From their formulation in the sixteenth century through the present day, every generation of Lutheran leadership has grappled with the centrality and importance of the Lutheran confessional writings.In this important new volume, Arand, Kolb, and Nestingen bring the fruit of an entire generation of scholarship to bear on these documents, making it an essential and up-to-date class text.The Lutheran Confessions places the documents solidly within their politi...

Gordon Jensen's careful analysis of the 1534 Luther Bible uncovers the central truth of Martin Luther's prodigious translation efforts: Luther's commitment to producing this physical object was founded in his desire that receiving the Gospel might become a lived experience. Contrary to popular perception, Luther's works were not the first, the freshest, or even the most user-friendly German biblical translations of the time. Rather, their power came in Luther's utter comm...

Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? How can I make a difference? These questions have to do with the topic of vocation. Vocation is more than what one does for a living in terms of one's career. Vocation is a lens that helps believers see the larger story of who they are regarding their calling with God through faith in Jesus and how they are called to love and serve their neighbors through their everyday callings. But how can one personally and practically apply this relevant tea...

This volume offers a unique approach to the study of the great German reformer, Martin Luther. Robert Kolb and Charles Arand offer an introduction to two significant themes that form the heart of Luther's theology.The first theme concerns what it means to be truly human. For Luther, "passive righteousness" described the believer's response to God's grace. But there was also an "active righteousness" that defined the relationship of the believer to the world. The second theme involv...

Given a life spent in scholarship and controversy, it is easy to forget how much energy Martin Luther devoted to helping the common person understand and take comfort from Gods word. This commitment extended to even the most challenging of biblical texts, and nowhere is this more apparent than Luthers work on the lament psalms. Difficult to understand, and perhaps even more difficult to implement in life and devotion, the lament psalms played a key role in Luthers thought. More importantly...

Luther's oft-recounted life made a profound impact on his contemporaries. Some revered him; some hated him. This volume provides a brief narrative of the unfolding events that took place from his birth to a young entrepreneurial family through his turbulent career as university professor and public figure to his death while on a mission to reconcile a feuding princely family. Following parts of this narrative come "interviews" with friends and foes of his time, taken from a variety of sixt...

Ten percent of all royalties will go to the Soldiers of the Cross Fund to help professional church workers and their families who are experiencing financial hardships. The Bible is not an easy book to understand. In fact, it is not a single book at all, but rather a library of sixty-six books that were written by at least forty different authors on three continents over a period of fifteen hundred years. God's Timeline will show you the foundation, or grand story, that holds all of these b...

The Augsburg Confession is a unique document in the history of the Christian church, containing both a succinct summary of the heart of Christian teaching and a defense of the changes in practice introduced by Martin Luther and the Wittenberg reformers. Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert invite readers on an accessible journey into the heart of this foundational confession--as well as the minds of primary author Philip Melanchthon and the other reformers at the heart of the emerging Luther...

This overview of Luther's thought proceeds from the perspective of his use of the Latin preposition coram, "face-to-face with." Preeminent Luther scholar Robert Kolb proposes that under Luther's use of dominant ancient concepts of reality in his day, he placed the foundation of relationships. These relationships included the fundamental relationship of the Creator with every person and thing he made, along with all those relationships stemming from ordering his creation by his cre...

As a result of our sinful human nature, there can be no unmediated relationship between God and humanity, for God must wear a mask in all of his dealings with people. Moreover, human nature cannot recognize God, nor comprehend his nature, without a covering. Therefore God, in his grace and mercy, envelops himself in his word and works and reveals himself in certain forms. These concrete forms of the Holy Spirit are God’s way to people and a rejection of every way from humanity to God; they...

This book is about why Christians share their faith—not because they made it up, but because God calls us to share. It explains how Lutheran beliefs, like being saved by grace alone and focusing on Jesus’ sacrifice, shape the spread of the message of Jesus today. The book covers the Bible’s teachings, history, modern challenges and practical ways to live out serving in God's mission today. Lutheran mission perspective may present different than that of other Christians, but all agree missi...

Questions about Lutherans and the Holy Spirit? This book probes Lutheranism from Luther to the Formula of Concord (1517-1577) and presents a striking consistency regarding the Holy Spirit among Lutheran Reformers. The Holy Spirit dominated Luther's writing, not only in theology, but in all aspects of living out God's will. Six of the theologians researched in this book were also pastors dealing with enormous challenges from government interference, war, religious disputes, and, as Luther d...