Trinity Lutheran CHURCH Annual Conference
Today’s Christian In Tomorrow’s World
July 2023.
Details of Trinity’s inaugural annual conference will be released shortly.
Trinity Lutheran CHURCH Annual Conference
Today’s Christian In Tomorrow’s World
July 2023.
Details of Trinity’s inaugural annual conference will be released shortly.
C.F.W. Walther's work is an essential part of any Lutheran Library. This work is a great resource in several different facets. It is of course useful for self-evaluation. One can learn much from reading Walther's work. Moreover, it can give one a greater appreciation for Sermons on Sundays. To a trampled conscience this book will be an aid as Walther highlights the sweetness of the Gospel. It is useful regardless of being Pastor or Lay Person. The struggle of everyday life - grappling with pride or despair, is ultimately to be fought with the Proper Distinction of Law and Gospel, a facet of Christian Doctrine which Walther exposits masterfully.
By any standard, this is a classic of Christian theology. Composed by St Athanasius in the fourth century, it expounds with simplicity the theological vision defended at the councils of Nicaea and Constantinople: that the Son of God himself became "fully human, so that we might become god." Its influence on all Christian theology thereafter, East and West, ensures its place as one of the few "must read" books for all who want to know more about the Christian faith.
In The Reason I Believe, Allen Quist returns to a basic fact-based defense of Christianity. In doing so, he offers a wealth of compelling evidence for the truthfulness of Christianity, including the existence of God, the reliability of Scripture, and the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Quist also presents a biblical response to the problem of evil and the scientific issues with Darwinism, equipping Christians to confidently respond to these common objections to their faith.
After reading The Reason I Believe, Christians and skeptics alike will better understand why Christianity requires faith—just not a blind leap of faith.
The Theological Commonplaces series is the first-ever English translation of Johann Gerhard's monumental Loci Theologici. Gerhard was the premier Lutheran theologian of the early seventeenth century. Combining his profound understanding of evangelical Lutheran theology with a broad interest in ethics and culture, he produced significant works on biblical, doctrinal, pastoral, and devotional theology. Gerhard interacts with the writings of the church fathers, Luther and his contemporaries, and the Catholic and Calvinist theologians of his day. His Loci are regarded as the standard compendium of Lutheran orthodoxy, with topics ranging from the proper understanding and interpretation of Scripture to eschatology. In this first volume (of Seventeen) of the Theological Commonplaces series, Gerhard presents a brief introduction on the nature of theology, then addresses the source of all Lutheran doctrineHoly Scripture. In 28 chapters, Gerhard explores the efficient cause of Scripture, the subject matter of Holy Writ, offers specific treatment of each canonical and apocryphal book of the Bible, and discussed inspiration of Scripture. Finally, Gerhard offers insight on versions of Holy Scripture and its interpretation. Useful for research on Lutheran doctrine, Gerhard's accessible style makes this a must-have on the bookshelf of pastors and professional church workers.
Through stories of his own pastoral experiences, reflections on the Lutheran Confessions, the writings of Martin Luther, and Scripture itself, Klemet I. Preus explores the impact of the American Evangelical and Church Growth Movements on the modern Lutheran Church. He reminds readers that practice and doctrine are inextricably linked for those who are the body of Christ.
Called “The American Luther,” C. F. W. Walther (1811–87) was an eloquent preacher, church organizer, and a keen theologian. His areas of specialty included systematic and historical theology, especially the writings of Martin Luther and post-Reformation Lutheranism. He served as pastor in Perry County and St. Louis, Missouri, and was the first president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Walther also served as the first president of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference. He was a co-founder, professor, and the president of Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, and an editor and author of theological journals; and books.
Christian tradition often seems to give only grudging approval to the married life, particularly its sexual aspect. In these sermons of St John Chrysostom we find an important corrective to this view. Although himself a monk, Chrysostom had a profound understanding of the needs of his congregation. Inspired by the epistles to the Corinthians and Ephesians, he discusses the reasons God instituted marriage: primarily to promote holiness of the husband and wife, and only secondarily to produce children. Chrysostom goes on to discuss sexual relations, the mutual responsibilities of marriage, and parenting. While parts of Chrysostom's sermons may seem limited to his own time, the vast majority of his advice has timeless relevance for the Christian family.
After assessing current trends in the faith development of youth, Dr. David Rueter wrote Teaching the Faith at Home: What Does This Mean? How Is This Done? to reveal why the historic model of teaching the catechism early in the home is key in keeping families connected to the Church. Part 1 focuses on laying a foundation for understanding the history, purpose, and theological reasons for catechesis. And Part 2 is a very practical look at strategies and models for catechetical instruction that can be shared at church and used in the home.
