About us

Welcome to Saude, Jerico, & Redeemer!

Please take some time to get to know us, and contact us if you have any questions.
For regular news and updates, visit our Saude, Jerico, & Redeemer Lutherans Facebook page.
The calendar page has our schedule of services and other activities.

Who We Are

Our churches were first established in the area over 150 years ago, but the roots of our faith run far deeper. We are Lutherans, which means we trace our history back to the church reform movement of the sixteenth century. But those reformers did not set out to start a new church with novel teachings and unique practices. They wanted to correct the errors and abuses that had entered the Roman Church.

The Lutheran reformers—and we with them—trace our history back to the New Testament church founded by Jesus through His apostles. We confess the historic Christian faith, summarized here:

We believe there is one God, the Triune God.

The Triune God is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—one God in three Persons (“triune” means “three-in-one”). God has always existed, and He created all things out of nothing by His powerful Word.

We believe we are sinners.

When the first man and woman sinned, their sin changed everything in God’s perfect creation. Sin brought pain and death. All people inherit this sin, which means they deserve to be punished eternally by the holy God.

We believe Jesus came to save sinners.

Because God still loved humankind, the Father sent His only-begotten Son to take on human flesh in the Virgin Mary’s womb. He had to become a man, so He could live a holy life in the place of all people and suffer and die for their sins. He was named “Jesus,” which means “the LORD saves.”

We believe salvation comes only by faith in Jesus.

God the Father sent His Son to save us because we could not save ourselves. Because of our sinful nature, we are unable to believe in Him by an act of our own reason or strength. God the Holy Spirit works faith in hearts by the power of His Word.

We believe Jesus still comes to us now.

Forty days after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus went up into heaven where He rules over all things. He is no longer visibly present on earth, but He is still present with His believers. He brings them His blessings of forgiveness, life, and salvation through His Word and Sacraments.

We believe Jesus will come again on the last day.

Jesus will return visibly on the last day to judge all people, both the living and the dead. All who believe in Him will be glorified and brought to heaven, while all who rejected Him in this life will be condemned to hell.

We believe the Bible is God’s Word.

All of our beliefs come from the Bible. The Holy Spirit moved certain men of God to write down His Word. The Bible is unlike any other religious book. It is the only one which teaches that salvation comes by the grace of God and not by our own efforts.

What to Expect

Our beliefs shape our practices. What we learn from the Bible guides what we do together. Our primary focus in our weekly worship services is not what we do for God, but what He does for us. He comes to serve us with forgiveness and life, and we respond with thanks and praise. If you are able to join us for one of our services, this is what you can expect:

Traditional Worship

The history of the Christian Church spans thousands of years, and our worship reflects that. We use the outline of the traditional Christian liturgy, and we sing hymns from the ancient Christian Church to today.

Contemporary Sermons

The teachings of God’s Word never become outdated. Our pastor applies the Word of God to our lives by preaching the Law (for repentance) and the Gospel (for forgiveness).

Counter-Cultural Practices

What happens in church is very different than what happens in the world. In church, the songs we sing are not meant to entertain, but to teach and comfort. Our actions, like standing up and sitting down, bowing our heads and folding our hands, are not meant to draw attention to our work but to keep the focus on God’s work.

Holy Communion

One of the most unique and special things we do as a congregation is receive Communion together. We go forward to the altar rail to eat bread and drink wine, but we receive more than these earthly elements. By the power of His Word, Jesus gives His body along with the bread and His blood along the wine for us to eat and drink for the remission of sins.

 

We want everyone to have the blessings of Communion, but God gives certain instructions for how Christians should prepare for this Holy Meal. He tells us that everyone present should be in agreement about what the Bible teaches (1 Corinthians 1:10). He says that all communicants should believe that Jesus truly gives His body and blood to eat and drink (1 Corinthians 10:16). And He says that they should humbly recognize their sinfulness and their need for the Lord’s Supper, so they do not receive it to their harm (1 Corinthians 11:27-32).

 

Because of this, we ask visitors to learn more about our teaching and practice and to talk with our pastor before they join us for Communion.

How to Learn More

The Saude, Jerico, and Redeemer congregations are part of a larger church body called the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS), which is in fellowship with the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS). The map below shows some of the congregations that are part of our circuit in Iowa and south central Minnesota (go to the ELS website for more information).
To find out more about our beliefs, please click the buttons below. Our pastor also regularly offers a “Christianity 101 Class” on the basic teachings of the Bible for any who are interested.

What are these?

The Small Catechism was published by Martin Luther in 1529 as a teaching tool for children.

The Augsburg Confession was delivered before the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V, in 1530 to explain where the Roman Church had departed from Biblical teaching.

The ELS adopted a doctrinal statement in 1992 to address current issues and challenges to the Christian faith in our day.

Multimedia

Resource Links

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Devotions

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Magazine

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Sermons

From the Pulpit

The death that was brought on the world through a tree had to be undone by death on another tree. The perfection that was lost through sin had to be regained by a perfect sacrifice. The curse of sin had to be directed against One who had never sinned. He had to pay for man’s disobedience. He had to suffer eternal punishment in every person’s place. This is what Jesus, the eternal Son of God, had to do...Read detail
It was a creation full of life, and that life would only increase. “Be fruitful and multiply,” God said, “and fill the earth and subdue it.” No creature knew what death was because nothing died. All animals ate plants. God gave the produce of every plant and tree to man, including the most special tree in all creation, the tree of life. We don’t know what life tastes like, but Adam and Eve did. They smelled and saw and tasted life to the full because life is all there was...Read detail
We do not live for this day, for getting as much as we can in the present. We live for that day, for Jesus’ return, when all our present sadness and trouble and pain will come to an end. We look for that day with eyes wide open. “For you are all children of light, children of the day,” writes Paul. You can see everything clearly. You can see how empty the world’s promises are. You can see how much damage the devil has done to families and friendships. You can see your own weaknesses and failings. But you also know what God has done to rescue you from the darkness...Read detail

Find Redeemer

611 W. Court Street, New Hampton, IA 50659

Find Jerico

2515 120th Street, New Hampton, IA 50659

Find Saude

2949 Stevens Trail, Lawler, IA 52154

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