ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Every So Often,
They Take a Break from Schwaermer Conferences To Do Church
pastorski
http://yfrog.com/10y7fj Lunch @ The Crab Pot with @glende78 & @kstrandlund.
KJV Romans 16:17 Now I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them. 18 For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple.
Recent Schwaermer Conferences, Known Attendees:
Facebook Drive Conference
***
GJ - Someone opined that they were Tweeting false information so they could denounce the lies on Ichabod. I have had that attempted three different times. One was a report of a pastor's adultery and leaving the ministry (utterly false). Another was an ex-pastor from WELS being welcomed back (also false). A third example was more recent.
As of this date, I have no precise information on the conference, but there is this from Tim Glende's congregation:
PASTOR CONFERENCE
Pastor Tim will be gone from Tuesday – Thursday, May 19-22nd . If an emergency arises,
please contact Pastor Christenson @ 733-7225 or his new cell# 419-4195.
http://www.stpetercares.com/home/2440/2440/docs/Church%20Bulletin%20Non%20Communion%20Sunday051709.doc?sec_id=2440
5/15/2009 Church Bulletin from 5/17/09
When Glende went to the Drive 09 Babtist Worship Conference with Ski, Buske, Katy, and four other WELS pastors, the trip was announced in his St. Peter bulletin the same way - implying a WELS conference but not identifying the actual name or place of the Atlanta conference. So I have to assume it is a Schwaermer conference or a Church and Change gathering to plan their split.
---
rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Every So Often, They Take a Break from Schwaermer ...":
This reminds me a little bit of what Luther said about what you get with a pilgrimage to Rome; a bad conscience, a ruined stomach and an empty purse. It is worse today. These pilgrims' consciences cannot be pricked. Their purses will not be emptied as they probably are not spending much of their own money.
Mark Driscoll: The Cussing Pastor, Church and Change Fave
One Fad to rule them all, One Fad to find them,
One Fad to neuter all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mars Hill where the popcorn pops.
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Ski, Katie, and Glende in Seattle - For a Game?":
Should we make it nine Nazgûl chasing the Ring?
Much that once was, is lost.
For none now live that remember it.
It began with the forging of the great rings.
Three were given to the Sausage Factory WELveS, immortal, wisest, and fairest of all beings in their own minds.
Seven to the LittleSect dwarf Lords.
Nine rings were given to the race of Enthusiast-Praise Bands, who above all things desire power.
But they were all of them deceived, for another ring was made. Near the land of Mars Hill, in the Popcorn Kettle of Doom, the Evil Foe forged in secret... a master ring to dominate all others. Into this ring he poured his cruelty, his malice, and his will to deprive the world of the simple, pure Gospel. One Church Growth Ring to Rule Them All.
One by one the confessional churches fell through the deception of the Church Growth Ring. But there were some who resisted.
A last alliance of LC-Men_S and WELveS marched against the armies of Church Growth. In the land of Fuller, on the slopes of Willow Creek, they fought for the freedom of the unrestrained Gospel.
It was in this moment, when all hope had faded, that Ichabod, Son of the King, took up his Fathers' Sword...
(all in good fun)
+ Diet O. Worms
---
Ski caption: "Way cool."
Ski, Katie, and Glende in Seattle - For a Game?
Bishop Katie's Tweet:
In Seattle. Forgot how much I LOVE the pacific northwest
about 11 hours ago from Tweetie
The St Peter's bulletin says that Pastor Tim Glende is at a "Pastors Conference: May 19 - May 21."
Because this is graduation and call week, there are likely no WELS Pastors Conference during this time.
Mars Hill pastor Mark Driscoll is headquartered in Seattle. He is a favorite false teacher among the Church and Chicaneries.
Mark Driscoll lies?
That is all I have for the moment. Ski, Katie, and Glende discoverd their Tweets are being circulated with gusto, shock, and disgust, so they are not sharing as much as before. Anyone can check up by calling the congregations involved. Tain't my synod, as the Shrinkers keep reminding me.
Pure guesswork:
The trio has barely unpacked from the awesome Drive 09 Conference with Andy Stanley and five other WELS pastors. Another Schwaermer conference so soon suggests to me that Church and Change is developing an exit strategy for its congregations.
That would make more sense out of the Popcorn Cathedral of Rock. Hints suggest that the primary audience of The CORE consists of local WELS members. They could join PCR (aka The CORE) when the split comes.
On this blog Driscoll is called "The Cussing Pastor."
R-rated description of Driscoll content.
Wikipedia entry on Driscoll - pace, Kit.
Driscoll, along with Leif Moi, Mike Gunn, and the Acts 29 network of independent churches, is part of the missional theology community that adheres to classical Calvinist, or Reformed, theology and views their mission as communicating this school of theology to "modern" people (Emerging Reformed). (Wickedpeida)
Holy Word in Austin--
Kudu Don Patterson--Got Their Vicar.
Is This One Free?
I hope you are as bad a shot as Kudu Don."
VP Don Patterson has a vicar assigned. Here is the link.
Paul A. Bowe from Menominee Falls was the #4 draft pick.
Un-CGM congregations never get one, in spite of requesting one, year after year.
Everyone wants to know - Is this vicar free too?
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Wisconsin Lutheran College Keynote Speaker in the News: Archbishop Weakland
Sex-abuse victims group rebuffs Weakland’s naiveté claim
By Annysa Johnson of the Journal Sentinel
Posted: May. 18, 2009
Weakland says in his forthcoming memoir, “A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church”: “We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature.” .
. Weakland says in his forthcoming memoir, “A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church”: “We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature.” Close Advocates for victims of Catholic clergy sex abuse on Monday released documents they say refute claims by retired Archbishop Rembert G. Weakland that he did not understand early on the criminal nature of the abuse or its long-term effects on victims.
They also disputed statements that he attempted to deal with pedophile priests but was thwarted by Vatican policy.
Weakland makes those assertions in his forthcoming memoir, "A Pilgrim in a Pilgrim Church," saying at one point, "We all considered sexual abuse of minors as a moral evil, but had no understanding of its criminal nature."
The Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests took issue with the claims, and on Monday released documents from a civil fraud case involving the late Father Lawrence Murphy, who is thought to have abused as many as 200 deaf children in the 1960s and '70s.
"He likes to position himself as a critic of the Vatican, the one bishop who stood up to challenge the system," SNAP Midwest Director Peter Isely said of Weakland, in releasing the documents outside the archdiocese's Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist.
"He never once stood up against the system when it came to the molestation and rape of boys" by Murphy at St. John School for the Deaf in St. Francis, where Murphy worked for two decades, Isely said.
Weakland did not return a telephone call seeking comment.
In a statement, the archdiocese said it has acknowledged for many years the allegations against Murphy included in the documents. The abuse committed by Murphy "thirty years ago was a horrendous betrayal of his priestly vows," said the statement. It said Murphy's name appears on the archdiocese's list of clergy offenders and that the archdiocese has instituted policies to ensure that such abusers no longer serve as priests.
In his book, the retired archbishop says that in the 1970s, he "naively" accepted the notion that victims would either forget or "grow out of" the abuse. He blames the leniency shown by judges toward priests (and other professionals) in sex abuse cases for shaping his views on the perpetrators.
The documents released Monday include victim statements recounting their memories and anguish from as early as 1974; a reference to a 1974 review of allegations against Murphy by the Milwaukee County district attorney's office (no charges were filed because the statute of limitations had expired); and a letter showing Weakland was preoccupied - even after the priest's death in 1998 - with preserving his "good name."
In the letter to a nun explaining why he wanted a private funeral for Murphy, Weakland said: "So far, we have succeeded in preserving his reputation, and I hope we are able to do so in the future."
The letter was written five years after a psychotherapist's assessment of Murphy - also included in the documents - detailed how he preyed on vulnerable boys, one as young as 11, after they confided in him in the confessional.
Murphy, who died in 1998, is at the center of one of the civil fraud cases now pending against the Milwaukee Archdiocese. In it, Donald Marshall, now an adult, said he was molested by Murphy at a school in northern Wisconsin in the late 1970s after the priest was sent by the Milwaukee Archdiocese to live and work in Boulder Junction.
Cheap Shots from the Shrinkers Make My Day
Bailing Water
Anonymouse said...
>>>WLC is not as mission-minded and is not under synod oversight. There have been things that have gone on there (just read GJ) that a synodically-funded school would not have done. <<<
Surely you don't believe anything Gregory Jackson writes. It doesn't take much intelligence to see the guy's a little off base in his claims and accusations. Anyone who has enough time to stalk multiple synods as he does, obviously isn't doing much positive outreach for Christ.