Catechesis that’s grounded in family life is not a new idea, but it’s one that our fast-paced culture often forgets and would do well to remember and cherish.
After over 100 years of mandatory schooling in the U.S., literacy rates have dropped, families are fragmented, learning "disabilities" are skyrocketing, and children and youth are increasingly disaffected. Thirty years of teaching in the public school system led John Taylor Gatto to the sad conclusion that compulsory governmental schooling is to blame, accomplishing little but to teach young people to follow orders like cogs in an industrial machine.
Thomas Korcok demonstrates how the Wittenberg theologians settled on a liberal arts education as the preferred model for Evangelical Christian elementary schools. He then traces how that model persisted and was adapted as Lutherans moved from Europe to North America. Korcok concludes that the liberal arts model fits our contemporary setting as changes in society today make it ever more important to have an elementary education that is compatible with Evangelical Theology.
Alan Jacobs offers an insightful, accessible, and playfully irreverent guide for aspiring readers. Each chapter focuses on one aspect of approaching literary fiction, poetry, or nonfiction, and the book explores everything from the invention of silent reading, reading responsively, rereading, and reading on electronic devices.
Invitingly written, with equal measures of wit and erudition, The Pleasures of Reading in an Age of Distraction will appeal to all readers, whether they be novices looking for direction or old hands seeking to recapture the pleasures of reading they first experienced as children.
The stories we read--and the conversations we have about them--help shape family traditions, create lifelong memories, and become part of our legacy. Reading aloud not only has the power to change a family--it has the power to change the world. But we all know that connecting deeply with our families can be difficult in our busy, technology-driven society. Reading aloud is one of the best ways to be fully present with our children, even after they can read themselves, but it isn't always easy to do. This book prepares its readers to read aloud, and create the legacy for a strong family.
Millions of parents and educators have turned to Jim Trelease's beloved classic for more than three decades to help countless children become avid readers through awakening their imaginations and improving their language skills. Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook, updated and revised by education specialist Cyndi Giorgis, discusses the benefits, the rewards, and the importance of reading aloud to children of a new generation. Supported by delightful anecdotes as well as the latest research, an updated treasury of book recommendations curated with an eye for diversity, Jim Trelease's Read-Aloud Handbook offers proven techniques and strategies for helping children of all backgrounds and abilities discover the pleasures of reading and setting them on the road to becoming lifelong readers.
A miraculous alchemy occurs when one person reads to another, transforming the simple stuff of a book, a voice, and a bit of time into complex and powerful fuel for the heart, brain, and imagination. Grounded in the latest neuroscience and behavioral research, and drawing widely from literature, The Enchanted Hour explains the dazzling cognitive and social-emotional benefits that await children, whatever their class, nationality, or family background. But it’s not just about bedtime stories for little kids: Reading aloud consoles, uplifts, and invigorates at every age, deepening the intellectual lives and emotional well-being of teenagers and adults, too.
Play dates, soccer practice, day care, political correctness, drudgery without facts, television, video games, constant supervision, endless distractions: these and other insidious trends in child rearing and education are now the hallmarks of childhood. As author Anthony Esolen demonstrates in this elegantly written, often wickedly funny book, almost everything we are doing to children now constricts their imaginations, usually to serve the ulterior motives of the constrictors.
This book introduces readers to a paradigm for understanding a classical education that transcends the familiar 3-stage pattern of grammar, logic, and rhetoric. Instead, this book describes the liberal arts as a central part of a larger and more robust paradigm of classical education that should consist of piety, gymnastic, music, liberal arts, philosophy, and theology. It also recovers the means by which classical educators developed more than just intellectual virtue (by means of the 7 liberal arts) but holistically cultivated the mind, body, will, and affections. This is a must-read for educators who want to take a second big step toward recovering the tradition of classical education.
This new, revised, and first print edition of Sarah Mackenzie's best-selling eBook version contains 35% new content! Those who have made the decision to homeschool their children have done so out of great love for their children and a desire to provide them an excellent education in the context of a warm, enriching home. Yet so many parents (mainly mothers) who have taken up this challenge find the enterprise often full of stress, worry, and anxiety. In this practical, faith-based, and inspirational book, Sarah Mackenzie addresses these questions directly, appealing to her own study of restful learning (scholé) and her struggle to bring restful learning to her (six) children.
