Allie Beth Stucky has recently sparked discussion amongst Christians about horror. Personally, I'm a fan of horror and the macabre, especially classic horror that includes Boris Karloff and Vincent Price. I'm also really looking forward towards Smile 3 when it comes out. What should Lutherans think about horror?

https://churchleaders.com/news/2224287-christians-horror-genre-allie-beth-stuckey-matt-walsh.html

I went from Baptist to Episcopalian to LCMS. I've been Lutheran for several years at this point. Lately I've been bothered by how many Lutherans seem to elevate the Book of Concord to the level of Scripture. I know they claim they don't but it really seems like they do. They also seem to view Luther like a Pope. If the Book of Concord really is just repeating what the Bible says then why is it necessary? Why is my church having a "Bible study" right now where they're just reading the Book of Concord? Why not read the actual Bible? It just rubs me the wrong way. There are additional things I don't agree with but I won't get into that here, I just know that if I don't claim to fully believe the Book of Concord I'd probably not be considered in good standing with the church.

I know this doesn't make any sense given what I just said, but I've felt pulled to the Catholic Church for many years, but every time I seriously consider it I'm reminded there's just too much I don't agree with to ever become Catholic. Every church I look into has stuff I don't agree with so I'm not sure what to do at this point. It almost makes me want to stop going to church at all. To be clear, I'm not questioning Christianity, even if I stopped attending church I would never stop believing in Christ as my savior.

For reference, I’m an LCMS Lutheran Christian. About 6 years ago during the pandemic I was laid off from my job in Iowa due to COVID. I got on unemployment. I quickly determined I needed to move home with my parents, which meant moving states to Illinois. Iowa Unemployment required three job applications per week, and the search had to be “reasonable and honest” (Iowa’s words). Well, since I was about to move to Illinois, it didn’t make much sense to try and find a new permanent job. What I did was very dishonest: I began submitting applications to jobs that I knew were unlikely to ever call me for an interview. I’m talking jobs that were multiple states away, and although adjacent to my career field, not directly relevant. I did this to “satisfy” the three applications per week requirement so that I could collect unemployment benefits while I move states. I did this for several months, including even once I moved back to Illinois. I got comfortable and enjoyed the benefits. After about 6 months in total of being on unemployment I did find a new job. I would say 4 out of the 6 months were dishonest job applications. There may have been some weeks where I didn’t apply to any jobs altogether also.

I was raised Catholic but fell away from the faith at a young age. Within the last year (I am in my 30’s now) I have started taking my faith seriously and have become an LCMS Lutheran. I have begun thinking of all the terrible past sins, and have become extremely worried I am not forgiven of sins involving theft unless I make restitution.

I talked to my pastor who heard me about. He told me I am clearly contrite and feel genuinely sorry for what I did. He told me I am fully forgiven and can leave this in my past and move forward. I explained to him that I would love to make restitution and pay the money back to Iowa for the dishonest weeks but I am deeply afraid of them charging me criminally with a felony. The amount the dishonest weeks add up to is over the minimum necessary to be charged with a felony. Iowa handles criminal charges on a case by case basis, so I’m not sure if they would charge me. I am getting married in a month and want to be able to provide for my wife. I am a Mechanical Engineer by trade and having a felony on my record would, I would imagine, really impact my ability to retain and find work. I also fear going to prison, leaving my wife on her own plus I fear what would happen to me in prison. I explained all this to my pastor and he told me that since I am truly sorry for what I did, I am forgiven, and do not need to try and repay the money. Basically he confirmed I am forgiven and can move on with my life and do better with a changed heart going forward.

Is my pastor really correct? I have seen some theologians write “the sin is not forgiven unless what was taken is restored”, even Lutheran theologians. I have also seen some theologians explain that there are situations that may make restitution “morally impossible”, but only some theologians state this . I am getting very mixed signals reading online of what is required of me to be forgiven.

Please help me understand what to do so that I am right with Jesus / God. I am scared.

Thank you

This is basically what it sounds like. I am discerning whether or not I ought to go to seminary and pursue ordination as a Pastor, and would like to know if anyone knows any good resources or has any good advice in my situation. For context, I am a 22 year old male who is a senior in college, I recently (within the last few months) was confirmed in the LCMS. I became Lutheran after realizing a number of problems within the Church of the Nazarene, where I was pursuing ordination prior to this. Concordia does require me to be a member for at least two years (at least that is what the website says), so I won’t be able to go right away, but I still do want to take this discernment process seriously.

