Messiah and Redeemer
are congregations of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
What We Believe
Jesus Christ and His Gospel—revealed to us in His Word, the Bible—unites us as Christians and is at the center of everything we are and do. (1 John 1:3-7) We as “Lutheran" Christians accept and affirm the foundational teachings of Martin Luther and the Lutheran reformers (recorded in the Book of Concord, 1530) as a true and faithful exposition of what the Bible teaches. It is our hope that the following summary will help you better understand what our congregations stand for:
- We believe and teach that the only true God has revealed Himself in Scripture as one God in three persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. (ie. The Holy Trinity, or Triune God). (Matthew 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13-14)
- We believe and teach that Jesus Christ became a human being who lived and died and rose again as the Scriptures affirm (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, 1 Corinthians 15). Jesus is our one and only Savior from sin, death and the power of the devil. Jesus Christ has saved us through His self-sacrifice upon the cross of Calvary, and His victorious resurrection from the dead. (John 3:16; Ephesians 2:12-10; 1 Corinthians 15)
- We believe and teach that we are in need of the salvation Christ has won for us because humankind has fallen away from God and into sin. We are sinners, born in sin, and unable to save ourselves. (Romans 3:22f; 1 John 1:8,9)
- We believe and teach that we are saved from our sin only by God's undeserved forgiveness which Christ Jesus won for us on the cross. Our salvation is purely the result of God’s abundant mercy and grace, which are ours freely through faith in Christ Jesus, not by any good things we have done or any decision we have made. (Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:5)
- We believe and teach that we receive the grace and salvation of God for our own by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the Means of Grace, which are the Word of God and the Sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. (John 20:23, 31; Acts 2:38; Matthew 26:26-28)
- We believe and teach that the Bible is God’s Word: God’s only inerrant and inspired revelation of Himself to the world, and therefore the only sure and certain way of knowing God, our salvation in Christ, and how to lead a God-pleasing life. (2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:15-17)
- We believe and teach that through Baptism God creates faith in the heart of the individual and forgives their sins, regardless of their age or ability to understand, because He promises to do so in His Word. (Acts 2:38-39; Titus 3:5; 1 Peter 3:21)
- We believe and teach that in the Lord’s Supper (Holy Communion) we receive exactly what Jesus says in the Words of Institution: His true Body and Blood, together with the bread and wine, for the forgiveness of our sins and the strengthening of our faith in Him. (1 Corinthians 10:16, 11:23-32)
for a more complete understanding of what we believe, See...
Staff...
Pastor Kevin Moore serves at Messiah and Redeemer Lutheran Churches. He is a 1990 graduate of Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Mo. He has served congregations in Nebraska, South Dakota, and Washington State. Pastor Moore loves the Word of God and encouraging all ages in their walk with the Lord. He enjoys walking, fishing, reading and music.
Messiah and Redeemer Lutheran Churches, Redfield and Doland, South Dakota