Exaudi, The Sunday after the Ascension

The Last Supper, by Norma Boeckler


Exaudi, The Sunday after the Ascension

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time

Note – if you are having trouble reading Ichabod or the Bethany blog, Google is reporting problems not yet fixed - as of this post. One solution is to download and use the Firefox browser (much faster working than Internet Explorer). The free download site is : http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/ie.html
I am still having IE problems but have no problems using Firefox.

The Hymn #231 We Now Implore God 3:38
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 1 Peter 4:7-11
The Gospel John 15:26-16:4
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #39 Praise to the Lord, the 3:1

The Spirit of Truth

The Hymn #216 On Christ’s Ascension 3.41
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 #37 Lord Tis Not 3:52


KJV 1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: 27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Exaudi Sunday
Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks unto Thee, that through Thy Holy Spirit Thou hast appointed us to bear witness of Thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: We beseech Thee, inasmuch as the world cannot endure such testimony, and persecutes us in every way, grant us courage and comfort, that we may not be offended because of the cross, but continue steadfastly in Thy testimony, and be found always among those who know Thee and Thy Son, until we obtain eternal salvation through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Gaost, one true God, world without end. Amen
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The Comforter, The Spirit of Truth
Man searches for truth. The Information Age has increased the distribution of facts and opinions, but people still wonder, “What is truth?”

In this Gospel, Jesus teaches us about the work of the Holy Spirit. This particular Sunday comes after the Ascension of Jesus and just before the Day of Pentecost. Most Christians think that Pentecost is a holiday unique to Christians, but the day is simply taken over from Jews who continue to celebrate Pentecost as they did in the past, as 50 days after Passover.

The Gospel lessons from John address the coming of the Holy Spirit several times. I find one description of the work of the Holy Spirit annoyingly cute, but it also fits the Biblical portrait well. Once Northwestern Publishing House published a book about the Holy Spirit called, The Holy Spirit, The Shy Member of the Trinity.
This title comes from the Biblical witness that the work of the Holy Spirit is to witness to the glory of the Father and the Son. If you read many different passages in the Bible, you will see how often the Father and the Son are emphasized, while the work of the Holy Spirit is implicit.

Dr. Robert Preus taught at Ft. Wayne that Pentecostalism arose because modern Christianity was too interested in Jesus alone, to the detriment of understanding the Holy Trinity, especially in how the Holy Spirit works. This requires some explanation. The liberals attacked Christianity by denying the divinity of Christ and wondering out loud what He really thought about Himself. Their main code word was “the mind of Christ,” distorting a phrase from Philippians 2. What they meant by this was that Jesus did not consider Himself the Son of God, so we should have this same “mind of Christ.” This also became a good excuse to teach a new doctrine of salvation by works – rather, the old doctrine of works.

Obviously in this concentration upon Jesus, built upon distortions and the manipulation of facts, the work of the Holy Spirit was forgotten. In one verse we have two descriptions of the work of the Holy Spirit. One is that of Comforter, or Spokesman, or Advocate. In this role we know that those who are faithful in their study of the Word and careful in teaching the Word alone, without distortions or man-made additions, will speak God’s truth. That does not mean that any kind of blabber is the work of the Holy Spirit. But it does mean that “he who listens to you listens to Me.”

No individual can speak God’s Word on his own. The Holy Spirit moves us to witness to the truth. Only the Spirit can plant faith in our hearts and nurture that faith through the Word and Sacraments. Knowing and believing this solves several basic problems. One is: how can I ever speak for God? The other is: how can I know what truth is?

The Christian faith is taught so clearly in the Bible that anyone can become an orthodox Christian through reading the Scriptures alone. We are helped by having other books, but the Bible does not require another book. What people often lack is not an understanding of the “difficult” Bible but a lack of study of the Word. The best professor of the Scriptures is the Holy Spirit. If we want to know what the Gospel of John teaches, the best books are not by Lenski and Luther, as good as they are, but by Matthew, Mark, and Luke. That is also what Luther and Lenski taught, following what the Christian Church has done from the beginning – using Scripture to interpret Scripture.

I remember how excited Time magazine got about hyper-linked texts. We are used to it on the Internet now. Click on a link about Moby Dick and it takes you to the Melville museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, next to the WELS congregation there. Click on a word in the museum site and it takes you to the complete text of the novel.

The Bible did this many centuries ago. Every verse is linked to all other verses. We are confident that the entire Bible is God’s truth, but also that it is a unified truth. The tiny book of Jonah relates directly to the death and resurrection of Christ. The expulsion of Adam and Even from the garden includes the first Gospel promise of our Savior. The New Testament is filled with verses that contain a phrase from the Old Testament. Then we can see how God prepared His people for centuries to see and believe in the Incarnate Son of God, Jesus our Savior.

The Bible is the Book of the Holy Spirit. We can say the Holy Spirit does not get much credit, but to have that One Book on His resume is quite an achievement. After all, the Bible is not judged by any book. Instead, it judges all books. I read a massive book on Charles Darwin, who was quite a genius and student of biology. Nevertheless, Darwin’s works do not stand above the Bible even if Darwin is the smartest of all scientists. (I find it ironic that he studied the earthworm for 40 years and missed its unique role in improving the soil, emphasizing instead its ability to create soil and bury all the creations of man.)

The explosion of information makes people uncertain about the truth, but every believer can open the Scriptures and test the latest claims with what the Bible has always taught. This is a great comfort for adults and children, because we can be thrown into all kinds of educational turmoil and remain believers by clinging to the revelation of the Holy Spirit.

Although we have many faults, weaknesses, and sins, and fall into doubt about God’s power and goodness, the Holy Spirit constantly teaches us and strengthens our weak faith. As one person said to Jesus, “I believe. Help thou mine unbelief.” We believe. We trust in Christ, yet we fall into turmoil from the assaults of Satan, our weak flesh, and the unbelieving world.

How is an individual forgiven? Most of the confessions of Christianity are in confusion about this, but the Bible speaks clearly. Forgiveness comes only through the appointed Means of Grace: the Word, Holy Baptism and Holy Communion. In each case, the Holy Spirit works exclusively through the Word to bring us forgiveness: through the invisible Word of teaching and preaching, the visible Word of Baptism and Holy Communion.

