Salem Evangelical Lutheran Church
Colorado Springs, Colorado
A Member Of The
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Colorado Springs, Colorado
A Member Of The
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Stained Glass
In 2020, Salem installed nine new stained glass windows in our sanctuary. The windows and frames were made and donated by our members. The overall theme of our windows is The Calling. Christians are called to faith and called to serve.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
(I Peter 2:9)
The five windows on the left side of the church depict Old Testament events, those on the right depict four events from the New Testament. The center of our sanctuary, our beliefs, and our salvation is the Cross of Christ.
Creation • Genesis 2
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. On the sixth day, He created Adam and Eve, and placed them in the Garden of Eden. This was a perfect paradise on Earth where God daily walked with Adam and Eve in peace.
Sermon on Genesis 2:7-9, 15-24
The Lord God said,Sadly, this peace and perfection did not last. Yet it was here also that the Lord showed His love for sinful mankind. When Adam and Eve sinned against Him, the Lord, in love, called them to repentence. He also called them to faith in the first promise of the Savior, Jesus Christ, who would crush Satan and win for all salvation in Heaven above.It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper who is a suitable partner for him.The Lord God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep. As the man slept, the Lord God took a rib and closed up the flesh where it had been. The Lord God built a woman from the rib that he had taken from the man and brought her to the man.
(Genesis 2:18,20-21)
Sermon on Genesis 2:7-9, 15-24
Creation - Adam And Eve
Noah’s Ark and Rainbow • Genesis 9
After the fall into sin, the world went from bad to worse. Among the entire world population, God found only 8 believers: Noah and his family. God called Noah to build the ark, care for the animals during the flood and, most importantly, continue the line of believers from Adam to Christ. After the flood, God placed the rainbow in the sky, a reminder of His promise to never again destroy the world by a flood of water.
Sermon on Genesis 9:8-17
I have set my rainbow in the cloud, and it will be the sign of a covenant between me and the earth. The rainbow will be in the cloud. I will look at it so that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of every kind that is on the earth.God said to Noah,This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.
(Genesis 9:13,16-17)
Sermon on Genesis 9:8-17
Noah's Ark and Rainbow
Abraham and the Stars • Genesis 15
The Lord called Abraham to faith and called him to serve Him in many ways. In Genesis 15, The Lord showed Abraham the stars of the heavens and promised him that his offspring, believers in the Savior, will be as numerous. Abraham's response was recorded for us in Genesis 15:6,
Sermon on Genesis 15:1-6
Abram believed in the Lord, and the Lord credited it to him as righteousness.The Lord, who called Abraham to faith, declared him to be righteous through faith in that promise.
Sermon on Genesis 15:1-6
Abraham and the Stars
The Burning Bush • Exodus 3
The Israelites were slaves in Egypt, but God had promised to Abraham that his descendants would inherit and dwell in the land of Israel. The people needed a leader and that was Moses. God called to him from the burning bush. God called Moses to believe that the great I Am would work through him to lead His people from Egypt to the promised land of Israel.
Sermon on Exodus 3:1-15
Moses said to God,If I go to the Israelites and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what should I say to them?
So God replied to Moses,I am who I am.He also said,You will say this to the Israelites: I am has sent me to you.
(Exodus 3:13-14)
Sermon on Exodus 3:1-15
The Burning Bush
The Prophet and Scroll • Isaiah 6
The prophets of God spoke God's Word to God's people. They were called by God from all walks of life to believe God, God's Word, and especially the message of the Savior who would come. The message they spoke and wrote was not their own. They were verbally inspired by God.
Sermon on Isaiah 6:1-8
For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit(II Peter 1:21). The prophets were called to serve, often under severe circumstances, to bring God's Word ultimately to all people.
Sermon on Isaiah 6:1-8
The Prophet and Scroll
The Cross Of Christ
In the center of our sanctuary, at the center of our faith and teachings, is the Cross of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament promises and prophecies point forward to Jesus and His salvation on the Cross. The New Testament accounts of His life and work of salvation and the writings of His apostles point back to Jesus and His salvation on the Cross. It is here that Jesus, true God and true Man, carried the sins of all mankind and bore the punishment of a righteous and holy God. It is here that Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice for all mankind that all may have life eternal in Heaven. The Cross is empty because, as Jesus cried out,
It Is Finished!(John 19:30). No punishment for sin remains. No further sacrifice is needed. Not a single work is required. Salvation has been paid in full and the open, empty tomb on Easter morning proves God's acceptance of Christ Jesus' payment for sin. This Cross is the center of our faith. It is the center of our teachings. It is the center of our church.
The Nativity • Luke 2
The fulfillment of the Old Testament prophesies and the proclamation of the New Testament is Jesus Christ. Joseph and Mary, Jesus' earthly parents, were called to faith by God to believe those prophesies. They were called to serve as well. Jesus Christ, true God, took on human flesh to be the Savior of the world—the Savior we all need. Mary gave birth to Jesus and together Mary and Jospeh raised Jesus. They served the Triune God in serving the baby Jesus, born in a stable, born the King of Kings.
Sermon on Luke 2:1-20
And so it was that while they were there, the time came for her to give birth. And she gave birth to her firstborn son, wrapped him in swaddling cloths, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn(Luke 2:6-7).
Sermon on Luke 2:1-20
The Nativity
Pentecost • Acts 2
On Pentecost, 50 days after He rose from the dead, Jesus sent the promised Holy Spirit to the men He had called to be His apostles. The tongues of fire were the outward proof that the Holy Spirit rested upon these twelve. Jesus had called them to faith, called them from all walks of life, and now they were called by Him to serve His great commission, as are all Christians:
Sermon on Acts 2:1-21
Go and gather disciples from all nations by baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and by teaching them to keep all the instructions I have given you. And surely I am with you always until the end of the age(Matthew 28:19-20).
Sermon on Acts 2:1-21
Pentecost
Road To Damascus • Acts 9
After the events of Pentecost, the Christian Church faced severe persecution. One of those who persecuted the early Christians was Saul of Tarsus. As he was travelling from Jerusalem to Damascus, Jesus Christ appeared to Saul, called him to faith and called him to serve as an apostle. The Lord said of Saul,
Sermon on Acts 9:1-20
This man is my chosen instrument to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the people of Israel(Acts 9:15). Saul, later known as the Apostle Paul, wrote almost half of the New Testament and travelled throughout the Roman world proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Sermon on Acts 9:1-20
Road to Damascus
The River of Life • Revelation 22
The Bible begins with Adam and Eve perfectly enjoying God's paradise in the Garden of Eden. The Bible concludes with a similar description of believers perfectly enjoying God's paradise in Heaven. God has called everyone through the Gospel of Jesus Christ to believe in the salvation that Jesus won for the whole world on the Cross. God calls everyone also to believe that eternal life in Heaven awaits all who trust in Him.
Sermon on Revelation 22:1-5
The angel showed me the river of the water of life, which was as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and the Lamb. In the middle of the city's street and on each side of the river was a tree of life that yielded twelve kinds of fruit. The tree yields its fruit every month, and its leaves are for the healing of the nations.
(Revelation 22:1-2)
Sermon on Revelation 22:1-5
The River of Life
