This Sunday! To the Young Folk Visiting Church for the First Time

We welcome you, in the name of Jesus the Christ. We are so excited that you have chosen to attend a church! We have been praying for you.

Charlie Kirk was an amazing young man, and his legacy will live on. But far more important than politics was Charlie’s Christian faith and trust in God’s mercy. You see, Charlie was a sinner. He inherited sin from his father, who inherited it from his father, all the way back to the very first couple ever created on earth. Not only did Charlie inherit these sins, but he also committed his own, every single day of his life. But Charlie knew that Jesus took the punishment for every one of his sins. Jesus came to earth to die for the sins of the whole world – yours, and mine, and Charlie’s.

So come to church, and you too will find forgiveness of your sins there, and the assurance that when you die you too will be ushered into heaven eternal with Charlie, with Jesus and with every person who believes in what Jesus has done for them.

Jesus is God, He took on human flesh, was born sinless, lived a sinless life and died the perfect sacrificial death. He had to do this to pay the price of the sins of the whole world. There is not a sin that Christ did not die for. Even the young man who cut Charlie’s life short would find forgiveness in Christ if he repents of his sin. So, there is hope for you and for me!

This Sunday, as you attend church for the first time, or first time in a long time, you might be confused about what to look for. There are churches in every suburb, some are enormous with thousands of attendees and with something akin to a music festival atmosphere. There are others with a couple of cars in the parking lot and not much to look at. There are others that wear their politics on their sleeve: BLM, LGBTQ, All are Welcome, etc. etc. These are easy to avoid, they lost sight of Christ long ago, and decided that politics was their savior instead. Politics is never one’s savior, regardless if it’s on the left or the right.

There are other churches which have women pastors, avoid these too – the Bible does not allow women to be pastors. We want to stick to what the Bible allows and disallows. Then there are two major cults, the Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints and the Jehovah’s Witnesses, they are recognized as cults because they do not believe that Jesus is God, they believe ancient heresies condemned 1700 years ago by the early church.

When we emigrated to the US 25 years ago we spent more than 10 years looking for a church where we knew that scripture was rightly taught. We had a strong grounding in the Bible, and had read it often, but most churches we encountered seemed to be more a self-help therapy session than a church service. We don’t need more psycho-babble, that has been part of the problem. We need to hear about Jesus and His promises clearly delivered and easily understood.

A good church will recite one of two major Creeds as part of the weekly church service, these are The Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed. These creeds address heresies which arose in the early church. They are the guide rails to prevent the church from becoming heretical. They are very important for that reason. A church that does not say the creeds can easily be deceived. Many modern churches do not say the creeds and for that reason should be avoided. The Creeds are recorded below for ease of reference.

A good church will have the congregation say the Lord’s Prayer. This is the prayer that Jesus taught us to pray, it is simple, yet it addresses the most important parts of a Christian’s life, it is also found below.

A good church makes Jesus the central focus of the service. It will not focus on saints, because much as we admire the saints, they cannot save us. Only faith in Jesus saves us, anything else just adds confusion and has the potential to lead people astray.

Naturally, since we are Lutheran converts, we want you to become Lutheran too. We have found that the Lutheran understanding of scriptures makes the most sense. Here’s a link to the Small Catechism, which is a handy and simple explanation of Christianity, it explains God’s Law and also the good news of the Gospel. Lutherans believe that scripture interprets scripture, then that the early church fathers confirm these interpretations of the scripture. They place a strong emphasis on baptism, believing that it is God’s way of washing us clean (as described throughout the New Testament), and a strong emphasis on the Lord’s Supper which is also given for the forgiveness of our sins.

This understanding doesn’t make Lutheran Christians any more special than other Christians. We are all sinners in need of the Savior, and we remain simultaneously sinful and sainted until the day we die, when our sinful self dies but our sainted self lives forever with Christ, as what happened to Charlie Kirk this week.

Finally, be at peace dear ones, Charlie is in heaven with Jesus, the King of all creation. He feels no pain, and for him the wait for Erika and his children will be fleeting, and he will be reunited with them once more, for all eternity.

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God, the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,

And in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died and was buried.
He descended into hell.
The third day he rose again from the dead.
He ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of God
the Father almighty.
From there he will come to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy Christian Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

The Nicene Creed

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only begotten Son of God,
begotten of his Father before all words,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day he rose again
according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And he will come again with glory to judge
both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together
is worshipped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.
And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church,
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name.
Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, As it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses, As we forgive them that trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory,
For ever and ever.
Amen.