We have consistent worship throughout the Lutheran Church (that is the ideal, no longer in effect) for a reason – to call attention to the Holy Spirit’s work in worship, creating sorrow for sins through the Law and rejoicing in forgiveness through the Gospel. The worship service should be consistent from congregation to congregation, so that people do not whisper to each other, “I like the congregation’s pit band better than ours. We really need some bongo drums and better sound. I think I will donate some loud speakers in memory of my mother-in-law.”
Christianity Today was forced to admit one time that the traditional Lutheran worship service glorifies the grace of God more than any other. Isn’t it odd to have people gibbering in tongues to prove they have the Holy Spirit when the Word, baptism, and communion are welded to the Holy Spirit. In fact, God never works apart from these means of grace.

This is important to realize in terms of forgiveness. The entire world may refuse to forgive you, but every believer knows he is forgiven by God because of the promises given by the Holy Spirit. Ultimately what matters is God’s forgiveness and not the world’s forgiveness.

I know that many pastors and laity are facing great difficulties today. But there is little respect for the Word of God today, especially among church leaders who no longer recognize the divine call of the pastor. Nevertheless, as bad as things may be, we still know that the Holy Spirit guides us through the Scriptures. God will judge all these things in time and the judgment will begin in the house of God.
KJV 1 Peter 4:17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

It is easy to be in a position of power and gloat over the harm done to others through bullying and abuse of power, but God sees all and understands what is in the heart of man. Many a poor Lazarus will be in the bosom of Abraham in the age to come. Many a rich baron will cry out for a drop of water when his unrepentant sins toss him into the eternal flames of Hell.

The Holy Spirit warns us and comforts us. If we love the truth, the Spirit of Truth gives us confidence and peace. If we hate the truth, the Spirit of Truth will seem to be a burning fire, a hammer, a terror, and wrath without end.

Part II
John 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. 2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. 3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me. 4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.
The second part of this lesson should resonate with many, because people continue to be shocked that sound doctrine causes strife, alienates people, and brings the cross. The first stage of the growth of Christianity came from the preaching of the Gospel in the synagogues. The first converts were Jews, and they used the worship and teaching centers to say that everything they learned from the Scriptures was fulfilled in Jesus the Messiah. The Jewish followers were excommunicated for teaching the truth, so Jesus said, “I am telling you so you won’t be scandalized when it happens.”

Simply from preaching the Word the apostolic church saw explosive growth and immediate persecution. We know from the historical records of non-Christians that vast numbers became followers from the beginning. That should not shock us because 500 were eyewitnesses of the risen Lord and heard Him preach before His Ascension.
The apostles also drew from the dregs of society, the criminal class and the slaves. This added to the low esteem of Christianity, which was considered a sect of the Jews, who were nothing but trouble for the Romans. This loathing made it easy to persecute Christians and put them in the arena for sport, to be attacked by wild animals.

Jesus warned, “They will think they are doing a service for God when they kill you.” As Luther commented, the most bitter pill is the persecution of Christians by Christians. In the early days it was the Jews defenestrating fellow Jews, accompanied by Rome killing Christians in the name of religious harmony.
Now there are subtler forms of persecution. But rather than feel sorry, we should be satisfied that the Word is exactly right about this. Besides, conflict makes us study the Word and learn more. Ease and luxury have always made people lazy about the Word and more prone to fall away, as Jesus warned in the Parable of the Sower. The cares and riches of the world choke part of the crop because people pay more attention to material things. They even think that material means will create spiritual blessings. They say, “If only we had more money,” instead of “If only we applied ourselves to the Word.”

3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.

Someone wrote, “Don’t take things personally.” This verse shows where the animus comes from. There are many indications, such as deceitfulness, hiding behind anonymity, and quoting false teachers as their authority. As one stealthy person claimed recently, Lutherans need to be judged by something D. James Kennedy (Reformed) wrote, a quotation so steeped in Law and Pietism that it was laughable. “How many people are you taking to heaven with you?” I cannot imagine a better load of guilt to lay on people – the Protestant version of Purgatory: motivate works with fear, guilt, and uncertainty.

The same has happened when people imagined they had a special claim on the Holy Spirit. They increased their annoying behavior many times over by always speaking for God—“the Holy Spirit told me…”—in spouting their hostilities. I know of ministers who cringed because they could not stand up to these self-appointed apostles, surrendering the great blessing of teaching where the Holy Spirit can always be found – in the Word and Sacraments.

When ministers turn against the Scriptures, they turn toward Rome as the materialistic symbol of truth. Or they spend their careers teaching people the Bible is not true, as so many mainline ministers do. Or they focus on personality, performance, and entertainment, because they think the Holy Spirit is not capable of producing the miracle of faith without their marketing skills and pop music.

False teachers cause a lot of damage, but they also prove how powerful the Word of God is. That is why they rage against orthodoxy and try to silence anyone who figures them out. They would not rage if they had a soft target.

"Nevertheless, He has said that the Holy Spirit should testify of him and that they also should bear witness; and He assures them that their testimony shall not be effaced by this rage and persecution of the world." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 258. Exaudi John 15:26-16:4.

Quotations

"We have the comfort of this victory of Christ—that He maintains His Church against the wrath and power of the devil; but in the meantime we must endure such stabs and cruel wounds from the devil as are necessarily painful to our flesh and blood. The hardest part is that we must see and suffer all these things from those who call themselves the people of God and the Christian Church. We must learn to accept these things calmly, for neither Christ nor the saints have fared better." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 263. Exaudi John 15:26-16:4.
"From these two convictions—that they do not know Him and that they persecute and slay His advocates—Christ now passes the judgment that the so-called Church is not the Church. He then concludes that with their false doctrines and persecutions they are both liars and murderers of God and of Christ and of all His saints." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 270. Exaudi John 15:26-16:4.
"It is not the devil's aim to plague us physically; he is a spirit who is always thirsting for the tears and the drops of blood that come from our hearts. He wants us to despair and to perish from sadness. This would be his joy and delight. But he will not succeed." What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, III, p. 1244. John 15:19.
"Nevertheless, He has said that the Holy Spirit should testify of him and that they also should bear witness; and He assures them that their testimony shall not be effaced by this rage and persecution of the world." Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 258. Exaudi John 15:26-16:4.

In Memory of Our Fallen Soldiers
I have had the great privilege of teaching active duty military in college classes, and I often teach former members of the military and family members as well. In church work I have also know WWII veterans, Korean, Viet Nam, and Iraq war veterans. Memorial Day began after the Civil War, to honor those who lost their lives in our bloodiest conflict. Graves were decorated, so I remember it still being called Decoration Day, as it was among some in the beginning.

