“May God the Father, who created this body; may God the Son, who by His blood redeemed this body; may God the Holy Spirit, who by Holy Baptism sanctified this body to be His temple, keep these remains to the day of the resurrection of all flesh.” These are the words I speak at the […]
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 Baptism of Jesus
January 8, 2012 by
The Bible begins with baptism. It starts out, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:2). Over the ancient and chaotic creation, there was Spirit and water, water and Spirit. That’s baptism! Do you remember Jesus speaking to Nicodemus at night? What did He say? Jesus said, “I […]
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 […]
Circumcision and Naming of Jesus
January 1, 2012 by
Genesis 17:9-14 Then God said to Abraham, “Now as for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants throughout their generations. Here is my covenant that you are to observe, between me and you and your descendants: Every male among you is to be circumcised. Circumcise the flesh of your foreskin. That will […]
New Year’s Eve: Joshua 23:14
December 31, 2011 by
Joshua 23:14: [Joshua said,] “I am now about to go the way of all the earth. You know with all your heart and being that none of the good promises the LORD your God made to you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. At the end of the year, […]
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 […]
Christ’s Mass (Christmas) Day Sermon: Luke 2:20
December 25, 2011 by
“Oh, where shall joy be found? Where but on heavenly ground? Where the angels singing with all the saints unite, sweetest praises bringing in heavenly joy and light. Oh, that we were there! Oh, that we were there!” (LSB 386:4) Oh, that we were there! That about sums it up this Christmas morning. If we […]
The Didache
December 25, 2011 by
Starting on January 1st, we will begin a study on the oldest document in the New Testament Church outside of Scripture: The Didache. The Didache was an instruction book for adult Gentile converts coming into a mostly ethnically Jewish Christian Church. It is so ancient that only one of the four Gospels in the New […]
Christmas Eve: Isaiah 7:14, “The Virgin will Conceive”
December 24, 2011 by
Christmas Eve–it’s finally here. After all the preparation, the hurry, and the scurry, whether you’ve finished buying presents or not, Christmas is here, for real, tonight. And soon it will be time for presents! But what if we didn’t get any presents this year? Would it still be Christmas? Of course, for, after all, our […]
