The Lutheran Handbook II
927828
The Lutheran Handbook II was exactly what I thought it would be...a very informative book about the way we, as Lutherans, do things.  Read and enjoy!  The item was delivered very promptly by Amazon.  They are the best to order from on the internet.
2544628
Cannot wait to get my copy! The previous volume in this series, Luther's An Open Letter on Translating, has been a constant companion for the last year, engaging as it does fundamental issues of theology, book history, and literary exchange. This one takes on indulgences! Cutting edge scholarship in a form Luther himself would approve.
3236203
Great study bible,very clear commentary.
User friendly,beautiful illustration. No just for Lutherans for all who read scriptures and look for great commentary.
4873538
Elders in the Life of the Church is an updated edition of the 2005 Elders in the Congregational Life. Not only has Matt Schmucker been added as a contributor, but the content has been significantly bolstered by at least eighty pages. In essence the book examines elder plurality from three angles: historical, biblical, and practical.

The historical angle is primarily concerned with Baptist history. A short but enlightening survey of statements and confessions make a solid case that at least some of the Baptist forebears believed in a polity that included plurality of elders.

In the biblical section, the authors focus on four key texts: Acts 20:1731; 1 Timothy 3:17; Hebrews 13:1719; and 1 Peter 5:15. Strangely, Titus 1 is not treated independently in this section, although the authors do interact with Titus a number of times in the book.
Newton and Schmucker also discuss practical issues related to the elder model. This discussion really involves two aspects. First, the authors unpack the practical advantages of elder plurality. Second, significant attention is paid to practical implementation, that is, how one makes the shift from the more common single pastor plus deacons to the elder model.

This book is easy to read, with short chapters. The authors call to consider the elder model is one worth hearing. There is a transparency in the discussions with frequent references to personal anecdotes highlighting Newton and Schmuckers successes and failures in taking their own churches through a transition to the elder model. Those seeking to make a similar transition will find plenty of practical advice. Even those already in elder-led churches will probably find at least some of the suggestions to be helpful.

The greatest weakness in the book is the biblical section. It is not that a biblical case cannot be made, but ironically, insufficient attention is paid to the details and specifics of the biblical text. Also puzzling is the omission of Titus 1, even if there are parallels to the 1 Timothy passage. The placement of some of the chapters appears to be strange or forced. For example, it is unclear how chapter 2 flows from chapter 1 or transitions to chapter 3.

Nonetheless, Elders in the Life of the Church is a helpful primer to the plurality of elders model, especially from a Baptist context. Baptist pastors and leaders who want to know more about the elder model or how to transition to such a model should find help here.

Thanks to Kregel for providing the free review copy used in this unbiased review.
561241
The Complete Timotheus Verinus is a masterful treatment of the Pietism movement by Valentine Ernst Loescher.  It is a pious critique of Pietism by an orthodox, confessional Lutheran pastor.  It is one of the few primary sources of that era which holds to old orthodox Lutheranism as articulated by Luther and the Book of Concord.  It is a tremendous resource for professors of theology, professors of history and pastors who seek to deal with Pietistic subjectivism and a view of theology which neglects the means of grace in Word and Sacrament, as well as neglect of the liturgy.
2474362
I love my Lutheran Study Bible and use it almost every day. The generous layout is fantastic - a real joy to read. The introductions to the individual books of the Bible are concise and helpful. (Yes, they are written from a liberal perspective; and, yes, they are addressed to the common reader, not students of theology.) The additional material has already attracted the praise it deserves in the comments here.
The comments on the margins are helpful and easy to understand. Problems arise when the comment just isn't there at all. Every book has been commented on by a different theologian - and they seem to have quite different attitudes towards their job. In many books the comments are fantastic, for example in the Psalms. Others are quite dissappointing; Luke strikes me as one of the worst cases - hardly any annotation for entire pages. Moreover, that a Study Bible should not contain any cross references is hard to believe.
I more or less knew this when I bought the Bible. You do not always need all the information that is available to confront a passage of the Bible. The Augsburg Lutheran Study Bible leaves room for the reader and for the words of the Bible themselves.
And finally, I have repeatedly made the experience that the Augsburg Lutheran's simple comments helped me more than more learned and sophisticated ones in other Study Bibles or comments. The most recent example is Luke 22, 35-36: '"purse...bag...sword" People in Jesus' time would have taken these things on a dangerous trip.'
4536707
Just last month, I gained another pastor-friend from the evangelical world. We had a tremendous conversation about apologetics. Yet, midway through that conversation he admitted that of all of Christendom, he knows nothing of Lutheranism. I told him that we could fix that, but now the question lay before me; which book would serve as a helpful introduction? I now have that book in 'Where Christ Is Present'. Montgomery and Veith have edited a very nice collection of essays on Lutheranism. In these essays, we now only learn about Lutheranism, but we learn about contrasting positions - both historic and present-day. Furthermore, this book can also serve to sharpen the Lutheran-mind of pastor or lay person. Well done!
629896
Good reading from the Lutheran point of view.  Great detail into just what the cost of discipleship means
from scriptural point of view and personal sacrifice. interesting concept into the 1939 point of view.
2471217
As a Church Organist playing in different Churches of different denominations, it is useful to have Hymnals from various traditions, because from time to time, I might be required to play a Hymn that may only be found in one Hymnal. Recently this happened with a Hymn that is only in the Presbyterian Hymnal which I didn't have. Getting my own copy allowed me to resolve this issue. This Hymnal that I recently purchased is in "as new" condition and is a valuable addition to my library of Hymnals. It will prove to be useful, enabling me to better equipped to meet demands as an organist. I am delighted with this Hymnal and its condition and very pleased to have it in my library of music.
1228436
InterVarsity Press has been establishing itself as a leading publisher of scholarly reference works for the last several years.  After the completion of the four volume Dictionary of the New Testament series, they have embarked on a matching four volume set on the Old Testament.

