Why Worship With Us

Here is a good place to learn more about First English Evangelical Lutheran Church. There are many things we want you to know about us, but here are three very important things we want you to know about us first: we are Biblical, Liturgical, and Reformational.

 

• First English is a Biblical Church - We believe the Bible is the Word of God. We believe that the reading and preaching of the Bible is a means of grace: something God uses to bring the Living Christ to us and to build us up in our faith. Because of this, the Bible is the basis for everything we do, from our Sunday School classes to the Biblical preaching in our worship services to our small group ministries, we confess that the Bible is the norm and source of faith and life.
  
  
  
• First English is a Liturgical Church - Our worship service follows the classic outline or order of worship shared by liturgical churches the world over. This outline and form of worship spans all denominational lines, because it is rooted in the worship of the Ancient Church, whose worship in turn was rooted in Scripture and in the Temple and Synagogue traditions of ancient Jewish worship. So our worship connects us in a powerful way with believers down through the ages and believers all over the world. Our worship truly reflects a belief in the communion of saints. It’s not “all about me” and it’s not just about the here and now. We strive for worship that is timeless, worship that reflects the beauty and majesty of our God, worship that is saturated with the language and world view of scripture, and worship that is characterized by reverence.
  
  
  
• First English is a Reformational Church - We are a member congregation of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). As such, we subscribe to the Augsburg Confession as found in the Book of Concord and the Small and Large Catechisms written by Martin Luther. In addition, First English makes regular use in worship of the three great Ecumenical Creeds: the Nicene Creed, the Apostles’ Creed, and the Athanasian Creed. At First English, we believe and proclaim the great truths emphasized in the Reformation: Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone is our norm and source of faith and life), Sola Gratia and Sola Fide (we are saved by God’s grace alone, through faith alone, and not by works), Solus Christus (Christ alone is the Way, the Truth, and the Life), and Soli Deo Gloria (everything is to be done to the glory of God).

Come and join us to worship the True and Living God! Worship is at 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays and 8:00 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. Sundays. Sunday School is every Sunday at 9:15 a.m. We celebrate the Sacrament of the Holy Communion at every worship service. So come and share in all the means of grace: the Word, the Sacraments, and Prayer, this weekend at First English Evangelical Lutheran Church!