Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church

Beliefs of Shepherd of the Hills

To put it simply, we believe that we are all screw-ups, we all fall short, and we are all sinners. No matter what good deeds we may do or how much we believe in God, we will always fall short and nothing that we do can earn God’s love. However, God is the perfect parent and loves us unconditionally. It is due to this love that we are redeemed and that we are all made saints in the eyes of God. When God looks at us, he does not see our wickedness, but rather sees the Cross and His Son’s sacrifice.

                Accordingly, we are thankful for this grace given to us by God. We aim to live our lives in thanksgiving for this gift of life and love from our Maker and Savior. We repent and confess our many sins. We give of ourselves to our neighbors throughout the world. We worship our God through our actions and words every day. All this we do because of our knowledge that we are loved and cared for by God.

                This knowledge that we are perpetually unworthy and yet are redeemed also fills our sacraments. We believe in two Sacraments, Baptism and Holy Communion. 

We baptize infants, because the Holy Spirit works through the waters and into our lives not because of a choice that we made or because of knowledge we may have, but because God desires it and gives us this grace through no merit of our own. We believe in one Baptism, and because we die to our sinful lives and are reborn with Christ every day through that one Baptism, we are sustained our whole lives.   We celebrate Communion every week, because we are called to do so whenever we gather together, to celebrate Christ’s death and resurrection, and because God is truly present within the meal. We understand that Christ was given FOR US and shed his blood FOR US and for ALL people. IN this meal, Christ continues to freely give of himself to us and we find ourselves holding him in our very hands and being filled with him. 

In the end, we are Sinners made Saints by our loving God. We do not earn it, we do not deserve it, and we do not choose it. It is given to us freely, and all we can do is celebrate and live accordingly in response.

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