---
Bishop Katie
Up and our (sic) the door before 8am. This is a rare ocassion.
6:04 AM May 18th from Tweetie
***
GJ - I am walking Sassy by 5:30 AM every day. That might explain why I have time to blog, write my own sermons, and publish books. Fortunately, I now work exclusively from home, since everything I do is online. I do wonder about people who have time to comment anonymousely on two different blogs - every day. Is that a constructive, edifying, and Gospel-spreading hobby?
Doebler - District Popes Approve Rock and Roll, Copy and Paste Lutheran Church
Answer: They are Kelmed.
Matt Doebler's sermon:
Hasnt Christianity been an Agent of Oppression hypocrisy, Jesus Christ, oppression, church.
This sermon and more from Presbyterian minister Tim Keller can be found here:
Right-click "Download" and select 'save target/link as' to listen to sermons related to Tim Keller's book The Reason for God from the series The Trouble with Christianity: Why it's so Hard to Believe it.
Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? 1 Peter 1:3-12 Download
Literalism: Isn't the Bible historically unreliable and regressive? (AM) Luke 1:1-4; 24:13-32
Doebler Sermons:
Dont we all have to find truth for ourselves?
Matt Doebler
05-03-2009
4 listens
How can there be only one true religion?
Matt Doebler
04-19-2009
9 listens
Open the Gates for the King of Glory!
Matt Doebler
04-05-2009
7 listens
The Rebel's Guide to Joy in Poverty (another borrowed series - Mark Driscoll)
Matt Doebler
03-15-2009
30 listens
The Rebel's Guide to Joy in Exhaustion
Matt Doebler
03-01-2009
18 listens
The Rebel's Guide to Joy in Temptation
Matt Doebler
02-15-2009
20 listens
The Rebels Guide to Joy in Death
Matt Doebler
02-01-2009
25 listens
The Rebels Guide to Joy in Loneliness
Matt Doebler
01-18-2009
16 listens
The State of the Church 2009
Matt Doebler
01-04-2009
56 listens
The Hero Follows Through
Matt Doebler
12-21-2008
11 listens
The Hero Delivers
Matt Doebler
12-07-2008
14 listens
The Hero Sacrifices
Jim Radloff
11-23-2008
15 listens
The Hero Heals
Matt Doebler
11-09-2008
24 listens
---
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Doebler - District Popes Approve Rock and Roll, Co...":
One day the light bulb will come on at the Sausage Factory with the answer: WELS central will prepare all the sermons, and email them out to the local pastors. Of course, the local pastors will gladly pay several thousand dollars of offerings each year for the service.
***
GJ - I heard there was a sermon service from The Love Shack. I cannot verify it. At one meeting I suggested shutting down Perish Services and getting everything from Fuller Seminary - direct, instead of filtered. Shocked laughter followed.
WELS Budget Cutting Idea:
Fire the District Popes and VPs
The WELS doctrinal fiasco, which is behind the budget meltdown, is the direct result of District Popes and their underlings doing nothing about false doctrine for 30 years. The DPs and VPs devour a lot of the offerings. Every DP gets a full-time pastor to do his parish work, which is more like the Episcopalian model of having a bishop in a parish with a pastor doing the congregational work.
Another neat thing about being a DP is synod-funded travel - not only to dowdy cities like Milwaukee, but also to faraway missions. No one critical of Holy Mother WELS is going to travel overseas. That includes the Little Sect pastors.
The District Popes have Church and Change congregations in their districts - all their districts. I am not saying the DPs do nothing. They do a lot - encouraging, funding, and defending false doctrine. A recent papal gathering was at VP Patterson's congregation, named Holy Word. (Does anyone laugh when the name is mentioned?) The DPs thought Rock and Roll Lutheran was right just fine. Doebler got more money and time. Copy sermons from false teachers? No problem. All the bigshots in WELS do it.
Patterson put in two requests for free staffmembers. These are tough times: he may only get one free staffer, a vicar.
Did the DPs stop the Leonard Sweet Church and Chicanery conference?
Have they dis-invited Ed Stetzer?
Have they stopped the flow of pastors to Andy Stanley's Drive?
Their only job is to oversee the doctrine of the Christian Church. They have failed that duty in every possible way.
One Synod, Two Minds
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Budget Cuts":
I realize that most "one plan" ideas in the past were not what most people wanted and pushed down the gullets of the delegates. However, in suggesting that the leadership of the synod present one plan instead of two, my intention was to give one plan, but not shove it down the throats of the delegates. Instead, my thought was that they would be there is any optional information the floor committee and plenary committee wants and would have solid data to back it up.
This issue I have with two plans is that the leadership seems to have indicated their favored position by calling it Option A. It would also seem that, in offering two positions, they can favor one (A) by making the other unacceptable to many (B), with the closing of MLS.
As I see it, the two options making the closing of MLS such a hot potato that the synod leadership did not want to deal with it, so they are leaving it up to the floor committee to make the decision, thus relieving the synod's leadership of negative PR.
Instead of good leadership, it see (sic) it is the cleverest political move they (sic) synodical council could have devised. They are off the hook completely. When all it said and done, they can say, "We had nothing to do with it. It was your decision, and we are simply carrying out the decision of the convention." To me, the two option plan either shows indecision by the synodical leaders or fear of again being the bad guys.
***
GJ- The Synodical Council has such people as Safari Timmerman on it. He stated that most worship is adiaphora anyway, that WELS is clearly failing, that something must be done.
Something has been done--for the last 30 years--by the Shrinkers: Patterson, Valleskey, Roth, Huebner, Olson, Bivens, Bruce Becker, The Love Shack Staff, and The Sausage Factory.
WELS has been trying to put a Corvair engine in a Chevvy, anti-confessional marketing efforts to make a Means of Grace body grow. So it has shrunked up considerably while wasting millions of dollars.
As one sage observer mentioned to me in a signed email, the schools have fixed costs. It makes no sense to take away $1 million from the schools (as the Timmerman SC gang wants) to help fund a nebulous concept of missions. I would tell the SC, if invited, "You made your bed. Now lie in it."
Monday, May 18, 2009
WELS Budget Cuts
Candidates for ministry: blessings from a gracious God
From the office of President Mark Schroeder
At Martin Luther College and at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, God is again demonstrating his love for his church by providing dozens of young people who are led by him to say, "Here am I; send me!"
Last week at Martin Luther College, 80 candidates for the teaching ministry were assigned to their field of service. As they received their calls, our entire synod was reminded of God's promises for the future. These newly minted teachers will enter elementary schools, early childhood programs, prep schools, and Lutheran high schools. They are well prepared to teach and to guide and to encourage. Most important, they are equipped to play a vital role in teaching future generations of God's people to know the love of Christ.
This week at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, vicars and graduates will be assigned. The vicars will spend the next year learning the practical aspects of the pastoral ministry before returning for their final year of seminary studies. Graduates will be assigned to their first year of service in the pastoral ministry. They, too, represent God's precious gifts to his church—young men who will continue to proclaim God's truth and to share the comfort of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
When so many other church bodies are experiencing shortages of workers, we count it as a special blessing that we have been blessed with such a large number of young people willing to dedicate their lives to full-time service in the church.
At Martin Luther College, there were 21 candidates available for service anywhere who were not assigned on call day. We do not yet know if any seminary graduates will not be assigned later this week.
The assignment process for both pastors and teachers, however, does not end. Throughout the coming months, the Conference of Presidents will assign candidates as soon as they receive requests from congregations. Please keep all of our unassigned candidates and their families in your prayers. We will want to ask God to give them a strong faith rooted in his Word, joy that flows from the gospel, and a patient trust that comes from knowing that their times are in the hands of a gracious God.
Proposed budget outlines impact of reductions
Last week the Synodical Council released additional details about the proposed synodical budget that will be considered by the synod convention this summer. With expected financial resources approximately $8 million less than needed, all areas of ministry are preparing to make significant cuts in their staffing and programs. Because of the extent and urgency of the budget reductions, some ministry positions are being eliminated immediately—you may be hearing about them from various sources. Waiting longer to begin those reductions would mean additional cuts later on.
The proposed budget includes two options. Option A calls for significant reductions in all areas of ministry but would enable the synod to maintain its two ministerial education prep schools. Option B would shift funds from Ministerial Education and provide $500,000 each to Home and World Missions; this shift would result in fewer reductions in mission programs at home and in various mission fields around the world. According to the Board for Ministerial Education, Option B would make it possible to operate only one synodical prep school after the coming year.
