NEWS RELEASE

Concordia Publishing House 3558 South Jefferson Ave. St. Louis, Missouri 63118-3968 CONTACT: Emily Barlean, Corporate Communications Phone: 314.268.1294 e-mail: emily.barlean@cph.org For Immediate Release

New Bible Study Explores the Emphasis of the LCMS

Discover How Your Church Can Dig Deeper Into Witness, Mercy, and Life Together Twitter Pitch:
Dig into the Biblical basis of @theLCMSs emphasisWitness, Mercy, Life Together. Discover what it means for the you. http://pitch.pe/169388

Summary:
Concordia Publishing Houses new Bible study digs deeper into the biblical basis of The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synods threefold emphasis; Witness, Mercy, Life Together. CPH and the office of the President encourage LCMS congregations to use these resources to truly witness who the LCMS is as a church body.

Saint Louis, MOIn 2010, the Office of President of The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod
announced a new emphasis for the church. That emphasisWitness, Mercy, Life Togethercomes directly from Holy Scripture and describes who the Church is, how she proclaims her message, and how she cares for her neighbor in need. To help further unpack this threefold emphasis, Concordia Publishing House, the official publisher for the LCMS, has released a five-session Bible study that explains what it means for our lives individually and together. The study explores the biblical basis behind the emphasis and includes helpful explanations of Greek terms. "Concordia Publishing House is pleased to work in partnership with the synodical President's Office to provide resources to support the new themes our church body has been blessed with: Witness, Mercy, Life Together, said Rev. Paul McCain, Concordia Publishing Houses publisher. The theme represents a vision for The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod and anchors us in faithful witness to our Lord Christ, loving service to others and a commitment to life as God's redeemed people." Because the theme represents the LCMSs vision as a whole, one complimentary copy of the Bible study was provided to every church in the LCMS for their review and use. Now is a great time for churches and individuals to promote this emphasis within the Church, said Deaconess Pam Nielsen, managing editor for Witness, Mercy and Life Together. Congregations can order more copies of the Bible study, hang the banners, and use this emphasis to help encourage the people of God in Christ for the Church and the world. The banners that Nielsen refers to are supplementary materials produced by CPH. The series of banners, posters, bulletins, and lapel pins are meant to help keep members aware, mindful, and excited about sharing the message of who they are as Lutherans. It is the office of the presidents hope that each LCMS church will help to further this emphasis by witnessing who they are as Lutherans and as people of God. LCMS President Harrison emphasized this need in his remarks at the 2010 LCEF fall leadership convention.

The first step to being better than you are is to be who you are, he said. I pray that Lutherans everywhere will be motivated and empowered by the blessed Gospel of free forgiveness in Jesus, that we live ever more into what we are in Christ, bearing witness to Him, being merciful to all, and living together in love. To dig deeper into the emphasis, be sure to order a copy of the Witness, Mercy, Life Together Bible study book and its DVD component featuring four instructional videos by President Harrison explaining the emphasis in his own words. LCMS congregations can also purchase posters, banners, and lapel pins from Concordia Publishing House at cph.org or by calling 1-800-325-3040.

Resource Links:
Social Media Release: http://pitch.pe/169388 Concordia Publishing House: http://www.cph.org The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org Witness, Mercy, Life Together Bible Study: http://bit.ly/q06hwk Witness, Mercy, Life Together Supplementary Products: http://bit.ly/q06hwk ###

News Facts:
Concordia Publishing House is a not-for-profit publishing company and the official publisher of The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod. The company offers more than 8,000 products that can be used by families and individuals, Christian schools and congregations. Check out cph.org to find out about all that we have to offer. Cant find what you are looking for? Contact us, and let our world class customer service representatives lend a hand at 1-800-325-3040.

Tags:
Concordia Publishing House, CPH, LCMS, The Lutheran ChurchMissouri Synod, Witness Mercy Life Together, LCMS church emphasis, President Matthew Harrison, Paul McCain, Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, LCEF, Rev. Paul McCain