Introduction

Why Books of Sermons

The publication of sermons can be traced back to the earliest days of the church, and books of sermons have long been resources for personal devotion and scholarly research. Luther, like many before him, published sermons throughout his career, the work beginning in 1521 during his confinement in the Wartburg. These became generally known as postils (postillae). Overtime, these many publications were curated into two famous collections: the House Postil (Hauspostille) curated by Veit Dietrich in the mid-1540s and the much earlier Church Postil.

The publication of sermons has continued abated since those days, some becoming quite famous and cherished among the faithful. In the America such books were also the vital to the public worship of many congregations, especially on the frontier. During the colonial period clergy were few and far between. Even at the end of the American Revolution, the ratio of Lutheran congregations to Lutheran pastors was 7.5:1. Ask yourself: how did the faithful worship with so few pastors and no automobiles to travel quickly from one church to another? Well, in truth, there was more than one accommodation to the situation, but it was very common that a congregation would gather without a pastor present, join in hymn and prayer, and listen to a congregational elder read from a book of sermons. This was common on our territory. In fact, St. Johannes Lutheran Church in Doddrige County, typically saw a pastor twice per year from its founding in the mid-19th century until well into the Great Depression, perhaps explaining entry in the council minutes authorizing the purchase of a new book or sermons because the old one had worn out.

Obtaining a Book of Sermons

Books may be easily obtained (and often at very little expense) from various on-line retailers. Your congregation may already have some buried in your church library or pastor's office. In fact, the several volumes of the Augsburg Sermons Series (listed below) in the Synod Library once sat on the bookshelf of the Mt. Calvary, Westernport, pastor's office when Bishop Riegel arrived there for his first call in 1994. No, he didn't steal them; they were transferred to the synod when the church building was sold.

A congregation or a licensed reader may find it prudent to buy one or more books of sermons for ongoing use. Indeed, anyone (preacher or person in the pew) may still find such books salutary for devotion or study. The Commission cannot vouch for the quality of all the sermons in any particular book of sermons (even the Augsburg Sermons). The reader should work with his/her supervisor to determine appropriateness.

The links provided on this page will either provide direct access to an online, public-domain version of the named book of sermons or to the table of contents for the named book of sermons. If the latter, you can review what is available there, and use it to inform your purchasing decisions (or borrowing decisions should you decide to use a real library). Many of books named can be found on the in the Internet Archive and some may be found in other places online as well.

Caveat Lector

Reader, beware! Old books are old books, and there are some things to keep in mind.

Syncing the Lectionary & Liturgical Calendar

A complication encountered when using older books of sermons is the potential misalignment of texts and days. For example, one may open a given sermon book to the 5^th Sunday after Pentecost and find that the sermon for the Gospel for the day in the book is not based on the same Gospel included in Sundays and Seasons. This is due to the periodic revisions of the lectionary. We currently employ the Revised Common Lectionary that was publicly released in 1994. This is the lectionary published in the ELW (2006) and sold through Augsburg Fortress in Sundays and Seasons, Celebrate, etc. The lectionary provided in the LBW (1977) is the COCU Lectionary released by the Consultation on Church Union in 1974. In between, the Common Lectionary was assembled in 1983. Any given book of sermons that is keyed to the liturgical calendar will employ the lectionary in use at the time, assuming the denomination associated with the publishing house didn't employ an entirely different lectionary. Those of us of greater personal antiquity remember when the lectionary was only one-year (not three-year) and did included neither Old Testament reading nor psalm (except for the fragment in the proper introit)

While the recent revisions of the lectionary have not constituted major changes, it is not uncommon for there to be a slight misalignment of texts, especially during ordinary time (the green seasons). It may not be sufficient in all cases to simply look at the ecclesiastical date. Look at the text that is indicated. If you find that a particular ecclesiastical date does not have the same text listed in the book that the RCL indicates for use, look a few Sundays before or after. You may find the desired text there (as the RLC shifted some readings from the CL). We hope to develop a cross-referencing sheet.

