Who we are

Lutherans believe…

…that Jesus is the embodiment of the Word of God, God’s justice and mercy made real and human. His death and resurrection is the way that God breaks the power that sin and death have over human life. Because God succeeds in raising Jesus from the dead, now anyone who calls on the name of Jesus can be raised to new life. Sin and death no longer threaten to separate us from God.

…our God is willing to reveal things to us. The long story of the relationship between God and creation isn’t a secret. We can know that story through the Bible. We believe that the Bible is the word of God, even though it is at the same time a collection of history, poetry, stories and letters written by many people over many centuries.

…the Bible reveals to us God’s love and mercy for the created world, even when sin creeps into the world and humans rebel against God. This message of love and mercy is called the gospel.

…scripture is the guide for Christian life, and the gospel is the lens for interpreting that scripture. Some parts of scripture have more authority as other parts, because they convey that gospel message of love and mercy. We are grounded in scripture and consider the gospel message in making everyday decisions and dealing with modern situations.

…we are born again in baptism, often as infants. We say that our old selves are drowned in the waters of baptism, and we rise up with Christ as new, reborn people. We believe that we need to remember that baptism every day, as we confess our sins to God, ask for forgiveness, and experience that cleansing and rebirth that we need so often.

…God continues to reconcile with us because God is gracious, not because of our good behavior. This new life of living reconciled with God leads us to a new and better way of life in this world, as well as to life after death. We should live just as fully in this life as in the life to come, living lives that reflect God’s justice and mercy in the midst of a broken world.