The Synodical Council chose to present two options because it recognized that there are clear differences of opinion on how best to allocate the synod's limited resources. Rather than choosing one of those options and recommending it, the Synodical Council determined that it could best serve the synod if it presented two clear choices and enabled the delegates at the convention to make an informed, prayerful decision.
Here is a brief summary of some of the reductions required by the proposed budget:
World Missions
Option A
Overall 23.5 manpower positions are unfunded; of the 23 positions, 15 existing missionaries will be recalled from the field, 4 are vacant positions that will not be filled, and 4 were planned positions.
All existing fields affected but still served at a reduced level; unable to enter 1 new field (Mozambique) as planned.
Option B
Four missionary positions eliminated under Option A are able to be retained under Option B.
Home Missions
Option A
21 called positions (18 pastors and 3 staff ministers) likely cannot be maintained; 2 of these are currently vacant.
13 mission fields likely to be lost.
Option B
Retains 7 of the 18 pastoral ministries listed above.
Six of the 13 fields potentially lost under Option A would be retained.
Ministerial Education administration
Options A and B
Allows for only a minimum level of program maintenance at the schools.
Reduces financial assistance provided by the budget.
Elimination of 1 clerical support staff.
Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
Options A and B
Maintains existing faculty strength.
Several staff positions removed from the budget and funded from non-budgetary sources.
All areas of operation reduced to the lowest possible level of funding.
Martin Luther College
Options A and B
Reduction of 25 faculty and staff positions (of these 9.5 positions are vacant).
Increased teaching loads required of faculty.
Luther Preparatory School
Options A and B
Five faculty positions and 6 support staff positions eliminated.
Michigan Lutheran Seminary
Option A
Eight faculty and 5 support staff positions eliminated.
Option B
In the first year of the biennium, Michigan Lutheran Seminary is funded by a combination of reduced synod subsidy and Ministerial Education special funds.
In the second year of the biennium, the school is not viable, and all remaining faculty and staff positions are eliminated.
Parish Services
Options A and B
Position of the Parish Services administrator eliminated; 2 unit administrators and 4 support staff positions to be eliminated.
Most ministry functions supported by special funds and fees.
Retains Commissions for Parish Schools and Special Ministries as distinct entities with their own administrators; reconfigures remaining units of Parish Services into a new combined group (possibly called the Congregational Ministries Resource team) to carry out the functions of Adult Discipleship, Youth Discipleship, Worship, Evangelism, and Parish Assistance.
Ministry Support
Options A and B
Reduces programs and budget overseen by the Conference of Presidents and the Synodical Council.
Eliminates a total of 17 positions, reducing called and hired staffing from 72 to 57 within the areas of Facilities, Technology, Leadership, Christian Giving, Communication Services, and Financial Services.
The Book of Reports and Memorials will be posted online by the end of next week with detailed information regarding the proposed budget and the impact on the various areas of ministry. Until then, a budget overview sent to called workers and delegates last week is available for download.
As you begin to grasp the reality of our situation, I know that you join me in the prayer that God will guide our discussion and decisions, and in the confidence that his gracious promises remain with us in these challenging times.
Serving in Christ,
Mark Schroeder
Tragic MLC Deaths from Car Accident
Two MLC students killed in car crash
POSTED: May 18, 2009
EAGLE LAKE, Wis. - Two Martin Luther College students have died after a Sunday afternoon autmobile crash near Eagle Lake, Wis.
Zachary Moyle and Ryan Zweifel, both 19, both from Lake Mills, Wis., were involved in a crash in Vilas County, Wis., on Sunday, Moyle was pronounced dead at the scene. Zweifel died Monday as a result of his injuries.
According to a report in the Daily Jefferson County Union, Fort Atkinson, Wis., the Vilas County Sherifr's Department received a report of a one-vehicle crash at 3:20 p.m. Sunday on Military Road in the Town of Washington. Preliminary investigations indicate that a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta was traveling south on Military Road at a high rate of speed when the vehicle left the roadway, entered the west ditch in a curve, overturned and struck a tree.
Moyle was driving the car. Zweifel was pulled from the vehicle and transported to Eagle River Memorial Hospital. He was later flown to Aspirus Wausau Hospital.
The two were 2008 gradudates of Lakeside Lutheran High School in Lake Mills.
Lakeside Lutheran High School Principal James Grasby, said Sunday that Moyle was a one of the Class of 2008's valedictorians.
"He was an excellent kid," Grasby said. "The high grades say one thing, but he was also a person who showed two very good characteristics. That was common sense and, at the same time, compassion. He was a real compassionate kind of a person, concerned about other people."
Moyle was attending Martin Luther College in New Ulm, preparing to become a minister. Zweifel was an Education students, majoring in Secondary Social Studies. MLC held its graduation ceremonies on Saturday, and students have already left the campus.
Martin Luther College President Mark Zarling, issued the following statement:
"The apostle Paul urges Christians to 'mourn with those who mourn.' (Ro. 12:15b)," said Zarling. "No matter how scattered we might be at this time, each member of the MLC community cries with the families in this painful trial. But through our tears we also hear the apostle remind us not to grieve like the rest of men who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep! (1 Thess. 4:13-14) This message of victory in Christ Jesus is the message that God graciously allowed Zach and Ryan to believe. By the Spirit's grace they also sought to share that message with others and so came to MLC to prepare for ministry.
"Our dear brothers, Zach and Ryan, were and remain close friends. Their friendship is now perfected in glory as they together enjoy the fellowship of their dearest Friend Jesus in the glory of his presence.
"We are comforted that Zach and Ryan now abide in the Savior's arms in glory. May the Moyle family and the Zweifel family find their solace in the Savior's word. Jesus proclaims, "Because I live, you also will live."
Funeral arrangements are pending at the Nitardy Funeral Home in Fort Atkinson.
***
GJ - I am sure all the readers join me in wishing both extended families and the MLC community the comfort and peace of the Risen Christ, His promise of forgiveness, and the hope of eternal life.
One grief reaction is anger. I saw that in the response about needless teen accidents. Anyone who has known a case like this, especially the medical and emergency people, may exhibit more anger than sadness, but it is the same sorrow.
People have said how sad it is that my wife and I lost two children to a mysterious disorder. But it is far more difficult to lose someone to an accident, where everyone can think, "If only I had...." An accidental loss is a terrible burden to bear, even with the Gospel of Christ as our shield against the fiery darts of Satan. Luther said he was quick with words until he lost a child - then he was weak with grief.
So we grieve with those who grieve and hope than this example will make us all more mindful of our faults in driving.
Ascension Day Holy Communion Service
Thursday, 6:30 PM Arizona Time
Conservative Lutherans distinguish their confession from that of the liberals by having a service on one of the high holy days of the Church Year - Ascension. When holidays were still holy days, Ascension Day was observed with solemn church services and a cessation of all other activities.
Ours will be at 6:30 Arizona time, allowing the West Coasters to get home from work while making sure Eastern Liberal time is not too late for the other half. Sad to say, Shrinker apostates, we have regular attendance from both coasts and the Midwest as well. Isn't it sad that someone can have a mission operating without huge grants and a pricey executive assistant?
Doubtless every single Church and Change congregation--claiming they talk about Jesus all the time--will also observe Ascension Day, just as they observe Lent.
Recipe for an Original Sermon Series:
Church and Change at its Best
Tom Plamann:
The sickness within man is done and ready for the green screen for the upcoming series at www.gotocore.com http://yfrog.com/7h251xj
6:33 PM May 16th from Twitterrific
The CORE Tweet:
The Sickness Within. A wire man. It all starts tomorrow at 5:30pm at The CORE. www.gotocore.com. Be there!
1:25 PM May 16th from Tweetie
Bishop Katie:
Tomplay awesome Tom!! You rock. Thanks.
6:39 PM May 16th from Tweetie in reply to Tomplay
Sunday, May 17, 2009
Dude? Stop Kelming and Parlowing
Bishop Katie:
if you're thinking of skipping church @gotocore tonight, well, don't. exciting stuff happenin!
***
GJ - Ski is giving another Craig Groeschel sermon. I joined Craig's free franchise so I could download graphics and stuff.
Here is the series - The Sickness Within.
Ski learned from Church and Change, where he is on the board, to copy sermons from false teachers. Ichabodians call this Kelming. When the Chicaneries are found out, they start Parlowing - hiding the evidence.
Ski stopped publishing the names of his sermons in mid-April, but he did not stop Kelming the sermons of Craig Groeschel.
Tom Plamann (TomPlay) built a model which is a copy of the graphic used by Groeschel. In fact, the new figure looks just like the Groeschel image. That way they can green screen it and pretend they are using their own creative genius - Kelming the graphics and Parlowing them at the same time.
