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October 7, 2017
The Large and Small Catechisms of Dr. Luther
The Large and Small Catechisms of Dr. Luther were born of pastoral necessity. In 1528, Luther and his colleagues visited the congregations in Saxony to assess their spiritual health. Luther was horrified.
July 23, 2017
Christ's Presence in the Sacrament
The presence of Christ’s body and blood in the sacrament of the altar was a matter of great debate in the early sixteenth century. Particularly in the 1520’s this question was fiercely debated among different Reformers.
June 26, 2017
Preparation for the Sacrament: Christian Questions with Their Answers
St. Paul writes, “Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup” (1 Cor. 11:28; ESV). Why?
March 8, 2017
Luther's Invocavit Sermons, Part 2 - The Conscience & the Work of the Word
The Gospel reading for Invocavit is Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. While Luther never explicitly refers to the text, he warns his hearers of succumbing to the devil’s temptations when they neglect the Word of God.
March 5, 2017
Luther's Invocavit Sermons, Part I - From the Wartburg to St. Mary's Pulpit
On Invocavit Sunday (the First Sunday in Lent), 1522, Martin Luther began a series of eight short sermons in which he taught the people of Wittenberg how the reformation of the Church should be carried out.
February 23, 2017
The Table of Duties in the Small Catechism
When Martin Luther prepared the text of the Small Catechism, he included a list of duties that people in various callings and stations in life have, as both a command and blessing from God.
December 9, 2016
Luther's Letters
Those who have read Luther’s public writings might have a certain perception of what they would expect his other works to look like. However, Luther was also a very prolific writer of private letters.
November 4, 2016
Kingdom of the Right: Luther on the Church
Simply put, the kingdom of the right is the Church, both in earth and heaven. In Luther’s On Temporal Authority, the reformer refers to this as “the kingdom of God.”
November 3, 2016
Kingdom of the Left: Luther on Temporal Authority
Since the twentieth century, Lutherans have spoken about a “two-kingdoms” doctrine to work out the relationship between church and state.
May 31, 2016
Luther on The Third Article of the Creed
Luther says that this article on the Holy Spirit is about us being made holy.
May 7, 2016
Luther's Morning Prayer - A Model for the Christian's Daily Life
I thank you, my Heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You.
April 11, 2016
Why Luther's Hymns Sound the Way They Do
A composer can never escape his own style, and this is true even of amateur composers such as Martin Luther. Embracing the musical arts in both his schooling and his cloistered life, Luther became a proficient instrumentalist on the lute and the transverse flute.