A blog of the Evangelical Lutheran Liturgy
A soft confessional Lutheran is a contradiction in terms. We are people who have already died. Confessional Lutheran preachers are men who crucify people with Jesus. Men who wear soft clothes are in kings’ palaces. Men who make harmless tweets and go to harmless conferences and say, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace are not confessional Lutherans. If they are, they are men who are selling their birthright. We are called to much more.
Read MoreNow the serpent was more crafty...
Read MoreIn the Small Catechism’s explanation of the Eighth Commandment, we confess with Dr. Luther that we are obliged under the Law to “alles zum besten kehren” (German) and “in meliorem partem accipiamus et interpretemur” (Latin). Our current translation renders this as “explain everything in the kindest way,” although the earlier translation from the 1921 Triglot reads: “put the best construction on everything.”
Read More"I think you're an overeducated 27-year-old virgin who likes to hold the hands of superstitious old ladies and promise them everlasting life."
~ Walt Kowalski
Read MoreAlas, the political season is upon us. The latest rhetorical device seems to be casting one’s opponents as “weird.”
Read MoreNote: In this 2011 offering, Fr. Stuckwisch provides his usual excellence in reflecting upon the topic of adiaphora, and in so doing, refutes a common false accusation against Gottesdienst and those in the Gottesdienst Crowd (that’s all of you) who read our journal, read our blog, listen to our podcast, or watch our videos - not to mention those who are sympathetic with our desire for reverence in the Divine Service. ~ Ed.
Read More“Never forget.” These are the words that we hear so much around this time every year. and most especially now as we look back a full twenty years to the events of September 11, 2001. “Never forget.” But what is it that we are never to forget? Is it the lives lost by those working in Lower Manhattan and in the Pentagon on that bright Tuesday morning? Are we never to forget the passengers on the planes, especially those on Flight 93 who managed to stop one plane from reaching its intended target? Are we never to forget the bravery and self-sacrifice of all those emergency workers, especially the firefighters who ran into burning skyscrapers, knowing full well that many of them would not run out again?
Read MoreUsually, we’ll need to skip a few Sundays of Trinity (up to five) in order to arrive at Last Sunday the week before Advent. But which Sundays should be skipped? This is where the confusion arises, as there are generally three answers:
Read MoreChrysostom is one of the most accessible Fathers. His homilies should be standard and frequent reading for Lutheran preachers. His treatise On the Priesthood is also quite helpful. It was written as a dialogue between Chrysostom, the bishop, and his student Basil. Books 4 and 5 focus on preaching.
Read MoreNote: This 2018 offering by Fr. Fabrizius is a reflection upon the Epicurian nature of our American culture, and the danger it poses for confessors of the Book of Concord. ~ Ed.
Read MoreHere’s one way to note the difference between our belief about worship and the way of the “contemporary” worship style. Both sides agree that when we are in Jesus’ presence we ought to worship Him, and in fact we can even agree on what that should look like.
Read MoreThe Church Year begins with the Advent of our Lord, His threefold coming:in the flesh, conceived and born of the Blessed Virgin Mary; in the preaching and administration of the Gospel in His name and stead; and in the Final Judgment at the last. It is a season of repentance, marked especially by the preaching of St. John the Baptist, who goes before the Lord to prepare His way. Gerhardt does not mention St. John by name in either of his two hymns for Advent, but he serves the great forerunner’s task; not so much by a proclamation of repentance, as by the prayer of repentance that he gives the people to sing.
Read MoreThose at the shallow end of the pool sometimes accuse the editors of Gottesdienst - and you, dear readers, members of The Gottesdienst Crowd - of being “Romanizers.” This is based on the misunderstanding that Lutherans are basically Baptists who use real wine in communion, and anything ceremonially beyond that is “Romanizing.” And one can find such nonsense even among the “doctors” (cough) and Supreme Suits of the Synod.
Read MoreFor eighteen years I have been standing on the walls of Jerusalem watching the city burn and its children carried away captive into paganism or heterodox churches. During that time most of the watchmen, seeing the ruin, have desperately tried to do everything in their power to take away the offense of the cross. They have tried to make Christianity easier, so that no one would be repelled, no one would fall away, everyone would be attracted.
Read MoreNote: This was a Gottesdienst Editorial from 2016 in response to a district president’s public critique of genuflecting during the consecration. ~ Ed.
Read MoreNote: Ms. Linda Boomerton is upset at the direction synod is going, and has asked to submit a guest editorial at Gottesblog. ~ Ed.
Read MoreThe story goes that Anna Marie came to her husband, the Reverend Paul Gerhardt, with a plea that he give her a small coin to buy the necessary food for their home. There was not a particle of flour nor a crust of bread to be found anywhere in the house, and she had nothing to set before him on the table. The dear pastor had no coin to give his wife, but promised that he would provide her with food that would not disappear but last forever. After a few hours in his study, he returned with the now familiar verse (Befiehl du deine Wege).
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