Our K–12 school system isn’t a good fit for all―or even most―students. It prioritizes a single way of understanding the world over all others, pushes children into a rigid set of grades with little regard for individual maturity, and slaps “disability” labels on differences in learning style. Caught in this system, far too many young learners end up discouraged. This informed, compassionate, and practical guidebook will show you how to take control of your child’s K–12 experience and negotiate the school system in a way that nurtures your child’s mind, emotions, and spirit.
The Well-Trained Mind will instruct you, step by step, on how to give your child an academically rigorous, comprehensive education from preschool through high school―one that will train him or her to read, to think, to understand, to be well-rounded and curious about learning. Veteran home educators Susan Wise Bauer and Jessie Wise outline the classical pattern of education called the trivium, which organizes learning around the maturing capacity of the child’s mind and comprises three stages: the elementary school “grammar stage,” when the building blocks of information are absorbed through memorization and rules; the middle school “logic stage,” in which the student begins to think more analytically; and the high-school “rhetoric stage,” where the student learns to write and speak with force and originality. Using this theory as your model, you’ll be able to instruct your child―whether full-time or as a supplement to classroom education―in all levels of reading, writing, history, geography, mathematics, science, foreign languages, rhetoric, logic, art, and music, regardless of your own aptitude in those subjects.
Memoria Press is a family-run publishing company that produces classical Christian education materials for home and private schools. It was founded by Cheryl Lowe in 1994 and has developed a K-12 classical curriculum at Highlands Latin School in Louisville, Kentucky, where its award-winning programs are written and field-tested.
Memoria Press exists to promote and impart the classical heritage of the Christian West. We do this by emphasizing the liberal arts and the great works of the Western tradition. To achieve this goal, we have produced a comprehensive and accessible classical Christian curriculum that encourages the development of wisdom and virtue through pursuing the Good, the True, and the Beautiful. Our motto is “Saving Western Civilization One Student at a Time” and expresses our passionfor defending and transferring the culture of the Christian West through classical education.
Expected to open in the Fall of 2025, Luther Classical College will provide a conservative, classical Lutheran education to Lutheran students. Paramount will be the promotion of Christian culture, stress on the priority of Christian marriage, family, and piety, and cultivation of confessional Lutheran theology, liturgy, hymnody, and identity. With courses using the “great books” of the past for the core curriculum, the college will offer Latin, history, theology, literature, logic, rhetoric, music, geometry, biology, and mathematics, all within a purposefully Christian and Lutheran framework.
David’s Harp is an outgrowth of the work and development of St. Paul’s Music Conservatory in Council Bluffs, IA. In 2009, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church established a formal music conservatory to raise up church musicians and proclaim the Gospel through music. This manner of music education was well received by the congregation and community alike. Over time, this conservatory grew and has become a center of music education within the Council Bluffs community and has developed resources specifically for use in the parish-based music conservatory. Having positive reception from across the synod, the leadership of SPMC has entertained interested ministry leaders from all across the country seeking to establish similar forms of outreach in their own context. Seeing that the work of the local conservatory, resource development, and collaboration with leaders from across the country would be too much for one parish to handle effectively, the leadership of SPMC called for help and created a new organization called David’s Harp. The mission of this entity is simple: Produce music resources and produce centers of musical development around the world.
Frederick Bastiat dismantles Socialism, the Nanny State, the Welfare State, Pro-Business Cronyism, and all the other forms of government interference in people's lives. He destroys the perverse logic of the Do-Gooders who want to help one group or another because, somehow, it's the fair thing to do. Bastiat shows that the result of all this protection and benevolence is to make people poorer and less free. His lessons and logic are up to date and powerful.
The eighty-five Federalist articles were written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay; three Founding Fathers who together sought to promote the ratification of the United States Constitution. This definitive edition includes all 85 articles, and the text of the Constitution for ease of reference.
Ad Crucem provides unique, high-quality products and services that help confess the true Christian faith. This faith is indivisible and indistinguishable from the identity of the orthodox Evangelical Lutheran Church. Visit their <a href="https://www.adcrucem.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">website</a> today for your Christmon, liturgical, or gift needs.
Salpidzo Press published beautiful, liturgical, and reproducible Church music. The Christian Church receives wonderful gifts from God apart from any worthiness of Her own. In return for His gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation given through the Holy Word and the Sacraments, She sings thanksgiving and praise unto the God Who saved Her; through Psalms, hymns, and Spiritual songs She declares His gracious works. The finest musical expressions by the Church occur within the liturgy.
