Lutheran Essentials meets in the undercroft of the church on Wednesday evenings at 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. You can also join us remotely via our livestream. Our current study is on the Augsburg Confession. We are providing hard copies of the Book of Concord for free, as well as copies of the Lutheran Service Book.
We will open class with Psalm 119:97-104 (Mem) and our catechism lesson will be the Fourth Part on Holy Baptism. We will continue reading Article XX on Good Works with paragraph 27. We will talk about how good works proceed from faith and what good works are. The Confutation disagrees with this article and the Apology shows why we should never confuse Good Works and Justification. We will then sing the hymn “Renew Me, O Eternal Light” (LSB 704).
We will then read Article XXI on Worship of the Saints. We will talk about how we are to honor the memory of the saints and learn from their lives but not worship them. We are not to pray to the saints as we have no promise that they will hear or answer our prayers but rather we are to pray to Christ who is our sole Mediator. The Confutation rejects this article and the Apology goes on to show how we are to properly pray to God. We will the sing the hymn “By All Your Saints in Warfare” (LSB 517).
We will then read Article XXII on Both Kinds in the Sacrament. We will discuss why those who commune should be given both the Body and the Blood of Christ. The Confutation disagrees and the Apology shows that they have no Scriptural basis to stand on for refusing to give the Blood of Christ to the laity. We will close with the hymn “Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord” (LSB 637).
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.
