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“I Am the Bread of Life”
Introduction One of the classes I took at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg in 1988 was an elective on hymnology, the study of hymnody, including its history, use, and development in the life of the Church’s liturgy. Part of the class involved writing some hymn texts. This hymn, “I Am the Bread of Life,”…
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Finding Joy
“I find my joy in the Lord.” (Psalm 104:34b, LH)
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A Strange Faith
Introduction While I served as pastor at First Lutheran Church, Potter, and Grace Lutheran Church, Gurley, in western Nebraska from 1989 to 1991, I worked with several others to organize several gatherings of clergy and lay leaders from the congregations of the Nebraska Synod’s Trails West Cluster. The aspiration was to bring the congregations together…
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Harmony and Peace
“Live in harmony and peace, and the God of love and peace will be with you.” (2 Corinthians 13:11, LH)
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The Lord’s Supper in The Book of Concord
Introduction I submitted this paper to Drs. Eric W. Gritsch and Dr. Robert W. Jenson on May 16, 1986, as part of my work in The Lutheran Confessions, a class at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. Paper From the moment of its post-resurrection inception, the church catholic has been the gathering of believers around…
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Reaching Perfection
“My grace is enough for you, for in weakness power reaches perfection.” (2 Corinthians 12:9, LH)
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The Catechetical Use of Hymnody in the Christian’s Daily Formation
Introduction In the spring term in 1987, I took took a class called “Luther Seminar: Education and Worship,”, lead by Prof. Eric W. Gritsch. I wrote this paper as my final project in the class. Paper Martin Luther conceived the Christian life as a continual, daily return to one’s baptismal waters, reaffirming God’s action which…
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Study, Seek, Pray
“The one who devotes himself to the study of the law of the Most High… sets his heart to rise early to seek the Lord who made him, and to petition the Most High; he opens his mouth in prayer and asks pardon for his sins.” (Sirach 38:34b, 39:5, NRSV)
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The Authority and Inspiration of Scripture According to Hans Küng in On Being a Christian
Introduction I submitted this paper to Mr. Scott Gustafson, on April 25, 1986, as part of a class entitled, “Introduction to Systematic Theology,” in the spring of my first year at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Gettysburg. Paper In his preface to the work On Being A Christian, Roman Catholic theologian Hans Küng writes, in…
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Thoughts Captive
“…we likewise bring every thought into captivity to make it obedient to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:5b, LH)