As the stained glass window above says, First Evangelical Lutheran St. John's Church, U.A.C.. Those three letters are the most important in the whole window, for they stand for the Unaltered Augsburg Confession. On June 25, 1530 the Lutheran Princes and cities of the Holy Roman Empire presented this confession before the Diet of Augsburg. The Unaltered Augsburg Confession is one of the defining documents of the Lutheran church. As a member congregation of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, St. John's holds to the U.A.C. and all the confessional documents contained in the 1580 Book of Concord, because it is a right exposition of the inspired and inerrant Word of God.
What is inspiration and inerrancy?
2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." We confess that all Scripture is given by God through His chosen servants and that it is incapable of having errors or changing, for as Isaiah 40:8 and 1 Peter 1:25 says, "The Word of the Lord endures forever." As such we believe Holy Scripture is the soul source of faith and doctrine.
Why then do you subscribe to the Book of Concord?
There are many things people claim that the Bible says or means. The Lutheran Reformers laid out their clear position in the documents contained in the Book of Concord. Having diligently studied the Bible, we find the Book of Concord to be correct, because it is in full agreement with the Bible. We do not claim the Book of Concord is inerrant or inspired. Rather we consider it to be the proper explanation of what Scripture says. We do not add it to Holy Scripture, instead we set it forth that all may unequivocally know what we believe, teach, and confess in accord with Holy Scripture.
What is inspiration and inerrancy?
2 Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." We confess that all Scripture is given by God through His chosen servants and that it is incapable of having errors or changing, for as Isaiah 40:8 and 1 Peter 1:25 says, "The Word of the Lord endures forever." As such we believe Holy Scripture is the soul source of faith and doctrine.
Why then do you subscribe to the Book of Concord?
There are many things people claim that the Bible says or means. The Lutheran Reformers laid out their clear position in the documents contained in the Book of Concord. Having diligently studied the Bible, we find the Book of Concord to be correct, because it is in full agreement with the Bible. We do not claim the Book of Concord is inerrant or inspired. Rather we consider it to be the proper explanation of what Scripture says. We do not add it to Holy Scripture, instead we set it forth that all may unequivocally know what we believe, teach, and confess in accord with Holy Scripture.