Every time I read a book about our wars, I marvel at the courage and tenacity of our military people in facing political battles and logistic struggles while fighting the enemy.

The strength of our country has come from a core of veterans who placed their country above their own interests and saw their best friends die for it.

Our best way of remembering their service is to thank them and their families for their sacrifices.

Memorial Day

In Memory of Our Fallen Soldiers
I have had the great privilege of teaching active duty military in college classes, and I often teach former members of the military and family members as well. In church work I have also know WWII veterans, Korean, Viet Nam, and Iraq war veterans. Memorial Day began after the Civil War, to honor those who lost their lives in our bloodiest conflict. Graves were decorated, so I remember it still being called Decoration Day, as it was among some in the beginning.

Every time I read a book about our wars, I marvel at the courage and tenacity of our military people in facing political battles and logistic struggles while fighting the enemy.

The strength of our country has come from a core of veterans who placed their country above their own interests and saw their best friends die for it.

Our best way of remembering their service is to thank them and their families for their sacrifices.

Creepy Blog Stalker Cannot Stop Reading and Writing - Anonymousely

Minnie Mouse has left another clueless comment on your post "St. Andrew Latte (WELS) Video":

That may be true, per se. However, if a congregation includes a (C) disclaimer on their material and asserts it may "not be used in any way without written permission" you would be in trouble in a courtroom. Just try to podcast portions of a major league baseball game which includes that caveat (even not for profit) and be ready to greet the lawyers at your front door. Also, court cases have been won over use of the internet to defame someone's reputation. You are correct in that the burden of proof would be upon those bringing such a suit. I believe the expense of a legal measure, the time required and physical distance, keeps you safe from most appealing to the courts over your site.

I hope God enjoys your satire, as much as you do. Someday you will get a chance to ask Him about proper behavior with fellow Christians (even when they may not be to your liking and you consider them to be in error). You have changed "mark and avoid" to "mark and hang around and be a creepy internet stalker"). It says much that you have taken time to discuss your site and behavior with "your" legal counsel. :)

***

GJ - As a matter of fact, I recently took a graduate course in journalism and the law, taught by a lawyer. I have heard "Slander!" and "Eighth Commandment!" almost every time I quoted false teachers verbatim, so there was no need to sit down with an attorney about my blog. I have laughed over such threats for several decades.

One WELS pastor said to me, "They always call you a liar, but every story I could check out turned out to be true."

I am thankful for the Shrinkers in WELS, Missouri, and the CLC. Their malice gave me independence and a new vocation or two. Now, when the Shrinkers are in a panic over losing their sinecures, I have global blogs, free worship services for everyone, and a source of income. I can help others, too, since I have some experience with defenestration.

The cowardly blog stalker should study some law. If his delusional interpretation applied, no one could review a book with a copyright and say anything negative about it. No permission without written consentt applies to commercial use, as I wrote before.

Another basic fact about copyright is that everything published is under automatic copyright, so the copyright notice is a bit redundant. Registering with the Library of Congress is a formality which may be used but is not necessary.

I give all my published materials away, downloadable from Lulu.com or my domain - http://www.gljackson.com. Maybe the Shrinkers should not be so touchy about their precious sites.

Northwestern Publishing House sells my book, Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant, and appreciates my book reviews of their work. What have you published about Christian doctrine? You want to be God's own counselor but you cannot give up your name.

And no, I have no wish to copy the websty of The CORE, Latte Lutheran, or the other compost heaps of apostasy. Tell them to relax.

A signed email sent today said, "I think it is great you are getting the word out about these creeps. the internet is good because almost everybody uses it nowadays. So keep up the good work and we shall give all the praise and glory to our ascended Lord Jesus."

St. Andrew Latte (WELS) Video

Warning: do not drink fluids near the keyboard when watching this video. But don't laugh too hard - you WELS members are paying for this.

Many congregations were turned down for a vicar, but St. Andrew got one. Decisions are made at the Doctrinal Pussycat level. The Sausage Factory wants to take over assignments, so vicars would only go to Church and Change tattooed pastors.


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Anonymous has left another clueless comment on your post "St. Andrew Latte (WELS) Video":

Aren't there laws against writing as slanderous as yours? Not to mention your blatant violation of copyright laws?

***

GJ - As my attorney once said, "It's not slander if it's true." Secondly, thanks to the fair use doctrine, material can be borrowed or quoted if it not being resold or otherwise used for commercial purposes. Ichabod is non-profit, a scholarly and satirical effort of breath-taking scope. To borrow a phrase from The CORE, "Totally awesome."

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DP Herb Prahl approved the vicar to learn Church and Change under Randy Hunter. Prahl's son vicared for Kudu Don Patterson.
Rev. Herbert H Prahl
Western Wisconsin District President
wwdpwels@sab.wels.net
715-834-2595

WELS Boram

May 22, 2009

Brothers,

We are pleased to announce that work on the 2009 Book of Reports and Memorials (BORAM) is now complete. As a male called worker or convention delegate, you will be mailed a copy May 29; you should have it in hand the first week of June. In the meantime, you can read, download, or print a PDF version.

BORAM will also be available to the synod at large next week through our convention Web site, http://www.wels.net/convention.

When BORAM went to press, it contained the most current information on nominations for convention elections. Be sure to check http://www.wels.net/convention for the latest updates and other convention information.

Serving you in Christ,

Joel Hochmuth
WELS Director of Communications

Seminex - The LCMS Scandal

The leaders of Seminex, LCMS, lied about their doctrinal apostasy,
bewitched the students, and left with a ton of rare,
stolen books from the Concordia, St. Louis library.

1. They went outside the denomination to earn their doctorates.
   
2. Their academic efforts were rewarded with choice positions teaching the seminary students.
   
3. They pretended to be Old School while teaching the students their new doctrine, absorbed from false teachers.
   
4. They loved Gehrke and Jungkuntz, men with doctorates who taught the Word of God was full of errors.
   
5. They organized political groups which polarized their synod.
   
6. By the time they were found out, they had taken over most of the seminary and all of the synodical political structure.
   
7. They screamed and howled when they were exposed.

No, this is not a tale about the LCMS explosion called Seminex. That story just happens to have repeated itself in the Wisconsin Synod. In fact, many of the LCMS Seminex leaders graduated from Northwestern College, Watertown, that bastion of orthodoxy. Jungkuntz and Gehrke taught there until they were finally exposed as false teachers. They moved up to the LCMS, then to ELCA. Their college students became the apostate CGM leaders of WELS.

