by Dcs. Carolyn S. Brinkley Faces, hands, and books swirl around the divine Child in Albrecht Dürer’s oil painting Christ Among the Doctors. The artist’s rendition of Luke 2:41-52 is far from a typical, placid, generic temple scene. Rather the mood is surreal and has a nightmarish quality. Dürer draws you, the viewer, into the inner sanctum of the learned… Read More >
Bible Study with Luther: Galatians 6:1-18
by Rev. Paul Doellinger Following in the footsteps of St. Paul, Luther and the Reformers sought true peace and unity in the Church through the pure proclamation of the Gospel. Indeed, the only way peace and unity can be achieved in the Church on earth is through the pure teaching of salvation by grace alone,… Read More >
Formula of Concord Study: Article VIII
by Rev. Mark Bestul As my congregation’s Book of Concord study group hears me speak of the contents of the Formula of Concord, they might hear the expression “Articles VII and VIII.” Both historically- and theologically-speaking, seeing these two articles together is proper and useful. They almost serve as “A and B” of the same conversation,… Read More >
The Gloria in Excelsis
by Rev. Dr. Mark Birkholz I grew up attending Trinity Lutheran School in Clinton Township, Michigan. Every year the children of the school presented a Christmas program. It was a little different each year, but one part was always the same: the kindergarten angels. Every year the kindergarten students would dress in white robes with… Read More >
Katharina von Bora Luther
by Dr. Jack Kilcrease Katharina von Bora is most famous for being the wife of Martin Luther. Traditionally, sources have suggested she was born in 1499. Nevertheless, because early modern Europe was lacking in birth certificates, there is no direct evidence of this. There is also something of a dispute about the location of her… Read More >
Joseph, Guardian of our Lord
by Rev. Stephen Preus Luther had much more to say about Mary, the mother of our Lord, than her husband Joseph. This is hardly surprising given that much of Luther’s comments on Joseph revolve around how he is not Jesus’ natural father because Jesus is conceived by the Holy Spirit and born of the Virgin… Read More >
Formula of Concord Study: Article VII
by Rev. Michael Schuermann The seventh article in the Formula of Concord deals chiefly with the controversy stirred up within the churches of the Lutheran confession by the Sacramentarians. According to the Christian Cyclopedia (link: http://cyclopedia.lcms.org/display.asp?t1=s&word=SACRAMENTARIAN), the term “Sacramentarian” was “applied by Martin Luther to Hulrich Zwingli, Johannes Oecolampadius, and others (cf. St. L. ed.,… Read More >
A Kingdom of the Word and Faith, Part II
by Rev. A. Brian Flamme The devil hates and attacks the kingdom of grace. He stands in opposition with his weapons of the flesh, sin, and death. Therefore, Jesus wants us to pray that the kingdom that he purchased by his blood and resurrected life, that he extends to the ends of the earth by… Read More >
A Kingdom of the Word and Faith, Part I
by Rev. A. Brian Flamme Praying for a kingdom seems a bit strange for citizens of the 21st century. We’re used to parliaments, congresses, representatives, and presidents. In our minds kings and kingdoms seem more at home in the distant past and fairy tales. Even in countries with a royal family and aristocracy, they exist… Read More >
Luther’s Letters
by Rev. Matthew Zickler Those who have read Luther’s public writings might have a certain perception of what they would expect his other works to look like. In these public writings, Luther took on such opponents as the pope, the Anabaptists and Zwingli among others. In these works, Luther often gets the reputation for being… Read More >