Category: Catechesis

By Monica Berndt

One hymn that helps illustrate how Luther used hymns to both spread his ideas and teach the common people is Vater Unser im Himmelreich. This directly translates in English to ‘Our Father in Heaven’ which is the German translation of the first line of the Lord’s Prayer. Luther’s setting of this prayer was not the first time it had been translated into German, nor the first time it was set to music.¹ However, Luther’s treatment of this text is slightly different from other settings because he uses it to reinforce the questions and ideas presented in his Small Catechism, a book Luther wrote for lay people explaining important doctrines of the church. Vater Unser im Himmelreich is the musical setting of these questions and answers for the Lord’s Prayer. It demonstrates the close connections between the doctrine Luther wanted people to know about, spread largely through the Small Catechism, and the hymns that he composed.^*

Vater Unser im Himmelreich was composed sometime between 1538 and 1539. There are nine total verses to match the eight lines of the Lord’s Prayer, plus one extra verse for the Amen and its explanation. Robin Leaver remarks in his book, Luther’s Liturgical Music, that Vater Unser im Himmelreich had two usages. First, it could be used in the liturgy in place of the prose Prayer, or it could also be sung to aid in teaching either at church or at home.^* This demonstrates how versatile some of Luther’s hymns could be, especially ones that had a catechetical purpose. Each verse is set in six lines each with eight syllables, which allows all verses to work effectively with the tune of the hymn.

The tune of a hymn plays just as important a role as the text, and this was something Luther understood well. For Vater Unser im Himmelreich Luther wanted a melody that would call to mind thoughtful communication with God and the reflective state that a Christian should be in during prayer.^* The melody Luther chose to write is fairly simple which meant it could be easily learned or taught to someone else, and it is a solemn sounding melody that moves slowly and methodically. A German church attendee could sing this piece and not only would the text remind him of the honor and respect due to God through prayer, the tune itself would carry the expression of the Lord’s Prayer. The melody reinforces the text the same way most of our hymns still do today.

Source:

^[1] Leaver, Robin A.. Luther’s Liturgical Music: Principles and Implications. Grand Rapids, Michigan: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2007

Monica Berndt is the music director at Messiah Lutheran Church in Seattle, WA and studies music and history at the University of Washington. This is the first part of a paper written for her Medieval Music History course last spring. She can be reached at acinomtdnreb@gmail.com.

Rev. Michael Keith

It’s October. The weather turns a little cooler or a lot cooler, depending on where you live. On the farms the harvest is often still in full swing. It is the month that Thanksgiving is properly celebrated. (you Americans are always a month behind on that.) In October the routines of life have returned after the summer break and pumpkin spice is everywhere! And in the Lutheran Church it’s the time of year when we celebrate the Reformation. In fact, my grade 8 class that I teach each morning will be studying the Reformation and preparing a research paper for the entire month of October. I make a pretty big deal of it.

So, the Reformation is all about Martin Luther and his friends and how they stuck it to the man, right? How the little guy stood up to the big, bad, mean Roman Catholic Church, right? How Luther and his cronies went toe to toe with the Pope and didn’t blink, right? This time of year Lutherans pound on their chest and roar, “Here I stand!”

And there is some good to this. We ought to know our history. We need to know where we came from. We need to know as Lutherans what we believe and why we believe it. This is essential. We need to be aware of the struggles and battles of the past. We need to have the same boldness that remains faithful to Jesus and what He has revealed to us through the Word of God, no matter the consequences.

However, there is a danger here. We can make the Reformation about Martin Luther and how wonderful he was. We can make it about describing the story of all the political intrigue that surrounded those important events. We can make the Reformation about how Lutherans are better than Roman Catholics and the Calvinists and the Zwinglians and, well, pretty much anybody else. We can make the Reformation a triumphant retelling of our Reformation superheroes that defeated the arch-villain Roman Catholic Church and the Pope for us and then we as good Lutherans can go out like vigilantes in our time and imitate them looking for more villains to vanquish. We can stand up tall and pray: “I thank God that I am not like those Roman Catholics and evangelicals. I studied the catechism, I sing ‘A Mighty Fortress,’ I don’t pray to the Virgin Mary.” But if we do that we miss the point. You see, the Reformation is not really about Martin Luther and how wonderful we Lutherans are. It’s about Jesus.