Dr. Jungkuntz taught at Northwestern College, where he was a favorite of the liberal students, who still get misty over him.

The Sausage Factory prides itself on turning out identical products. When Valleskey was hired as their Church Growth professor, the tide of apostasy washed away doctrinal discernment. Valleskey became VP, then president of the seminary. Wendland is another Shrinker and Valleskey's pal Bivens is the VP.

***

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Two Approaches - One of Them Dead Wrong":

'they all end up buying Hell when they could have heaven for free.'

Truer words were never spoken. Isn't it sad that these dog and pony shows like Sweet, Stetzer, Stanley, Groeschel, etc. think so highly of themselves that they themselves make money off the fools who spend great amounts of money to attend their seminars? If they were truly concerned for all those lost souls in the world, wouldn't they share all this valuable information with the masses for free?

***

GJ - The founder of Christian Science realized that people value expensive religious information. Of course, that fad has gone the way of zoot suits and 23 skidoo.

I give away everything, and all I get from Minnie Mouse is grief.

Rock N Roll - Three Years Later, Tons of Money Spent - 30 People

Busta Gut is singing the blues now.

Whoever taught Matt Doebler to copy the sermons of false teachers--and grow through grants--should be given the Left Foot of Fellowship.

Why do 30 people also need a staffer earning $50k? No wonder Doebler went to the Antioch Foundation for a $200,000 grant - for a worship leader, etc. The Antioch Foundation was going to solve all their problems...not. Rock N Roll still got $20,000. Rock N Roll has its hands out for district mission money too.

The Doctrinal Pussycats gathered in solemn assembly at Patterson's Safari Church and blessed the Church From Scratch. No, that is not my nickname for the congregation. If you type in churchfromscratch.net in your browser, you get Doebler's church websty.

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GJ - Recently, Rock N Roll had a total of 30 people in attendance. No wonder Minnie Mouse is upset about Bethany. We have no grants, no subsidy, only a volunteer Altar Guild.

Mrs. Ichabod said on May 10, "Remember, before I was the Altar Guild, I was a mother."

We have up to 50 in attendance, when Ustream is working right, and many more who use the saved video files. Thousands use the Ichabod and Bethany blogs, but the Rock N Roll blog de-rezzed after a few feeble tries. Even the Rock N Roll flies are gone. Oops, I mean the files are gone.

Your WELS offering money at work, folks. Doebler is a black hole for funds and his buddy Patterson needs a free vicar again. I guess they heard the hymn wrong. It is not "Preach the dross," but "Bear the cross."

Two Approaches - One of Them Dead Wrong

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Raising Them Right at Church and Change":

C&C takes a capital intensive approach instead of a labor intensive one. The cost spirals out of control as they make one high-risk maneuver after another saying God will provide the means. This is testing God as much as the Devil telling Christ to jump off the temple mount.

***

GJ - That is a good point, one which I have been thinking about. Lately I have been reading books about the tycoons of the 19th century: Rockefeller, Carnegie, and J. P. Morgan. Rockefeller and Carnegie owed much of their success to looking at costs, down to the penny. Rockefeller figured out how many rivets to put on a kerosene can and saved millions by reducing the total. Carnegie knew how much a steel factory cost to run, so he could calculate profits. Both were far ahead of their time in using statistics and paring costs (often at the expense of the workers, the competition, and the public).

We have just seen an era where the facts did not matter in regard to stock prices or home values. Illegals were getting mortgages and flipping houses in six months. I remembered someone who went bankrupt doing that in another era of hot housing, so I was not tempted - not that I could have done it anyway.

The old way of running a denomination and a congregation was to count the pennies. Mischke's entire operation consisted of an office at NPH with his wife Gladys as his secretary. That was not long ago. But he and Gurgel built a kingdom at The Love Shack with Thrivent, Schwan, and offering money.

I served in two congregations with very good incomes for their time. No one would have imagined me going to a distant conference one month plus flying to another one the next month. Ski and Glende did that, with others still in hiding. Nor could I have published a parish bulletin which lied about where I was going and what I was doing. Glende's bulletin misled his congregation both times by omitting all the key information, such as where and what. And the money spent! Mercy.

When the big money rolls in, common sense goes out the window. As the writer says above, the concept suggests that money will replace labor. A wise pastor wrote me that pastoral conferences (Hybels, Beeson, Driscoll, Sweet, Stetzer, Stanley, Groeschel, et al.) come from congregations reaching a plateau. Their new money-raising phase is incredibly greedy - "Come spend a few days with us and we will share our secrets."

I went to a Church Growth conference in Columbus because a Lutheran lay leader asked me to report on it. I counted about $60,000 in fees, not to mention the books sales. Many were leaving with 10 books in their arms and a glassy look in their eyes. Selling dreams is a great gig. One of my students goes to events like that just to get pumped up, but he leaves his wallet, checkbook, and cash at home.

The Church and Chicaneries are all addicts of these mirages. Certainly a few of them have learned to prostitute themselves and adulterate the Word enough to look good to others. When they adulterate the Word and offer coaching instead of the Gospel, they attract rich adulterers who purr at their words. Nevertheless, they all end up buying Hell when they could have heaven for free.

I have seen the glassy eyes so many times, it makes me sick to think about it. A District Mission Board chair (LCA, then another in WELS) crows about "people moving into this zip code," because Fuller told them that was the key to a growing church. Get in there and spent a hunk of dough, but spend it at Fuller first, then go back for refresher courses at Fuller. And send some of your people, so the underlings are up to speed.

I have talked to people who listened to Paul Y. Cho, a creepy guy so deep into the occult that he would have been burned at the stake in better times. No matter what I said, the addict would murmur, "But he was so exciting and inspirational." Yes, bow down to me and all this will be yours.

The Church Shrinkers have all gotten high on the Kool-Aid. Now their names are coming out in the open. Using money as their substitute for trusting in the Word, they have enjoyed the good things of life while dogs licked the oozing sores of Lazarus. The Church and Chicanery gang need a confession of sin and a battery of criminal lawyers, a veritable Dream Team for their Mission Vision.

Baptist On The Church Growth Movement

Probably not copied from Fuller, Willow Creek, or Mars Hill:

http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=13009220225

Or Andy Stanley and Craig Groeschel.

