Hello & welcome to Faith Lutheran Church!
The greatest question that always has been and continues to be in the human heart is: how can I have true peace? More precisely that question is: how do I have peace with God?
Because of the sin that we do—that is, we think, say or do, the bad and don’t think, say and do the good—we become enemies of the holy Triune God.
When we do the bad things we do and fail to do the good we should, our consciences accuse us and bother us. That’s why we don’t have peace of heart. Our conscience tells us we have gone against the holy God and because of that we deserve nothing but His eternal wrath and punishment.
All the religions of world try to answer that question: “How do I have peace with God?” And except for Christianity, they all answer it the same way: you have to do this or that to please God and make yourself worthy of Him and of heaven. Just think how uncertain that is: how do we ever know we have done enough?
Only Christianity answers the question this way: we have peace with God, we are reconciled with God, not by what we do but by what He has done for us.
We didn’t deserve it—we’re sinners—but in undeserved kindness, grace, God Himself saved us. He did it as He sent His Son, Jesus, into this world to become true man. Jesus, who is both true God and true Man, obeyed all of God’s law for us, that very law we daily break and sin against. And Jesus took all of our sins upon Himself and sacrificed Himself for us on the cross. There on the cross, loaded down with all of our sins, God the Father poured out all His wrath and punishment for our sins—not on us but on Jesus, in our place. Now God’s holy anger has been stilled. We are now reconciled to God. That’s what Easter Sunday, when Jesus rose from the dead, shows us.
The work for our salvation IS DONE! Jesus did it for us! He reconciled us to God; He brought us the forgiveness of sins. FAITH, that is, trust, confidence, in Jesus and His work receives Jesus and His work and makes it our own.
Now when God sees us, He does not regard our sin—no matter what it may be--but only the perfect holiness of Jesus. God declares us righteous. That’s why our hearts can have peace. In faith we now know that things are right between us and God; we now know that our sin is forgiven; we now know God as our dear loving heavenly Father who works all things for our spiritual good; we now know that heaven is open to us.
We have peace of heart because we know that we are saved BY GRACE…THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS.
Christianity is not about what we do but all about what God HAS DONE FOR US and that’s why we can have true peace in our heart.
“By returning and being at rest you will be saved. By being quiet and trusting you will be strong.” (Isaiah 30.15)
The world we live in so often seems uncertain, foreboding and even scary. We desperately need solid ground. God has supplied that for us! Through faith in Jesus, we have this comfort, joy, peace and security. In the Bible, He has given us His sure Word and promises, which always remain true.
"We invite you to come to Faith Lutheran Church. There you will find God's Word preached in its truth and purity. There you will find that comfort, joy, peace that only Jesus can give you in the forgiveness of sins. There you will find a whole new meaning to life. There you will find Jesus, your Savior, to confide in, confess to, live for, gain strength from, and be saved by. Faith Lutheran Church is for you."
PICTURED ABOVE: Pastor Grabenhofer in the pulpit at Faith Lutheran Church.