You are welcome at
TIERRASANTA
LUTHERAN
CHURCH
Our Beliefs
Like a rudder sets a course for a ship, what a church believes determines its direction and destination. At the core of our faith is the belief that Jesus Christ is the Savior, and that through His death and ressurection our relationship with God is reconciled and we have new life. This belief about Jesus steers our actions as a church. We also believe Jesus continually calls his followers to seek to grow in their relationship with Him. Followers of Jesus share five characteristics of a vital faith:
- Regular participation in worship.
- Daily devotion and personal prayer.
- Personal growth through Bible study and learning opportunities.
- Financially supporting the Kingdom of God by tithing.
- Sharing God’s love in mission and service to others.
Our Lutheran Identity
As Lutherans we identify with the precepts espoused by Martin Luther, the leader of the Protestant Reformation.
We regard the Holy Bible as the true inspired Word of God and regard Jesus Christ as the divine Son of God, the Messiah and sole mediator between God and Man:
"For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" - 1 Timothy 2:5
We acknowledge that Christ paid the ransom 100% in full for all the sins and evil of humanity through His loving self-sacrifice on the cross. While we recognize that this sacrifice is sufficient atonement for the salvation of all mankind, our Lutheran identity also recognizes that we are called daily into ministry and loving service towards each other as Jesus humbled Himself in service to us and commanded that we
"Love one another as I have loved you" - John 13:34-35,
Our Lutheran identity believes, teaches and confesses the understandings compiled and professed in the Book of Concord and includes such professions as:
- The Augsburg Confession
- The Three Ecumenical Creeds
- Apostles' Creed
- Nicene Creed
- Athanasian Creed
- The Large Catechism
- The Small Catechism
Slease ee Lutheran Tenets & History for more information.
Our Styles
Martin Luther and the other reformers believed and argued that true worship should be concerned with
- The Word
- The Sacraments
- Personal Faith
Jesus criticized the religious leaders of His day as hypocritical and strictly honoring the letter of the law but ignoring the spirit of the law. Likewise, Christians over the centuries had fallen away from the teachings of Christ in favor of performing and being distracted by rituals, vestments and ceremonies during worship. A key element of the Protestant Reformation was to re-align worship more closely to Christ's teaching. focusing attention on what truly mattered.
For the reformers, what truly mattered was that the Word of God and the Gospel be preached in its purity, that the sacraments be administered properly and that the focus be on personal faith. All other aspects of worship (like music and dress, for example) were ancillary and were less about theological righteousness and more about personal style. In part, this opened up the floodgates of art and musical composition giving rise to many of the hymns we know and enjoy today. Luther wasn't concerned about style and so neither are we.
At Tierrasanta Lutheran Church we recognize that God loves everybody and that Christ's sacrific was for everybody, even for those who see the world differently and have different personal tastes. So, we provide two styles of worship, one more traditional and one more contemporary. Among our differences we strive for unity (see What Is The Premise #43 - UNITY).
See: Worship At TLC
Our Mission
Sharing Christ’s Love
Serving God’s Children
Transforming Lives
Making Disciples
Sharing Christ's Love
As followers of Jesus we are called to share the Good News of Christ's Love. Our primary way of sharing this love is through worship. The word worship is derived from the old English word weorthscipe which means at its simplest, to give worth to something.
When we gather together for worship as Tierrasanta Lutheran Church we give worth and meaning to our relationship with God. Our worship together is centered on the Word and the Sacraments. It is in worship where we hear the story of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ. It is in worship where we receive Christ’s forgiveness through the Sacraments of Baptism and Holy Communion. It is in worship where our identity is formed as the people of God. Worship is central to our life together as a church.
WATCH OUR SERVICES ON FACEBOOK
Serving God’s Children
Jesus spent His life helping others. Service is the heart of the Christian life. The mature follower of Jesus stops asking, “who’s going to meet my needs?” and starts asking, “whose needs can I meet?” As a family of faith at Tierrasanta Lutheran Church we look for ways to serve our congregation and our community.
Transforming Lives
Jesus welcomed all people and as his followers we are committed to being a community that is welcoming and accepting.
At the center of our congregation is a commitment to hospitality. Extending hospitality includes creating healthy relationships with one another. At TLC many of our ministries center around the connectedness we share as a family of faith. Sharing time together as brothers and sisters in Christ has always been one of the things we do best as a church.
As a congregation we also look to engage the Tierrasanta community and build relationships with our neighbors. One of our foundational beliefs is that “all ministry is relational” and we encourage you to celebrate this core value of our congregation.
Making Disciples
Our faith is always being formed. As Lutherans we hold central the theological theme of “justification by grace through faith.” We seek to learn more about our faith, centering on God's Word and learning more about our identity as Lutherans. We seek to discover over and over again God’s love and God’s power to create faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. We strive to provide a Biblical foundation for a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Opportunities are available for all ages as we all additional steps on our faith journey.
Tierrasanta Lutheran Church of San Diego is currently affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)