You have been set free from the burdens of the Law. You have been set free from the punishments of your sin. You have been set free from death and hell. You have been set free and have been given new life. Jesus has set you free. “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36). Jesus has never left or forsaken His Church. To say that the Gospel had vanished from the Church before the Reformation is the same as saying that Jesus had left His Church and this is false. Jesus promised to be with His Church until the end of the age (Matthew 28:20). It is true that the Gospel had become unclear. It had become entangled with man-made rules and regulations and traditions. The Gospel had become muted. The Gospel had become very hard to hear with all the other “noise” that surrounded it. It is also true that the Church had gotten her hands into the things of this world and confused the right hand kingdom with the left—leading to disastrous results. But Jesus was still there in His Church. He worked through the people of that time, including Martin Luther, to chip away at that which had obscured the Gospel so that the Gospel would be proclaimed more clearly. During this time Jesus worked through the people in order that the Gospel would be the center of the proclamation of the Church so that all would be comforted in knowing that we are saved by Christ alone, by grace alone, through faith alone.

So, while we ought to remember Martin Luther and the other faithful people—both clergy and laypeople, who had a hand in the Reformation—we above all need to recognize on Reformation Day that the focus is to be on Jesus. It’s not a time to throw a parade for Luther; it’s not a time to pat ourselves on our backs and “tsk tsk” the non-Lutherans around us. It’s a time to gratefully receive the gifts Jesus brings through His Word and Sacraments: forgiveness, life, and salvation. To remember your baptism and make the sign of the holy cross. To confess your sins and hear Holy Absolution pronounced to you as if it was Jesus speaking to you because it is! To kneel at the altar and receive the very Body and Blood of Jesus. To rejoice that Jesus will never leave His Church and this can give us confidence even as we face struggles in the Church in our day. To respond with thanksgiving and praise because you have been set free in Jesus.

So, when you hear the Gospel reading from John 8 appointed for Reformation Sunday telling you that you are free in Jesus don’t be filled with pride and arrogance and look down on others who are not Lutherans. Instead, give thanks for those who have gone before you and who have delivered to you the Good News that you are saved by grace through faith in Christ alone. Humbly receive this inheritance. Rejoice in it. Draw comfort from this great Good News. But above all on Reformation Day, give thanks to Jesus.

 

By Monica Berndt

The Reformation, sparked when Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to the cathedral door in Wittenburg, spread across most of northern and eastern Europe with such determination and speed that it shocked the Catholic Church. One of the questions that is often asked about this reformation is how Luther’s ideas managed to spread throughout Germany and resonate with enough people that they abandoned the relative safety of Catholicism for Lutheranism. An important part of this spread lies in the rich vernacular hymn tradition of the Lutheran Church; a tradition that Luther himself started by composing many new German language hymns for congregations to sing. These hymns were instrumental in spreading and teaching Lutheran ideas to laymen who had never even heard a church service in their own language before. Hymns functioned as a kind of propaganda for the Lutheran church by spreading Luther’s basic teachings in German through songs that everyday people could sing whenever they wanted.

Luther wanted to keep the basic structure of the Catholic Mass, yet make it more accessible to the German people. Officially, all Catholic Masses were done in Latin, a tradition begun in the early days of the Holy Roman Empire and lasted through the 20^th century. While we cannot know exactly how each particular parish celebrated the Mass, we do know that there were many prohibitions passed by the Catholic church forbidding the use of German hymns and replacing the Latin Masses with German from before Luther’s time.¹ Luther’s primary concern was that services and hymns should be in the language of the people participating so that they could know exactly what they were being taught.² His hymns gave the common people the power to understand their own beliefs and an access to theology that they had been previously denied. The music of the Reformation became “an instrument to improve literacy, unlock scripture, and to promote evangelical learning,” which allowed the everyday man to understand the basic doctrines taught in the church.³ Hymns had a clear purpose grounded both in Luther’s beliefs about the position of music and in the idea that people other than the clergy could participate in services.

