LutheranLectionary.org

The First Commandment
Thou shalt have no other gods before Me.
We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.

The Second Commandment
Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord, thy God, in vain.
We should fear and love God that we may not curse, swear, use witchcraft, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

The Third Commandment
Thou shalt sanctify the holy-day.
We should fear and love God that we may not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred, and gladly hear and learn it.

The Fourth Commandment
Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother.
We should fear and love God that we may not despise nor anger our parents and masters, but give them honor, serve, obey, and hold them in love and esteem.

The Fifth Commandment
Thou shalt not kill.
We should fear and love God that we may not hurt nor harm our neighbor in his body, but help and befriend him in every bodily need.

The Sixth Commandment
Thou shalt not commit adultery.
We should fear and love God that we may lead a chaste and decent life in word and deed, and each love and honor his spouse.

The Seventh Commandment
Thou shalt not steal.
We should fear and love God that we may not take our neighbor’s money or goods, nor get them by false ware or dealing, but help him to improve and protect his property and business.

The Eighth Commandment
Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
We should fear and love God that we may not deceitfully belie, betray, slander, nor defame our neighbor, but defend him, speak well of him, and put the best construction on everything.

The Ninth Commandment
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house.
We should fear and love God that we may not craftily seek to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house, and obtain it by a show of right, but help and be of service to him in keeping it.

The Tenth Commandment
Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife, nor his man-servant, nor his maid-servant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is his.
We should fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away our neighbor’s wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and do their duty.

What Does God Say of All These Commandments?
I the Lord, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments.
God threatens to punish all that transgress these commandments. Therefore we should fear His wrath and not act contrary to them.
But He promises grace and every blessing to all that keep these commandments. Therefore we should also love and trust in Him, and gladly do according to His commandments.

The First Article
Of Creation
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth.
What does this mean?
I believe that God has made me and all creatures; that He has given me my body and soul, eyes, ears, and all my members, my reason and all my senses, and still preserves them;
also clothing and shoes, meat and drink, house and home, wife and children, fields, cattle, and all my goods;
that He richly and daily provides me with all that I need to support this body and life;
defends me against all danger, and guards and protects me from all evil;
and all this purely out of fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, without any merit or worthiness in me;
for all which it is my duty to thank and praise, to serve and obey Him.
This is most certainly true.

The Second Article
Of Redemption
And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried;
He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and sitteth on the right hand of God the Father Almighty;
from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
What does this mean?
I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord;
who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned creature, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil;
not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death;
that I may be His own, and live under Him in His kingdom, and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness;
even as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.
This is most certainly true.

The Third Article
Of Sanctification
I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.
What does this mean?
I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him;
but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith;
even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith;
in which Christian Church He daily and richly forgives all sins to me and all believers;
and at the Last Day He will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life.
This is most certainly true.

Our Father who art in heaven.
God would by these words tenderly invite us to believe that He is our true Father, and that we are His true children, so that we may ask Him confidently with all assurance, as dear children ask their dear father.

Hallowed be Thy name.
God’s name is indeed holy in itself; but we pray in this petition that it may be holy among us also.
When the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives in accordance with it.
To this end help us, dear Father in heaven!
But he that teaches and lives otherwise than God’s Word teaches, profanes the name of God among us.
From this preserve us, heavenly Father!

Thy kingdom come.
The kingdom of God comes indeed without our prayer, of itself; but we pray in this petition that it may come unto us also.
When our heavenly Father gives us His Holy Spirit, so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life here in time and yonder in eternity.

Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
The good and gracious will of God is done indeed without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that it may be done among us also.
When God breaks and hinders every evil counsel and will which would not let us hallow the name of God nor let His kingdom come, such as the will of the devil, the world, and our flesh; but strengthens and keeps us steadfast in His Word and in faith unto our end.
This is His gracious and good will.

Give us this day our daily bread.
God indeed gives daily bread to all men, even to the wicked, without our prayer; but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to acknowledge this and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.
Everything that belongs to the support and wants of the body, such as food, drink, clothing, shoes, house, home, field, cattle, money, goods, a pious spouse, pious children, pious servants, pious and faithful rulers, good government, good weather, peace, health, discipline, honor, good friends, faithful neighbors, and the like.

And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
We pray in this petition that our Father in heaven would not look upon our sins, nor deny such petitions on account of them; for we are worthy of none of the things for which we pray, neither have we deserved them, but that He would grant them all to us by grace; for we daily sin much and indeed deserve nothing but punishment.
So will we also heartily forgive and readily do good to those who sin against us.

