If you practice some iteration of Reformed religion and are dis-satisfied with it, we invite you to learn about the Lutheran faith. The Protestant denominations (at least traditionally) have a strong emphasis on Holy Scripture, and the foundational Christian doctrine of Justification by Faith. You will find the same within Lutheranism.

However, there is a fatal flaw within these denominations, namely that Baptism and Holy Communion are discounted. They are understood as acts that men do to please God, rather than the blessing that God gives to sinners. The traffic, in other words, flows in the wrong direction.

Jesus says: “This cup is the New Testament in my blood.” (1 Corinthians 11:25) Thus, the New Testament is not a epoch of time, or the last 27 books of the Bible, but it is the Eucharist, which constitutes us and defines us as the Baptized children of God. “THIS CUP is the New Testament,” says Jesus. To celebrate the Lord’s Supper on the Lord’s Day is the practice of the Christian faith; and constitutes Christian worship. Every other practice, belief or ritual either leads to, or proceeds from this Blessed Sacrament.

Don’t let institutional prejudice stop you from having communion with the holy. For that is what Holy Communion is. It is the marriage feast of the Lamb. It is the intimacy that exists between Christ the Holy Bridegroom, and the Church cleansed and made spotless by his blood. To participate in the Eucharist is to have fellowship with Jesus, and through him with the Father and the Spirit. It is to be brought into the mutual love and mutual conversation that exists within the the mysterious holy Trinity itself. It is perfect fellowship with the whole church of heaven and earth. There is nothing like it anywhere. It cleanses, forgives, gives new life, comforts, consoles, calms and strengthens sinners like nothing else can. “Take eat this is my body, given for you for the remission of sins. Take drink, this cup IS the new testament in my blood; shed for you for the remission of sins.”

If you are Catholic are you satisfied with your church? If not you will find the Lutheran faith to be refreshing. The Catholic church has many strengths. Primary among them it has the true Sacraments of Baptism and the Eucharist.

One of the biggest reasons for dis-satisfaction with the Catholic church is its stance on divorce. Many divorced, separated and re-married people know their sins, and are sorry for them. They want to start a new life with the church’s blessing and long to participate in the church’s sacramental life, but they are not allowed. In the Lutheran church they are.

Nor is re-marriage consummated outside the Roman Church sinful, invalid or inferior as far as Lutherans are concerned. Nor will it keep you away from the Eucharist, and full fellowship in the Lutheran church.

Another cause for disallusionment is the rash of sexual scandals brought to light in the last 20 years. Any one such act is unconscionable. Numerous, intolerable.

In the Lutheran church you will find much that is familiar: liturgy, scripture, sacraments, history and tradition. You will also find some things that are different. Lutherans do not pray to the Blessed Virgin or the Saints, or ask them to intercede for us. We believe that Jesus is the one Intercessor and High Priest, and that no other is needed.

But above all what you will find is the pure Gospel of Jesus Christ which cleanses you from all sins, however egregious they may be. Lutherans believe that sinners are justified before God by faith in Jesus Christ as St. Paul writes, “For by grace are you saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

This being the case Lutherans deny the notion of purgatory. Christ suffered for all sins of all humanity, and God in Christ fully pardons all who believe and are baptized. Therefore there is no need to be purged after death, and before entering heaven. This is a human opinion that strongly contradicts the merits Christ gained for us by his life, death and resurrection. We believe that Christians will suffer in this life but Scripture calls this “discipline” (Hebrews 12:5) and not purging or punishment. There is a marked difference.

Lutherans also teach that good works always accompany saving faith. They are not optional or unimportant, but are the fruit of faith and of the Spirit. But we also know from Sacred Scripture that the works of even the greatest of saints are weak, imperfect and inconsistent. (As easily confirmed by reading the autobiography of St. Theresa of Avila, or The Rule of St. Benedict) And so salvation is granted to us by faith in the crucified and risen Christ. The faith installed in us in holy baptism and strengthened in the Eucharist.

There is one thing about Lutheranism that you will not find anywhere else and that is the blessed certainty of salvation. Salvation that is begun, maintained and brought to completion by the goodness and mercy of God.

This powerful promise gives enables you to love God, to live in peace with him each day, and to die in the confidence knowing that glorious life awaits you for as Holy Scripture says, ” … whoever believes in him will not perish, but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)

To find out more, contact Pastor Kavouras. pastordck@gmail.com

If you practice no religious faith at all, now is the time to begin (or begin again). Jesus says, “Man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” He says, further, “What does it profit a man if he gain the whole world, but lose his own soul?”

If you are without hope, and without God in the world, Christ Lutheran Church can teach you to know the One True God, and Jesus Christ whom he sent to be the world’s Redeemer. Through his church the Lord will forgive your sins, relieve your guilt, reverse your judgment, and give you life, salvation, joy, peace, comfort, wisdom, strength now and unto the ages of ages.