Sources:

¹ Herl, Joseph. Worship Wars in Early Lutheranism: Choir, Congregation, and Three Centuries of Conflict. New York: Oxford University Press, 2004.
² Schalk, Carl. Music in Early Lutheranism. Saint Louis: Concordia Academic Press, 2001.
³ Loewe, J. Andreas. “Why Do Lutherans Sing? Lutherans, Music, and the Gospel in the First Century of the Reformation.” Church History, vol 82, no. 1. (2013): 69–89. Accessed April 16, 2017.

Monica Berndt is the music director at Messiah Lutheran Church in Seattle, WA and studies music and history at the University of Washington. This is the first part of a paper written for her Medieval Music History course last spring. She can be reached at acinomtdnreb@gmail.com.

“I baptize you in the NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”

So begins our life in Christ. It is fitting, then, that the Divine Service also begins in that same NAME, since the Divine Service is the center of our Life in Christ.

We bear the NAME of God. To ask Luther’s famous question, “What does this mean?” Is it simply an identifier? If a car says, “Ford” on it, it is identified as a car made by the company founded by Henry Ford. But that is about all the connection that car has with the late Mr. Ford.

Is it simply to identify who you belong to? Well, it definitely does that! You belong to the Blessed Trinity! And that is a great comfort. “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine.” (Isaiah 43:1 NKJV) And when God says that He calls you by your NAME, He isn’t only talking about “Robert” or “Kelly”. He is talking about that NAME placed on you, given to you in Holy Baptism. This promise of God to call you by name is for, “Everyone who is called by My name.” {Isaiah 43:7 NKJV)

But bearing God’s NAME gives you even more identity than that! You aren’t merely associated with God. You don’t just belong to God. Where God’s NAME is, there God is! And when God comes to those who are His, He comes with blessings in His hand. “In every place where I record My name I will come to you, and I will bless you.” {Exodus 20:24 NKJV)

Among the precious blessings that He pours out on us from His overwhelming love is that we may “…ask Him as dear children ask their dear father.” And not only ask Him, but also be assured that He will hear and answer us. In fact, He promises, “And whatever you ask in My NAME, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My NAME, I will do it.” (John 14:13-14 NKJV)

This blessing is not simply a “So what God will do for me?” kind-of-thing. It all flows from the awesome gift of communion with Him. This is what we were created for. It is what we were re-created for. It is, in the end, the goal, the very purpose of our existence and answers the question, “Why am I here?” You are here to live in loving communion with the Holy Trinity, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

In the Fall, Adam and Eve chose to follow their own desires, to live independently of God. They chose individuality over communion. Does this mean that we lose our distinctiveness in Christ? Are we all just the same? “Dear Father, this is 1 of 6.”? Hardly! The One who created us is not that way! Our Lord Jesus Christ, as the Son, is unique and distinct from the Father and the Holy Spirit. But He does not live for Himself, or by Himself, but rather in loving communion with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and, by His self-giving love on the Holy Cross, in loving communion with us!

It is the same with us. We are still distinct persons. God does know us each by name. And He draws each of us out of our self-centered individuality, into a life lived in communion, loving and being loved.

And so we don’t speak of our life with Christ so much as our life in Christ. Christ living in us, and, He says, where He is, there the Father will also come and the will make their home in us. We are made temples of the Holy Spirit.

Rejoice! You are never alone, but have been brought into a life of communion, a life lived in the NAME of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. “So they shall put My Name on the children of Israel, and I will bless them.” (Numbers 6:27 NKJV)

by Pastor Allen Braun

When it comes to sacred music there are two options. The first we can sing about how Jesus is worthy of OUR worship. The law in how WE lift his name and sing his praises. Then there is the second option, the better option: The option where the Gospel is present.