I recently made the decision to revert to the LCMS and have been back for a little over a year now. To clarify, I was baptized as a baby, but mostly went to evangelical churches with some Catholic mass sprinkled in. Before returning, I looked at fully converting to Catholicism, but before that I went to a non-denominational evangelical church for three years.

I mostly went back for the liturgy and the Eucharist, and the fact that the theology agrees more with what I believe. That tends to be what keeps drawing me back.

However, I am really struggling to find community and am starting to feel a bit lonely. I am a 27 year old man and recently single. Most of the people at my church are retirees, with a few families from the church school. On top of that, we don't really have any consistent events. I am coming from an evangelical church with a mixed population where we had tons of things going on, so that may skew my perspective, but my LCMS church doesn't even have a weeknight Bible study. The only things they have are at like 10am on a Wednesday when most people, myself included, are at work.

I don't like to complain if I don't have a solution. My job also requires travel that is randomly dispersed throughout the year, so I don't think I would be the right person to lead something like this.

I guess I really don't know what to do. I know the job of the church is not to keep me entertained or provide me with a community, but it is getting hard for me to stay consistent and motivated without it. Looking for advice.

I was raised very secular and grew up in school basically being told genesis is all a myth. When I became interested in Christianity I identified more with redeemed zoomer and the theistic evolutionary view, but I have grown to view death before the fall as incorrect and genesis as history. I know some view the flood as a local flood that still killed all people. Should we just ignore scientific views/geology and accept that God’s miracles leave no trace? If not what extrabiblical evidence is there?

Is it okay to have a painting of Mary on my wall? I’m a former Catholic so obviously I have a lot of love for her, but don’t want to idolize her. Thanks!

What extra-biblical work have you found the most helpful when it comes to the topic of assurance?

I am curious as well to get this answered from a Lutheran perspective and perhaps read some Lutheran sources as I am wholly unfamiliar with that. Minus reading some Luther directly years ago. That's why I tagged this one as 'newbie'.

I know is controversial (not my intention) and I have looked through the past discussions. Many times the discussion focus on melody or tune of a hymn and that’s not what I’m asking.

I have heard at times that there are hymns in the LSB that are not compatible with confessional Lutheran theology. Is that true? Very importantly, if it is true, which hymns don’t match confessional Lutheran theology?

Again, I recognize that can be controversial and that is not my intention. I genuinely want to know if there are hymns that were included in our official hymnal that go against our theology.

In this video, Pr. Weedon references (about the 1:11:20 mark) the Roman Catholic participants of an apparent dialogue between them and American Lutherans recommending to the Vatican to recognize Lutheran ordinations as valid but illicit. Does anyone have any citations for that? Or know what he is referring to?

After 4 years of discernment, study, and prayer I've all but decided to leave Catholicism. My wife would like to, but I have worked hard to reconcile. Ultimately I'm quite Catholic in many ways but I reject the change on the death penalty and have found myself unable to reconcile myself to the US bishops or last two papacies. Other issues that I have are tied to the Marian dogmas and indulgences. I had a spiritual director, a priest, that I was working with to resolve my issues but he just decided to leave and become Orthodox.

Some tension that I have unresolved with Lutheranism is that I ultimately do feel that the gospel of Matthew and James both illustrate that what we do does have a big impact on our eternal state. For this reason I have struggled to find where I might really belong between LCMS, WELS, and various Anglocatholic bodies. Also, I've got a very high view of confession as a sacrament. I ultimately do accept the Lutheran view on the Eucharist. That being said, I'm ready to move to one of those.

The catch is that I'm a military officer and will move every 2-3 years for probably the next decade at least. I need to raise my kids with some consistency in their church life, but the country I'm in now has no Lutheran options and I'll only be at my next duty station for a year. On a practical level, I would prefer to become Lutheran personally due to LCMS having homeschool curriculums and private schools that I think would be more likely to provide the kids with continuity as we move. I've also got some desire to break with the church sooner rather than later as my kids, even the younger two, are already extremely attached to their rosaries and it will only get harder the longer we remain Catholic.

