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The
Trinity Lutheran Mission
Statement
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"In
grateful response to
God’s grace and
empowered by the Holy
Spirit through Word and
Sacraments, the mission
of Trinity Lutheran
Church, Centralia,
Illinois is vigorously
to make known the love
of Christ by word and
deed within our
congregation,
communities, and the
world according to Acts
1:8."
But you will receive
power when the Holy
Spirit comes on you;
and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem,
and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the ends
of the earth. Acts
1:8
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What
We Believe |
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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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. For a
detailed contemporary
explanation, see
"What
Do Lutherans Believe?")
Adapted
from A Week in the Life of
The Lutheran Church--Missouri
Synod
copyright 1996,
Concordia Publishing House. |
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Trinity
Lutheran Church, 201 S Pleasant
Avenue, Centralia, IL 62801
(618)532-2614, is a member
congregation of the Lutheran
Church Missouri Synod with
offices in St. Louis, Missouri
and seminaries in St. Louis and
Ft. Wayne, Indiana.The
Synod also operates 10 colleges
and universities in the United
States. |