The sickness within man is done and ready for the green screen for the upcoming series at http://www.gotocore.com/
about 23 hours ago from Twitterrific
Image for The Sickness Within
Bishop Katie Tweeted: "Tomplay awesome Tom!! You rock. Thanks."
about 23 hours ago from Tweetie in reply to Tomplay
---
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Dude? Stop Kelming and Parlowing":
Here's an "In Your Face" Baptist church with a series with the same name as The Core's (WELS) series The Sickness Within.
http://www.thedialoguechurch.com/?s=sickness+within
Here's LIFECHURCH.TV's series
http://open.lifechurch.tv/Series/66
Lifepointechurch's series
http://lifepointechurch.blogspot.com/2007/06/sickness-within.html
Here's a Filipino blog in some way tied to a church called Grace Place that had in 2007 a series called, "The Sickness Within"
http://arnold.gamboa.ph/2007/05/the-sickness-within-an-invitation/
---
Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Dude? Stop Kelming and Parlowing":
"The Sickness Within" ~ would make for a very appropiate theme for the WELS 2009 Convention.
Out of the Mouths of Babes
Adult: "This is the newest WELS church in Appleton?"
Child: "Where's the cross?"
---
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Out of the Mouths of Babes":
Child: "Which one of the dudes here is the pastor?"
More News From Rock and Roll
 |
| Matt Doebler |
 |
| Gretchen Preston |
The service begins at 10 AM - Why spoil it with Holy Communion?Christ the Rock Communion will be offered this Sunday at 9:30 am for members and regular attenders who have been instructed in the Bible's teaching of the Lord's Supper. Come, join your brothers and sisters in this awesome gift of grace, especially as we celebrate the resurrected Jesus!April 10 at 2:21pm.
[GJ - Also: why join? They have semi-open communion.]
Christ the Rock
Ting Wang will be here today to sing and to tell us about all that God is doing in China! Also join us at Holy Word from 3-5 p.m. for her presentation!February 22 at 6:13am · ReportChrist the Rock Ting Wang at CtR
Ting Wang, our sister in Christ from China, who also happens to be an accomplished opera singer, will be singing at our Gathering on Sunday. Don't miss this awesome opportunity!
Host:Christ the Rock
Time:10:00AM Sunday, February 22nd
Venue:Old Settler's Association
We love our Little Rockers.
Rock and Roll is a fan of...
Koine Rock and Roll Band and...
The CORE!
Totally awesome surprise, dudes.
Rock and Roll Lutheran Church in Round Rock Gets Another Staff Member, From MLC
The Church from Scratch, now known as Rock and Roll, has obtained the services of Dave Bauer, Martin Luther College, to make the contemporary services even more contempo.
Bauer has been working with Pastor Rick in Corona, California. Pastor Rick is very big on Church and Change. Funny how everything starts and ends with Church and Change.
Pastor Rick believes in eternal security:
About Eternal Security: Because God gives us eternal life through Jesus Christ, the true believer is secure in that salvation for eternity. Salvation is given by the grace and power of God, not by the self-effort of the Christian. It is the grace and keeping power of God that gives us this security. John 10:29; 2 Timothy 1:12; Hebrews 7:25, 10:10,14; 1 Peter 1:3-5
[GJ - The opinion expressed above is a Calvinistic, but doctrinal discipline in the Cal-Az-Las Vegas District is phlegmatic, unless one criticizes CG or its robots. Then the wrath of God is swift and sure. "May God have mercy on your soul, because we won't."]
Pastor Rick's daughter "Carin was blessed by a call into the public ministry. She will be serving God as an early childhood teacher and director-apprentice at Abiding Love Preschool and Abiding Love Lutheran Church in Cape Coral, FL."
Female teachers are called into the public ministry and the Wisconsin Sect wonders why it is so messed up doctrinally?
Here is a grump from Rick:
On Wednesday, I learned that WELS AZ-CA district home missions took a 64% hit because of the budget difficulties the WELS is going through. Gone will be at least one of the pastors from our Spanish speaking mission in Orange County and maybe the other pastor as well and possibly their building. Gone is subsidy for Honalulu where the membership is primarily military and changes drastically every year or so. Gone is funding for working among the Hmong people in the Sacramento area. Gone or reduced is almost every subsidized home mission is Arizona, California, Nevada, New Mexico and Hawaii. This kind of thing is going on across the country and WELS World Missions will be recalling missionaries as well.
Here's what rubs me. I know all about the economy and that has had a drastic impact on CMO (congregational mission offerings) and even more so on IMO (individual mission offerings) on which the Synod bases it's budget. I agree that we cannot spend money that we don't have. WELS doesn't have a money printing press. But while we are defunding missionaries, the Synod continues to operate two prep schools (boarding high schools) that are only half full under the premise that if we don't operate these schools, we won't have enough future pastors and teachers in the pipeline for Martin Luther College and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. I understand the concern and the arguement. But just because I understand it doesn't mean I buy it.
---
Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Rock and Roll Lutheran Church in Round Rock Gets A...":
I missed the bible passage that says only men can be called by the church to serve?
***
GJ - That is a maladroit change of subject. A divine call to the public ministry means becoming a pastor. The Church and Change faction, which runs MLC, has confused this topic for many years. Let me supply one little passage which MLC steadfastly ignores:
KJV 1 Timothy 2:10 But (which becometh women professing godliness ) with good works. 11 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. 12 But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. 13 For Adam was first formed, then Eve. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression.
Church and Change teaches women to usurp authority and to teach men; MLC has pursued that agenda for decades.
Welcome Andrew Preus
On the list of followers I see Andrew Preus appearing. If I have the family tree right, he is Andrew, son of Rolf, son of Robert the Ft. Wayne President (who was brother of the LCMS president), son of Governor JAO Preus of Minnesota.
Andrew is a follower of the Lutheran Hymn Revival blog, featuring images of Paul Gerhardt. Apparently, his brother Mark is the author of that blog. (Preuses multiply faster than copies of Craig Groeschel sermons.)
Those who love great hymns have something in common with Andrew. I keep links of hymn videos on the left of Ichabod.
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Rogate Sunday
Rogate, The Fifth Sunday after Easter
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship
Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time
The Hymn #458:1-5 Our Father - Luther 4.50
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 James 1:22-27
The Gospel John 16:23-30
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #458:6-9 Our Father - Luther 4.50
Ask And You Will Receive
The Hymn #518 If Thou But Suffer God 4.74
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 #657 Beautiful Savior
KJV James 1:22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man's religion is vain. 27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
KJV John 16:23 And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you. 24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full. 25 These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God. 28 I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. 29 His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. 30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
Fifth Sunday After Easter
Lord God, heavenly Father, who through Thy Son didst promise us that whatsoever we ask in His name Thou wilt give us: We beseech Thee, keep us in Thy word, and grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that He may govern us according to Thy will; protect us from the power of the devil, from false doctrine and worship; also defend our lives against all danger; grant us Thy blessing and peace, that we may in all things perceive Thy merciful help, and both now and forever praise and glorify Thee as our gracious Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
Ask And You Will Receive
Rogate Sunday is named for the Latin verb – Pray – and that is the topic of this Gospel lesson.
I have had the chance to read a lot of fraudulent religious material. I recall a huge volume from the Urantia Society. Like many cults, it pretended to be organized around Christ. The book went into detail about what the disciples did. (The New Testament properly focuses on Christ and what He did.) The funniest description was that a certain disciple was responsible for organizing games on Thursdays. No doubt the author felt that was essential information, even if invented. The tone of the book was pompous, inflated, ultra-serious and yet hilarious in trying to establish a new religion. And they are still around 20 years later. Luther said no religion is too foolish to have followers, so the existence of followers should not be evidence of truthfulness. In the Age of Apostasy, the greatest numbers will flock to the Antichrist and the little Antichrists.
So the Urantia Society is pompous.
In contrast, this sermon by Jesus is very simple and plain. The Holy Spirit chose to use the simplest language in the most profound Gospel. Luke is far more elegant, but John’s Gospel is more likely to be our favorite, because we seem to be standing at His side while He speaks. The immediate nature of the Fourth Gospel, I believe, comes from its author being the favorite disciple of Jesus (John, “the disciples Jesus loved).
The point of this Gospel message from Jesus is that the disciples will soon face a time when they no longer ask Him for anything. It is expressed in an odd way that makes us think: “You shall no longer ask Me.” We can go back to that expression of Jesus and see what He was teaching His disciples and us. We can see two meanings here. On the historical level, Jesus is pointing out that they will no longer have Him visibly among them, as they were accustomed. So they would ask the Father in Jesus’ Name.