How do I navigate this situation? Advice from pastors especially would be greatly appreciated.

Also, before anyone says well stick it out, just do what's local with Catholicism being where you're at, etc. I've studied obsessively for years (including classes at a Catholic seminary), sought spiritual direction, and considered this. My issues are irreconcilable.

Basically, one that discusses further his Disputations Against Scholastic Theology and Heidelberg Disputation. I just wanted to know an exhaustive case on what was happening prior AND what a properly dissected for on what those "issues" are.

So that I can be clear on how it "Transitioned" to Lutheran "Scholasticism" if that's fair

Check it out at www.lcms.org!

Lutheran Digital Mission League is glad to see that Resolution 1-13A is being taken seriously.

"The recognition of the importance that an improved website serves for those already searching, while prioritizing faithful outreach through social media, podcasts, videos, and other digital media to engage those who may never begin by visiting lcms.org." -LDML Co-Founders' Statement on LCMS Resolution 1-13A (2026) to the 69th Synodical Convention, LCMS

We invite you to read our full statement to Synod: https://lutherandigital.com/statements-synod/

I guess I like spicy topics!

I went to LCMS schools preK-8, and my nephews have previously all gone to LCMS schools (well...two before they both shuttered). One of my parents also worked as an aide at my school for many years. I share some of the following anecdotes because as I have read through experiences in this sub, I see they may be widespread patterns...

I know finances were always a big problem. Our pastor would say church tithes were subsidizing some teacher salaries. Mine in particular always struggled with enrollment and never seemed to truly get off the ground, class sizes were comically tiny. This did not stop the church from really pushing to make it work, and would push donation drives to keep adding new additions and buildings for school use despite these struggles. This was always a spur point for me as I got older because I would be frequently getting snail mail asking to donate money to cover the debt for their construction, and knowing they were pushing beyond the means of the congregation. And the school ultimately would shut down anyways.

I felt academically I received a fantastic education, this is where Lutheran education imo really shines. But every day started with "Bible class" and it was really just the Bible. Of course, wonderful. But in all those years of school, we never ever studied anything of Martin Luther, Lutheranism, church history, the early church fathers, church tradition, etc. Never opened a Catechism in that school. Never celebrated Reformation Day in that school. We also had weekly school chapel. But the only thing Lutheran about our school was the name. This was seen as a good thing from the perspective of getting more butts in seats (didn't work though....) to be as non-denom appealing as possible.

This is probably one of the hardest parts of the job, but I do feel LCMS teachers seem to have a much harder time spotting children who either may have issues going on at home that is seeping into their school life, or show signs of a learning disability. And the ax is brought down on them every time instead of trying to help figure out the root problem or even giving firm but gentle guidance to both student and parents. I have seen many people decide to unenroll their children due to harsh punishments for...I don't want to even say bad grades or bad behaviors because that wouldn't be true. If it was those things, of course an ax should be brought down. But instead for really innocuous or manageable things ​by children who are known to be studious and sincere. This is something I blame trainings for and not at all individual teachers themselves.

All of this to say - these issues don't seem to just be "me and the 3 LCMS schools I've had experience with." They seem to issues in other places too.

Do you think things could be improved if LCMS schools had centralized support and oversight? Many congregations run schools, but many are not equipped to handle it. Or do you think congregational oversight is superior to centralized? Why or why not? ​

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z0XKuN2bvCo

Gospel According to Matthew, 22:15–22 (ESV):

Paying Taxes to Caesar

Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle him in his words. And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

Transcript

(Original devotional script is original work by ALTS. /u/1776-Liberal is not affiliated with ALTS. ChatGPT was used to polish transcript and find references.)

Hi, I'm Chris Caughey. I am the professor of Biblical Studies at the American Lutheran Theological Seminary.

And today I would like to talk about Matthew 22:15–22, which is the Gospel reading for the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, at least in the three-year lectionary. And today I'm reading from the New King James Version.

"Then the Pharisees went and plotted how they might entangle Him in His talk. And they sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, 'Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?'

"But Jesus perceived their wickedness, and said, 'Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money.'

"So they brought Him a denarius.

"And He said to them, 'Whose image and inscription is this?'

"They said to Him, 'Caesar's.'

