The Work of the Lord Continues, Even During Lent,At the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock

looking for somewhere in/around Appleton to lease a fountain soda machine - any ideas?about 3 hours ago from TweetDeck
kstrandlund
Katie Strandlund



pastorski http://twitpic.com/2fadl - 1st CORE worship band practice. Can't wait 4 April 19th!

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Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "The Work of the Lord Continues, Even During Lent,A...":

Spoken like a true Ichabodian who doesn't have their facts straight even when it's right under the nose. Look again at the band's start date and take the plank out of your eye while you are at it. You're not following the church calendar very well either. :)

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GJ - I give the Popcorn Cathedral free publicity, and I get nothing but ingratitude. This mission to the unwashed and unchurched has been devouring money for months, but there is no Lent at the Popcorn Cathedral. The rock band is not even ready for Easter Sunday. They have to get their ditties ready for the First Sunday after Easter. I am not sure what liturgical year they are following, but in the old system, that Sunday celebrates Doubting Thomas. We all wait with bated breath for Craig Groeschel's sermon that Sunday.

Every wonder why C and C congregations have such cool graphics and sermon themes? The highly-trained WELS pastors are copying the sermons of anti-Lutheran sects where there is no church year, hence no appointed texts. They copy the graphics for those themes and the content. Thus a vast and expensive system exists in Wisconsin Synod to feed anti-Lutheran material to congregations in the name of the Gospel!

Website More Annoying Than Ski's

The cute photo will take your mind off the website, I hope.

Start with the fee schedule page. Yes, it is a Church Growth consultant website.

Author, Author!

When the former Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Newt Gingrich, a one time professor with a doctorate in history from Tulane University, was leading a Republican majority in Congress, his vitriolic critics routinely assailed him for neglecting his duties while profiteering from his publishing ventures. Gingrich wrote or collaborated on five books from 1994 through the time of his resignation from the Congress in 1997. His vocal detractors claimed that these literary exercises, which included a work of fiction, an autobiography and three politically themed titles, interfered with the speaker’s official duties.

How the times have changed! President Barack Obama has signed a half million dollar contract to adapt his first book, “Dreams From My Father” into a children’s book. The only appropriate response from the chattering classes is to cheer their beloved leader. I wonder if school districts will assign the new version as a textbook.

Although numerous presidents have written books on a variety of topics after tiring from the presidency and several were published authors before being elected, Obama is in the unprecedented position of accepting a publishing contract while serving as the chief executive. The deal was finalized immediately before the inauguration, but not made public until now. It is good to know that the economic crisis has been settled and foreign affairs are in good order. Otherwise, how could Obama find time to moonlight as the author of a children’s book?

Perhaps, the president will employ the services of a capable ghostwriter. It has been suggested by certain cynical persons that it may not be the first time. Some readers have pointed out the similarities between Obama’s prose and that of his neighbor William Ayers. One curious feature common to both men’s writings is their shared preference for using nautical similes and metaphors. Interestingly enough, Obama has never been known to have taken an active interest in boating whereas Ayers is an lifelong enthusiast.

While Ayers promoted Obama as an author before anyone else was aware of the fact, this premature boosterism did not resonate with the reading public. “Dreams From My Father,” which was initially published in 1995, sold poorly until after it was reissued to coincide with Obama’s keynote address to the 2004 Democratic National Convention. The re-release sold like hotcakes and its belated success resulted in a second book deal for “The Audacity of Hope.” The title of the latter book was derived from a sermon by the controversial minister, Reverend Jeremiah Wright.

What makes “Dreams From My Father” unique is that so few of those praising the book for its supposed merits seem to have actually bothered to read it. Numerous copies have been sold to Obama’s liberal camp followers, but, unlike Chairman Mao’s “Little Redbook,” no one was actually expected to memorize it cover to cover or to become familiar with its contents. Lord knows, I tried, but, time and time again, I had to put it aside. Based upon those chapters that I managed to slog through, I was reminded of Oscar Wilde’s comments upon reading about the death of little Nell in “The Old Curiosity Shop” by Charles Dickens. To paraphrase Wilde, one could not read portions of Obama’s autobiography without dissolving into tears of uncontrollable laughter.

Portions of the book are unintentionally hilarious. While describing the completion of his undergraduate studies at Columbia (after transferring from Occidental College), Obama described living in an impoverished New York neighborhood. While sitting on the fire escape outside of his apartment, he and his room mates would shout at the elites who would travel from their posh residences uptown to the inner city in order to let their pampered dogs run wild. The dog owners would permit the animals to defecate at will without any consideration for the downtrodden locals. The bigoted snobs did not even bother to have the decency to clean up after their pedigreed pets! No wonder Obama wants to enact punitive tax policies that will soak the rich! He must have ruined several pairs of shoes.

Does anyone actually believe this type of thing occurred on a regular basis, if at all? Imagine the same thing in local terms: how many Chicago suburbanites would travel to Englewood or the Lawndale to walk their dogs? Do city residents from Sandburg Village frequent Cabrini Green or Seward Park to exercise their canines? Like so many episodes in the book, including the author’s imagined relationship with his absent and uncaring biological father, which suggests a need for therapeutic counseling, the entire dog poop sequence seems to be fabricated. Later in the book, Obama depicted his mother as a struggling single parent making ends meet while using food stamps. In actuality, Stanley Ann Dunham was a perpetual graduate student who elected to apply for public assistance to subsidize her studies rather than working her way through the university. Thirty-four years after matriculating at the University of Hawaii in 1960, where she met and married Barack Obama, Sr., Dunham completed her doctoral thesis on rural blacksmithing in Indonesia. I am unaware if the manuscript has been published.

In “The Audacity of Hope,” Obama repeats an anecdote from Jeremiah Wright about the selfish indifference of affluent Americans to the needs of the poor. Allegedly, the galleys of the Carnival Cruise Line discard more food on a daily basis than the starving residents of Haiti can dream of eating to satisfy their appetites over the course of several months. What wasteful gluttony, wealthy (read “white”) Westerners practice! How insensitive of them not consider the needs of the poor. It is a parable of selfishness comparable to that of poor Lazarus, the hungry beggar, sitting outside of the rich man’s kitchen. Lazarus would consider himself fortunate to have a crust of stale bread, but the rich man is willfully blind to his needs.

It is almost possible to be swept away by the rhetorical flourishes employed by the Marxist oriented Wright and his one time protégé. If you pause, however, and ask salient questions, you may reject most of the arguments as invalid and fallacious. Why are the Haitians poor? No answer. Could it have something to do with their government and its pervasive corruption? Why is food being discarded from the cruise ships? Does it relate to health and sanitation codes that mandate that old food be disposed of? Can you imagine the outcry that would ensue if the cruise ship owners attempted to distribute spoiled food and stale bread to the Haitian masses? It might set off a public relations controversy greater than the AIG bonuses that were incorporated into economic recovery legislation sponsored by the Democrats.

In recent decades, autobiographical works by former presidents have become almost obligatory as publishers rush to secure the rights to the memoirs of past leaders of the free world. Obama managed to secure his first literary advance largely on the basis of being named the first African American editor of “The Harvard Law Review.” While serving as editor, Obama failed to produce much in the way of legal scholarship. His sole contributions to the review appears to have been one or two miniscule footnotes.

It is worth remembering, however, for all of the mileage that Obama has gotten out of being chosen as the law review editor at Harvard, where affirmative action policies may have altered the selection process in Obama’s favor (a fact that Obama had the honesty to acknowledge on at least one occasion), that former US Representative Mel Reynolds received a Rhodes scholarship to attend Oxford University. In an era of mandated diversity recruitment programs and
unchallenged political correctness, academic accolades and honors can be conferred without being properly earned all in the name of egalitarian social engineering.

Unlike other public figures, including several politicians who produced autobiographies or scholarly books worth perusing, men such as Ulysses S. Grant, Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Winston S. Churchill, or, arguably, John F. Kennedy, Obama never felt it necessary to actually accomplish something concrete or tangible other than attending classes at a university before sharing his life story with us. Obama produced two largely autobiographical books before the age of forty-five. He was not even a state senator when his first book was published. So much for modesty being a virtue. While some of the books written by the former world leaders that I have cited have become hopelessly dated, others remain enduring masterpieces. Grant’s memoirs and Churchill’s Nobel Prize winning writings have lost none of their original vitality. The most notable thing about Obama’s trite writings are the large royalties that he has earned from books that are purchased and shelved without necessarily being read. Maybe this is on a par with most of the Oprah Book Club selections.

In 1935, the Nobel Prize winning author and satirist, Sinclair Lewis published a book about an ambitious US Senator who advanced to the presidency. Senator Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip, an otherwise unaccomplished and semi-literate politician, rose to prominence largely on the strength of having published a bestselling book that was largely ghostwritten by his handlers.

As the French say, the more things change, the more things stay the same.
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Keep Track of the Church and Chicanery Blogs

Favicon for Tim.

Tim Felt-Needs has a blog, which also links to other Church and Chicanery blogs. In April, 2009, he featured a number of icons of Jesus, all mocking the Savior.

They all read one another's blogs, heaving sighs filled with emotion.

If you want to know how shallow Willow Creek is, read their blogs.

Rock and Roll defended. Alas, Joe Krohn--pal of Kudu Don Patterson--took down this blog extolling the virtues of Rock and Roll Churches.

Pastor Rick loves Leonard Sweet, Church and Chicanery.

I highly recommend Ski's Drive 08 blog pages. He is a stealth board member of Church and Change (no pic and no bio). As the pastor of the crown jewel of Church and Change missions, his attitudes best reflect the wisdom of his network.

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Anonymous said...
That "favicon for Tim" is an extremely high compliment - is that not what people should see when they look at us? Jesus?

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GJ - In that favicon I see Jesus on a skateboard, which does represent the arrested emotional development of Church and Change. Paul called that approach "adulterating the Word," but we all know the Apostle was a liturgical, closed-communion crusader who condemned any deviation from the revealed Truth.

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Anonymouse has left a new comment on your post "Keep Track of the Church and Chicanery Blogs":

GJ said: - "In that favicon I see Jesus on a skateboard, which does represent the arrested emotional development of Church and Change. Paul called that approach "adulterating the Word," but we all know the Apostle was a liturgical, closed-communion crusader who condemned any deviation from the revealed Truth. Snowboard. Not skateboard."

So I guess Jesus alone in a field playing with a dove is more like your real Jesus. Instead of getting out there on the slopes amongst the people that are heading downhill really fast.

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GJ - I appreciate hearing another Straw Man fallacy from the Church Shrinkers. The Straw Man works this way:

1. This is what you are saying, even though it was never said. "So I guess Jesus alone in a field playing with a dove is more like your real Jesus."
2. I condemn you for the Straw Man I just fashioned out of my own dysfunctional mind.
"Instead of getting out there on the slopes amongst the people that are heading downhill really fast."

Leaders like Wayne Mueller, Kelm, Kudu Don Patterson, John Lawrenz, and Larry Olson...followers like Doebler, Ski, and Nathan Krause...live in that Straw Man fallacy and teach it to the laity.

KJV Matthew 23:14 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation. 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.

Don't forget, Ichabodians, that DP Gurgel's administration devoured the MilCraft estate and fought the widow in court, losing a million bucks of your money as a penalty, plus all the legal costs. Now Gurgel is back and working with Kudu Don Patterson: fear and loathing in Texas.

Former SP Gurgel is perhaps thinking, "We ran through the MilCraft estate in record time in my district, got sued, and lost. So they made me Synodical President, where I ran through the Schwan money and the designated funds. Here's the funny part - now I am going to work with VP Don Patterson to get our people back in power."

Is Jesus Liturgical?

The CORE message would have us remove everything Biblical from the portrait of Jesus and substitute a pop icon from the entertainment world.

The constant drumbeat of the Church Growth/Emerging Church frauds is - We have to get back to the pure message of Jesus.

The liturgy is a barrier to Church Growth, they claim. (Truthfully, not real church growth, but the Church Growth Movement of their illusions.) If we take away that fussy old liturgy, people can have an exciting service where they can focus on Jesus, we are told ad nauseum.

Misdirection of the Eyes
They swap the Biblical Jesus for a version of themselves. Presto chango. You may applaud now.

Jesus observed the worship and teaching customs of Judaism, which was born liturgical. Shouldn't we pause and wonder, during this season of Lent, if anyone in that circus has read the Bible in the last 30 years?

Jesus was circumcised. Luke 2:21

Jesus taught as a rabbi. Matthew 5:1 ff.

Jesus read appointed lessons in the synagogues. Luke 4:17

Jesus observed the Jewish liturgical year. John 2:13

Jesus and His disciples sang hymns. Matthew 26:30

Jesus observed the Passover, but Rock and Roll Lutherans do not observe Lent. Luke 22:15

The Last Supper was a Passover meal, with centuries of worship tradition.

The sacraments of Holy Communion and Holy Baptism are based on Jewish sacramental actions.

The Christian Church began on the Day of Pentecost, a Jewish holy day celebrated for centuries and still observed today (but not by Pentecostals). Acts 2:1

Paul also observed Jewish liturgy and marked days by the worship calendar. 1 Corinthians 16:8

Paul, like Jesus, consistently referred to Jewish religious terms.

The foundation of all Christian preaching was the Old Testament, which is liturgical and sacramental.

Nowhere does the New Testament reveal Jesus as a Godspell-entertainer, dancing through the streets and singing pop ditties.

The New Testament Church did not copy paganism and the circus to convert people to Christ. Instead, they took people away from the Roman culture of self-centered hedonism, substituting the Word for the flesh.

The rock idols of the Emerging Church are just as degenerate as ancient Romans - and in the same way.

The Church and Chicaneries say it is legalistic to insist on a pipe organ (which no traditional Lutheran claims) but they insist upon and demand a rock group for their so-called worship services. They badger congregations into installing a rock group to attract more people.

What Have We Learned?
The entire Don Patterson Network is besotted with the anti-Biblical fulminations of their anti-Lutheran heroes.

In the name of of Jesus, they take away Christ and the Means of Grace, substituting their clownish and bumbling entertainments to keep people from realizing the truth behind their fraud.

The Church Shrinkers have swindled Missouri, Wisconsin, and the Little Sect on the Prairie of millions of dollars, funneling the funds into their pet projects, which only serve to spread the Message of Me from Fuller, Willow Creek, Trinity Deerfield, Stetzer, Sweet, Driscoll, Groeschel, Kent Hunter, Waldo Werning, and Andy Stanley.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Is Jesus Liturgical?":

A couple weeks back, even the Sunday Schoolers picked up on the dedication of Paul & Barnabas (in Acts 13 & 14) returning to synagogues right away on Sabbath, even after getting chased out of them in the previous town.

The devout (Acts 13:42) and intelligent (Act 13:7) accepted Christ's message. Those seeking the big crowd for themselves (Synagogue Growth Movement?!?) chased them out of town, and stoned Paul, leaving him for dead. No popcorn stonings then, I guess.

Since you've got your Bible open to Acts now, startle yourself with the efficacy of the Word in Acts 13:48.

The Jesus Ponzi Scheme,Sponsored by Church and Chicanery,With Your Money

Bernie Madoff made off with $50 billion before his scheme was exposed by a run on his investment accounts.

The apostates have been running this scam for years. A Ponzi scheme takes new money to pay the earlier fools who invested their money with the criminal. Those who are paid off think they have received great returns, so they brag and expand the number of fools who think they can make 10-15% year after year. The Baptist Foundation of Arizona ran a Ponzi scheme until one person asked some pointed questions.

The Church Shrinkers have been arguing that they could do better with everyone's money by taking it from schools (which are for us) and giving it to missions (which are for Jesus), especially foreign missions. In the Wisconsin Synod the budget percentages were reduced for schools year after year until the entire system faced collapse.

Did everything grow because of investment in Fuller, Willow Creek, and Trinity Deerfield theories? Just the opposite is true. The money is spent, the schools are broke, and the synod continues to shrink.

The Sausage Factory managers say, "Look at all the money we spent on dorms and Tiefel's chapel!" I was in the old chapel. I never thought, "This place needs a few million spent on it." Likewise, the dorms.

In the last 30 years, all the new stuff in WELS has been aimed at promoting the Fuller agenda. The Shrinkers have covered up more scandals than the Democrat and Republican parties put together.

After 30 years of abject, embarrassing failure, Church and Chicanery has an answer for the Wisconsin Synod: "WELS needs our leadership, more than ever before. God cannot do His work without us."

Steve Adams Shows the Way

Harkness Tower at Yale has one of the best carillons in the world.

Steve Adams: Bull's-Eye Philanthropist
By Neal B. Freeman

There was something wrong with that picture. So he went back to the School of Music with a suggestion. He offered to pay the tuition bills himself. For every student. Every year. In 2005, Steve Adams prepaid $100 million worth of student tuitions.

Adams was bothered that some of the best musicians from the Yale School of Music took jobs on Wall Street. He learned that student loans were the problem. One Wall Street bonus could pay off all the loans. A musician had to face decades of payments.

Adams pre-paid tuition - $100 million worth.

Among Lutherans, the same thing could happen. The student loan debt placed on church workers is a disgrace, and the problem will grow even worse in the future.

I am not nominating a given millionaire for the honor. Congregations should make sure that the pastors, teachers, and their children are as free of the debt burden as possible. Now it seems to be no one's problems. In various ways the Boomers have let the burden fall on the younger generation, even though they paid relatively little for their own tuition and board.

You'll Hear It On the WELS Grapevine

The WELS grapevine is famous for its unreliability.

Below are some rumors and ideas you will hear on the WELS grapevine:

1. Sell the campus of The Sausage Factory. That is very unlikely since real estate development should be D.O.A. for several years. However, Rev. Robert Fleischmann would be a good candidate to manage the sale.
   
2. Sell the Twin Towers - The Love Shack and its clone - and move to Northwestern Publishing House headquarters.
   
3. Make the First Veep position non-salaried.
   
4. Cut the Second VP position. All that Fuller training down the drain?
   
5. No shock - close Michigan Lutheran Seminary in another year or two. Population trends are moving against synod schools, especially since Mueller-Gurgel jacked up the tuition and managed to lose a whole cohort of students.
   
6. Close missions and eliminate positions in various places. That is most likely.

I believe printed periodicals will be scarcer than hen's teeth soon, following the trend of national magazines. FIC might as well be a PDF.

I thought Perish Services was on the chopping block. That would be a severe loss for Fuller, Willow Creek, and Trinity in Deerfield. They would have to rely on Missouri and ELCA for their Lutheran tuition income.

Church and Chicanery Getting Owly

C and C cats are clever, but not wise.

Ichabod also appears here.

Church and Chicanery comments are getting especially ugly, indicating they are losing...big time. When I get a chance, I will link the C and C blogs together. They are worth reading because they have such poor, angry, shallow arguments.

I can already hear the flopsweat dripping from the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock.

Rose - Madame Isaac Pereire

This old rose is famous for being tall, thorny, and generous with blooms. Madame is also known for her large hips (seed pods).

I have to write about this rose, because one flower is in the vase a few feet from me. If you watched the church service today, you saw it as the deeper pink rose near Queen Elisabeth.

Some call this bush a perfume bomb, the strongest rose scent of all varieties. When the blooms open, the yard is filled with the aroma. Three citrus trees are in bloom in my yard, filling the air with their sweetness, but one neglected rosebush trumps them all. The rose dates back to 1881. It was named after the wife of a French banker.

Roses and Creation

Pink Roses, by Norma Boeckler.

The Queen Elisabeth Rose from our garden was included among the altar flowers. One of the greatest of all roses, Queen E. was developed by a Creationist, Walter Lammerts, a member of the LCMS.

Laetare - The Fourth Sunday in Lent

One sunflower seed produces hundreds of high-protein, high fat, high mineral content seeds, and it is considered a weed in some farming areas,
due to its miraculous growth. Art by Norma Boeckler.

Laetare, The Fourth Sunday in Lent

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time

Mid-Week Lenten Services are Thursdays at 6 PM.

The Hymn #361 St. Agnes 4.1
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual Gal. 4:21-31
The Gospel John 6:1-15
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #462 St. Thomas 4.21

When He Had Given Thanks

The Hymn #304 St. Crispin 4.6
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #166 Spanish Chant 4.35

KJV Galatians 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

KJV John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Fourth Sunday In Lent
Lord God, heavenly Father, who by Thy Son didst feed five thousand men in the desert with five loaves and two fishes: We beseech Thee to abide graciously also with us in the fullness of Thy blessing. Preserve us from avarice and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things perceive Thy fatherly goodness, through Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God world without end. Amen.

When He Had Given Thanks

Recent and future plans of our government show that federal officials do not learn from history. The Roman Empire controlled most of the civilized world but suffered from many different monetary crises. The early Christians had to live with the impact of a distant and all-powerful government, just as we do.

In this Gospel lesson, Jesus accomplished what no one else on earth could do. He transformed one boy’s lunch into a miraculous abundance, which was so great that every one was full - and gigantic baskets of fragments remained.

Jesus saw an enormous crowd coming toward Him, so he asked Philip what to do. Philip responded that a certain sum of money was not enough to feed everyone and anyway – where would they find a place to buy food in the desert? Andrew opined that they found one boy with some bread and fish, but that was insignificant among so many.

Jesus said this to test him, so we have a record of the dialogue between the Savior and His disciple. Philip’s answer has two parts, which sounds like so many council meetings:
1) We do not have the money.
2) If we had the money, it still could not be done.
3) There is a supply of food, but it is not enough.

One church secretary lobbied for new carpeting in her office. When the council voted for it, she said, her voice cracking, “I just want to know where all the money is coming from.” Her husband was a Ford executive (1970s) when company generosity knew no bounds. The congregation had thousands of dollars squirreled away in various funds and no debt. The congregation often met challenges by having another commercial fund-raising activity. Their version of the Feeding of the Five Thousand was to turn one pound of meat into a meal for the entire congregation, and to charge dearly for it.

When Jesus heard Philip’s reply, He had the men seated. Note this:

“Now there was much grass in the place.”

That means they were at an oasis. In a desert, there will be grass only where there is a water supply. Otherwise, 5,000 men and their families would be fainting away.

Bravehearts at the Grand Canyon like to hike down the trail to the bottom. They forget that they need a lot of water and food. One man hiked down but could not go up again. In the daytime it was too hot. In the nighttime it was too dangerous to find the path. He stayed near a stream and hallucinated until they found him, still alive. That is just a glimpse at what people faced in the desert at the time of Jesus. They might reach a brackish water source and have to drink what the animals refused to taste.

So we should picture the crowd as one which was drawn to Jesus for various reasons. He provided the Word and taught it with clarity and authority. As the rest of the chapter shows, others would follow only if He did things their way. These disciples fell away because they did not like His teaching. And yet the experts say that the cure for all ills is making disciples who make disciples who make disciples.

KJV John 6:60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it? 61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? 62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? 63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. 65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. 66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.

Although they were at an oasis with plenty of grass of water, the crowd needed food. Jesus had them sit down.

John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would.

When He had given thanks – Jesus might have transformed the loaves and fish without the spoken Word, but He gave thanks in the midst of so much want. He thanked God, which is something the Jehovah’s Witnesses (who came to my house) cannot comprehend. Their lack of understanding proves that Jesus is not the Son of God – so they claim. I said, “My dog doesn’t understand it either.” That made them angry.

Jesus gave thanks in the midst of want, and so should we. As Peter Schiff said so eloquently, we have been spending on luxuries for years and borrowing from the world for those luxuries. Now the stuff has lost its value but the debt remains. We have garage sales all over our neighborhood. I always say to college classes, who brag about their cell phones and all the features they pay for – “Have a garage sale. That is what your things are worth. Not what you paid, plus interest, but what the people will pay you with cash.” One man let his college-aged son spend $1500 on his cell phone in two months and blamed the cell phone company for the cost. I said, “Why not let your son pay his own bill? That will change his attitude.” The father scowled at me.

One young man asked me if he could repair my windshield at the car wash. I could tell he needed some cash, so I let him. I thought it might save me some trouble later. He told me about spending $60,000 on his truck. A young woman said she had a vehicle that cost her $2,000 a month in payments, gas, and insurance. Later, she and her husband left town with no forwarding address and no phone number. Now the credit bubble has burst and my favorite bookstore is offering collectible books at 50% off. It’s my favorite store because I can enjoy a museum trip in book collecting for free and leave without guilt.

They say the sign of the Wall Street bubble, just before the Great Depression, was a shoeshine boy talking about his investments. We had two Mexican students from college come by to do some electrical work. They were talking about how hard it was to buy a house before they others had it bought already. Far too many of my students were either in real estate or the mortgage business. The money rolled in for many of these people.

What Jesus accomplished in the desert was a miracle of the Word. Anyone troubled over Holy Communion should consider the Feeding of the Multitude. We cannot understand or grasp either one. Both are mysteries, revealed to us. A mystery is something beyond our understanding – such as the Holy Trinity, Creation by the Word, the Incarnation, the Atonement. Once God reveals these mysteries to us, everything in Christian doctrine is in perfect harmony.

Here is the beginning of the Feeding of the Multitude:

John 6:11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples,

The Last Supper in Mark:

KJV Mark 14:23 And he took the cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them: and they all drank of it.

The Words of Institution in Corinthians:

KJV 1 Corinthians 11:24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

Some people look at the mysteries and make fun of them. John Calvin was a Christian, but he subjected the Bible to his rationalistic analysis. So he made fun of the Real Presence in his Institutes. He was confused about the Two Natures of Christ and the Incarnation, so he was also confused about Holy Communion. Not surprisingly, Calvinists turn into Unitarians in one generation. Doubts about Holy Communion become doubts about the divinity of Christ. There is a saying which is true for Calvinists and Calvinistic countries – “Young Calvinist, old Unitarian.”

A pastor is a “steward of the mysteries of God” because these mysteries are not for us to trifle with. God has given us a great treasure in Holy Communion, so we do not hide it or act embarrassed about it, as if a mystery of God would keep God’s Church from accomplishing His will.

As I recall, one Roman Catholic missionary simply set up shop in China and began saying Mass. Eventually the ruler wanted to know about Christianity and people were converted. This may be mythical. But it is entirely different from hiding the Gospel behind a popcorn machine in the hopes that people will stop by for snacks and wi-fi, but stay for something that shames the stewards of the mysteries of God – the Gospel.

KJV 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

Jesus provided so abundantly that the entire crowd was satisfied and 12 baskets of bread fragments were gathered up. The word for basket is “coffin,” which suggests a man-sized basket, not a tiny offering basket. That amount is far beyond anyone’s comprehension and defies all rationalistic explanations.

In the same way, Jesus provided for us by establishing Holy Communion. Already at the Last Supper, He said, “This is My body, give for you, for the forgiveness of sin.” Since then millions have received His body and His blood.

He provides the instruments of His grace in great abundance. Anyone in the world can hear the Gospel, one way or another. Ways to distribute the Gospel message are even more far-reaching than ever before.

This chapter in John has strange contrasts in it, because Jesus foreshadowed Holy Communion with this miraculous Feeding. His message was spiritual rather than material, but he crowd wanted to make Him king.

Luther commented on this text. God certainly provides for our material needs, but “a roast goose will not fly into our mouths.” He wrote about the need to work for our material needs while trusting that God would provide.

When young adults complain about how hard it can be, I ask, “How many people swim 90 miles through shark-infested water to reach Cuba? No one! They swim here, and you are already here.” (One woman came from a criminal family. Everyone was on welfare and stole to make extra money. She said it was difficult to leave that life because it was so easy, to collect benefits and to profit from crime.)

Life will be difficult in the years to come. The Forbes billionaire list said most of the wealthiest lost 50% of their wealth, like everyone else. That will continue to have an impact on everything. My Evangelical students tell me they are learning how to live frugally, which was the only way in the Great Depression.
The Scriptures teach us that God will take care of our material needs, our greatest worry – which should be our least. He provides for our spiritual needs in great abundance. That should be the source of our greatest joy. In everything we should give thanks.

Lobet den Herren alle, die ihn ehren

All Praise the Lord, All Who Honor Him.

1. Lobet den Herren alle, die ihn ehren; lasst uns mit Freuden seinem Namen singen und Preis und Dank zu seinem Altar bringen. Lobet den Herren!

All praise the Lord, who honor Him; let us sing his name with joy and bring praise and thanks to His altar. All praise the Lord.

2. Der unser Leben, das er uns gegeben, in dieser Nacht so väterlich bedecket / und aus dem Schlaf uns fröhlich auferwecket: Lobet den Herren!

He who our life has given, in this night has covered us so fatherly and wakes us joyfully from sleep, All praise the Lord.

3. Dass unsre Sinnen / wir noch brauchen können / und Händ und Füße, Zung und Lippen regen, das haben wir zu danken seinem Segen. Lobet den Herren!

That we can use our senses, move our hands and feet, tongue and lips, we owe His blessing. All praise the Lord.

4. Dass Feuerflammen / uns nicht allzusammen / mit unsern Häusern unversehns gefressen, das macht's, dass wir in seinem Schoß gesessen. Lobet den Herren!

The flames of fire will not devour our homes, He wills that we sit in His castle. All praise the Lord.

5. Dass Dieb und Räuber / unser Gut und Leiber / nicht angetast' und grausamlich verletzet, dawider hat sein Engel sich gesetzet. Lobet den Herren!

That thief and robber, our goods and life cannot take, for His angel has been appointed. All praise the Lord.

6. O treuer Hüter, Brunnen aller Güter, ach lass doch ferner über unser Leben / bei Tag und Nacht dein Hut und Güte schweben. Lobet den Herren!

O faithful Guardain, wellspring of all goodness, by day and night Your Guard and Goodness hover. All praise the Lord.

7. Gib, dass wir heute, Herr, durch dein Geleite / auf unsern Wegen unverhindert gehen / und überall in deiner Gnade stehen. Lobet den Herren!

Give us that we today, Lord, through Your escorts, go on our way unhindered and remain in Your grace. All praise the Lord.

8. Treib unsern Willen, dein Wort zu erfüllen; lehr uns verrichten heilige Geschäfte, und wo wir schwach sind, da gib du uns Kräfte. Lobet den Herren!

Strengthen our will to fulfill Your Word; teach us holy ways; and where we are weak, there give us strength. All praise the Lord.

9. Richt unsre Herzen, dass wir ja nicht scherzen / mit deinen Strafen, sondern fromm zu werden / vor deiner Zukunft uns bemühn auf Erden. Lobet den Herren!

Direct our hearts, that we do not trifle with Your judgments, but remain pious before Your future reign on earth. All praise the Lord.

10. Herr, du wirst kommen / und all deine Frommen, die sich bekehren, gnädig dahin bringen, da alle Engel ewig, ewig singen: >Lobet den Herren!<

Lord, you will soon come, and all Your believers, those who are converted, bring them in with grace, where all the angels, always always sing out, All praise the Lord.

Paul Gerhardt 1607-1676


Quotations

"Nothing in the world so effectively hinders faith as mammon, or riches, on the one hand and poverty on the other. He who is rich and has something simply ignores God's Word and treads it underfoot. So the Gospel speaks of those who are invited to the great supper but 'cannot' attend because of their acre, oxen, wife, etc. (Luke 14) He who is poor does everything that pleases the devil and the world in order to stave off poverty."
What Luther Says, ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 435. John 6:1?15; Luke 14.

"How does it happen that although all of us are certainly Christians, or at least want to be such, we do not take this attitude of unconcern and neither comfort ourselves with abundance and surplus nor are frightened by want and by worrying about it? For if we faithfully and devotedly cling to God's Word, there shall be no want. Christ takes care of us, and from this it must follow
that we shall have something to eat."
What Luther Says, I, p. 436.

Children
"Children are the most delightful pledges of a loving marriage. They are the best wool on the sheep."
What Luther Says, I, p. 137.

"We should deal with children in such a way that they do not fear their parents, but that they know that they are offending God if they do not fear their parents."
What Luther Says, I, p. 142.

"Chastise them when they deserve it, but accompany the correction with affectionate words so that they do not become disheartened and expect nothing good from you. It is very bad if a son loves someone else more than his father. The father should give some sort of proof that there is no intention entirely to crush the child. The Law alone serves no good purpose; in fact, it is intolerable."
What Luther Says, I, p. 142. 1533, Ephesians 6:4.