What is the Gospel specifically? The number of people who don’t know is both surprising and sad. Specifically, the Gospel is the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ FOR MY SINS, FOR YOUR SINS, FOR OUR SINS, FOR THE SINS OF THE WORLD!

The Higher Things Conference hymn definitely shows us the Gospel.

O Love, How Deep – LSB 544

“O love, how deep, how broad, how high,
Beyond all thought and fantasy,
That God, the Son of God, should take,
Our mortal form for mortals’ sake!”

John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son…” The ‘so’ in this verse does not say that God loved the world so much, but it shows how God loved the World. “God loved the World in this way, He gave His one and only Son”

God’s love in this act is greater then we can even dream about! This stanza also shows us that it was no mere man who came for us. This was God the Son of God, 100% God who took on our mortal form, 100% man, FOR US!

“He sent no angel to our race,
Of higher or of lower place,
But wore the robe of human frame,
And to this world Himself He came.”

What? He thought that we were important enough for Him to come to us Himself? Surely an angel would have been sufficient right? No, FOR US God came as a man. His glory was covered up by the robe of human flesh only for His grace and mercy to show through in His bloody body on the cross.

“For us baptized, for us He bore
His holy fast and hungered sore;
For us temptation sharp he knew;
For us the tempter overthrew.”

Christ Baptized? But why? (Pr. Kuhlman put it wonderfully: http://blog.higherthings.org/bb55841/article/2922.html) In His baptism Christ takes all the sin out of the water and places it on himself. He was Baptized FOR US, so he could die IN OUR PLACE (FOR US) He was tempted FOR US in every way yet FOR US he did not succumb to temptation!

“For us He prayed; for us He taught;
For us His daily works He wrought,
By words and signs and actions thus
Still seeking not Himself but us.”

Jesus prayed for us? Sure He did! Just look at John 17. Or even his words on the Cross, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.” He taught for us too! Just look at the Scriptures, he didn’t teach those things just for the people there, otherwise why would they have been written down. Every week we hear Jesus teaching, through the reading of the Scriptures and through the words of the Pastor’s Sermon.

“For us by wickedness betrayed,
For us, in crown of thorns arrayed,
He bore the shameful cross and death;
For us He gave His dying breath.”

The Gospel FOR US! FOR US He let those thorns pierce His head. FOR US His bloody body was put up on the cross, for all those around to mock. They told Him to prove Himself as the Son of God to take Himself down from there. FOR US he does not give into that temptation. FOR US He stays up there, FOR US He prays, and FOR US He Dies.

“For us He rose from death again;
For us He went on high to reign;
For us He sent His Spirit here
To guide, to strengthen , and to cheer.”

Death could not hold Him! He rose again, just as he said he would, three days later! He rose FOR US. We rose with Him! He left His apostles just weeks later. Did He leave His apostles and us to fend for ourselves? Of course not, He is at the Father’s right hand on our behalf. He didn’t leave us alone. He sent His Spirit!

“All glory to our Lord and God
For love so deep, so high, so broad;
The Trinity whom we adore
Forever and forevermore.”

Through the Gospel we join with the angels singing, “Glory to God in the Highest!” Only through His love in the Gospel can we do so. We are not worthy to praise God by ourselves. We rely on the blood of Jesus to make us worthy. That name we were marked with at our Baptism makes us worthy. We were washed, cleansed in the Name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit! With that we can sing His praises forever and forevermore!

So what is the response to the FOR YOU of the Gospel? Is it go and do this, this and this? Of course not because we can’t, but Jesus did! The only proper response to the FOR YOU of the Gospel is AMEN!

Pax Christi!

by Jonathan Kohlmeier

“When the crowds saw it, they were afraid, and they glorified God, who had given such authority to men.”

Forgiveness can be a terrifying thing. It’s not something that we sinful human beings deal with well. Society doesn’t like to simply forgive; we might “forgive” but not forget – which isn’t really forgiving. Or we might “forgive” after someone has done his time and made amends and worked himself back into our good graces. Which again, isn’t forgiveness.

