Preaching on the Augsburg Confession

Preaching on the Augsburg Confession. The four-hundredth anniversary of Luther\u27s Small Catechism, celebrated wherever the name of Luther was known, has undoubtedly been a source of richest blessing. Pastors and people become better acquainted with its history and contents, learned to appreciate this little book the more highly, and thanked God the more sincerely for this precious gift. The sermons preached on the Catechism during 1920 were not in vain, but productive of splendid results, sure as Is.55, 10. 11 still holds good. Let us hope that similar streams of blessing will flow from the celebration of the four-hundredth anniversary· of the Augsburg Confession, which rounds out the series of anniversaries begun in 1917. Though lost, it is by no means the least in this series and certainly deserves to be celebrated throughout the Lutheran world. The President of Synod has appointed a committee which is to suggest ways and means for a fitting celebration of this important event. This committee has requested the editors to supply sermon material and to encourage the brethren to bring out in their sermons also the great importance of those epochal events of June 1530. True, our church periodicals are bringing interesting articles on. the history of the Augustana, yet it is an indisputable fact that most of our people do not read their church-papers. (By the way, ought not and could not the year 1930 be made a banner year for our church periodicals? Would not that be a very fitting manner of celebrating this anniversary?) Yet we should fail to improve on a God-given opportunity if we failed to call the attention of our people also in.public worship to this event of outstanding importance in the history of our Church. We therefore heartily endorse the suggestion of our Dr. L Fuerbringer in the Lutheraner of January 14, that every pastor preach a series of doctrinal sermons on the twenty-one fundamental articles of our Augsburg Confession, including in these sermons the abuses mentioned in the concluding seven articles. In preparing this series, the pastor should make it a point to study not only the articles in the confession. He should not neglect to devote some time to a careful reading of the corresponding article of the Apology and in his sermon quote freely from both writings. In this manner the Augustana as well as the Apology will become better known to our people and be more highly appreciated by them. These services should be advertised quite extensively, and the unchurched should be invited to attend them in order that they may become acquainted with the doctrines and confessions of our Lutheran Church. Concordia Publishing House offers the Augsburg Confession in tract form at $6.67 per hundred. Our congregations should make extensive use of this opportunity to bring this confession into the homes of Lutherans and non-Lutherans especially during this anniversary year