Poping Is Not Just for Lutherans - The Pope’s New Evangelization Program: Bishop Ricken, Greg Laurie and Calvary Chapel

The Pope’s New Evangelization Program: Bishop Ricken, Greg Laurie and Calvary Chapel:


Two esteemed men, one a United States Catholic Bishop from Green Bay, WI., the other a Cardinal based in Europe, serving as the Archbishop of Vienna, suddenly seem to have very much in common.

Both men, charged with revitalizing the Catholic faith, have courageously taken action that acknowledges the supernatural presence of Our Lady.[3]


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New life for Resurrection Church after finding new home » Local News » The Free Press, Mankato, MN

New life for Resurrection Church after finding new home » Local News » The Free Press, Mankato, MN:


New life for Resurrection Church after finding new home
By Brian Ojanpa
Free Press Staff Writer

MANKATO — Church council secretary Phil Wold says, “It’s an absolute windfall for us,” and pastor Gregory Lenz is even more effusive:

“When I walk in this building, I pinch myself and say, ‘Is this really happening?’”

The 18-month-old Resurrection Lutheran Church in Mankato, which held its first gathering in a hotel, has secured permanent residence in a structure that couldn’t be more suitable for its needs.

When the 140-year-old First Christian Church folded due to dwindling membership, Resurrection members jumped at the chance to occupy the fully furnished East Main Street building, which was built in 1962 and includes a 1977 addition.

Lenz describes the commingling of congregations — about 20 former First Christian members became part of 80-member Resurrection — as a marriage made in heaven because of the win-win nature of the building transaction.

“Our pledge to First Christian was that we would keep it as a church,” Lenz said of the non-traditional real estate deal.

Resurrection is purchasing the building and spacious grounds for $120,000, payable at a rate of $1,000 a month for 10 years.

The church is among similar congregations in the United States that separated from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America over conflicts involving — but not limited to — the denomination’s 2009 decision to allow non-celibate homosexuals to serve as clergy.

Wold and fellow congregants hesitate to label churches such as Resurrection as “breakaway” factions. Rather, they contend the ELCA  broke from its moorings with its liberal drift away from biblical teachings.

“We basically regard ourselves as conforming to what the Bible teaches,” Wold said.

Another separatist church, Christ the King Lutheran in Waseca, formed in 2009 for the same reasons.

Resurrection formed when Lutherans from Mankato, Mapleton and St. Peter gathered in mutual disapproval of ELCA actions.


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Rejoice

Christmas schedule - Christmas Eve, 7 PM Central Time - Candlelight Hymn service.
Christmas Day - printed sermon only - traveling south to be with LI's family

The Fourth Sunday in Advent

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn # 94 Hark, the Herald Angels                        3.19   

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       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #90 Come, Your Hearts             3.83

The Peace of God

The Hymn # 103 – Luther            To Shepherds            3.82

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 #95 Savior of the Nations            3.42

KJV Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

KJV John 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. 24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Fourth Sunday In Advent

Lord God, heavenly Father, it is meet and right that we should give thanks unto Thee, that Thou hast given us a more glorious baptism than that of John the Baptist, and hast therein promised us the remission of sins, the Holy Spirit, and everlasting life through Thy Son, Jesus Christ: Preserve us, we beseech Thee, in such faith in Thy grace and mercy, that we may never doubt Thy promise, but be comforted by the same in all temptations: and grant us Thy Holy Spirit that we may renounce sin, and ever continue in the righteousness bestowed upon us in baptism, until by Thy grace we obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Peace of God

Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Paul wrote this letter from prison. He was kept in prison for a long time, due to a scandal involving the emperor. He had hopes for justice, but the exact details of how this worked out are lost in history. The apostolic church did not carve marble statues of the apostles and preserve details of their lives. They focused upon the Gospel of Christ instead of the institution of the moment.

Paul’s prison letters are the most joyful, and this passage is a good example of that theme. It is ironic that John the Baptist and Paul ended their work in prison, yet the Gospel could not be tamed or chained.

4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.

Believing means forgiveness, so there is always rejoicing for the Christian. The attitude of a Christian is expressed in the next verse, although the exact word to use is difficult to find.

