We Care About Christian Persecution… Newsletter Article: Read the August 2014 Newsletter article from Pastor Besel explaining our connection as Christians to this symbol and the Christians in Iraq whose lives are in danger because of their faith. click here For more information on this important topic, click on the I-am-n picture We Care About Life… We proudly consider our congregation to be a “pro-life” congregation that believes in the sanctity of all human life from the moment of conception until the last earthly breath that God allows us to take. For this reason, we believe that abortion, assisted suicide and other forms of so-called “euthanasia” are not according to God’s desired will and plan for those of us who are creatures made by Him. For more information about our view of “life”, including personal stories of “life” go to http://www.eyesoflife.org The first of three videos addresses the current issue of the open harvesting and selling of fetal body parts from aborted babies and the very serious nature of this practice in our country right now. We also invite you to view a wonderful video called “The Miracle of Life” below through an embedded link to the following website that has the rights to this video: The link to purchase and download the video is: http://www.hyperpixelsmedia.com/sermon-illustration-videos/the-miracle-of-life Another great video that gives a great testimony to the miracle of God’s handiwork in creating us according to a design that only He could bring about can be viewed at this link (and it’s from a more secular source): http://www.ted.com/talks/alexander_tsiaras_conception_to_birth_visualized.html#.TthDWVfln0w.facebook Our Doctrinal Foundation and Overview… The Statement below is also found on the official web site of the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod. For a more detailed explanation of our church’s beliefs and practices, including a very extensive section of “Frequently Asked Questions”, click on this link to our church body’s web site: www.lcms.org Overview With the universal Christian Church, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod teaches and responds to the love of the Triune God: the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ, the Son, who became human to suffer and die for the sins of all human beings and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over death and Satan; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through God’s Word and Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, one God. Being “Lutheran,” our congregations accept and teach Bible-based teachings of Martin Luther that inspired the reformation of the Christian Church in the 16th century. The teaching of Luther and the reformers can be summarized in three short phrases: Grace alone, Scripture alone, Faith alone. Grace alone God loves the people of the world, even though they are sinful, rebel against Him and do not deserve His love. He sent Jesus, His Son, to love the unlovable and save the ungodly. Faith alone By His suffering and death as the substitute for all people of all time, Jesus purchased and won forgiveness and eternal life for them. Those who hear this Good News and believe it have the eternal life that it offers. God creates faith in Christ and gives people forgiveness through Him. Scripture alone The Bible is God’s inerrant and infallible Word, in which He reveals His Law and His Gospel of salvation in Jesus Christ. It is the sole rule and norm for Christian doctrine. The word “Synod” in The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod comes from the Greek words that mean “walking together.” It has rich meaning in our church body, because the congregations voluntarily choose to belong to the Synod. Diverse in their service, these congregations hold to a shared confession of Jesus Christ as taught in Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. The congregations of the Synod are “confessional.” They hold to the Lutheran Confessions as the correct interpretation and presentation of Biblical doctrine. Contained in The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, these statements of belief were put into writing by church leaders during the 16th century. (The simplest of these is Luther’s Small Catechism. The Augsburg Confession gives more detail on what Lutherans believe. Links to the full text of all the Lutheran Confessions can be found at our Synod’s website. www.lcms.org Adapted from A Week in the Life of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, copyright 1996, Concordia Publishing House View this video as a nice summary of what our denomination, The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod, is all about.