Our Beliefs

We believe that the Holy Bible is the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and the only source and norm for Christian doctrine and practice.

  1. We believe that there is only one true God, who has revealed Himself in Three Persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
  2. We believe that, by His innocent suffering and death on the cross in our place, Jesus Christ made full atonement for our sins. 
  3. We believe that Jesus rose from the dead on Easter morning, later ascended into heaven where He now lives and reigns to all eternity. 
  4. We believe that Jesus will return on the last day to judge the living and the dead and take all believers in Him to eternal life and glory. 
  5. We believe that God comes to us in His Church through chosen means of grace which are the Word of God (The Holy Scriptures) and the Sacraments of Baptism and The Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion), and that through these means of grace He conveys to us His forgiveness. 
  6. We believe that we are saved only by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ, which is a free gift of The Holy Spirit to us. We believe that Holy Baptism brings us into God’s Kingdom and makes us members of the Body of Christ as we receive the Holy Spirit, who works faith in our hearts. 
  7. We believe that the Sacrament of Holy Communion is the true body and blood of Christ which is received with the bread and the wine (Real Presence). It is not a Symbolic eating and drinking. We believe that those who receive this Sacrament actually eat and drink the body and blood of our Lord and Savior shed for us on the cross. (Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod)
              

    Our Communion Announcement

    At the command of our Lord and according to the Scriptures, St. Matthew Lutheran Church joyfully celebrates the Lord’s Supper every Sunday.  As a member congregation of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, we observe the Scriptural and Confessional practice of close communion.  Before receiving the Sacrament, it is necessary for you to examine yourself, acknowledge that you are a sinner, believe in our Savior Jesus Christ and that the true body and blood of Christ are present in, with, and under the bread and wine, and believe that through this meal God gives forgiveness and strengthens your faith to amend your life and live under Him.  If you have not communed here before, have not been instructed to receive the Sacrament in this way, or are unsure of what we mean, please speak with the Pastor before receiving the Sacrament.

 

The Catechisms

The Catechism that we are familiar with is a part of a group of documents called “The Book of Concord”  These documents (called the Lutheran Confession) were written in the 16th Century by our Lutheran Fathers to defend the Christian faith from errors that had been introduced into the faith. They contain the things that Lutheran Christians “believe, teach and confess.”  Martin Luther is the author of our Small Catechism, but he also wrote a Large Catechism for use by pastors, teachers and parents as an aid in teaching the the Christian faith. Both documents are available on our Synod’s Web Site.  All of these documents are available online and worth your time and reading.