Monthly Archives: December 2011

Russel Saltzman, over at First Things, has a great post about the so-called Christmas wars. My favorite line is: We Christians must learn again how to engage the third century. And not just at Christmas time.  

It happens, every so often, that a pastor is totally blocked on sermon writing.  No ideas at all.  Nothing seems to click.  So what to do?  For the one-year guys, there is no better solution than this: Get Luther’s House … Continue reading →

Recently, I mentioned that I read St. Athanasius’ “On the Incarnation” each year during Advent.  There are a few other books worth reading each year, at specific times.  Here is my list: Advent: St. Athanasius, On The Incarnation Epiphany: Bo Giertz, … Continue reading →

I’m continuing to preach with a little extra Salt for Advent.  Today’s sermon: We don’t want to listen to God say things we don’t want to hear. Delivered while I was ill.  I left church after service (didn’t even shake … Continue reading →

We’re about half-way through Advent.  For the new pastor, this can be a very exciting time.  It is the first holiday season since your Ordination.  If you are serving as a sole pastor, you are now preaching at least twice … Continue reading →

From Saint Hilary, via the Large Catechism: “Unless a person has committed the sort of sin by which he forfeits Christianity and can be expelled from the congregation, he should not exclude himself from the Sacrament.”

I thought it would be fun to see how far my digital recorder could go on low batteries.  It turns out, it made it about a quarter of the way through the sermon. So, no audio.  But here is my … Continue reading →