REMINDER: No Service/Bible Study Wednesday, July 29th

REMINDER:
There will be no Mid-Week Service or Bible Study on Wednesday, July 29, 2026.
Our normal schedule will resume on Wednesday, August 5th.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Sunday Bible Studies

The Arc Encounter

Interested in Visiting the Ark Encounter?
Judy Bridges and Janet Hesse are taking a bus tour through Uniglobe Travel Oct 13-14th. Spots are still available for those who want to visit this popular tourist destination. For more information contact Judy at 860-276-1563, or call Uniglobe Travel at 800-825-7314. 

Bigger Than Imagination
Experience Bible history at the life-size Noah’s Ark! Meet Noah, his family, and the animals on the Ark. The family-friendly Ark Encounter theme park near Cincinnati also features a zoo, zip lines, and timber-frame restaurant.

Located at: 1 Ark Encounter Dr, Williamstown, KY 41097

What about … Being Lutheran

What About … Being Lutheran
While there are a variety of ways one could answer this question, one very important answer is simply this, “A Lutheran is a person who believes, teaches and confesses the truths of God’s Word as they are summarized and confessed in the Book of Concord.” The Book of Concord contains the Lutheran confessions of faith. 

Perhaps you have attended an ordination of a pastor and heard him promise that he will perform the duties of his office in accord with the Lutheran Confessions. When people are confirmed they are asked if they confess the doctrine of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, as they have learned to know it from the Small Catechism, to be faithful and true. 

These solemn promises indicate to us just how important the Lutheran Confessions are for our church. Let’s take a look at the various items contained in the Book of Concord and then we will talk about why the Lutheran Confessions are so important for being a Lutheran.

What are the Ecumenical Creeds? 
The three ecumenical creeds in the Book of Concord are the Apostles’ Creed and the Athanasian Creed. They are described as “ecumenical” [universal] because they are accepted by Christians worldwide as correct expressions of what God’s Word teaches. 

What is the Augsburg Confession and Apology of the Augsburg Confession? 
In the year 1530, the Lutherans were required to present their confession of faith before the emperor in Augsburg, Germany. Philip Melanchthon wrote the Augsburg Confession and it was read before the imperial court on June 30, 1530. One year later, the Lutherans presented their defense of the Augsburg Confes-sion, which is what “apology” here means. It too was written by Philip Melanchthon. The largest document in the Book of Concord, its longest chapter, is devoted to the most important truth of the Christian faith: the doctrine of justification by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. 

What are the Small and Large Catechisms? 
Martin Luther realized early on how desperately ignorant the laity and clergy of his day were when it came to even the most basic truths of the Christian faith. Around 1530, he produced two small handbooks to help pastors and the heads of families teach the faith. The Small Catechism and the Large Catechism are organized around six topics: the Ten Commandments, the Apostles’ Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, Holy Baptism, Confession, and the Sacrament of the Altar. So universally accepted were these magnificent doctrinal summaries by Luther, that they were included as part of the Book of Concord. 

What are the Smalcald Articles and the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope? 
In 1537, Martin Luther was asked to prepare a statement of Lutheran Belief for use at a church council, if it was called. Luther’s bold and vigorous confession of faith was later incorporated into the Book of Concord. It was presented to a group of Lutheran rulers meeting in the town of Smalcald. Philip Melanchthon was asked to expand on the subject of the Roman pope and did so in his treatise, which also was included in the Book of Concord. 

What is the Formula of Concord? 
After Luther’s death in 1546, significant controversies broke out in the Lutheran Church. After much debate and struggle, the Formula of Concord in 1577 put an end to these doctrinal controversies and the Lutheran Church was able to move ahead united in what it believed, taught and confessed. In 1580, all the confessional writings mentioned here were gathered into a single volume, the Book of Concord. Concord is a word that means, “harmony.” 

