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If you are angry with God, your anger is misplaced. It doesn’t matter what you are suffering, God is right and you are wrong. First of all, we must acknowledge that we deserve all of our suffering. Our sins deserve … Continue reading
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Article XIX: Of the Cause of Sin. Of the Cause of Sin they teach that, although God does create and preserve nature, yet the cause of sin is the will of the wicked, that is, of the devil and ungodly … Continue reading
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
Baptism of Our Lord 2019 Isa 42; 1 Cor. 1; Matt. 3 University Lutheran Chapel, Boulder, CO In the Name of the Father, and of the X Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Somewhere around 800 B.C., when Joash … Continue reading
The Holy Apostle Saint John writes, “The Holy Ghost will reprove the world of sin” (footnote: except on Christmas and Easter). When a pastor practices closed communion on Christmas and Easter, some people become upset, to say the least. Five … Continue reading
Article XVIII: Of Free Will. 1] Of Free Will they teach that man’s will has some liberty to choose civil righteousness, and to work 2] things subject to reason. But it has no power, without the Holy Ghost, to work … Continue reading
This past Sunday our churches observed the Epiphany of Our Lord. Epiphany has a fixed calendar date of January 6. As I would guess a sizable majority of our congregations do not have a yearly festival service on Epiphany, this … Continue reading
In the ancient world astrology, the precursor to astronomy and astrophysics, was a critically important science. Astrologers used the motions of the heavens to discern when it would be appropriate to plant crops, go fishing, to travel, etc. All of … Continue reading
Article XVII: Of Christ’s Return to Judgment. 1] Also they teach that at the Consummation of the World Christ will appear for judgment, and 2] will raise up all the dead; He will give to the godly and elect … Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Tonight we meditate on the Lord’s Prayer in light of the Advent of Christ. You might wonder, “Is there some other way to meditate on the … Continue reading
Congregations should have communion statements that summarize their position on closed communion. The statement can be in bulletins, on communion cards, and read before Divine Service – wherever it will be brought to the attention of those visiting the congregation … Continue reading
This is not a writing about a literal bird in a cage; that would be lame, unimportant, and most likely unworthy of being published. What I write today is the story of one of the single most important teaching moments … Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Last week we examined the Ten Commandments in light of the Advent of Christ. We know something of the Ten Commandments by nature, but we can … Continue reading
Article XVI: Of Civil Affairs. 1] Of Civil Affairs they teach that lawful civil ordinances are good works of God, and that 2] it is right for Christians to bear civil office, to sit as judges, to judge matters by … Continue reading
Editor’s Note: Last week we ran the introduction and overview of this paper. Today we are putting the paper out there for our readers to digest and ponder. The comments from the overview article certainly revealed at least three or … Continue reading
I have heard many people over the past decade wonder about a “Luther” for the LCMS. I don’t think it would go very well. Such a man with similar criticisms would not be received well by the LCMS at large … Continue reading
Editor’s Note – This is a good attempt to identify the major divisions within the LCMS. These are constantly shifting and so forth and Rev. Carlson wrote this a while ago. A – Antinomian synod. N – Never-gonna-change nostalgia synod … Continue reading
Written in collaboration with Dr. Jonathan Wessler, Kantor at First Lutheran Church of Boston. Jonathan is a super awesome Lutheran organist who has a lovely wife and three wonderful children. Along with being a consummate organist, he also enjoys good … Continue reading
Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. God’s law is good. The commandments are good. The psalmist sings in Psalm 119, “I find delight in your commandments, which I love” (Ps. 119:47), “I … Continue reading
The Second Sunday in Advent December 10, 2017 “Why God Gave Us the Bible” Romans 15:4-6 Click here to listen to audio of this sermon. For whatever things were written before were written for our … Continue reading
Lutherans in Africa (LIA) is forming Africans to be teachers of the faith and to that end, we are building a new Lutheran School of Theology in the bush just outside of Nairobi, Kenya. We also continue to hold teaching … Continue reading
THE TWENTY-THREE YEAR STORY OF CHANGE-PROMOTING ORGANIZATIONS IN THE LCMS By Rev. Dr. Martin R. Noland In the past week or so, congregations of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod have been bombarded with glossy brochures criticizing the current president of synod … Continue reading
Advent 1 Matthew 21 University Lutheran Chapel, Boulder, CO In the Name of the Father, and of the X Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the … Continue reading
Article XV: Of Ecclesiastical Usages. 1] Of Usages in the Church they teach that those ought to be observed which may be observed without sin, and which are profitable unto tranquillity and good order in the Church, as particular holy … Continue reading
Lambs at Pasture for the Ad Te Levavi — The First Sunday in Advent and its Answer Key are now available for download. English Version English Answer Key The repetitive nature of Lambs at Pasture aids in familiarity and memorization of key … Continue reading