For this reason alone, the confession of the Holy Trinity is not an anachronism, nor is it an unnecessary formula that impedes the message of the church. The doctrines addressed in the Lutheran Confessions are still relevant today. Therefore the Augsburg Confession remains a necessary antithesis to the doctrines of human reason, which cannot imagine the Trinity and cannot imagine any more that Christ is true man and true God.
A “good confession” is never made up, never simply the assertion of a subjective theological opinion; it is speaking back to God and to the world the words that the Lord Himself has spoken to us.
Living in the light, not the shadow of the Last Day, does not mean that all the questions evaporate or the voice of lament is prematurely silenced. We walk in the light that God gives us in his Son, that is, we walk by faith, not sight. We are enabled to confess with the hymn writer “what God ordains is always good” and that there is no poison in the cup my good physician sends me. Amen.
We are here today to do what Lutherans have done for generations, that is, celebrate the Reformation of the church which a 33 year-old priest ignited on October 31, 1517 when he tacked his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg. Of course whether you are a Christian or not, you can’t escape the significance of the Reformation. It is an important chapter in Western history; yes, in world history.
The Rev. Dr. Lowell C. Green, a contributing editor to Logia since its founding, was called from this life on Thursday, July 24, 2014 at the age of 88. Prof. John T. Pless preached this sermon at his funeral at St. Paul Lutheran Church, Bucyrus, Ohio on August 1.
Here's a sermon from Dr. Norman Nagel. It's a little late for Palm Sunday, but he's still helpful for our Holy Week preparations. Enjoy.Palm Sunday (3-26-97) Mt 26;14
Here in these later days of Lent, we hearken back to Christmas and that is not just because it is snowing outside this morning. The theology of the cross is no mere addendum to the story of Christmas. It is not the product of an overly pessimistic former German monk who was obsessed with suffering and death. Rather the theologia crucis makes its imprint over all of Holy Scripture.
Here's a sermon from The Rev. Dr. Norman Nagel, preached on January 24, 1992, which also happens to be the Feast of St. Timothy. So, it's really a sermon on the office of the ministry.
The Second Commandment is like a barricade around the holy majesty of God’s name. When we together consider what we have in the name of our God, then we are confronted with a great, deep mystery, before which we stand awestruck.
“The Promise is for you.” (Acts 2:39) So Peter says in the sermon that was the first sermon of Christendom, that which was preached on the day of Pentecost. And there he said something that is a chief point of the Gospel.
Jesus puts the question to his disciples, a question that will not go away: "Who do men say that I am?" Whether on the History Channel, in popular magazines, scholarly seminars, or chance conversations, it is an enduring inquiry, this question about Jesus. The disciples chime in with their speculative answers: "Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, or Jeremiah or one of the prophets."