The other meaning moves us to pray today. We are not asking Jesus directly, but the Father in Jesus’ Name. If people prayed because they felt worthy, only the proud and arrogant would pray. Works-salesmen would pray – “Thank God I am not like that open sinner over there.” But this version moves us by saying that our worthiness comes from Christ alone, that we ask the Father to see His Son’s merit instead of our own sinfulness.
Recently our dog Sassy got in serious trouble for eating the couch outside. She was punished once, then carried outside a second time when it happened again. She did not want to go outside at all. After that, calling her from the outside kept her inside. Once she came out to the pool to get me, but ran inside right away. The backyard and my presence spelled doom for her. So finally we had a reconciliation and absolution outside, right on the half-eaten couch. She had left it alone for a period of time. She climbed on it and wiggled in abject contrition and love, so we hugged and everything was fine again. Dogs simply display what humans feel – an aversion to punishment.
That is why all the world religions teach salvation by works. The unconverted man wants to appease, to do good works to earn the favor of God. Horrible things have been done in the name of man atoning for sin. Instead, the Christian faith teaches that Christ has already atoned for our sins and welcomes the contrite sinner.
When believers pray, they are asking God the Father “in the name of Christ.” The Holy Spirit moves us to pray because of the Gospel promises and helps us in our prayers. Therefore, the Holy Trinity has a combined role in every prayer of the Christian.
As I have said many times before, the Bible does not merely tell us we should pray. It would be easy for God to say, “Thou must pray.” Instead, the Word of God fills us with desire to pray by reminding us of God’s love for us. Parents fall into this from time to time. They take a moment to tell their children how much they love them and appreciate them. Halfway through the speech, one child will recognize that this is the moment to ask for something based upon this profound love and appreciation.
In this example, Jesus says, 26 At that day ye shall ask in my name: and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father for you: 27 For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.
Several excuses keep believers from praying. One excuse is that God does not love each and every one of us. This is a false view of God and a sin against God’s revealed nature. We should never doubt the goodness of God. Believers will fall into this mode of thought by imagining that God loves humankind in the abstract but not themselves directly. God knows each and every one of us by name.
"The Lord's Prayer opens with praise and thanksgiving and the acknowledgement of God as a Father; it earnestly presses toward Him through filial love and a recognition of fatherly tenderness. For supplication, this prayer is unequaled. Hence it is the sublimest and the noblest prayer ever uttered."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., VI, p. 107. Philippians 4:4-7; Matthew 6:9-13.
Another excuse is - I am not worthy to pray to God for anything. This is not altogether wrong. No one is worthy, as the communion prayer says, “We are not worthy to gather the crumbs that fall from Your table, nevertheless…” Jesus makes us worthy. It is not our worthiness, but the merit of Christ. He is our unending source of forgiveness and love. God plants faith in our hearts through the Word. He moves us to love Christ by His Word. Then He teaches us that He answers prayer because of that love and faith.
Notice how this is entirely based upon the Gospel. Prayer is the fruit of the Gospel. That is why Lutherans properly reject the Reformed error of basing salvation upon praying Jesus into our hearts. The non-Lutheran Protestants (as a whole, with variations abounding) turn the Gospel into Law by saying, “You will be forgiven and saved when you pray this particular prayer and ask Jesus to come into your heart.” Since this is based upon an action, the question arises whether it is done with the proper fervor and zest.
"The Christian's faith trusts in the ordinary means. Prayer is not a means of grace. Means of grace are divine appointments through which God uniformly offers blessings to all who use them. Faith is the means by which the blessings are received and appropriated. God gives us bread, when we ask it, not through the channel of prayer, but through the ordinary channels of His providence. He gives us grace when we ask it, not through prayer, but through the ordinary means appointed for this end, namely the Word and Sacraments. He who despises these will as little have grace as he who refuses to accept bread produced in the ordinary way of nature. Faith asks with confidence, and trusts in the ordinary means of God's appointment for the blessings asked."
Matthias Loy, Sermons on the Gospels, p. 387.
It also implies that Jesus does NOT enter our hearts already through the Word. If you have to pray to obtain salvation, and pray in a certain way, the monster of uncertainty fills the heart with doubt. Reformed doctrine never remains Trinitarian for long. Rationalism and salvation based upon works will follow without fail. In the United States, the Congregationalists became Unitarians, giving up the Trinity. After a few more decades it became impossible to make the Unitarian group agree that there is a God. They merged with the Universalists because both groups deny Hell, so they joined forces in their denial, even though they have slightly different perspectives.
Another excuse for not praying is founded upon whether God can and will do what He is asked. Many people lose their faith, as Satan desired, because they confused demands with prayer. If you demand that God do something in prescribed manner, to satisfy your gnawing doubts or immediate needs, He will give you nothing. I noticed from the newest WELS statistics that the denomination now has the lowest number of baptized members since 1979, a net loss of 3,285 souls in one year. The communicant number went up by almost 60 one year, even though confirmations would add thousands of communicants to the list. Obviously God is throwing their concern about Church Growth statistics back in their face. When the main concern was doctrine, the synod grew like kudzu vines in the South.
I once hoped those administrators who fired the WELS pastor in the Deep South for not having a “growing” congregation will face the facts and resign from the ministry themselves. Now their destruction has gone so far that many of them will face termination in a week or two.
Luther taught a very simple thing to remember about prayer. One is that we ask everything in faith. Nothing is too small for God to consider. The other is that we receive in faith what God supplies. The nature of God is to take care of all of us, even unbelievers, but also to take care of us according to His wisdom and not ours. If we have no faith in His wisdom, then we will be pouty when He does not give in to our demands.
It is an indictment against this age that much of the talk about prayer focuses upon materialistic prayers. The Reformed and the Pentecostals especially have dwelt upon obtaining wealth and success by demanding it from God, even declaring that God is unable to share the wealth unless He is ordered about like a zombie. (Paul Y. Cho, The Fourth Dimension, a favorite Church Growth, Evangelical, and Pentecostal text.)
"In like manner, St. Paul says that God's ability is thus proved, in that He does exceeding abundantly above and better than we ask or think. Ephesians 3:20. Therefore, we should know we are too finite to be able to name, picture or designate the time, place, way, measure and other circumstances for that which we ask of God. Let us leave that entirely to Him, and immovably and steadfastly believe that He will hear us."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., III, p. 179f. Ephesians 3:20.
We can and should pray for the means to support our families, thanking God for the abundance He has provided. But our prayers should be mostly concerned with the spiritual needs of our family, friends, and others. It is in remembering others that we give support and comfort and prove to be a channel of God’s love, as He intends.
Quotations
"This doctrine concerning the inability and wickedness of our natural free will and concerning our conversion and regeneration, namely, that it is a work of God alone and not of our powers, is [impiously, shamefully, and maliciously] abused in an unchristian manner both by enthusiasts and by Epicureans; and by their speeches many persons have become disorderly and irregular, and idle and indolent in all Christian exercises of prayer, reading and devout meditation; for they say that, since they are unable from their own natural powers to convert themselves to God, they will always strive with all their might against God, or wait until God converts them by force against their will; or since they can do nothing in these spiritual things, but everything is the operation of God the Holy Ghost alone, they will regard, hear, or read neither the Word nor the Sacrament, but wait until God without means..."
Formula of Concord, Free Will, 46, Triglotta, p. 899.
"The Christian's faith trusts in the ordinary means. Prayer is not a means of grace. Means of grace are divine appointments through which God uniformly offers blessings to all who use them. Faith is the means by which the blessings are received and appropriated. God gives us bread, when we ask it, not through the channel of prayer, but through the ordinary channels of His providence. He gives us grace when we ask it, not through prayer, but through the ordinary means appointed for this end, namely the Word and Sacraments. He who despises these will as little have grace as he who refuses to accept bread produced in the ordinary way of nature. Faith asks with confidence, and trusts in the ordinary means of God's appointment for the blessings asked."
Matthias Loy, Sermons on the Gospels, p. 387.
"Prayer is made vigorous by petitioning; urgent, by supplication; by thanksgiving, pleasing and acceptable. Strength and acceptability combine to prevail and secure the petition."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., VI, p. 107. Philippians 4:4-7.
"The Lord's Prayer opens with praise and thanksgiving and the acknowledgement of God as a Father; it earnestly presses toward Him through filial love and a recognition of fatherly tenderness. For supplication, this prayer is unequaled. Hence it is the sublimest and the noblest prayer ever uttered."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., VI, p. 107. Philippians 4:4-7; Matthew 6:9-13.
