Our Beliefs

We believe, teach, and confess the Christian faith.

Abiding Savior is a Lutheran congregation centered on Jesus Christ, grounded in the inspired Word of God, and gathered around the gifts Christ gives through His Word and Sacraments.

Abiding Savior is a member congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. We confess the historic Christian faith as taught in Holy Scripture and faithfully explained in the Lutheran Confessions.
Centered on Christ

The good news of Jesus is at the heart of everything.

We believe that God loves the world and has shown that love most clearly in His Son, Jesus Christ.

Through Christ’s death and bodily resurrection, sinners receive forgiveness, life, and salvation entirely by God’s grace through faith.

Our worship, teaching, preschool, ministries, fellowship, and care for one another flow from this Gospel promise.

The Triune God

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

We confess one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ

Crucified and risen for sinners

Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, crucified, buried, risen bodily, ascended into heaven, and coming again.

Salvation

By grace through faith

A person is justified entirely by God’s grace through faith, created by the Holy Spirit through the Word and Sacraments.

We Believe, Teach, and Confess

The faith confessed at Abiding Savior.

The following statements preserve the doctrinal confession published by Abiding Savior and summarize the first thirteen articles of the Augsburg Confession together with the congregation’s commitment to Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions.

01

One God in Three Persons

There is one God in three persons: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

02

Original Sin

Every person is conceived and born in sin—original sin—and deserves temporal death and everlasting damnation for both original sin and actual sin.

03

The Son of God

Jesus Christ is the incarnate Son of God, born of the virgin Mary, was truly crucified, died and was buried, and rose again in His body on the third day. He ascended into heaven and will come again on the last day to be our judge.

04

Justification

A person is saved—justified—entirely by God’s grace through faith, which is created by the Holy Spirit where and when He pleases.

05

The Holy Ministry

To obtain this faith, God instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry—the preaching office. Through the means of the Word and the Sacraments, the Holy Spirit creates saving faith.

06

Good Works

Believers must do good works, but they are not to trust in those works for their salvation.

07

The Holy Christian Church

There is one, holy, catholic—that is, Christian—Church, with Jesus Christ as her head.

08

Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper

The Sacraments of Holy Baptism, Absolution, and the Lord’s Supper are to be retained in the Church.

09

The Augsburg Confession

The Augsburg Confession, of which these teachings summarize the first thirteen articles, is a true and faithful exposition of Holy Scripture.

10

The Inspired Word of God

The books of the Old and New Testaments are the true, inspired, inerrant Word of God.

11

The Book of Concord

The rest of the Book of Concord is, like the Augsburg Confession, a true and faithful exposition of Holy Scripture. Our pastors and congregation subscribe unreservedly to it.

12

Christ at the Center

These teachings direct us to Jesus Christ, His saving work for sinners, and the gifts He continues to give through His Word and Sacraments.

Word & Sacrament

God creates and strengthens faith through His appointed means.

Lutheran teaching does not direct Christians inward to their own efforts or worthiness. It directs us to Christ and to the places where He has promised to give forgiveness, life, and salvation.

God’s Word

Holy Scripture

The Old and New Testaments are the inspired and inerrant Word of God and the source and standard of Christian faith and teaching.

Holy Baptism

Water joined to God’s Word

Holy Baptism is retained in the Church as one of the means through which God works according to His promise.

Absolution

Christ’s forgiveness spoken

Absolution is retained in the Church as the forgiveness of sins announced in the name and by the authority of Jesus Christ.

Lord’s Supper

Christ’s gift to His Church

The Lord’s Supper is retained in the Church as Christ instituted it and is central to the congregation’s life of worship.

Holy Ministry

Preaching and teaching

God instituted the Office of the Holy Ministry so that His Word may be preached and His Sacraments administered.

Christian Life

Good works flow from faith

Christians are called to love and serve their neighbors, while trusting only in Christ—not their works—for salvation.

Scripture & Confessions

Holy Scripture is the source and standard of our faith.

The Lutheran Confessions do not replace Scripture. They summarize and faithfully explain what the congregation believes Scripture teaches.

The Old and New Testaments The true, inspired, inerrant Word of God.
The Augsburg Confession A true and faithful exposition of Holy Scripture.
The Book of Concord The collection of Lutheran Confessions to which the congregation and its pastors subscribe unreservedly.
The Ecumenical Creeds The Apostles’, Nicene, and Athanasian Creeds confess the historic Christian faith.
Our Church Body

A member congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod.

Abiding Savior is a member congregation of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod and shares a common confession of faith with LCMS congregations.

Our Lutheran identity shapes our teaching, worship, pastoral care, Christian education, preschool ministry, and service to our neighbors.

A Simple Understanding of Our Doctrine

Read Luther’s Small Catechism.

For a clear and accessible introduction to the Christian faith and Lutheran doctrine, we invite you to read the Small Catechism. It presents the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Holy Baptism, Confession, the Lord’s Supper, and daily Christian prayer and vocation.

Belief & Practice

Our confession shapes our worship and life together.

At Abiding Savior, Divine Service centers on Christ serving His people through His Word and Sacraments.

Christian teaching, Bible study, preschool education, children’s ministry, youth ministry, fellowship, music, and outreach all flow from the faith we confess.

Divine Service Worship gathers the Church around Christ’s gifts in His Word and Sacraments.
Preaching Sermons proclaim God’s Law and Gospel, calling sinners to repentance and faith in Christ.
Christian Education The congregation teaches the faith to children, youth, adults, families, and preschool students.
Life Together Faith bears fruit in love, fellowship, mercy, service, and care for our neighbors.
Questions Are Welcome

Learn more about the Christian faith and Lutheran teaching.

We would be glad to talk with you about Scripture, Jesus Christ, worship, Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, the Lutheran Confessions, membership, or any questions you may have about what Abiding Savior believes.