5 Let your moderation [Lindigkeit, yieldingness] be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.

Lenski:

5) Your yieldingness, let it get to be known to all men! Ever filled with joy and happiness in all heavenly blessings that are ours, anything like rigorousness must be foreign to us, sweet gentleness, considerateness, Lindigkeit (Luther’s beautiful rendering) must ever emanate from us so that all men with whom we come in contact may get to realize, feel, and appreciate it (ingressive and effective aorist). Does this exclude people like those mentioned in 3:2? The question is evaded when it is remarked that Judaizers had not yet appeared in Philippi. Why should these or even pagan persecuters be excluded? Many will not appreciate this gentleness; but oh, the victories it has won among the worst enemies! Paul knows of no exception when he writes “all men.”

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to the Galatians, to the Ephesians and to the Philippians. Columbus, O. : Lutheran Book Concern, 1937, S. 875

Lenski on moderation or Lindigkeit:

When we are preaching we should know just what is meant so that we may at least describe with exactness. Trench is a good teacher: the derivation is from εἴκω, ἔοικα, Latin cedo, hence the meaning is “yielding,” not insisting on one’s legal rights as these are often inserted into moral wrongs by making the summum jus the summa injuria. The word always refers to the treatment of others while “meekness” is an inner quality. Many angles converge in “yieldingness” such as clementia, aequitas, modestia. Even the Latin lacks a real equivalent. God and Christ exhibit what is meant. God deals so leniently with men, he remembers that we are dust, he withholds justice so long. Christ is gentle, kind, patient, more than only fair. Only our perverted reason would think that “yieldingness” might include a yielding of truth to error, of right to wrong, of virtue to vice and crime.

Kennedy quotes W. Pater’s Marius the Epicurean, which describes the spirit of the new Christian society as it appeared to a pagan: “As if by way of a clue, recognition of some immeasurable divine condescension manifest in a certain historic fact, its influence was felt more especially at those points, which demanded some sacrifice of one’s self, for the weak, for the aged, for little children, and even for the dead. And then, for its constant outward token, its significant manner or index, it issued in a certain debonair grace, and a certain mystic attractiveness, a courtesy, which made Marius doubt whether that famed Greek blithe-ness or gaiety or grace in the handling of life had been, after all, an unrivaled success.”

Yes, this is not the yieldingness of a slave or of an inferior but of a superior in a noble and generous spirit. The Christian keeps his high nobility, he condescends; he considers the weak and the needy and also the pitifulness of the world’s haughty and tyrannical. He has that purest and noblest grace which few are able to resist. All of this lies in this term epieikeia. Let it shine out from your joyous hearts!

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to the Galatians, to the Ephesians and to the Philippians. Columbus, O. : Lutheran Book Concern, 1937, S. 876

Oswald Chambers is not a Lutheran but he had a lot to say about this term. One explanation is very fitting for our time. He said that being a Christian was not a matter of claiming rights but giving up rights.

We hear a constant clamor about individual rights and even animal rights. Today I saw a comical picture of a young woman hugging and kissing a tree.

But the problem is one of attitude. The unbelieving world is always outraged at the idea of its rights, privileges, and honors being harmed in some way. I witnessed a librarian fighting over a desk. The president moved out of the old library, so the librarian was promised the presidential desk. That did not happen, so the phone lines lit up. “They promised me the desk.” When that sort of friction over furniture is multiplied many times over by the entire population, chaos erupts. That is our society today.

There is enough of the Old Adam is each one of us to keep that going. But the New Creation (by the Word) resists that and substitutes a yielding nature. I remember watching my mother make pancakes on Sunday morning. Five people ate blueberry pancakes, as many as we wanted. I asked, “When do you get some?” She always ate last. The cook, I thought, was entitled to stop and eat, but she yielded. Mothers are the best example of this quality. Children seldom realize it.

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

The change in meaning for careful is used as an excuse for changing translations every few years. No one mentions the millions of dollars made when  everything printed has to be purchased again.

Careful means full of care or worry. Now we are inclined to say “anxious” instead. The context clearly shows what this spiritual advice means. Do not worry about your livelihood, your future, your children, but keep your requests before God – with thanksgiving, prayer, and

1 Peter 5:7 says, “Cast your cares upon Him, for He cares for you.” Some congregations include “cares” into their URL, as if the congregation is doing the caring. The text says that Jesus cares for us, and if those words “Jesus cares” are used, then they should be applied uniformly, without denying help.

