Pastor's Desk
Let us Read the Bible and the Book of Concord Together
By Pastor Neil Wehmas
“This congregation acknowledges and accepts all the canonical books of the Old and New Testaments as the revealed and inerrant Word of God, verbally inspired, and acknowledges and accepts all the Confessional Writings of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, contained in the Book of Concord of the year 1580, to be the true and genuine exposition of the doctrines of the Bible. These Confessional Writings are the three Ecumenical Creeds, (Apostle, Nicene and Athanasian) the unaltered Augsburg Confession, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, the Smalcald Articles, Luther’s Large and Small Catechisms and the Formula of Concord.”
These words are not words from some ancient document, rather these words are found in Article III of the constitution of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Ida Grove, Iowa. In fact, these words are found in the constitution of every church within the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.
Yet, how many have read anything of the Book of Concord (beyond the Small Catechism)? How many are taking time to read the scriptures? My guess is that the percentage of Lutherans who have read the Book of Concord would be quite small.
It is for that reason, I am going to offer an opportunity for every member of this congregation to come together and read parts of the Lutheran Confessions (The Book of Concord) and the Scriptures together. We will read these words, and we will discuss these words.
I invite members of all ages of St. Paul Lutheran Church to a group very straight forwardly called, “Read the Bible & The Confessions with Pastor Neil”. We will meet every Thursday at 7pm in the Fellowship Hall.
I realize that Thursdays have a number of school activities, and therefore you may not be able to make it every week. That is okay, come when you can. There will still be plenty to learn. You might even miss several weeks in a row, or decide to join a few months after we’ve started. That is okay, you will still have opportunity to learn and grow in your faith.
I encourage high school youth and post-high school young adults to attend, as well as all our older members. Every 1st through 3rd Thursday, we will be studying the scriptures. We will begin by reading the Gospel of Mark. Every 4th Thursday, we will be studying the Book of Concord, we will be starting with “Luther’s Small Catechism”, before exploring “Luther’s Large Catechism”.
I know what you may be thinking. You don’t have a Book of Concord in your library collection. Well, there are few solutions to this. 1) There is a version that you can access for free on any internet browser. It can be found at www.bookofconcord.cph.org/ . 2) You can purchase from Concordia Publishing House or Amazon (may even get lucky at half-price book stores). Look for “Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions” by Concordia Publishing House. There is a pocket edition, a Paperback edition, and some other nicer versions. They range in price from about $20 to $45. If several people would like to order the same edition, we as a congregation may be able to bulk order at a discounted price.
What a great way to start a new school year, students, parents, grandparents, and all others joined together in learning what God’s word, and the confession of the scriptures via the Book of Concord. I hope to see many of you there, and a truly multi-generational study of God’s word and truth.
~Pastor Neil Wehmas
Last Updated: 7/27/2026