Love

• Celebrating our relationship with God through worship.   (Psalm 95:1-7)

•  Growing in faith, compassion, and understanding through fellowship.  (Acts 2:42-47)

• Giving of our time, talents, and resources – all gifts from God.  (1 Peter 4:10)
   
• Serving the physical and spiritual needs of our congregation, our community, and beyond.  (Matthew 20:26-28)

Learn

• Teaching what it means to be a follower of Christ; learning to connect our “Sunday faith” with our everyday world. (Matthew 28:19-20)

• Enriching our relationship with God through prayer.  (Luke 11:1-4)

• Strengthening our body and soul through healing and wellness.  (John 10:10b)

Lead

• Identifying, developing, and supporting effective leaders whose ministry will successfully meet God’s expectations. (Romans 12:6-8)

• Sharing  the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus with the world.  (Mark 16:15)

We Believe:

• In one God who exists eternally in three persons - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – the Holy Trinity. (Ephesians 1)

• The Bible is the inspired Word of God.  The Old and New Testaments are the authoritative guide of our faith and life, through which the Triune God reveals Himself to us. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

    The Sacraments are physical reminders of God’s grace.

•  In the waters of Baptism we are reborn children of God and inheritors of eternal life.  (John 3:5-6)
• Through the presence of Christ in Holy Communion, we receive God’s forgiveness, renewal, and salvation.  (Matthew 26:26-28) 

•  We are simultaneously people of God and sinful.  Through repentance we humble ourselves before God and  sorrowfully ask His forgiveness for our sins.  (Luke 15:1-32)

• We move forward in our obedience to God’s calling for our congregation when we preserve our Lutheran heritage while we pioneer ways to serve and follow Christ.  (Mark 7:5-8; 12:28-34)
   
• We should love God with all our heart, soul, and mind.  (Matthew 22:37-38)

• God is the creator and owner of heaven and earth.  As stewards, we have a duty to share and use God’s gifts wisely.    (Psalm 65)

• We value treating people who hold opposing views with dignity, courageously resolving disagreements a way that honors God and protects the unity of our congregation.  Jesus Christ is the center of our lives and our church. (Ephesians 4:1-3)

• We are saved by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 2:8-10)

December 30, 2007