"And He said to them, 'Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.'

"When they had heard these words, they marveled, and left Him and went their way." (Matthew 22:15–22)

This is the Gospel of the Lord. Praise to You, O Christ.

So, this is the last week of Jesus' life. And the Pharisees desperately wanted Jesus dead. And so they were plotting how to entangle Jesus in His own words. But they did not go to Him themselves.

They sent their own disciples and some other men known as Herodians.

The Herodians were a political faction of the Israelites. Their name, Herodians, tells us that they were aligned politically with Herod Antipas.

But we need to set the stage. We need to set the scene a little bit.

Tiberius Caesar was the Roman emperor when the events of our Gospel text happened. The Jews in Israel were not at all happy about having a Gentile rule over them. So in order to prevent a Jewish uprising, which would have just resulted in the mass murder of Jews, Tiberius allowed Herod Antipas to be a tetrarch, sort of a viceroy or a governor under Tiberius' authority over Galilee and Perea.

So the Herodians were happy with this political arrangement. Obviously, the Pharisees were completely unhappy with that political arrangement.

But the Pharisees viewed Jesus as their enemy. And so, as the saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. The Pharisees were going to use the Herodians to help them entrap Jesus in His own words.

So the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians came to Jesus, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are true, and teach the way of God in truth; nor do You care about anyone, for You do not regard the person of men. Tell us, therefore, what do You think? Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?" (Matthew 22:16–17)

And there are a few things to note here.

First, they address Jesus as Teacher.

Watch out.

Most of the time, Jesus has harsh words for people who address Him as Teacher, whereas He has kind words for people who address Him as Lord. Neither the disciples of the Pharisees nor the Herodians were about to call Jesus Lord.

Second, the phrase "You do not regard the person of men" in Greek is more literally, "You do not see the face of men." (Matthew 22:16)

And I think that that's at least ironic, if not important, for what happens in this story.

But Jesus perceived their wickedness. The Greek word there is πονηρίαν (ponērian). He perceived their wickedness and said, "Why do you test Me, you hypocrites? Show Me the tax money." (Matthew 22:18–19)

Jesus is absolutely right to call them hypocrites, and it's because He perceived their wickedness.

They claim to know that Jesus is true and that He teaches the way of God in truth. But they do not believe a word of that.

Other translations render the phrase "Nor do You care about anyone" as "You do not care about anyone's opinion." From a certain perspective, that was true. Jesus never apologized for what He said, nor did He ever change what He was saying or doing, even if one person had a problem with it.

But Emmanuel, God with us, does care about people. He does love repentant sinners.

So from that perspective, they continue their hypocrisy.

But the last part might just be the worst when they say, "For You do not regard the person of men," or "You do not see the face of men."

True, Jesus was not a respecter of persons. He was not impressed by the rich or the powerful the way the world is.

But Jesus is true God and true man in one person.

Jesus absolutely did see the face of men.

He recognizes His own image in us, even when we do not see it clearly in ourselves. (Genesis 1:26–27)

So the disciples of the Pharisees and the Herodians are being thoroughly hypocritical, and they think that they have set the perfect trap by asking Jesus whether it is lawful to pay taxes to Caesar or not.

If Jesus sides with the Pharisees and says no, then the Herodians can charge Him with rebellion against the empire—sorry, emperor.

But if Jesus sides with the Herodians and says yes, then the Pharisees can call Jesus a fraud in front of the crowds of people who are listening to Him.

There is no way, according to the Pharisees, that Jesus can be the Messiah if He wants a pagan Gentile to rule over the kingdom of God in Israel.

At least according to the Pharisees' reasoning.

But Jesus tells them to show Him the coin. And in Greek, that's νόμισμα (nomisma), from which we get our English word numismatics.

Sometimes, if you try to buy precious metals, the fraudsters will try to sell you numismatic coins. And so we're getting that word right from the Greek.

So He tells them to show Him the coin for the tax. And they brought Him a denarius.

And He said to them, "Whose image and inscription is this?"

They said to Him, "Caesar's."

And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:19–21)

And this is just brilliant on the face of it.

But in order to appreciate even more of the brilliance, I want you to see the coin that they would have shown Jesus.

The denarius was a silver coin that only the emperor was allowed to mint.

