“Inviting Some and Keeping Back Others”: Who is Welcome to the Lord’s Table?
Christ established His Church on earth so that sinners might receive His gifts of Word and Sacrament. Put another way, the Church exists…
Christ established His Church on earth so that sinners might receive His gifts of Word and Sacrament. Put another way, the Church exists…
A great deal of practical wisdom for the church today can be found in Wilhelm Löhe’s “Three Books about the Church.” In this…
Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual…
The first Lutherans didn’t use the term “Lutheran” to describe themselves. They identified themselves by the much more apt term “evangelical.” After all, the…
If you were to stop and consider the devil’s appearance for a moment, you might imagine something frightening. He very well may show up in…
It’s not uncommon these days to hear people lament the loss of denominational loyalty, particularly in congregations which were once thriving but are…
It’s easy to think we’re smarter than we actually are. We live in a time when technology has put unprecedented amounts of information…
In the name of Jesus, Amen. Beloved in the Lord: it’s good to be here with you. Praise be to the Lord of the…
Here’s my setting of the offertory “Rejoice, O Gentiles”, from the 1969 TLH Worship Supplement. Feel free to reproduce for congregational use. Audio:
Warning: this post contains sexually explicit material Pornography is wicked. So is the sinful flesh, which is why porn sells. One source reported a “conservative…
There’s nothing like a family gathering to raise the blood pressure. If your family is anything like mine, you’ve probably experienced your share…
Glory be to God on high, and on earth, peace, good will toward men! But instead of peace on earth, chaos often reigns….
Dialogue is not the infallible cure-all that we often make it out to be. There comes a point when we simply need to…
There is perhaps no greater threat to both the Gospel and to the family today than the sexual identity crisis in our culture….
Are parents- especially Christian ones- brainwashing their children? Dr. Chester M. Pierce, Emeritus Professor of Education at Harvard Medical School and Psychiatry, thinks so….
Virgil Solis (1514-1562), “Malachi” Malachi speaks to the people about the return of Elijah. In the background, John the Baptist points to Jesus….
The Church stands or falls on the article of justification. Ask any Lutheran about justification and it won’t be long before you’re hearing…
The Bridegroom soon will call us, “Come to the wedding feast.” May slumber not befall us nor watchfulness decrease (LSB 514, st. 1). Ten…
I’ll lay my cards on the table right at the outset. As to the question about whether Jesus welcomes the mentally disabled to…
I was not a popular kid in junior high. If being in the school concert band wasn’t uncool enough, I also chose to…
I recently had the privilege of attending “In the World for Good”, a conference on Urban Ministry at Concordia Theological Seminary in…
It goes without saying that major festivals (e.g., Christmas and Easter) are important for the life of the Church. The Church year is…
In The Contemplative Pastor, Eugene Peterson makes the observation that our culture is “unwell in a new way.” In contrast to previous generations,…
Luther explains the Second Commandment, “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God”, as follows: We should fear and love…
(Luther, “The Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector”) Sometimes the most simple and obvious things are also the most profound. We…