First and foremost, we believe that we are all sinners in need of God's forgiveness, which is granted to us through the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ alone (sola gratia), by His sacrificial death and resurrection.  This forgiveness is received through the gift of faith (sola fide) that God grants us through His Holy Spirit, as conveyed through Holy Scripture and the Sacraments.

Gloria Dei Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS).  As such, we subscribe to the Lutheran Confessions quia (because): 

The Lutheran Confessions

Drawn from God’s Word, the Lutheran Confessions are a true and binding exposition of Holy Scripture (sola scriptura) and serve as authoritative texts for all pastors, congregations, and other rostered church workers of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

What are the Lutheran Confessions?

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod accepts the Scriptures as the inspired and inerrant Word of God, and the LCMS subscribes unconditionally to all of the symbolical books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church as a true and unadulterated statement and exposition of the Word of God.

We accept the Lutheran Confessions as articulated in the Book of Concord of 1580 because they are drawn from the Word of God, and on that account we regard their doctrinal content as a true and binding exposition of Holy Scripture and as authoritative for all pastors, congregations, and other rostered church workers of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

Read the Lutheran Confessions (click to download PDF Files)

• The Three Ecumenical or Universal Creeds

• The Augsburg Confession

• The Defense of the Augsburg Confession

• The Large Catechism

• The Small Catechism

• The Smalcald Articles

• Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope

• The Epitome of the Formula of Concord

• The Solid Declaration of the Formula of Concord

These texts are in the public domain. They may be copied and distributed freely. The source of these translations is Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).

For additional doctrinal beliefs, we encourage you to explore the LCMS Doctrinal Frequently Asked Questions section or access "An Introduction to the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod," a PDF article which details our doctrine.