We Believe, Teach, and Confess:
We Accept the Book of Concord as a Correct Exposition of Scripture.
As Lutherans, We Believe that:
Since the fall of Adam and Eve into sin, all people are born alienated from God, separated from the Source of life and joy and peace, and that they are helpless to do anything about this!
Nevertheless, through his totally undeserved love, the Triune God has had compassion on the human race and sent his Son into our own flesh and blood, to win forgiveness of sins for all people and to give us a share in his own divine nature.
Jesus Christ won this forgiveness of sins for all people by his life of perfect love and by his suffering and death on the cross. His resurrection was God the Father’s public proclamation that His Son’s sacrifice of love was accepted and that it avails for all!
This salvation, won by Jesus Christ upon the Cross, is bestowed on us through God’s specially appointed means: preaching of the Gospel and the administration of Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and the Sacrament of the Altar. Through these, God the Holy Spirit is at work, providing and strengthening the faith to accept the joyful salvation our God there gives.
This salvation is the cause of endless joy for believers as they contemplate the great love that it reveals to be in the heart of God toward them and the hope that it gives: a loving heavenly Father, an eternal home, a place at our Father’s table for all eternity, the healing of all earthly sorrows, and a joyful reunion with all believers in heaven.
Our gracious and loving God wants all people to have a share in this joy, and is grieved when people refuse and reject it and consign themselves to unspeakable sadness of an eternity cut off from him (hell).
Do you have more questions?
The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod website provides many answers to frequently asked questions.
St. Paul Lutheran Church is a congregation in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. The LCMS is one of the national Lutheran church bodies in the United Stated. On the spectrum from liberal to conservative the LCMS leans more towards the conservative side of things. Our denomination confesses the historic, orthodox Christian faith, a faith built on “the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20). The LCMS was established in 1847 by Saxon and other German immigrants seeking freedom to practice and follow confessional Lutheranism. Initial membership included 12 pastors representing 14 congregations from Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Michigan, New York and Ohio. Today the LCMS has more than 2.3 million baptized members in more than 6,100 congregations and more than 9,000 pastors. St. Paul Lutheran Church is a part of the Michigan District.
IN CHRIST, FOR THE CHURCH AND THE WORLD
These phrases illustrate how the church lives and works together to proclaim the Gospel and to provide for our brothers and sisters in our congregations, communities, and throughout the world. These phrases describe the emphasis of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.