LCMS Worship hosted the 2017 Institute on Liturgy, Preaching and Church Music at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest, Ill. The theme was “The Just Live by Faith: Make it Plain in Sermon, Service, Song.”
Keynote Addresses
KEYNOTE I:
The Just Live by Faith: Make This Plain in Sermon — David Petersen
Even as the Church stands or falls on the article of justification, so does preaching. Everything that a Lutheran preacher proclaims relates to this core reality: God reckons us righteous for the sake of Christ’s suffering on our behalf. Anything in the sermon that is unrelated to that is out of place. Thus, this presentation will attempt to advocate for and encourage theologically rich sermons that move beyond clichés and harangues — sermons that do more than the minimum — sermons that catechize and inspire as they proclaim and deliver Christ’s life and forgiveness to the hearers.
KEYNOTE II:
The Just Live by Faith: Make This Plain in Service — William Cwirla
The Divine Service (Gottesdienst) is the Word of Law and Gospel in action — killing the sinner in Adam and making alive the saint in Christ. Luther and his fellow reformers recognized this and revised the Western Mass along theological lines, reflecting the proper distinction of the Law and the Gospel and ensuring the consistent proclamation that the just shall live by faith. The Rev. Cwirla will explore the theology of the Divine Service from the Lutheran theological perspective, trace the contours of the Lutheran reform of the Mass and draw out applications for our contemporary conduct of the Divine Service as its servants.
KEYNOTE III:
The Just Live by Faith: Make This Plain in Song — Kevin Hildebrand
In the words of Norman Nagel: “we are heirs of an astonishingly rich tradition” of the Church’s song. In this Reformation anniversary year, we can ponder the riches of this ever-expanding and lively tradition and how the Church puts it into practice. As this conference coincides with the commemoration of Johann Sebastian Bach, kantor, we will consider his life and work for insights into our own.