We get a lot of feedback from people who love Lutheranism 101 and want more information about a specific topic. There are so many good books available, where do you start?
We’ve compiled the Basic Christian Library just for you. It continues to be one of our most-visited posts.
Recently we added 3 new resources:
Senske, Kurt. The Calling: Live a Life of Significance. St. Louis: Concordia, 2010. What is your purpose in life? What is God calling you to do? This book combines biblical wisdom with secular strategies to educate you on living a life of meaning and significance in all areas of life – family, professional, community, and congregational.
Schkade, Jonathan. Icky Sticky, Hairy Scary Bible Stories. St. Louis: Concordia, 2010. The stories in the Bible are not always nice and happy. Some are messy and dangerous. Some are about foolish, strange, or awful things. This collection of short, funny poems is sure to capture the attention of any reader. Each poem shows that God works in the ugly, icky, gross world we live in and helps us out of our messes.
Baker, Robert, ed. Lutheran Spirituality. St. Louis: Concordia, 2010. This book is a how-to for Lutherans wanting more out of their spiritual life written by respected Lutheran scholars. It will help leaders in the church discover reachable goals to strengthen their own faith and help others grow strong as well.
Have you read any of the suggested books? What are you reading now? What should be added to this list?
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I’ve been going to a LCMS Lutheran Church in my community and I really want to participate in the Lord’s Supper (and I’m qualified to do so to my pastor’s satisfaction), but coming from a different denominational background I’m very intimidated by HOW to do it right. I can’t see what others at the Lord’s Table are doing from where I sit and I don’t want to just go up there without knowing what to do. Can you point me to any resources (videos, photos, etc.) that may be helpful?
Thanks!
Joel
Hi Joel,
Thanks for writing. Attending communion can be quite nerve-wracking when you are unsure what people are doing up there at the altar. Because every church has its own customs, your best resource is your pastor. Assuming you’ve already spoken with him about partaking in the Lord’s Supper, I’m sure he’d be more than happy to explain to you how it is handled in your church.
Some churches list instructions in the bulletin, so you might want to check there. You could also ask the ushers, who take an active part in directing the movement from the pew to the altar. Often the simplest practice is to follow the person ahead of you.