What do Lutherans believe about God?

 In the Bible God reveals Himself to be three, separate, distinct Persons in one divine Being. He calls Himself:

 —    The Father who created all things

 —    The Son who became a human being to save all people

 —    The Holy Spirit who brings people to faith in Jesus and keeps them in that faith

 Each Person — Father, Son, and Holy Spirit — is true God. Yet there are not three Gods, but only one. Since about the 4^th century Christians have used the word “triune,” which means “three-in-one,” to describe God. The word “triune” captures in a single word the mystery of God’s description of Himself in the Bible.

 God does not ask us to “understand” how He can be three distinct Persons and yet only one God — He invites us to believe what He tells about Himself in the Bible.

What do Lutherans believe about the Bible (the Word)?

 The Bible is the Word of God. From the beginning, God’s Word has been powerful—powerful enough to create living things from nothing.

 The Holy Spirit attaches Himself to the words contained in the Bible. Through the Law the Holy Spirit accused and convicts us of our sins, that is, our failure to obey the 10 Commandments perfectly. He terrifies us with the threat of God’s justly deserved punishment both now and eternally. He works to bring us daily to repentance.

 Then through the Gospel the Holy Spirit quiets our troubled hearts with the Good News of God’s love for us in Christ Jesus. He comforts us with the promise of God’s forgiveness and eternal life.

 Once again, God’s Word creates life where there was no life. He creates life in us through His Spirit.

What do Lutherans believe about the Sacraments?

 The word sacrament comes to us from the Latin language where it translates the Greek word mystery. At first it was used to describe all the saving truths of the Christian faith, such as the Trinity, the incarnation, the redemption, and the church. Since then the term has come to be used in a more specific way to refer to a sacred act:

 —    instituted by God,

 —    in which God Himself has connected His Word of promise to a visible element,

 —    and by which He offers, gives, and reassures us of the forgiveness of sins earned by Christ.

 By this definition there are two sacraments described in the Bible. They are Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.

What do Lutherans believe about Holy Baptism?

 In the water of baptism God comes to us by His Holy Spirit. He adopts us into His family. We are baptized into His name, “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” He claims us as His own dear children and promises to always love and bless us.

 Baptism is given in one of two ways. Those who can receive instruction are baptized after they have been instructed in the Christian faith. Little children are baptized first and then given instruction to teach them what was done for them in baptism.

 The blessings of baptism are ongoing. By daily remembering what God has done for us in and through baptism (forgiven us all our sins and made us part of God’s family of faith), the Holy Spirit continues to strengthen and encourage us in our faith.

What do Lutherans believe about the Lord’s Supper?

 By faith in Jesus as our Savior, we become the children of God. The Gospel tells us that clearly and that is the message of baptism too.

 Sometimes, however, we begin to doubt whether God really does love us – especially when things do not go the way we think they should. We fall into temptation and do things we know are wrong. We find it hard to live in complete confidence that nothing will separate us from the Father’s love. Does God really keep on forgiving us? We need reassurance.

 The Lord’s Supper is that reassurance. Through it the Holy Spirit works to tell us again and again — “You are forgiven.” He attaches Himself to the bread and wine of Holy Communion and delivers in a supernatural way the very body and blood of Jesus given and shed for us on the cross.

 The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod believes in the “real presence” of Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. Connected to the bread by the power of the Holy Spirit is the body of Jesus given for us at the cross. Connected to the wine by the power of the Holy Spirit is the blood of Jesus shed for us at the cross.

What do Lutherans believe about “growing in faith”? 

What kind of people ought we to be? We ought to live holy and godly lives as we look forward to the day of God and speed its coming (2 Peter 3:11-12). Not out of fear of judgment but in joyful response to God’s love which saves us from destruction. Through faith in Jesus we are new people—the old sinful, selfish person has died with Christ and has been raised to life again.

 Living out this new life becomes the driving and motivating purpose in all that we think and do and say. Through the Word, through Baptism, and through the Lord’s Supper together with the fellowship of other believers God comes to sustain and strengthen us. It is helpful to think of the Christian life in two arenas:

 1) Worship, devotions and prayer where God nurtures our life in Christ.

 2) Our life in the world lived in joyful response to God’s great love where we continually grow in faith through service.

 The Holy Spirit brings us to faith in Jesus Christ. Through faith, the Spirit creates in us “a clean heart…and renews a right spirit within (Psalm 51:10)” us. Faith is the result of the Holy Spirit changing the way we think about everything. Life is a gift given by our loving God and lived in joyful response to His great love for us.

What do Lutherans believe about worship and devotions?

 Worship and fellowship are the primary places where the Holy Spirit comes to us to create and sustain our faith. Worship is not an obligation for us to begrudgingly fulfill but a joyful obedience to our gracious and forgiving heavenly Father. The order of worship is like a divine drama in which we become participants in the death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. We enter into God’s presence, calling on His name in the Invocation, confessing our sins and receiving His forgiveness. We sing the hymn of the angels at His birth, “Glory to God in the highest and peace to His people on earth.” We listen to His Word in Scripture and the sermon. We receive His body and blood given and shed on the cross for us. In worship we die and are raised to new life. Worship continues as an ongoing conversation with God through daily devotions and prayer. He speaks to us in His Word and we respond in prayer.