"In like manner, St. Paul says that God's ability is thus proved, in that He does exceeding abundantly above and better than we ask or think. Ephesians 3:20. Therefore, we should know we are too finite to be able to name, picture or designate the time, place, way, measure and other circumstances for that which we ask of God. Let us leave that entirely to Him, and immovably and steadfastly believe that He will hear us."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., III, p. 179f. Ephesians 3:20.
"Only begin this [prayer, self-examination], I say, and see how you will succeed in the task; and you will soon discover what an unbelieving knave is hidden in your bosom, and that your heart is too dull to believe it."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., II, p. 257. Mark 16:1-8.
Prayer Quotations for Rogate Sunday
Pray and Prayer, From Megatron:
Luther and Luther field headings
(2) "Come, Thou Incarnate Word, Gird on Thy mighty sword, Our prayer attend. Come and Thy people bless And give Thy Word success; Stablish Thy righteousness, Savior and Friend!" Author unknown, c. 1757, "Come, Thou Almighty King," The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #239. Revelation 4:8.
Crypto-Calvinists – Church and Change in WELS
"By mistake the letter was delivered to the wife of the court-preacher Lysthenius....After opening the letter and finding it to be written in Latin, she gave it to her husband, who, in turn, delivered it to the Elector. In it Peucer requested Schuetze dexterously to slip into the hands of Anna, the wife of the Elector, a Calvinistic prayer-book which he had sent with the letter. Peucer added: 'If first we have Mother Anna on our side, there will be no difficulty in winning His Lordship [her husband] too.' Additional implicating material was discovered when Augustus now confiscated the correspondence of Peucer, Schuetze, Stoessel, and Cracow. The letters found revealed the consummate perfidy, dishonesty, cunning, and treachery of the men who had been the trusted advisers of the Elector, who had enjoyed his implicit confidence, and who by their falsehoods had caused him to persecute hundreds.
F. Bente, Concordia Triglotta, Historical Introductions to the Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 190.
"You hear that Augustine does not pray for his mother because he thinks her held in the torments of purgatory or still held in the judgment of God, liable for her sins."
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1986, III, p. 279.
"However, all sane people know that it does not follow by any kind of necessity: If a church prays for the dead, therefore the souls of the dead are tormented in purgatory. For there can be many other reasons and far other purposes for such prayer." [Lindanus charge that Apology allows for prayers for the dead, "If the Lutherans want to be consistent, they cannot escape, but are compelled to grant that there is a purgatory." Apol, Art XXIV, par. 94, Tappert, p. 267; see also Confession Concerning Christ's Supper, by M. Luther, American Edition, 37, p. 369
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1986, III, p. 260.
"In the same way, after the time of the prophets, the Jews began to imitate also the prayers and sacrifices for the dead, around 170 B.C. An example of this is found in 2 Macc. 12:39-45. What began to happen at that time, when the teaching had broken down, and all things were greatly disturbed both in the government and in the temple, was that the Jews with their confederates sought and practiced conformity with the Gentiles also in their speech, expressions, customs, and religious practices, as the whole history of the Maccabees shows. For that Maccabaeus wanted to make a sacrifice for the dead, if indeed he did it, he did without a command from God and without any example of the saints."
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1986, III, p. 235. 2 Maccabees 12:39-45.
"For we are not justified because of our faith (propter fidem), in the sense of faith being a virtue or good work on our part. Thus we pray, as did the man in Mark 9:24: 'I believe, Lord; help my unbelief'; and with the apostles: 'Lord, increase our faith,' Luke 17:5."
Martin Chemnitz, Loci Theologici, 2 vols., trans. J. A. O. Preus, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1989, II, p. 506 Mark 9:24; Luke 17:5
"The purest and best part of the human race, the special nursery and flower of God's Church, is tender youth. Youth retains the gift of the Holy Spirit which it received in Baptism; it learns eagerly the true doctrine about God and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ; it calls Him God with a chaste mind and with a simple, pure faith; it thanks Him with a quick and joyful heart for the blessings received from Him; in its studies and the other parts of life, it carries out the duties commanded it; and it obeys God and parents reverently. Particularly God-pleasing, therefore, are the studies of one's earliest age: prayer, obedience and praises which honor God, regardless of how weak and stammering its voice may be."
David Chytraeus, A Summary of the Christian Faith (1568), trans., Richard Dinda, Decatur: Repristination Press, 1994. p. 9.
"Here again there is great need to call upon God and pray, 'Dear Father, forgive us our debts.' Not that He does not forgive sin even without and before our prayer; and He gave us the Gospel, in which there is nothing but forgiveness, before we prayed or even thought of it. But the point here is for us to recognize and accept this forgiveness."
(LC III:88) Rick Nicholas Curia, The Significant History of the Doctrine of Objective or Universal Justification, Alpine, California: California Pastoral Conference, WELS. January 24-25, 1983. p. 13.
"When the preacher who is administering this holy Sacrament repeats, along with the Lord's Prayer, the words of institution, he first of all is testifying that he does not desire to perform, from his own opinion, a human action and institution; rather, as a householder [steward] of the divine mysteries, he is, in accordance with Christ's command, desiring to administer a holy Sacrament. Accordingly, he sets aside visible bread and wine so that it can be the means and instrument for the distribution and fellowship of the body and blood of Christ. Further, he prays that, in accordance with His institution and promise, Christ would be present in this action, and that by means of the consecrated bread wine he might distribute Christ's body and blood.
Johann Gerhard, A Comprehensive Explanation of Holy Baptism and the Lord's Supper, 1610, ed. D. Berger, J. Heiser, Malone, Texas: Repristination Press, 2000, p. 301f.
(1) "Lord Jesus Christ, we humbly pray That we may feed on Thee today; Beneath these forms of bread and wine Enrich us with Thy grace divine. (2) The chastened peace of sin forgiven, The filial joy of hears of heaven, Grant as we share this wondrous food, Thy body broken and Thy blood. (3) Our trembling hearts cleave to Thy Word; All Thou hast said Thou dost afford, All that Thou art we here receive, And all we are to Thee we give."
Henry E. Jacobs, 1910, "Lord Jesus Christ, We Humbly Pray," The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #314. 1 Corinthians 10:17.
(1) "He that believes and is baptized Shall see the Lord's salvation; Baptized into the death of Christ, He is a new creation. Through Christ's redemption he shall stand Among the glorious heavenly band Of every tribe and nation. (2) "With one accord, O God, we pray: Grant us Thy Holy Spirit; Look Thou on our infirmity Through Jesus' blood and merit. Grant us to grow in grace each day That by this Sacrament we may Eternal life inherit."
Thomas Kingo, 1689, "He That Believes and Is Baptized" The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #301. Mark 16:16.
(4) "O Triune God, we humbly pray That all Thy blessings be conferred Upon this child here cleansed today By means of water and the Word." Albert Knapp, 1841, "Dear Father, Who Hast Made Us All" The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #299. Galatians 3:27.
"The Christian's faith trusts in the ordinary means. Prayer is not a means of grace. Means of grace are divine appointments through which God uniformly offers blessings to all who use them. Faith is the means by which the blessings are received and appropriated. God gives us bread, when we ask it, not through the channel of prayer, but through the ordinary channels of His providence. He gives us grace when we ask it, not through prayer, but through the ordinary means appointed for this end, namely the Word and Sacraments. He who despises these will as little have grace as he who refuses to accept bread produced in the ordinary way of nature. Faith asks with confidence, and trusts in the ordinary means of God's appointment for the blessings asked."
Matthias Loy, Sermons on the Gospels, Columbus: Lutheran Book Concern, 1888, p. 387.
"And yet, one single Christian believer, by his preaching and prayer, can be the means of salvation to uncounted multitudes. In spite of Satan's hatred and desire to hinder, many people hear the Gospel, receive baptism and become teachers of the faith; and through the influence of the Gospel the sacredness of home and country are preserved."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 241. Ascension Day Psalm 110:2.
"Only begin this [prayer, self-examination], I say, and see how you will succeed in the task; and you will soon discover what an unbelieving knave is hidden in your bosom, and that your heart is too dull to believe it."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 257. Easter, Third Sermon Mark 16:1-8.
"Is not this a perverted and blind people? They teach we cannot do a good deed of ourselves, and then in their presumption go to work and arrogate to themselves the highest of all the works of God, namely faith, to manufacture it themselves out of their own perverted thoughts. Wherefore I have said that we should despair of ourselves and pray to God for faith as the Apostle did. Luke 17:5 When we have faith we need nothing more, for it brings with it the Holy Spirit, who then teaches us not only all things, but also establishes us firmly in it, and leads us through death and hell to heaven."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, IV, p. 306. Ninth Sunday after Trinity Luke 17:5.
