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 119:17-24 (Gimel) and our catechism lesson will be the Second Petition of the Lord’s Prayer. We will then read Article III of the Augsburg Confession on the Son of God. We will talk about who Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ, is and what He has done for us. How Christ’s death on the cross wins our salvation for He is the very “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29). We will continue by singing “O Love, How Deep” (LSB 544).
We will then read the Article IV on Justification. We discuss how Christ’s work on the cross gives us the forgiveness of sins and justifies us, that is makes us right with God. We will discuss how this justification is only by grace through faith, not on an account of works. We will also see how from this article all the rest of the Augsburg Confession flows, as it is the pillar on which the Church stands or fails. We will also discussion the Confutation’s rejection of this article and how the Apology responds with a lengthy defense of the doctrine of Justification. We will close with singing the hymn “Salvation Unto Us Has Come” (LSB 555).
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.
