Recommended Pastoral Resources by JOHN PLESS
Naomichi Masaki, He Alone Is Worthy! The Vitality of the Lord’s Supper in Theodor Kliefoth and the Swedish Liturgy of the Nineteenth Century (Församlingsförlaget, 2013), 479 pp.
ISBN 9789172710665. [SEK 359; approximately $55.00]
Theodor Kliefoth (1810–1895) was arguably the greatest Lutheran liturgical theologian of the nineteenth century. Drawn away from his early fascination with Hegel and Schleiermacher, he would be involved in the reorganization of the church in Mecklenburg, and would revive a confessional understanding of the pastoral office. His liturgical work would also reach into the Church of Sweden. Naomichi Masaki masterfully introduces English-speaking readers to Kliefoth’s theological and liturgical legacy while mapping his influence on liturgical revisions in Sweden. __________________________________________
John T. Pless, Mercy at Life’s End: A Guide for Laity and Their Pastors (The
Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, 2013), 24 pp. [$2.00]
Written to provide spiritual guidance for Christians faced with decisions regarding care and treatment when death appears imminent, this booklet lays out a biblical understanding in light of God’s Law and Gospel. Critique is provided of trends toward euthanasia and assisted suicide as ways of attempting to assert human autonomy and evade the last enemy. Questions are offered to provide clarification and make crucial distinctions when family members must make decisions on behalf of a dying loved one. This booklet could be used in Bible class settings as well as in situations where the pastor is helping his people work toward Godpleasing decisions when death draws near. __________________________________________
HIS Voice • September 2013
Klaus Detlev Schulz, “‘Baptizing Them . . .’: Testing the Scope of Baptism in the Catechisms,” Logia 22
(Holy Trinity 2013): 29–35.
Baptism is included in the Lord’s mandate of Matthew 28:18–20. Even as the Lord’s mandate is universal in scope, so is Baptism; it is for all nations. In this essay Schulz examines the significance of Luther’s confession of Baptism in both catechisms for the church’s missionary endeavor, noting its Christological, eschatological, and communal dimensions. __________________________________________
C. F. W. Walther, Gospel Sermons
(Volume I), trans. Donald E. Heck (Concordia Publishing House, 2013), 320 pp. ISBN 9780758638892. [$49.99] These sermons, originally published in German in 1870–1871, are now available in English translation. In them readers see Walther the preacher at work expounding biblical texts, and distinguishing God’s condemning Law from His consoling Gospel for the comfort of broken sinners. The sermons in this volume span the festival half of the church year from Advent to Pentecost Sunday. All of the sermons are based on the Gospel pericopes. Christoph Barnbrock provides a concise and insightful introduction to Walther’s homiletical approach. __________________________________________
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