Lutherans For Life believes that God’s Word compels the Church to speak and act on behalf of vulnerable and defenseless people. The crisis of our times is the repudiation of biblical truth manifested in the wanton destruction of innocent human life through legalized abortion-on-demand and the growing threat to the lives of others through legalized assisted suicide and euthanasia. Therefore, as Lutherans For Life, we will strive to give a Gospel-motivated witness to the Church and society on these and other related issues, such as chastity, post-abortion healing, and family living. We will call God’s people to compassionate action and foster life-affirming alternatives for those facing difficult situations.
This fantastic series by C.S. Lewis wraps the basic tenets of Christianity into wholesome fantasy. Intended initially for children, C.S. Lewis is noted for noticing that "...no book is really worth reading at the age of ten which is not equally - and often far more - worth reading at the age of fifty and beyond." This series will delight the entire family, while encouraging discussion from the themes and what they mean to every Christian.
"If you care for journeys there and back, out of the comfortable Western world, over the edge of the Wild, and home again, and can take an interest in a humble hero (blessed with a little wisdom and a little courage and considerable good luck), here is a record of such a journey and such a traveler. The period is the ancient time between the age of Faerie and the dominion of men, when the famous forest of Mirkwood was still standing, and the mountains were full of danger. In following the path of this humble adventurer, you will learn by the way (as he did) -- if you do not already know all about these things -- much about trolls, goblins, dwarves, and elves, and get some glimpses into the history and politics of a neglected but important period. For Mr. Bilbo Baggins visited various notable persons; conversed with the dragon, Smaug the Magnificent; and was present, rather unwillingly, at the Battle of the Five Armies. This is all the more remarkable, since he was a hobbit. Hobbits have hitherto been passed over in history and legend, perhaps because they as a rule preferred comfort to excitement. But this account, based on his personal memoirs, of the one exciting year in the otherwise quiet life of Mr. Baggins will give you a fair idea of the estimable people now (it is said) becoming rather rare. They do not like noise." - J.R.R. Tolkien
At a time when men and women were prepared to kill—and be killed—for their faith, the Protestant Reformation tore the Western world apart. Acclaimed as the definitive account of these epochal events, Diarmaid MacCulloch's award-winning history brilliantly re-creates the religious battles of priests, monarchs, scholars, and politicians—from the zealous Martin Luther and his Ninety-Five Theses to the polemical John Calvin to the radical Igantius Loyola, from the tortured Thomas Cranmer to the ambitious Philip II.
Every week Dr. Koontz and RevFisk check their privilege against the backdrop of history's vast and varied annals. You don‘t have to believe the Babel about the sons of Noah being a rosetta to understand the postmodern global politic to agree that an intellectual dark web exists because history always rhymes, no matter what you try to do about it. You might not save the world by listening, citizen, but that doesn‘t mean you won‘t save someone. Because knowing is only the first half of the battle.
Gottesdienst was established in 1992 and had been responsible for providing outstanding liturgical material ever since. This organization is dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the historic Lutheran liturgy. They routinely publish sermons new and old, fine articles pertaining to the historic liturgy and its rubrics, and conduct a podcast with leading Lutheran theologians with an aim to fostering a deeper understanding of and appreciation for the Divine Service in which our Holy and Triune God enlightens us with His gifts, sanctifies, and keeps us in the true faith.
With his Handbook or Enchiridion, as the Small Catechism was initially called, Martin Luther confessed his faith before the children of German-speaking lands and their parents. But this little book became a confession of what it means to be a Christian for newborn Christians around the world. Publication of its translation into some languages, such as Estonian, brought these languages for the first time to the printed page. Parents, pastors, and teachers began using Luther’s Catechism in the Nordic lands, in eastern Europe, as well as in the German empire, in the sixteenth century. By the mid-seventeenth century a Swedish missionary, Johann Campanius, had brought it into the Lenape tribe of Native Americans in the colony of New Sweden on the Atlantic coast. Bartholomeus Ziegenbalg provided Tamil-speakers in south-east India with its text in the early eighteenth century. In the twenty-first century it is giving new Christians of all ages instruction in the Biblical message in an roughly one hundred languages, according to reliable estimates.
