The ministry and structure of Red Hill Lutheran Church and School is built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ, the Word of God (the Bible), the historic creeds of the Christian church, and the Lutheran Confessions. To know Red Hill is to know what we believe:
The Triune God and the Lord Jesus Christ
We believe in and confess our faith in the Triune God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God is the Father who has created heaven and earth; Jesus Christ the Son of God is our only Savior and Lord; the Holy Spirit creates, sustains, and empowers faithful living.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”
2 Corinthians 13:14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
The Gospel of Salvation
We believe and confess that people are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character. People are the supreme object of God’s creation. At the same time, all human beings possess an attitude of disobedience toward God which the Bible defines as “sin.” God alone justifies human beings through faith in Jesus Christ – a faith that God creates through the message of the Gospel. As God’s redeemed and forgiven people, God uses the church to speak His Word and build His kingdom.
Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
The Authority of Scripture
We believe and confess that the Bible is God's revealed Word, spoken in Law and Gospel. The canonical scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain the Word of God, inspired by God’s spirit speaking through their authors, they record and announce God’s revelation centering in Jesus Christ. The Bible is the authoritative source and norm of our proclamation, faith and life.
Psalm 119:105 Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.
2 Timothy 3:16-17 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God[b] may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Peter 1:20-21 …knowing this first of all, that no prophecy of Scripture comes from someone's own interpretation. 21 For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
A Common Confession of Faith
We accept and uphold that the Lutheran Confessions reliably guide the Lutheran Church as faithful interpretations of Scripture and that we share a unity and fellowship in faith with others among whom the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached and the sacraments are administered in accordance with the Gospel.
Article VII in “The Augsburg Confession” of 1530: “Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. And to the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree concerning the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments. Nor is it necessary that human traditions, that is, rites or ceremonies, instituted by men, should be everywhere alike. As Paul says: One faith, one Baptism, one God and Father of all, etc. Eph. 4, 5. 6.”
The Priesthood of All Believers
We believe and confess that the Holy Spirit assembles the church and calls all who believe in Jesus Christ to be priests for service to others in Jesus' name. A priest “stands in the middle,” speaking to people about God and speaking to God about people. We practice the truth that every believer is a “priest” by encouraging every member to find a place of service and ministry at and beyond Red Hill Lutheran Church and School.
Mark 10:43-44 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
Marriage and Family
We believe and confess that the marriage of male and female is an institution created and blessed by God. From marriage, God forms families to serve as the building blocks of all human civilization and community. We teach and practice that sexual activity belongs exclusively within the biblical boundaries of a faithful marriage between one man and one woman.
Genesis 1:27-28 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. 28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
Mark 10:6-8 But from the beginning of creation, ‘God made them male and female.’ 7 ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife,8 and the two shall become one flesh.’ So they are no longer two but one flesh.
The Mission and Ministry of the Church
We believe and confess that the church is the assembly of believers called and gathered by God around Word and Sacrament. The ministry and mission of the church is to make disciples of all nations, for the purpose of sending disciples into the world to bear witness to God’s redeeming and reconciling love in Jesus Christ. This mission and ministry are carried out within the context of individual congregations which are able to work together locally and globally.
Matthew 28:19-20 (Jesus said) Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
1 Peter 3:15 …but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect…
On Being Created Male and Female
We acknowledge and affirm that all human beings are created by God and thereby have an inherent dignity. We also believe that God created each person male or female; therefore, sexual difference is not an accident or a flaw – it is a gift from God that helps draw us closer to each other and to God. What God has created is good.
For a full statement on this shared belief with other ecumenical leaders, please click HERE
Genesis 1:27 "God created mankind in his image; in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.”