One Small Step for Amazon, One Giant Leap for Lutherdom

 This was the final goal, to have Luther's House Postils in color, merged into one place with the Treasures (quotations) from those volumes - on Kindle $2.95 - and on a free PDF.
At least it was the final goal, until Luther's Galatians came up as a new project.

Janie Sullivan and Norma A. Boeckler always humor me when I aim at publishing on the cutting edge of media. This was a big project, starting with:

1. Warren Malach asking for the three-volume Postils set, 
2. Alec Satin getting the basic text together, a major task,
3. Virginia Roberts helping with editing and the Treasures,
4. Norma A. Boeckler illustrating all four volumes in color and designing the covers,
5. Janie Sullivan drawing it together for print, Kindle, and free PDFs, and
6. HAL at Amazon finishing the work and approving.

As the educational expert from the Left Coast wrote, "The day may come when we will have much more suppression of materials. It is good to have them distributed in advance, in many places." (paraphrased) Various experiences led to making everything from here public domain and non-profit (not that much profit ever piled up). Alec Satin does this with free eBooks (Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry) and low cost printed books (Lutheran Librarian).

Some were not able to read all eight volumes of Luther's Sermons merged on Kindle (though Janie and others could), but I found this House Postils set plus the Treasures could be read easily as one unit on my version of Kindle. That means 1,000 pages of Luther's household sermons, plus some of the best passages from those sermons.

Why Spend Money To Publish and Make No Money on Kindle?

First of all, I am appalled at those who rob fellow Lutherans by charging outrageous prices for their Kindle versions. They could make a modest profit and facilitate an enormous interest in Luther and other great authors. We are publishing at the lowest price possible, sending books out at the author's price (no profit and a much lower price than Amazon's set amount) - and also for free. Yes, we gladly send out free books.

And if we want to read their own hateful bilge, like David Scaer's Surviving the Storm, we would not have to miss a meal to read it on Kindle. (Waldo Werning's niece asked WW before he died, "Are you training someone to take your place?") We have the answer - Yes, David Scaer - Waldo reborn - from The Fort, sometimes pronounced with the St. Louis Irish dialect.

The main reason for Kindle, now that I have had some fun - is the world-wide distribution. We heard from Africa, "Your PDF does not open on my cell phone." This made Mrs. Ichabod laugh, because we only have a flip phone. As digital devices get cheaper and more widely used in the Third World, Kindle is the natural bridge to those people.

Kindle Version - Treasures from Luther's House Postils - 99 cents.

The Treasures from Luther's House Postils - Full Color - Print, Kindle, and free PDF

Why print, Kindle, and free PDF the Treasures by itself?

This volume had to come at the end, after the three volumes of sermons were published. The quotations cite the page number and volume of each one of the selected passages from Luther. The idea is to provide a lot more reading of Luther rather than quips snatched out of the air and left without a source. ("I dunno. I heard that he said that.")

Secondly, some might want to own or give away the full color, illustrated printed quotations for only $3.95. The sermons are like phone books (remember those?). The Treasures are slender, in large print, and far less expensive to obtain in color.

The free PDF of the Treasures alone is easy to share with someone not familiar with Luther.

The free PDF of all the House Postils plus the Treasures is found here at this Dropbox link.

Between the Gems Mined from the Lenker Luther Sermons and the Treasures from the House Postils, a pastor or seminary student has a wealth of passages to quote. He might want to make Luther familiar to those otherwise assaulted by the wisdom of Fuller Seminary, Willow Crick, and the professors too lazy to earn a real doctorate.

Luther's Sermons - Volumes 1-8, plus Gems. Giant PDF

Click on the link below for all eight volumes of Luther's Sermons, plus the Gems volume at the end - 3438 pages in all.

I asked Janie Sullivan if she could edit them all into one PDF file, and she did.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/nq59uy1vjttifwk/Luthers%20Sermons%20Volume%201-8%20%2BGems.pdf?dl=0

Let me know how this works for you. I highly recommend using the free DropBox software, which you can download here -

https://www.dropbox.com

You can invite friends to download and do other DropBoxy things to earn more free storage space. With all I have done in sharing Moline photos and sending book versions around, I have used only 4 gigs of 16 gigs of free storage.

DropBox is a great way to back up documents off-site (as they say) and also to send large documents. The only way I can send a finished book with illustrations is through DropBox.

The software duplicates itself with Explorer on Windows, so I use my Lenski folder (read from the DropBox files) to look up volumes and get instant access to each book.

We tried to make the whole set in one Kindle. No joy.
Janie Sullivan is working on a fix.