Even the liturgical calendar has changed, adding another complication. Again, the older members among us remember when the Sunday after Easter was the First Sunday after Easter. It then become, as we currently name it, the Second Sunday of Easter. The most senior of us remember when it was Quasimodogeniti. Really old books of sermons will refer to the Sundays in Lent and Easter according to their Latin names (Invocabit, Oculi, Judica, Ex Audi, etc.) and may also use the old names for the "gesima" Sundays before Ash Wednesday (e.g., Septuagesima). Again, ordinary time will be the hardest to navigate, but with small amount of work, one will get the hang of it. Pro tip: pay more attention to what lessons are listed in the table of contents than to the name of the day.

Syncing the Culture

Let's be honest, culture changes. A sermon that was timely (or even cutting edge) fifty years ago with respect to illustrations or application may seem anachronistic if delivered today. Rhetoric has also changed over the years, and listeners may find older language stilted. On the other hand, some sermons seem timeless; we do still read Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. Selecting a sermon with these things in mind entails asking: how will my auditors here this?

Another thing that has changed over time is toleration for length. To be honest, we are less willing today to listen to a sermon of any significant length than we were several decades ago. Veteran preachers will tell you that they have seen toleration for lengthy sermons decrease during the course of their careers in the pulpit. Of course, a very talented orator may still hold the congregation's attention for a half hour or more, but this requires dialectical, rhetorical, and elocutionary skills that are no longer common.

It may be prudent to edit this or that sermon with the aforesaid in mind. Reader's should seek the advice and counsel of their supervisors when doing so. Additionally, attribution should include announcement that the work has been expurgated or otherwise edited.

Book Shelves

Augsburg Sermons Series

The links provided to the Augsburg Sermons Series will display the table of contents for the named book of sermons. Use this information to your purchasing decisions (or borrowing decisions should you decide to use a real library). Many of books named can be found on the in the Internet Archive and some may be found in other places online as well. If you have not read the introductory material on this page, please do.

Year A (Advent 2025 through Christ the King 2026)

• Augsburg Sermons: Old Testament, Series A (Augsburg Publishing House, 1980)
• Augsburg Sermons: Epistles, Series A (Augsburg Publishing House, 1977)
• Augsburg Sermons: Gospels, Series A (Augsburg Publishing House, 1974)
• Augsburg Sermons 2: Gospels, Series A (Augsburg Publishing House, 1983)
• Augsburg Sermons 3: Gospels, Series A (Augsburg Publishing House, 1992)
• Augsburg Sermons: Lesser Festivals (Augsburg Publishing House, 1977)

Year B (Advent 2026 through Christ the King 2027)

• Augsburg Sermons: Old Testament, Series B (Augsburg Publishing House, 1980)
• Augsburg Sermons: Epistles, Series B (Augsburg Publishing House, 1977)
• Augsburg Sermons: Gospels, Series B (Augsburg Publishing House, 1974)
• Augsburg Sermons 2: Gospels, Series B (Augsburg Publishing House, 1983)
• Augsburg Sermons 3: Gospels, Series B (Augsburg Publishing House, 1992)
• Augsburg Sermons: Lesser Festivals (Augsburg Publishing House, 1977)

Year C (Advent 2024 through Christ the King 2025)

• Augsburg Sermons: Old Testament, Series C (Augsburg Publishing House, 1980)
• Augsburg Sermons: Epistles, Series C (Augsburg Publishing House, 1977)
• Augsburg Sermons: Gospels, Series C (Augsburg Publishing House, 1974)
• Augsburg Sermons 2: Gospels, Series C (Augsburg Publishing House, 1983)
• Augsburg Sermons 3: Gospels, Series C (Augsburg Publishing House, 1992)
• Augsburg Sermons: Lesser Festivals (Augsburg Publishing House, 1977)