The Small Catechism
P: Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his cattle, nor anything that is thy neighbor's. What does this mean?
C: We should fear and love God that we may not estrange, force, or entice away from our neighbor his wife, servants, or cattle, but urge them to stay and do their duty.
P: What does God say of all these commandments?
C: He says thus: I, the Lord, thy God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me, and showing mercy unto thousands of them that love Me and keep My commandments.

Why the Meltdown Should Have Surprised No One, By Peter SchiffWho Predicted the Credit Bubble

More Driscoll-Copying from the Rock and Roll Church Nurtured and Suckled by VP Don Patterson

Rock and Roll must have been established by Church and Change to be a Mark Driscoll franchise. Doebler is following an entire Driscoll series, just as Ski is repeating a Craig Groeschel series. Why not channel Luther for a change?


Rev. Mark will speak on the rapture soon. Will Rev. Matt?

Driscoll.

Doebler.

Atheist Rabbi from Harvard Steals a March on Church and Change

Atheist rabbi Epstein follows Church Growth methods too.

God-less 'congregations' planned for humanists

By JAY LINDSAY – 2 days ago

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — The monthly schedule is church-like, with its parenting classes, guest speakers and small group meetings to hash out shared beliefs. But God isn't part of this Cambridge congregation.

Greg Epstein, the humanist chaplain at Harvard University, is building a God-free model of community that he hopes helps humanists increase in numbers and influence.

Epstein sees potential in research showing that there are more people with no religion. In the latest American Religious Identification Survey, released this month, 15 percent of respondents in 2008 said they had no religion, compared to 8.2 percent in 1990. Epstein believes that group includes large numbers of people who are humanist, but have never identified themselves that way and can be reached.

At the same time, there is broader acceptance of those with no faith, as indicated by President Barack Obama's mention of "nonbelievers" in his inaugural address, Epstein said.

Definitions of humanism vary. Generally, humanists reject belief in the supernatural and are guided by reason, experience and compassion for others. Epstein defines the philosophy as a commitment to living ethical, personally fulfilling lives while serving the greater good.

Epstein wants to plant local humanist centers nationwide that perform many of the community-building functions of a church, only in service of the humanist creed. He will promote his idea as he tours the country to promote his book, "Good Without God," which is scheduled to be published by HarperCollins later this year. Epstein will receive assistance and funding from groups such as the American Humanist Association and the Secular Student Alliance, which have chapters they hope to strengthen and multiply.

"There are so many millions of people out there who basically share our views, that we've got room for everybody," Epstein said. "What we're doing here has got to grow even more."

Raised as a Reform Jew, Epstein studied Taoism and Buddhism before he became a humanist. He earned a master's degree in Judaic studies from the University of Michigan and a master's of theological studies from Harvard Divinity School. In 2005, he was ordained as a rabbi by the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism. The movement says it combines reason, human experience, Jewish culture and ethical insights from Jewish tradition.

While many humanists reject anything that hints at organized religion, Epstein is freely borrowing from it — from the "small group" format familiar in evangelical churches to calling his group a "congregation."

Paul Kurtz, founder of the Council for Secular Humanism, disagrees with that approach, saying humanists are building secular communities that show people don't need religion to get together "in a joyful mood and do good works." But that's undermined when religious words are used to describe those communities.

"I don't think we should use the language of religion, that's very confusing," Kurtz said.

Though he supports Epstein, Fred Edwords of the American Humanist Association questions whether a large, untapped pool of potential humanists exists.

"This is a new mission field, if you will, but are those vineyards ripe for the picking?" Edwords said. "I haven't seen sufficient evidence of it."

Still, both men agree that more humanist communities are needed, for mutual support and to offset isolation humanists often feel.

Jenni Acosta, a humanist from Newton who is part of the Harvard humanist parenting group, said the group gives her needed support, and shows her 6-year-old and 10-year-old daughters that other children are being raised the same way. Acosta, 36, said she deals with family and friends who challenge her on how she can raise her kids without the moral guidance a faith provides.

"I think it's reassuring to all of us to know that we're there for each other and there's other examples of people doing it and their kids seem to be turning out OK," Acosta said.

The parenting group started in December and meets monthly with about 10 families. Acosta says trips to local museums and a parenting course called "Compassionate Communication" are planned. The Harvard chaplaincy also hosts "Humanist Small Group" biweekly Sunday brunch discussion and buys drinks at biweekly "Humanist Community Pub Nights." Last month, it hosted holiday-style celebrations around Charles Darwin's 200th birthday and is hosting a talk by humanist writer and director Joss Whedon of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" fame.

Richard Lints, a professor of philosophical theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a prominent evangelical school in Hamilton, Mass., said the humanist desire for greater community is understandable. He believes God "hard-wired" humans to need it.

But he said he doubts humanism can sustain itself in the local congregations Epstein envisions because community is not a natural part of humanism, where the individual is the ultimate source of meaning. If humanism becomes concerned with the "greater good," and a sort of natural moral order that implies, it starts to resemble religion and humanists will back away, he said.

"At the heart of the humanist project is deep individualism," Lints said. "It's always going to be difficult to sustain a real robust community."

To those who say it can't be done, Epstein points to his community at Harvard, and nonstop requests for more services, as a rebuttal. He believes humanists are responsible to make sure their community grows more.

"Salvation is here on earth," he said. "We have evolved over 14 billion years without purpose. Now we want purpose, we need to build it into our own lives."

On the Net:
Greg Epstein: http://www.harvardhumanist.org/about-us/chaplain

***

GJ - I read the first paragraphs to Mrs. Ichabod and said, "Probably a Reformed Jew." The most liberal form of Judaism is often atheistic, which was confirmed by a Jewish friend when she asked the rabbi if he believed in the Jewish rituals. He said, "I don't believe those things happened. We do them because we are Jews." Some liberal Jews also associate with Quakers because of the liberal activism and non-doctrinal attitudes. That led one rabbi to quip, "Some of my best Jews are Friends."

Chaplaincy, athesim, and Church Growth go together hoof-and-claw, as the WELS leaders of Church and Chicanery know. This story reminded me of the assistant pastor who joined Parlow in plagiarizing a Hybels email. Where is he now? - a stealth chaplaincy on a college campus: Point of Grace (Lutheran is whited out). Rev. Church Growth in Columbus was a chaplain and is now an atheist. Does anyone see a pattern?

Methods of organization and brain-washing are the same world-wide. Cells originated in Marxist Russia, as witnessed by the name - Soviet Russia. A soviet is a cell group, and Marxism organized the country by cells. Navy SEALs, learning teams in college, and work teams all use the same system. If a cell is too large, it does not function well.