Raising Them Right at Church and Change

Anonymouse Yells "Coward" Again

Anonymouse has left another clueless comment on your post "Rev. Kristen Administers the Means of Grace":

For someone who claims to be such a staunch Lutheran, your Ascension 'communion' service was a joke. You call that administering the sacrament? How do you do a baptism?

You may not agree with how some people are conducting church, but at least they can administer the sacraments. You should be ashamed of your behavior and hiding in your little box. Get out in the world. Start your own church instead of hiding your light.

I have posted on this subject before and I'm sure you will in cowardly fashion delete this as you have the others because you know that I am right and you have no defense. But you still have to read this and maybe some day it will sink in. Your arrogance will do you in.

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From a signed email:

Good evening Pastor,

What a beautiful Ascension Service! Thank you! It was very interesting the way you used the four Gospels and showed how they are each separate books but yet all mesh together. I really enjoyed everything.

***

GJ - Mouse - Check out the map on the Bethany blog. We are all over the world. I also teach all over the world. When I quote Luther to various religions and denominations, they never have hissy-fits.

The video services were created for those who wanted them. There has been no effort to keep them a secret. Every service is posted, not only with the saved video file, but also with the written sermon and The Lutheran Hymnal service.

In contrast, Church and Chicaneries:

1. Hide their sermons, which are often copied from Groeschel, Driscoll, and others.
   
2. Hide their sermon titles, which are copied verbatim from false teachers.
   
3. Claim the sermons of others as their own, then hiding the evidence (Kelming and Parlowing).
   
4. Buy manufactured Bible lessons from Mars Hill (Driscoll) and others.
   
5. Offer no Lutheran content on their glitzy websites, but boast about being relevant, real, relational, comfy, cozy, and caffeinated.
   
6. Mock the Means of Grace by offering their entertainment schemes as an antidote to Christ-centered, confessional, liturgical worship services.
   
7. Devour subsidies in the name of mission, while scooping up members from sister churches in the name of evangelism.
   

Your Church Growth heroes of the past--Curtis Peterson, Mark Freier, Bob Schumann, Randy Cutter, Rick Miller, Kelly Voigt, et al.--have left the Lutheran Church or Christianity altogether.

That is quite a record. In this litigious society, in a secular setting, the professors at The Sausage Factory, The Love Shack officials, and the Doctrinal Pussycats would be defending themselves in court for destroying the corporation.

They have been court already, due to murder raps, MilCraft's insolvency (robbing widows), and the sexual abuse of minors.

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Anonymouse, revealing his Church and Chicanery education, has left a new comment on your post "Anonymouse Yells "Coward" Again":

Nice one, ya putz. As always you never addressed my charge about the sacraments. Instead you just parrot more of your own garbage. I looked at the viewer stats mostly in single digits. You call that reaching the world? Certainly you could do more in your community if you made half the effort you do now.

You are no more a Lutheran than those you run down and are just as guilty. You don't administer the sacraments because you can't and won't.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Anonymouse Yells "Coward" Again":

I too was encouraged by the breadth of the sermon. A special example was that the very disciples who had spent a few years in the presence of Christ were so weak in their own faith they went back to cowering behind locked doors or back to fishing to feed themselves.

Yet Christ came back to serve them again. "Feed my sheep," He said.


While some WELS pastors cavort with the Decisionists, Pr Jackson is showing that the disciples themselves couldn't make their own 'decision for Christ' stick. It took the Holy Spirit Himself to imbue them and to spread the Gospel.


+Diet O. Worms

Woe To Me If I Preach Not the Ants

The Sausage Factory graduates without calls can always get a job in a rock band. That area of ministry is expanding in WELS.

From Bailing Water:

Please, let us change the topic.

A relative was getting his vicar assignment from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. I watched the service on the web. The preacher, whom the bulletin said was a Prof. Hartwig did not preach the Gospel other than a passing reference or two to the word. He obviously then did not preach Christ crucified, in fact he went on at great length about the training of young ants by older ants, yes, ants. I learned more about ants than I did about Christ.

Is this typical of seminary prof's preaching (since this was a grand affair, I assume so.) If you don't believe me, check it out.

Oh, and as I heard from my relative, 11 seniors will not get calls.

Fabio

Rev. Kristen Administers the Means of Grace

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Randy Hunter Got A Vicar For Latte Lutheran Church...":

The manner in which you present Staff Minister of Worship Kristen Koepsell is incorrect. She is not a Rev. to the congregation. She preach (sic - don't go ghetto on us) to them nor does she tend to their spiritual welfare - that is the job of Rev. Hunter and Staff Minister Hochmuth. Check Kristen's job description here:
http://www.st-andrew-online.org/site/cpage.asp?cpage_id=5563&sec_id=2361

St. Andrew is a great WELS congregation. Their Waunakee worship services are an excellent example of the 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 passages which close with these important words:
"...I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some. 23I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

Rev. Kristen: "I say this with a full and complete understanding (and appreciation!) of the fact that the actual work is done by the Holy Spirit through the means of grace – but it is a great privilege and a great joy to be an instrument in ‘administering God’s grace’ in the form of worship gatherings."

***

GJ - Funny how all the C and C cults have women staffers starting out: St. Andrews-by-the-Starbucks, Rock 'N Roll, Cross-Eyed in Phoenix. Does anyone wonder where all the money went?

The Chicaneries have been promoting women usurping authority and teaching men (the real issues from 1 Timothy) for many years.

No surprise that the Odd Couple of C and C - Kathie Wendland and Rich Gurgel - produced the latest iteration of what the liberals can get away with - Heirs Together. No surprise either that they chose the same title as Richard Stadler's ground-breaking essay, which was nicknamed Errorists Together.

Notice the Staff Minister - another gift from Larry Oh! - "Our Staff Infection" - using insights from feminist Fuller Seminary, where he got his drive-by DMin.

And now a vicar too? Oh, the hidebound, rigidly orthodox DPs have stretched forth their consecrated and consecrating hands on this overly-caffeinated bunch.

Grounds for impeachment, if you get my pun.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Rev. Kristen Administers the Means of Grace":

She doesn't say she administers God's grace in the form of worship gatherings. She calls herself "an instrument in administering God's grace in the form of worship gatherings." The person who types up the worship folder or plays the organ could also be called an instrument.

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GJ - There have been two Amens! to the Latte Easy Chair Church. One was the puff piece in FIC, the magazine serving as an expensive instrument of propaganda for Church and Change, but paid from the synod budget. The second Amen! comes from the COP giving Latte a vicar when others were refused.

