Psalm 25 says, "Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions; according to Your steadfast love remember me, for the sake of Your goodness, O Lord!" (Psalm 25:7). This is a simple verse that means a lot. We pray that the Lord would not remember or bring to mind our sins, but would...
Article 6 of the Augsburg Confession asserts, "our churches also teach that this faith is bound to bring forth good fruits and that it is necessary to do the good works commanded by God. We must do so because it is God's will and not because we rely on such works to merit justification before...
"How does this sanctifying take place?" Luther asks in the Large Catechism. Luther answers, "Just as the Son obtains dominion by purchasing us through His birth, death, and resurrection, etc., so that Holy Spirit effects our sanctification through the following: the communion of saints or...
C.F.W. Walther wrote on the Office of the Holy Ministry saying, "O, glorious, high office, too high for the angels! May we always hold it in high regard, not looking at the person who bears it and despising his weakness, but looking instead at the Institutor of this office and His exuberant...
Starting this Today, every Thursday is going to be a little devotional reading and writing from the Book of Concord. This is just to mix things up a little bit and get everyone into reading through the Confessions of the Lutheran Church. Today we are looking at the article of Justification. The...
The book of Hebrews says, "let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful...
In his work, Against the Heavenly Prophets, Martin Luther teaches about the two ways in which we understand the forgiveness of sins that Jesus works for us. Luther says, "We treat of the forgiveness of sins in two ways. First, how it is achieved and won. Second, how it is distributed and given...
Psalm 8:2 sings, "Out of the mouth of babies and infants,have established strength because of your foes, to still the enemy and the avenger" (Psalm 8:2). St. David, inspired by the Holy Spirit, wrote this Psalm as a psalm of praise to His Lord and our Lord, Whose Name is majestic in...
Today is Maundy Thursday. This is a special day of festive celebration during Holy Week when we celebrate and receive the Lord's Supper. The same Body and Blood that was delivered up for our trespasses on the cross is the same Body and Blood that is delivered into our mouths in the Sacrament of...
On Fridays I'm going to start writing little summaries of the Liturgy. These are not meant to be in depth teachings on the liturgy, but rather little summaries that help us meditate a little more on what we are doing on Sunday mornings and throughout the week in our worship life together. Today...