Biblical. Confessional. Liturgical.

Greetings from Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Cedar Falls, IA, a member congregation of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. We’re so pleased you’ve found us and are curious about what we do here. We’re proud to call ourselves “A Biblical, confessional, liturgical congregation in the heart of Cedar Falls, ministering to sinners with the forgiving presence of Christ.”

So what does that all mean? Let’s start with the easy one. We’re a little off the beaten path, and so we’re easy to miss, but we are in the heart of Cedar Falls—on the corner of 9th and Bluff streets, just five blocks from downtown. Since 1962, we’ve been worshiping in our beautiful 1911 sanctuary which reflects aesthetically the reverent worship that takes place here every week. We’re a congregation of just under 200 members, covering a range of ages, vocations, and backgrounds…and we’re growing! We’re large enough to offer a wide variety of opportunities for member engagement while still being small enough to be personable. Our pastors know every member by name and take a sincere interest in providing personalized pastoral care.

The term “Biblical” might seem self-explanatory, but we want to be explicit in what we mean by that. We believe the 66 books of the Holy Scriptures are the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God, handed down throughout generations for the benefit of His people. Every word recorded in the Scriptures is an accurate account of real history, from the very beginning of creation through the time of the early Christian Church and pointing to the future second coming of our Lord. Though historical in their composition, these words convey timeless, unchanging truths about God, mankind and all creation, and our relationship with one another; truths that teach us how we are to live…and how we’re saved.

While the Holy Scriptures are the unquestioned standard by which we evaluate everything we do, we also adhere to a set of writings called the Lutheran Confessions. These documents, which begin with the three ecumenical creeds of the Christian Church and the Augsburg Confession of 1530, were collected and approved by the Lutheran reformers as the Book of Concord in 1580. The purpose of the Confessions isn’t to contradict or add to the Scriptures in any way but simply to present Biblical doctrine in an organized manner. Although not absolutely necessary, this is incredibly helpful because it ensures that what we teach within our church body today is in accord with what the Christian Church has taught since its inception. Whether you’re listening to a Sunday school lesson, one of our weekly Bible studies, or a sermon, you can be confident the teaching you’ll hear is anchored in objective truth and is consistent.

Speaking of consistency, that’s what you can expect when it comes to our worship services. “Liturgy” comes from a word that means “service.” Specifically, we believe that it’s in the setting of what we call the Divine Service that the Lord serves His people. That’s why most of what you’ll experience in our worship centers on God giving His gifts to us through the proclamation of the Word and the administration of the Sacraments: Holy Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Confession and Absolution. Here, too, what we do hasn’t changed all that much in the last several hundred years because we believe God’s blessings to His Church haven’t changed. Along with “liturgical,” some people call it being “traditional” or “historic.” Sure, some people might call it boring, but we treasure our liturgy, and even if it’s unfamiliar, many of our visitors can recognize and appreciate the reverence we afford the sacred acts that happen here. It’s not just something we do, it becomes part of who we are, shaping our lives both in corporate worship and in our homes and daily lives.

Ultimately, it’s the final part of my initial statement that’s the most vital: “ministering to sinners with the forgiving presence of Christ.” We’re all sinners deserving of God’s wrath, and there’s only one solution—the righteousness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, which He demonstrated by coming into this fallen world to live a perfect life, die a sinless death on our behalf, and rising again from the dead to make possible for us the resurrection of the body and life everlasting. All this He distributes to His Church through the means of grace.

That’s really what it’s all about; what we’re all about. It’s why we call ourselves “The Forgiveness Place.” We’d love to have you join us.

In Christ,

Rev. Matthew J. Baker, Senior Pastor