A small group does not necessarily lead to brain-washing, but small group unity can be powerful in accomplishing various goals. The Brotherhood of the Kingdom was organized to promote the Social Gospel movement in all denominations and succeeded in doing that, in spite of its small size.

Church and Change looted the synod coffers to start their group. Their website gives away the agenda and some of the leaders, but others maintain a low profile to accomplish the will of their Father Below. VP Don Patterson said he had "issues" with Church and Change, but he called John Lawrenz' defense of their methods "pure gold" on the C and C list-serve.

All the Church and Chicanery projects have the same DNA, and their leaders at The Love Shack are the genetic donors:

1. Small groups, whether they are called cell groups, share groups, care groups, affinity groups, koinonia groups, or Bible study groups.
   
2. Reformed doctrine via Pietism and the sanctimony one expects from such nonsense. All the favorite authors are anti-Lutheran and make fun of Lutheran doctrine, as Brother Stetzer did on his blog.
   
3. Pop music and rock bands. Note that the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock cannot really get going until the rock band is ready and the performance stage built.
   
4. Business methods, from the predictable Management by Objective of Drucker to the soporific platitudes of John Maxwell and Napoleon Hill.
   
5. Hatred of the historical liturgy, the Creeds, and the great hymns of the Christian faith.
   
6. Mockery of the Book of Concord.
   
7. Rejection of the efficacy of the Word, replaced with the efficacy of their methods.

Garfield Grade School, Third Grade:The Formative Years

I am in the first row, second from the left.

In two of the three photos I am next to Kathleen Wilcox, who emailed the pictures to me. The Moline High class of 66 is not well represented on Facebook, but that may change slowly.

All my teachers in the Moline system were excellent, devoted to their vocations and their students. Moline was rather small, with a population of 40,000, so people knew each other's families. The teachers were close-knit, so they all knew me. Spy cameras are pretty crude compared to a flock of watchful teachers all over town.

We enjoyed the perks of a private school without the cost. Discipline was swift and sure, so it was seldom needed. Here is one case.

A boy spit at another boy. My mother (his teacher) said, "Spit on my hand, Bob." He said, "Why?" She said, "Never mind. Spit on my hand." He spit. "Spit more." He did as he was told. "Spit more." He did, knowing something was up. She then smeared it all over his face. As my friend told me the story, he added, "Bob never spit again."

At our 40th reunion, the spitter, now a lawyer in a big city, said, "Greg. You should write a book about your mother. She was a remarkable teacher."

Garfield Grade School in Moline, Illinois

I am on the extreme right, first row. Do stripes make me look fat?

Miss Hallie Emory was our fifth grade teacher. I learned later that she never finished her college degree. In the early days, teachers went to the Normal School (in Normal Illinois) for a year and often taught in one-room country schools. My mother did that but slowly earned her degree at Augustana College in Rock Island, later a master's at the University of Illinois. She often talked about teaching all grades in a one-room country school.

Miss Emory loved kids and also made them behave. She was proud of how she looked at a student once and made me choke on the candy he was trying to eat furtively. One basilisk stare from Miss Emory was enough to turn all of us into jelly.

Portrait of the Artist as a Young Rocker

I am in the second row, third from the left, as someone noted. Note the Buddy Holly look, long before the Day the Music Died.

---

Ken Schmidt has left a new comment on your post "Portrait of the Artist as a Young Rocker":

Hey, is that Garfield, NJ or some other Garfield?

***

GJ - Garfield Grade School in Moline, Illinois, about 1959 or 60. Three of us from that 6th grade cohort at Garfield went to Yale, and we all knew each other quite well.

All the schools in Moline were named after Republicans, except for Woodrow Wilson Junior High. How Wilson got in there, I will never know. I went to two junior high schools, due to a boundary change: John Deere Junior High and Coolidge Junior High. My last public school had the unimaginative name of Moline Senior High School.

We usually walked to grade school, past the Teske Hardware Store. We knew the Teske family. The long way home took us past Whitey's Ice Cream. We knew the owners too. The daughter of the county GOP chairman, Martha Getz, was in my class. Her older brother became semi-famous in Hollywood in such movies as The Fly I and II and Blood Simple - John Getz, exactly two years old than I.

Church Growth Produces Another Atheist: Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered, As Corky Wrote

Evangelicals skewer the Emerging Church. Lutheran leaders lap it up - with some exceptions.

I wrote before about WELS Church Growther Curt Peterson joining Freedom From Religion to work against all religion. A layman wrote me:

Oh yes, the Freedom From Religion folks. It has ironically occured to me that they have a pretty high understanding of and respect for the efficacy of God's Word. Don't you think? Or Satan acting through them does. That's why they are always having it removed from public places and so forth. I looked up Curtis Peterson and saw an article and pictures of them removing the 10 commandments in Milwaukee I think. So THEY know how powerful it is and how it will and does change hearts and minds. I don't think it's really about the fear of those trying to get some "establishment of a state religion" thing.

The same friend wrote about another WELS Church Shrinker, who was welcomed to Columbus as a messiah by Wally Oelhafen. The Rev. Shrinker polarized the congregation before being exposed as a false teacher. Now he is an avowed atheist who sleeps in when his family goes to church on Sunday. "He will have nothing to do with God anymore and very matter of factly proclaims his atheism."

The studious layman said this about the Church Shrinkers:

I was just talking to an old friend this weekend. Much of the day we talked of the CGM stuff in WELS and such. I can only come to this conclusion, I think that some pastors and leaders that have been taken have been beguiled. Literally beguiled. That's the most accurate description I can give what I have seen. Is that an accurate way to say it in your opinion? I can't find any other way to express what I have seen in the last 15 years or so as it has slowly taken hold. What is even more interesting is that I read an interview my a music retailing magazine with KISS founder Gene Simmons (I can't stand the guy). Simmons's comments on getting more and more (in his case money and women) and marketing and greed could have easily been modified to be a message right from Fuller or Willow Creek. Just a different product. Basically "listen to your audience and give them what they want and sell them other things that they aren't expecting." I was amazed at how hard this hit me......the correlation I mean. From this devil man comes the same thing as the CGM/new paradigm church product.

Crashed on Tweetdeck

I resisted Twitter for almost a year, after trying it once. I am finding Facebook useful, so I thought that Twitter might be. My resistance crumbled when a good friend added himself as a Twitter follower.

I found it amusing that one of the Church and Changers added himself to my non-functioning Twitter. I had him figured as the guy who warned Pastor Rick that his giving statistics and Sweet were mentioned on Ichabod.

