Introduction The Scriptures teach us that a when a person dies, he immediately begins to experience eternity in one of two states: heaven or hell. The Christian experiences eternity as one filled with joy (heaven), although his body and soul are separated until his soul is reunited with a sinless, perfect, incorruptible body on the […]
A Biblical and Historical Look at “The Rapture”
December 19, 2013 by
Today, it seems almost impossible to escape the talk of “The Rapture” within the North American Church. Over the last century, this teaching has become so popular within North-American Protestant thinking that even those outside the Church have heard of the term. This article and study takes a short look into this happening. This was […]
Why We Sing What We Sing in Church
June 19, 2013 by
This is our pastor’s article for the July-August 2013 newsletter. One of the deep enigmas in the current-day church is why we sing what we sing. Few of us have ever given much thought to that. We grew up singing hymns in church, and we like what we like. And we want to sing what […]
Confession, Absolution, and the Spoken Word of Forgiveness
April 27, 2013 by
Often, Christians are confused about a Pastor speaking God’s forgiveness to others. Some (i.e., Protestants) say that only God can forgive sins. Such a statement is true, but neglects how God chooses to bring His forgiveness of others. This short theological pondering by Pr. Futrell may help someone better understand what God’s Word teaches. […]
What are We to Make of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary?
April 27, 2013 by
What are we to make of the traditional Lutheran position that Mary remained a virgin her entire life? This short theological pondering from Pastor Futrell helps us look at this teaching with historic eyes. From the time of Martin Luther’s excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church taught and believed that Mary […]
Will the Real “Sola Scriptura” Please Stand Up!
August 8, 2012 by
This is an excursus that our pastor wrote for a study on the New Testament epistle of Jude. Excursus: Will the Real “Sola Scriptura” Please Stand Up! To make his theological points, Jude liberally referred to parts of the Old Testament, which his readers viewed as authoritative. He called on such authority to show […]
Lessons on the Apocrypha
May 14, 2012 by
Believe it or not, the Lutheran Confessions refer to the Apocrypha as “Scripture.” Yet, if you were to read through the Lutheran Confessions, you would find that they never even bother to list the books of the Bible. Why is that? Simply put, we did not have any argument with the Roman Catholic Church on […]
