It's all about Jesus
All of our beliefs flow out of who Jesus is and what he has done.
We believe, teach and confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and he is Risen from the dead. Everything we believe hinges on this one point.
Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead for a purpose. That purpose is, as his name declares in Matthew 1:21, "to save his people from their sins."
When you visit St. Paul's, every Sunday you will hear this Good News about Jesus, how he saves us from our sins.
To learn more about Jesus, click here.
We Believe that God is Triune
We hold and confess the Historic Christian Teaching that God is triune. The Teaching of the Trinity is difficult to describe. We believe that there is only one God, yet he reveals himself in three distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
The teaching of the Trinity is confessed in each of the Ecumenical Creeds. (downloads a pdf) The three creeds are believed by the Universal Christian Church.
We Believe that God is Knowable
Our God is not an impersonal force who sits on high and judges, nor is our God a blind clockmaker as some would suggest. Our God has revealed himself to us.
He has made known himself through his word. We call this word the Bible (downloads a pdf) or the Scriptures. The Bible is a collection of documents. There are documents that tell history, there are letters of encouragement to churches, there are songs and hymns, there are prophecies and books of Good News.
While the books are varied in genre and structure, all of them have the same purpose, to point people to Jesus Christ.
From the Bible we learn about the origins of the universe and humanity. We see the corruption of creation by sin as well as God's plan to restore it. That's where we see Jesus. Jesus is the fulfillment of God's plan for salvation. Jesus is the revelation of God's plan for restoration.
The Sacraments
Our worship services are focused on God's Word and the Sacraments. The Sacraments are gifts, given to us by God. We believe the Bible describes two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion.
Baptism
The word baptism means "wash." In Baptism, God washes away our sins and creates in us faith. Baptism gives us the gifts of forgiveness and salvation
As the Apostle Paul states in Romans 6, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life"
And as Jesus says in Mark 16, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved."
And as Paul says in Titus 3, "he [Jesus] saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior."
Holy Communion
Our Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord's Supper on the night when he was betrayed, Maundy Thursday. We celebrate this meal at his command and in remembrance of him. The Lord's Supper brings us the promises that the words of God declare in Matthew 26, Mark 14, Luke 22, and 1 Corinthians 11
We believe, teach, and confess that Jesus Christ is truly present in, with, and under, the visible elements of the bread and the wine. We believe that communion brings the gifts of forgiveness of sins and the strengthening of faith.
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
St. Paul's a member of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS). The LCMS is a confessional Lutheran denomination that shares beliefs that God's Word is inerrant and inspired and the only true source and norm of all doctrine.
We also hold that the teaching of the Bible are best described in the Lutheran Confessions. The Lutheran Confessions are a collection of documents compiled into a book, called the Book of Concord (BOC). The BOC contains teachings accessible to all Christians.
For New Christians, we recommend reading the Small Catechism.
After the Small Catechism, we recommend reading the Large Catechism.
If you are looking for teachings listed in categories, we recommend the Augsburg Confession. For even more detail, read the Apology (means defense) of the Augsburg confession.
If you have any questions about what we believe, please do not hesitate to contact us.