This lesson shows a definite divide between Lutherans and the non-Lutheran Protestants (who are similar to Roman Catholics in this regard). The non-Lutheran Protestants teach that people should pray Jesus into their hearts. That shows a misunderstanding in several ways:

1. God’s grace comes to us through the Gospel, so when we believe, we are forgiven.
2. Praying for forgiveness confuses prayer as the fruit of faith with conversion to the Christian faith. The moment one believes in Christ, that person is forgiven of all sins. Praying hard enough and long enough turns conversion into a work of man, a decision made by man.
3. This approach makes people anxious about whether they have repented enough, prayed enough, suffered enough, yielded enough. In other words, the works of the Law are mixed with the free grace and mercy of Christ in the Gospel.

There is no way to escape these problems without the Means of Grace. God’s grace is not scary (as the UOJers on Lutherquest imagine) and does not “teach our hear to fear” (as Calvinist Newton wrote in “Amazing Grace,” the original words).

The Word is God’s instrument of grace. The Holy Spirit always accompanies the Word and never works apart from the Word. Therefore we know that God is at work in the teaching and preaching of the Gospel, in the visible Means of communion and baptism.

The Gospel promises create faith in our hearts, from the moment we are baptized, and these promises increase faith, which is nurtured  by abiding in the True Vine, Christ. John 15:1-10.

So there is a direct connection between the energy of the Gospel and prayer. That is why Paul always accompanied his admonitions to prayer with Gospel promises and testimony about God’s gracious work.

Lenski:

Turn to Psalm 73. There is the mind trying to guard and protect itself. “Why does God allow me to suffer so? Why does he allow the ungodly to flourish and thrive?” In v. 16 and 22 the psalmist confesses the inability of his own mind to protect itself from the assaults of such thoughts. In v. 23, 24 he makes the peace of God his refuge, where all his harassing thoughts are answered and brought to rest.

“In Christ Jesus” is to be construed with the verb and thus also with its two objects just as in Eph. 1:4, for the action is “in connection with Christ Jesus,” and the objects of that action cannot be in some other connection. As far as the feeling of peace (subjective) is concerned, we need scarcely say a word. Where the actual state of peace exists with its great guarding effects, how can the feeling of peace, the enjoyment of it, be absent? If the feeling ever declines, this divine guard will revive it. All we need is prayer, petition, asking, i. e., getting back under the protection of our guard, then we shall feel safe and happy again and shall joyfully offer thanksgiving.

Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. Paul's Epistles to the Galatians, to the Ephesians and to the Philippians. Columbus, O. : Lutheran Book Concern, 1937, S. 880

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

This is not man’s wish but a statement of the Holy Spirit through Paul. It is normally used at the end of the sermon and has the Latin title of Votum – prayer. This little verse, so easy to take for granted, is another Promise of God. (Melanchthon uses Promises of God as a synonym for the Gospel, in the Book of Concord.)

The peace of God is the complete and free forgiveness of sins. That exceeds all understanding and comprehension of man. Therefore, it guards and protects our minds through the power of Christ. Whatever might torment us – that is shielded and defeated by the Gospel of Christ.

Quotations

Advent IV

"Melanchthon, the Hamlet of the Reformation, shrinking from action into contemplation, with a dangerous yearning for a peace which must have been hollow and transient, had become more and more entangled in the complications of a specious but miserable policy which he felt made him justly suspected by those whose confidence in him had once been unlimited."

            Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Philadelphia: 1913 (1871), p. 85.         

"If we would be Christians, therefore, we must surely expect and reckon upon having the devil with all his angels and the world as our enemies, who will bring every possible misfortune and grief upon us. For where the Word of God is preached, accepted, or believed, and produces fruit, there the holy cross cannot be wanting. And let no one think that he shall have peace; but he must risk whatever he has upon earth--possessions, honor, house and estate, wife and children, body and life. Now, this hurts our flesh and the old Adam; for the test is to be steadfast and to suffer with patience in whatever way we are assailed, and to let go whatever is taken from us."

            Large Catechism, The Lord's Prayer, Third Petition, #65, Concordia Triglotta, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921, p. 715.     

