The Words That Kill and Give Life

This Sunday we will be studying the two different voices that God uses in His Word.

"[God's] Law is the preaching of wrath against sin. It is that voice from Sinai's lofty heights that thunders with condemnation of the sinner and his sin."

"The Gospel stands in distinct contrast from the Law. While the Law makes demands and threatens with punishment, the Gospel makes promises and bespeaks peace with God in the blood of Jesus Christ."

To prepare for this study, please read 2 Corinthians 3:7-11, which you can find here. If you want to do more in-depth preparation, you can read a section of the Book of Concord here.

I look forward to seeing you all on Sunday!

Get out of hell free

Pastor Wil Weedon of St. Paul's Lutheran in Hamel, IL posted a very interesting sermon on his blog. It deals with an idea we talked about in Bible Class a week ago, about how some Lutherans will use the phrase "But I am baptized" as a license to sin. I know I am certainly guilty of this.

This is a phrase Luther would always come back to whenever the devil would come to torment him and remind him of past sins. Then Luther would say, "But I am baptized," which would give him comfort. This is much different from using "But I am baptized" as a "get out of hell free" card.

Check out this sermon on this subject.

New Study: "Word: God Speaks to Us"

This Sunday at 10am we will begin a new study in the "Lutheran Spirituality Series" entitled "Word: God Speaks to Us."

As the introduction to the study says, "Our God is a speaking God. Unlike idols made of mute stone or crafted by the imaginations of the faithless heart, the living God has a voice. He speaks and His words are 'spirit and life' (John 6:63)." As the introduction later says, "This study is designed as a hearing aid. That is, it is the purpose of this study to assist you not only in understanding what God's Word is and how it functions, but also to sharpen your skills in listening to our Lord as He speaks in His Scriptures and in preaching that is governed by the Scriptures."

This week we begin with a session called "The God Who Speaks. To prepare for this study, please read Hebrews 1:1-2.

See you Sunday!

Nathan

Christianity in the Workplace

This week in class we will be studying "Christianity in the Workplace."

To prepare for this study, please read the text of Ephesians 6:5-9, which you can find here.

This should be an interesting study as we learn and discuss how Christianity comes into play in the workplace, especially in light of our previous weeks' discussions. See you Sunday at 10!