We’re the “For” Church
What do others say about your church? Do you hear, “Oh, you’re the church that’s against abortion. Your church is against same-sex marriage. You’re against praying with other Christians”? Sometimes the perception is that we…
The Messiah: Old Testament Prophecy and New Testament Fulfillment
This series offers an overview of the chief teachings of the Christian church. Sometimes a curious unbeliever will ask a Christian acquaintance, “What’s the Bible all about?” One can imagine different answers that could be…
The Introit
In the Old Testament we read of how Esther needed to approach the king to inform him of a genocidal plot against her people. As queen living in the palace, she could go to the…
Sufferings and Glories Revealed
“Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them…
Wrestling with God
“Then Jacob was left alone; and a Man wrestled with him until the breaking of day.” (Genesis 32:24) Late that night, Jacob stood alone by the Jabbok River; troubled, frightened, sleepless. Somewhere in the darkness…
We Receive the Benefits of the Sacraments by Faith Alone
Thesis XXI – In the seventeenth place, the Word of God is not rightly divided when men are taught that the Sacraments produce salutary effects ex opere operato, that is, by the mere outward performance…
The Absolution
Ever wonder why we Lutherans use the form of worship we do? In this series we examine the depth and meaning of the various elements of our worship service, beginning with the history of Christian…
A Tested Faith Is a Joyful Faith
“In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes,…
In Him All Things Consist
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” (Genesis 1:1) These majestic words set the stage for the most-read, most-printed, and most-translated book in history—the Holy Bible. Compare that statement to how Carl…
The Happy Inconsistency
“Thesis XX–In the sixteenth place, the Word of God is not rightly divided when a person’s salvation is made to depend on his association with the visible orthodox church and when salvation is denied to…