Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Christ's Love, Our Calling. That's the theme of our Wisconsin Evangelical
Lutheran Synod. It's also the focus of the second year of our four year
stewardship emphasis.
The word "stewardship" usually brings to mind encouragement to be more
intentional with how we use our worldly wealth. However, there are other
important aspects of stewardship as well. This year our primary focus will be
on talents. We all have different gifts, but share in the same grace of Jesus
Christ!
Consider the following:
1) If God's people aren't regularly using their talents at worship, should
it really be called worship? [GJ - If the congregation offers the Means of Grace instead of the Law...yes!]
2) If we don't invest our talents in raising our children and serving our
neighbor, what will soon happen with our society? [GJ - That is why God started this precious program, to save society through our work.]
3) If we aren't interested in using our talents to promote the preaching
and teaching of Christ in our midst--and around the world--what will soon happen
to mission work? [GJ - What will happen to the paid vacations around the world for the elite if we have no exotic locations to visit?]
The point? God has blessed each member of his body, the church, with
certain talents. When each member uses those talents to serve God and each
other, the body thrives. If members leave their talents untapped, the body
suffers. [ GJ - God is counting on you to do His Word. He has no hands but yours, no feet but yours, no cash but yours.]
A special Bible Study and Worship service titled Different Gifts, Same
Grace will use Romans 12:6-8 as the biblical framework for this Sunday,
which includes discussions about the talent of serving and whether everyone has
that talent or not. For those members who regularly attend Bible study, we'll
pause the "Speaking the Truth in Love to other Christians" Bible study for a
week and take a look at the Gift of Service. Whether or not you regularly
attend Bible study, I'm confident you will really appreciate and enjoy this
Bible study. It begins at 9:00.
We'll see you in church this Sunday! Until then, know for certain that the
Lord of the church has richly blessed every member of our congregation with
gifts and abilities to be used to God's glory and our neighbor's good: "We have
different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is
prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let
him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him
encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give
generously; if it leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy,
let him do it cheerfully" (Romans 12:6-8).
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AC V has left a new comment on your post "UOJ Turns the Gospel into Law: WELS Stewardship Pr...":
WELS UOJ confusion:
WELS theologians should consult with each other before they publish. In the October 2011 edition of Forward in Christ contributing editor Forrest Bivens, a professor at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, states: "The astonishing reality is that God has forgiven the sins of the whole world, whether people believe it or not" (p.9).
Yet WELS CA/AZ District President Jon Buchholz states in his paper entitled Justification Expounded by Scripture presented to the synod in convention in 2005:
"The doctrine of objective justification is a defining doctrine for the Wisconsin Synod and for the old Synodical Conference. In our zeal to expound the true, biblical doctrine of objective justification against those who oppose the doctrine, we have, at times, 'pushed the envelope,' and employed words and phrases in imprecise and incorrect ways. ... I offer the following as a loving critique of some wording and phraseology which has circulated in our midst:
'God has forgiven the whole world. God has forgiven everyone his sins.' This statement is absolutely true! This is the heart of the gospel, and it must be preached and taught as the foundation of our faith. But here’s where the caveat comes in: In Scripture, the word 'forgive' is used almost exclusively in a personal, not a universal sense. The Bible doesn’t make the statement, 'God has forgiven the world.' Rather, the Spirit of Inspiration overwhelmingly uses the word 'forgive' (Greek: afihmi) within the context of repentance and faith, effected through the means of grace. There are good reasons why the Spirit chooses a particular word to be used in a particular context. Using the word 'forgiveness' in the atypical sense, apart from repentance and faith, one might easily find himself in the incongruous position of saying to the impenitent or unbelieving, 'God has forgiven your sins [objective gospel], but your sins are not forgiven [Ministry of the Keys].'"
Note to Jon Buchholz, if in Scripture, the word "forgive" is used almost exclusively in a personal, not a universal sense, then it should not be used in a universal sense, i.e. UOJ. Maybe it's because we are justified by faith alone?
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GJ - This statement contradicts what was just quoted above:
