First Time Visitors
Welcome to Our Savior!
If you are visiting us for the first time, welcome! We would be glad to have you join us for worship, in which we hear God’s Word and respond in prayer and praise.
When you come to Our Savior for worship, you will be greeted and receive a bulletin. This bulletin will tell you what day in the Church Year we are celebrating. The Church has its own calendar that follows the life and teachings of Jesus Christ, our Lord. This calendar serves as the basis for what we hear and speak and sing in worship each week. The bulletin will also tell you what is happening in the service, the hymns we will sing, and the lessons from Holy Scripture we will hear. Both the service and the hymns come from one of our two hymnals: Lutheran Service Book (LSB) and The Lutheran Hymnal (TLH). The Scripture lessons are assigned based on the day in the Church Year. You are invited to participate in the 4 Service by following the hymnal, hearing God’s Word, praying with us, and singing God’s praises.
Psalm 95:1-2
Here at Our Savior, we celebrate the Lord’s Supper (also known as “Holy Communion” and “The Sacrament of the Altar”) at each of our Divine Services. In the Lord’s Supper, two things take place: those who believe Jesus’ Word receive the promised blessings of the Sacrament, and those who commune proclaim their unity of faith with that church and all those who also commune there. This means that when you receive the Lord’s Supper at Our Savior Lutheran Church, you are publicly declaring that you believe and confess everything that we teach here. For this reason, we practice “Closed Communion,” which is the practice of admitting only our members and members of sister congregations with whom we are in fellowship to the Lord’s Supper.
When we do not admit someone to commune at our altar, we are not making a judgment about their faith in Jesus or their salvation. Instead, we are taking them at their word, that they do not believe everything that we do. Different churches and denominations have different beliefs and confessions; for this reason, according to the Bible, they should not commune together until they have come to agree on their teachings. Therefore, again, if you are asked not to commune with us at Our Savior, we are not saying that you are not a Christian. Instead, we are respecting your beliefs and how they differ from ours.
Because we cannot see into anyone’s heart, we ask that all our visitors, even those from sister congregations of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, speak to the pastor before receiving communion at Our Savior. If you have any other questions, or would like to discuss these matters further, we would be more than happy to visit with you and explain our Lutheran confession of faith more fully.
Again, we welcome you to Our Savior Lutheran Church. May our Lord Jesus Christ bless your worship among us!