God actually forgives. A full and simple forgiveness. Your sin is gone. No secret double probation, no “I’ll let you go this time, but if I catch you again.” There are no “ifs” with the forgiveness – if you work harder if you please me by doing X, Y, or Z. He simply forgives. All your guilt, all your punishment, all your anything that might stick to you is gone. Christ Jesus takes that away.

And that’s terrifying to us sinful folk. See, we like to use people’s sin against them, to control them. It gives us a lever over them, and our anger and disapproval or long memories can manipulate people all over the place. Other people’s sin makes us feel righteous – it lets us ignore our own sin because, after all, they are worse than us or they started it.

But Jesus isn’t interested in manipulating you or controlling you. He’s not going to wash your back only if you promise to wash His. Instead, He simply loves. He forgives. He forgives this paralytic who has done nothing for Him; He won forgiveness for you before you were even born. And even more astonishing – He authorizes you as His baptized child to forgive the people in your life. With no strings. We are free to simply love and forgive – authorized by God so to do as heirs of His righteousness.  We live in His forgiveness.

Within our current age and culture – as it might be with every age – the end and meaning of human existence is defined within ourselves. But, waves, earthquakes, and hurricanes come and disrupt the world’s perceived order of things – boats are rocked, towers fall down, and houses are blown away. All these things show that creation itself is groaning, waiting, and crying out, “The end is near!”

 

In the church our existence and life is found and defined in the true Alpha and Omega, Christ. He gives us our meaning and life in Him through the waters of Baptism. He reassures of this reality in the Words of Absolution. He also gives us all of Himself in His body and blood for our forgiveness, life, and salvation.

 

Ever since the fall, God’s plan was to save us by the sending of His Son into our flesh. This plan was realized at the incarnation and birth of Jesus. The plan included Him living His life completely under the law in our place. By His death, resurrection, and ascension Christ opened heaven to us, thus His plan was completed – we are now saved.

 

That’s it. Done. Account settled. Our liturgy now proclaims this saving work to us, gives us the fruits thereof, and keeps us in that work until our death or until Christ’s coming in glory. There is nothing more to be done. Now, within the church, we receive all of Christ in His gifts through which we receive all grace, and every blessing from our Father in heaven.

 

Within the church the full realization of Christ is now! Not later, now! Not to be expected some time in the future, and definitely not to come about through our own deeds or faith. Right now Jesus Christ is ascended at the right hand of the Father in heaven, but even in heaven Jesus still remains the same as He always was, that is, the born-of-the-Virgin, died, risen, ascended, and reigning-in-glory Lord who continually comes to us through His wonderful gifts.

 

When Christ comes in His gifts, especially His Supper, He brings heaven too. Heaven for us in the Church is not later, but now! And this truth is held, carried, and given to us when we gather to receive God’s gifts.

 

Within the church we are not as the world is. The world seeks its meaning and definition, its status with God, and God’s demeanor towards it based upon what things it deems important. Such a definition from below does not befit the church and saints of God.

 

What takes place in our worship is what truly shows us what our meaning and definition, our status with God, and God’s demeanor towards us are based on, Christ’s work applied to us in His gifts. Not just a part of Christ’s work, but all of it from birth (Gloria) until Calvary (Agnus Dei) is there. Not only those events that took place on earth, but also those events that happen now and will happen with “angels, archangels, and the whole company of heaven” are there. There in the Divine Service we proclaim, “The end is…here!”

 

In Christ Jesus is our payment for sin, our belief in doubts, and our strength in our failings. Yet this Jesus does not remain off somewhere to be sought out. Instead He comes to us. He comes bringing the Father and the Holy Spirit too. He comes bringing heaven. He comes with grace and every blessing at the Font, at Absolution, at the Word read and preached, and in His holy body and blood. All that is left for us to say is, “Amen” – gift received.

 

In the Name of Jesus. Amen.

