I am Joseph Murphy pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Parker. I have been married to my wife Judy since 1988 and we are blessed with seven children. I attended Illinois State University, graduating in 1988 and then worked as an automotive engineer until departing for seminary. I attended Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, completing a Master of Divinity degree in 1994, and a Master of Sacred Theology degree in 2001. I was ordained into the office of the Holy Ministry in 1996 and served as pastor of two congregations in Illinois before accepting a call to serve as the first pastor at Grace in 2004.
I was also blessed to serve as a chaplain in the Air National Guard National Guard from 2001 -2023. I enjoyed serving the fantastic people who serve to defend our nation. At Grace we love and support the members and veterans of our armed forces, and our first responders in police, sheriff, and fire departments.
I grew up in suburban Chicago Illinois and was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. I am thankful for the good things I received in the Roman Catholic Church. There God called me by name and made me a member of His body, the Church, through Holy Baptism. There I also received of Holy Communion, the true body and the blood of Christ. I did not know anything about the Lutheran church until I met my wife Judy while attending ISU. Through her the Lord led me to the Lutheran Church. In the Lutheran Church (Missouri Synod) I heard the Gospel more clearly proclaimed. We are saved entirely by the grace of God, not by our efforts or a decision on our part. St Paul writes: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” (Ephesians 2:9) What a relief to know the grace and mercy of God in Christ! We are set free by the Gospel to serve our Lord out of gratitude. In Christ, we no longer wonder or worry whether we have been good enough to enter heaven. He took our sins upon himself and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
Grace has grown from a small mission to a mid-sized congregation, so there is not much extra time for hobbies, but I do enjoy reading, hiking, and working on cars. Classic cars are the ones I like best. My favorite activity of all is spending time with my wife Judy and our kids.
The Lutheran church is a liturgical and sacramental church. We are both catholic and evangelical. Our teachings were not new in the 16th century when the Lutheran Church came into being. They are in harmony with both the Scriptures and the early Christian Church. We cherish the historical continuity of both doctrine and worship practices within our church. The first time I visited my wife’s Lutheran Church, I was struck by the beauty of the service and the quality of the hymns. Her church sang hymns that ranged from the third to the twentieth century. By contrast, I had grown up with a guitar mass at which most people listened to the music but did not sing. The music was performed well but lacked theological depth.
In the Lutheran Church, all are participants in the service. The best hymns, both old and new, powerfully proclaim the Gospel of what Christ has done, teach the faith, and comfort us as we sing them. The liturgy of the church is not something we make up new every Sunday. It is from Holy Scripture. We join the saints of all ages in singing God’s Word to us. It is refreshing to belong to something larger than ourselves and our own little point in time! I believe that today’s “contemporary” services do a disservice to anyone attending them. The Holy Church has so much better to offer! That’s why more and more Christians are leaving praise bands behind for real authentic liturgical worship that is anchored in Holy Scripture.
At Grace our music includes the best of both traditional and modern hymns. Hymns at Grace are Christ centered rather than focused on a song writer’s personal experience. Many have joined Grace because they were looking for something deeper than 1980’s style rock music dressed up with Christian lyrics. Human beings should never be the focus of a worship service, but that’s exactly what happens with a praise band. The music of the Church is far too rich and deep to be limited only to commercial Christian music of the past forty years.
Lutherans believe that when we gather for services, God Himself serves us through His Word and Sacraments. Jesus said,” The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” (Mark 2:27) Services of Word and Sacrament are God’s gift to us, not something we do for God. What this means is that unlike Roman Catholicism and other Protestants, Lutherans believe that the primary action of worship is from God to us. This contrasts with those who think of worship primarily as something people offer God to please Him. Lutherans joyfully gather for God’s service to them. Our worship is reverent because we believe that we are in the presence of the Holy Trinity. In the service we look forward to receiving the forgiveness of our sins, being strengthened by His Word, and being fed with the Holy Supper of Christ’s body and blood. It is a foretaste of the eternal feast to come.
I have had the joy of watching the Lord build Grace from 25 members in 2004 to well over 300 today. By the grace of God and the generosity of our members, we were able to build our first building in 2015 and added additional classrooms in 2022. I look forward to what the Lord will do in the future.
I invite you to come and experience Grace for yourself. You will find a warm welcome and authentic Christianity without the shallowness of praise music or the depravity of rainbow flags and wokeness. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions or comments about our church, website, or the differences between the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod and other denominations. Thanks for visiting and may the Lord bless you with the abundance of His grace.
Pastor Joseph Murphy