Close your ears to the siren song of culture, with its false religions, which are designed only to keep you in a spiritual coma. Open your ears, instead, to the words of Life. 

Are you LGBTQ? Or do you wonder if you are?

Many people say, “I was born this way,” and it may be true. If so please know that it is not always safe, smart or right to follow your natural proclivities.

Heterosexual desire is as powerful and intoxicating as a drug, but that doesn’t mean that it’s automatically right to indulge it. The desire to lash out, or even injure, a person who has wronged you can be a strong and natural desire, but is it wise to follow through?

The Christian doctrine of sin speaks to this matter. It teaches us that all people are infected by sin, and because of it our intellects and desires are compromised as regards what is truly good, right and in accord with what we are created to be. We might be smarter than Einstein when it comes to the affairs of daily life; but because of sin we are spiritually dull, and developmentally disabled. And so what comes naturally to us, may not be what is safe, smart, healthy or right.

But the Christian doctrine of salvation speaks to this matter. The central message of the holy Christian faith is the grace and mercy of God for sinners. In Christ God redeems us from our sins, pardons us, cleanses us, and makes us truly human again. In Baptism we are enlightened to know the truth that sets us free. John 8:32

To discuss these things with a safe and friendly counselor contact Pastor Kavouras directly. pastordck@gmail.com 

If you are Eastern Orthodox, and are not satisfied with your religion, Lutheranism has much to offer.

We are a liturgical church, that upholds all the great doctrines of the historic faith: the Trinity, the Divinity of Christ, the Virgin Birth, the Incarnation, death and bodily resurrection of Jesus, Baptismal Regeneration, the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, Eternal Life and more. Western liturgy, while less decorative, symbolic and verbose than Eastern liturgy, is still possessed of stunning beauty and deep meaning.

Members of Eastern Orthodoxy are often bewildered because the message of the Gospel is lost in symbolism and national identity. It shouldn’t be that way, but sometimes it is. Because of Lutheranism’s strong emphasis on preaching and teaching, the message of Christ crucified for our sins comes through loud and clear. By it sinners are released from guilt, forgiven of their sins, and find new strength, calm and joy in Christ. If we can be of assistance please contact Pastor Kavouras with any questions.

If you are Jewish, with much respect, we’d like you to know something about the Christian faith.

We believe that the Jewish Scriptures are God’s very word, and God’s very truth, but that they are not an end in themselves, but rather prophetic of Christ and the Christian Scriptures. Of the spotless life, and sacrificial death of Jesus. We believe that he is the Lamb of God, whose sacrifice on the cross, takes away the sin of the world. “The blood of Jesus his Son, purifies us from every sin,” is the essence of Christian faith and theology.

It is our faith that in the Sacrament of Baptism, pre-figured when Israel passed through the Red Sea, we are delivered from our enemies and brought into the Promised Land of the church. Also, that in the Sacrament of Holy Communion, pre-figured by Pesach, we eat the Bread of God and Lamb of God, Jesus. He says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” John 6:53-58

We believe that Jesus is Hashem. That his is the Name above all names, and that he is given all authority in heaven and on earth by the Father; and that he is our High Priest at the right hand of God. 

If you would like to learn more about life in God’s Anointed, please contact Pastor Kavouras.

The chief religion in America today seems to be the worship of culture. Whatever culture declares sacred, people treat with reverence.

The environment is one of America’s cultural gods, green is the liturgical color, and recycling the chief act of worship. Animals are another object of worship. When a gorilla had to be shot at a zoo to save a child, it was the gorilla that garnered the pity of the public. The parents (and the child to a lesser extent) were demonized. Not for their bad judgment, but because it necessitated the death of the gorilla. Baby seals are sacred, babies that reside within the confines of their mothers’ wombs receive no mercy. People are often heard to say today, “I love animals more than people.” Be glad that God doesn’t feel the same.

Is this what we have become? We claim to respect ourselves while at the same time loathing our humanness, even our right to exist. The more radical culture-worshipers consider human beings to be the blight of the planet. It seems as if the the words of Moses have come true in our day, “The Lord will strike you with madness and blindness and confusion of mind, and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind grope in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways. And you shall be only oppressed and robbed continually, and there shall be no one to help you.” Deuteronomy 28:28-29 

But, in fact, there is One who helps us. It is God himself. He who judges us, also saves us. He gave his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, to be the world’s redeemer, and by his sacrificial death on the cross to liberate us from our spiritual blindness. Jesus says, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” John 8:12 You too can have that light!

The chief duty of man is to worship God. Revelation 22:9 But we can only do so in conjunction with Jesus who is our True Liturgist and High Priest. Hebrews 8:2.

To learn more contact Pastor Kavouras. pastordck@gmail.com