A blog of the Evangelical Lutheran Liturgy
Proverbs 1:7: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
Proverbs 8:10-11: “Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold. For wisdom is better than rubies; and all the things that may be desired are not to be compared to it.”
With this counsel in mind, dear reader, let us begin with a few more words from a few more wise men:
Read MoreThere is a proposed resolution being presented to the convention of the Pacific Southwest District that involves “Lutheran Identity.”
Read MoreThese, then, are the true hallmarks of a Christian woman, fully displayed for us in the most blessed Virgin Mary. Thanks be to God for her example of faith, and may He grant our women such a faith!
Read MorePope St. Gregory the Great was taking a bit of heat for some changes he introduced into the liturgy. Apparently, prior to his time, the Roman liturgy did not actually make use of the Our Father in the eucharist.
Read MoreIn spite of the multiplicity of confessions and church bodies that grew from it, the Reformation went in one of two directions: conservative and radical. As the title of Krauth’s book asserts, the Lutheran reformation was conservative…
Read MoreYes, after years of engaging in a cryptozoological search for actual Romanizing Lutherans, I have finally bagged my first specimen of the mythical (but elusive) creature.
I have found actual “Romanizing” Lutherans!
Read MoreIf you are unfamiliar with Anthony Esolen, he is a modern Roman Catholic scholar and thinker, and friend of the LCMS who was given an honorary doctorate by Concordia Theological Seminary. His writings on modern culture, art, hymns, and liturgy would make him an honorary member of The Gottesdienst Crowd as well. His book Out of the Ashes is one that I recommend to all Christians.
Read MoreI’ve recently been working my way through Roger Scruton’s How to Be a Conservative (2019), and I’ve found it to be quite engaging, thoughtful and thought-provoking, and very helpful. He’s a clear thinker and a great writer, and I look forward to reading more of his books in the future.
Read MoreToday we call to mind our Lord’s ascension into heaven. And the Ascension is more than just our Lord vanishing into the skies. This is the hasty graduation, ordination, and call service of the Eleven rolled into one. And Jesus begins by rebuking them “for their unbelief and hardness of heart.”
Read MoreSubversive movements often take perfectly good words and redefine them, spin them, and change them into something else.
Read MoreThe Daily Office tradition has a multitude of excellent hymn texts, and one such is provided below. Its proper place is at Lauds during Ascensiontide, so if you happen to have Matins or Morning Prayer at any point from Ascension Day until Pentecost, be sure to make use of it. It also makes a great addition to mass on Ascension Day or on Exaudi, the Sunday in the Octave of the Ascension.
Read MoreOur latest Gottesdienst conference in Fort Wayne (May 5-7, 2025) featured the Rev. Joshua Schooping, pastor of St. John’s Lutheran Church in Russellville, Arkansas. Fr. Schooping spent five years as an Eastern Orthodox priest. In his presentation, he explains his journey to confessional Lutheranism and shares with us his reasons - both from the Orthodox and Lutheran confessional documents.
Read More“What to do?” asked Pliny the Younger, Roman Governor of Pontus and Bithynia in the year 112 A.D. He wrote a quick letter to the Emperor Trajan in Rome, asking for advice. By all accounts Trajan was a good and just Caesar.
Read MoreA pastor recently made the argument defending his own personal bona fides as a Lutheran. This was used to support his assertions about what it truly means to be a Lutheran…
Read MoreRead the first section of this essay for one of the best examples of explanatory hermeneutics I have ever read.
Read MoreThe Rev. Zach Zehnder has recently posted this video in which he makes an argument for changing the way we train and form pastors based on his experience as a businessman.
Here is why I think he is wrong.
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