I've had an Epiphany!

"I want to see whether any doctrine concurs with Christ. I dare not forget the clear rule which St. Paul gives us Christians: to pay attention to what conforms to the doctrine of Christ and to the faith. In Rom. 12:7 he says: “Let it be in conformity with the faith”; that is, it must be in harmony and conformity with Christ. And St. Peter declares: “Whoever speaks, let him speak as the Word of God” (1 Peter 4:11). You must not go only to St. Bernard and St. Ambrose, but it is imperative that you take them with you to Christ and see whether they agree with His teaching. If they do not, but have added something to that which Christ has taught, or have evolved something from their own piety and taught this, I shall let them answer for that. But I must not convert it into an article of faith; nor am I to believe it, since they do not entirely agree with Christ. For I am to adhere to Christ alone; He has taught neither too much nor too little. He has taught me to know God the Father, h...

It's not that I'm a big fan of rap music. Just proud to be a Lutheran. Enjoy.

The other day in my Bible Inquirer's Class, I had a long discussion with some of the class members on the power and efficacy of Baptism. One participant kept saying over and over again, "Baptism does not save. You can't show me anywhere in the Bible where it says that 'Baptism saves.' It is faith that saves. Baptism may create and strengthen faith, I'll give you that, but Baptism does not save." I told him I understood what he was trying to get at, that faith in Jesus Christ saves and that we can be saved through faith without Baptism or lose our baptismal faith and lose our salvation. But I told him that a Lutheran will always say, "Baptism saves." He still disagreed with me. So after discussing it for a few minutes, I reminded him of one of the Bible verses we had looked at earlier in the class. Titus 3:5 says, "He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit." Paul is teaching Titus and us that Christ sa...

Acts 2:37-47 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" 38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call." 40 With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." 41Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. 42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and go...

Check out Old Lutheran . The center for Lutheran pride (but not too proud). It is a great site for lots of fun Lutheran related items. Martin and Katy bobbleheads, Reformation t-shirts, sweatshirts, sweatbands, baby clothing, coffee mugs, Luther's seal napkins and much more. This is from their humor section. A Lutheran Primer by Les "Gutenberg" Stahlke In the Lutheran Comedy Classic: "Martin Luther's Last Surviving Classmate" Look! Look and see! See Luther run! Run, Luther, run! Luther ran! Oh, oh! It is raining! It is pouring! See the lightning! Hear the thunder! See Luther get scared! See Luther hide under that big tree! See Luther pray to St. Anne. "If you save me," prayed Luther, "I will become a monk, okay?" "That's okay with me," said St. Anne, "but if you don't get out from under that tree, you will be a friar!" Oh, oh! See the lightning hit the tree! See the tree get rent asu...

2 Thessalonians 2:15 So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the teachings we passed on to you, whether by word of mouth or by letter. Since we have just celebrated the Lutheran Reformation, who better to listen to and learn from than Dr. Martin Luther himself. Everybody has their favorite Luther quotes and some of mine follow. Poignant and powerful, his words, almost 500-years-old, are still, by God's grace, most pertinent. Please read, meditate, and enjoy: ”Every man must do two things alone; he must do his own believing and his own dying.” “If we are correct and right in our Christian life at every point, but refuse to stand for the truth at a particular point where the battle rages – then we are traitors to Christ.” “Some of us ... think to ourselves, ‘If I had only been there! How quick I would have been to help the baby. I would have washed his linen. How happy I would have been to go with the shepherds to see the Lord lying in the manger!’ Yes, we would! We say th...

Why are we called Lutherans? It is not we who call ourselves Lutherans. Rather, our adversaries call us that. We allow this to the extent that this title is an indication of the consensus that our churches have with the orthodox and catholic doctrine that Luther set forth from Holy Writ. Therefore we allow ourselves to be named after Luther, not as the inventor of a new faith but as the asserter of the old faith and the cleanser of the church from the stains of Papist dogmas. Consequently, we also do not reject the names “Christian” and “catholic,” nor do we render ourselves unworthy of them by the approval of any heretical dogma, as did the Arians, Nestorians, Eutychians, etc. Rather, we are called “Christians” from Christ as the only Author and Teacher of our faith. We are called “catholics” from our consensus with the catholic faith. We are called “Lutherans” from Luther as the asserter and defender of that faith, but especially as the reformer whom God raised up. —Johann Gerhar...

Maxims of Christ’s Servant Standing Before the Political Parties of America by Douglas W. Phillips, Esq., November 4, 2008 I am a Christian. I am the servant of Christ and His representative. All loyalty, fealty, and duty is owed to Him above all other relationships and associations. This means that my political loyalty and allegiance is to the Lord Jesus Christ when I walk into the ballot box, when I evaluate the action of political leaders, or when I exercise my God-given duty as an American to hold such leaders accountable for their actions. My principles and my practice are bound by an objective and transcendent standard established by my Master, not by the political objectives of a party. Though political parties may be useful vehicles for advancing the Crown rights of Christ, they are only vehicles. They are never an end. At the moment that any political party or any representative of a party ceases to honor the Lord Jesus Christ through practice or principle, I must stand...