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Parent’s Guide to Bible History
By Mary Abrahamson A Parents’ Guide to beginning Catechesis or put more simply, How do I teach my small child about God? Part III Bible History Why do we teach our children Bible History? Why do we get them Bible Story books with nice illustrations? Why do we buy those picture books portraying the more well-known stories from the Bible? Good questions. And for the basic, “Why?” many would not have a ready answer. Others might have a wrong answer. I’ve observed two primary notions or focus in the teaching and presenting of Bible History among Christians today that are wrong. Yes, there are wrong reasons to teach Bible…
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Katie’s Bookshelf- Ann Voskamp and 1000 Gifts
Life’s busy, really too busy to waste time on bad books, and The Sisters of Katie Luther are here to help! Feel free to eavesdrop on Sandra Ostapowich, Holly Scheer, Tabitha Moldenhauer, Annie Riley, and Ellie Corrow as they use technology available to regularly e-chat about books we’ve chosen to read and discuss together. These reviews are informal, probably slightly snarky, but always informative, and designed to help you determine what is worth your consideration. Pull up a chair, a cup of tea, or something else, if you prefer, and help yourself to our conclusions, as we explore what is on offer. Our book this time is One Thousand Gifts:…
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On Queens and Vocation
By Amanda Markel Today, September 9th, 2015, Queen Elizabeth II surpasses Queen Victoria’s record as the longest-reigning monarch in British history. Why should we, as Americans who have no queen, or as Lutherans, who do not answer to the head of the Church of England, pay attention to this, or care about it at all? Does it even matter to us? I think it matters a great deal. Why? Because the Queen, more than any other modern person I can think of, not only understands the concept of Christian vocation, but lives it out fully, every day of her life. To see where this understanding of vocation comes…
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Renewing My Love for the Confessions
By Holly Scheer Every weekend here at the Sisters I post excepts from the Lutheran Confessions. I do this to try to encourage others to read the Confessions, as often as they are able. The site I source from is //bookofconcord.org/. If you’ve never taken the time to poke around it I highly suggest you do– it’s filled with good Lutheran resources on the Confessions, the Bible, church history, and Lutheranism in general. I’m a millenial. I’m comfortable and at home online. Having the Confessions at my fingertips, whereever I go, is really valuable. The ability to look up specific passages that I remember but want to quote accurately has really…
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Confessions of a Control Freak
By Amanda Markel I’m something of a control freak. If it can be planned, scheduled, or organized, I will attempt to do so. This was never more evident than this summer, when I was planning our first real family vacation. I tried to think of everything. Where would we stay? What activities would we do, and at what times? How could I maximize our all too brief time to see the most important things, do the most fun things, and make sure there was something special for each member of our family to experience? And then there were other concerns. How can we make this trip for the least amount…
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DOCTORS AND PREACHERS
Who Subscribed the Augsburg Confession and Apology, A. D. 1537. According to the command of the most illustrious princes and of the orders and states professing the doctrine of the Gospel, we have reread the articles of the Confession presented to the Emperor in the Assembly at Augsburg, and by the favor of God all the preachers who have been present in this Assembly at Smalcald harmoniously declare that they believe and teach in their churches according to the articles of the Confession and Apology. They also declare that they approve the article concerning the primacy of the Pope and his power, and the power and jurisdiction of bishops, which…
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Of the Power and Jurisdiction of Bishops
60] [In our Confession and the Apology we have in general recounted what we have had to say concerning ecclesiastical power. For] The Gospel assigns to those who preside over churches the command to teach the Gospel to remit sins, to administer the Sacraments and besides jurisdiction, namely, the command to excommunicate those whose crimes are known, and again to absolve those who repent. 61] And by the confession of all, even of the adversaries, it is clear that this power by divine right is common to all who preside over churches, whether they are called pastors, or elders, or bishops. 62] And accordingly Jerome openly teaches in the apostolic…
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Chicks Dig Theology
By Debra-Lynn Swearingen I am no scholar. I often joke that I am hard-of-learning. The older I get, the more discipline it takes to read and study. Being nostalgic and sappy, I always suspect that I am one step away from Mysticism. But God forbid I shall ever again view faith through sentiments, feelings, and personal revelations. I must ask, “What does this mean?” Fortunately Lutheran theologians throughout time have answered that. Therefore I study our faith and practice. I read, remember, forget, and read again. As much as I once professed “Deeds, not creeds”, my go-to descriptions of faith were “I just follow Jesus”, or “I just believe the Bible”. Creeds indeed, and they meant…
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Celebrating the Church Year in September
By Marie McNary Welcome to September! Another month, another opportunity to start fresh introducing the Church Year’s rich history into your home. There are many great opportunities this month to revisit stories your children may be familiar with through their Sunday School Bible stories. Joshua, Hannah, Moses, Jonah. These are great places to start. Look around your home. You may already have story books on these individuals. Or a children’s Bible that covers them all! Incorporating those books into your daily story time (or right before bed) is a great way to bring the Church Year into your already established routine. Looking for a little more adult study of…
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Easing the Back to School Anxiety
By Pam Thompson Today is something like my 14th or 15th first day of school as a mom. It is hard to count, since we homeschooled our oldest for Kindergarten in a very laid back manner, so I’m not sure we even took a photo. Today my two youngest children are enjoying their very first day of kindergarten. For kids, the first day of school in generally an exciting time (even for the kids who pretend to hate that summer is ending.) For moms, this time can be wrought with anxiety and worry. I will share some of the things that have helped me ease into the transition of summer…
