Luther’s Hauspostille
Picture yourself sitting in Luther’s house. It’s Sunday, late in the day and many others are gathered with you in the old Augustinian monastery-turned-parsonage in Wittenberg. Around you sits...
Various writings by Martin Luther
Luther on the Incarnation
Our Lord Jesus has two natures, divine and human, in one undivided person. He is fully divine, the eternally begotten Son of God, and fully man, born of the Virgin Mary. And for our justification to be accomplished, He must be both.
Luther’s Baptismal Rites
Martin Luther actually produced two different orders of baptism. The first Order of Baptism was published in 1523. It was basically a translation of the existing Latin rite into German, with a few minor changes, mainly the addition of the Flood Prayer. This order was revised in 1526, primarily by simplifying and shortening it.
Luther and Pastoral Care
Through the Gospel our Lord Jesus Christ works faith in the hearts of men and causes them to be saved. This Luther realized and thus advocated for the tireless and ceaseless bringing of the Gospel to the people.
Luther and Care for the Dying
Learning from the wisdom of Luther, what can we draw in our own care for the dying? That we should be present as we are able and we should encourage them with the assurance that we are praying for them. All the more, we should point them to the promises of Jesus.
Luther’s Catechism Hymns
Over the course of his life, Luther wrote hymns on all six chief parts of the catechism. He did not specifically compose them at one time as a set, and in fact most of these predate the publication of the Small Catechism in 1529, but it is natural that similar themes would be found in both his hymnody and his writings. In some cases Luther modified existing hymns, while others were completely new compositions.
Luther and Islam, Part 2: How the Christian Fights
Luther says, “there ought to be only two [who fight]: the one is named Christian, the other, Emperor Charles” Christians may indeed serve in the offices of soldier or ruler, but then they would find their duties in the civil realm.
Luther and Islam, Part 1: The Civil Realm
In 1453, Constantinople, the capital city of the Byzantine Empire, fell to the Muslim Ottoman Turks. This marked a decisive end for the eastern Christian empire. But the Turks also pressed westward into Europe, conquering Greece and the Baltics.
Table Talk: Signs
Have you ever asked God for a sign? You’re not alone. Not only have illustrious figures from the Bible asked for a sign, but I’m sure that millions of Americans have asked for a peculiar manifestation of the Divine Will, whether they are dreams, occurrences, or feelings.
Table Talk: Melancholy
One issue that Luther returns to again and again, both on his own volition and from the questions of others, is spiritual assault and ‘melancholy.’
A Good Friday Sermon from Luther
In the midst of a world whose consideration of Christ’s death is perhaps not so different than our own, Luther published a Good Friday sermon: “A Sermon on how to Contemplate Christ’s Holy Sufferings.” This sermon appeared in pamphlet form in 1519...
Luther’s Good Friday Sermon
In this sermon, Luther determined to set the record straight concerning man’s contemplation of Christ’s sufferings.
Luther’s Invocavit Sermons, Part 3 – Faith and Love, Must and Free
Luther’s emphasis on heeding the call to love and patience is insistent in these sermons. It even impacts that essential distinction between the “musts” and the “free.” Luther can see that even in the things which are “musts” and are matters of necessity, such as believing in Christ, love nevertheless never uses force or undue constraint.
Luther’s Invocavit Sermons, Part 2 – The Conscience & the Work of the Word
The Gospel reading for Invocavit is Satan’s temptation of Jesus in the wilderness. While Luther never explicitly refers to the text, he warns his hearers of succumbing to the devil’s temptations when they neglect the Word of God.
Luther’s Invocavit Sermons, Part I – From the Wartburg to St. Mary’s Pulpit
On Invocavit Sunday (the First Sunday in Lent), 1522, Martin Luther began a series of eight short sermons in which he taught the people of Wittenberg how the reformation of the Church should be carried out.