What We Believe

WHAT LUTHERANS BELIEVE

About the Bible
Everything Lutherans believe comes from the Bible, God’s message of love and hope for all people. The Bible is the written Word of God, handed down to us in order to point us to the truth that we are saved from our sin and eternal death by the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We believe that the Bible is as it claims to be – inspired by God and true. It is the Holy Spirit that creates and strengthens faith through this Word.

About God
There is only one true God – the Triune God – who exists in three separate but equal persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father is the Creator of all things. By the Father’s word, all things were made, and we are His most beloved creation. The Son is Jesus Christ, who came to earth as a human and redeemed us through His death and resurrection. The Holy Spirit calls us to faith through God’s Word and the Sacraments (Baptism and Lord’s Supper), and keeps us in that one true faith. 

About Being Saved
There is absolutely nothing we can do to be saved. Jesus Christ has already done everything necessary. In His death and resurrection, everyone who believes in Jesus as Savior has been brought back into a right relationship with God. Because of Jesus, all who believe are forgiven and will live eternally.

We do not cooperate in our salvation and there is nothing we could ever do to earn our way to heaven. All we can do is to believe in Him, trusting that all that is necessary has been done for us through Jesus.

About Faith
It is through faith in Jesus that we receive the forgiveness of sins and eternal life – by believing that He has freed us from the guilt and punishment of sin. Faith is a gift worked in us by the power of the Holy Spirit; it doesn’t come to us through anything we are capable of, but through what God does for us. We simply receive what is already being offered out of God’s great love.

About Grace
Lutherans often refer to grace. Grace means “undeserved love.” While we deserved to pay the penalty for our sin, God had a different plan. Christ paid the debt for us at the cross and now we receive forgiveness and eternal life from Him that is offered out of unconditional love. That’s why it is called grace – because it is truly undeserved.

God has provided tangible ways through which He delivers His grace to those who believe, assuring us that the sins we commit are forgiven for Jesus’ sake. These are called the “means of grace” and are God’s Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. Through these means God makes Himself known to us in a very personal way. God’s Word reveals His faithfulness and love; Baptism is our rebirth and renewal in Jesus; the Lord’s Supper is our closest communion with Christ as we receive His body and blood.

About Human Sexuality and Marriage
We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person.

We believe that the term marriage has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman.

We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).

About Us
We all fall short of God’s expectations because we are all born sinful and we continue to sin throughout our lives on earth. Sin was brought into the world when Satan lured the first people that God created (Adam and Eve) into temptation through their own free will and weakness, thereby breaking the perfect relationship between God and us. From that point on sin became part of our very existence.

Yet God is a loving God whose will is not for us to live in eternal punishment. That’s why He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to live the perfect life He requires and to become our substitute. Christ never sinned – not even once – and then He took our sins upon Himself and nailed them to the cross on our behalf. 

About Life After Death
On Judgment Day - we don't know when - Jesus Christ is going to return. On that day, everyone who has died will be raised and those who are still alive will be bodily transformed. At that time, the final judgment will take place. Those who do not believe will go into eternal punishment in hell, and all those who believe in Jesus as Savior will have eternal life in heaven.

Join Us!


Sunday Worship:  
9:30 AM
Wednesday Summer Worship:
7:00 PM

School Hours: 8:00 AM - 3:10 PM

Pastor: Rev. Mark Oswald
School Administrator: Britney Ritz
Office Manager: Deb Cheyne
Preschool Director: Jackie Rasch
K/1st Teacher: Jessica Zahm
2nd/3rd Teacher: Allie Geiger
4th/5th Teacher: Wendi Lepley

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