Left unsaid in the comment directly above is exactly what Rev. Kristen does when she uses the language, the very words of pastoral ministry. But we have all learned from Fuller Seminary and its victims that "everyone is a minister."

Presbyterian Eviscerates the Latte Sensitive Cults

This Presbyterian minister is better than the whole COP put together.

Randy Hunter Got A Vicar For Latte Lutheran Church: Got Himself a Puff Piece in FIC Before That. Mars Hill - Do You Copy?

Rev. Randy can pull a vicar out of a hat, with his C and C connections. His website is Casual About Church.org. Seriously, dude.

What to Expect


•Messages from God’s word that connect to what’s really happening in your life
•Opportunities to explore God’s
word and find answers to your questions
•Friendly people who will welcome you, not judge you
•If you’re a parent, time for you to listen and talk while your kids are busy with fun Bible lessons and activities
•Bible readings, a video message, songs to sing along with or just listen to, prayer with and for each other -- all in a style that focuses on communicating, not just repeating words from a book.
•Comfy chairs, coffee and snacks, and casual clothing
•Our gatherings usually last about an hour and 15 minutes

The worldwide Internet ministry of The HOPE is an extremely effective way to share God’s redemptive story in today’s world. People around the world are discovering how to have a personal relationship with God through this ministry. The HOPE video stream and the follow-up that is available on this site are being provided free of charge by Mars Hill Productions (producer of The HOPE) and NeedHim (the follow up ministry for inquiries about Knowing God). About The Hope.

FIC Slobber Piece.

Rev. Kristen administers the Means of Grace.


"Take up the cross daily" has new meaning for Rev. Hunter.
Isn't anyone in WELS embarrassed?


Many Evangelicals can tell the difference between coffee and pure....
Why can't Lutherans?

***

GJ - Not everyone gets a vicar when requesting one. Patterson gets a free one each year. Do his C and C buddies upbraid him for being so selfish?

Frauenkirche, Dresden

Uncloseted Church and Changers

From: Daniel Wagenknecht
To: church_and_change@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:00:24 PM
Subject: Re: [church_and_change] HEY CHURCH ARE YOU REALLY OUT THERE? Or Am I lost in ...


Bob and everyone,

I have been concerned for a while that I might be among those living in the last times who, "because of the increase of wickedness," will find my love, along with "most", growing "cold."

Please don't take my failure to respond as lukewarmness toward the cause, however. I seldom send out blanket emails on list servers, but I think we all need some encouragement. I'm mission board chairman for the hardest hit WELS district, the Arizona-California. We are struggling and striving to figure out how to continue three missions whose funding has been discontinued. Two others that were de-funded will survive, and we are hoping and praying we can save five. One mission program will not continue.

I am understating it if I say this is heart-rending. But I don't believe the solution lies in the synodical budget, convention decisions, mission funding, or synodical organization. We need to understand that telling someone about Jesus costs nothing. We have over 1200 congregations organized to do this, and 200,000 WELS members (the official count minus a possible inactive or disinterested third) who know how to be missionaries.

It does not look like synodical funding will be available to start many missions anytime soon. But each congregation, pastor, and member can do so much starting today, to extend the kingdom of Christ. I urge all of us to make the most of every opportunity. Keep your heads up and eyes focused on Christ. Remember even without WELS, the Spirit caused his church to grow for 1850 years. Pray that God will continue to use our little church body for this great Cause.

Pastor Daniel M. Wagenknecht
Arizona-California District Mission Board (WELS)
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church
6550 Fairmont Blvd.
Yorba Linda, CA 92886
office(714)779- 2384 or mobile 624-9001
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."

--- On Thu, 5/21/09, MiscoJohn@aol. com wrote:

From: MiscoJohn@aol. com
Subject: Re: [church_and_ change] HEY CHURCH ARE YOU REALLY OUT THERE? Or Am I lost in ...
To: church_and_change@ yahoogroups. com
Date: Thursday, May 21, 2009, 12:35 PM


Thanks, Bob, for your words, your thoughts, your loss of sleep, your zeal for the Lord, and your encouragements. I'm going to use some of what you wrote for the opening part of Peace Lutheran's council meeting tonight (both they and our little mission will have Ascension service this weekend). I, too, am a bit puzzled that you are not getting more response. Maybe we're all scared about what might happen yet, if things don't turn around in the economy. Faith in our Lord's power, promise to care for us, and a desire to see him return soon should dispel the fear. If it doesn't, then something is, as you imply, happening to our faith.

Blessings on your work---get some rest!

John Huebner

---

From: Dennis Rardin
To: church_and_change@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, May 21, 2009 8:15:26 PM
Subject: Re: [church_and_change] HEY CHURCH ARE YOU REALLY OUT THERE? Or Am I lost in ...


All,

A few thoughts, random ones, from one who has been both pastor and parishioner:

1) There are very real economic issues at work, including but not limited to the banking mess/recession.
a) Taxes. They keep going up. My wife and I bought a home in 2000. We sold it in 2005 and bought a much older home in a much less desirable area. Why? Because in 5 years, the property tax on the first home nearly doubled, and was consuming nearly 10% of our pre-tax income. Not the mortgage ... the property taxes.
b) Prices. The church spends 90% of its money on 2 things: people and buildings -- the only 2 things that have consistently increased in cost faster than inflation in the last 30 years. (Health care, of course, is a "people" cost.)
c) As a result, the same percentage of income does less church work than it used to. The trend will likely continue.

2) We have not gotten through the noise of American consumerism into our people's hearts what stewardship is. In a nutshell, the simple question is: How much are we willing to lower our standard of living in order to preach the Gospel? As noted above, my wife and I found ourselves unable to give what we wanted because of a property tax problem and a (temporary) reduction of income. We fixed the problem by lowering our standard of living -- we moved.

Our people don't generally do this. They don't, as a rule, even think in those terms when budgeting. We've left training in how to take care of money to the credit card companies, real estate agents, and car salesmen. It's not working very well.

3) The result is that when we say, "Help, WELS is broke," most of our people cannot help as much as the clergy sometimes think. To help to any real degree, in many cases they'd have to go back in time and buy a different home or car, stop consuming as much and pay down debt, etc.

