By Heart: Conversations with Martin Luther's Small Catechism

Martin Luther had a way with words and an eye toward instruction as he wrote the Small Catechism. Written to awaken and affirm faith as well as provide a helpful tool for households and congregations, the Small Catechism delivers the precise and profound words that have become the heart of Lutheran teaching about the Christian faith.

As you will see in the story of the Small Catechism, Luther saw firsthand how far removed the gospel was from the people’s experience. So, he set about crafting a simple Q&A on the basis of God’s word, aimed at bringing the Holy Spirit into the heart of sixteenth-century readers, readers ever since, and into your heart too.

By Heart: Conversations with Martin Luther’s Small Catechism is designed for readers who are returning to the Small Catechism—as well as those who are experiencing it for the first time. Vibrant illustrations, photos, and commentary illuminate the theology and the history behind the explanations and connect them to our lives today. A fresh understanding of how Luther’s life and thought is revealed in the Small Catechism breaks open its proclamation of the gospel to transform our lives with the same freeing good news.