 

Rev. Aaron Fenker is pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church, Hermansberg and Bethlehem Lutheran, Bremen. He also serves as Media Executive for Higher Things.

INTRODUCTION TO THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

• Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, rev. ed., first published in 1952, 1996). Amazon
• On Being a Christian: A Personal Confession, Henry Hamann (Northwestern Pub. House, 1996). NPH | Amazon
• What Do You Think of Jesus?, David Scaer (Concordia Theological Seminary Press, reprint, 1999). CTSFW | Amazon
• Why I Am a Lutheran: Jesus at the Center, Daniel Preus (CPH, 2004). CPH | Amazon

CHRISTIAN INSTRUCTION

• Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions – A Reader’s Edition of the Book of Concord (CPH, 2005). CPH
• Didache, John T. Pless CTSFW
• Holy Bible ESV | Biblegateway.com
• Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation (CPH, 2005). CPH
• The Book of Concord (Online) BOC

SPIRITUALITY

• Christian Spirituality: Five Views of Sanctification, Donald L. Alexander (InterVarsity Press, 1988). Amazon
• Dying to Live: The Power of Forgiveness, Harold L. Senkbeil (CPH, 1994). CPH | Amazon
• The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals, Gene E. Veith (CPH, 1999). CPH | Amazon
• Sanctification, Christ in Action, Harold L. Senkbeil (Northwestern Publishing House, 1990). Amazon
  (Look for the new CPH series on Lutheran Spirituality beginning in 2006!)

THE DEFENSE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

• God on the Dock: Essays on Theology and Ethics, C. S. Lewis (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co.; Reprint edition, 1994). Amazon
• History, Law and Christianity, John W. Montgomery (CILTPP, 2002). CILTPP | Amazon
• Miracles, C. S. Lewis (HarperSanFrancisco, 2001). Amazon
• The Defense Never Rests: A Lawyer’s Quest for the Gospel, Craig A. Parton (CPH, 2003). CPH | Amazon
• The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?, F. F. Bruce (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2003). Amazon
• The Testimony of the Evangelists, Simon Greenleaf (Kregel Publications, 1995). Amazon
• The Whimsical Christian: 18 Essays, Dorothy L. Sayers (Collier Books; Reissue edition, 1987). Amazon
  (See also Mere Christianity above)

BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW TODAY

• Above All Earthly Pow’rs: Christ In A Postmodern World, David F. Wells (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 2005). Amazon
• Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church, D. A. Carson (Zondervan, 2005). Amazon
• Christianity in an Age of Terrorism. Gene E. Veith, (CPH, 2002). CPH | Amazon
• Christians in a .Com World: Getting Connected Without Being Consumed, Gene E. Veith, Christopher L. Stamper (Crossway Books, 2000). Amazon
• Discovering the Plain Truth: How the Worldwide Church of God Encountered the Gospel of Grace, Larry Nichols & George Mather (Intevarsity Press, 1998). Amazon
• Loving God With All Your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in the Postmodern World, Gene E. Veith (Crossway Books, 2003). Amazon
• Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture, Gene E. Veith (Crossway Books, 1994). Amazon
• Reading Between the Lines, Gene E. Veith (Crossway Books, 1990). Amazon
• Testing the Claims of Church Growth, Rodney E. Zwonitzer (CPH, 2002). Amazon
• The Anonymous God, David L. Adams, Ken Schurb, eds. (Arch Books, 2005). Amazon

PRAYER & DEVOTION

• A Devotional Companion: Blessings & Prayers for College Students, (CPH, 2005). CPH | Amazon
• Day by Day We Magnify Thee: Daily Readings for the Entire Year, Martin Luther (Fortress Press, 1982). Amazon
• Psalms: The Prayer Book of the Bible, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Augsburg Publishing House, 1970). Augsburg | Amazon

ETHICS

• Holy People Holy Lives: Law and Gospel in Bioethics, by Richard C. Eyer (CPH, 2000). CPH | Amazon
• Letter to the Christian Nobility, Martin Luther
• Losing Our Virtue: Why the Church Must Recover Its Moral Vision, David F. Wells (Wm. B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1999). Amazon
• On Christian Liberty, Martin Luther (Augsburg Fortress, 2003). Augsburg Fortress | Amazon