"That forbearance which is a fruit of the Spirit retains its characteristic kindness whether directed toward friend or enemy, toward rich or poor."

            Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholaus Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, VI, p. 103.

"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, VI, p. 107.

"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, VI, p. 107.

"This, mark you, is the peace of the cross, the peace of God, peace of conscience, Christian peace, which gives us even external calm, which makes us satisfied with all men and unwilling to disturb any. Reason cannot understand how there can be pleasure in crosses, and peace in disquietude; it cannot find these. Such peace is the work of God, and none can understand it until it has been experienced."

            Sermons of Martin Luther, VI, p. 111.

"The reference [the Votum] is simply to a disposition to trust and love God sincerely, and a willingness of heart and mind to serve God and man to the utmost. The devil seeks to prevent this state by terror, by revealing death and by every sort of misfortune; and by setting up human devices to induce the heart to seek comfort and help in its own counsels and in man. Thus led astray, the heart falls from trust in God to a dependence upon itself."

            Sermons of Martin Luther, VI, p. 111.

"Thus we have two parts, preaching and believing. His coming to us is preaching; His standing in our hearts is faith. For it is not sufficient that He stand before our eyes and ears; He must stand in the midst of us in our hearts, and offer and impart to us peace."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., xd., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 355. John 20:19-31.       

"For the devil will not allow a Christian to have peace; therefore Christ must bestow it in a manner different from that in which the world has and gives, in that he quiets the heart and removes from within fear and terror, although without there remain contention and misfortune."

            Sermons of Martin Luther, II, p. 380.

"Joy is the natural fruit of faith. The apostle says elsewhere (Galatians 5:22-23): 'The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, self-control.' Until the heart believes in God, it is impossible for it to rejoice in Him. When faith is lacking, man is filled with fear and gloom and is disposed to flee at the very mention, the mere thought, of God. Indeed, the unbelieving heart is filled with enmity and hatred against God. Conscious of its own guilt, it has no confidence in His gracious mercy; it knows God is an enemy to sin and will terribly punish the same."

            Sermons of Martin LutherVI, p. 93.

"To rejoice in the Lord--to trust, confide, glory and have pride in the Lord as in a gracious Father--this is a joy which rejects all else but the Lord, including that self-righteousness whereof Jeremiah speaks (9:23-24): 'Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he hath understanding, and knoweth Me.'"

            Sermons of Martin Luther, VI, p. 95.

"Now, suppose some blind, capricious individual intrudes, demanding as necessary the omission of this thing and the observance of that, as did certain Jews, and insisting that all men follow him and he none--this would be to destroy equality; indeed, even to exterminate Christian liberty and faith. Like Paul, in the effort to maintain liberty and truth, everyone should refuse to yield to any such demand."

            Sermons of Martin Luther, VI, p. 98.   

"Christ's kingdom grows through tribulations and declines in times of peace, ease and luxury, as St. Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:9 'My power is made perfect in weakness, etc.' To this end help us God! Amen."

            Sermons of Martin Luther, II, p. 99.

"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.

"The church is recognized, not by external peace but by the Word and the Sacraments. For wherever you see a small group that has the true Word and the Sacraments, there the church is if only the pulpit and the baptismal font are pure. The church does not stand on the holiness of any one person but solely on the holiness and righteousness of the Lord Christ, for He has sanctified her by Word and Sacrament."

            Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, I, p. 263. Matthew 24:4-7.     

"When you preach or confess the Word, you will experience both without, among enemies, and also within, in yourself (where the devil himself will speak to you and prove how hostile he is to you), that he brings you into sadness, impatience, and depression, and that he torments you in all sorts of ways. Who does all this? Certainly not Christ or any good spirit, but the miserable, loathsome enemy...The devil will not bear to have you called a Christian and to cling to Christ or to speak or think a good word about Him. Rather he would gladly poison and permeate your heart with venom and gall, so that you would blaspheme: Why did He make me a Christian? Why do I not let Him go? Then I would at last have peace."

            Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II, p. 928.  

