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 Didache. We will using “The Apostolic Fathers in English Third Edition” by Michael W. Holmes as our text, which we are providing free of charge. We are also 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 119:169-176 (Taw) and our catechism lesson will be on the Seventh Commandment. We will then go into a presentation on the history of the church from the Ascension of Christ in AD 33 to the death of St. John in AD 100. This will help set the context for the Didache and the rest of the Apostolic Fathers. We will also introduce the Didache and talk about the purpose and origins of this document. We will then sing the hymn “Shepherd of Tender Youth” (LSB 864).
We will move on to read Didache 1:1. We will talk about how the church was originally called the Way. We will also introduce the Two Ways found in Scripture, the Way of Life and the Way of Death. We will then sing the hymn “‘Come Follow Me’, the Savior Spake” (LSB 688).
If we have time will will then read Didache 1:2-6. We will talk about the First Commandment of the Way of Life and how it is a positive presentation of the Law. We will also discuss how this relates to the Third Use of the Law. We will close with the hymn “The Law of God is Good and Wise” (LSB 576).
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.
