Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod are committed to the pure Gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, to love for God, and to love for neighbor. These teachings are clearly presented in the inspired and infallible Scriptures, and are summarized in the three ecumenical creeds and the confessional statements of the Book of Concord.
The ecumenical creeds are the:
For a more detailed explanation of our doctrine and theology visit the Missouri Synod's Belief and Practice page on their Website.
A Brief Summary of the Lutheran Faith
Creation
God is the Creator of the beautiful universe, and He sustains it with His mighty power. We believe that God created all things out of nothing by means of His spoken word in six ordinary days. The scientific evidence of the design of the universe is completely consistent with the Biblical teaching of a miraculous creation.
Sin
Adam and Eve, whom God created, were led into sin by Satan, an angel who rebelled against God. Now every human being is born with a self-centered, fallen nature and a tendency for evil. The problem of evil in the world is very obvious. Attempts to overcome evil through education, economics, psychology or technology, are doomed to fail. While these are good gifts from God, people need to be saved from sin by the grace of God.
Jesus
Jesus is God’s Son, who became a man by being born of the Virgin Mary. He lived a perfect life and then gave His life as a ransom for the sins of all people. On the third day after He died, He rose from the dead, ascended into heaven, and has promised to return on the last day. This is the Gospel or good news.
Holy Spirit
People receive forgiveness through faith. Faith is a miraculous change of heart created by the Holy Spirit through the Gospel. The Holy Spirit is the third person of God along with the Father and the Son. The Holy Spirit helps us to live by faith and gives special gifts to the church when and where He pleases.
Bible
The Bible is a collection of sixty-six individual books, originally written in Hebrew and Greek, that teach about God’s plan of salvation in Jesus. The Bible was written by human beings under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and so is true and without error.
Church
The church is the fellowship of all those who have been brought to repentance and forgiveness in Jesus Christ. Christians sometimes disagree about some teachings of the Bible, but they all believe in God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and salvation alone in God’s Son. The Lutheran Church gets its name from Martin Luther, who taught that the church is founded upon the Bible and the Gospel of forgiveness in Jesus.
Sacraments
God has given two special acts (which we call Sacraments) along with the Word to build His church. Baptism creates faith, and Holy Communion nurtures our faith. We receive the Holy Spirit and forgiveness in Baptism. In Holy Communion Jesus Christ gives us His body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins.
The Ten Commandment Life
God gave us the Ten Commandments to show us the way of life. We are to love the only true God, keep His name and word holy, respond in worship and prayer, honor our parents and other authorities, respect life and seek to preserve it, honor marriage between a man and woman and keep sexual relations within this bond, work to provide for ourselves and others and not take what God has given to others, speak the truth in love, be content with our material blessings and with our relationships and not manipulate either for our personal gain.
Prayer and Worship
God promises to hear our prayers and urges us to listen to His word and pray regularly as individuals, within our families, and in regular weekly worship. Our worship services follow the pattern that we see in the Bible based on Scripture readings, singing psalms and hymns, sermon, prayers, and Holy Communion.
Eternal Life
The fellowship which God establishes with His believers on earth will continue after this life as believers live with Him in heaven for all eternity. The fallen world and the evil that has overtaken it will not last forever. God has promised to send Jesus again to separate those who believe in God from those who reject Him. Those who loved God will get what they always wanted, an eternity with God (this is what the Bible calls heaven). Those who have rejected God will get what they always wanted, an eternity without God (this is what the Bible calls hell).
Can I Come If I’m Not a Member?Certainly! We strongly encourage anyone to come to worship, Bible classes, our Christian school, youth activities, etc. as guests and friends. We do ask that before taking communion you speak with one of the pastors. Those who have not received instructions in the teachings of our church or a sister church should first attend one of our New Member classes (offered in the fall, spring and summer) before communing.
Can I Be Baptized?Baptism into Christ is a divine blessing that drives out evil and brings in faith. Children are baptized and then taught the faith as soon as they are able to learn. Adults learn the basics of the faith (New Member Class) and then are baptized.
Can I Talk to a Pastor?We are more than happy to meet with anyone who has questions or concerns about their faith and life.