God has established His Church with a purpose: to share the Gospel with all people. The Gospel is nothing less than the person of Jesus Christ Himself, who graciously offers salvation, forgiveness of sins, and new, eternal life to everyone who believes. This sacred mission belongs to every church, in every place and time.
Before ascending to the right hand of the Father, our Lord Jesus gave the Great Commission: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 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, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” (Matt 28:17-20)
To equip us for this calling, God generously provides everything we need: Baptism, which unites us to Christ; the Lord’s Supper; and the gift of faith to believe. All these blessings come to us through His
Word in Holy Scripture, which faithfully proclaims the Gospel and delivers God’s grace. Apart from His Word, we cannot know God. He has chosen this means to reveal Himself to us. By His Word He spoke creation into being, and by that same Word He still creates faith today, whenever and wherever He pleases. Praise God that He has chosen to work that faith in you and me!
Doubts about the truth of God’s Word are deeply serious, because if we cannot trust what He has spoken, how can we fully trust the God who speaks? Faith is weakened whenever we fail to rely on Scripture. That is why standing firmly on the absolute truth and trustworthiness of Holy Scripture is so vital; without it, we are lost. At Trinity, we hold unwaveringly to this conviction: every word of Scripture endures forever (Matt 24:35), every jot and tittle is sacred (Matt 5:18), and nothing may be added or removed without great peril (Rev 22:18-19).
God plants each individual congregation with a purpose as well. Trinity is here in Ashland to bring the life-giving Word of God to our community. We can only share what we have received, yet God has richly supplied us with everything needed to bring salvation to all. The lives of our families, neighbors, and yours are infinitely precious to Him. This is why we cling so tightly to the truth of His Word. What else could we do? As Peter once said to Jesus, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” (John 6:68) Yes, he does.
Let us hold fast to every word of Scripture and joyfully share it—and the Christ who comes to us through it—with everyone around us.