The editors have assembled an impressive list of nearly 100 individual contributors representing a full spectrum of evangelical scholars.  There is a helpful list of the contributors by name with a listing of the articles they authored.  The editors have included a useful section on "How to Use this Dictionary" (xi-xii) that details the structural features of the work.  There is also a listing of abbreviations, which, although it is a duplication of the Society of Biblical Literature guidelines, it is still a handy quick reference for this volume.  The volume is arranged in a helpful two-column format and each article is outlined at the beginning and all have rather extensive bibliographic support.

It is impossible to discuss even a small portion of the nearly 200 articles in this massive volume.  Some are worthy of special note however.  The article by B. T. Arnold on "History of Pentateuchal Criticism" (622-31) is an excellent survey of the major issues and personalities in Old Testament historical criticism.  The articles on the "Date of the Exodus" (258-72) by John H. Walton and the "Exodus Route and Wilderness Itinerary" (272-80) by Peter Enns are exceptionally detailed with excellent charts.  There is also a thought-provoking article on "Preaching from the Pentateuch" (637-43).

The publisher is to be commended for commissioning this new addition to Biblical reference as are the editors for the end result, which is a work that should serve as the standard reference work on the Pentateuch for many years.
2717445
This is a well written chronicle of a young pastor's first call to a rural congregation in East Illinois.
First, the admirable points of this work.  He is a good writer, able to express himself imaginatively and with a nice, tight style.  Evidence in support of his current call to preaching professorship at Duke.  This chronicle provides compassionate journey to loving the people and the realization that many seminarians have unrealistic expectations of themselves, their first call, and what it means to be an undershepherd of The Good Shepherd.  I especially am fond and can relate to his sayings some small churches of the Lutheran fellowship, the chain saw massacre of his parsonage trees and the saying: "country people never pay a professional to do expertly what they can do recklessly for nothing."  (I believe this applies to certain congregational leaders irrespective of confessional assoication or congregational size) The heart the Lord gives him for hurting, needy people is well documented and important component of a servant of the Lord.
However, now for the negative spiritual direction of Lisher which is severe to this reviewer.  Having read his excellent work on MLK Jr.'s preaching, I was drawn to this work to sense Lisher's theology, since he doesn't really critique MLK Jr. in the way that any Lutheran would.  He gives quick evidence in this work that he either never truly believed as a Lutheran, or that he became frustrated with the true, narrow way and fell away.  One can understand this mainly because of his theological pedigree.  He was at the sem when he became purposeively infiltrated by "pseudo-Lutherans" who had a game plan to take over the church and take it into the modern era.  Cheap shots in my opinion are shot about the Sem walkout, when there is absolutely no proof that it concerned what Lischer argued with his cong. pres, "women's ordination."  Further against all Lutheran theology is his blatant admission that he really didn't cling to faith in the gospel, but in some sociological community idea.  What a shambles these frustrated Lutherans try and make of incarnational, sacramental theology. Luther clearly sides on doctrine over life, but not Lisher, who at this time in his ministry claimed to be Lutheran. It's a sham and a shame!
One must appreciate the delightful writing style and remicising with a new pastor, accompanying him on calls and counseling and interaction with layleaders and leaving for a new call.  This was all the stuff for which this book is for this reviewer the reason why one should read and enjoy.  However, the theology is fluff and chaff and won't bear a Scrtptural/Lutheran Confessional examination.
1728009
I own both the first edition and the text edition of this book. As a companion to the full edition (now in second edition), this book is great and allows for portability of an otherwise large volume. I can see the other reviewer's point that it is difficult to use and it certainly benefits from a set of tabs or ribbons if you are going to use it liturgically, but I think it deserves 4 stars on its own merits. My preference is for the Treasury of Daily Prayer by Concordia Publishing House, but I do also appreciate this book and it's big brother.
