Our Faith
Grace alone. Faith alone. Scripture alone.
One of the beautiful things we teach and believe is the way in which the Holy Scriptures are read and interpreted. Martin Luther compared the Bible to the Manger of Jesus. The material to write the Bible was given to us by God, just like the material to build the manger. God is perfect, we are not — therefore we may find confusing and seemingly contradictory statements within the Holy Scriptures.
But here's the fascinating part: when one opens the Bible, just like the manger, one sees Jesus — one finds the Divine, or better yet, the Divine finds us! We teach and believe that the Holy Scriptures are the Living Word of God, capable of changing lives for the better. The Bible must always point us in the direction of God's Love for all people through Christ Jesus. Therefore, we teach that God comes to us through the Word!
God comes to us through the Word found in Holy Scripture. God also comes to us through the Sacraments — Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. A Sacrament is a Holy Act instituted by Christ Jesus, in which God combines His Word of Promise to a visible element offering freely some wonderful gifts.
The visible element in Baptism is water, and in Communion, bread and wine. Through these most simple gifts God promises comfort and strength through the power of the Spirit. God promises forgiveness of sin and eternal life. "Sacrament" is a Latin word meaning "Mystery." We can't explain a mystery — we must simply trust that the promises of God are true.
That is why at Trinity we baptize all people, including infants, and partake of the bread and wine in communion. After all, it is God's work, not ours!
Another teaching at the heart of our belief is "We are Saved by Grace through Faith." Saved from what? Saved from just about everything! Noah was saved from the flood. King David was saved from the giant Goliath. Jesus was saved from death! Therefore, when floods overtake us, when seemingly impossible giants confront us, when death comes knocking — yes, we are saved!
Grace is simply all the gifts given freely by God. Grace is the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. Grace is also the free gift of Christ Jesus given to teach us how to live, to give healing, strength and comfort, to forgive sin, and offer eternal life.
Faith is not simply an act of the mind believing a religious statement to be true. Faith is the response of your whole being when God graciously offers to accept you as a child. At Trinity we encourage questions to all aspects of religion. Faith always seeks understanding!
At Trinity Lutheran our focus is upon the Cross! The Cross is shorthand for the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus.
God is Almighty, All Powerful, All Encompassing. We as human beings cannot fathom the Supreme Being we call God. The closest we can come to understanding God is through the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord.
Through the Cross one can see the heart of our Creator. It is a heart of Love and Forgiveness. It is a heart of Compassion and Mercy.
We believe in the "Priesthood of All Believers." This means we are all priests or ministers. We are not only equal, we are all called to be servants to creation.
No matter what our vocation — steel worker, teacher, salesperson, clerk, doctor, or homemaker — our purpose in life is to worship and serve God.
We are "Simultaneously Saint and Sinner." Put another way, we are at the same time sinner and saint.
Each of us has been created in the "Image of God," meaning we have some of the qualities of God — the ability to create, to reason, and to love. But at the same time we are capable of destruction, foolish decisions, and hate.
This is what makes us human beings. We are to work toward making the Saint part come alive in us, and putting to death the Sinner in us — at the same time.
"Faith Seeks Understanding!" One of the strengths of Trinity is the commitment to teach all people the foundations of faith: The Apostle's Creed, The Lord's Prayer, The Ten Commandments, the Books of the Bible and the content of those books.
As we grow in our faith we learn how to use these life-giving, life-saving Words!
We welcome your questions. Reach out — we'd be glad to talk, pray, or explore Scripture together.
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