We believe in one God, the Creator of everything that exists. But this God is not a distant, unknowable force. He has revealed Himself to us personally and clearly through the Bible, and what He shows us is remarkable: the one true God exists as three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We call this the Holy Trinity. It is a mystery that goes beyond what our minds can fully grasp, but it is woven throughout Scripture and has been confessed by Christians for two thousand years.

We confess this understanding of God in full agreement with the three Ecumenical Creeds (the Apostles', Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds) and the Lutheran Confessions as found in the Book of Concord (1580). Scripture alone is the norm and judge of all doctrine, and it is from Scripture that we draw everything we believe, teach, and confess about the nature and character of God.

Fully God and fully human. (John 1:1, John 1:14, John 8:58, Hebrews 4:15)

Jesus was always the plan. After the fall of humanity in the Garden of Eden God makes a promise that an offspring of mankind will crush the devil (Genesis 3:15) who brought about the fall. That offspring is Jesus.

There are few better ways to understand God’s deep love for His people then how St. Paul explains it in Romans 5:8, “...but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Humans are the pinnacle of God’s creation (Genesis 1:26-28, Psalm 8:3-8). But, humanity lives in a fallen state. Adam and Eve brought sin into the world (Genesis 3) through their actions and that still infects all humanity to this day (Romans 3:10-20).

However, through Jesus we find the hope of salvation (Romans 3:21-26). Humanity is redeemed through Jesus and finds a new identity in Him. That new identity covers over the fallen nature and ushers in a new reality.

Brought into the family through baptism, God invites His people to join Him on the mission of connecting disconnected people to the Good News of Jesus (Isaiah 49:6, Luke 10:2, Acts 1:8, 2 Corinthians 5:18-20).

Salvation is the work of God alone. It is a beautiful mystery how it happens but we are given assurance that it does. Salvation is not a decision we make or based upon our good works, but instead is it is a gift of God given to us through Jesus (John 1:12-13, John 6:44). This is done not through our own reason but through the working of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:3, Ephesians 2:8-9).

Baptism is God’s gift to His people for the assurance of salvation. You will often here us say, “Remember your baptism!” as a call back to the work Jesus did for us through water and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 3:11, 1 Peter 3:21-22).

We believe that faith is not something we produce, decide, or work up from within ourselves. It is a gift. The Holy Spirit creates faith in our hearts through the Word of God and the Sacraments, opening our eyes to see Jesus clearly and trust Him completely. This means that when it comes to salvation, God does all the work. We bring nothing to the table except the sin and brokenness He came to heal. The Small Catechism explains it well: “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; just as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.”

John 3:5-8, Acts 16:14, Romans 9:16, 1 Corinthians 12:3,

There is a saying that captures the Lutheran vision of the Christian life beautifully: God does not need our good works, but our neighbor does. Our good works are never the grounds of our standing before God, they are the fruit of it, flowing outward from what Jesus has already done for us (Ephesians 2:8-10).

We view this through the idea of the Two Kinds of Righteousness. The first is our righteousness before God, and it is entirely passive. We do not achieve it or contribute to it in any way. It is Christ's perfect righteousness credited to us freely by grace, what Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 5:21 as becoming "the righteousness of God" in Christ.

The second kind of righteousness is active and flows freely from the first. Because we are forgiven and secure in our identity as God's children, we are liberated to pour ourselves out in love and service to the people around us. We no longer serve others to earn anything. We serve because we have been served, and we love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).

The passive righteousness we have received before God propels us outward into active righteousness in the world, and that outward movement is the love of Christ taking shape in us for the sake of our neighbors.

What is Baptism?

Baptism is not only plain water, but it is the water set in God’s command and joined to God’s Word. Which is that word of God? Christ, our Lord, says in the last chapter of Matthew: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” [Matthew 28:19]

What is the gift or benefit of Baptism?

It brings about forgiveness of sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare. Which are these words and promises of God? Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Mark: “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.” [Mark 16:16]

From Luther’s Small Catechism: The Sacrament of Holy Baptism

What is Communion?

It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.

Where is this written?

The holy Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul, write: “Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: ‘Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.’ “In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them saying, ‘Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.’ ” [Matthew 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24; Luke 22:19–20; 1 Corinthians 11:-23–25]

What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?

These words, “Given, and shed for you, for the forgiveness of sins,” show us that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

From Luther’s Small Catechism: The Sacrament of the Altar

Narrative is a Lutheran Church. Specifically we are part of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.

We share an unrelenting passion for God’s Word and the centrality of Jesus revealed in Scripture.

The word “Lutheran” does not mean we think Martin Luther was some sort of higher man. Quite the contrary, he was a normal man who struggled with understanding God. Through this struggle of asking “Who is God?” and “What do I think of Him?” he was led to a moment which he describes:

“At last meditating day and night, by the mercy of God, I began to understand that the righteousness of God is that through which the righteous live by a gift of God, namely by faith. Here I felt as if I were entirely born again and had entered paradise itself through the gates that had been flung open.”

- Preface to the Complete Edition of Luther's Latin Works (1545) by Dr. Martin Luther, 1483-1546

This struggle led to a reformation of the church, focusing on God’s gift of Jesus as the central tenet. It was not a new church but instead a return to an ancient reality: Jesus came to seek and save the lost. His Church is still doing what it has always done: proclaim God’s Word in spoken, written and sacramental form. Learn the basics of the faith through a primer written by Martin Luther called The Small Catechism or take a deep dive into our confessions through The Book of Concord.