In 2016, I wrote a brief biographical piece about Sir Patrick Hamilton, the first Lutheran martyr in Scotland. I had hoped to modernize his theological commonplaces as a later piece for our readers here, but as is often the case … Continue reading
The frequent reappearance of questions surrounding the divinely instituted Office of the Holy Ministry are worth considering. They are intimately connected to the chief article of justification by grace through faith alone. The Augsburg Confession lays this out clearly in … Continue reading
Dr. David Menton, a speaker, writer, and researcher at Answers in Genesis, spoke at the 2015 Issues, Etc., “Making the Case Conference” on the topic of Creationism vs. Naturalism. He concluded his remarks by speaking of the way in which … Continue reading
On a recent vacation, my family and I visited some of our pastor friends and their families in Michigan and Iowa. It was a wonderful time of refreshment. Even as we lamented the divisions in the Church around us, we … Continue reading
Thursday, September 8th, 2016. To most, this day did not stand in distinction to any other day of 2016, a year filled with political, moral, and theological upheaval, but for me and millions of “Trekkies” around the world, that day was the 50th … Continue reading
“For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (I Corinthians 2:2). I have a cross in my office at the church I serve that is made of two very large nails. These nails were … Continue reading
Growing up, I had no idea that Lutheran was almost synonymous with German heritage (sorry, Preuses, et al.). The little country parish where I grew up was largely populated by my mom’s family, who were all Metcalfs. This is probably … Continue reading
I was reading in Rev. Eric Andersen’s article‘s comments section when I happened across a very enlightening comment from a BJS reader who said, “I know you will join my prayers that God will continue to work through each of … Continue reading
There’s an old saying—“You’ll catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.” Sometimes, Christians employ this adage when it comes to exercising church discipline, whether it be on an individual basis or over an entire congregation. We’d rather try to … Continue reading
It’s that time of the year! Not just that time when pastors see some of their members finally darken the door of the Church for the Christmas Eve service, but it’s also that time of the year when the anti-Christian … Continue reading
December 6th is the day the Church remembers and gives thanks to God for the life and confession of St. Nicholas, Bishop of Myra. This is from Concordia Publishing House’s Treasury of Daily Prayer: “Of the many saints commemorated by … Continue reading
The absolute worst place to discuss anything is the comments section on a website. Best construction: threads get too long to read (thus making it difficult to enter the discussion). Worst construction (although still true): comments sections have become the … Continue reading
When I was in seminary, I went to dinner with some family friends. The conversation eventually turned to what I was learning in school, and I went through my course schedule, which included one of the three dogmatics classes required … Continue reading
As is my custom, I was wasting time on Facebook one day, and I came across a post from a friend that posed this question: “What is the most neglected part of the Small Catechism?” I thought about it for … Continue reading