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Introduction to a course on the Lutheran Confessions

Strength and Growth In the sixteenth century, Martin Luther strengthened the church by exposing its corruption and artificiality. He enunciated its structural sins. In Britain in the eighteenth century, a man named William Law enlarged the place of the church by exposing the piety of its members. And…

The problem of evil and God's help

Hear the words of the the Smalcald Articles in the article on repentance So Paul says in Rom. 1:18, “The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and wickedness of men.” and in Rom. 3:19, 20, “The whole world may be held accountable to God, for no human being will be justified in…

Chapter 7— End of reformation Worship service — Luther’s contribution 1534 - Complete German Bible 1523- An Order of Mass and communion for the Church at Wittenberg 1526 - The German Mass and Order of Service (1526) Every October 31st — We start the reformation…the start and not the conclusion. 95 Theses…

Holy Trinity, Year A In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Brothers and sisters in Christ: grace and peace to you from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Ten months ago, we came together as a church family to take a hard look at ourselves to determine…

Evidence of God’s Love? Two women were having what some call a “spiritual online conversation.” It went like this: The first woman posted: It’s not about how many scriptures you know. It’s about how many scriptures you can live. I know I know… it stung me too! The second woman replied: When my son was…

Text: Luke 24:38–39 “38 And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” Is He risen? Has it happened? What are you waiting for?…

34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right. 36 You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. 37 You…

Luther As the year 1500 arrived, Europe was in the midst of profound changes. The conditions, attitudes, and institutions that had characterized the Middle Ages were gradually giving way to new movements and developments. The discovery of unknown lands across the Atlantic accompanied an explosion of…

A man who was telling his friend about an argument he’d had with his wife commented, “Oh, how I hate it, every time we have an argument; she gets historical.” The friend replied, “You mean hysterical.” “No,” he insisted. “I mean historical. Every time we argue she drags up everything from the past and…

Prayer 1. Lord God, bless Your Word wherever it is proclaimed. Make it a Word of power and peace to convert those not yet Your own and to confirm those who have come to saving faith. May Your Word pass from the ear to the heart, from the heart to the lip, and from the lip to the life that, as You have…

Many unregenerate men consider themselves to be God’s children, or “sons of God.” But being a product of God’s handiwork does not qualify one for a sonship relationship. A cabinetmaker constructs a cabinet. But this does not make the cabinet a “child” of the cabinetmaker. A birth process would be necessary…

We are in the season of Epiphany. When people recognize Christ, they are drawn to worship and obedience. It is by His Word that Christ is recognized, not by our actions (Jonah 3:1-5; John 1:46). This has been true, from the Magi (Matt 2:1-12), to John the Baptizer and his disciples (John1:43-51), to those whom Jesus Himself called to follow Him (John1:47-49; Mark 1:14-20).

The Augsburg Confession draws a line in the sand. In fact, all the Lutheran Confessions – the Augsburg Confession and its Defense, the Catechisms of Dr. Luther, the Smalcald Articles, the Treatise on the Power and Primacy of the Pope, and the Formula of Concord – all the Lutheran confessions of faith…

Normally after a Baptism we celebrate. We take pictures. We have a meal with family and friends. We eat cake and cupcakes and other assorted sweets. After all, an amazing thing happened, the Word came to the water, made it God’s holy water, and that water clothed another person in Christ. Maybe that…

Lutherans are sola fide people. Faith alone. Typically, when we talk about faith alone, we talk about salvation, that is, that we are saved by faith alone, faith in Jesus Christ. We think of Romans 3, which we heard a couple weeks ago, “We maintain that a man is justified by faith, apart from observing…

Like most of Jesus’ parables, it isn’t hard to figure out Luke 13’s fig tree parable, especially in context. “There were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices. Jesus answered, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners…