The Augsburg Interim

by Dr. Jack Kilcrease Shortly after the death of Luther in 1546, Pope Paul the III entered into an agreement with the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles the V.  This agreement stipulated that Charles would go to war against everyone who opposed the Council of Trent.  This was the council that the Pope had called a… Read More >

Faithful Women of the Reformation

by Dcs. Betsy Karkan When asked to make a list of notable women of the reformation, it is not surprising that most of the lists people come up with look something like this: Katie Luther … If your list bears a similar resemblance to the one above, know that you are in good company.  Katie… Read More >

Luther on the Cross and Suffering

by Rev. Matthew Zickler Right now we are observing the season of Easter. We are celebrating the resurrection of our Lord on the first Easter Sunday; that our Lord Jesus Christ, by His sacrifice for us on the cross and by His resurrection from the tomb, has won the victory for us over Sin, Death… Read More >

Johann Walter

by Jonathan Swett Johann Walter lived through the early and late years of the Lutheran Reformation, and as the “first cantor of the Lutheran Church,” significantly shaped the musical life of the church of that period and the centuries that followed.  Much like Martin Luther, Walter devoted considerable effort to developing a proper understanding of… Read More >

Johannes Bugenhagen

by Rev. Stephen Preus If the Reformation is compared to a vine, the work of men like Johannes Bugenhagen may be likened to a trellis. Bugenhagen was a reformer without whom much evangelical fruit would have withered. Most know him as pastor of the city church in Wittenberg, and therefore Martin Luther’s pastor, but he… Read More >

Luther on the Office of the Ministry

by Rev. A Brian Flamme Feet are not especially beautiful, if I may say so. They’re often callused, gnarled looking things that wear out quickly from age and mileage. When you rack up enough miles on your car’s tires, you change them out. Not so with feet. And yet, St. Paul quoting the prophet Isaiah… Read More >

Why Luther’s Hymns Sound the Way They Do

by Katie Schuermann A composer can never escape his own style, and this is true even of amateur composers such as Martin Luther. Our beloved reformer was a competent musician in his own right. Embracing the musical arts in both his schooling and his cloistered life, Luther became a proficient instrumentalist on the lute and… Read More >

Dawn to Dusk with Our Living Lord

by Deaconess Carolyn S. Brinkley In the Small Passion Albrecht Dürer devotes three woodcuts to the Scriptural accounts of Easter day enabling us, with our own eyes, to see holy events as if they are happening right now. He places you, me, and himself as participants in salvation’s narrative as he draws us into the… Read More >

Loving Your Neighbor in Lent (in Wittenberg)

by Rev. Michael Schuermann On March 9, 1522, Martin Luther climbed into the pulpit in Wittenberg and preached the first of a week’s worth of sermons. Luther had been in hiding at the Wartburg, but returned to Wittenberg because the people had begun to be led astray by the erroneous teachings of Andreas Karlstadt and… Read More >