Now Sending Out - Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons and the Complete Nine Volume Set

I am ordering Gems Mined for various people in the congregation, also for friends who take a great interest in doctrine.

I am also ordering the complete set - Eight Volumes of Luther's Sermons plus the Gems. All of them are illustrated by Norma A. Boeckler. The Sermons are in black and white; the Gems are full color.

It takes time to set up the book orders, so they have already begun and should be placed in the next three weeks.

The complete nine volume Luther set, at the author's price, is $70 with shipping and taxes.

The Gems Mined volume alone is $15 with taxes and shipping.

Those who want to order can send a check to 1104 Letha Drive, Springdale, AR 72762. PayPal works too.

The Kindle versions are very inexpensive but the later ones are not being listed - they are done. I am working on that now.

Warren Malach - Review of Volume I, The Sermons of Martin Luther - Advent to New Year's Day

Norma A. Boeckler is a prolific artist with a number of her own books. She had artwork for each volume before it was done. How? She looked the sermons up online and planned the art for each sermon. 

Although I already mentioned above Dr. Jackson's additional volume GEMS MINED FROM THE SERMONS OF MARTIN LUTHER, it was only when I examined the individual volumes of the SERMONS that I learned that the GEMS MINED from each individual volume of the SERMONS are offered as an Introduction to each volume, an "appetizer" of what will be found in the SERMONS as well as an overview of the theology of Dr. Luther himself. Dr. Jackson introduces the GEMS with this challenging statement about Luther: "Luther is discussed too much, studied too little." This statement is an indictment of the state of Luther scholarship within the Christian Church, but especially within the Lutheran Church itself. The summary statements for the individual GEMS in this volume demonstrate how Dr. Luther challenges the orthodoxy of those claiming to be "Lutherans" regarding the fundamental doctrines of the Lutheran Church, e.g. "Not All Are Justified"--"Faithless Teachers"--"Where Do We Find Christ?--In the Scriptures." In "The Reason for the Church Postils," Dr. Jackson tells us the history of the Church Postils and how Dr. Luther himself regarded THE SERMONS OF MARTIN LUTHER as "the best of all his books."

GJ - As she read and edited the volumes, Virginia Roberts kept saying, "I found a gem!" and then "Another gem!" My wife and I did this years ago for volumes 1-4 and put them in Megatron, the Database. They were the heavy artillery - dropped on the foes of the efficacy of the Word in the Means of Grace. I said, "We have to feature the Gems in the front," and then "Let's also do a separate volume, full color."

Volume I of THE SERMONS OF MARTIN LUTHER contains the Sermons for the first part of the Church Year, from the First Sunday in Advent through the Festival of the Epiphany.  It includes the Sermons for the festivals of Christmas, Second Christmas Day, Third Christmas Day, St. Stephen's Day, the Day of St. John the Evangelist, and New Year's Day.  Helpful outlines are provided for each Sermon to guide the reader in his study.


I must mention the physical appearance of this large, softbound volume, with its fine illustrations by Norma A. Boeckler, especially the cover illustration of Luther writing the Sermons.  Once again, I must mention how comfortable the volume is to hold and read, with its ease of holding open and its large print.  The volumes in the set of THE SERMONS OF MARTIN LUTHER are designed for regular individual and family use, and not simply to be put on a library shelf in a pastor's office or church library.


What did Luther teach?  Rather, what does the Bible teach, as Dr. Luther explains?  Study THE SERMONS OF MARTIN LUTHER and you will not be misled by those claiming to be "Lutherans" but who do not teach what Luther taught from the Bible about such fundamental Christians doctrines as the Inspiration of Scripture and Justification by Faith Alone!  
--Warren Malach

***

GJ - One reader has already suggested publishing More Gems later.

Warren Malach - On Luther's Sermons, Gems, and the Goldmine

A Lutheran pastor for forty-five years, the Rev. Dr. Gregory L. Jackson (STM Yale, PhD Notre Dame ) spent a year revising the Lenker translation of the CHURCH POSTILS of Dr. Martin Luther, written in the 1520s.  These sermons on the historic Epistle and Gospel Lessons for the Church Year fill eight large softbound volumes whose typesetting makes them as easy to read as the volumes are to hold open.  In addition, the volumes are profusely illustrated by renowned Christian artist Norma A Boeckler.  In re-introducing these volumes to the public, Dr. Jackson has performed a great service to the Christian Church by responding to the sectarianism and apostasy of our day with the pure Word of God as taught by Dr. Martin Luther to the members of his congregation.

