Holy Spirit) who delivers to us God's Word, faith itself, and good works for us to complete which make us holy in the eyes of God.  

We believe that forgiveness is free and unlimited.  By his death on the cross and resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday, Jesus secured forgiveness and, thereby, eternal life with God for all people for all time.  We call this GRACE; God's Riches At Christ's Expense.  It is a gift which we didn't deserve because of our sinful nature.  His immeasurable generosity guides us to lead lives of giving and service to him and to the community around us.

We believe that grace is resistible.  That is, that people can choose to not accept faith in God and, thereby, refuse his offer of mercy by the forgiveness of sins.  Therefore, it is not so much the Christian's duty to "save the lost", for that is the Holy Spirit's work, but to convince the world to give that Holy Spirit an audience; to listen to the Good News and be open to the gift of faith that is being extended to all who hear the Gospel about Jesus and his forgiveness.

We believe that God is wholly dependable and consistent.  His promises are true and everlasting.  He can be depended upon to do what he has said he will do.  When he promises forgiveness and eternal life to those who believe and are baptized, they can take that promise to their grave, assured that they will one day be with him in paradise.  

Similarly, where God has spoken out against bad behavior and unbelief, we believe that His punishment of, and eternal separation from, those who do not heed His warnings, will come to pass at the final judgement, when Jesus returns on the last day.  That day will also mark his coming to take all those who believe with him to a new heaven and earth.

Want to know more?

We periodically hold a seminar called Knowing Christ in the Winter, Summer and Fall to which all are invited, but especially those who might desire to officially join the Lutheran Church and receive Holy Communion.

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