EPIPHANY LUTHERAN CHURCH (LCMS)

12716 N. ALLEN ROAD, PO BOX 182 • DUNLAP, IL 61525 • United States • 309-243-5957 • Lutheran

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A genuinely Lutheran liturgical parish in mission

GREETINGS IN THE NAME OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST!

"And they continued steadfastly in the Apostles' doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers."
+ Acts 2:42 +

Epiphany Lutheran Church is a congregation of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS) serving northern Peoria, Dunlap, Alta, Edelstein, Lake of the Woods, Chillicothe, Princeville, Wyoming and the surrounding areas in our part of central Illinois. Whether you already are a confessional Lutheran or if you are interested in learning more in catechesis we invite you to visit us soon. Epiphany is a caring congregation reaching out with the love of Christ.

As genuine Lutherans we believe, teach and confess that salvation comes only through our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who gave Himself into death to pay the price for the sins of the world. We confess that there is one God who is the Triune God. He is Father, Son and Holy Spirit -- three Persons and yet one God. We confess that we are saved as a gift of God through trust in Him for the sake of Christ, the crucified and risen Lord (Ephesians 2:8,9). We also gladly affirm the inspiration, inerrancy of the canonical books of the Bible. We believe God's Word is powerful and does and bestows what it says (Romans 1:16; Isaiah 55:10,11).

Epiphany Lutheran Church gladly confesses the historic catholic and evangelical Creeds and Confessions of The Lutheran Church as contained in the Book of Concord of 1580. Therefore, we also gladly maintain the historic received liturgy of the Church, as we regularly use our hymnal, Lutheran Worship (1982). We do not accept the proposition that commitment to evangelism requires the abandonment of the received liturgy nor a buffet-like offering of service "styles." We, like the church of the centuries, see our doctrinal and liturgical heritage as an asset and treasure. Therefore the Divine Service of the Word and the Holy Supper is the center of our life together.

Epiphany also seeks faithfully to manifest the Gospel of Jesus Christ that others too may believe and so have the joy of salvation in Him. For this reason we offer catechesis [basic instruction] for young and old toward receiving the sacramental gift of Holy Baptism, and reception into the eucharistic fellowship of the Divine Service. And through baptizing and teaching, the Lord's means for true Church growth, Epiphany seeks to manifest Christ for the life of the world.

Epiphany Lutheran Church is a Christian congregation which finds its life in the Word and Sacraments, that is, the exclusive means of God's grace and of the Holy Spirit. Through these mysteries the Lord sustains our faith and connects to His redemptive acts of His crucifixion and resurrection. We confess with historic Christianity that the Lord works effectively through the words and water of Holy Baptism, through the pronounced absolution, and that He gives the body and blood of Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist for the forgiveness of sins. We confess that only through these means does God promise to create and sustain saving faith, when they are used according to His institution (AC V). In those means, which the Lord commanded to His apostles, the Lord is with us always (Matthew 28:20).

The purpose of all of this is not an ivory-tower intellectual exercise but so that we may know the certainty of our salvation that comes only in Christ as a pure gift to us. Only the Word of God can provide such certainty. Anything we do cannot be a certain means of life after death. This divinely revealed truth is a tremendous gift which the Lord proclaims through His true Church in these last days. What a comfort this is today when everything else seems to be changing and in question. Amid all this,the Word of the Lord will remain forever.

We cordially invite you to visit us and to hear the Word of God's law and gospel. We have Christian instruction for all ages, for those who already are Lutheran Christians or for those who desire to learn more. The Sacrament of Holy Baptism, the new birth of water and the Spirit through the Word of God, is here offered as a washing of renewal in the Holy Spirit, a real incorporation into Christ, and as a bestowal of the forgiveness of sins. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he that believeth not will be condemned." Therefore hear the message of being of changed mind toward God and about our own sin, and be baptized for the remission of sins, in the name of the Triune God. Amen.

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

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