We often refer to Luther’s Small Catechism as a “handbook for Christian doctrine”, but he intended it to be even more, a handbook and basic guide for Christian daily life. Indeed, it begins by laying the foundation for understanding the teaching of Holy Scripture as God’s plan for the way human beings were designed to live, his law, and his plan for rescuing and restoring human beings who have doubted God’s Word and failed to fear, love, and trust in him above all things. Medieval catechisms, the basic instruction in the Christian faith of Luther’s childhood, arranged the core of the Biblical message in the categories of “faith” (the Creed), “hope” (the Lord’s Prayer), and “love” (the Ten Commandments or lists of virtues and vices). Luther changed the order, arguing that first the person who is ill must receive a diagnosis, then be told how healing can come, and then learn how to live a healthy life. So he placed the Ten Commandments first, in order to remind the baptised of their sinfulness; then comes the Creed, the summary of the Biblical story of salvation that climaxed in God’s coming as the human being Jesus of Nazareth to die in order to get rid of our sins and to rise from the grave in order to restore us to righteousness (Romans 4:25). Luther believed that the person whose faith agrees with God’s view of himself or herself. God’s judgement is that in Christ this sinner has become fully righteous because our sins are buried in Christ’s tomb and he has raised us to a new and righteous life as God’s child. Thus, Luther presumed that the forgiven sinner, knowing that he or she is righteous in God’s sight, will act righteously in daily life and represent the family well.
Thus, the book provides a handbook for the entire Christian life. Charles Arand speaks of it as a tool for cultivating “the art of living by faith”.[1] Therefore, Arand’s treatment of the catechism has taken its title from Luther’s explanation of the second article of the Apostles Creed, “That I May Be His Own.” As God’s re-created newborn, I am living in Christ, under his rule, and serving him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness. Luther’s Handbook sketches this life beginning with prayer, the first exercise of faith in response to God. It continues with instruction on the sacraments, one of God’s media for getting his message of forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through the death and resurrection of Jesus in our behalf. Following his treatment of baptism, its extension into daily life in the form of confession of sins and absolution, and the Lord’s Supper Luther went on to offer a model for the practice of meditating on God’s Word and praying to him morning, evening, and at mealtime. His Small Catechism concludes with a “table of Bible passages” relating to the callings that structure the Christian life. Luther believed that God places his in specific situations in our homes, in our economic activities on the job, in our nations and societies at the local level, and in our congregations and church bodies. He has given us specific responsibilities for one another as part of the whole of his humanity, for we were created to be in community, not to be alone (Genesis 2:18).
A good part of the Small Catechism simply repeats words from Scripture—the Ten Commandments, the Lord’s Prayer, Bible passages explaining the sacraments, the entire “table of Christian callings”. The other parts of this handbook summarise and convey what God tells us about himself, about ourselves, and about his plans for us as his children. This little book flows out of Scripture and intends to lead us back into Scripture. It functions well as an overview and summary of God’s Word and thus as guide and aid to our learning and teaching, praying and giving witnessing to what he has said to us.
Timothy Wengert tells of a Tanzanian teacher who walked five hours to be able to buy a copy of Luther’s Small Catechism in his own language and of his own grandmother, who, as she suffered the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease, could not recognise her own son but could correct him when he recited passages from the Small Catechism at her bedside.[2] For experiences with this little book like these, probably millions after five hundred years, we give thanks to the Lord of the church, and pray that our use of the Handbook will so enrich our faith and life as well.
Robert Kolb
Concordia Seminary, Saint Louis USA
Luther’s 533rd Birthday, November 10, 2016
1] Charles P. Arand, That I May Be His Own. An Overview of Luther’s Catechisms (Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2000), 147–188.
[2] Timothy J. Wengert, Martin Luther’s Catechisms. Forming the Faith (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2009), 2.
Grow deeper in your understanding of God’s Word with comprehensive notes, prayers, and a reading plan to guide you in your daily devotions.
The Lutheran Study Bible is the first Bible in English to be developed with notes that are distinctively Lutheran. Notes were prepared by theologians and pastors from more than twenty Lutheran church bodies. Current scholarship, insights from Church Fathers, and rich devotional commentary help both new and mature Christians learn about God’s Word.
"The Book of Concord should be in every Lutheran home. If a person isn't familiar with this book, he'll think, 'That old book is just for pastors. I don't have to preach. After working all day, I can't sit down and study in the evening. If I read my morning and evening devotions, that's enough.' No, that is not enough! The Lord doesn't want us to remain children, blown to and fro by every wind of doctrine; instead of that, He wants us to grow in knowledge so that we can teach others."
— Dr. C.F.W. Walther
Nothing is more important than clearly confessing and bearing witness to the truths of God's Holy Word which reveal the glorious Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is what the Book of Concord is all about. This edition of the Lutheran Confessions will instruct, inspire and educate all who use it and help them learn what it means to be, and to remain, a genuinely confessing Lutheran Christian.