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gracefulone1980

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Hello! I just joined this site this evening and my family is also new to being Lutheran. It has taken me a long time to find where I am with my faith and I am trying to learn all I can. I'm taking classes at my church to learn about being Lutheran and I am really enjoying it. However, I would like to read some more on my own and most of the things I am finding online are controversial. Can anyone direct me to a good site or list some books for me to check out? I would greatly appreciate it!

 

filosofer

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Howdy, and welcome to the Lutheran Confession of the Christian faith.

Probably the best place to start is reading the Bible. That sounds simplistic, but all our faith statements come from the Bible.

For our official public statements of faith (called Creeds or confessions) see this site: The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran, which is NOT a denomination, but a statement of faith. In addition to the Apostles Creed and the Nicene Creed, check out Martin Luther’s Small Catechism. He lays out the chief teachings of the Bible in simple format. Once you have read that, then the Augsburg Confession.

For other books to read, these might prove helpful:

Lutheranism 101
We Confess Anthology (Christ, Church, Sacraments)

Blessings on your study and reading.

 
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alexnbethmom

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filo gave some excellent advice and suggestions....

i might also add, perhaps, "Why I Am A Lutheran"....

there are also synod websites you can go to, that have FAQ sheets - have you tried them? i don't know if you are LCMS or WELS, but the LCMS website is www.lcms.org
sorry, i don't know the WELS website, but i know others in here can help you with that!

welcome to TCL, and welcome to being a Confessional Lutheran!!
 
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Tangible

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Weclome! My family just became Lutherans about two years ago, so I know how you feel. This is a good place to have a place to ask questions and bounce things off people if you like, though it's no substitute for face-to-face relationships.

Some books I would highly recommend are "The Spirituality of the Cross" by Gene Veith, and the new "Lutheranism 101" and "Lutheran Spirituality: Life as God's Child" books put out by CPH.

If you're into web-based audio and video like I am, there are quite a few really good programs out there in the Lutheran new media. Here's a few you might want to check out:

http://www.issuesetc.org/
GRACE, FAITH, SCRIPTURE & CHRIST ALONE…Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken and produced by Lutheran Public Radio. Highly recommended.

Worldview Everlasting - Worldview Everlasting
Worldview Everlasting is a twice-weekly, entertaining yet solidly Confessional video blog produced by Rev Jonathan Fisk. On "Greek Tuesdays" there is a review of the Gospel text for the upcoming Sunday which digs deep into the text and mines it for every ounce of Law and Gospel, and on Fridays Rev Fisk answers questions sent in by listeners. Highly recommended.

Liturgical Calendar with daily lectionary readings
Monday, March 14, 2011
March, 2011

Higher Things : Welcome to Higher Things!
Higher Things : Reflections
Higher Things is a Recognized Service Organization (RSO) of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. The mission of Higher Things, Inc. is to assist parents, congregations, and pastors in cultivating and promoting a Lutheran identity among youth through conferences, retreats, publications, and the internet.

The God Whisperers
Two Lutheran pastors, two live microphones, no script. Good stuff.

Table Talk Radio | Everyone's Favorite Lutheran Theological Game Show
The World Wide Wolfmueller
Table Talk Radio is a theological game show hosted by a Lutheran Pastor and Seminarian. By playing various games, the listeners learn important tools for Christian discernment and edification in the Gospel that Christ has offered up His life as the atonement for the sins of all people.

Time Out
Time Out is an 10-15 minute podcast containing a reading of Christian doctrine, usually from the Bible itself, a short collect, a hymn or two, usually from the Lutheran Service Book, and in later podcasts, a commentary on a book of the Bible.

I'll toss in one caveat, though. I've found that the vast majority of people in my local church - those who have been Lutherans from birth or for many years - can't really identify with my desire to educate myself as fully as I can about Lutheranism, and unfortunately, the more I learn about authentic, Confessional Lutheranism the less I find I have in common with many people that I worship with.
 
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Studeclunker

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Of course, Gurney! After all, Lutherans never left the Catholic church. The Romans did. Sorry... couldn't resist, just kidding.

Welcome Graceful. It's odd... I don't see any information showing in your title bar. Does that mean you're a... well, not an adult or something?
 
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Hardy har har! If I had to be a Protestant I'd go Lutheran or Anglican (former Anglican here). I like the LCMS Lutherans the most. While I see them getting more and more baptisty and trendy in my area, the people are neat, I like their views on clergy, and appreciate their closed communion views. I notice Lutherans tend to deep-six the Sacrament after communion thinking it somehow turns back into bread and found that weird and ahistorical and wish things like confession had more buy-in (I try to go to confession every two weeks), and I wish locally the Lutherans of LCMS would try to hook up with the Catholics more. I notice our ELCA church is doing a Christmas show with our Catholic Church here and found that to be odd bedfellows!

 
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Studeclunker

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Gurney, we don't believe in Transusbstantiation like the Romans do. We believe in Real Presence. Sounds similar and isn't. See, you Romans believe that somehow the elements of communion actually become Christ's blood and body. We don't. We believe that Christ is present in the elements, however they still remain bread and wine. All the same, most Lutheran churches are very careful with leftover Communion elements. For instance, the sink used in the Sacistry often drains into a garden outside. That way, the sanctified wine in the communion cups doesn't get sent into the sewer. I've even seen congregations rinse out the disposable type of cups so as not to send any of the wine to the dump. I've also seen the opposite, the careless type (almost a Protestant attitude) of behaviour as well.

I do hope by 'deep-six' you don't mean the congregation you've observed threw away the unused elements (shudder)! It would really dismay me to think some LCMS congregations have slid down that far.
 
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Studeclunker

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Um... still clueless here... Is this 'God Whisperers' some kind of Radio Programme or something? As to the latest comment, yes... language is an issue of late. The abhominable use of profanity in our society has really gotten out of control. Especially on line. Facebook is just... revolting.
 
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alexnbethmom

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stude - yes, it's a radio program - i've never listened to it so i have nothing to add or subtract to the conversation about content of this show....

i've been pretty lucky as far as facebook is concerned - i only have 1 or 2 people on my friends list who "let it fly" - the rest are pretty darn tame, LOL....
 
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gracefulone1980

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Studeclunker - I just joined the site and am trying to find my way around. I don't even know what a title bar is? For the record, I am 31, married with three children. Why would you ask if I am not an adult?
 
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gracefulone1980

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Howdy, and welcome to the Lutheran Confession of the Christian faith.

Thank you so very much! My pastor just recommended the Lutheranism 101, I plan to pick it up next week. He also let me borrow the Small Catechism, which I am about 1/4 of the way through and my husband and I are reading the bible together.

This is very exciting and enlightening to me. I thank you for the info.
 
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seajoy

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Studeclunker - I just joined the site and am trying to find my way around. I don't even know what a title bar is? For the record, I am 31, married with three children. Why would you ask if I am not an adult?

Don't mind Stude - he's just jokin' around a little. Stude - help us out - what were you getting at? :o
 
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