Lent will soon be here, a season of repentance and fasting. So it is proper that we take to heart our Lord’s words. He says, “When you fast, don’t put on a gloomy face like the hypocrites. They disfigure their faces, so their fasting is obvious to others. I assure you: They have their reward!” […]
The Didache, Lesson 4: The “No” of the Faith
January 31, 2012 by
The Didache, chapter 3, instructs us in the “no” and the “yes” of the faith. For the “no,” the Didache teaches us to look deeper into the root causes of our many sins. Then, it beckons us to see “discretion as the better part of valor.” The “No” 3:1 My child, flee from every […]
Jonah
January 23, 2012 by
It’s unsettling when you finally realize that you’ve haven’t had all the information you’ve needed. You go into a business transaction and make a lousy deal because you’ve only had part of the information. You live your life, working under certain presumptions, only later to find out that some of your presumptions were based on […]
The Didache: Lesson 3, The 2nd Great Commandment
January 14, 2012 by
As we continue studying the Didache, we find that it does not directly use the Ten Commandments as a guide for Christian behavior (3rd use of the Law). Instead, the Didache continues with Jesus’ summation of the Law: love God and love neighbor. If you were to compare the Didache’s “dos and don’ts,” you would […]
The Didache, Lesson 2: The Two Ways
January 7, 2012 by
Lesson 2: The Two Ways (Chapter 1) “They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching [didache] and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.” Acts 2:42 – What could (not is) St Luke be saying about the Didache? When we make our way through the Didache, we will find […]
The Didache, Lesson 1: Introduction
December 31, 2011 by
The Didache: Lesson 1, Introduction January 1, 2012 “Didache” (pronounced: dih-dah-KAY) is the Greek word for “doctrine” or “teaching” (as a noun). It has two titles: “The Teaching of the Twelve Apostles,” followed by “The Lord’s teaching to the Gentiles by the Twelve Apostles.” Today, many Christians, including Lutherans, view the Bible as the final […]
Forgotten, Unknown, or Ignored New Testament Bible Passages
December 17, 2011 by
This Sunday, we are having a “onesie” Bible study for adult Sunday School. Since we are having no Sunday School on Christmas day, and we are starting a new study on January 1st, a one-study lesson seemed the way to go. In this lesson, we look at a few Bible passages many of our Protestant […]
Worship: A Matter of Preference?
December 8, 2011 by
This is our pastor’s latest article for the Stone County Gazette, the local paper for Kimberling City. The article is woefully short because of length restrictions. But it does get to the gist of the matter about how we worship. ——— Today, we think that personal preference shapes our worship of God. If I like […]
Understanding Advent
November 25, 2011 by
The call of Advent is a call to slow down. It is not Christmas–at least not yet. Advent bids us patience, to slow down our urgent pace, even to trust in the Lord when dark is our road and confusing our path. Advent is a call, not to push the Lord along, but to wait […]
God’s Purpose for Your Life
October 24, 2011 by
Within today’s church, it’s a peculiarity of our self-focused culture and age to wonder “What is God’s purpose for my life?” Now, that’s not a wrong sentiment in itself. But it is seeking something from God with which many Christians did not earlier concern themselves. For long before it became a trend to wonder about […]
