Reign in Blood. In this episode of Banned Books, we discuss the Lord’s Supper while reading The Last Supper: The Testament of Jesus by Reinhard Schwarz. We discuss why the distinction between a covenant and a testament is of utmost importance for exegesis, sacramental theology, and Christian life, why promise and gift are central to Luther’s understanding of the sacrament, and how rejecting the sacrament leads to a denial of Christ.

The gospel is his weapon that beats back the darkness — “I AM the Resurrection and the Life. Bow your head, bend the knee when I walk by.”

This day and its meaning provided the opportunity for an anonymous author to write a poem for Sheer Thursday about Judas' betrayal of Jesus.

Plug In, Baby. In this episode, we read St. Ambrose’s work, On the Mysteries, enjoying his exegesis and defense of the body and blood of Jesus. We also discuss recognizing patterns in the Bible, testing the spirits who want to separate out the heavenly from the earthly, and the importance of symbol and meaning for Christian comfort.

Honey, Where Did This Thing Come From? In this episode, we discuss the Lord’s Supper, early church tradition, worship, and the question, “Where did this come from?” At the same time, we read Dr. Norman Nagel’s essay, “Medicine of Immortality and Antidote against Death.”

What we discover in O’Connor’s stories and Martin Luther’s theology is that God’s grace is elusive because the human heart is resistant to it.

Jesus rejects what we believe is most necessary and instead points us to his pain, suffering, death, and self-sacrifice.

People do not seek the gospel because they want to, but because God’s Word drives them to it.

When we proclaim Jesus' death we are, at the same time, preaching that this cup from which we drink is the cup of salvation for all who believe and receive it.

By the blood of the Lamb God's people are given salvation and comfort. We're rescued from hopelessness.

There was Gospel, and blood, and he killed a guy with a trident. Gillespie and Riley continue hijacking their podcast to honor their spiritual father, Norman Nagel, this time on the Lord's Supper from his “The Spirit’s Gifts in the Confessions and in Corinth.”

How does it... umm... how does it work? In this episode, Gillespie and Riley continue to read and discuss the Schwabach Articles. Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, Church, and all things churchy.