Jesus commissioned His Apostles to preach the Gospel (Luke 24:47). The Apostle Paul told Pastor Timothy to “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2). And so our Lutheran churches have properly valued faithful preaching. Jesus said to those whom He had sent to preach: “Whoever hears you, hears me. Whoever rejects you, rejects me. And whoever […]
The Didache, Lesson 12: Prayer and Fasting
March 20, 2012 by
After the Didache goes over what brings someone into the New Covenant of Christ, it immediately moves into the spiritual disciplines for someone who is in the covenant: Prayer and fasting. The spiritual disciplines that Jesus’ disciples are to bring into their lives help keep the sinful nature from taking over and causing them to […]
The Didache, Lesson 11: Being Brought into the New Covenant of Christ
March 12, 2012 by
The Didache now moves into what brings one into the community (communion) of Christ: Baptism. To understand this New-Covenant act, we need to look at its Old-Covenant predecessor, which baptism superseded and replaced. As God used an act of His choosing to bring someone into His Old Covenant, it’s easy to see how He would […]
The Didache, Lesson 10: Staying Faithful
March 6, 2012 by
After describing the way of death, the Didache tells those being instructed not to be led astray, which leads one into the way of death. 6.1 Take care that no one leads you astray from the Way of the teaching [didache], since he is teaching you apart from God. Jeremiah 23:32: “‘Indeed, I am against […]
The Didache, Lesson 9: The Way of Death
March 6, 2012 by
After describing the way of Life, the Didache moves on to chapter 5, which describes the way of death. 5:1 In contrast, this is the way of death. It is evil and fully cursed: Murders, adulteries, lusts, sexual immoralities, thefts, idolatries, magic arts, sorceries, robberies, false accusations, hypocrisies, double-dealing, deceit, arrogance, malice, self-will, greediness, abusive […]
Real Stewardship for Real Life
February 26, 2012 by
What is Stewardship? In the New Testament, the Greek words oikonomos (house manager) and oikonomia (house management) are the original words for the idea of “stewardship.” Stewardship involves the responsibility or work of managing a household. A steward is someone who uses what the owner has to manage his house. Oikonomia occurs nine times in […]
The Didache, Lesson 8: Tradition and Confession
February 18, 2012 by
Following Tradition 4:12 Hate hypocrisy and everything that is not pleasing to the Lord. The Didache’s warning, in its context, is that we should guard against every sin and not be inconsistent (hypocritical). Specifically, this ties in with protecting and not losing what our Lord has commanded, which the next verse states explicitly. Deuteronomy 4:2: […]
The Didache, Lesson 7: The Poor, Children, and Slaves
February 13, 2012 by
Life with the poor (Continued) 4:7 Do not hesitate when you give, and do not grumble when giving, for you will know who is the good Paymaster of the reward. Matthew 5:12: “Jesus said, ‘Be full of joy and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven.’” Luke 14:14: “[Jesus said,] ‘And you will […]
The Didache, Lesson 6: The Pastor, the Parish, and the Poor
February 8, 2012 by
The Didache, chapter 4, instructs us in living together as the Body of Christ, the Church, at a given place. If the Didache were written today, some of the categories of this chapter would be different. Nonetheless, the principles of this chapter remain the same. This chapter is separated into different areas. 4:1: Life with […]
The Didache, Lesson 5: The “Yes” of the Faith
February 1, 2012 by
For the “yes” of the faith, the Didache teaches us to see the good in the crosses we are given to bear. We are to see that even the distasteful aspects of our life have some godly purpose. Even when we cannot understand why, we are called to see such “crosses” through the eyes of […]
