Shrove Tuesday Service Tonight - 7 PMish Central

The Crucifixion by Norma Boeckler

Mid-Week Lenten Vespers


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 6 PM Phoenix Time

The Hymn #142 An Wasserfluessen Babylon
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 1 p. 123
The Lection The Passion History

The Sermon Hymn #347 Jesus meine Freude

The Sermon – The Passover Lamb

The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace p. 45

The Hymn #554 O Welt, ich muss


The Passion History begins with the preparations Jesus made for the Passover Meal. This shows us the unity of the Old and New Testaments.

That also illustrates the importance of God’s Word in the worship service. Some of us grew up in the Bible Belt, where people were diligent in learning as much of the Bible as possible, and always learning more.

One senior pastor told me that in Canada he barely got 10 people at a Bible study, in the largest Lutheran church in the country. In a similar church in Iowa, he routinely had 200 for the same class.

That seems to be an attitude which crosses denominational lines, because all the churches (except the Catholics) seemed to be like that in the Midwest. One reason it is not true in other parts of the country is the rationalistic, Reformed attitudes toward the Bible. Once it becomes “man’s book about God,” there is no great reason to study. We have enough textbooks already.

But where people want to know as much as possible about the Word of God, the phrases used in the liturgical service and creeds are a constant reminder of the Scriptural Promises. (In the Book of Concord, the Gospel is often interchanged with the phrase “the Promises of God.”)
For instance, when the benediction is said, that is God speaking directly to each person. Therefore, the benediction should be God’s Word, not man’s word.

Man’s word says “God loves you and so do I.” But why put that vague statement in place of the majestic Trinitarian blessing, one Lord three times:

1. The Lord bless you and keep you.
2. The Lord make His face to shine upon you.
3. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace.

When people want to fix up the worship service, they take away the historic liturgy, which is 100% God’s Word, and substitute man’s word.

The Medieval Church did that because they could frighten people into good works by threatening Purgatory and Hell, making Purgatory seem like a blessing in comparison. And of course, Purgatory requires even more good works to spring loved ones from that semi-Hell for the semi-saved.

The Reformed Church changed the historic liturgy because Zwingli did not believe in Holy Communion as a Sacrament. He actually had a nightmare before he instituted this change, where an angel spoke to him, “It is the Lord’s Passover.”

Another omen for him was the horde of people who attended the last Holy Communion service before he took it away and made it a symbolic, memorial meal that did not take away sins. Calvin simply continued along the same lines, although he was a better, more elegant writer in undermining God’s Word. However, he also mocked the Sacraments in the same way as Zwingli.

Passover Meal
The Passover Meal unites believers with the Exodus, and the Savior with the spotless lamb sacrificed to set free the People of God.

Therefore, when we read the stories of the Exodus, our own Holy Communion is tied up with those events. If that were not clear enough, Jesus spoke about these elements in the Gospel of John.

The Israelites ate the miraculous manna, the bread from heaven.

Jesus is the Bread from Heaven:

KJV John 6:30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work? 31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat. 32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world. 34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread. 35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst. 36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.

Jesus is the water of life:

KJV John 4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: 14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. 15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. 16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. 17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. 19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

Jesus is the Lamb:

NKJ Exodus 12:21 Then Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said to them, "Pick out and take lambs for yourselves according to your families, and kill the Passover lamb. 22 "And you shall take a bunch of hyssop, dip it in the blood that is in the basin, and strike the lintel and the two doorposts with the blood that is in the basin. And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. 23 "For the LORD will pass through to strike the Egyptians; and when He sees the blood on the lintel and on the two doorposts, the LORD will pass over the door and not allow the destroyer to come into your houses to strike you. 24 "And you shall observe this thing as an ordinance for you and your sons forever.

KJV John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

KJV Revelation 7:15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

That is why Luther emphasized the truth, power, and authority of God’s Word, so that we never take away from it.

As soon as man begins to adulterate the Word to make it appealing (by his standards) he presents man’s word in the guise of God’s Word. This is all the more seductive because the two are blended together and offered in a spirit of making things better for everyone.

Saying that this adulteration is a blessing is Enthusiasm, pure and simple. Anyone who separates the work of the Holy Spirit from the Word is an Enthusiast. Our Confessions condemn Enthusiasm in no uncertain terms.

The opposite of Enthusiasm is faith in God’s Word. More faith is not virtue, it is greater trust. Faith in God’s Word means trusting it 100%, no 80% or 50%.

How To Become a Church Growth Guru in WELS and the ELS

The 19th century Shrinker Henry Ward Beecher
counseled many women at his church
and at their homes.

Here is the link for a most unpleasant story. Parental controls are recommended. The article says, "It's a felony." An Assemblies of God church let this particular felon use its building for "counseling."

WELS said, "We need that kind of guy as a Church Growth consultant!"

WELS said, "He must be returned to the pastorate to prey upon the flock."

The ELS said, "We need him to fund Thoughts of Faith."

And all the clergy and officials fell down before the Golden Calf and said, "Amen!"

Blogs and Websites To Follow Or Ignore

Bailing Water

Extra Nos

Faithful Service - ELCA Dissent

Lutheran Colportage - from Norman Teigen

Lutheran News Gathers Blogs and Websites

Norman Teigen's Original Blog

Rogue Lutheran - Dissenting from the LCMS Shrinkers

Sceleratissimus Lutheranus - The Most Villainous Lutheran. The title given to the great Lutheran theologian Martin Chemnitz by the Roman Catholics after he wrote his masterful work, The Examination of the Council of Trent.

The Finkelsteinery

What Sasse Said

Shifting Blog Gears

This is not Norman Teigen.
Norman thinks it looks like him, too.

I have posted enough to show where WELS and the Little Sect on the Prairie are going. I am going to shift away from current events to concentrate on Lutheran doctrine.

Pastors and laity can easily come to the conclusion that someone is doing their job for them. They can whisper among themselves about the latest scandals and reckon that something will be done, now that everyone knows.

I only see evidence that blood is thicker than doctrine in the old Synodical Conference.

Moreover, the love of money is the root of all evil.

Wealthy people like apostasy and support it lavishly. Witness The CORE blowing through $500,000 during a recession, cloning the worst of the Reformed sects and calling it outreach or transformation.

Consider the Arizona-California-Las Vegas District of WELS, applying absolutely no discipline to their non-WELS congregation, CrossWalk in Phoenix. Quite the contrary is true - Jeff Gunn has taken a place in leadership at Wisconsin Lutheran College, with two of his members. When I pointed that out, WLC stopped identifying the membership of its board by parish. In effect, WELS has rewarded Gunn for avoiding Holy Communion, denying his nominal Lutheran identity, and shunning Lutheran doctrine.

For dessert, WLC has added Paul Calvin Kelm to its staff, in spite of his lifelong devotion to Reformed doctrine. I should say - because of it.

The ELS is no different, clucking its frostbit tongue at the doctrinal shenanigans of WELS, while sporting their own Emerging Pietistic congregation.

The ELS and WELS save their wrath for anyone telling the truth, or even wondering about it. However, they delegate their hothead or pothead children to do their work for them. I don't mind - I consider it an honor. But it does show that they can all get angry, but always for the wrong reason.

In my opinion, all the Doctrinal Pussycats should be fired. But they were elected, and they would be replaced by more felines, who will say anything to get into office and do anything to stay in office. That is what the people want and they will pay dearly for it.