And lead us not into temptation.
God indeed tempts no one; but we pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us, so that the devil, the world, and our flesh may not deceive us nor seduce us into misbelief, despair, and other great shame and vice; and though we be assailed by them, that still we may finally overcome and gain the victory.

But deliver us from evil.
We pray in this petition, as in a summary, that our Father in heaven would deliver us from all evil of body and soul, property and honor; and at last, when our last hour shall come, grant us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this vale of tears to Himself into heaven.

For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever. Amen.
That I should be certain that these petitions are acceptable to our Father in heaven, and heard; for He Himself has commanded us to pray thus, and has promised that He will hear us.
Amen, amen; that is, yea, yea, it shall be so.

What is Baptism?
Baptism is not simple water only, but it is the water comprehended in God’s command and connected with God’s Word.

Which is that Word of God?
Christ, our Lord, says in the last chapter of Matthew:
“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.”

What does Baptism give or profit?
It works forgiveness of sins, delivers from death and the devil, and gives eternal salvation to all who believe this, as the words and promises of God declare.

Which are such words and promises of God?
Christ, our Lord, says in the last chapter of Mark:
“He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.”

How can water do such great things?
It is not the water indeed that does them, but the Word of God which is in and with the water, and faith, which trusts such Word of God in the water.
For without the Word of God the water is simple water and no baptism; but with the Word of God it is a baptism, that is, a gracious water of life and a washing of regeneration in the Holy Ghost.

As St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three:
“By the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ, our Savior; that, being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life. This is a faithful saying.”

What does such baptizing with water signify?
It signifies that the old Adam in us should, by daily contrition and repentance, be drowned and die with all sins and evil lusts;
and again a new man daily come forth and arise, who shall live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Where is this written?
St. Paul says in Romans, chapter six:
“We are buried with Christ by baptism into death; that like as He was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

What is Confession?
Confession embraces two parts.
One is that we confess our sins.
The other, that we receive absolution, or forgiveness, from the confessor as from God Himself,
and in no wise doubt, but firmly believe, that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.

What sins should we confess?
Before God we should plead guilty of all sins, even of those which we do not know, as we do in the Lord’s Prayer.
But before the confessor we should confess those sins only which we know and feel in our hearts.

Which are these?
Here consider your station according to the Ten Commandments,
whether you are a father, mother, son, daughter, master, mistress, servant—
whether you have been disobedient, unfaithful, slothful—
whether you have grieved anyone by words or deeds—
whether you have stolen, neglected, or wasted aught, or done other injury.

How the Unlearned Should Confess

You shall say to the confessor:
Reverend and dear sir, I beseech you to hear my confession, and to pronounce forgiveness to me for God’s sake.

Proceed—
I, a poor sinner, confess myself before God guilty of all sins.
Especially I confess before you that I am a manservant, maidservant, etc.
But, alas, I serve my master unfaithfully; for in this and in that I have not done what I was commanded.
I have provoked anger and caused offense.
I have not done my duty to my neighbor.
I have not helped when I could.
I have spoken evil and been impatient.
I have cursed.
I have been negligent and indolent.
For all this I am sorry, and I pray for grace; I want to do better.

A master or mistress shall say likewise:
In particular I confess before you that I have not faithfully trained my children and household for God’s glory.
I have cursed, set a bad example by indecent words and deeds, done my neighbor harm, and overcharged him.

Let the confessor then say:
God be merciful to thee, and strengthen thy faith.

Amen.

Furthermore say:
Dost thou believe that my forgiveness is God’s forgiveness?

Answer:
Yes, dear sir.

Then let him say:
As thou believest, so be it done unto thee.
And I, by the command of our Lord Jesus Christ, forgive thee thy sins,
in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. Amen.

Depart in peace.

What is the Sacrament of the Altar?
It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink.

Where is this written?
The holy Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul write thus:
“Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it and gave it to His disciples and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you.
This do in remembrance of Me.
After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins.
This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?
That is shown us by these words: “Given and shed for you for the remission of sins”; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words.
For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?
It is not the eating and drinking indeed that does them, but the words here written, “Given and shed for you for the remission of sins”;
which words, besides the bodily eating and drinking, are the chief thing in the Sacrament;
and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.

Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?
Fasting and bodily preparation are indeed a fine outward training;
but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words, “Given and shed for you for the remission of sins.”
But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit;
for the words “for you” require altogether believing hearts.