The Concordia Publishing House team recently took a field trip to Perry County, Missouri. This place is as much the original home of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (the LCMS, our parent church body) as is St. Louis, Missouri, though not as well known.

Concerts, shopping trips, gatherings, and other tasks often take up a lot of our time during the season of Advent. None of these activities are inherently bad, but they can take our attention away from the real reason to celebrate Advent—the birth of our Savior, Jesus. We’ve assembled a list of five activities that busy families can use this Advent to intentionally focus on Christ. 

At the end of October every year, Lutherans all over the world celebrate Reformation Day. In protestant reverie, they think gratefully of the first time they heard of salvation by grace through faith in Christ and faith alone, grace alone, and Scripture alone. Beyond this, a great number of Lutherans would struggle to explain what it is that makes the Lutheran faith distinctive. I studied the Lutheran Confessions at Concordia University Chicago and Concordia Theological Seminary. Yet I wonder just how much exposure the average lay Lutheran has to the teachings of the Lutheran tradition.

The content of the service we look forward to this coming Sunday morning really does come down to us through millennia. This blog post, adapted from Carl C. Fickenscher II’s book Looking Forward to Sunday Morning: Reflections on the Church Year outlines the structure of the church year and the rich, interconnected content we experience in the liturgy.

Time and again in his Gospel account, the evangelist Luke draws our attention to Jesus’ practice of welcoming people to dine with Him. As might be expected, His disciples regularly ate meals with their rabbi, but Jesus welcomed a much greater circle to His table. Luke reveals that the downtrodden and the outcast were often guests where Jesus dined.

The following blog post is adapted from Kristopher Whitby’s book Come and Be Filled: Feasting with Jesus in His Word. 

Why do we need creeds? That might be a question you have asked or that a family member or friend has asked you after finding out you speak a creed in the Divine Service. However, in reality, there is no Christian without a creed.

One of the delights of parenting older kids is watching them discover and enjoy their individual interests. My daughters often start conversations or change the subject by brightly saying, “Fun fact!”

Reading the Bible is a joy that Christians are called to continually, with the Word dwelling in us richly, as Colossians 3:16 states. Although the Word of God is powerful and never returns void, many Christians may feel challenged by not knowing how to read, understand, and apply Scripture with confidence. Continue to discover resources that meet readers where they are, from those opening the Bible for the first time to those seeking deeper study. Each tool is designed to illuminate context, help us see Law and Gospel more clearly, and draw us closer to Christ.

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your
mighty acts.” (Psalm 145:4)

“Thank you. I love you.” Can that five-word text capture eighteen years? Yes, if those words come from a grandson who has just moved into his college dorm. A grandmother’s heart is shaped like a helping hand. If that picture is puzzling, I understand the confusion; you might be skeptical too.

My cell phone rang early on the day after Christmas, and I knew. 
Just a few weeks before, Dad’s health had worsened, and he ended up in the hospital. He was now in a rehab center, trying to get well enough to go back home. On Christmas morning, my mom wheeled my dad from the rehab center down the sidewalk and into their little cottage on the senior living campus. Dad was in great spirits. He loved Christmas.