God speaks in Scripture
The Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God. It is the sole source and norm of our doctrine: what we teach must be judged by it. In the Scriptures, God makes himself known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God in three persons, and reveals his saving work in Jesus Christ.
Justified for Christ’s sake
Sin is more than a series of mistakes. It separates us from God, and we cannot free ourselves by good intentions or religious effort. Jesus Christ, true God and true man, bore our sin on the cross and rose bodily from the dead.
God justifies us freely for Christ’s sake, by grace through faith. Faith receives the forgiveness Christ has won; it does not earn it. Good works follow faith as service to our neighbours, not as payment for salvation.
Forgiveness given through means of grace
Christ brings his saving gifts to us through the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. In Holy Baptism, God joins his promise to water, granting forgiveness and new life. In absolution, sinners hear Christ’s forgiveness spoken to them.
In the Lord’s Supper, Christ gives his true body and blood with the bread and wine for the forgiveness of sins. These gifts sustain faith with a promise outside ourselves. Please speak with Pastor Jensen before receiving Holy Communion.
Our Lutheran confession
We receive the Book of Concord of 1580 because it correctly presents the teaching of Scripture. It includes:
- The Apostles’, Nicene and Athanasian Creeds;
- The Augsburg Confession and its Apology;
- The Smalcald Articles and the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope;
- Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms;
- The Formula of Concord.
KELC is a congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. You can read the confessional texts at the Book of Concord website and learn about the church body at LCMS.org.
Bring your questions to Pastor Jensen. The Wednesday Confessions study is also an opportunity to read these texts together.