You can see that the face of the coin has the image of Tiberius Caesar, and it also has the inscription, which Jesus specifically asks about. And that inscription says in Latin, "Tiberius Caesar, son of the divine Augustus, Augustus."

And the reverse side has an image of a seated woman. She's not named. And the inscription there is Pontifex Maximus, which translates into English as "highest priest." (Tiberius denarius)

So the violation of the First Commandment is all over this coin.

On the face of the coin, Tiberius is pretending to steal Jesus' own title of Son of God.

Jesus should have been more offended by this coin and the Roman tax than the Pharisees were.

But the back of the coin implies that Roman taxes funded pagan temples and paid the high priest of those temples.

And yet Jesus brilliantly and beautifully ties "Whose image and inscription is this?" with "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." (Matthew 22:20–21)

Both Tertullian and Augustine see a reference to Genesis 1:26, where God made Adam and Eve in His own image.

So I'm going to quote from one place in Tertullian and two places in Augustine.

This is Tertullian, On Idolatry, Chapter 15:

"Idolatry is condemned not on account of the persons which are set up for worship, but on account of those its observances which pertain to demons.

"'The things which are Caesar's are to be rendered to Caesar.' It is enough that He set in apposition thereto, 'and to God the things which are God's.' (Matthew 22:21)

"What things, then, are Caesar's? Those, to wit, about which the consultation was then held, whether the poll-tax should be furnished to Caesar or no.

"Therefore, too, the Lord demanded that the money should be shown Him, and inquired about the image, whose it was. And when He had heard it was Caesar's, He said, 'Render to Caesar what are Caesar's, and what are God's to God.'

"That is, the image of Caesar, which is on the coin, to Caesar, and the image of God, which is on man, to God; so as to render to Caesar indeed money, to God yourself.

"Otherwise, what will be God's if all things are Caesar's?"

So far, Tertullian.

And now this is from Augustine's Tractates on the Gospel of John, Chapter 40, Section 9.

"As we read in the Psalm, 'The light of Thy countenance is impressed upon us.' (Psalm 4:6)

"We are God's money. We have wandered away as a coin from the treasury. The impression that was stamped upon us has been rubbed out by our wandering.

"He has come to refashion, for He it was that fashioned us at first, and He is Himself asking for His money, as Caesar for his.

"Therefore, He says, 'Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God the things that are God's.' (Matthew 22:21)

"To Caesar his money, to God yourselves. And then shall the truth be reproduced in us."

So far, that section of Augustine.

And now the last section of Augustine comes from the Exposition on the Psalms, from Psalm 4.

Augustine says:

"'The light of Thy countenance,' saith he, 'is stamped on us, O Lord.' (Psalm 4:6)

"This light is the whole and true good of man, which is seen not with the eye, but with the mind.

"But he says, 'Stamped on us,' as a penny is stamped with the king's image.

"For man was made after the image and likeness of God, which he defaced by sin. (Genesis 1:26–27)

"Therefore, it is his true and eternal good, if by a new birth he be stamped.

"And I believe this to be the bearing of that which some understand skillfully. I mean what the Lord said on seeing Caesar's tribute money: 'Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's.' (Matthew 22:21)

"As if He had said, 'In like manner as Caesar exacts from you the impression of his image, so also does God.'

"That as the tribute money is rendered to him, so should the soul to God, illumined and stamped with the light of His countenance."

And that's the end of the quote from Augustine.

So the point, people loved by God, is not taxes.

In a temporary earthly sense, that silver denarius belonged to Tiberius Caesar because his image and inscription were stamped on it.

But he only owned it until he died. He could not take that coin or anything else with him into the world to come.

And that's the vanity that Ecclesiastes talks about.

But you, people loved by God, belong to God because His image and inscription are stamped on you.

What belongs to God is everything you are, everything about you, and everything you have.

All of your possessions, including your money, belong to God.

Jesus was masterfully outsmarting the Pharisees in our Gospel reading.

But we cannot completely evade the issue of taxes.

In other places in the New Testament, God does tell us to pay our taxes. (Romans 13:6–7)

And I think one of the helpful places to go to understand this is the section in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 5:38–42.

There Jesus says:

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

"But I say to you, do not resist the one who is evil.