CHRISTIAN FICTION

• The Chronicles of Narnia, C.S. Lewis, Pauline Baynes, Illustrator (HarperTrophy, Boxed edition, 1994). Amazon
• The Hammer of God, Bo Giertz (Augsburg Books, Revised edition, 2005). Amazon
• The Hammer of God (DVD), Bo Giertz Lutheran Visiuals
• The Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien (Del Rey Books, Boxed Rei edition, 2001). Amazon
• The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis (Various editions, 1961). Amazon

THEOLOGY FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS

• Handling the Word of Truth, John T. Pless (CPH, 2004). CPH | Amazon
• On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation, 1518, Gerhard O. Forde (Eerdmans, 1997). Amazon
• Orthodoxy, G. K. Chesterton (Various editions, 1908). Amazon
• Here We Stand: Nature and Character of the Lutheran Faith. Hermann, Sasse (CPH, reprint, 2003). CPH | Amazon
• Life Together: The Classic Exploration of Faith in Community, Dietrich Bonhoeffer (Harper and Row, 1954). Amazon
• Luther’s Commentary on Galatians, Martin Luther
• Luther’s Letters of Spiritual Counsel, Theodore Tappert (Regent, 1995). Amazon
• Praying for Reform, William Russel (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2005). Amazon
• The Bondage of the Will, Martin Luther (Revell, reprint, 1990) Amazon
• The Fire And The Staff: Lutheran Theology In Practice, Klemet I. Preus (Arch Books, 2005). Amazon
• The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, C. F. W. Walther (CPH, 1986). CPH | Amazon

ABOUT LUTHER

• Luther: Biography of a Reformer, Frederick Nohl (CPH, reprint, 2003). CPH | Amazon
• Luther the Reformer, James Kittleson (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, reprint, 1986). Amazon
• Martin Luther: A Life, James Arne Nestingen (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2003). Amazon

VOCATION: THE LOST DOCTRINE RECOVERED

• Faith Active in Love, George W. Forell (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 1954). Amazon
• God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life, Gene E. Veith (Crossway Books, 2002). Amazon
• Love Taking Shape: Sermons on the Christian Life, Gilbert Meilaender (Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2002). Amazon
• Luther on Vocation, Gustaf Wingren (Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2004). Amazon

SCIENCE AND RELIGION

• Darwin’s Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution, Michael Behe (Free Press, 1998). Amazon
• Darwin on Trial, Phillip E. Johnson (InterVarsity Press, 1993). Amazon
• Icons of Evolution: Science or Myth? Why Much of What We Teach About Evolution is Wrong, Jonathan Wells (Regnery Publishing, 2002). Amazon
• Intelligent Design: The Bridge Between Science & Theology, William A. Dembski (InterVarsity Press, 2002). Amazon
• The Wedge of Truth: Splitting the Foundations of Naturalism, Phillip E. Johnson (InterVarsity Press, 2000). Amazon

EDITORS’ PICKS

Dive into these twelve short, powerful, recent (or classic) books that make a good study in college. Come up for air long enough to dive into the longer list (see Books Every College Student Should Read). These resources may be available at your church or see the links on the right of each entry for online ordering, reviews, or additional book details.

