St. Matthew Lutheran Church

Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, March 22, 2023

“Confession: Confession Has Two Parts”

Today we continue our midweek series on the Small Catechism with the section on Confession. The catechism asks the question, “What is Confession?” And the way the answer begins gives us our theme for today: “Confession Has Two Parts.”

Those two parts, of course, are Confession and Absolution: “Confession has two parts. First, that we confess our sins, and second, that we receive absolution, that is, forgiveness, from the pastor as from God Himself, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it our sins are forgiven before God in heaven.”

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Midweek Lenten Service
Wednesday, April 5, 2017

“The Catechism in Six Parts: Confession”

Tonight we come to the part of the Catechism that is probably the least known to us today, and that is Confession. The practice of Confession may be unfamiliar to you. Confession is unfamiliar to most Lutherans these days, even though it has been around for as long as the church has been around. It is a church practice that the church doesn’t practice much anymore. It is infrequently used. Tonight I want to dispel some myths and some fears about Confession, so that we’ll feel more comfortable about it and maybe put it into practice. We just read questions and answers on Confession from the Small Catechism. Now we’ll go on from there and raise some other questions as well. I’ll start with what may be your first question:

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