Book: The Gates of Hell: Confessing Christ in a Hostile World

The Church is no longer the darling of the culture. Those who have the courage to confess the Bible’s truths are labeled haters, enemies of culture, and hurtful to the state. The adversarial relationship between our culture and Christians is not unlike the one faced by our fathers in the earliest days of the Church.

But the Bible was written in a cultural situation far worse than the one we face today. When we begin to fear that Satan is triumphing, we must hear our Lord tell us that He will build His Church, “and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (Matthew 16:18). So even though it seems like Satan is winning, Christ promises that the devil will not prevail.

Each sermon and essay in this volume testifies to the power of Christ’s promise to defend His Church. The Word of God does what it says, and the gates of hell will never prevail against the kingdom of Christ, the Church. Christ promises.

A collaboration of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's Praesidium, The Gates of Hell gives practical advice to confessional leaders, showing them how to encourage God's people to keep confessing and retain hope as society degrates and becomes even more hostile to the Gospel.

The Gates of Hell includes sermons given at the 2016 LCMS convention, along with newly written chapters addressing how the Church has power to fight back against the empire of darkness.

Contains 6 sermons, 1 essay and 7 articles

Book: Gift and Promise, the Augsburg Confession and the heart of Christian Theology

Gift and Promise shows that the theology of the Augsburg Confession is as much a gift to the world today as it was when first presented in 1530. Building on a book started by Ed Schroeder (three chapters are presented in the first part), nine of his students present the theology of the Augsburg Confession in language that makes it accessible to those without a scholarly background, including pastors, students, and lay people interested in Lutheran history and theology. Gift and Promise establishes the theological “hub” of the Augsburg Confession—what the Confession itself calls the “central teaching of the Christian faith” —in the doctrine of justification by faith alone. That hub is traced to its source in Luther’s theology of the cross. Each chapter presents how that central hub is articulated in the articles of faith that comprise the Ausgburg Confession. Lucid, powerful, and insightful, the expositions in this volume are written by expert theologians, historians, and scholars who aim to present the crucial and practical message of the Christian life in the Augsburg Confession for all.

Contents include:
1. Preach One Thing: The Wisdom of the Cross—Edward H. Schroeder
2. Necessitating Christ: The Clue to Handling the Scriptures—Edward H. Schroeder
3. Why the Cross Is at the Center—Edward H. Schroeder
4. The Trinity as Gospel—Arthur C. Repp
5. Sin—Kathryn A. Kleinhans
6. Church, Ministry, and the Main Thing—Marcus Felde
​7. The Promise of Baptism for the Church Today—Steve E. Albertin
8. Christology at the Table—Marcus C. Lohrmann
9. On the Other Hand: God's Care for the Creation and Its Dilemmas—Marie A. Failinger
10. The Ethics of Augsburg: Ethos under Law, Ethos under Grace, Objective Ethos—Michael Hoy
11. A Lutheran Confessional Exploration of Gospel Praxis—Steven C. Kuhl
12. Mission—Jukka Kääriäinen
Afterword—Catherine Lessmann

Book: Lutheran DNA testing the Augsburg Confession in the parish

Lutheran DNA takes the Reformation's Augsburg Confession of 1530 and asks whether parish issues today continue to find expression through the lens of this historic writing. The Augsburg Confession is named in Lutheran churches as a clear expression of Christian belief and practice. How is it so today? Stories, illustrations, and reflections flow out of this James Cobb's parish pastor's experiences, as he reflects on meanings from Augsburg to Baltimore.

Review
"This book exhibits the heartbeat of Lutheranism in The Augsburg Confession of 1530. Its twenty-eight "articles" disclose how Lutheran congregations around the world (with a steady membership of about sixty million) are to function in order to preserve their identity as healthy and effective disciples of Jesus Christ in the interim between his first and second coming. The author describes the theological pulsation in the form of personal stories and experiences, tested in various parish settings, and geared to make readers partners in catechetical and spiritual formation. The book lends itself well to parishioners concerned about their theological identity and rationale for mission."
--Eric W. Gritsch
Professor Church History, Emeritus
Gettysburg Lutheran Seminary

Daily Devotions based on the Lutheran Confessions

Sola Devotions are daily devotions that begin with a passage of Scripture that relates to a reading from The Book of Concord. That reading, though sometimes only a phrase, is also provided and is followed by an explanation of the Scripture and confession.
The devotions include audio of the Scripture, the Confession, the explanation, a brief prayer, and a blessing.
The author of these new devotions is Mark Ryman who is aiming to teach the Lutheran Confessions in manageable, daily chunks.
To subscribe to  these devotions visit http://www.solapublishing.com/devotions/summaries.html

30 Bible studies on the Augsburg Confession

Dr Glen E Zweck produced 30 Bible studies relating to the Augsburg Confession and the topics raised in the Augsburg Confession
For those who are interested in connecting the Augsburg Confession to scripture and also gain a clearer understanding of the context of the Augsburg Confession these are very helpful studies.
To download these studies visit here 

United by faith not form - sermon from the new bishop of the Lutheran Church of Australia

Pastor John Henderson was recently installed as the bishop of the Lutheran Church of Australia. At his installation he preached a sermon based on Romans 1:16-17 that makes the following points worth reflecting on: 

• we are united by faith not form 
• both heritage and change fit together well for the good of the church and the people we serve.

For a full manuscript of the sermon or to watch a video of the sermon visit http://www.lca.org.au/united-by-faith-not-by-form-lca-bishop.html