Readings
* Psalm 50
* Psalm 130
* 1 Samuel 15:10–35
* Acts 24:24—25:12
* Apology of the Augsburg Confession, IV, 115–121
Commemoration
Today we commemorate Robert Barnes, Confessor and Martyr. Born in England in the late 1400s, Robert Barnes studied theology and eventually became a prior of the Augustinian monastery at Cambridge. Exiled to Germany, partly for distributing Bibles in English and for having converted to Lutheranism, Dr. Barnes would meet Martin Luther in Wittenberg, and the two would become friends. Upon his return to England, Dr. Barnes would share his Lutheran faith with King Henry VIII, who was initially receptive. However, changing political and ecclesiastical winds in England would eventually spell Dr. Barnes’ downfall. On 30 July 1540, Robert Barnes was burned at the stake on a charge of heresy, becoming one of the first Lutheran martyrs. Luther would later publish Barnes’ confession of faith, noting of Barnes that he was “[a] good, pious dinner guest and houseguest … [a] holy martyr, St. Robert Barnes.”
Reader
Corey J. Mahler
Copyright Notices
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Unless otherwise indicated, all quotations from the Lutheran Confessions are from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, copyright © 2005, 2006 by Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission. All rights reserved. To purchase a copy of Concordia, call 800-325-3040.
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