"There are the infants, bare and naked in body and soul, having neither faith nor works. Then the Christian Church comes forward and prays, that God would pour faith into the child; not that our faith should help the child, but that it may obtain a faith of its own. If it has faith, then after that whatever it does is well done, whether it suckle its mother's breast, or whether it soil itself, or whatever it may please to do."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, IV, p. 378. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity Mark 7:31-37.
"The first [kind of confession] is that which is made to God, of which the prophet David speaks in Psalm 32:5: 'I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and my iniquity did I not hide: I said, I will confess my transgressions unto Jehovah; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin.' Likewise, in the preceding third verse David says: 'When I kept silence, my bones wasted away as with the drought of summer;' that is, before God no one is able to stand unless he come with this confession, as Psalm 130:4 declares: 'But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared;' that is, whoever would deal with thee must deal so that this confession proceeds from his heart, which says: Lord, if thou be not merciful all is lost, no matter how pious I may be. Every saint must make this confession, as again we read in the Psalm mentioned, verse 6, 'For this let everyone that is godly pray unto thee.'"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed. John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983 II, p. 195. Psalm 32: 3-6.
"In the first place it is a characteristic of faith to presume to trust God's grace, and it forms a bright vision and refuge in God, doubting nothing it thinks God will have regard for his faith, and not forsake it. For where there is no such vision and confidence, there is no true faith, and there is also no true prayer nor any seeking after God."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 64. Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 17:11-19
"Behold this good inclination or comforting trust, or free presumption toward God, or whatever you may call it, in the Scriptures is called Christian faith and a good conscience, which man must have to be saved. But it is not obtained by human works and precepts, as we shall see in this example, and without such a heart no work is good...But here you observe what a thoroughly living and powerful thing faith is. It creates wholly a new heart, a new man, who expects all grace from God. Therefore it urges to walk, to stand, makes bold to cry and pray in every time of trouble."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 65f. Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 17:11-19
"His good heart and faith naturally teach him how to pray. Yea, what is such faith, but pure prayer? It continually looks for divine grace, and if it looks for it, it also desires it with all the heart." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 70. Fourteenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 17:11-19
"Since we are unable to keep the Law and it is impossible for the natural man to do so, Christ came and stepped between the Father and us, and prays for us: Beloved Father, be gracious unto them and forgive them their sins. I will take upon Me their transgressions and bear them; I love Thee with my whole heart, and in addition the entire human race, and this I will prove by shedding My blood for mankind. Moreover, I have fulfilled the Law and I did it for their welfare in order that they may partake of my fulfilling the Law and thereby come to grace."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 188. Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 22:34-46
"But the only thing that was taught and advocated was: Invoke the Virgin Mary and other saints as your mediators and intercessors; fast often and pray much; make pilgrimages, enter cloisters and become monks, or pay for the saying of many masses and like works. And thus we imagined when we did these things we had merited heaven."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, V, p. 191. Eighteenth Sunday after Trinity, Matthew 22:34-46
"Prayer is made vigorous by petitioning; urgent, by supplication; by thanksgiving, pleasing and acceptable. Strength and acceptability combine to prevail and secure the petition."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 107. Fourth Sunday in Advent, Philippians 4:4-7;
"The Lord's Prayer opens with praise and thanksgiving and the acknowledgement of God as a Father; it earnestly presses toward Him through filial love and a recognition of fatherly tenderness. For supplication, this prayer is unequaled. Hence it is the sublimest and the noblest prayer ever uttered."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 107. Fourth Sunday in Advent, Philippians 4:4-7; Matthew 6:9-13
"Now, the Christian hatred of sin discriminates between the vices and the individual. It endeavors to exterminate only the former and to preserve the latter. It does not flee from, evade, reject nor despise anyone: rather it receives every man, takes a warm interest in him and accords him treatment calculated to relieve him of his vices. It admonishes, instructs and prays for him. It patiently bears with him."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 35f. Second Sunday in Advent Romans 15:4-13
"In the first part of the text he shows the depth of his concern that the Ephesians should retain the Gospel preaching received from him, not allowing themselves to be torn away from it. To this end he employs two expedients: first, he consoles and admonishes; second, he prays and desires."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids Baker Book House, 1983, VIII, p.260. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 3:13-21.
"When the Spirit of prayer is enkindled and burns within the heart, the body will responsively assume the proper attitude; involuntarily, eyes and hands will be upraised and knees bended. Witness the examples of Moses, David and even Christ Himself."
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids Baker Book House, 1983, VIII, p. 268. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 3:13-21,
"When we pray with glowing hearts, external gestures will take care of themselves. They are prompted by the Spirit, and therefore are not to be denounced. If assumed, unbidden of the Spirit, they are hypocritical; as, for instance, when one presumes outwardly to serve God and perform good works while his heart is far way. The prophet says (Isaiah 29:13), 'This people draw nigh unto Me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor Me, but have removed their hear far from Me.'"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids Baker Book House, 1983, VIII, p. 268. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 3:13-21, Isaiah 29:13
"I say these things to teach us to be careful not to join the caviler in judging presumptuously the work and Word of God. Notwithstanding our weakness, we are yet certain the kingdom of God is in our midst so long as we have His Word and daily pray for its efficacy and for an increase of our faith, as the follow words recommend: 'That ye may be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inward man.'"
Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids Baker Book House, 1983, VIII, p. 275. Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Ephesians 3:13-21; Isaiah 26:10
"It is necessary also to keep within bounds and not make too much of calling her 'Queen of Heaven,' which is a true-enough name and yet does not make her a goddess who could grant gifts or render aid, as some suppose when they pray and flee to her rather than to God. She gives nothing, God gives all, as we see in the words that follow."
The Magnificat, trans. A. T. W. Steinhaeuser, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1967, p. 45. Luke 1:49.
"We pray God to give us a right understanding of this Magnificat, an understanding that consists not merely in brilliant words but in glowing life in body and soul. May Christ grant us this through the intercession and for the sake of His dear Mother Mary! Amen.
The Magnificat, trans. A. T. W. Steinhaeuser, Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1967, p. 77. Luke 1:55.
"The deeper a person is sunk in sadness and emotional upheavals, the better he serves as an instrument of Satan. For our emotions are instruments through which he gets into us and works in us if we do not watch our step. It is easy to water where it is wet. Where the fence is dilapidated, it is easy to get across. So Satan has easy access where there is sadness. Therefore one must pray and associate with godly people."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1243. 1532
"But the sinners who confess their sins, and are repentant, who wish they had not so angered God, who find all their concern and sorrow in the fact that they have offended God and have not kept His Commandments and, therefore, pray for grace--these sinners shall find grace."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 694. Matthew 18:21-35.
"The ultimate purpose of afflictions is the mortification of the flesh, the expulsion of sins, and the checking of that original evil which is embedded in our nature. And the more you are cleansed, the more you are blessed in the future life. For without a doubt glory will follow upon the calamities and vexations which we endure in this life. But the prime purpose of all these afflictions is the purification, which is extremely necessary and useful, lest we snore and become torpid and lazy because of the lethargy of our flesh. For when we enjoy peace and rest, we do not pray, we do not meditate on the Word but deal coldly with the Scriptures and everything that pertains to God or finally lapse into a shameful and ruinous security."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 18. Genesis 45:3.
"Whoever intends to enter married life should do so in faith and in God's name. He should pray God that it may prosper according to His will and that marriage may not be treated as a matter of fun and folly."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 891. Genesis 24.
