Hope Lutheran is Word and Sacrament ministry.
In other words, God comes to us through these specific means of grace. Through the Word, God works faith in us (Romans 10:17), sanctifies us (John 17:17), and instructs us in right conduct (2 Timothy 3:16).
Through the Sacraments, God connects His word to visible signs to work faith in us.
In Baptism we fulfill the command of Christ (Matthew 28:19) and receive the promised gift of the Holy Spirit and forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38-39).
In the Lord's Supper we receive the true body and blood of Christ under the bread and wine on account of Christ's words to this effect (Matthew 26:26-28, Mark 14:22-24, Luke 22:19-20, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). We gratefully receive the forgiveness that Christ promised in the words, given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
In Private Confession troubled consciences, beset by sin, receive the consolation of the Gospel. Confession has two parts: 1) confession of sin, and 2) receiving absolution. Private confession is not a new law that must be observed, but rather an opportunity for believers to confess their sins and receive forgiveness. David declares in Psalm 32:
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I acknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah (Psalm 32: 3-5 ESV)