In addition to THE SERMONS OF MARTIN LUTHER, as part of his long study of Dr. Martin Luther's writings Dr. Jackson has also compiled the additional volumes

• GEMS MINED FROM THE SERMONS OF MARTIN LUTHER and 
• THE LOST DUTCHMAN'S GOLDMINE: LUTHER'S BIBLICAL DOCTRINE OF THE WORD.  

 The color version of Gems is the one sent to everyone.
This black and white version was planned at the last minute as a good way to introducepeople to Luther's Sermons without selling the rose farm. This is often included free in orders.

GEMS is the fruit of Dr. Jackson's editorial work on THE SERMONS OF MARTIN LUTHER in which Dr. Jackson distills for the reader the contents of the eight individual volumes in quotations drawn from the sermons, for which Dr. Jackson has supplied titles which are included in the table of contents for easy topical reference.  The quotations drawn from the sermons are generally more extensive than those found in E. Plass' WHAT LUTHER SAYS, which traditionally was searched by students of Luther for useful quotations from Dr. Luther's vast writings, and therefore GEMS is a more comprehensive compendium of extracts from Dr. Luther's writings as a theologian who was also a pastor.

In THE LOST DUTCHMAN'S GOLDMINE Dr. Jackson presents Dr. Luther's doctrine of the Word of God as drawn directly from Luther's own writings, the Lutheran Confessions, and the writings of orthodox Lutheran teachers.  In an age in which the inspiration and authority of God's Word are under constant attack and false doctrine is rampant, Dr. Jackson in his Luther editorial work as well as in his own writings and online blog  (http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com) seeks to follow the mandate of Jude 3 to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints" and presented by Dr. Luther in these Sermons, especially the glorious doctrine of Justification by Faith.

These volumes are only the latest publications of Martin Chemnitz Press (martinchemnitzpress.blogspot.com) which also publishes the theological writings of Dr. Jackson covering a wide variety of subjects both of Christian doctrine and of practice.  You are warmly encouraged to search for these books online, and follow Dr. Jackson's Amazon author's page (https://www.amazon.com/Pastor-Gregory-L.-Jackson/e/B00MDC6S4U?ref_=pe_1724030_132998060). 
--Warren Malach

 All the covers and interior illustrations came from our
artist-in-residence, Norma A. Boeckler.

More About Luther and Publishing

I look at life this way. Things happened so I could learn a lot and experience what was happening in the synods. I am blessed to have reasonably good health, energy, and time to write and teach.

Apart from a few books sold retail on Amazon, everything is being distributed at cost or for free. The synods refuse to teach Luther's Biblical theology so someone has to do their job for them.

I will be sending out more Luther volumes very soon. Some have gone to Africa already, but America is also a mission field. How many Lutheran pastors have Luther's Sermons in their studies or on their computers? Precious few, I am sure.

One woman got multiple sets of all nine volumes for herself and her kin.

Some might consider getting the full color Gems book ($10), with selections from all eight volumes of sermons. Or, my very special promotional item for Luther - the black and white version of Gems, which costs only $2.40 each.

The color Gems is the one always sent when ordered. The black and white volume is only for people who want to give away some Luther at a very low price. No one should be worried about being caught with contraband, since each volume is all Luther, plus graphics from Norma A. Boeckler. Luther is not political, unless one wants to compare the Reformer with the deformers of today.

I have started a reader's verson of St. John's Gospel, plus some initial ideas for a new Lutheran dictionary.

More Luther is planned, plus a long essay on how Calvin ruined Protestantism.

Dragons and a Few Lizards Slain - Now Sending Out Luther's Sermons and Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons

 The Enthusiasts are sending more readers this way.
Here is my bio, which they posted.

I put off a number of things while finishing Luther's Sermons. New ones appeared at the same time, from medicine costs to other matters, all neatly entangled. Last Monday featured $500 stolen from my account, which I had to retrieve - and did.

I even had to decode the Amazon author's page for sending out titles at my cost. They do not assume a nine volume set is going to be listed.

Here is the short version on ordering Luther's Sermons and the Gems.

The 8 Volume Luther's Sermons are by default in black and white, which allows them to be priced at $5 each, without shipping and taxes.

The Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons (from all 8 volumes) is in color, because it is smaller: $10 without shipping and taxes.

Together, the cost is $70 at my cost, including the shipping and taxes: 8 volumes of Sermons, the complete Lenker set, plus some of the best quotations from each volume.

Kindle E-Books - most of the Kindle Sermons are 99 cents now. I am working with the finishing editor to keep those prices down to the lowest possible level. I thought I could get them to zero, but I am not sure. There will be a unified file of all 8 plus the Gems, God willing - free. All other books I publish, past and future, will be priced the same way on Kindle - the lowest possible.

