|
"Lutherans are Christians, but not all Christians are Lutherans." This means that a Lutheran shares many of the beliefs, practices, and customs of other Christian denominations (Presbyterian, Methodist, United Church of Christ, Roman Catholics, Orthodox, Anglican, etc.) You can learn more about what Lutherans believe and do by checking out one of the topics in the table or clicking on ELCA News:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one Being with the Father. Through him all things were made.For us and for our salvation He came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate from the virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered death and was buried.On the third day he rose again in accordance with the Scriptures; He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the prophets. We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
How Lutheran Understand the Bible The Confession of Faith of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America witnesses to the fact that the expression Word of God in the Bible does not always refer to the Bible. While accepting the Scriptures as "the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life," the ECLA also confesses that "Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate" and "the proclamation of God’s message to us as both law and gospel is the Word of God." The Confession of Faith of the ELCA affirms both inspiration and authentic human authorship of the Scriptures, confessing "the canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testament" are "inspired by God’s spirit, speaking through their authors." The arguments between a "literal" and "critical" interpretation of the scriptures miss the point. God has and continues to us through the scriptures. The inspiration of God’s spirit is not tied to the past, for continues to be the source of contemporary preaching and teaching in our Church. Lutherans may hold a variety of positions on biblical interpretation, but all will agree, that it is through the Holy Scriptures that the Holy Spirit calls, gathers and enlightens the sinner. The record of humankind’s interaction with God, even with contradictions and apparent mistakes, still provides a means for God’s Word of acceptance to meet a broken world.
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into hell. On the third day he rose again. He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen
Lutheran Worship is generally characterized as being "liturgical." The word liturgy means "the work of the people." Lutheran worship is dynamic and interactive. The People of God gather to hear and respond to the Word of God. They sing hymns of praise and share in the Sacrament of the Altar - the Lord's Supper. Lutheran worship leaders generally wear historic vestments as the shepherd the worshipping community through the forms and rites that date back to the earliest years of the Church. Lutheran worship is sometimes seen as "formal" and this formality is all to often characterized as "cold" or "unfriendly." Nothing could be further from the truth! Lutheran worship is a powerful expression of praise in which God's demands and promises are woven into a fabric of life. Lutheran worship is historic, but not a relic. It is as contemporary as a brand new day and yet firmly established in the catholic tradition.
To be a Lutheran is to be a Christian (not the other way around!). Many characteristics of the Lutheran way are also traits of other Christian traditions. Lutherans have no monopoly on certain ways of being Christian, but are part of the ``church catholic'' (``catholic'' means ``universal''). The Lutheran Church comes out of Martin Luther's sixteenth-century protesting of certain Roman Catholic church teachings for which Luther found no biblical basis. His primary insight into the Gospel was that salvation is never earned by our own effort, but is a free gracious gift of God. Thus, Lutherans have ties to Roman Catholicism (Martin Luther was, after all, an Augustinian monk), as well as to other Protestant churches. Lutheran Christians confess Jesus as the Christ, the Savior of the World. Through Jesus, God has said to us, ``Yes. I made you. I sustain you. I love you. I give you forgiveness, wholeness, and eternal life. The gift is unconditional. You need not be somebody or do anything to deserve the gift. It's free and can't be bought for any price! Only receive it by faith.'' Faith is not intellectual acceptance of doctrines about God, but dynamic, life-changing trust that God's promises will be kept. The good works that we do are done out of thankfulness to God for what we have already received, not out of a need to earn God's favor. Within the church, Lutherans are committed to: the task of reminding ourselves that we are catholic. We are not a breakaway sect but a part of the continuation of the universal church built upon the foundation of Christ and the apostles. We live for the healing of division within the whole church. the task of serving as an evangelical teaching movement within the universal church---teaching that God's unconditional grace in Christ is the center of the Christian faith. We joyfully proclaim the good news---God comes in flesh and says YES to all humanity. the task of living as a reforming movement---constantly letting the Holy Spirit show us where our personal and corporate lives must change in order to conform to the Gospel. When the Spirit directs us to reformation (of our own lives, the church, our society), we act in obedient trust. We seek peace and justice, calling for and working for necessary reform in God's creation. Commitment to all of this cannot be sustained without prayer. We come together regularly to praise God and receive nurture and guidance. We take the Bible seriously, trusting that although some of it may appear to be straw, it holds the precious Word of God just as the manger held Jesus (God's Word made flesh). We receive Baptism and Holy Communion as renewed promises that God will not ever or finally forsake us but remains as close to us and to the world as cleansing water, bread, and wine. This congregation confesses the Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. This congregation confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and the Gospel as the power of God for the salvation of all who believe. Jesus Christ is the Word of God incarnate, through whom everything was made and through whose life, death, and resurrection God fashions a new creation. The proclamation of God's message to us as both Law and Gospel is the Word of God, revealing judgment and mercy through word and deed, beginning with the Word in creation, continuing in the history of Israel, and centering in all its fullness in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are the written Word of God. Inspired by God's Spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God's revelation centering in Jesus Christ. Through them, God's Spirit speaks to us to create and sustain Christian faith and fellowship for service in the world. This congregation accepts the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the inspired Word of God and the authoritative source and norm of its proclamation, faith, and life. This congregation accepts the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds as true declarations of the faith of this congregation. This congregation accepts the Unaltered Augsburg Confession as a true witness to the Gospel, acknowledging as one with it in faith and doctrine all churches that likewise accept the teachings of the Unaltered Augsburg Confession. This congregation accepts the other confessional writings in the Book of Concord, namely, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles and the Treatise, the Small Catechism, the Large Catechism, and the Formula of Concord, as further valid interpretations of the faith of the Church. This congregation confesses the Gospel, recorded in the Holy Scriptures and confessed in the ecumenical creeds and Lutheran confessional writings, as the power of God to create and sustain the Church for God's mission in the world.
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread; and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us; and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen. Lutheran Churches in Kentuckiana Ascension Lutheran Church, Middletown, KY 502.244.1856 Bethany Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY , 502.363.3398 Calvary Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY 502.452.2221 Christ Lutheran Church, Jeffersontown, KY 502.267.5082 Faith Lutheran Church, Jeffersonville, IN 812.282.6993 First Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY 502.244.1856 Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY 502.937.8038 Grace and Glory Lutheran Church , Goshen, KY 502.228.0650 House of Prayer, Elizabethtown, KY Messiah/Trinity Lutheran-Episcopal Church, Louisville, KY 502.969.1422 St. John Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY 502.895.9320 St. Mark Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY 502.363.5484 St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY (Shively) 502.447.9341 St. Peters Lutheran Church, Corydon, IN St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Fern Creek, KY 502.239.7778 Third Lutheran Church, Louisville, KY 502.587.8395
Lutheran & Christian Info on the Web
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