"We have no intention of yielding aught of the eternal, immutable truth of God for the sake of temporal peace, tranquility, and unity (which, moreover, is not in our power to do). Nor would such peace and unity, since it is devised against the truth and for its suppression, have any permanency. Still less are we inclined to adorn and conceal a corruption of the pure doctrine and manifest, condemned errors. But we entertain heartfelt pleasure and love for, and are on our part sincerely inclined and anxious to advance, that unity according to our utmost power, by which His glory remains to God uninjured, nothing of the divine truth of the Holy Gospel is surrendered, no room is given to the least error, poor sinners are brought to true, genuine repentance, raised up by faith, confirmed in new obedience, and thus justified and eternally saved alone through the sole merit of Christ." (Closing of Formula of Concord, Triglotta. p. 1095)

            Francis Pieper, The Difference Between Orthodox And Heterodox Churches, and Supplement, Coos Bay, Oregon: St. Paul's Lutheran Church, 1981, p. 65. 

"When a theologian is asked to yield and make concessions in order that peace may at last be established in the Church, but refuses to do so even in a single point of doctrine, such an action looks to human reason like intolerable stubbornness, yea, like downright malice. That is the reason why such theologians are loved and praised by few men during their lifetime. Most men rather revile them as disturbers of the peace, yea, as destroyers of the kingdom of God. They are regarded as men worthy of contempt. But in the end it becomes manifest that this very determined, inexorable tenacity in clinging to the pure teaching of the divine Word by no means tears down the Church; on the contrary, it is just this which, in the midst of greatest dissension, builds up the Church and ultimately brings about genuine peace. Therefore, woe to the Church which has no men of this stripe, men who stand as watchmen on the walls of Zion, sound the alarm whenever a foe threatens to rush the walls, and rally to the banner of Jesus Christ for a holy war.”

            C. F. W. Walther, The Proper Distinction between Law and Gospel, trans., W. H. T. Dau, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1928, p. 28. 

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Sudanese Archbishop Blasts TEC PB over Sexuality. Visits to Sudan Withdrawn

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Sudanese Archbishop Blasts TEC PB over Sexuality. Visits to Sudan Withdrawn:


"The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church of the Sudan met in Juba from 14-16 November 2011. In the context of General Synod, they reaffirmed the statement of the Sudanese Bishops at the Lambeth Conference in 2008.

"We reject homosexual practice as contrary to Biblical teaching and can accept no place for it within ECS. We strongly oppose developments within the Anglican Church in USA and Canada in consecrating a practicing homosexual as bishop and in approving a rite for the blessing of same-sex relationships.

We are deeply disappointed by The Episcopal Church's refusal to abide by Biblical teaching on human sexuality and their refusal to listen to fellow Anglicans."

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Anglican Fever: Youth Flock to New Denomination - US - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com

Acey 5 found this story.

Anglican Fever: Youth Flock to New Denomination - US - CBN News - Christian News 24-7 - CBN.com:


CHICAGO -- For decades young people have flocked to seeker-friendly churches that feature culturally relevant services and a casual environment.

Now, a new denomination that emphasizes tradition and centuries-old sacraments and practices is drawing them in.

The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) officially began in 2009 with hundreds of congregations that severed ties with the Episcopal Church.

In Albany Park on Chicago's north side, a group of college students and recent graduates have started one of the ACNA's newest church plants.

They worship on Sunday afternoons, renting a church building that's close to several university campuses.


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Paul McCain's Favorite Translator - Canadian Lutheran Online » Blog Archive » Interview: Calvinist J.I. Packer on biblical authority, world Anglicanism, and ecumenicism

You would think WELS would like a Packer,
but they prefer a Moo.

Canadian Lutheran Online » Blog Archive » Interview: J.I. Packer on biblical authority, world Anglicanism, and ecumenicism:



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Here Is an Ideal Christmas Present for Your WELS Pastor or Seminary Professor

This sensitive and compassionate Christmas present
will prevent some accidents and save a few lives.
Buy one for yourself, ideal for listening to recycled Groeschel sermons.

A Lutheran warning about Eastern Orthodoxy « Churchmouse Campanologist

"My hat is way cooler than yours.
I'll bet the apostles are jealous of our smokin' threads."

A Lutheran warning about Eastern Orthodoxy « Churchmouse Campanologist:

A big part of Orthodoxy’s problems, in my view, stem from the reality that it is not actually a ‘confessional’ church, but a ‘big tent’ church. The question for Orthodoxy now is just how big is its tent, given that they now have their own vocal and prominent proponents for recognition of the right to abortion, women’s ordination and even revision of the church’s teaching on homosexuality?

