As Alan Kreider and others have adequately demonstrated, the early church catechumenate facilitated the creation of new Christians by focusing on matters of believing, belonging, and behaving. And as Kreider showed in The Patient Ferment of the Early Church, one of the focal points of distinct Christian behavior was the virtue of patience. According to […]
When preaching or teaching Luther’s Small Catechism, I did so with two primary thoughts. Interrelationship First, I tried to illustrate the interrelationships of the parts of the Small Catechism. To understand what sin is and what should be confessed in preparation for coming to Holy Communion, one needs to learn the Commandments so that sin […]
I offer these comments about the selection of the Scripture readings and hymns to help the reader understand how I arrived at the scripture readings, hymns, and sermon texts and titles that were chosen for this part of the sermon series. Sermons on the Sacrament of the Altar The four passages that are the biblical […]
Shrouded in legend, Bishop Nicholas of Myra (270-343) evolved over the centuries into the patron saint of children (in the West) and sailors (in the East). According to one Roman Catholic source, this devolution—my word, not that of my source—of a fourth-century saint revered for acts of mercy and charity into the King of consumerism […]
Here are some comments to help the reader understand how I arrived at the scripture readings and hymns chosen for this part of the catechetical sermon series. Sermons on Confession and the Keys The Scripture readings for the sermons on Confession and the Keys were primarily chosen from the passages listed in each part of […]
Here are some comments to help the readers understand how I arrived at my selection of the scripture readings and hymns for this part of the catechetical sermon series. Baptismal Sermons For each of the baptismal sermons I included in the readings the scriptural texts Luther used in his Catechism (Matt. 28:16-20; Mark 16:15-16; Titus […]
Preaching on the Catechism is not necessarily the norm in Lutheranism today. However, preaching on the Catechism is strongly encouraged by Luther. In his German Mass, Luther stated the desire for regular catechetical preaching to train the young in the Christian faith. [LW 53, 64-69, 78-80, 86-87] Luther wrote that preaching the “Catechism is doctrine […]
We are pleased to announce the start of a new series, Preaching on the Catechism. In September, when I attended the Go First! Ministry Conference sponsored by the Minnesota South District, I was curious about the workshop titled “Catechetical Preaching.” After attending the session led by Pastor Armand Boehme, I shared a bit of the […]
I’m nostalgic for 2017, a year filled with special commemorations of the 500th anniversary of Luther’s 95 Thesis and the reforms of the church launched by that event. While most people today (October 31) are fixated on costumes for their kids, Halloween candy to give out, or creepy lawn decorations, I’m musing about Luther’s 1520 […]
Last week I concluded with words from Ambrose that the goal of the catechumenate is “inebriation” in Christ. Arriving at that inebriation requires a well thought process on the part of the catechist. As William Harmless notes in Augustine and the Catechumenate, Augustine received just such a question from a catechist, Deogratias (what a baptismal […]