What We Believe
Trinity Lutheran Church is a congregation in fellowship with the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Below is a brief introduction of our faith. For more about the faith of the LCMS, visit https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs.
One God in Three Persons
With the historic Christian faith, and founded on the Bible, which is the Word of God, we believe in the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit as one God in three persons, the holy Trinity.
Creation
We believe that God exists eternally, with no beginning and no end. In love, he willed to create the heavens and the earth. The Father spoke all things into existence by his Word, and the Spirit moved with the life and power of God to bring life into the world (Genesis 1:1-5). And God did not create the world in order to leave it alone, but still sustains and continues it (Psalm 104).
Sin
We believe that God’s good world has been broken by sin. Not wanting to live as God’s creatures, depending on him in trust and walking in his ways, humankind chose to try to make life for itself on its own terms without God. This is called “sin.” And the consequence of sin in the world and in each of our lives is death—death to our bodies in time and, in eternity, death to our souls. Sin leads to death because it separates us from God, source of all life.
Salvation
But when humans were lost and fallen away from God, God did not lose his love for his creatures. And the Father sent the Son, born into time as a human born of the virgin Mary, to bring humanity back to himself. His name is Jesus, which means “the Lord saves” (Matthew 1:21). Jesus, the Son of God, never sinned, but he died and rose again to bring forgiveness for the world (1 John 2:2; 4:10). Jesus forgives our sin so that we sinners may again have eternal life with God, and he calls us to turn from sin and seek the ways of our loving God (Matthew 4:17; 6:33).
How do we personally receive Jesus’s forgiveness and his gift of life? By faith. Faith is trusting God, putting our trust in his promise and his declaration that he loves us, that he forgives in Jesus, and believing his word.
God’s Tools
God the Holy Spirit communicates his message of love and salvation through many different people, but he uses special tools to bring us to faith and strengthen us for a life of trusting and following him. First, of course, is the Bible, the Word of God that tells us who God is, what he has done for us, and what we are to do and believe. All true preaching and evangelism is based on the truth of the Bible.
With God’s Word, God also uses two physical rituals to begin and strengthen us in faith. The first is baptism, where God’s promise is attached to water to bathe us in God’s forgiveness and brings the Holy Spirit to us in a special way (Acts 2:38-39; 1 Peter 3:21). As all are sinners, even small children, we believe that all are in need of baptism and that all persons can be baptized regardless of age. Baptism joins us to Christ Jesus and is the beginning of our discipleship (Matthew 28:19-20; Romans 6:3-4; 1 Corinthians 12:13). Finally, at the end of his earthly life, Jesus gave us the Lord’s Supper, a meal of fellowship for baptized disciples of Jesus, where Jesus gives us his body and his blood in the form of bread and wine for us “for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28). When we partake of this meal, Jesus again grants us forgiveness, life, and strength to continue trusting him and knowing his love (John 6:48-57).
By these tools God calls us sinners to faith, forgives us, wraps us in his love, and strengthens us so we may continue to trust him in faith and, at the end, receive his promise of everlasting life and peace and joy with him forever.
Join Us in Our Life of Faith!
If you come by our congregation at Trinity Lutheran Church, this is what you'll find we are up to. We gather around God's Word to hear it taught, to discuss it and ask questions, and better know our God and our faith. You'll see baptisms for young and old. You'll see us celebrate the Lord's Supper every week with prayers and singing, and we joyfully leave to lead lives of prayer, service, and love in our homes and workplaces. Come join us!