• Christians in a .Com World: Getting Connected Without Being Consumed, Gene E. Veith, Christopher L. Stamper (Crossway Books, 2000). Amazon
• God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life. Gene E. Veith (Crossway Books, 2002). Amazon
• Handling the Word of Truth, John T. Pless (CPH, 2004). CPH | Amazon
• Loving God With All Your Mind: Thinking as a Christian in the Postmodern World, Gene E. Veith (Crossway Books, 2003). Amazon
• Martin Luther: A Life, James Arne Nestingen (Augsburg Fortress Publishers, 2003). Amazon
• Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis (Touchstone/Simon & Schuster, rev. ed., first published in 1952, 1996). Amazon
• On Being a Christian: A Personal Confession, Henry Hamann (Northwestern Pub. House, 1996). NPH | Amazon
• On Being a Theologian of the Cross: Reflections on Luther’s Heidelberg Disputation, 1518, Gerhard O. Forde (Eerdmans, 1997). Amazon
• The Defense Never Rests: A Lawyer’s Quest for the Gospel, Craig A. Parton (CPH, 2003). CPH | Amazon
• The Hammer of God, Bo Giertz (Augsburg Books, Revised edition, 2005). Amazon
• The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis (Various editions, 1961). Amazon
• The Spirituality of the Cross: The Way of the First Evangelicals, Gene E. Veith (CPH, 1999). CPH | Amazon

Note: A good study life is one balanced by a healthy devotional life (not to mention the life continually in communion with Christ and the saints). Devotional books were intentionly left out above, but not for de-emphasis. Your pastor can point you to appropriate devotional and worship literature.

Gone the bliss of Eden’s garden, gone the age of sacrifice; ours the time of grace and favor, ours, the call to paradise! Ever, Lord, impress upon us: only You can cover sin – take our worthless self-made garments clothe our shame and cleanse within. -LSB 572, Verse 6

We live in the time of grace, the time of the Church. Unlike the Children of Israel, we believe in the Messiah who has already come and fulfilled every minute piece of the Law. While mankind no longer lives in the perfect garden of Eden, we have no need for animal sacrifices or the ceremonial law that God gave to the Israelites. We live in the time of grace. Everything Jesus did He did so that we may live for God and for our neighbor free from the guilt of the Law. God has given us His Word, His holy sacraments, and the most precious gift of all: the forgiveness of all our sins. We live in the sure and certain hope that all those who are baptized and believe will be raised to new life with Christ in the resurrection! This is our comfort while we are here. God Himself gives us forgiveness and promises us eternal life.

Everything we do now as baptized and forgiven children of God is seen through the blood of Jesus. His blood cancels everything we have ever done and covers us with His righteousness. This thought is both relieving and sobering. We now know that even the things we are most ashamed of, the things we think cannot be forgiven, and the things we try to hide are all paid for. We cannot be so selfish as to think God cannot forgive that one extra special sin that is ‘bigger’ than God’s mercy. No, He forgives ALL sins. This applies not only to our own sins, but the sins that are committed against us by our neighbors. God forgives your neighbor’s sins just as much as He forgives yours. What then can that say about how we should treat our neighbor? We ought to treat our neighbors with grace and mercy knowing God forgives them too. God’s grace is such a wonderful gift that it cannot be contained! Once we have received it, this grace flows out from us sometimes without us even realizing it. We are now free to love, serve, and daily forgive our neighbor as we recognize God’s grace, mercy, and love towards us received through His word and sacraments. We no longer need to worry about how to make ourselves right with God, and that leaves us free to take our focus off ourselves and think about others.

This is not to say that we will not sin, nor is it a free license to go out and sin however we want. We will sin daily because our sinful nature will never leave us this side of heaven. We will constantly struggle with sin and the consequences of living in a post-Fall world. The law of God is still written on our hearts and convicts us every time we go against what God has commanded of us. We must continually remember that Jesus came to die for us and took away the punishment for sins, so even as we continue to sin, we can come before God without the fear of His eternal wrath and repent. Remembering that God took on human flesh, suffered and died the most painful death imaginable also helps us pause and reflect when we are going astray from God’s law. He died, rose, and will come again to judge all of us at the end of the world, so that should make us think twice before we brazenly disobey Him. Only God can forgive our sins and cleanse us from all evil. There is nothing we can do, both good or bad, to get ourselves “back on track.” This is not a game of trying to figure out how much better we can be, nor should we despair when we fail to keep the Law. Instead, let us fix our eyes on Jesus knowing that everything we need for forgiveness, life, and salvation comes from Him. Let us rejoice that we not only receive God’s love, but that we get to share it with all the world.