4) My thoughts:

a) Our pastors, especially, need to get over our cultural reluctance to speak of themselves, make sure their own giving is right, and then lead by example. Our people just do not get it. They're going to need to hear, "You paid me $X last year. The parsonage was the same as paying me another $Y. My wife makes $Z. Last year we gave $A. Let me tell you how we did that." Maybe in the pulpit, maybe in people's living rooms, maybe not quite that way. But very, very specifically.

b) Our pastors need to preach more specific law about stewardship. We are very good at talking about the Widow's Mite. We need to get better at saying, "I don't know what level of giving is right for you. I do know that 1% isn't it."

c) If you could pick a time to make this adjustment, now would not be it. It needed to happen before there was a crisis. But there you have it.

5) As long as I'm writing heresy ... we really need to take a long, hard look at ministry priorities. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but if we added up all the budgets in the WELS, don't we spend more on K-12 education than on everything else we do, combined? This, in a word, is nuts.

Climbing Off Of Soapbox,
Dennis

Do I Hear An Echo, An Echo, An Echo?

Mark Driscoll dressed as Sauron but insisted on wearing
his Mickey Mouse emblem.


The CORE's vision is to become a city within the city, Skorzewski said.

"In the same way we've been transformed by Jesus, then our responsibility and opportunity is to share that Gospel message that transforms lives," he said. "We're going to start very small like a township and our goal is to grow into a city that affects the city for our Savior Jesus."

Post Crescent

MARS HILL:

Our Mission
Mars Hill Church lives for Jesus as a city within the city—knowing culture, loving people, and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus.

http://www.marshillchurch.org/about

Ascension Sermon - Service at 6:PM Arizona Time

The Risen Christ by Norma Boeckler

Ascension, Holy Communion Service, 6:30 PM

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 8 AM Phoenix Time


The Hymn #221 Hark Ten Thousand Harps 3:33
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 Acts 1:1-11
The Gospel Mark 16:14-20
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #496 From Greenland 3:23


Post Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

The Hymn #316 O Living Bread 3:45
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 #294 O Word of God 3:31

KJV Luke 24:49 And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high. 50 And he led them out as far as to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them. 51 And it came to pass, while he blessed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 52 And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy: 53 And were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God. Amen.

[The ending of Luke fits with the opening of Acts, which Luke also wrote.]

KJV Acts 1:1 The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach, 2 Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chosen: 3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: 4 And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. 5 For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. 6 When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? 7 And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. 8 But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. 9 And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight. 10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; 11 Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

KJV Mark 16:14 Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

Ascension
O Jesus Christ, Thou almighty Son of God, who art no longer in humiliation here on earth, but sittest at the right hand of Thy Father, Lord over all things: We beseech Thee, send us Thy Holy Spirit; give Thy Church pious pastors, preserve Thy word, control and restrain the devil and all who would oppress us: mightily uphold Thy kingdom, until all Thine enemies shall have been put under Thy feet, that we may hold the victory over sin, death, and the devil, through Thee, who livest and reignest with God the Father and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen,

Post Resurrection Appearances of Jesus

As I promised one layman, I am going to discuss the appearances of Christ after His resurrection, because we tend to pass over them.

The Gospel of John

The Fourth Gospel unifies the four-gospel account of Christ, giving us one coherent gospel, as Lenski wrote in his Interpretation of John.

The appearances of Jesus in John are vivid and compelling. The women saw the empty tomb first but they did not see Jesus right away.

When Mary Magdalene saw the empty tomb (John 20) she ran to tell Peter and John. Those disciples saw the empty tomb but did not see Jesus.

Mary returned to the tomb, she saw two angels in the place where Jesus lay. She was weeping when Jesus spoke to her. She did not know who He was at first, until He spoke her name, “Mary.”

She responded, “Rabboni – Master,” a response which gives many people goosebumps.

KJV John 20:17 Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.

The rest of the chapter is well known, since we use it every year on Doubting Thomas Sunday. Jesus appeared to the disciples without Thomas being there and gave them (not the pope) the Office of the Keys. That was Easter evening.

He appeared again a week later, and they were still locked in a room.

KJV John 20:29 Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

John concluded his Gospel:

KJV John 20:30 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

So what do we make of John 21, which has another and similar conclusion? I agree with Lenski that people prevailed upon the aging apostle to produce a supplement, which could have been written down by someone else, but was still dictated by the apostle. John 21 is found in all the early copies of the Gospel, so it was part of the account from very early times. So we have to wonder, “Why was this account of Jesus meeting them by the sea so important?”

In this account, Jesus appeared to some apostles while they were fishing, but the disciples did not recognize him. Jesus hid His identity as He did at first with Mary and the disciples walking to Emmaus. The disciples had not caught any fish, so Jesus suggested casting the net on the other side of the boat.

Biblical students recognize this as almost a duplicate of the miraculous catch of fish, as the Savior doubtless intended. The disciples were not out preaching the Gospel, but providing for their material needs. “Broiled fish” is another name for wages – The broiled fish of sin is death, as Paul said literally. So they were earning wages instead of preaching.

As soon as they obeyed the Word, the net was too heavy with fish to be pulled into the boat. John recognized Jesus.

KJV John 21:7 Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord. Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat unto him, (for he was naked,) and did cast himself into the sea.

Peter was not literally naked, but down to his skivvies. He grabbed his outer garment and jumped into the sea, to get to shore first.

When everyone got to the shore, they saw Jesus had a fire, fish, and bread for them to eat. And he invited them to dine.

What is the purpose of this supplement?

One striking feature is the irony of the fishermen going back to their fishing. Jesus already had a meal for them, before the fish were hauled to shore. This example said to them, “I will take care of you. The fishers of men will not starve.”

I have told ministers, who confused a synod organization with the Savior, “You can still be a pastor. Just start studying the Bible with some people and let the Word do its work.” The Word is the Means of Grace, visible and invisible. Money is not.
Another lesson from John 21 is Jesus absolution of Peter. He used the Gospel, not the Law, to bring Peter to repentance. Just as Peter denied Him three times before a charcoal fire, so Jesus asked him the same question in three ways – before a charcoal fire.

KJV John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.

Jesus also addressed the death of Peter, how he would glorify God, but with no details about the death of John.

Matthew’s Gospel

Matthew’s Gospel is first in order and may be the first written. (Early on, some though of Mark as a harmony of Matthew of Luke. I tend to agree, but this is not a big issue, nor is it one we can solve on this side of the veil.)

In Matthew, it is clear that the angel opened the tomb for the women, not to let Jesus out. The Savior was not limited by His human nature. He left the sealed tomb, just as he entered the locked room of the disciples.

