by Rev. Dr. Mark Birkholz If you want to start an argument among Lutherans, just bring up the topic of worship and the liturgy. Strong opinions exist along the spectrum, from those who would advocate a more casual, informal style of worship with very few traditional elements, to those who insist on following a very… Read More >
Smalcald Articles Study: The First and Chief Article
by Rev. Aaron Moldenhauer Throughout the Reformation, calls for a general council of the church to discuss religious issues were discussed and negotiated. One instance of these negotiations came in 1536, when Pope Paul III called for a council to begin in 1537. The Lutherans, wary of submitting themselves to a council that would be… Read More >
Albrecht Dürer’s “Knight, Death, and the Devil”
by Deac. Carolyn Brinkley Who is the Rider? Although Albrecht Dürer’s “Knight, Death, and the Devil” has been acclaimed as one of Europe’s greatest masterwork engravings since its publication in 1513, it has also been one of the most provocative pieces of art in the past 500 years. All agree that the copper engraving is… Read More >
Luther’s Invocavit Sermons, Part 3 – Faith and Love, Must and Free
by Rev. Anthony Dodgers In his eight Invocavit sermons, Martin Luther taught his congregation how they should first hear God’s Word and think of their actions in light of that Word. But he also taught them how they should think of their neighbor and what they should do to care for their fellow Christians. Luther… Read More >
Luther’s Invocavit Sermons, Part 2 – The Conscience & the Work of the Word
by Rev. Anthony Dodgers On Invocavit Sunday (the First Sunday in Lent), March 9, 1522, Martin Luther stepped into his pulpit in the City Church. His hair was no longer tonsured but he still wore the black cowl of the Augustinian friar. Over the course of that first week in Lent he preached a sermon… Read More >
Luther’s Invocavit Sermons, Part I – From the Wartburg to St. Mary’s Pulpit
by Rev. Anthony Dodgers On Invocavit Sunday (the First Sunday in Lent), 1522, Martin Luther began a series of eight short sermons in which he taught the people of Wittenberg how the reformation of the Church should be carried out. It must be based on God’s clear Word and it must care for the conscience… Read More >
Luther on the Transfiguration
by Rev. Stephen Preus To consider Christ’s glorious Transfiguration on its own is eye-opening; to hear how Luther describes this glory as yours nearly bursts the eyes from their sockets, bringing hope to the Christian heart. Luther’s use of the Transfiguration to teach the hope we have in the resurrection of the body is truly… Read More >
Luther’s Early Life
by Dr. Jack Kilcrease Martin Luther was born in Eisleben on November 10, 1483 to Hans and Margarethe Luder. Martin himself later modified the family name “Luder” to “Luther” in the mid-1510s possibly because of its similarity to Eleutherius, meaning the “free one” (i.e., one who possesses Christian freedom). Whereas Luther’s mother was from an… Read More >
Luther and Melanchthon
by Rev. Christopher Maronde “God has always preserved a proportion of His servants upon the earth, and now, through Martin Luther, a more splendid period of light and truth has appeared.” (On the death of Luther, 1) “If it please Christ, Melanchthon will make many Martins and a most powerful enemy of scholastic theology; for… Read More >
Martin Luther’s Table Talks – Getting to Know the Reformer and His Home
by Rev. Michael Schuermann What was conversation like around the dining table in Martin and Katie Luther’s home? What was talked about? Was it always theology? In the Table Talks we’re given a glimpse into the table conversations and everyday life in Luther’s home, as well as a bit of Martin Luther’s personality. Volume 54… Read More >