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ABOUT US

It's all about Jesus

 

All of our beliefs flow out of who Jesus is and what He has done.

We believe, teach and confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and He is risen from the dead. Everything we believe hinges on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead for a purpose. That purpose is, as his name declares in Matthew 1:21, "to save his people from their sins." 

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When you visit either Immanuel or St. Matthew’s you will hear this Good News about Jesus, about how He saves us from our sins and grants us eternal life. This is the heart of our worship in every service.

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To learn more about Jesus, click here.

WE BELIEVE THE BIBLE IS GOD'S WORD

Our God is not a distant or impersonal force who sits on high and judges, nor is our God a blind clockmaker as some would suggest. Our God has revealed Himself to us.

He has made known himself through His Holy inerrant and infallible word. We call this word the Bible or the Scriptures. The Bible is a collection of documents. There are documents that tell history, there are letters of encouragement to churches, there are songs and hymns, there are prophecies and books of Good News.

While the books are varied in genre and structure, all of them have the same purpose, to point people to Jesus Christ and His redemptive work on the cross which delivers the promise of eternal life.

From the Bible we learn about the origins of the universe and humanity. We see the corruption of creation by sin as well as God's plan to restore it. Both Old Testament and New Testament point us to the cross and the empty tomb. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's plan for salvation.

WE BELIEVE IN THE TRINITY

We hold and confess the historic Christian teaching that God is triune.  The Teaching of the Trinity is simple in its description but difficult to comprehend. We believe that there is only one God, yet he reveals himself in three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

 

Though the “how” of the trinity is a mystery, we boldly confess it in faith because of God’s own revelation. Jesus says in Matthew 28:19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,”

 

The teaching of the Trinity is confessed in each of the Ecumenical Creeds.  The three creeds are believed by the Universal Christian Church born out of the need to have a sure defense against heresy and false teaching. Each creed is a faithful response of the church against those who would deny Christ’s divinity and purpose, or against the anti-trinitarian teachings that contradict God’s own word.

WE BELIEVE IN GOD'S MEANS OF GRACE

The Sacraments

Our worship services are focused on God's Word and the Sacraments. The Sacraments are gifts, given to us by God. We believe the Bible describes two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion. 

 

Baptism

The word baptism means " to wash." In Baptism, God washes away our sins and creates in us faith. Baptism gives us the gifts of forgiveness and salvation

As the Apostle Paul states in Romans 6, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life"

And as Jesus says in Mark 16, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved."

And as Paul says in Titus 3, "he [Jesus] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."

 

Holy Communion

Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper on the night when he was betrayed, Maundy Thursday. We celebrate this meal at his command and in remembrance of him. The Lord's Supper brings us the promises that the words of God declare in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 11

We believe, teach, and confess that Jesus Christ is truly present in, with, and under, the visible elements of the bread and the wine. We believe that communion brings the gifts of forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith. 

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WE ARE MEMBERS OF
THE LUTHERAN CHURCH-MISSOURI SYNOD

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS) is a confessional Lutheran denomination that shares beliefs that God's Word is inerrant and inspired and the only true source and norm of all doctrine.

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We also hold that the teaching of the Bible are best described in the Lutheran Confessions. The Lutheran Confessions are a collection of documents compiled into a book, called the Book of Concord (BOC). The BOC contains teachings accessible to all Christians.

 

For New Christians, we recommend reading the Small Catechism.

After the Small Catechism, we recommend reading the Large Catechism.

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If you are looking for teachings listed in categories, we recommend the Augsburg Confession. For even more detail, read the Apology (means defense) of the Augsburg confession.

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