My purpose is to distribute traditional Lutheran material as inexpensively as possible. Neglect of Luther is simply shameful today. The results are clear, from Fuller adoration to pilgrimages to Willow Creek to worshiping with Andy the Apostate Babtist. Didn't see that coming? Look at his daddy's marital record and discipleship under Dave (nee Paul) Y. Cho.

The Gems Volume Is in Print. The Sermons of Martin Luther, Lenker Edition - Are Now Complete - Surprise Coming!

Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons is now in print at Amazon. This volume is a collection of the best quotations from all eight volumes. Of course, not all of the best could be included. However, they represent great Biblical insights unequaled today, after the plague of Fuller Seminary chatterboxes.

I will start sendingout  expected volumes today.

No wonder the synodocrats hate Luther.

 Christina E. Jackson

I often read the Lenker edition of Luther’s Sermons to my wife Christina, especially in Columbus. We were constantly struck by the way the Reformer addressed the issues of life and the carcinogens of Fuller’s Church Growth Movement. That pattern turned into a plan to put the best quotations into a database nicknamed Megatron. Four of the eight volumes were filled with inked exclamations about the topic addressed. Many more resources were added from various denominations and programs of Enthusiasm.

Help in research did not begin or end in Columbus. We turned the libraries inside-out in Waterloo Ontario, at Yale Divinity and Yale Medical, at Notre Dame and Augustana, at the Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, and the Vatican owned seminary near her work at an engineering firm. Sometimes I helped her in medical and engineering research, but she always helped in me theological research and publishing.

The decades of enjoyment in reading Luther led to consternation as the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation approached. The old Lenker set was hard to find and expensive. Christina encouraged me to reproduce it in an expensive edition, and the Kindle ebooks will be free. She cheered on the year’s work and helped in editing. The LCMS member who worked on all the volumes kept saying, “This paragraph is a gem!” and marked it. So Virginia Roberts’ exclamations turned into a new version of what Chris and I began together, 30 years ago – these Gems Mined from Luther’s Sermons.

If people wonder why so many books and articles have come from my cramped study, they only need to credit – or blame – Christina, who always encourages more projects and cheers them on. There are many ways to find gems –

Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
Proverbs 31:10-12 KJV

 Anniversary present - a real rose preserved in plastic and edged in gold.

The Surprise!

God willing, there will soon be a another way to have, to hold, and to study Luther's Sermons.

I have asked our finishing editor, the incomparable Janie Sullivan, to stitch together the nine volumes into one PDF. I will post that via Dropbox, so people have a free version to use and share.

Why the all-in-one volume? I found the PDF of Thy Strong Word was quite useful in finding and quoting sources for other books or booklets, especially Making Disciples.

A PDF is portable so it can be read on all digital devices.

The all-in-one can be shared freely. This old geezer is staggered that a set of books can be made available all over the world, simply by posting the DropBox link.

This PDF will help preserve a beautifully illustrated - the only illustrated one - set of Lenker.

Norma A. Boeckler designed all the covers and illustrated all nine volumes. Today she wrote, "I have a large collection for the Gospel of John Commentary."

Wait There's More!

I have asked Janie Sullivan to set the Kindle version of Luther's Sermons (all nine) as FREE for FIVE DAYS. They will go to 99 cents after that. I would keep them free at all times, but Kindle has  a base price of 99 cents.

I will be doing this with all the other books, and there will be a DropBox folder posted for all the free book files (PDFs).

Janie Sullivan finishes each volume for Amazon and Kindle publication.

Progress in Publishing. Volume 8 of Luther's Sermons Is Available. Gems Is Close.

All Kindle ebook versions will be free, starting with the Sermons and Gems.

Volume 8 of Luther's Sermons is done, color, black/white, plus the Kindle ebook.

Now Janie Sullivan is getting the Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons completed for Amazon and Kindle.

Discussions with Amazon/Kindle led me to decide on making all the Kindle editions free of charge. That will start with all the Sermons and the Gems. The rest of the titles will set as "free" over time.

Reasoning? Publishing is just part of the teaching done through Bethany Lutheran Church. Those who want research tools today would like them available on the computer and portable, from one device to another. Making them available for free will end any obstacles for college and seminary students who want a bigger library.

When I write Creation Gardening articles, I start with Kindle ebooks for quick quoting and citing. Kindle includes the citation with the material marked to copy and paste.

