LLRC Statement of Faith

What We Believe

We believe in Jesus

We believe everything can be boiled down to one question: What are you going to do with Jesus?

It sounds simple enough, but Jesus was anything but simple. He hung out with the most religious and the most rebellious, and with ordinary men and women. He did amazing things – truly miraculous things – and was often treated like a celebrity, but he was rejected by all the LR edits-128powerful people of his day and was executed as a criminal.

Jesus claimed that he and God were one, that watching him was the same as watching God. Jesus spoke of God as his Father, and he taught his followers to do the same. Every story he told, every teaching, every miraculous healing and every kind gesture showed just how close Jesus and his Heavenly Father were. We believe he really was God’s choice for king, and as such, he could die on behalf of his people – to ransom them and save them, not from political oppression but from sin and death.

We believe Jesus is still king. We believe he is resurrected from the dead and has been put in control of everything – not to take over but to transform our world through the power of love. The Holy Spirit is given to those who are following Jesus so they can continue to tell others about what has happened, so they can share his love with the world and introduce them into a new, living relationship with God. We believe that life is found by following Jesus

We are Christians

We like to thiLR edits-141nk we are a part of mainstream Christianity. We may not be as old as Roman Catholicism or Eastern Orthodoxy, but we affirm the ancient, ecumenical creeds. Our worship isn’t as formal as the Lutherans, but spend a few weeks with us, and you’ll notice our worship has its own shape and traditions. 

We aren’t exactly like any other denomination, but we share a lot in common with many of them. In fact, our little congregation is made up of believers that grew up Roman Catholic and Lutheran and Baptist and evangelical and, yes, even Eastern Orthodox. And we like it that way.
 
The Trinity
We believe that there is one God, eternally existent in three Persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We believe in God the Father Almighty, whose love is the foundation of salvation and righteous judgment, and who calls us into covenant relationship with God and with one another. We believe in Jesus Christ, the Word, who is fully God and fully human. He came to show us God and perfect humanity, and, through his life, death, and resurrection, to reconcile us to God. He is now actively present with us as Savior, Teacher, Lord, Healer, and Friend. We believe in the Holy Spirit, who breathed God’s message into the prophets and apostles, opens our eyes to God’s truth in Jesus Christ, empowers us for holy living, and carries on in us the work of salvation.
 

We are Reformed

The Bible
We are reformed and reforming according to the Bible. We believe that the Bible is God’s inspired Word and our only foundation for faith and practice. We believe it is authoritative and powerful in all it intends to teach. We do not believe that the writers of the Bible were merely scribes taking dictation, but rather, they were inspired by the Holy Spirit to write laws, histories, poetry, proverbs, gospels, letters and prophecies in a way that reflects each writer’s personality and understanding of the world. We believe that a faithful church is always reforming according to God’s Word by the Holy Spirit which requires a humility and dependence on God.
 
LR edits-155
Sacraments
We believe the Bible teaches (and the early church’s practice confirms) that there are two sacraments Christ gave to the church: baptism and communion. We believe these two signs communicate and extend God’s grace. As signs, they point us towards something or, better, towards someone: Jesus. And like signs, they invite us to get up and get moving. In other words, they call for us to step towards Jesus in faith.
 
Baptism
We believe in the believer’s baptism. Baptism gives us a New Testament picture of how Jesus saves all who put their trust in him. We don’t believe the act itself, saves us; instead, it points to the work of Jesus – a work which we must accept by faith.
 
Communion
We believe that communion (also called the Lord’s Supper) points to the close relationship we have with our risen Lord. More than merely a time of remembrance, we believe that Christ is especially present to us at communion and that the Holy Spirit uses this occasion to draw us closer to Christ. We usually celebrate communion every other month or six times a year.
 

What questions do you still have about our beliefs?

    Your Name (required)

    Your Email (required)

    Here's my question...