Thank you for being our guest at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church (GSLC).
We would love to share God's gifts with you!
Here at Good Shepherd, we are focused on Christ, the "who" of our faith and "what" He has done for us!

What are God's gifts?
Gift of salvation from sin through Jesus' death and resurrection. He gives us eternal life with our Savior which is given through the means of baptism, remembered daily and at each Sunday Service! (1 Peter 3:21) (Acts 4:12)

Gift of forgiveness through the Lord's Supper at Sunday Service and daily with each other! (Acts 2:38)

Gift of the Lord's loving Word given to us through the inerrancy of the Bible and spoken interactively through the Sunday liturgy service. (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Gift of Faith which is given to us through God's words and the work of the Holy Spirit and is credited to us as righteousness. (Romans 4)

Gift of God's commandments which teaches us the benefits of living a faith-life through the Holy Spirit. He knows what is best for us. (Isaiah 48:17) Martin Luther wrote the small catechism as a learning tool for families to learn together about God's ways.

Gift of Prayer as a direct communication with our Savior. We regularly say the Lord's Prayer and the Apostle's Creed in our Sunday services.

Gift of Serving our neighbor in response to our Father's abundant Grace. (1 Peter 4:10)

What do we believe about how God gives us those gifts:
The Trinity: We believe in the Trinity: Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit - three in one. Three distinct persons, but of one and the same divine essence, equal in power, equal in eternity, equal in majesty, because each person possesses the one divine essence. All three work for our good. In their relationship to us, the three persons find their unity in the Father as both the source and goal of their work. Out of love, the Father sends the Son, and together they send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit brings us to Christ, who in turn shows us the Father's love. - Luke 11:13
The Bible: The Bible is "where" we learn about God's love for us and his gifts. Through the Holy Spirit, God Himself gave the writers the thoughts and words that they recorded. For this reason, the Scriptures are both infallible and inerrant. The Holy Scripture is therefore entirely reliable and gives us everything we need to know and believe for Christian faith and life. It is the story of God's plan of salvation to redeem us from sin and call us back to Himself, to live with him forever. - Luke 1:1-4
The Lord's Supper: It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ himself for us Christians to eat and drink for the forgiveness of sins. What a wonderful tangible gift! - Matthew 26:27-28; John 6:55-56
Baptism is God's work. Baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, we have God's own pledge and promise in Baptism that He has forgiven our sins and delivered us from death, hell and the devil. - Titus 3:5-8

How we receive God's gifts:
To receive all the benefits that God offers we study the Bible to know God's plan of salvation and to learn His ways. We baptize babies, and teach the youth about God's gifts through the Bible and learning the teachings in the catechism. At the end of that training the youth are confirmed in the knowledge of God's gifts. They then regularly receive the Lord's Supper which gives God's body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. As a response to all of God's divine gifts full of grace and truth, we repent, pray and live a faith-life serving our neighbors and living a life of love, ...but knowing that we are sinners who need forgiveness, we are lead back to God's altar to receive His forgiveness again and again for the gift of a clear conscience. What a great God, Father, and Savior! He gives us ways to stay close to Him.

*Theological wording for this brochure from
Luther's Small Catechism with Explanation 2017 Concordia Publishing House