This may not really be a program for the usual Sin Boldly listener, but I'm using the podcast feed as a way to make available this class for those who need it. In essence, this is an 8-part class that prepares an adult for baptism. It is the bare minimum, and for those of you who are Christian, I understand it covers a lot of ground in an insanely short amount of time. If you are a mature Christian, you might want to skip this download, or you might like it as a refresher. If you know someone who is not a Christian and after your own screening you find this a helpful refresher, feel free to share. We can never really get enough of the basics anyway! I try to find the right balance of covering a lot of ground quickly and hitting the necessary big picture questions.
This class covers the Ten Commandments as Luther taught in the Small Catechism with some conversation and extra commentary.
Why the name “Sin Boldly”? Martin Luther wrote to his friend Philip Melanchthon in 1521: “If you are a preacher of mercy, do not preach an imaginary but the true mercy. If the mercy is true, you must therefore bear the true, not an imaginary sin. God does not save those who are only imaginary sinners. Be a sinner, and let your sins be strong [sin boldly], but let your trust in Christ be stronger, and rejoice in Christ who is the victor over sin, death, and the world.” To sin boldly, therefore, is not to seek unholy living, but to follow the course we believe the Bible demands even if the world is against us. And if and when we sin, trust in an even greater savior.
First Lutheran also publishes a daily podcast called The Scarlet Thread (https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/the-scarlet-thread/id1110938468?mt=2). This podcast is a reading of the appointed texts for the Two-Year Daily Lectionary. After two years, listeners will have heard most of the Old Testament once and most of the New Testament twice. If you are liturgically-minded and want a little more Bible in your life, this is a great podcast for you.