What We Believe
We believe Jesus is the Son of God promised through Old Testament prophets and presented as the Savior in the New Testament of the Bible. He is both perfect man and God and his atoning sacrifice for our sin is the only means by which we can receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God. Therefore death is no longer something to be feared.
God is love. Infinite, eternal, almighty, and perfect, the three persons are bound together in the mysterious unity called the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father is not the Son and the Son is not the Holy Spirit, yet each is truly God. There is one God, in three persons.
We believe the 39 books of the Old Testament and the 27 New Testament books are the inspired Word of God through which He continues to speak to humankind. His Word is the foundation of our teaching, the direction for our lives and lays out the hope of salvation for all humankind through Jesus’ life, death and resurrection.
We believe God made man – male and female – in His own image, and without sin. He also gave them free will and the ability to deny Him. Tempted by Satan to do just that, humankind fell into a broken relationship with God. Being estranged from our Maker, yet responsible to Him, we became subject to divine wrath, inwardly depraved and, apart from a special work of grace, utterly incapable of returning to God. The good news is that God continued to love us in spite of all this. The person and work of Jesus Christ is His answer to the sinfulness of humankind and makes possible our forgiveness and new life with Him.
We believe that the Church is the body of believers, flesh and blood, not the brick and steel of any building, worship center or organization. As the church gathers for worship and community, the role of the church is then to equip, mentor and hold each other accountable to following Jesus. It is the body of Christ made up of many diverse parts and never perfect, but gathered to worship the one who is. Everyone has a gift and everyone has a calling, as God sees fit.
“Sacrament” is not a Biblical word but it is used to describe Biblical things that God commanded us to do. Baptism and the Lord’s Supper are connected to Jesus. They point us to Jesus’ sacrifice, death and resurrection. They remind us of our sin and bathe us in the hope of new life through Him. Jesus commands us to Baptize in His name and to celebrate the Lord’s Supper in remembrance of Him. At Calvary we baptize children, even infants, because we believe Baptism is God’s work in a person’s life. God does not rely upon us to have a certain knowledge or statement of belief. He is able to work in our lives even at our youngest. Likewise, communion, or Lord’s Supper is a valuable tool for uniting God’s people at his table, and bringing God’s good gifts of forgiveness and strengthening of faith. We believe this communion is truly Jesus’ presence among us, and that those who believe likewise are welcomed to the table. We ask that children and their parents meet with Pastor to discuss communion, its meaning and purpose, before receiving communion. Children of all ages are always welcome at the rail to receive a blessing.
We are affiliated with the Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS). This means we partner with our local Southeastern District in terms of mission and vision, and we hold beliefs in common with churches across the nationwide Missouri Synod.