So I am linking a number of Twitters on the left. If you want to add yourself to mine, I will think of something intelligent to say. You can follow the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock from their Twitters, linked conveniently on the left. The links run a little behind for some reason.

Tonight's Psalm

KJV Psalm 4:2 O ye sons of men, how long will ye turn my glory into shame? how long will ye love vanity, and seek after leasing?

Mid-week Lenten Service

The Risen Christ, by Norma Boeckler

Mid-Week Lenten Vespers


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 6 PM Phoenix Time

Thursdays after tonight.
The Hymn #558 Tallis Canon
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 4 p. 123
The Lection Passion Harmony, TLH
The Sermon Hymn #245 St. Crispin

The Sermon – The Little Gospel
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45
The Hymn #376 Toplady

KJV John 3:10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. 21 But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God.

Luther said about John 3:16 – This verse should be written in golden letters on the heart.
The context is interesting because the John 3 section is one of the more distorted passages in Protestantism. This is where many rest their claim, “You must be born again.” For them, that means an adult conversion experience.

The context and many related passages show that Jesus did not say, “You must have an adult conversion experience.”

He said, “You must be water-Spirit baptized,” and that is a very concise way of saying that baptism offers what God promises. In other words, it is a sacrament, to use our shorthand.

“You must be born from above” is the real meaning of Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus.

All false religion is based on being born from below, from man’s effort. Either he performs works and makes sacrifices to appease God or he accumulates virtue in some way to make himself acceptable to God. “Making a decision” is being born from below, from man’s intellectual effort. Fides formata (Roman Catholic) is faith with works added, or being born from below.

Being born from above can only come from the Holy Spirit working through the Word. The ancients, when they fell away from the revealed truths of God, wandered around trying to determine where God was to be found. They made up the most absurd legends and myths. Many of these stories are barely known because they are too absurd or crude to be told.

God had made His will known in the plainest way possible. His Word always accomplishes His will, (Is 55:8-11) so that means the Holy Spirit is never apart from His Word. There is no independent operation of the Holy Spirit, separated from the Word. And the Word is never without the power of the Holy Spirit.

That is – it must be God’s Word to have the power of the Holy Spirit. If a sermon is about “How to be popular and successful,” that is man’s word and devoid of the Holy Spirit. Worse is the attempt to bend an actual text and turn it into man’s philosophy. Man’s philosophy is always based on works and the Law. If someone wants to test that, listen to the language being used. Wait for – You must do this, and you cannot do that. That is law language.

I read a thesis where a liberal Lutheran applauded Robert Schuller’s maxim that “sin is not believing hard enough.” Schuller is an advocate for Napoleon Hill’s philosophy and for what Norman Vincent Peale plagiarized from an occult source. In both cases, the imagination has special powers to re-create the world (see also Nightingale Conant). In that little maxim sin and faith are both distorted so they serve another interest, which is opposition to God’s Word in the name of God. The conclusion is – You must believe harder. Believe in what? “Believe in yourself. Believe in the power of the your dreams.” Faith is turned into works, man-centered works.

In contrast, the Little Gospel is quite different. We call it the Little Gospel because it states the message of Christ in one, easy-to-memorize verse. When students learn Greek, they turn to John 3:16, because the verse is easy and enjoyable to translated. The words are very simple, plain and easy to understand.

The first phrase reveals the gracious love of God toward all:

God so loved the world.

Jesus, in John’s Gospel, also reveals how the world rejected Jesus and would reject His followers. But God’s love is far beyond man’s grasp. His love is all-encompassing, above and beyond man’s ability to understand. Grace means – free and without strings attached.

Instead of God loving us after we love Him, the reverse is true. We love God because He first loved us.

That He gave His only-begotten Son.

The phrase “only-begotten” is still the best, because “only son” is so quickly distorted by man. In the movie “Oh God,” Jesus is called God’s Son. But so is Moses and Mohammed. So what can that term mean? Only-begotten is very precise, pointing to “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary…”

We are called children of God (as believers) and sons of God (as believers) but Jesus is the only-begotten Son.

That whosoever believeth in Him…

Unlike all the false religions of the world, the Little Gospel has no demand of the Law for salvation. No extra law requirements are added to “any person who trusts in Him for salvation.” Once again, whosoever is very precise in making it clear that no believer is excluded on the basis of prior sins or station in life. No one is too old or too young. Babies also trust in Him, from the moment of baptism, because they are born from above, by water-Spirit baptism.

should not perish
The issue is not whether we will die or not. The word perish sums up two concepts at once – both death and eternal condemnation. To show what “not perish” means, the opposite is stated.

but have everlasting life.

Everlasting life, eternal salvation – that rests upon God giving His Son to us, and that message of divine grace produces faith in His gracious love in Christ. In faith we receive the Promises of God, and those Promises in the Word produce faith in our hearts.

17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. 18 He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

In the verses following the Little Gospel are an explanation of justification without using the term which Paul favored. Only those who believe in Christ are forgiven, saved, and given eternal life. Those who do not believe on condemned for their non-belief. In fact, as another verse clearly states, they are not forgiven (justified) because the wrath of God remains on unbelievers.

KJV John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

The Gospel of John is especially clear about the Biblical message – there are 1) believers in Christ, and there are 2) unbelievers. The world has only two categories, no more.

Finally, this passage includes the statement that false people hide their works because their works are evil. People laugh about my stealth term, but that is the best way to describe false teachers and their works. They always want to work under the radar. They hate being quoted. They hate having their work evaluated in the light of the Scriptures. They claim they can be more effective if they distance themselves from God’s Word. Sadly, they cannot bear to teach the whole counsel of God found in John 3:16. They always conclude, “Look at all the good things we have done in God’s Name.”

God says, “Look at what I have done for you, long before you ever existed.”

Spoiling the Egyptians - Luther via Walther

Figs From Thistles? Not According to Martin Luther


Luther, House Postil: "No one is so foolish as to go into a field full of thorns and thistles and look for grapes and figs. Such fruits we seek on a different plant, which is not so full of barbs and prickles. The same thing happens in our gardens. Seeing a tree full of apples or pears, everybody exclaims: Ah, what a fine tree that is! Again, where there is no fruit on a tree or the fruit is worm-eaten, cracked, and misshapen, everybody says the tree is worthless, fit to be cut down and cast into the fire, so that a better tree may be planted in its place. These tests, the Lord says, you must apply to the false prophets, and you will not make a mistake, no matter how good their appearance may be. If f wolf had put on twenty sheepskins, still you must know him to be a wolf and not be deceived by him."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans. W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House 1897, p. 412.