Intro We earlier learned Jesus is Wisdom incarnate. The Church understood the Apocrypha book of Wisdom to foretell Christ’s coming (“O Come, O Come, Emmanuel). Today, we continue exploring what this book has for us to learn. We Make Our False Idols so We Can Do What We Want In Acts 15, the Church’s […]
Church History, Lesson 7: The Beginning of the Rise of Rome
August 25, 2017 by
Introduction History teaches us the Apostle Peter was the first recognized Bishop of Rome, though Paul did precede him as acting bishop while under house arrest. The sources are silent, however, about Peter’s years in Rome, since he only served a short time before being martyred in 64 AD. The first leader to come […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 16: The Wisdom of Solomon, Part 2
August 25, 2017 by
Intro Last week, we stopped at the end of chapter 6. Today, we pick up, exploring select verses of Wisdom. Wisdom Described and the Christ to Come Remember, “wisdom” is a feminine-gendered word the Greek, so “she” is used to describe “her/him/it” irrespective of whom or what “she” refers. Wisdom 7:23-24, 8:1: 23 Wisdom […]
Church History, Lesson 5: The Didache, Pt. 2
August 25, 2017 by
Baptism The Didache now moves into what brings someone into the community (communion) of Christ: Baptism. 7:1 As for baptism, baptize in this way: After explaining all these things, baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit in living [moving, running] water. 2 But if you do not have […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 15: The Wisdom of Solomon, Part 1
August 25, 2017 by
Intro Author: The Lutheran Study Bible Apocrypha writes: “The obvious Greek style and philosophical influences make it clear that the Hebrew king Solomon did not write the book.” Now, this does not mean that what is in Wisdom is not linked in some way to the teachings of Solomon. Date: 30-10 BC. The Church’s Historical […]
The Value of the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments
August 24, 2017 by
This is our pastor’s newsletter article for the September 2017 edition of “The Shepherd’s Voice.” The Value of the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments By Pr. Rich Futrell Today, we have two primary Old Testaments: The Hebrew, called the “Masoretic Text,” and the Septuagint, a Greek-language translation, whose manuscripts predate the Masoretic Text by […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 14: 2 Maccabees and Purgatory
August 8, 2017 by
Recap After we had looked into prayers for the sainted dead in 2 Maccabees, one person in class wanted to explore the verse that followed. Your teacher tactfully avoided doing so to keep the Lesson on task. Today, to honor this person’s august wishes (it is August, after all!), we delve deeper in to what […]
The Apocrypha, Lesson 13: 1-2 Maccabees, Pt. 3
July 30, 2017 by
Recap In 164 BC, with the ouster of Antiochus Epiphanes from Israel, the Israelites began to celebrate a festival every year to remember the dedication, or restoration, of the Temple. For the one who claimed to be God in human flesh was defeated and proper worship restored. Jesus used His celebration of this feast (John […]
Church History, Lesson 4: The Didache, Pt. 1
July 30, 2017 by
Recap In 49 AD, the Church met in her first council to resolve issues of incorporating Gentiles into, then, an ethnically Jewish Church. The Gentiles did not need to be circumcised for, as the Apostle Paul would later write, baptism supersedes circumcision in the New Covenant (Colossians 2:11-13). However, Gentiles did need to give up […]
