Having been to a good number of circuit meetings and pastors conferences in my ministry by now, I often hear pastors make a distinction when discussing cases of casuistry. They may talk of a person who was “well catechized” or … Continue reading
One word increasingly lost on our culture today is fornication. It has a simple definition, the voluntary sexual intercourse of two persons who are not married. Fornication is condemned in the Bible, and thus the word carries a stigma in … Continue reading
The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity August 31, 2014 “The Historical Gospel” 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 Click the link below to listen to audio of this sermon. http://christforus.org/Sermons/Content/2014/Christ%20for%20Us%209-7-14.mp3 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which … Continue reading
Parts 1 and 2 of this series “How to Catechize Children” are probably most important. They lay out a catechetical method and plan and should get most families on their feet. Once families get on their feet with this, they … Continue reading
In Part 1 of this series “How to Catechize Children,” I laid out the method of catechesis. It is simply question and answer. You ask the questions. Your children give the answers. It really isn’t more complicated than that. In … Continue reading
In recent years much headway has been made in emphasizing how the Small Catechism is a book for the home. It had been that Luther’s words “As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to … Continue reading
Sometimes I get the vibe that Lutherans are dissatisfied with their own devotion and piety, as if it were too narrow or restricting. It makes me think of a phenomenon I’ve seen in our hymnals in several places – the … Continue reading
Throughout my twenties, I remained unmarried. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I was able to pursue my education without other distractions. Serving a parish as a single man had a lot of advantages too. I was able to devote … Continue reading
We all know pastors can be a bit mystifying sometimes. Growing up in a small congregation with fairly high pastor turnover, that’s what I thought anyway, no matter which pastor it was who was serving us at the time. They … Continue reading
I remember when I was a boy how my mother received a small gift once from a friend. It was a keychain. On the keychain was a little electronic music box which played “Amazing Grace.” My mom never used it, … Continue reading
After my parents, one of my heroes of the faith growing up was a man named Frank Knoll. Growing up at Immanuel Lutheran Church outside of Radium, MN in the 80s and 90s, Frank was a good role model for … Continue reading