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Welcome to Zion!
The
Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
In the Old Testament, Zion is the dwelling place of the LORD, the place where God meets with His people to render justice. Physically, Mount Zion was at Jerusalem, and there in Jerusalem God did indeed render justice once and for all in the sacrifice of His own dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Since the resurrection and ascension of our God and Savior Jesus, and since the Father and the Son have poured out His Holy Spirit upon all believers, Zion is no longer restricted to that little geographic spot in Palestine.
Now Zion is the Holy Christian and Apostolic Church of all ages and places, but Zion remains the spot where God meets with His people to render justice. That is, the Church is the place where God gives out the forgiveness of sins and eternal salvation purchased for us by the bloody death of Jesus.
Indeed, Zion remains the place where God dwells for the sake of the salvation of the world. In Zion, the Holy Christian Church, the Triune God still meets with those who need His mercy, and He abundantly and joyously pours His good and life-giving gifts out upon us in Word and Sacrament.
How fitting that our church should be called Zion. God preserve us to be always true to this name!
Rest for the Weary
Are you tired or worn out from trying to live the purpose-driven life?
Has the contemporary Church been pointing you to yourself and your own attempts to keep God's Law -- perhaps in the guise of "principles for spiritual growth" or "practical teaching" or even in appeals to a "victorious, Spirit-filled life" -- rather than to the life-giving power of Jesus Christ's saving work upon the cross?
Has the contemporary Church become all about what you do for God rather than what God has done for you in Jesus Christ?
Does personal loss, suffering, or failure in your life, combined with the always-happy, always-upbeat praise choruses at your church, sometimes make you wonder if you are really a Christian?
Do you, dear Christian, almost never hear the Gospel of forgiveness of sins preached for you?
If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, then please consider these important words of hope from the crucified and risen Lord Jesus Christ:
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“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-30)
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Rest for Those Worn Out or Broken
by the Contemporary Church
 Listen to a personal invitation from Pastor Roger James
to find hope and rest in Jesus Christ at Zion Lutheran Church.
(Picture: Higher Things "Dare to be Lutheran" Youth Conference in St. Louis) |
We believe, teach, and
confess...
As Lutherans, we believe, teach, and
confess the historic Christian faith, which the Holy Spirit delivered
to the Church in Holy Scripture. Because it is God’s Word, Scripture (the Bible) is entirely trustworthy and without error.
Thus, on the basis of Holy Scripture, we joyfully and boldly confess:
- God the Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit earnestly desires the salvation of all people
from death and hell, for all people are poor miserable sinners.
(John
3:16)
- The Lord Jesus Christ, who is true God with the Father
and the Holy Spirit and also true man, is the heart and center of
the Scripture and of our faith. (Luke
24:45-47)
- Salvation is through Christ alone. By His sacrificial death
upon the cross, Jesus Christ has earned forgiveness of sins for
the whole world. (John
14:6; Acts
4:12)
- Salvation is by grace alone. This salvation from death and hell,
which has been won for all people by Jesus’ death and resurrection
from the dead, is the gift of God and is in no way earned by any
actions or works or merit on the part of us sinners. (Ephesians
2:8-9)
- Salvation is by faith alone. This salvation, which gives eternal
life, is received only by those who believe and trust in Jesus’
sacrificial death for their sins. (Galatians
2:16; 3:10-14)
As Lutherans, we confess the
historic creeds of the Church: The Apostles’, The Nicene, and
The Athanasian Creed. These creeds are pure and faithful summaries
of the doctrine of Scripture.
We subscribe without reservation to
the Lutheran symbolical writings contained in The
Book of Concord of 1580, confessing them to be true and unadulterated
statements and expositions of the Word of God.
Our worship is reverent, shaped by the traditional and historic
forms handed on to us from the Church of generations past.
Those who are received as communicant members of this congregation
are first instructed in the teaching of Luther’s Small Catechism
and publicly confess that the catechism is faithful and true to
Holy Scripture.
Zion
Lutheran Church, 135 West Green Street, Marshall, Michigan 49068
Phone: (269) 781-8982, Fax: (269) 781-3711
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