Christian life (Sanctification)

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 "All people, whatever their calling, should seek perfection, that is, growth in the fear of God, in faith, in the love for their neighbor, and in similar spiritual virtues."

(Apology of the Augsburg Confession, XXVII; 37)

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Worship life: music, essence and forms

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The Worship Service is an area of both rich blessing and high tension for the Church. This has happened many times, and still happens mainly when form and content, which are both important, get confused and one takes the place of the other. However, the Divine Service is a gateway to the mission of the Church,  and the high point of congregational life - even though the life of a congregation is not defined solely by the service or the style of worship but it appears in different areas of its life. T herefore, it is always in need of attention, practice and care in whichever ways and means it is practised and celebrated.   In this essay, we reflect on the musical content and its importance in the Divine Service, and the use of Alternative Liturgical Services as a form of strengthening the Lutheran Church Musical content The musical content is normally one of the most sensitive topics connected to Divine Service. which needs attention, care and understanding in every way it is utiliz
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We stand firm in our faith - Hymn and Compositional notes

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This is the official hymn of the 2018-2022 quadrennium of the Lutheran Church in Brazil (IELB). It was composed by Tom Pacheco, Rev. Paulo Brum and I, and it sings the Church's motto for that 4-year span, "We stand firm on our faith" Later, Pastor Brum and I wrote the English version of it. Here are the lyrics, of the hymn, and also notes about the composition which underline and reinforce the message, as well as enhance the hymn listening and singing experience. *Note: in the video, the lyrics are slightly different (1st English version) compared to the lyrics below, which are the final version of the Hymn.   WE STAND FIRM IN OUR FAITH 1. Jesus Christ, our Lord, called as Your flock, we delight in hearing Your Voice teaching to our hearts what Your Word imparts. Law and Gospel, unchanging Light. We stand firm in our faith in You, our Saviour, The Way! You’re the Bread, the Door, Brother, Vine and more; Shepherd in whom we are bless’d. 2. Father, move our hearts, move
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THE LUTHERAN SERMON FROM THE RECEIVER'S VIEWPOINT

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This is my scientific article presented as the final paper for my Social Communication Degree in 2011. It is written not from the Theological, but rather from the Communication perspective, particularly in the field of Reception Studies.   ABSTRACT This article verified how a contemporary Lutheran sermon in a Sunday Worship Service is accepted and perceived by the receivers, members of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Canoas, RS, observing how the sermon content was identified and what is the interpretation of the message. Authors from both Theology and Communication fields represented the theoretical approach. The methodological approach was qualitative using a questionnaire and an in-depth interview. Results indicated that Lutheran Christians identified the main content of a sermon however with both redefinition and amplification of its intended meaning within their personal experience.   KEYWORDS: Lutheran sermon, Audience, Reception.   THE LUTHERAN SERMON FROM THE RECEIVER'S
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Against the necessity of proving that God exists

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            When you go to a Dinosaur Museum no one spends much time trying to prove to you that they were alive millions of years ago.   The learning process there is based on that premise. The same happens when it comes to Astronomy. Nobody in the area is heavily occupied with proving that the Universe is 13 billion years-old and counting. The work is done taking this for granted. Similarly, when people attend a football or soccer game, hardly anyone has as their primary goal to convince fans that this is an emotionally incredible, satisfying experience. The whole event is built upon that assumption. Also, in those contexts people usually can’t hide evident conflicting information or bad facts and results to make the teaching/institution look good all the time. Even these are believed to add to the overall reliability and profit of the experience.             The same was held as valid for the existence of God in many historical circumstances. The Reformation Period is and an examp
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The Liturgy of the Lutheran Service - Video

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This video was a production for the "Toque de Vida"(Touch of Life) program, a daily show on ULBRA TV, the longest running TV Program in an "open signal" station in Brazilian Lutheranism (2004 -     ) In 2008, we started to record Lutheran Services and air them every Sunday, 8AM-9AM on ULBRA TV. On a given Sunday, instead of airing a Service, we thought of explaining the Liturgical content of the Traditional Service in a way that people unfamiliar with the Traditional Lutheran Service could learn more about it. To illustrate the parts of the liturgy we used footage of regular Services recorded in three different Chapels of "St Paul" Lutheran Church in Canoas (now "Mighty Fortress" Lutheran Church), including the Campus Chapel to which, together with Campus Ministry, I was called to lead the Church planting in 2004. You can check out this Special Program by clicking on the video.
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