Holy Cross Lutheran Church

+ 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.

+ Baptism

Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God’s command and combined with God’s Word. What’s so special about a handful of simple water? Nothing, until God connects His Word to it! In Baptism, that is exactly what God is doing. He combines His life-creating and life-giving Word with the waters of Holy Baptism, and thereby we are born again of water and the Spirit (John 3:5).

+ The Gospel

We cannot really understand how good the message of the Gospel is until we understand how bad our situation is without it. We are poor miserable sinners. We sin daily and deserve nothing but God’s wrath and punishment. Without Jesus Christ, our situation would be totally hopeless. The Scriptures describe human beings as dead in trespasses and sin. Without the mercy and cleansing of God through the blood of Jesus Christ, there awaits for us only everlasting punishment in hell. Thus,we need the Gospel— desperately!

+ The Bible

Someone may say, “The Bible is important to me because it tells me what to do” and another person might say, “The old stories remind me of my childhood” or “The Bible is a guidebook for daily living.” These answers all have a grain of truth, but they miss the real reason why the Bible is so important: It is the sure and certain source for knowing who Jesus Christ is and what He has done for us. Jesus said, “The Scriptures testify about me”(John 5:39). The main message of the Bible is the good news of God’s work to reconcile the world to Himself through the life,death and resurrection of Jesus.

+ Pastors

The pastoral office is a gift that God has given to the church, as Paul says, “When he ascended on high he gave gifts to men” (Eph.4:8,11-12). Paul enumerates pastors and teachers among the gifts belonging to the church, and he adds that they are given for the work of ministry and for building up the body of Christ. Therefore,the right of electing and ordaining ministers is a duty and responsibility of the church. Through a congregation’s call, God places a man to be the shepherd of that congregation.

+ Communion

The Lutheran church believes, teaches and confesses that the Lord’s Supper is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine,given to us Christians to eat and to drink. We hold that the bread and the wine in the Supper are the true body and blood of Christ and that these are given and received into the mouths of all who commune. Those who believe the promise: “Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” receive forgiveness of sins, life and salvation. This promise, along with the bodily eating and drinking, is the main thing in the Sacrament.