We are a Christian community built on the grace of God that says, “God so loved the Word that He gave His one and only Son that whosoever believes on Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” The Ascension Lutheran Church (ALC) is a Gospel centered, Bible believing congregation whose Lutheran roots began in the early 1500’s when a monk, Martin Lutheran nailed the 95 Theses on the Wittenberg  church doors. You might think of a Facebook posting that is looking to stir up some serious discussion.

For Luther, the question about church doctrine, how does it come about and more importantly, from what authority does it derive was (and still remains for Christians) the big question! His Bible expertise guided by the Holy Spirit led him back to the discovery of the Good News (Gospel) that God justifies the sinner on account of Jesus suffering, dying and rising from the dead. That God justifies (forgives) the sinner and doesn’t count their sins against them is the foundation upon which the Church is built and remains standing.

That doctrine that we in the church call ‘justification’ comes from the clear words of the Bible that say, “for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by His grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by His blood , to be received by faith.” Romans 3: 23-25  So from this and many other writings that the prophets and apostles taught, we have come to learn that the Bible or Scripture alone determines what God says about our relationship to Him! The central theme of the Bible is God’s love for mankind and the promises He has made for our salvation through the revelation of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

So in a nutshell, a Lutheran Christian is one who believes God’s Word is inerrant, infallible and profitable for our salvation (saved from our sin), and “for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness that the man of God (women, too) may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 1 Timothy 3: 17-6-17  On this we teach, train and organize our worship, learning, care and service to our community!

For more about the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (our church body), go to www.lcms.org/about