What Does Emmanuel Confess…
...About God?We confess one true and living God. He is the creator and upholder of all things, and is alone worthy of honor, glory, and worship. This one God exists in three Persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three fully and completely share in the divine essence, each being fully God and possessing all the powers, attributes, and prerogatives of the Godhead. Yet they are not three gods, but one God. Not three lords, but one Lord.
…About the Bible?We confess the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments to be the inspired and inerrant Word of God. Inspired means that the words of the Scriptures were written by men according to the revelation and guidance of the Holy Spirit. As such, they are truly God’s words, even as they were authored by men. Inerrant means that the Scriptures contain no errors, as God knows all things and does not lie. As such, all the words of the Bible, taken according to their proper meaning and context, are trustworthy and to be believed by all. These Scriptures contain everything which is necessary for the salvation of man, and are profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness. As such, the Scriptures alone are to be the source and measure of all Christian doctrine.
…About Mankind?We confess that God created man in His own image, possessing inherent innocence and knowledge of God. However, the devil tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden and led them into sin. Resulting from this sin, the nature of mankind has been corrupted, depriving the children of Adam and Eve of their original righteousness and knowledge of God. As such, all people are born sinful and unclean (original sin) and daily compound their wretched state with their own sins and unrighteous deeds (actual sin).
…About Jesus Christ? We confess Jesus Christ to be the Son of God and the only Savior of mankind. He is the only Son of the Father, begotten of Him from eternity past, and sharing in the fullness of the Divine Majesty. In the fulness of time, the Son came down from heaven and was incarnate of the virgin Mary by the working of the Holy Spirit. As such, we confess Christ to be fully divine and fully man, two natures inseparably united in one person. Christ was born to save mankind from their sins. He lived a perfect and sinless life according to God’s Law, and gave His life on the cross as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of all men. Three days after this death, He rose again bodily from the grave and appeared publicly to His disciples. He then ascended into heaven and sat down at the right hand of the Father. From thence He will come again to judge both the living and the dead. The Scriptures plainly teach that Christ alone is the way of salvation for all mankind. Only by faith in Him does one receive the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation which are won by His cross and resurrection.
...About Salvation and Good Works? We confess salvation to be the gift of God, given to us solely for the sake of Christ, His worthiness, and His holy sufferings and death. Salvation is not won by us on account of our works. Apart from faith in Him, all our works are unclean in the sight of God. Rather, by God’s grace we are called to faith in Christ through the Gospel. Believing in Him and in His promises, we receive the salvation accomplished for us by His cross, and have confidence that this salvation is assured and complete in Him. Yet, we also confess that goods works are a fruit of faith. God invites us to attend to the needs of our neighbors in this life, and our works serve to proclaim the goodness of Christ to them.
…About the Church? We confess the Church, properly, to be the whole congregation of believers in Christ. The Holy Spirit, through the proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies believers. He thereby brings them together in the body of Christ which is the Church. We confess that this church is:One—that is, united in the common confession of Christ as Lord,Holy—that is, made holy by the Word of God and by the cleansing sacrifice of Christ,Catholic—that is, confessing the doctrine of the Christian faith as it has been present always and everywhere, andApostolic—that is, being founded on the teachings of Christ as they have been revealed to us in the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments.
