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We are a confessional Lutheran Church. This means that we believe,
teach and confess that the Bible is the true, inerrant word of God. We unconditionally accept the Apostolic, Nicene and
Athanasian Creeds, the unaltered Lutheran Confessions of faith as found in the Book of Concord and the proper administration
of the Sacraments.
Martin Luther (1483-1546), a German Augustinian monk, sparked a reforming fire
to restore the Church back to the Apostolic Church as found in the New Testament Book of Acts. Our church is evangelical and
reaches out to the community sharing the Gospel of Jesus Christ in word and action. It is a Church grounded in scripture,
God's grace and faith. It is never a matter of what we must do to earn our salvation, rather it is what God lovingly does
for us through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.
What is a Divine Service?
Our Divine
Worship Services on Sunday, as well as our Matins and Vespers Services, offer an opportunity to believers to receive Gods
gifts of salvation and faith. It is through regular worship that we find refreshment from the rigors of daily living and faith
building spiritual renewal. We believe worship is a time when God expresses His love and care for us, His highest creation.
Our worship focus is upon Word and Sacrament, that is, we believe that the Bible
is the true, inerrant word of God. It is through the visible means of grace, the sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion,
that we receive Gods unconditional gift of salvation and forgiveness. In baptism we are washed of our sin. In the Divine Service
we hear and receive God's forgiveness upon our confession of sins and sincere repentence. We are
strengthened in our faith through the reception of the true body and blood of Christ present in the Sacrament of Holy
Communion.
How do Lutherans worship at Gethsemane?
We, at Gethsemane, follow a formalized worship. This is called
liturgical worship. At first it may be unfamiliar; however, as one becomes acquainted with Lutheran worship, one can experience
the excitement of participation in meaningful worship. Our liturgy is an ancient tradition that dates back to the earliest
of Christian worship and is biblically based. All of the responses in worship services are taken directly from scripture and
guides our attention to the reality of our need for redemption from sin and God's free gift of salvation through his Son,
Jesus Christ.
It is very much like a two-way conversation involving the Pastor, the worshipers
and God speaking to us through the liturgy, the hearing of the Holy Scriptures, the sermon and through our partaking of the
sacrament of Holy Communion. The Pastor speaks to us on behalf of God in the liturgy and brings us His word in the sermon.
Holy Communion brings to us Jesus Christ who is truly present in body and blood in with and under the elements of bread and
wine. We, in return, respond back thankfully through our prayers, through our singing of hymns and liturgy as
well as giving our tithes and offerings,. Lutheran worship is, in every sense, an active dialogue with God.
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