What is the connection between the Bible and the Confessions? 
We confess that, “The Word of God is and should remain the sole rule and norm of all doctrine” (FC SD, Rule and Norm, 9). What the Bible asserts, God asserts. What the Bible commands, God commands. The authority of the Scriptures is complete, certain and final. The Scriptures are accepted by the Lutheran Confessions urge us to believe the Scriptures for “they will not lie to you” (LC,V,76) and cannot be “false and deceitful” (FC SD,VII,96). The Bible is God’s “pure, infallible, and unalterable Word” (Preface to the BOC). 

The Lutheran Confessions are the “basis, rule, and norm indicating how all doctrines should be judged in conformity with the Word of God” (FC SD RN0. Because the Confessions are in the completed doctrinal agreement with the written Word of God, they serve as the standard in the Lutheran Church to determine what is faithful Biblical teaching, insofar as that teaching is addressed in the Confessions.

What is the main point of the Lutheran Confessions?
The Lutheran Reformation was not a “revolt,” but rather began as a sincere expression of concern with the false and misleading teachings, which , unfortunately, even to this very day, obscure the glory and merit of Jesus Christ. What motivated Lutheran was a zealous concern about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Here is how the Lutheran Confessions explain what the Gospel is all about: 

“Human beings have not kept the law of God but have transgressed it. Their corrupted human nature, thoughts, words, and deeds battle against the law. For this reason they are subject to God’s wrath, the death and all temporal afflictions, and to the punishment of the fires of hell. As a result, the Gospel, in its strict sense, teaches what people should believe, namely, that they received from God the forgiveness of sins; that is, that the Son of God, our Lord Christ, has taken upon Himself the curse of the law and borne it, atoned and paid for all our sins; that through Him alone we are restored to God’s grace, obtain the forgiveness of sins through faith and are delivered from death and all the punishments of our sins and are saved eternally. ...It is good news, joyous news, that God does not want to punish sin but to forgive it for Christ’s sake” (FC SD, V, 20). 

What is a “confessional” Lutheran? 
The word “confession” is used in a variety of ways, but when we speak of a “confessional” Lutheran we mean a Lutheran who declares to the world his faith and most deeply held belief and conviction, in harmony with the documents contained in the Book of Concord. You will catch the spirit of confessional Lutheranism in these, the last words written in the Book of Concord: 

“Therefore, it is our intent to give witness before God and all Christendom, among those who are alive today and those who will come after us, that the explanation here set forth regarding all the controversial articles of faith which we have addressed and explained—and no other explanation—is our teaching, faith, and confession. In it we shall appear before the judgment throne of Jesus Christ, by God’s grace, with fearless hearts and thus give account of our faith, and we will neither secretly nor publicly speak or write anything contrary to it. Instead, on the strength of God’s grace, we intend to abide by this confession” (FC SD, XII,40).

What is an “unconditional subscription” to the Confessions? 
Confessional Lutheran pastors are required to “subscribe” unconditionally to the Lutheran Confessions because they are a pure exposition of the Word of God. This is the way our pastors, and every layman who confesses his belief in the Small Catechism, is able with great joy and without reservation or qualification to say what it is that he believes to be the truth of God’s word. 

Dr. C.F.W Walther, the Missouri Synod’s first president, explained the meaning of an unconditional confessional subscription in words as clear and poignant today as they were then: 

“An unconditional subscription is the solemn declaration which the individual who wants to serve the church makes under oath that he accepts the doctrinal content of our Lutheran Confessions, because he recognizes the fact that they are in full agreement with Scripture and do not militate against Scripture in any point whether the point be a major or minor importance; and that he therefore heartily believes in this divine truth and is determined to preach this doctrine.” 

So what is it to be a Lutheran? 
Being a Lutheran is being a person who believes the truth of God’s Word, the Holy Bible, as they are correctly explained and taught in the Book of Concord. To do so is to confess the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Genuine Lutherans, confessional Lutherans, dare to insist that “All doctrines should conform to the standards [the Lutheran Confessions] set forth above. Whatever is contrary to them should be rejected and condemned as opposed to the unanimous declaration of our faith.” (FC EP. RN, 6). 

