What do we believe?
Jesus gives His gifts to the church in the Divine Service.
Trinity-Peace Lutheran parish serves the people of Christ in Great Bend and Barney and surrounding communities. Our congregations are here to provide Jesus to the sinners who need His grace and mercy.
Through the waters of Holy Baptism, you have been washed clean of your sin. God comes to each of us in the Sacrament of Baptism and unites us with the death of Jesus. As Saint Paul reminds us: "if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (Rom. 6:5). Through this sacrament we become the holy ones of God. The Word of God is proclaimed through the readings from scripture and from sermons preached on these readings. In the Sacrament of the Altar we receive the body and blood of Jesus. The holy evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record the words of Jesus with remarkable unity in His own words: "this is my body" and "this is my blood." Saint Paul in his letter to the Corinthians reminds us that it is necessary to follow Jesus' institution of the Lord's Supper and to receive the body and blood of Jesus with those who are in fellowship with each other. |
Sola Scriptura. Sola Fide. Sola Gratia.
As Lutherans we hold to the solas of the Reformation: sola scriptura, sola fide, and sola gratia. These are Latin for scripture alone, faith alone, and grace alone. Scripture alone means that the Bible is divinely-inspired. We don't need the Bible and something else to be certain of God's will. We only need the Bible because it is God's Word. Jesus is trustworthy. The scriptures which the Holy Spirit has inspired are perfect. Faith alone in Jesus is the only thing that saves us. Salvation does not come from being a good person. This is good news because Jesus reminds us that "no one is good but God alone" (Mk. 10:18). Jesus is good; you and I are not. In the Church we do not have to hide from the fact that we are sinners, but to confess our sins and are forgiven of them (Jn. 20). Jesus directs us to look to Him: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live" (Jn. 11:25). Only through the grace of God are we saved. Jesus shows this through His discourse with Nicodemus in John 3, that to be saved we must be "born from above" or "born again" (the Greek means both). To have faith in God we must do the work that a baby does during childbirth, that is nothing. Indeed, God creates faith through the Sacrament of Baptism and through the preaching of His Holy Word. It is a gracious gift freely given to us. |
Peace Lutheran Church
300 Main Street Barney, ND 58008 Trinity Lutheran Church 206 School Street Great Bend, ND 58075 |
Trinity: 701-545-7422
Peace: 701-439-2429 |
Pastor: [email protected]
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