We Believe
We believe that Christianity is the life and salvation God has given in and through Jesus Christ. This new life in Christ empowers us to respond to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God's Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God.
St. Peter Lutheran church accepts and teaches the Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Faith alone, Scripture alone.
Grace alone
God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly.
Faith alone
By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him.
Scripture alone
The Bible is God's inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine.
Who is Jesus?
For more than 2,000 years people have asked the question, "Who is Jesus?". We were not present when Jesus lived on this earth, but in the Bible we have the record of His birth, life, death on the cross, and resurrection. Study of the Bible, God's Word, will enable you to seek out the answer to this age-old question.
What is a Sacrament?
...The word sacrament comes to us from the Latin Bible, where it translates the Greek word mystery.
A sacrament is a sacred act instituted by God, in which God Himself has joined His Word of promise to a visible element, and by which He offers, gives, and seals the forgiveness of sins earned by Christ.
A sacrament is the Gospel made visible. By this definition, there are two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper.
We believe Baptism has God’s command and promise and that it is precisely in the baptism of infants, who are included in Christ’s Great Commission (Matt. 28:19-20), that we can see the full meaning of God’s undeserved love and mercy. God’s action in Baptism, apart from any human initiative, creates and bestows the gift of faith through which the Christian lays hold of God’s grace.
We also believe the Scriptures teach the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper is the true body and blood of Christ for the forgiveness of sins and it is in the Lord’s Supper we give testimony to the external unity of faith in Christ.
