Our churches teach that the body and blood of Christ are truly present and distributed to those who eat the Lord’s Supper. They reject those who teach otherwise. (Augsburg Confession, “Article IX: Baptism”). The article on the Lord’s Supper is the shortest in the Augsburg Confession. By this time in the reformation, other reformers were… Read More ›
Concerning Baptism, our churches teach that Baptism is necessary for salvation and that God’s grace is offered through Baptism. They teach that children are to be baptized. Being offered to God through Baptism, they are received into God’s grace. (Augsburg Confession, “Article IX: Baptism”). There is much that can be said about Baptism. The Augsburg… Read More ›
Our churches teach that one holy Church is to remain forever. The Church is the congregation of saints in which the Gospel is purely taught and the Sacraments are correctly administered. For the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree about the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments…. Read More ›
Do Lutherans have a problem with good works? The chief article of our faith, justification, teaches that we are saved not by works, but only by God’s grace when we believe that our sins are forgiven for Jesus’ sake: Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or… Read More ›
Last month I wrote about justification. The Augsburg Confession describes it this way: Our churches teach that people cannot be justified before God by their own strength, merits, or works. People are freely justified for Christ’s sake, through faith, when they believe that they are received into favor and that their sins are forgiven for… Read More ›
Let’s get right to the point. How are you with God? What’s your status before him? What does he think of you? Is he pleased with you? Are you guilty before him? Or is it somewhere in between? The chief article in the Augsburg Confession is the article on justification. How is it that sinful… Read More ›
Who is Jesus? There are many answers we might give to this question. We might answer by saying what Jesus means to me. “He’s my Savior. He’s my friend. He’s everything to me.” Those answers are good, but the best thing we can do is be as objective as possible. As Christians, we should be… Read More ›
What do you think about when you hear the word “sin”? Do you think about the sinful things you have done? Do you think about the sinful things other people have done? Maybe it’s the things they have done to you, or maybe it’s the sinful activities that are becoming more and more common in… Read More ›
Christians believe things. If you’ve been around Trinity for a little while, you’ve probably noticed that we are a congregation that believes things, and we take our beliefs seriously. And it’s not just me. This attitude isn’t something that a pastor sets, but then if another pastor comes along, things change. The teaching doesn’t change… Read More ›
In Luke 7:36-50, a sinful woman came to Jesus. She wept on his feet, wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and anointed them with oil. Picture it in your mind. It is a stunning act of worship. It happened at a Pharisee’s home. That Pharisee knew who this woman was, and just how sinful… Read More ›