About Bethel Lutheran Church
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Many of you who are visiting this page already know Jesus, and are familiar with the precepts of Christianity. If, however, the language of formal "doctrinal creeds" seems a bit strange or foreign to you, please be reassured - your uncertainty, doubt and skepticism are openly received here at Bethel Lutheran Church in New Orleans, Louisiana. As an expression of that welcome, we have outlined below some of the core concepts of our faith, in order to provide you with some simple reference points as you visit among us. We hope these will be 'conversation starters' and that you will halp us move the Christian conversation forwards.
At Bethel Lutheran Church, we believe that God's justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God's Word, the Spirit's power, and fervent prayer in Christ's name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ's commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.
About The Sacraments: We believe in partaking of the sacrament of Baptism in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit following a person's profession of faith in Christ. We believe in Communion, the receiving of the Lord's Supper (bread and grape juice representing the Body and Blood of Christ) as a remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice on the Cross.
About Tenacity: Never give up - A river cuts through rock, not because of its power but because of its perseverance. 'Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus... who for the joy set before him endured the cross... so you will not grow weary and lose heart' - Hebrews 12:1-3