Calvary Lutheran Church

WE—A body of believers.  A community of Christ that belongs to one another.  A people “called out” by Jesus Christ, who is our Savior, King, and Lord.

Ephesians 2:19–22—19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

Romans 12:4–5—4 For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, 5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

ARE—A statement of being and identity.  We were once lost sinners, but now we are a people who have been found by Jesus, our Good Shepherd.  We are simultaneously sinners and saints.  We are new creatures who are made alive in Christ Jesus.

Ephesians 5:25–27—25…Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

1 Corinthians 6:9 & 11—9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?..  11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

John 10:16— And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

2 Corinthians 5:17-Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

PEOPLE—As human beings we are creatures, created by our Creator in the image of God, and redeemed, bought back, through Jesus Christ the crucified on the cross of Calvary, our church’s namesake.  By the power of the Holy Spirit, working through God’s Word and Sacraments, we are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, that we may declare God’s praises throughout the world.

Ephesians 4:4-6—4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

1 Peter 2:5 & 9—5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ…  9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

1 Cor. 1:2— To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours.

LOVED—This is more than a feeling, but a verb.  Unconditional love, a love with, “no strings attached,” not expecting anything in return.  A sacrificial love.  A people willing to be hurt for the sake of the good of our neighbor.

John 3:16- [Jesus said:] “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

1 Corinthians 13:4-13—4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.  13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

2 Corinthians 5:15—15 and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised.

Romans 5:6-8— 6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

JESUS—The Savior of mankind.  The Son of God and Son of Man.  Our Good Shepherd who seeks to save the lost and bring them into His heavenly kingdom.

Matthew 1:21—21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”

Acts 4:12—12 And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

John 4:42—42 They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world.”

CONNECT—A people who are a part of something.  A community who seeks to link/bind/join others to Christ, who is the life-giving vine; the way, the truth, and the life.

John 15:5—5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Matthew 28:19-20—19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

OUR COMMUNITY—A people belonging to our neighbors, friends, families, teams, coworkers, and our whole neighborhood.

John 10:16—16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.

Malachi 2:10—10 Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? Why then are we faithless to one another, profaning the covenant of our fathers?

Acts 17:26—26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place.

Ephesians 3:14-15—14 For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named.

CHRIST—The chosen one of God.  The “anointed one” whom God has chosen to save us from our sins.  Jesus is our Prophet, Priest, and King, and our Savior.

Acts 10:38—38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him.

Galatians 3:13—13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”

John 6:68—(Prophet) 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,

Galatians 4:4-5—(Priest) 4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.

1 John 2:2—2 He (Jesus) is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

Matthew 28:18—(King) 18 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

2 Timothy 4:18—18 The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed and bring me safely into his heavenly kingdom. To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.