We confess this one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church will continue forever. Though it be assailed from without and within by the devil, the world, and by false Christians and hypocrites, Christ will preserve His Church on earth by His Word and Sacraments. On the Last Day He will raise the dead, believers and unbelievers, separate the false from the true, and give His Christians an everlasting kingdom in a new heaven and a new earth. …About Baptism? We confess Baptism to be a washing of renewal and rebirth by the Holy Spirit. As all mankind is born sinful and unclean, Christ made provision to rescue us from our sins and grant to us the promise of eternal life. In Baptism, the Word of God is united with the water according to Christ’s command. This Baptism marks us with the Name of Father, Son, and Spirit, cleanses of our sins, seals us with the Holy Spirit, and makes us to be inheritors of the resurrection with all believers in Christ. As all men are in need of saving, we believe that Baptism is not to be prohibited from children. But as Christ said, “let the little children come to me,” we believe that Christians ought to bring their children to the font to receive the promises of Christ, and then to continue what began in Baptism by a life of Christian discipleship and prayer.If you need to make arrangements to be baptized, or for your children to be baptized, please call the Church Office to make an appointment with the Pastor. …About the Lord’s Supper? We confess that the Lord’s Supper (also called the Sacrament of the Altar or Communion) is the very Body and Blood of Christ, mysteriously united to the bread and wine, as Christ Himself testifies in the Words of Institution: “Take, eat, this is My body…take, drink, this is the New Testament in My blood.” These words show us that in the Sacrament we receive the very Body and Blood of Jesus, whereby He bestows upon us His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. This Sacrament, we believe, is to be faithfully observed and administered as a proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection until He returns in glory. Therefore, Emmanuel offers the Lord’s Supper every Sunday and at various feasts and festivals throughout the year. We further confess that the Sacrament is to be received only by those who have been properly prepared. Saint Paul warns us that those who eat and drink without discerning the Body and Blood, or who partake without repentance and faith, do so to their spiritual harm. We desire that all receive the Sacrament to their benefit and in proper order, therefore we observe the biblical and historic practice of reserving Communion to those who: a) have been baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; b) are members in good standing of a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) congregation or a congregation of one of our partner church bodies, c) have been properly instructed in the doctrines of the Christian faith and examined by a pastor, and d) hold firm to the confession of the Lutheran faith as taught to them in the Small Catechism. We therefore ask that all those who come as guests would first present themselves to the Pastor for examination and Absolution. If you are not a member of a Lutheran congregation in fellowship with us, or if you believe differently about the Sacrament of the Altar, we ask you to respect our concerns and refrain from communing that day; but we invite you to come up to the altar with your arms crossed over your heart to receive a blessing from the Lord.For more information about the LCMS stance on Communion admittance, see here. If you are unsure if you belong to one of our global partner churches, see a list of them here.
We confess this one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church will continue forever. Though it be assailed from without and within by the devil, the world, and by false Christians and hypocrites, Christ will preserve His Church on earth by His Word and Sacraments. On the Last Day He will raise the dead, believers and unbelievers, separate the false from the true, and give His Christians an everlasting kingdom in a new heaven and a new earth. …About Baptism? We confess Baptism to be a washing of renewal and rebirth by the Holy Spirit. As all mankind is born sinful and unclean, Christ made provision to rescue us from our sins and grant to us the promise of eternal life. In Baptism, the Word of God is united with the water according to Christ’s command. This Baptism marks us with the Name of Father, Son, and Spirit, cleanses of our sins, seals us with the Holy Spirit, and makes us to be inheritors of the resurrection with all believers in Christ. As all men are in need of saving, we believe that Baptism is not to be prohibited from children. But as Christ said, “let the little children come to me,” we believe that Christians ought to bring their children to the font to receive the promises of Christ, and then to continue what began in Baptism by a life of Christian discipleship and prayer.If you need to make arrangements to be baptized, or for your children to be baptized, please call the Church Office to make an appointment with the Pastor. …About the Lord’s Supper? We confess that the Lord’s Supper (also called the Sacrament of the Altar or Communion) is the very Body and Blood of Christ, mysteriously united to the bread and wine, as Christ Himself testifies in the Words of Institution: “Take, eat, this is My body…take, drink, this is the New Testament in My blood.” These words show us that in the Sacrament we receive the very Body and Blood of Jesus, whereby He bestows upon us His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation. This Sacrament, we believe, is to be faithfully observed and administered as a proclamation of Christ’s death and resurrection until He returns in glory. Therefore, Emmanuel offers the Lord’s Supper every Sunday and at various feasts and festivals throughout the year. We further confess that the Sacrament is to be received only by those who have been properly prepared. Saint Paul warns us that those who eat and drink without discerning the Body and Blood, or who partake without repentance and faith, do so to their spiritual harm. We desire that all receive the Sacrament to their benefit and in proper order, therefore we observe the biblical and historic practice of reserving Communion to those who: a) have been baptized in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit; b) are members in good standing of a Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) congregation or a congregation of one of our partner church bodies, c) have been properly instructed in the doctrines of the Christian faith and examined by a pastor, and d) hold firm to the confession of the Lutheran faith as taught to them in the Small Catechism. We therefore ask that all those who come as guests would first present themselves to the Pastor for examination and Absolution. If you are not a member of a Lutheran congregation in fellowship with us, or if you believe differently about the Sacrament of the Altar, we ask you to respect our concerns and refrain from communing that day; but we invite you to come up to the altar with your arms crossed over your heart to receive a blessing from the Lord.For more information about the LCMS stance on Communion admittance, see here. If you are unsure if you belong to one of our global partner churches, see a list of them here.