Dear Friend;
Welcome to St. Paul’s web page. Let me tell you a little bit about St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of Pomona, California. We are a traditional Lutheran church and whenever someone asks about us, they usually want to know what’s the difference between Lutherans and Catholics, or Lutherans and Evangelical Christians? Being Lutheran means we are not Roman Catholic and we are not evangelical protestants, and yet we have much in common with both of these groups.
While we are not Roman Catholic, we do appreciate the historic liturgy of the Christian church. Tradition is not the highest authority and the reason behind everything we do, yet we do not abandon every tradition of the Body of Christ. We keep the best of Christian tradition from around the globe and throughout time and incorporate it into our teaching and practice. For example, we sing hymns and liturgies sung by Christians for hundred of years, worshiping with those forms that have stood the test of time and accurately confess what we believe. We light candles and wear vestments, we recite the historic creeds of the Church, and because we do these and many other “traditional” things, we are often confused with Roman Catholics, but there is much more going on here than Lutherans acting like Catholics.
Lutherans are not typical evangelical protestants, and yet, above all we preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ and salvation by the grace of God that is ours through faith. The Gospel is at the center of all we do, and so we are Evangelicals in the truest sense of that word. Because we are true Evangelicals, we do not acknowledge the authority of any human institution but only the Word of God. The Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testament are our sole authority, and not the teachings of popes and councils. The Chief doctrine of the Lutheran Church is that salvation comes by grace alone through faith. This means we believe and teach that we cannot earn our way to heaven by impressing God with our lives, but rather we are forgiven by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins with His death on the cross and assured eternal life for us by His resurrection from the dead. All who believe this Good News and trust in Jesus’ death for their salvation will share in the benefits it offers; namely, the forgiveness of sins and eternal life. Salvation is really that easy, and why shouldn’t it be? It is a gift from God!
To really find out what’s going on with us you should come and visit us some Sunday morning. (And don’t worry, when you visit, we won’t pull any high-pressure sales gimmicks. You won’t have to stand up and introduce yourself to everyone and we won’t draw all kinds of attention to you.) We are a small friendly church with a lot to offer, so come and join us for worship some Sunday morning at 9:00 AM. Come and worship with us the way that Christians have been worshiping since New Testament times, and come hear what God’s Word says about Jesus and God’s great love for you.
Blessings,
Pastor Shaltanis
