Lutheran Essentials meets in the undercroft of the church on Wednesdays 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. We are currently studying the Epitome of the Formula of Concord. We are handing out copies of the Book of Concord and the Lutheran Service Book for free.
We will open class with Psalm 132 and our catechism lesson which is the Fourth Petition of the Lord’s Prayer. We will read the first section of the Epitome on The Summary Content, Rule, and Norm. We will talk about how Scripture is the sole norm of all doctrine with the Book of Concord being the normed norm of doctrine. We will also discuss the thesis and antithesis form that the Formula uses to settle the disputes it addresses. We will then sing the hymn “I Know My Faith is Founded” (LSB 587).
We will then read Article I: Original Sin. We will discuss the distinction between human nature and Original Sin, that while original sin is a profound corruption it is not the same as humanity. This distinction is critical as otherwise Christ could not be fully human, nor could we be fully restored to our perfected human nature in the resurrection of the dead. We will close with the hymn “All Mankind Fell in Adam’s Fall” (LSB 562).
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.
