The Trinity  

At St. John’s we “worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity”, this is a quote from the Athanasian creed, one of our three main creeds. There is one God, who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Created by Him in perfection, mankind fell into sin and brought death into the world. But, out of His great mercy, the Father sent His Son into the world in order that Jesus Christ would die for our sins and win new life for us through His resurrection. And through the Holy Spirit’s call to faith in the bloody cross and empty tomb, we have been gathered into the Church, where the Triune God’s gifts of life and salvation forever flow. 

Jesus  

The subject and object of the Christian faith is Jesus the Christ, the incarnate God, and the eternal second person of the Trinity. As it is written in the book of Hebrews he is the founder and perfecter of our faith        (Heb. 12.2). For he has redeemed the world through His holy and precious blood and glorious resurrection.   Therefore at St. John’s we aim to fear love and trust in him above all things. We aim to learn and grow deeper in our love and knowledge of Jesus in what he says, commands and does.  

The Scriptures 

The witness of Jesus is given to us through the Bible , the Holy Scriptures. These are the 66 canonical books of the Old and New Testaments. We believe these Holy Scriptures are the inspired and inerrant Word of God. By inspired, we mean that the Bible written by the prophets, apostles and evangelists was given to them by God. By inerrant, we mean that the Bible is true. Everything that it testifies and witnesses to is accurate and without error. We highly value the Holy Scriptures because it faithfully witnesses to God and how he has inserted himself into the history of the world, most notably through Jesus.  

The Lutheran Confessions  

As a member congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, we believe that the doctrine presented in the Lutheran Confessions is the true doctrine of the Bible. That which the Scriptures teach, the Confessions echo. The faith proclaimed in these documents is the same faith proclaimed by the Apostles and the Church throughout all time. These confessions are contained in the Book of Concord. It is important to reiterate that the scriptures are our highest authority but our confessions aid us in interpreting and understanding the scriptures more clearly.  

The Sacraments  

Because it is by faith that we belong to Christ’s Church, we recognize that the Church is found wherever those faith-giving gifts are present. Therefore, our lives as Christians are rooted in the Word, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper. 

The Word: 

Through the reading of the Scriptures, as well as through preaching on that Word, God teaches us who He is and how he has revealed himself to us through Jesus. Therefore, to be known by God is to be united to Jesus in faith. The Word aims to bring and establish this reality before us.  

Baptism: 

We believe that Baptism is an act of God’s mercy to man, where He gives to individuals the salvation that Jesus won for the world upon the cross. As Paul describes in Romans 6:4, baptism is an act where God drowns our sinful nature and raises us up to a new life where we can be called His very own children. We also believe that this rebirth of water and the Spirit, this gift of life, is one that Christ desires to give to all people, including infants. 

The Lord’s Supper: 

We believe that the Lord’s Supper is not a mere symbolic meal, but rather is the means through which Jesus Christ comes to us physically. At this feast we eat the very same flesh that was nailed to the Cross. At this feast we drink the same blood that was shed for us upon the cross. Just as in Baptism, it is through this Holy Meal that God gives us everything won for us on the Cross. And because Christ promises all of His grace to those who faithfully eat His body and drink His blood, we celebrate the Lord’s supper frequently. Likewise, because Christ also warns against partaking of His body and blood in an unworthy and divided manner, we ask that all visitors who have not communed with us before speak with our pastor before approaching the altar.  

The Divine Service: 

Because Christ has built His Church upon these gifts that give us forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation, we believe that the purpose of Christian worship is for Christ’s Bride to receive those gifts from her Bridegroom. Therefore, our worship at St. John’s is aimed toward that goal. 

 For our forms of worship, known as liturgies, we exclusively use the Divine Service settings from Lutheran Service Book because we believe their words and music faithfully and beautifully deliver to us the crucified Christ and prepare us to receive His Supper. Likewise we sing hymns from the same book because they tell us the eternal story of our creation, redemption and sanctification through the Triune God. 

This in turn is meant to set our hearts and minds on the things of God. It is why we gather together on Sunday mornings. As we begin our week in the Presence of God, hearing his word, and receiving his gifts. So that we may better serve our family, neighbors and community.