The Books of the Old Testament: The Apocrypha

This article is a supplement to the church bulletin for our Palm Sunday service.  The Old Testament reading is from 2 Maccabees 10:1-7, which gives us a better context for […]

2 Corinthians, Lesson 7: The Resurrection Encourages Us, even in Our Suffering

Paul and Timothy said that what was happening to them, their suffering and being brought closer to death, made them outwardly seem fragile, like jars of clay. People considered such […]

1st Maccabees, Lesson 1: Introduction

Why the Apocrypha When we consider studying a book from what we call the Apocrypha, why should we do so?  After all, when we look at our Bible translations, those […]

Palm Sunday Sermon

Today, we’re saddled with an Old Testament that Jesus and His disciples didn’t use.  They used the Septuagint, which was the Old Testament translated into Greek.  But what distinguishes their […]

Review of The Apocrypha: The Lutheran Edition with Notes

No Longer Missing In Action: The Apocrypha, The Lutheran Edition By Pr. Rich Futrell In 397 AD, at Carthage (today in Tunisia), the Church gathered to resolve an issue: what […]

Lessons on the Apocrypha

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 […]

Sola Scriptura in All Its Glory!

This is an article I wrote for the September 1st, 2011 edition of the Stone County Gazette. ——— “Sola Scriptura” literally says “scripture alone.”  It’s a shortened statement Martin Luther […]

Tobit Who?

Many of you know I’m an enthusiast of hymns.  Here’s an old hymn that you’ve probably never heard of, which isn’t in Lutheran Service Book.  The hymn is O Starker […]

Sample Sermon: 1 Maccabees 4:36-56 and John 10:22-30 (Easter 4C)

To go the first article in this series, click here.   This is a “sample sermon” on preaching from the Apocrypha (Anagignoskomena/Deuterocanon), which is in a presentation I will lead […]

How to Use the Apocrypha and the Its Contents: A Re-education

Lesson 5: How to Use the Apocrypha and the Its Contents: A Re-education By Pr. Rich Futrell Jan 30, 2011 The Protestant Churches’ Rejection of the Apocrypha When some claim […]