We're not perfect...that's why we need Jesus. Jesus loves you!

God wants us to follow His law, chiefly the 10 Commandments. But we all make mistakes, we are all sinners. 
But God still cares for us. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son 
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) 

Salvation is a free gift - "By grace you have been saved through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared for us to do." (Ephesians 2:8-10)



Who is God?
I believe in God, the Father Almighty, make of heaven and earth,
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.


God reveals Himself through Word and Sacraments
God's Word - In the Holy Bible, God reveals the story of salvation. The entire story points us to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

How is one given faith?
The Holy Spirit gives to us the faith to believe in Jesus. A person cannot 'make a decision' to believe anymore than a dead person can make a decision to live again. "[Jesus said] You did not choose me, but I chose you." (John 15:16) 

Water, Bread, and Wine...Sacraments
God takes simple elements, joins to them His word, and gives us visible signs or sacraments of His loving care. 
Water - Just as the dirt of the world is washed away through a shower, through water and the Word of God our spiritual dirt is washed away. This is called Baptism. Through Baptism, we are made children of God. As we remember our baptism, we remember that God has washed us clean from all our sins.
Why do we do this? "Baptism now saves you." (1 Peter 3:21)

Bread and Wine - As a family communes and is nourished by a supper, our Lord calls together His family through the Lord's Supper. In it, we receive the Christ's body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins. 
Why do we do this? "Jesus said to them, 'I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.'" (John 6:53-54)

Why go to church?
Jesus said "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I with them." (Matthew 18:20) We go to church because that is where Jesus promises to dwell with us. There we hear the good news that God loves us, that He has forgives us all our sins. There we commune with our brothers and sisters in Christ at the Lord's Supper. There we hear His word proclaimed. There we fellowship with other Christians, grieve together, rejoice together. At church we hear Good News, a message that cannot be found in this world, a message of hope and peace and joy.  "Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another - and all the more as you see the Day approaching." (Hebrews 10:25)

The Importance of Vocation


As baptized Christians, we each have jobs to do.  God has endowed each one of us with talents and abilities. Some are farmers, nurses, office workers, teachers, etc. We have roles in the family as well: father, mother, son, daughter, grandparent, etc. When we serve in these vocations, we are doing our God-given duty. Martin Luther once quipped, "The milkmaid milking cows serves an important and blessed task." We don't all have to be monks to serve the Lord. Instead, we serve God by doing the good works which God prepared in advance for us to do. Eph 2:10.