"Marriages in which both husband and wife are contrary are the common variety, as the proverb has it: "Three things are rare but dear to God: the unity of brethren, the love of neighbors, a man and a wife that agree together," (Ecclus. 25:1). But the reason why this so rare is that people enter upon this kind of life without prayer." What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 903. 1 Peter 3:5ff; Ecclesiasticus 25:1. [endangered infant not baptized in womb] "But the women who are present at the birth should kneel down and with a prayer of faith commit the endangered infant to God who is mighty and able to do more than we ask. Without a doubt He will accept the infant for the sake of the prayer of the believers."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 49. J. Aurifaber, undated
"A very fine example of the power of prayer is provided by Monica, the mother of St. Augustine. She asked for nothing in her prayer for her son except that he might be liberated from the madness of the Manichaeans [pagans] and be baptized...But the more she prayed, the more stiff-necked and stubborn the son became, and her prayer seemed to her to have become a sin. But when the time for hearing her solicitous prayer had come (for God usually defers His help), Augustine is not only converted and baptized but devotes himself entirely to the study of theology and turns out to be such a teacher that he shines in the church to this day, teaching and instructing the church. Monica had never asked for this. It would have been enough for her if her son had been freed from error and had turned Christian. But God wants to give us greater blessings than we can ask for, as long as we do not weaken in our prayer."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald M. Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959 II, p. 1094. Genesis 17:19-22
"Let the preacher of the Gospel be sure that he has a divine call. Moreover, it is expedient for him to follow the example of Paul and highly praise and exalt his calling before the people (e.g. 1 Corinthians 4:14) so that he may gain the respect of those who hear him, just as a royal ambassador highly commends his embassy. This is not vainglory but a necessary glorying, because he is glorying, not in himself but in the King Who sent him, whose authority he desires to have honored and held in holy respect. And when in the name of the King he wants anything done by the subjects, he does not say: We pray you, but We command; we want this done. But for his own son he says: We pray, etc.
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 925. W 40 I, 56f. 1 Corinthians 4:14
"Consequently, I say to my worst enemies: Where it is only my own person that is involved, there I am very willing to help you and to do everything good for you in spite of the fact that you are my enemy and that all you ever do for me is to harm me. But where it is the Word of God that is involved, there you must not expect any friendship or love that I may have for you to persuade me to do something against that, even if you were my nearest and dearest friend. But since you cannot endure the Word, I will speak this prayer over you: May God dash you to the ground! I shall willingly serve you, but not in order to help you overthrow the Word of God. For this purpose you will never be able to persuade me even to give you a drink of water."
What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed. Ewald M. Plass St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1480. 1532 Matthew 5:43-48
"Unionism is characterized by these marks: It fails to confess the whole truth of the divine Word; it fails to reject and denounce every opposing error; it assigns error equal right with truth and creates the impression of church fellowship and of unity of faith where they do not exist." (Wisconsin Synod, Prayer Fellowship, Tract No. 10, 1954) Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 64.
(1) "O Holy Spirit, enter in And in our hearts Thy work begin, Thy temple deign to make us; Sun of the soul, Thou Light Divine, Around and in us brightly shine, To joy and gladness wake us That we, In Thee Truly living, To Thee giving Prayer unceasing, May in love be still increasing. (2) Give to Thy Word impressive power That in our hearts, from this good hour, As fire it may be glowing; That we confess the Father, Son, And Thee, the Spirit, Three in One, Thy glory ever showing. Stay Thou, Guide now Our souls ever That they never May forsake Thee, But by faith their Refuge make Thee." Michael Schirmer, 1640, alt., "O Holy Spirit, Enter In," The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941, Hymn #235. Isaiah 11:2.
"Here and there this form of absolution is used: 'The passion of our Lord Jesus Christ, the merits of the most blessed Virgin Mary and of all the saints, be to thee for the remission of sins.' Here the absolution is pronounced on the supposition that we are reconciled and accounted righteous not only by the merits of Christ, but also by the merits of the other saints. Some of us have seen a doctor of theology dying, for consoling whom a certain theologian, a monk, was employed. He pressed on the dying man nothing but this prayer: 'Mother of grace, protect us from the enemy; receive us in the hour of death.'"
Apology Augsburg Confession, XXI. #25-6 Invocation Saints. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 349. Tappert, p. 232. Heiser, p. 106.
"Granting that the blessed Mary prays for the Church, does she receive souls in death, [the example of her faith and her humility]. But the subject itself declares that in public opinion the blessed Virgin has succeeded altogether to the place of Christ. Men have invoked her, have trusted in her mercy, through her have desired to appease Christ, as though He were not a Propitiator, but only a dreadful judge and avenger."
Apology Augsburg Confession, XXI. #27. Saints. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 349f. Tappert, p. 232f. Heiser, p. 106.
"Although concerning the saints we concede that, just as, when alive, they pray for the Church universal in general, albeit no testimony concerning the praying of the dead is extant in the Scriptures, except the dream taken from the Second Book of Maccabees, 15:14."
Apology Augsburg Confession, XXI. #8. Invocation of Saints. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 345. Tappert, p. 230. Heiser, p. 104. 2 Maccabees 15:14.
"This doctrine concerning the inability and wickedness of our natural free will and concerning our conversion and regeneration, namely, that it is a work of God alone and not of our powers, is [impiously, shamefully, and maliciously] abused in an unchristian manner both by enthusiasts and by Epicureans; and by their speeches many persons have become disorderly and irregular, and idle and indolent in all Christian exercises of prayer, reading and devout meditation; for they say that, since they are unable from their own natural powers to convert themselves to God, they will always strive with all their might against God, or wait until God converts them by force against their will; or since they can do nothing in these spiritual things, but everything is the operation of God the Holy Ghost alone, they will regard, hear, or read neither the Word nor the Sacrament, but wait until God without means..."
Formula of Concord, Epitome, Article II, Free Will, 46, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 899. Tappert, p. 530. Heiser, p. 246.
"Thus we do also in infant baptism. We bring the child in the conviction and hope that it believes, and we pray that God may grant it faith; but we do not baptize it upon that, but solely upon the command of God. Why so? Because we know that God does not lie. I and my neighbor and, in short, all men, may err and deceive, but the Word of God cannot err." [Ego et proximus meus et in summa omnes homines errare possunt et fallere, porro autem Verbum Dei nec potest errare nec fallere.]
Large Catechism, Infant Baptism. #57. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 747. Tappert, p. 444. Heiser, p. 208.
"For as truly as I can say, No man has spun the Ten Commandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer out of his head, but they are revealed and given by God Himself, so also I can boast and given by God Himself, so also I can boast that Baptism is no human trifle, but instituted by God Himself, moreover, that it is most solemnly and strictly commanded that we must be baptized or we cannot be saved, lest any one regard it as a trifling matter, like putting on a new red coat. For it is of the greatest importance that we esteem Baptism excellent, glorious, and exalted, for which we contend and fight chiefly, because the world is now so full of sects clamoring that Baptism is an external thing, and that external things are of no benefit. But let it be ever so much an external thing, here stand God's Word and command which institute, establish, and confirm Baptism."
The Large Catechism, Part Fourth, Of Baptism. #6-8. Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 733. Tappert, p. 437. Heiser, p. 205.
"Therefore there is here again great need to call upon God and pray: Dear Father, forgive us our trespasses. Not as though He did not forgive sin without and even before our prayer (for He has given us the Gospel, in which is pure forgiveness before we prayed or ever thought about it). But this is to the intent that we may recognize and accept such forgiveness."
The Large Catechism, The Lord's Prayer, Fifth Petition, #88, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 723. Tappert, p. 432. Heiser, p. 202f. Matthew 6:12
[Fresenius and levels of Christianity.] "(As if an unconverted person could seriously pray for conversion! He should have said: He must hear the Word of God. But that he has put into his third rule. His whole scheme makes conversion dependent on man's own effort to obtain grace.)"
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 144. Fresenius
"As a matter of fact, any one who has been quickened, that is, raised from spiritual death, is converted. After his conversion he must, indeed, pray and wrestle. His faith at the beginning is like an infant that can easily die if it is not given nourishment. Praying and wrestling is not an exercise for unconverted, however, but for converted persons."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 144. Fresenius
"For the confounding of Law and Gospel that is common among the sects consists in nothing else than this, that they instruct alarmed sinners by prayer and inward wrestling to fight their way into a state of grace until they feel grace indwelling in them, instead of pointing them to the Word and the Sacraments."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 153. Ninth thesis
"But when a person persists in his sin against his conscience, though he knows it to be a sin, and continues sinning purposely for a long time, he no longer has faith and cannot truly pray to God; the Holy Spirit leaves his heart, for another spirit, the evil spirit, rules in it, whom the sinner has admitted into his heart. To him the Holy Spirit yields His place and departs."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 220.
"6. Their labors have the most glorious promise of the cooperation of the Lord, so that they are never entirely futile and in vain. 7. Their labors have the promise of a gracious reward, which consists in a glory in the world to come that is unutterably great, exceeding abundantly above all they ever could have asked and prayed for in this life."
C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 285.
"Thou who the night in prayer didst spend and then didst Thine apostles send And bidd'st us pray the harvest's Lord To send forth sowers of the Word, Hear and Thy chosen servants bless With sev'n fold gifts of holiness."
Christopher Wordsworth, "Thou Who the Night in Prayer," #493, The Lutheran Hymnal, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1941. Luke 6:12ff.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)