A Message from Pastor Holsten:
Welcome to our website. St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Closter, New Jersey is glad you’re visiting us online. If you’re in the Closter, New Jersey area, please stop by to say hello during the week.
My name is Pastor Robert Holsten. I’ve been serving as Pastor here at St. Paul’s since 1990. My office hours are Tuesday through Friday, from 9 AM to 12 PM. Other hours are by appointment. St. Paul’s address is: 171 Closter Dock Road, Closter, New Jersey, 07624.
You’re most welcome to join us for worship on Sundays at 8:30 and 10 AM. Our Sunday School meets each Sunday morning at 9 AM. Bible class begins at 9 AM.
It is our prayer that you will be blessed in God’s Word, by the power of His Holy Spirit, as you explore this website. Our goal as a church is to share the Good News of God’s love in Jesus with as many people as possible.
In Christ,
Pastor Robert Holsten
Statement of Belief
The Lutheran Church is a church that believes God speaks to us through the Bible. In the Bible, we meet a God who made the whole world with His own Word. When that world fell into sin, God spoke a word of judgment. Yet, at the same time, God promised He would send a Savior. The whole Old Testament, the first part of the Bible, tells the story of God preparing His people and His world for the Savior to come. The New Testament, the second part of the Bible, tells the story of how God sent His only beloved Son, Jesus, into our world.
Jesus, God’s Son, took on our flesh and bone. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit, and born to a human mother, Mary. He was like us in every way, except that He did not sin. When He was about thirty years old, Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. After that, Jesus was tempted by the devil. When the forty days of His temptation were over, Jesus gathered twelve disciples about Himself. Then Jesus preached, taught and healed people where they hurt most for three years of His life.
When the time came, Jesus was betrayed by one of His own disciples into the hands of His enemies. Jesus’ enemies arrested Him, put Him on trial, and handed Him over to the Roman Governor, who allowed Jesus to be crucified.
We believe that on the cross, God allowed Jesus to suffer the punishment for all the sins the whole world has ever committed, or will commit. Jesus died on the cross, and his body was laid in a new tomb nearby. On the Sunday morning following His death, God raised Jesus to life again. Through Jesus, God forgives our sins, gives us new life, and the sure hope of heaven.
God’s Holy Spirit works in our hearts, through God’s Word, and through what we call the Sacraments. In one Sacrament, Holy Baptism, God washes away our sins, pours His Holy Spirit into our hearts, and works faith in our hearts to believe all His promises. In the other Sacrament, Holy Communion, God gives us the very body and blood of Jesus, present in the bread and wine as Jesus’ own Word promises.
God will one day end the world, and Jesus Himself will judge the world, too. Yet for all who put their hope in Jesus, even the end of the world cannot separate from the love of God in Jesus, His Son. We believe that on the Last Day, God will raise our bodies up new, and whole, and without sin. We look forward to a reunion with all who have gone before us in the faith. We look forward to seeing God face to face. God has promised to wipe every tear from our eyes.
We gather for worship in the Lutheran Church weekly to be strengthened in this hope. God’s Word gives us guidance, encouragement, and hope in dealing with the many problems and struggles we face living in a broken world. At St. Paul’s, our worship times are Sundays at 8:30 and 10 AM. We also meet for special worship times on Thanksgiving, Christmas, during the time before Easter called Lent, and for what we call Holy Week.
Holy Week includes Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a donkey. Holy Week includes Maundy Thursday, the night Jesus first celebrated the Lord’s Supper. On Maundy Thursday evening also, Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, and was betrayed by Judas into the hands of His enemies. On Good Friday, we remember that Jesus suffered and died on the cross for us. On Easter, we gladly proclaim that God raised Jesus from the dead. Because Jesus lives, God’s promise is that we shall live, also.
We take time out each week to teach the basic truths of the Bible to our children in Sunday School. Sunday School meets each Sunday morning from September to the end of May at 9 AM.. Special confirmation classes are offered for 7th and 8th Graders. Whenever requested, A ten session course called God For Us is offered for adults interested in the teachings of the Lutheran Church. God For Us is our current Bible Class study.
The Lutheran Church is named after Dr. Martin Luther. He was a teacher of the church, who called the church back to the teachings of the Bible. God used Martin Luther’s teaching and writing and bold confession to restore the truth of the Gospel to the church. We cannot save ourselves from sin or death. God sent Jesus to redeem us, to buy us back, and to give us the sure hope of heaven. Our hope is sure, because what Jesus has done in our place us is finished and complete.