But Wait - There's More
I will create a free DropBox folder for pdf. The folder will be a little library of publications. Duplicating the titles has some advantages -

1. It provides another copy.
2. Finding something on a PDF is fast and easy. 
3. Some people may like easy access to some quotable material from a PDF. 
4. Thy Strong Word, like many of my books, has the complete citation with each quotation. 

Alternative sources for free distribution will be considered, too. Lulu.com does that, and I have freebies there.

 Copy and paste Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz -
not Groeschel, Osteen, and Kelm.

Breaking News - Volume 8 of Luther's Sermons Is Finished at Amazon. The Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons Will Be Sent to the Finishing Editor Today

When I see this Veterans Honor rose in the garden, I recall the funniest story told by my wife's cousin Peter. He was on KP duty for some reason, but was forced to keep potato peeling and cleaning for an extremely long day. Peter was short and about 110 pounds. The sarge came in and wanted to keep him working hours more. Peter got excited about that and began yelling and waving his little potato knife in the process.

The sarge reported him for attacking him with a knife. When Peter repeated the entire experience to the officer, the man could not help but laugh about Peter being a threat, waving a little potato peeler and yelling in frustration at this big muscular sargeant. Peter was judged innocent, and he had us doubled over in laughter about the whole story.

Publishing is like that, because there may be a jealous someone who wants to make something out of nothing. But nevertheless, the Sermons are done and the Gems are finishing today. Certain events have made me decide to make all the published books free online, although I am not sure about the platform. Q may need to liberate Kindle before this is all done, but there are many, many options for ebooks, including DropBox.

Rest in Peace, Peter Ellenberger, one of five family members born in Europe,but having served in the US military.

Luther's Sermons - So Far

Volume 6 was tied up for a time by HAL - long story. The color version has been set free.

A Kindle issue is being addressed.

The Gems Mined from the Sermons of Martin Luther volume needs to have pagination added to each quotation - not a big job, really a fun and inspiring task.

Gems - selections from each of the eight volumes, designed to introduce people to Luther's Sermons. This is smaller in size so it will be full color only and Kindle.

Volume 8 is being prepared by Janie Sullivan for Amazon-Kindle.

If someone does not grasp this gem from Luther, he does not understand the Reformer, the Gospel, or the Scriptures.

Anticipated Results

When everything is done, the sermons in black and white will be about $40 TOTAL for all eight volumes - author's price. With sales tax and shipping for the whole set, that might be $60 - 70 or so. Sales tax varies quite a bit.

The Gospel Sermons - Volumes 1-5 - would be about $40 with taxes and shipping. Don't kid yourself, the Epistle Sermons are just as good.

Kindle ebook prices will be a little higher but I may run some specials, which will be noted here.

Gems will be $10-15 (author's price) and a good gift or library addition by itself.

Pastors who get stuck for sermon ideas should turn to Gems, or the complete set of Luther's Sermons, not to ELCA preaching books (yuk!), or Calvin's Commentaries (Why?) or the Pietistic Spoonfuls on Purpose.

 No, we saved a few titles.

Luther - Faith Remains Nature's Food and Idiot

This is the kernel of the Gospel, in which the nature and character of faith is explained as an assurance of things not seen. It clings alone to the words of God and follows the things that are not seen, as alone conveyed in the word of God, and looks askance at many things which urge it to disbelieve the Word. What nature calls playing the fool, faith calls the true way. Nature may be wise and clever, faith remains nature’s fool and idiot, and thus comes to Christ and finds him. St. Paul’s words, 1 Corinthians 1:25 apply here: “The foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” For feeling and believing do not get together.
The Sermons of Luther, Epiphany


Volume 8 is being prepared for printing by Janie Sullivan.

Norma Boeckler is illustrating the final volume, Gems Mined from the Sermons of Martin Luther.

Nice, but where's my coffee?

Gems Mined from The Sermons of Martin Luther, Volumes 1-8, Lenker Edition . Initial Draft, PDF

We have been mining gems from the Sermons of Martin Luther, Lenker edition, volumes 1-8.

I just finished the draft of volume 8, so I decided to put all the gems together to see where we were for capstone volume - Gems Mined from the Sermons of Luther.

The final version will have illustrations from Norma A. Boeckler and page references as well.

Virginia Roberts has not only done heroic work in editing but has also picked out gems from each volume.

I think these will be worthwhile for sermons during Lent and Easter, so I am linking the initial PDF for everyone to download, save, and use. I have plans for making more available in the future.

Here is the link to Gems Mined from the Sermons of Martin Luther.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iogxf2vfw1ppwpu/gems_mined_from_luther_all_8_toc.pdf?dl=0