"But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

"And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

"And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

"Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you." (Matthew 5:38–42)

So, as long as we are being frank and honest, taxation is theft, especially when it is being forcibly taken from you to honor the emperor as a god and to pay the high priest of a pagan temple.

But in that section on the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about not retaliating against people who forcibly take from you.

Jesus says:

"Do not resist the one who is evil.

"But if anyone slaps you on one cheek, on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

"And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

"And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." (Matthew 5:39–41)

In other words, since all that you are and all that you have belong to God, be willing to be wronged.

In other words, be willing to allow others to wrong you or to do wrong to you.

Those are difficult words.

But when you know that God not only owns all that you are and all that you have, but that God owns absolutely everything because He made absolutely everything—why, you have nothing to worry about and nothing to fear.

Because God feeds the sparrows, and He clothes the lilies of the field. (Matthew 6:28–30; Matthew 10:29–31)

And you are of far greater value to God than sparrows and flowers because you are the image of God and they are not. (Genesis 1:26–27)

So take heart.

As Augustine said, sin has worn down the image of God which we bear.

To quote him:

"For man was made after the image and likeness of God, which he defaced by sin.

"Therefore, it is his true and eternal good, if by a new birth he be stamped." (Augustine, Exposition on Psalm 4, §8)

Amen.

Pastors or laity, what do you/your pastor wear for Ash Wednesday and Good Friday?

Clerical Collar? Naked Cassock? Black Stole and alb? Black chasuble if Holy Communion?

Any historical precedent for any of them?

Are you tired of thumbing through an endless sea of Roman Catholic (pun intended) posts, reels, and videos?

Does it feel like the Eastern Orthodox have paid to target you while your scroll?

Honestly, it can be hard to find content from the LCMS sometimes.

But there's so much great confessional Lutheran content from our Church, it's worth finding.

So that's exactly what some LCMS brothers set out to do.

We found a growing list of faithful pastors teaching the Holy Scriptures, content creators exploring Lutheran theology, conversations about life in the Church, and new voices sharing what we believe and confess.

Confessional Lutheran content and creators from across the LCMS are now easier to find than ever.

Instead of hoping that the algorithm finally figures out what Lutheranism is, anyone can visit LCMSlink and discover the latest confessional Lutheran content today:

https://lutherandigital.com/lcmslink/

We pray that it's a blessing to you!

And there's more to come.

Who are some of your favorite clergy and other content creators to listen to from across the LCMS?

I know CPH has a series, but the cost of that really adds up. I also know a couple that were popular years ago and are no longer in print.

Does anyone know of a good Commentary, or even one with just a few volumes, that would be good to get without costing a fortune over time?

I prefer physical books over e-books.

My wife was raised Baptist, though her mom went to a Wesleyan college and continues to go to a Wesleyan church. We recently moved and are looking for a church. If it’s put on her heart to convert to LCMS Lutheran, as I am (confirmed and baptized) would I be welcome to attend her classes? I think she would feel a lot more comfortable if we were going through it together, but I have no idea, as I was baptized as an infant and confirmed when I was in middle school, so I haven’t seen the adult conversion process. I know I can discuss with it with the pastor, and will when we settle on a church here, but was looking to maybe set some of her foreseen concerns at ease.

Today I was confirmed into the LCMS and my grandson was baptized. I was very happy to be formally accepted into the LCMS and extremely happy my daughter approved of my grandson being baptized. She even came to church this morning for it, and she has not been to church with me in many years. It was great experience.

So, two new Lutherans in the LCMS now.

Hi, my wife and I are looking for a church home. There’s an LCMS church in our neighborhood and I know one of the members there. Also my mother has been an LCMS member for over a decade, but I’ve only attended Lutheran services two or three times as a family guest. Our background is mostly Presbyterian and non-denominational.

For the longest time, I’d written off Lutheranism as a possible option. But after listening to more Lutheran content from 1517 and other Lutheran folks, I guess I’m being won over.

My question is, what should I do or expect when attending for the first time? Are services mostly the same? I understand we shouldn’t partake in communion for now, but I’m not sure what else we should or should not do.

I am coming from a Presbyterian background. When looking at Lutheran churches are these the main three that one would find (similar to OPC, PCA, PCUSA)? Or are there others?

What are the main/major differences between LCMS, WELS, and ELCA?