The two Mary’s saw the empty tomb, then ran to see the disciples. On the way, Jesus revealed Himself to them. They held Him by the feet and worshiped Him.

KJV Matthew 28:10 Then said Jesus unto them, Be not afraid: go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they see me.

Matthew’s Gospel ends with the Great Commission as it is called:

KJV Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

The Church Shrinkers, using their Reformed doctrine, try to persuade people that Jesus said, “Make disciples!” The text does not say that at all. Jesus Gospel admonition says:


· Go and teach all nations – literally “disciple all nations.”
· Baptizing them in the Name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
· Instructing them to observe all things I have commanded you.
· I am with you to the end of the world.

Luther commented (Lenski, Matthew, p. 1150) – “These are the words of a Majesty which must be termed Majesty indeed.”

So the basic admonition is not to make something, but to teach all nations – without discrimination. Not so surprisingly, the McGavran followers were taught to distinguish races and social classes. The apostolic church did not. The apostles included the scum of the earth and wealthy socialites. Man creates barriers. The Word transcends barriers.

There are many important lessons in this ending of Matthew. Lenski identifies it with the appearance of Christ to 500 brethren (1 Corinthians 15).

KJV 1 Corinthians 15:1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; 2 By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. 3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: 5 And that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: 6 After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. 7 After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. 8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, that am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.

So this gathering in Galilee was a great teaching event. The 500 believers were eyewitnesses of the risen Lord, the same who was publicly crucified. No one could doubt the death of Jesus, with the sword piercing Him and the flow of blood and water. Now 500 witnesses were in agreement about His resurrection.

The tendency of many teachers is to have Jesus giving the Great Commission to the eleven, who are mentioned specifically (Matthew 28:17). Matthew takes special notice of them and says they worshiped Him, but some of them doubted. This is paralleled in the account in John, also showing the disciples were human, not plaster saints whose feet never touched the ground. And we, who know so much, still doubt. Vast numbers of mainline clergy disbelieve the empty tomb but talk glowingly about “the Easter faith of the disciples.”

Many conservative clergy say they believe the Word of God is inerrant, but they only trust the wisdom of man.

I have had many conservative Lutheran clergy argue with that Jesus said, “Make disciples,” and that our job is to “make disciples.” That has also appeared in many Lutheran publications.

So here we have the risen Lord instructing the gathered Church of its time, urging them outward across the world, trusting in the efficacy of the Word and Holy Baptism. Clearly, Holy Communion would follow the instruction – “all things I have commanded you.”

Mark’s Gospel

Many new and improved Bibles drop the second half of Mark 16, based on very questionable texts from the Vatican and a monastery, miraculously discovered by the same man, Tischendorf, who declared them the best manuscripts of the New Testament. By the way – there are many fake discoveries which have made the reputations of a man - until the fraud was proven.

The Gospel of Mark’s ending, Mark 16:9-20, shows the harmony of the Gospel with other accounts.

Jesus appeared to Mary Magdalene first.
The disciples had a lot of trouble believing Jesus was risen.
Jesus appeared to the two who were walking in the country (Emmaus story).
Jesus upbraided the disciples for not believing the first accounts of His resurrection.

KJV Mark 16:15 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. 17 And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; 18 They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. 19 So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20 And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.

The ending of Mark is worth reading with fresh eyes. The same story is told but in different words. When people conspire to lie, they use the same words. Truthful witnesses will use different words but agree in details.

The Gospel of Luke

We owe the Gospel of Luke our favorite unique passages of the New Testament, including the birth of Jesus, the Good Samaritan, the Lost Sheep, and the Prodigal Son.

In Luke, the women discover the empty tomb, but only Peter is mentioned in the race to the tomb. This shows how John supplements and unifies the accounts so well. Once we add John to the picture, we have the compelling picture of two men racing to see this great wonder. John enjoys stating that he won the race, but impulsive Peter went into the tomb first. (Peter also jumped into the sea, John 21.)

Cleopas and another follower were on the road to Emmaus when Jesus drew up to them and joined them. He got them to talk about the commotion in Jerusalem, giving us an important insight, “Are you just a stranger in Jerusalem?” In other words – everyone knows what just happened:

KJV Luke 24:19 And he said unto them, What things? And they said unto him, Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people: 20 And how the chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and have crucified him. 21 But we trusted that it had been he which should have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since these things were done. 22 Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23 And when they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was alive. 24 And certain of them which were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women had said: but him they saw not.

Jesus was not exactly meek and mild at this point, a common theme in all the resurrection appearances:

KJV Luke 24:25 Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26 Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

Jesus made Himself known in the breaking of the bread, so the two disciples (one of them Cleopas) rushed back to Jerusalem to tell the eleven.

KJV Luke 24:33 And they rose up the same hour, and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, and them that were with them, 34 Saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 35 And they told what things were done in the way, and how he was known of them in breaking of bread. 36 And as they thus spake, Jesus himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.

Here we see the perfect harmony between Luke and John. The disciples rushed back. Jesus had already appeared to Peter. And soon Jesus appeared to them in the locked room, saying “Peace be unto you.”

When we read all the resurrection accounts together, we see a more complete picture of the foundation laid by Jesus before His Ascension:

1. They saw the empty tomb and heard from the angels.
2. The women, Peter, and the Emmaus disciples saw the risen Lord.
3. Jesus instructed His followers and upbraided them for their lack of faith, since He had taught them about His suffering, death, and resurrection.
4. This instruction lasted for a period of time, so the Eleven, other disciples, and the 500 saw and heard the risen Savior before His Ascension.

Luke’s interest in historical accuracy preserves a bit of information which is easily overlooked.

KJV Acts 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:

Christ spent 40 days teaching them and showing them miraculous proofs, all of which confirmed them in their faith and trained them in what they would teach. When we read the works of the New Testament, it is not only the Holy Spirit speaking through human beings, but also Jesus in His initial training, His death and crucifixion, and His post-resurrection instruction of the Apostles – and the 500. The Christian Church grew miraculously because God provided a broad base of carefully trained people who were eyewitnesses of the Risen Lord.

Jesus rose into heaven, probably from Jerusalem, His disciples lost in wonder, still gazing at the sky.

Two angels spoke to them:

Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.

That statement is the beginning and the final purpose of the Christian Church. The disciples stopped gazing and began teaching what they had learned. One day Jesus would return in the same way He left. On that day, every knew will bow and confess that Jesus is the Lord.

Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

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KJV John 21:15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs. 16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep. 17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.