Such a statement may strike some as boastful. But it is not; rather, it is an expression of the Spirit-led confidence that moves us to speak of our faith before the world. 

To be a confessional Lutheran is to be one who honors the Word of God . That word makes it clear that it is God desire for His church to be in agreement about doctrine, and to be of one mind, living at peace with one another. (1 Cor.1:10; 2 Cor.13:11). It is for that reason that we so treasure the precious confession of Christian truth that we have in the Book of Concord. For confessional Lutherans, there is no other collection of documents, or statements or books that so clearly, accurately and comfortingly presents the teachings of God’s Word and reveals the Biblical Gospel as does our Book of Concord. 

Hand-in-hand wit our commitment to pure teaching and confession of the faith, is, and always must be, our equally strong commitment to reaching out boldly with the Gospel and speaking God’s truth to the world. This is what “confession” of the faith is all about, in the final analysis. Indeed, “It is written: ‘I believed; therefore I have spoken.’ With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak” (2 Cor. 4:13). This is what it means to be Lutheran. 

Dr. A. L. Barry
Past President (1992-2001)
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod

Bible Study: Sunday, July 19, 2026

Bible Study for Sunday, July 19, 2026
This Bible Study will focuses on a review of our previous study, John 14:28-31 (review), with excerpts from both Genesis 3 and Romans 5.

Our Bible Study is lead by Rev. Dr. Edward O. Grimenstein, Pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Bridgeville, PA. Zion Lutheran Church, Bridgeville, PA is Online at https://www.zlcb.org/

VIDEO: Sunday, July 26, 2026 - Complete Service

Bulletin for Wednesday, July 26, 2026
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Sunday Bible Studies
Archive of Bulletins

8:00 a.m. - Worship Service
9:15 a.m. - Adult/Teen Bible Study: The Gospel of John
9:15 a.m. - Summer Sunday School
This service will be LIVE STREAMED on our YouTube Channel

PLEASE NOTE: There will be no Mid-week service or Bible Study on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 - we will resume our normal Wednesday schedule on Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Audio: Announcements, Readings & Sermon for Sunday, July 26, 2026

AUDIO: Announcements, Readings and Sermon for Sunday, July 26, 2026

Rev. Dr. Edward Grimenstein

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Bulletin for Wednesday, July 26, 2026
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Sunday Bible Studies
Archive of Bulletins

8:00 a.m. - Worship Service
9:15 a.m. - Adult/Teen Bible Study: The Gospel of John
9:15 a.m. - Summer Sunday School
This service will be LIVE STREAMED on our YouTube Channel

PLEASE NOTE: There will be no Mid-week service or Bible Study on Wednesday, July 29, 2026 - we will resume our normal Wednesday schedule on Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Old Testament Reading -- Deuteronomy 7:6–9 
“You are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. It was not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set his love on you and chose you, for you were the fewest of all peoples, but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath that he swore to your fathers, that the Lord has brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt. Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.” 

Epistle Reading - Romans 8:28–39 
We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified. 

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, 

“For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

The Holy Gospel according to St. Matthew, the thirteenth chapter
[Jesus said:] “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. 

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was thrown into the sea and gathered fish of every kind. When it was full, men drew it ashore and sat down and sorted the good into containers but threw away the bad. So it will be at the close of the age. The angels will come out and separate the evil from the righteous and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 

“Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “Yes.” And he said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.” 

VIDEO: VBS 2026

Watch the 2026 Vacation Bible School video

Thanks to all the youth who attended, all the parents who believed in this valuable ministry and brought their children, and finally, to all the volunteers that made this possible.
Look for more photos and informaiton about VBS 2026 — coming soon.