His Active Obedience
Dear Brothers, Consider their advantages. They lived in a perfect world filled with clear evidences of their heavenly Father's love. Their home was a garden in which every earthly need was more than adequately met. ...
Review: Do Historical Matters Matter to Faith?
In the last half of the 20th century, the church saw a consistent, sustained attack against the truthfulness and reliability of scriptural narratives. We do well to note that such attacks are nothing new. Jesuit ...
Preach the Word – March/April 2014
Volume 17, Number 4. Meditatio Luther said that the themes of Psalm 119 (Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio) highlighted the essential features for the making of a theologian. A significant part of theological formation and depth is ...
Review: Words of Life
The Lutheran Reformation grew from the conviction that the Bible alone (sola scriptura) is the final authority in faith and practice. However, opponents of Lutheran theology were quick to level accusations of setting up Scripture ...
A Light of the World
Dear Brothers, As a child, the Olympics fascinated me. With eyes glued to the TV, I loved hearing NBC's Olympic fanfare. But as years passed, I've grown weary of the humanistic pride of the "Olympic ...
Review: Luther’s Works: Prefaces I
Luther’s forty-five prefaces to the works of others, from 1520 to 1532, each with its own scholarly introduction, touch on autobiography, history, exegesis, polemics, and pastoral theology. “Most significantly, the prefaces convey a clear sense ...
Review: How to Preach a Parable
How to Preach a Parable: Designs for Narrative Sermons is a title pregnant with meaning. The title seems to suggest that this book is a how-to-preach-on-parables manual of sorts. However, the book’s title is hinting ...
Review: Ancient Christian Doctrine
If we learn anything from a book like this (and we must) it is that Hermann Sasse had it right: “The church fathers must be read in their entirety” (Letters to Lutheran Pastors, Volume I, ...
Preach the Word – January/February 2014
Volume 17, Number 3. The "Ideal" Sermon How would you define the “ideal” sermon? What are its characteristics? Church Growth authority C. Peter Wagner defined the ideal sermon as follows: “is not intellectual, but emotional; ...
Review: Gospel Sermons
Gospel Sermons: Volume I, by C.F.W. Walther. Translated by Donald E. Heck. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2013. 306 pages. C.F.W. Walther (1811-87) has long been regarded as the “American Luther” due to the important ...