What Zion Lutheran Believes
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church, founded in 1837, is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod (LCMS). We believe, teach, and confess the doctrine of the evangelical faith as it is taught by the Holy Scriptures and faithfully confessed in the Book of Concord of 1580, which includes Luther's Small Catechism. Every worship services at Zion is centered around the Lutheran Service Book.
Therefore we believe in the Triune God: God the Father, creator of all that exists; Jesus Christ His only Son, who for us men and for our salvation, became man to suffer and die for the sins of all people and to rise to life again in the ultimate victory over sin, death, and Satan, salvation is through Christ alone; and the Holy Spirit, who creates faith through hearing God's Word and rightly receiving His Holy Sacraments. The three persons of the Trinity are coequal and coeternal, three persons, one God.
Consequently, we are committed to the pure preaching of God’s Word and the right administration of the Holy Sacraments, catechesis of all people in the Christian faith, and liturgical worship consistent with our Lutheran heritage. We are an evangelical and orthodox Lutheran congregation, proclaiming Jesus Christ crucified, risen, and reigning for the salvation of the entire world.
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We believe that God wonderfully and immutably creates each person as male or female. These two distinct, complementary genders together reflect the image and nature of God (Gen. 1:26-27). Rejection of one’s biological sex is a rejection of the image of God within that person. We believe that the term marriage has only one meaning: the uniting of one man and one woman in a single, exclusive union, as delineated in Scripture (Gen. 2:18-25). We believe that God intends sexual intimacy to occur only between a man and a woman who are married to each other (1 Cor. 6:18; 7:2-5; Heb. 13:4). We believe that God has commanded that no intimate sexual activity be engaged in outside of a marriage between a man and a woman. We believe that any form of sexual immorality (including adultery, fornication, homosexual behavior, bisexual conduct, bestiality, incest, and use of pornography) is sinful and offensive to God (Matt. 15:18-20; 1 Cor. 6:9-10).
We believe that in order to preserve the function and integrity of Zion Lutheran Church and Zion Concord Lutheran School as the local Body of Christ, and to provide a biblical role model to the Zion Lutheran Church and Zion Concord Lutheran School members and the community, it is imperative that all persons employed by Zion Lutheran Church and Zion Concord Lutheran School in any capacity, or who serve as volunteers, agree to and abide by this Statement on Marriage, Gender, and Sexuality (Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:14-16; 1 Thess. 5:22). We believe that God offers redemption and restoration to all who confess and forsake their sin, seeking His mercy and forgiveness through Jesus Christ (Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 10:9-10; 1 Cor. 6:9-11). We believe that every person must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity (Mark 12:28-31; Luke 6:31). Hateful and harassing behavior or attitudes directed toward any individual are to be repudiated and are not in accord with Scripture nor the doctrines of Zion Lutheran Church and Zion Concord Lutheran School.
We believe that all human life is sacred and created by God in His image. Human life is of inestimable worth in all its dimensions, including pre-born babies, the aged, the physically or mentally challenged, and every other stage or condition from conception through natural death. We are therefore called to defend, protect, and value all human life (Ps. 139)
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For more information on what we believe you can contact us or if you'd like to know when worship is held at Zion, you can visit our services page.