"The Raising of Lazarus" by Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet. The painting depicts an event recorded in chapter 11 of the Gospel of John, when Jesus raised his friend, Lazarus, back to life, after he had been dead for four days. By this event Jesus showed us what his central mission was for the world: to save us from sin and death and to give us eternal life.
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What does our congregation believe and teach? What are the central truths that define our life and work as a Christian community?
What does our congregation believe and teach? What are the central truths that define our life and work as a Christian community?
First of all, we believe that we as a human beings have a fundamental problem. To say the least, we are not what we are meant to be. We have failed to keep God’s will, expressed to us in the 10 Commandments. Therefore we are subject to and deserve nothing but death now and eternally. This is our fundamental problem as human beings when we are born into the world.
But we believe that God did not leave us alone in this problem. Rather he has acted. He has revealed himself to us through his Word. He has shown us that he is the Father who created all things; that he sent his unique Son, Jesus, to rescue us from sin and death by his life, death, and resurrection for the world; that he sends his Holy Spirit to bring us to Christ and give us eternal life. God’s revelation of himself to us again is summarized in the words of the Creed (i.e., the statement of belief) which we recite in our services together.
Since God has revealed himself to us again, we call on him in prayer. We call on him especially using that prayer Jesus gave us: the Lord’s Prayer. We believe that God is our Father again through faith in Jesus, and that he truly hears us whenever we speak to him in prayer.
We also believe that God has given to his church the gift of the Sacrament of Baptism. Baptism is a work of God, in which water is poured over a person while speaking God’s Words: “I baptize you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost.” Baptism is a powerful work of God by which a person is joined to Jesus' own death and resurrection and receives the gifts of life and salvation through faith in him.
We also believe that God has given his church the authority to forgive sins on earth. Therefore when we come together for church services, we confess our sins to God, and hear the minister declare the forgiveness of sins to us. Because of what Jesus said about confession and forgiveness, we can be confident that our sins are truly forgiven when we hear they are forgiven.
We also believe Jesus has given us another Sacrament called the Lord’s Supper, or the Eucharist, or Holy Communion. It is a ceremony or rite in which we eat and drink Jesus’ true body and blood under bread and wine which has been consecrated by the repetition of Jesus’ words. In this Sacrament Jesus is truly present with us, forgiving us our sins and giving us new life through faith.
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