Lutheran Essentials meets in the undercroft of the church on Wednesday evenings immediately following the Advent Compline Service which starts 7pm. You can reach the undercroft by going around to the back parking lot of the church and descending the staircase to the kitchen. Knock on the door if it is closed and some one will let you in. Our current study is on “The Fire and the Staff” by Klemet Preus and the Historic Liturgy. If you do not have a copy of the “The Fire and the Staff” or the Book of Concord we are providing them for free.
The Psalm for this week will be replaced by the Advent Compline Service. The Small Catechism lesson is the Sacrament of the Altar.
We will be reading through “The Fire and the Staff”. We will continue reading Chapter 8: The Staff is Bent (pg. 243-275). We will pick up with But Closed Communion Is So Difficult (pg. 265). We will talk about the difficulties of practicing closed communion.We will also discuss why even in spite of the difficulties and apparent harshness we should practice closed communion, as it both protects our neighbor and confronts them with their sin of false doctrine.
We will then start reading Chapter 9: The Staff is Broken (pg. 277-311). We will talk about dynamism in the church, and how this leads to cults of personality and division in the church. This will then lead in to a discussion of when it is right to dismiss your pastor and why women’s ordination is wrong.
Our study of the Divine Service Setting III in Lutheran Service Book will be on hiatus until after Christmas due to time constraints. We will pick up with the Pax Domini (LSB 197) and the remainder of the Service of the Sacrament in the new year.
As always new people are always welcome to this study at any point during the class. Please talk to the Pastor, Elders or Paul Edmon if you have any questions.
