Welcome to St Matthew's Lutheran Church
Dear Visitor,
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among (tabernacled) among us full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14).
Already when God began to create, the Word was with God and was God. We call Him, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity. When He became incarnate (conceived) in the Virgin Mary’s womb, the Word became flesh. Matter is not evil. The Father made everything good through the Word. The Holy Spirit was eternally present and temporally present when God began to create. The Christian story is not that matter is evil. The Christian story is not that flesh is evil, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ, is the Word made flesh. The Christian story is not the evil is as powerful as God. No, evil is rebellion against God, who is the definition of Goodness and Mercy.
The season of Lent, which lasts forty days (excluding Sundays in Lent), is a penitential season in which the unbaptized prepare for Holy Baptism at the Easter Vigil on April 3 and in which the baptized practice daily dying with Christ and rising to new life in Him. As part of keeping a holy Lent, Christians give up certain personal habits that can easily become little gods and replace them with Scripture reading, prayer, and acts of mercy. Our preaching theme for midweek Lenten services is the Ten Commandments and Martin Luther’s explanations from the Small Catechism. Retired Pastors Robert Kuppler and Peter Hoyer will share in the midweek preaching duties. Retired Pastor Joel Kettner will also preach during one of the daily services during Holy Week (March 28-April 3). We welcome visitors to join us in person or online for weekend and midweek Lenten services. Candidates interested in Holy Baptism are invited to contact me at szumwalt@bellsouth.net.
The Holy Trinity is not one among many gods, not a manufactured Middle Eastern deity like those unearthed by archaeologists. He is the One eternal God, a community of persons within Himself, with no beginning and no ending. That God, the Maker and Owner of the heavens and the earth, is the One to whom all history is proceeding. At the end of time as we know it, every knee will bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus is LORD to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5-11).
If you know and love this God, we invite you to worship with us in person or online. If you have been away from Church for a long time, we invite you to come home. If you are curious and your heart and mind are open, we invite you to come and see. If you are indifferent or even hostile, we invite you, nevertheless, to leave your heart and mind open enough to worship online with us if not in person.
With angels and archangels and all the company of heaven, we exclaim: Glory to God in the Highest and peace to all people on earth!
Thanks for stopping by!
Pastor Sam Zumwalt+
szumwalt@bellsouth.net
St Matthew's Evangelical Lutheran Church
612 South College Road
Wilmington, NC 28403
(910) 791-4582
Worship Services
Saturday 6:00 PM
Sunday 8:30 & 11:00
Monday 6:00 PM