Grace Lutheran Church is a community of Christians who worship the Triune God and desire to communicate the Gospel to all through the preaching of the Word of God, the administration of the Sacraments, the Christian education of young and old, the living out of our faith in Christ, and the practice of Christian fellowship. We desire to minister to God’s people in the church, our community, nation and world — and are committed to reach out with a ministry of care, concern and charity, following the example of our dear Lord Jesus.
We are affiliated with Iowa District West of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS).
We Believe, Teach and Confess God
We believe in God as revealed to us in Holy Scripture as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He is Triune, meaning three persons but one God. He creates, redeems and sanctifies us.
We believe that God the Father, in love, created the universe and all there is, from nothing. In love He sustains His creation and desires to restore His relationship with all people through His Son.
We believe that because of His love for us, God the Father sent His Son, Jesus Christ to earth. Being fully divine and fully human, He lived the perfect life of a servant, and in His death on the cross Jesus suffered the punishment we deserve for our sin. Through His death and bodily resurrection, Jesus won for us victory over death and the devil. Only through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ can we have forgiveness of sins, be made acceptable to God, and receive eternal life.
We believe that God the Holy Spirit works in the lives of people and brings them to faith in Jesus Christ. He works through the Word of God to accomplish this work. And dwelling in us, He empowers us to serve God and bear witness to others.
The Holy Bible
We believe that the Bible is the living Word of God, divinely inspired by God, without error, and therefore the only source of true teaching and the final standard for evaluating all doctrine. In the pages of the sixty-six books of the Old and New Testament God reveals His will for us and plan of salvation through Jesus Christ.
Sin
We believe that sin separates us from God. Sin is our rebellion against God and is what we do in thought, word, and deed, that is contrary to His will. We are conceived and born sinful and in need of daily forgiveness.
Grace
As sinners, we cannot earn eternal life for ourselves. But God in His love for us gives us His grace. He doesn’t give us what we deserve, instead He gives us the promise of eternal life, through the gift of His Son, Jesus.
Faith
We believe that the only way for us to have the gift of salvation is by putting our faith in Jesus Christ. This means we trust in Him as our savior from sin and Lord of our lives. Faith is knowing and confessing as true, what the Bible says about Jesus to be true.
A New Life
We engage in actions of love and mercy as a demonstration of God’s love within us. We do this, not to win God’s approval or salvation, but because we are thankful for the gift of eternal life, which we have already received as a free gift in Jesus Christ.
Holy Baptism
We believe that through The Sacrament of Holy Baptism, which is commanded by Jesus, God adopts us as His children. We affirm the practice of baptizing infants, as well as adults, because all human beings are born with a sinful nature.
The Lord’s Supper
We believe that in The Sacrament of Holy Communion God offers us His grace and His love. As He promised, Jesus is truly and really present in, with, and under the bread and wine of the Sacrament to give us forgiveness for our sins and strength for our faith.
Prayer
We believe that because Jesus Christ died for our sins, we have the privilege of praying directly to God. Prayer is our opportunity to thank and praise God, to seek His help in time of trouble and need, and to determine His way and will for our lives. Since prayer is a two-way communication in which we listen to God, as well as speak to Him, regular reading of the Bible is an integral part of daily prayer.
The Church
We believe that those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are the Church, the Body of Christ in the world. God empowers those in the Church with different gifts for the purpose of serving Him and others.
Jesus’ Return
We believe that Jesus Christ, as He promised, is coming back to earth at a time known only to God the Father. He is coming to judge the living and the dead and to fulfill His promise to give all believers eternal life.
Heaven
We believe that at the time of death the soul of the believer is at once received into the presence of Christ and that, at the Last Day, the believer will live with Christ, in body and soul, in eternal joy and glory.