I recently came across a Lutheran pastor (in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod) who posted a picture of the Virgin Mary with the entirety of the hail Mary attached to it, including the request for Mary to “pray for us sinner now and at the hour of our death.” What was particularly troubling to me was the fact that a number of other LCMS pastors shared this prayer, and called it salutary. It seems rather odd that one should have to... Read more
Here are three different interviews I have done recently on various programs: First, I was interviewed about my book The Great Divide on KFUO’s BookTalk. You can find it here. Second, I was on the Ordinary Pastor Podcast discussing the role of the pastor as a theologian. Listen here. Finally, I joined Josh Sommer on the Deal With It podcast to discuss the first chapter of my book The Great Divide. Here is the program. Read more
For discussion. What would you take out? What would you add?: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men.” (John 1:1-4) “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God... Read more
On today’s program, I began a series of studies on the liturgy. Throughout the series, I will explain the various elements of the liturgical life of the church piece by piece. On this first program, I discuss the procession and the invocation. Here is the program Read more
I have begun a series of Youtube videos aimed at a lay audience introducing various aspects of Christian theology (from a Lutheran perspective). This is intended to be at the same level as Bible studies taught to my congregation. These are the videos currently available: What is the Ordo Salutis? The Distinction Between Law and Gospel Election and Predestination The Two Kinds of Righteousness Please leave your thoughts and comments. I’d like to continue to make these videos. Read more
On today’s program, I discussed liturgical worship in light of Scripture. Here is the program. Here is the outline that this program is based on: The Biblical Foundations for Liturgical Worship The Old Testament In the Old Testament, God gave the nation of Israel a calendar in which they celebrated God’s various acts of redemption on different days: Passover, Pentecost, Tabernacles, etc. God prescribed specific ceremonies wherein the Jews worshipped God. These included a number of sacrifices and offerings (Leviticus)... Read more
This past week has been a very difficult one for people throughout the world. Nearly 150 Christian students were killed in Kenya, and around the same number of innocent people were killed in France due to attacks from radical Muslims terrorists. Since these attacks, I have seen a number of different Christian responses. Many have been overcome with anger, and fear. I confess that I felt the same anger after these attacks. But there was one particular response that I... Read more
Post by Nathan Rinne No, this post is not about me – I’m not what we call a “bad boy” today, though I am, like the Apostle Paul, a person who does find himself thinking, saying and doing evil things (more on that kind of thing here). The reason for the title of this post will become clear by the end. Stay with me. Recently, I have been studying the issue of confession and absolution in the church. One of... Read more
I posted a youtube video answering the question: What is the ordo salutis? Watch it here. Read more
On today’s program, I devoted the hour to a discussion of the doctrine of atonement within the theology of Gerhard Forde. I looked at a variety of passages in his books Where God Meets Man and The Law-Gospel Debate. Here is the program Read more
Just and Sinner
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