What We Believe

Shepherd of the Springs Lutheran Church (SSLC) is a confessional congregation!

To be confessional means simply this: that we hold to the doctrinal tenets expressed in the historical creeds and confessions of the Christian faith as set down in the Book of Concord, 1580; and we also adhere to The Unaltered Augsburg Confession.

Sadly, many modern churches have ceased to be confessional. They’ve opted instead to curry favor with ill-named “progressive” thinkers, making an even more feeble bid for relevance in a world of growing unbelief.

We understand that God’s Word is eternal and eternally unchanging. That Word, revealed to us in the Holy Bible, is the sole foundation of our faith. And it informs three of the world’s most enduring creeds.

At SSLC, we raise our voices every Sunday with generations of Christian voices before us in reciting the Nicene Creed, first drafted in 325 A.D.:

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.

From time to time in our liturgical worship we also recite the other two universal Christian creeds: the Apostles’ Creed and the Athanasian Creed. They and the Nicene Creed remain among the clearest, most doctrinally accurate statements of the Bible’s central message and what we believe. Both the Apostles’ Creed (the chief creed of the Small Catechism) and the Nicene Creed focus on the person and work of Jesus Christ. The Athanasian Creed focuses on The Holy Trinity.

As Lutherans, we also hold that the various documents contained in the Book of Concord present a true exposition of God’s Word. This book – so crucial a part of the Reformation – was first published in 1580 and contains, among other works, Martin Luther’s small and large catechisms, the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, and the Formula of Concord. All have profoundly influenced Christian, and especially Lutheran, teaching down through the ages. They still guide us and the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod today.

Beyond this, we find great wisdom and inspiration in the volumes of sermons and other writings that have come down to us from Martin Luther himself. And we’re continually enriched by the works of many great Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod theologians, chief among them the synod’s founder, Rev. Dr. C.F.W. Walther.

If you’re truly interested in what we believe, we encourage you to join us in our worship services, Bible studies, and other church activities. Review the pages of this website, too. And if you have questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Shepherd of the Springs Lutheran Church.