AC XXIV: The Mass (Pt 1) Our churches are falsely accused of abolishing the Mass. In fact, the Mass is retained among us and is celebrated with the greatest reverence. Almost all the customary ceremonies are also retained, except that German hymns, added for the instruction of the people, are interspersed here and there among […]
Augsburg Confession, Articles 22-23
July 20, 2014 by
AC XXII: Reception of Christ’s Body and Blood in the Lord’s Supper The laity are given both forms of the Lord’s Supper because this practice is the Lord’s command, “Drink of it all of you (Matthew 26:27). Christ has clearly commanded that all should drink from the cup. So no one will quibble and say […]
Acts, Lesson 3: A glimpse into the earliest New-Covenant Church
June 4, 2014 by
In the last lesson, pastor taught that the “they” in Acts 2:1 referred to the entire Christian Church at the time: those before whom Peter spoke (Acts 1:15). And we find more confirmation that more than just the Apostles spoke in other languages. Read Acts 2:5-13 What brought the Jews to where the Christians were […]
Augsburg Confession, Articles 10-11: The Lord’s Supper and Private Confession
May 25, 2014 by
AC X: The Lord’s Supper Our churches teach that the body and blood of Christ are truly present and are distributed to those who eat the Lord’s Supper [1 Corinthians 10:16]. They reject those who teach otherwise. Rome’s Response: The tenth article does not offend us, for it confesses that in the Eucharist, after the […]
Tradition in Christ’s Church, Part 2
May 20, 2014 by
This is our pastor’s newsletter article for June, 2014. In last month’s newsletter article, we learned that tradition is not a bad word. In truth, we learned the opposite: Tradition is a good word. However, what matters about tradition is whose tradition we are following. The Apostle Paul wrote to the congregation at Thessalonica: “So […]
Maundy Thursday Sermon
April 17, 2014 by
Today, we rarely use the word “mercy” in our everyday speech. But in the Church, it’s as common as the air we breathe. We pray in the liturgy: “Lord, have mercy on us.” When we do that, we echo the blind men who sought physical sight from Jesus in Matthew 9 and Luke 18. For […]
Luke 14:15-24: Receiving God’s Invitation
June 10, 2013 by
A good father provides for his family. He doesn’t do this by giving what he likes, or by doing what only happens to be convenient. No, he provides for his family by making sacrifices. The father sacrifices his time, pleasure, and personal preferences to provide for his wife and children. And from all that a […]
The Bread of Life You Need
June 5, 2013 by
This is our pastor’s latest “From the Pulpit” article for the Stone County Gazette. Do you know one of the saddest events in the Bible? It was when many followers of Jesus rejected Him because He wasn’t the Savior they wanted. It’s in John 6. Jesus had just fed a crowd of 5,000, and […]
John 6:1-15: Seeing Jesus with Your Ears
March 10, 2013 by
Faith believes what it cannot see, for if faith could see what it believes, it wouldn’t be faith. That would be walking by sight, which doesn’t need faith. And so faith grasps the invisible mysteries of God, for it “sees” (if we want to use that word), not through our eyes, but through our ears. […]
Get Up and Eat: 1 Kings 19:1-8
August 12, 2012 by
“Get up and eat”: that was the buzzing alarm clock that awakened the Prophet Elijah as he slept under a broom tree. He had just come back from the magnificent victory at Mt. Carmel, where fire blazed down from heaven, and 450 prophets of Baal were put to the sword. What a heroic day for […]
