Beliefs
Crown of Life is a Christian Church and a Lutheran Church. We hold
the three Great Creeds of the Christian faith — Apostles, Nicene, Athanasian — and the Lutheran Confessions (Book of Concord) to be faithful expressions of God’s truth revealed to us in the Bible.
Crown of Life is a member of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran
Synod (WELS). We choose this affiliation because by joining together with other churches of the same mind, spirit and doctrine, we can accomplish together what would be difficult or impossible alone. Together the WELS sends missionaries around the world, supports the establishment of new congregations in the United States and Canada, operates worker training schools to provide for the next generation of pastors and teachers and carries out works of Christian love across the globe.
You can visit the WELS website by clicking this link.
What We Believe:
What follows is a summary. For a full statement of beliefs click this link.
About God: God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He is eternal which means God has been from forever and will exist until forever. In the Bible God describes himself as the Triune God, God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and yet one God. He the God of perfect justice and perfect love. Gen. 1:1,26,27, 3:22; Dt. 6:4, Psalm 90:2; Matthew 28:19; 1 Peter 1:2; 2 Corinthians 13:14
About Jesus Christ: Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus lived a sinless human life and offered himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead on the third day . He ascended to heaven’s glory and will return again at the end of time as judge and to take his people with him to heaven. Matthew 1:22, 23; Isaiah 9:6; John 1:1-5; 14:10-30; Hebrews 4:14,15; 1 Corinthians 15:3,4; Romans 1:3,4; Acts 1:9-11; 1 Timothy 6:14,15; Titus 2:13
About the Holy Spirit: The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Triune God. He calls us to faith and strengthens us in that faith through the Gospel. He accomplishes this through the “means of
grace,” the Gospel in Word and Sacrament. 2 Corinthians 3:17; John 16:7-13, 14:16,17; Acts 1:8; 1 Corinthians 2:12, 3:16; Ephesians 1:13; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 5:18
About the Bible: The Bible is God’s Word to us. In it God proclaims to us Law and Gospel. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error. 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:20,21; 2 Timothy 1:13; Psalm 119:105,160, 12:6; Proverbs 30:5
About Human Beings: Although in Christ believers are a new creation, all of us are also sinful by who we are (original sin) and sinful by what we do in our thoughts, words and deeds. Genesis 1:27; Psalm 8:3-6; Isaiah 53:6a; Romans 3:23; Isaiah 59:1, 2
About Salvation: Salvation is God’s free gift to us by God’s grace, received by faith. We can never make up for our sin by self-improvement or good works. Only in Jesus Christ as God’s offer of forgiveness can anyone be saved for eternity from sin’s penalty. Romans 6:23; Ephesians 2:8,9; John 14:6, 1:12; Titus 3:5; Galatians 3:26; Romans 5:1
About The Sacraments: We believe that God has blessed His
church with two divinely instituted sacraments, Holy Baptism and Holy
Communion. Through these visible means of His grace, He gathers us into His family, forgives our sins and strengthens our faith. In our church we often speak of the Gospel in Word (the Bible) and the Gospel in the Sacraments. Both express to us the wonderful love of God, shown in Christ Jesus. Mt 28:18-19, Acts 22:16, 1 Cor 11:23-25, Mt 26:28
Our Communion Practice: The Apostle Paul writes in 1 Cor 11:27-29: “Whoever eat the bread and drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. A man ought to examine himself before he eats the bread and drinks the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself.” So that Holy Communion remains a blessing and not a harmful thing to those who partake of it, and so that it is a statement of the unity of belief that God says it is, we feel a loving responsibility to properly instruct and train all those who wish to receive the Sacrament prior to their participation. If you have not had the chance to receive instruction offered in this congregation or a sister congregation, we request that you please meet with Pastor before receiving Communion. Our pastor would be pleased and eager to meet with you so please speak with him.
