Small Catechisms

Dr. Aaron Davis preaches from Proverbs 8:1-4, 22-31, Romans 5:1-5, and John 16:12-15. You can find all the readings for this Sunday  here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis hosts a conversation with Nativity's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sean Barrett, about the sacrament of holy communion. We discuss things like what communion is and why it has so many names, what role the sacrament might play in salvation, why churches would ever want to excommunicate people, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link Questions or Suggestions? Contact Dr. Da...

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from Acts 2:1-21. You can find all the readings for this Sunday  here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis interviews Dr. Jordan Steffaniak about the relationship between philosophy and the Church. We discuss what philosophy is, why people might be skeptical about philosophy being involved in the Church's life, what Christian philosophy might look like at its best, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link The London Lyceum - Link Hanover Press - Link Jordan's Twitter -...

Pastor Sean Barrett answers the question that came in: Is the Holy Spirit in everyone, working in and thru all people, or just Christians? (Context: I kind of see different answers in the 3 scripture texts today)

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis hosts a conversation with Nativity's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sean Barrett, about the sacrament of holy baptism. We discuss things like what baptism is, why some churches baptize infants while others don't, whether one can ever be rebaptized, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link St. Andrews Encyclopedia of Theology entry on baptism - Link

Dr. Aaron Davis answers the following question: "Can you say more about how it works for Christ to have a body that ascended and is present in Holy Communion? The incarnation seems confusing as I think more about Ascension Sunday." Links Nativity website - Link Interview with Cruz Davis on models of the acension - Link James Arcadi's "Recent Philosophical Work on the Doctrine of the Eucharist" - ...

Dr. Aaron Davis preaches from Acts 1:1-11, Ephesians 1:15-23, and Luke 24:44-53. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from John 14:23-29. You can find all the readings for this Sunday  here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis talks through Dr. Taylor Ross's article "The Severity of Universal Salvation" in Notre Dame's  Church Life Journal . Dr. Ross explores what universalism is, how divine justice fits into the doctrine, what past Christians have said about universalism, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link Ross's "The Severity of Universal Salvation" - Link Aaron's "Hopeful Unive...

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from John 13:31-35. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis hosts a conversation with Nativity's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sean Barrett, about faith and music. We discuss things like the difference between "Christian music" and "secular music," the role music can play in one's life of faith, whether anti-Christian music can ever be appropriate for a Christian to listen to, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link The Nicene Cre...

Pastor Sean Barrett addresses the question, "Pastor talked about the creeds: some might wonder why we recite them every service, when it's all written down? I thought it was tied to practice in the early church when more was said than written, and with church doctrines evolving/splitting, it was important to remind ourselves, in community, of what holds us together, our shared beliefs. Is that why...

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis interviews Prof. Andrew Torrance of the University of St Andrews about his book Accountability to God (Oxford University Press, 2023). We discuss what accountability is, how accountability might be thought of as a theological virtue, the risks and rewards of accountability relations, what accountability looks like in Scripture, and more. Links Nativity's website - ...

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from John 10:22-30. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

Pastor Sean Barrett addresses the question, "In the past, Catholics and Lutherans excommunicated each other and said some terrible things about one another (e.g., Luther calling the Pope "AntiChrist"). What are Catholic-Lutheran relations like now, given that we prayed for the new Pope yesterday?"

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis walks through Prof. Oliver Crisp's book  Approaching the Atonement: The Reconciling Work of Christ (IVP Academic, 2020). Prof. Crisp's book addresses questions about what the atonement is, what sorts of views of the atonement have existed through Christian history, how one can think well about the atonement, and more. Links Nativity's website -  Link Crisp's Approac...

This week, Dr. Aaron Davis considers the following question posed anonymously: "In last weeks sermon, I heard a correlation made between having an abortion, after discovering the unborn child had downs syndrome, with rejecting the risen Lord. Did I hear this correlation made correctly?" Links: Nativity's website - nativityarden.org CBS News reporting on Iceland and Down's Syndrome - Julian Quinone...

In this episode Dr. Aaron Davis hosts a conversation with Nativity's pastor, the Rev. Dr. Sean Barrett, about Christian creeds. What are creeds? Why would we want to use creeds? Why do creeds matter? Together we work through questions like these and more. Links Nativity's website - Link The Nicene Creed - Link The Apostles' Creed - Link The Baptist Faith & Message 2000 - Link Questions or Suggesti...

This week, Dr. Aaron Davis considers the following question posed anonymously: "My dad died of dementia a few years ago. One of my hopes is to see him in heaven and have him recognize me. As I thought about yesterday's sermon, my mind wonders if this is a realistic expectation? What do you expect God to heal and not heal in our new bodies?" Links: Aaron Brian Davis, "Horizons of Hope: Disability,...

Dr. Aaron Davis preaches from Acts 5:27-32, Revelation 1:4-8, and John 20:19-31. You can find all the readings for this Sunday  here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .  

Pastor Sean Barrett preaches from Luke 24:1-12. You can find all the readings for this Sunday here . To learn more about Lutheran Church of the Nativity, visit our website at  NativityArden.org .

Dr. Aaron Davis preaches during the Great Vigil of Easter, jointly celebrated by Lutheran Church of the Nativity, Calvary Episcopal Church, and Fletcher United Methodist Church. Readings from the service are Genesis 1:1-2:4, Genesis 7:1-5, 11-18, 8:6-18, 9:8-13, Exodus 14:10-15:1, 20-21, 1 Corinthians 5:6b-8, and Luke 24:1-12.

In this inaugural episode of Small Cathecisms we explore what's to come in this podcast and learn a bit about the background of our host, Dr. Aaron Davis.    Links Nativity's website - nativityarden.org Dr. Davis's homepage - aaronbdavis.com

I was wondering if the palm leaves and procession are a Lutheran thing or if many/most denominations do it?  How far back does it go? Did they do anything like it in Luther's time?