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 used during the Reformation. But as with all sound bites, we lose much when a sound bite replaces the truth it originally promoted. Today, Sola […]
Tobit Who?
June 21, 2011 by
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 Gott, Herre Zebaoth, which would be “Almighty God, Father, Lord of Armies.” This hymn is intriguing. It has 35 stanzas! But that’s all right, because […]
Good Friday: John 19:31-37
April 22, 2011 by
Tonight, our Lenten journey ends. It ends, just as Jesus said it would end. Several times, Jesus said that He was going to Jerusalem, where many would mock and ridicule Him. His own people would hand Him over to the Gentiles to be beaten and crucified. He was going to Jerusalem to die. Yet, more […]
Sample Sermon: 1 Maccabees 4:36-56 and John 10:22-30 (Easter 4C)
March 7, 2011 by
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 for a pastoral circuit conference. This sermon is more didactic than usual because the average listener is clueless as to how the Feast of Dedication ties […]
Optional Supplemental Lectionary Readings from the OT Apocrypha
February 24, 2011 by
For my next pastoral conference in early March, I will lead a study on the Apocrypha. We will learn how it fell into disuse within Lutheran circles, and it will finish with optional Old Testament readings from the Apocrypha for the Lutheran Service Book lectionaries. Here is the optional Old Testament Apocrypha pericopes I will present. […]
How to Use the Apocrypha and the Its Contents: A Re-education
January 24, 2011 by
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 the Apocrypha is not biblical, they often cite many “proof texts” showing why we should reject the Apocrypha, such as, it teaches false doctrine. Ironically, […]
The Apocrypha and Change within the Lutheran and Roman Churches
January 18, 2011 by
The Apocrypha and Change within the Lutheran and Roman Churches Lesson 4 By Pr. Rich Futrell Jan 23, 2011 Recap Last week, we learned how the early Church responded to three traditions on the Apocrypha and affirmed the Anagignoskomena and Deuterocanonical views as legitimate. The Church rejected the view that allowed someone to reject the […]
The Apocrypha, Early Church Councils, and Martin Luther
January 13, 2011 by
The Apocrypha, Early Church Fathers and Councils, and Martin Luther Lesson 3 By Pr. Rich Futrell Jan 16, 2011 Recap Last week, we learned that the Apostolic Fathers quoted and referenced the Apocrypha, without distinction, in the same way they did the others part of the Old Testament. Hagiographa/Kethuvim To understand the distinction in […]
The Apocrypha and the Apostolic Fathers
January 5, 2011 by
The Apocrypha and the Apostolic Fathers Lesson 2 By Pr. Rich Futrell Jan 9, 2011 Recap Last week, we saw how Jesus called one book of the Apocrypha “scripture” and how Jesus celebrated a festival in the Jewish liturgical church-year calendar that is only mentioned in the Apocrypha. We also saw how the New Testament […]
Introduction to the Apocrypha
January 1, 2011 by
In our Adult Sunday School class, we’ve started a short study on the Apocrypha. Here is the first lesson. A Look into the Apocrypha (Deuterocanon, Anagignoskomena) Lesson 1: Introduction By Pr. Rich Futrell Jan 2, 2011 Meaning Apocrypha: “That which is hidden.” During 16th-century controversies about the biblical canon, the word acquired a negative connotation, […]
