We are a congregation that believes in the historic Christian faith. We believe that mankind has gone astray from God and this fact accounts for the misery in the world. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to reconcile us to Himself; Christ died for the sins of the world and rose to eternal life, so that we too might live forever in the presence of God. The Christian life, therefore, is connected to Christ. We heed and meditate upon His teachings. We partake of His sacraments, whereby He connects us to Himself, the Source of Life. We believe, therefore, that Christianity is not something that we can invent (or re-invent) for ourselves, but it is a faith that we have received from the Lord and must faithfully pass on to the next generations until He returns in glory.
We believe in the historic Christian faith, as taught by the Lutheran confessions. The Lutheran Church is concerned with proclaiming the gospel that was once delivered to the saints, adding nothing to nor subtracting anything from it. It does not claim to be a “new” church, i.e., one that was founded only 500 years ago. It claims that the gospel it preaches is the one that has always sustained Christendom for centuries.
We believe that mankind has gone astray from God and this fact accounts for the misery in the world. Although God created a perfectly good world, we human beings have rebelled against Him and thus brought misery into the world. The world as it currently exists reflects as much the savagery of mankind as the goodness of the Creator. Even the “natural” world has been subjected to corruption because of mankind’s rebellion.
God sent His Son Jesus Christ to reconcile us to Himself; Christ died for the sins of the world and rose to eternal life, so that we too might live forever in the presence of God. We cannot restore the world to its pristine condition, try as we might. We cannot restore fellowship with God, either. Instead, God gives us forgiveness, fellowship, and eternal life with Him purely as a gift. We do not deserve this gift in the least nor can we ever merit His love, no matter how good we may try to be. We can in no way cooperate with God to bring about our salvation, but God freely forgives our sins for Jesus’ sake, who gave up His life on the cross in order to bear our punishment and who rose from the dead to give us new life. God has also given us the Gospel, the good news about everything He has done to bring us back to everlasting life. As Lutherans, we emphasize this teaching since we want God to get the full credit for everything He has done.
The Christian life, therefore, is connected to Christ: we heed and meditate upon His teachings; we partake of His sacraments, whereby He connects us to Himself, the Source of Life. The Christian life is all about Christ. We read the Scriptures because they are the written Word of God and reveal the incarnate Word of God, Jesus Christ. We read the Scriptures not as a textbook or a list of rules (although they do teach clearly God’s holy standard known as the Law), but as a book revealing the life to be found in Christ Jesus. While other books may have good ethical guidelines, only the Scriptures reveal the author of life, our Lord Jesus Christ. We also emphasize the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper because they were instituted by Christ as His gifts to draw us closer to Him and to renew our life in Him. Unlike some churches, which view Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as ordinance or obligations, we believe that they are gifts from God, by which He conveys His love and forgiveness to us. And we look forward to Christ’s glorious return, when all taint of sin will be removed and we will live forever in His righteousness and His grace.