WHAT
WE BELIEVE
With the universal Christian Church, St. John's Lutheran Church
teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father,
creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became
human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to
rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan;
and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and
Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal,
one God.
 Being
"Lutheran," we accept and teach the Bible-based teachings
of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian
Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers
can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Faith alone,
Scripture alone.
Grace
Alone
God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful,
rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus,
His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
Faith
Alone
By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of
all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life
for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the
eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives
people forgiveness through Him.
Scripture
Alone
The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals
His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the
sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.
Who
is Jesus?
For more than 2,000 years people have asked the question, "Who
is Jesus?". We were not present when Jesus lived on this
earth, but in the Bible we have the record of his birth, life,
death on the cross, and resurrection. Study of the Bible, God's
Word, will enable you to seek out the answer to this age-old question.
What
does "Synod" mean?
The word "Synod" in The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod
comes from Greek words that mean "walking together."
The term has rich meaning in our church body, because congregations
voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod. Though diverse in their
service, these congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus
Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran
Confessions which they believe are a correct interpretation
and presentation of Biblical doctrine. Contained in The
Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church, these statements of belief were put into writing by church
leaders during the 16th century. The simplest of these is Luther's
Small Catechism. The
Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe.
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