Reading & Study Archives - Page 28 of 38

When Trolls Attack

By Peter Slayton One of the most discouraging things about social media is the existence of trolls. I’m not talking about your high school friend that disagrees with every single…

The Doctrine of the Church in the Lutheran Confessions

In 1521 Thomas Murner, one of Luther’s early Catholic opponents, attacked Luther’s view of the church, accusing him of “building a church the way that Plato builds a city”

Tips for Starting a Campus Ministry

Do you have a college near you? Would you like to learn how to begin a campus ministry there? There are a lot of things to consider when starting a campus ministry…

What Jesus Has Longed to Give You

In his Maundy Thursday sermon given at the Synod’s International Center Chapel Service March 24, LCMS Chaplain William Weedon helps us appreciate Christ’s sacrifice, His body and blood, and the forgiveness that Jesus aches to give us.

The Words of Institution in the Small Catechism

In the Small Catechism’s presentation of the Sacrament of the Altar one may be a bit surprised at the amount of attention Luther gives to the words of institution. After all,...

LCMS Disaster Response in Hispanic Communities

Over the last couple of years we have discovered two needs. The first need is for our materials to be translated into Spanish. Secondly, we have found a need to train our Spanish speaking churches in the United States and throughout Latin America so that they will have Lutheran Early Response Teams (LERT). We also want to do a better job of responding to disasters that strike Spanish speaking communities across the United States.

A Modern Day Lamentation – Is the USA a Lost Cause?

A modern day lamentation based on Lamentations 2:13-22. "What can I say for you, to what should I compare you… Christianity’s ruin is vast as the sea; and the United States, who can heal you?! What a mess… almost seems a lost cause."

LERT Trained and Thrown Into the Fire

This tornado struck just 3 days after the local LERT training on March 12th. The congregation saw a need, hosted the training and became certified for disaster preparedness. No one knew at the time that they themselves would hear the tornado sirens just a few days later. Because the team was trained beforehand, they knew what to do and responded to their community.

The State and the Current State of Lutheranism: Serving the Poor – Part 3

Lutheran Congregational Mercy Work Over the last 15 years there has been a renaissance of congregational mercy work across the congregations in the LCMS. Much of this resurgence was due…

The State and the Current State of Lutheranism: Serving the Poor Part 2

However, for almost two decades there has been an increased reliance on government funding NGOs. Many large faith-based organizations now get well over 50 percent of their annual income from the government funding sources and depend substantially on government budgets, election results, and political parties for funding their social work projects.

The State and the Current State of Lutheranism: Serving the Poor – Part 1

On January 29, 2001, President George W. Bush signed an executive order establishing The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (OFBCI). Many non-government organizations (NGOs) including congregations, denominations,…

“From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee” – Hymn Feature

One of Luther’s earliest compositions was “From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee,” a paraphrase of Psalm 130 (Aus tiefer Not schrei’ ich zu dir, LSB 607). He wrote this hymn in 1523, around the time that he was revising the Latin Mass.

Cultivating a Pro-Life Culture on Intolerant College Campuses

We typically don’t view our nations colleges and universities as havens of virtue, but I have found that there is one virtue that nearly always reigns supreme at a given…

Repentance in the Lutheran Confessions

The Lutheran Confessions see repentance differently on several points. First, they insist that you need to repent, regardless of who you are. Second...

Community Health Education and LCMS Mercy Medical Teams

The Community Health Education (CHE) offered by LCMS Mercy Medical Teams is just as important as the clinical work that we provide. Through education, many conditions and diseases can be prevented, decreasing the need for medical care and improving the health of our partners.