When you touch a piece of iron that is lying in the forge and glowing, you touch not mere iron but fire which burns. Even if you see no fire but only iron (just as it is not seen to glow by day as much as by night), it is nevertheless not only iron but … Read more
When I was a child, we already had the Small Catechism memorized before we entered confirmation instruction. We recited portions in Sunday School from about the third or fourth grade onward. We recited all portions in Vacation Bible School year after year. By the time we entered confirmation instruction, we had recited it at church … Read more
For the ordinary church member, however, especially for those who are troubled about their faith and yet come to no conclusions about it, for the innumerable people on the fringes of the church who cannot find their way through all the conflicting opinions, the almost chaotic confusion in the realm of religion, it is of … Read more
Law, gospel, and prayer are the chief elements of the Christian faith according to the Scriptures. Luther calls the law and the gospel the “arguments,” that is, the fundamentals necessary for an understanding of the Scriptures; they represent the real content of the Scriptures. The law and the gospel constitute the first two parts of … Read more
The purpose of the Catechism is therefore to open the way to the reality of God. But this means that, as the epitome of the Scriptures, it is the Word of God addressed to us. In the Word of God lies power (authority). Power is the term used concerning Jesus in the New Testament when … Read more
Parents, you have disciples. Primary and secondary ones. Your children are your primary disciples. Here are some excerpts from an article by Pastor James Uglum that crystalize these truths. The kids that God has entrusted to you are your primary disciples. As Christian parents we have the privilege of not simply making disciples, but raising … Read more
Quotations from John T. Pless speaking at the 2016 Brothers of John the Steadfast Conference in Tomball, Texas, as reported by Cafe’ Sola on Facebook. “The small Catechism has been influential in bringing whole congregations into the Lutheran faith.” “Even non Lutherans were using the Small Catechism for mission work!” “A full 1/4th of the … Read more
Luther deliberately reorganized the creedal material, without altering the wording, by reducing the twelve articles (corresponding to the twelve apostles) common in the late Middle Ages to the three articles common in the early church. More than a desire for historical accuracy on Luther’s part accounts for this rearrangement. He wanted to concentrate the catechumen’s … Read more