We learn in Genesis 2:16 that "it is not good for the man to be alone." For all the splendor that Adam enjoyed as one created in the very image of his God and Father, he was still not complete. "Not good" in Biblical parlance until God completed him by making, "the right kind of helper" for him. By making woman. But nor is it good for the woman to be alone. Women have pr...

Why does the celebrant elevate the host, and then the cup, following the consecration of each of these elements? By this gesture the church means to show that she is offering Christ to God. Offering his body and his blood as atonement for our sins. Not in the old Roman Catholic sense wherein Christ is sacrificed anew at each Eucharist for Scripture says, "We know that Chr...

Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold the catholic faith. Which faith except every one do keep whole and undefiled; without doubt he shall perish everlastingly. And the catholic faith is this:...

No Lutheran would ever think of praying the rosary, but many have been taught that Exodus 20:4 probibits the church from creating sacred images. Both of those theologies are equally foreign to the Lutheran faith. As surely as we don't pray to Mary; we don't refrain from making sacred art.As I explained in yesterday's sermon it is because "the Word was made flesh." (John 1:...

This essay is based on Hebrews 8:1-3, "Now the point in what we are saying is this: we have such a high priest, one who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, a liturgist in the holy places, in the true tent that the Lord set up, not man. For every high priest is appointed to offer gifts and sacrifices; thus it is necessary for this priest also...

This is a recap of this morning's pastor's class at Christ Lutheran Church, entitled: A Retake On James Chapter 3. One can understand James 3 as an general admonition to the baptized on the use of the tongue; or as a specific admonition to the clergy of the church that James addresses. I take it as the latter, and then analogically also the former. Why? If one reads Scri...

In this essay I will discuss the earthly elements of the Eucharist, the bread and the wine. At the risk of stating the obvious the first thing we should remember is that these are the elements Jesus chose for the Sacrament of his body and blood. Of all that he might have employed he "took" these. He did not say of roast lamb, herbs, olives, fish or figs "this is my body."...

This quote by Gregory Dix contrasts two very different understandings of the holy Christian faith and the worship of the one, true God in Christ. There is the puritan understanding, and the ceremonious / incarnational one. Dix says: "Briefly, the puritan theory is that worship is a purely mental activity, to be exercised by a strictly psychological 'attention' to a subjec...

Today sacred history continued unabated. Today God's people did what God's people have always done: erect sacred icons of their faith. Images that preach the gospel day in and day out without saying a single word. And speaking of sacred images, there is none higher than the crucifix. It is the visual icon of the holy Christian faith. It is our life and salvation. It is o...

Our new crucifix is nearly complete as you can see by the attached picture. It will also be on display tomorrow in the community room. It will be a powerful addition to our sanctuary and to our faith, for it is THE icon of our redemption. Though the Lord's death and resurrection are past events historically, they are ever alive among the baptized; in our worship, in Wor...