"...We should not only have nothing given us to eat, but be driven out, being baited with dogs, and pelted with dung, because we not only need all this every day as we need our daily bread, but must also daily use it against the daily and unabated attacks and lurking of the devil, the master of a thousand arts." Triglotta, p. 571.

The Book of Concord is listed first because the Scriptures are often studied apart from the Confessions, with many pious excuses given for sloth. When the Confessions are ignored, Lutherans tend to become increasingly Reformed and soon neglect the Bible in favor of how-to books.

Q. Which Book of Concord should we read?

1. The Concordia Triglotta is the best and most complete edition, in three languages, and includes the Historical Introductions of F. Bente. Northwestern Publishing House sells it. The size, weight, and cost make it a reference book.
   
2. Pastor James Heiser has reprinted the English-only version of the Triglotta. It is perfect for adult classes, gifts, and reading on the run. Every Lutheran congregation should buy 10-20 English editions as an example to the members. ECLA currently sells the Tappert English edition, which is widely regarded as an unreliable translation with liberal, anti-Scriptural notes. ELCA will soon have new version, perhaps to match the apostasy of the Bratten/Jenson Dogmatics, a two volume exercise in self-indulgence, denying all the articles of the Faith.
   

The best way is to start with a problem, such as the Church Growth Movement, which was my Yale and Harvard College in the Confessions, or with the self-esteem movement, or tongue-speaking, or justification by faith. One can pick a term, such as Enthusiasm, and look up every example of that term in the Concordance to the Book of Concord. The English Triglotta has more than one index for looking up Scriptural passages and religious terms. It is ideal for sermon preparation.