Church at Home inserts--Freedom of the Christian

[Pauline Crowder]

For the Church at Home

Pentecost July & August 2013

 

Prepared by Pastor Pauline Crowder, Bowdon, ND

Bowdon-Bremen-Concordia Parish, ELCA

Based on readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.

Feel free to substitute in Narrative Lectionary readings.

Please use proper copyright permission with the hymns that are not public domain and are listed as “all rights reserved.”

The pieces from Martin Luther’s “The Freedom of a Christian” are excerpted from Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, edited by Timothy F. Lull (Minneapolis: Augsburg Fortress, 1989).  Below is an explanation for congregations.

Martin Luther made incredibly good use of the new innovation called the printing press, and it is one of the reasons this humble German priest and professor received so much attention in his world, including that of the pope himself. One of the books that circulated in 1520 and continues to be read today is “The Freedom of a Christian,” where Luther in 30-some pages outlines what freedom in the cross of Christ means practically for the Christian life—what is necessary for the Christian life, righteousness, and freedom and what comes of that. His famous proposal is two-fold: “A Christian is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none. A Christian is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to all.” How can these both be true? Read for yourself in these excerpts or the full version online.

The fall inserts, which return to the Narrative Lectionary, will be available at the end of August. Thank you!

Pastor Pauline Crowder