3109443
Read this book at seminary. This gets to the heart of Lutheran preaching. Thought I had lost it in one of our many moves. Needed to reread it. Found it on Amazon. Transaction was quick.
4664010
If you are new to the Revised Common Lectionary or have been using it for years, this book,and its companion volumes,  will prove to be an invaluable tool for you for many years.  It explores each reading for every Sunday of the Liturgical year from four perspectives: theological, pastoral, exegitical and homiletical and in doing so provides a wealth of information for the preparation of liturgies and sermons that reflect the sense of the scriptures for  that day.  I have been using these volumes for 3 years now, and have recommended them to sermon study groups and to my brothers and sisters in the ordained ministry since I first opened the first volume.  Many thanks to David Bartlett and Barbara Brown Taylor for their excellent editorial work and for making these books available to preachers and students.
640876
In this booklet, the second of Stephen Nichols' trio of booklets highlighting major Reformed figures (the other two booklets feature Jonathan Edwards and J. Gresham Machen respectively), Nichols' stated aim is to bring Luther's Disputation on the Power and Efficacy of Indulgences - better known as the Ninety-Five Theses - to contemporary Christians who have heard of the theses, but never read them. This edition of the theses includes two helpful features: an introduction which sets the theses in historical context, and a minimal commentary on every facing page, while the main text appears on the right hand page. Not every thesis warrants a commentary, so Nichols has sensitively selected which theses bear specialized notes. Even then, the notes provide context or expansion only when necessary, and often in Luther's own words derived from his later work explaining the Ninety-Five Theses (suitably entitled The Explanations of the Ninety-Five Theses).

A few preconceptions of mine were dispelled by this booklet. Firstly, that Luther's main goal in 1517, as demonstrated by the document's official title, was `merely' to expose Johann Tetzel's abuse of papal indulgences (in effect a get-out-of-purgatory-free card) by generating a debate among churchmen. Secondly, Luther's reformational theology was far from being definitively worked out at this point; he was still very much a sympathetic Catholic intent on reforming the Church, not destroying it. Tellingly, the Ninety-Fifth Thesis itself portrays salvation by suffering rather than by faith. This emphasis would change in the years to come.

But the two preconceptions which were most jarringly dashed were a) Luther's consistent defense of the pope throughout the document, and b) the content of the sequence of theses derived from the questions of shrewd parishioners. Unless Luther was representing his own questions as those of his parishioners for rhetorical effect - which would have been dishonest - I would not have thought that the average working class 16th century German was thinking reformational thoughts. No wonder this spark on the tinder lit up the spiritual and ecclesiological landscape of Europe for generations to come.

Embedded in the midst of the theses is the one I consider Luther's gem, the Sixty-Second. It contains the reason why Luther was compelled to act on that October day in 1517, and why he persevered to bring true biblical teaching to the gospel-hungry masses throughout the rest of his life: "The true treasure of the church is the most holy gospel of the glory and grace of God." Luther staked his life on this gospel, which is why we remember him and commemorate him today - and more importantly, the God he served.
2779333
The Liber Brevior, another successful publication available from the Church Music Association of America, is  much easier to use than the cumbersome Liber Usualis. It has most of the main Sunday and feast propers and ordinaries, as well anthems and hymns in common use. I would recommend it for anyone who uses chant on a frequent basis.
2643395
A valuable addition to my library of Christian books, and the fact that it has been revised and updated makes it even better than the first edition.