GJ - Read more at the link.

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Narrow-minded Lutheran has left a new comment on your post "A Lutheran warning about Eastern Orthodoxy « Churc...":

Apparently, Wesley largely modeled Methodism after Eastern Orthodoxy. So the comment on the post was correct in saying (I'm paraphrasing) that Eastern Orthodoxy is high-church Methodism. I know a now-ROCOR priest who was raised Methodist. It's really not that big of a transition. Pietism and faith-plus-works can take on many forms.

I once heard a pastor say that Baptists make the best Lutherans, for they feel as though a five-hundred pound weight has been lifted off their shoulders. Having been raised Methodist myself, I can tell you that this is most certainly true. So why does Lutheranism want to "blend in?"

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "A Lutheran warning about Eastern Orthodoxy « Churc...":

So why does Lutheranism want to "blend in?"

Because they have rejected the Gospel of Jesus Christ and have created their own way to righteousness. They are now susceptible to every perversion and vile practice under the sun.

Romans 10:2-3, "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God."

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GJ - Eastern Orthodoxy allied itself with the Church of Rome and fought with the Vatican. They imagined that the answer to bloody doctrinal wars was to become non-confessional.

Someone Names the WELS Satire Website: The Potato

Ha ha ha – loved Joe’s comment on Grace’s coffee house - Joe thought it was The Onion.

Here’s a good question: If they did The Onion in the WELS what would they call it? Easy – The Potato! Why?

Because WELS has lots of eyes but cannot see, is very thin-skinned, and is often half-baked!!!

Luther Rocks: Anybody Wanna Get Down? BWBW6

Luther Rocks: Anybody Wanna Get Down? BWBW6:

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Intrepid Lutherans: WELS Synod President Mark Schroeder issues scorching rebuke of Church Growth Movement

Here is another non-victim.

Intrepid Lutherans: WELS Synod President Mark Schroeder issues scorching rebuke of Church Growth Movement:

GJ - Haha. Big rebuke. SP Schroeder constantly promotes and protects the founders of CG in WELS. Notice that John Lawrenz (Church and Change) was followed by Steve Witt (Church and Change founder) at the Asian porta-sem.

Paul Calvin Kelm was unemployed for two or three minutes under the savage rule of Mark the Enforcer.

I wrote against Church Growth in WELS for years. Did Mark Schroeder ever respond in any way to those publications? No. Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure dealt with unionism, Church Growth, and the Means of Grace. WELS published it. Schroeder was silent.


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Who Is in Charge of the WELS Office Computer Network?

Martin Spriggs, Chief Technology Office, The Love Shack -
"A mind like water."

SP Mark Schroeder:

"On Wed., Nov. 16, we were informed that WELS Director of Communications Mr. Joel Hochmuth was arrested on charges of possessing child pornography. Acting on a tip from the FBI Cyber Crimes Task Force, officers executed search warrants at his home and at the synod administration building and seized computers and other items as a part of their investigation.

At this time, we know only what was contained in the police report and reported in the media. Those reports indicate that images of child pornography were found on the seized computers and on data storage devices."

***

GJ - The chief technology officer should know what is being used and seen on the local area network.

Florida A&M band member's death ruled a homicide - CNN.com

Hazing at Northwestern College, Watertown, included forcing
the freshmen to simulate anal intercourse with this statue.
Most of the WELS pastors and some ELS pastors went to NWC.

Florida A&M band member's death ruled a homicide - CNN.com:

GJ - When two students objected to hazing at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, John Brenner, the dean of boys at WLS, said, "The good outweighs the bad."

Neither student stayed at the seminary. No one is allowed to object to GA.

If you understand GA, you understand WELS.

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Pleads NOT GUILTY! Former WELS official waives preliminary hearing - 620 WTMJ - Milwaukee's Source for Local News and Weather

What did WELS know
and when did they know it?

Former WELS official waives preliminary hearing - 620 WTMJ - Milwaukee's Source for Local News and Weather:

WAUKESHA - Joel Hochmuth, the former communications director for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday.

Click on the Video link for TODAY'S TMJ 4's Melissa McCrady's report.

Video Link.



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GJ - I expected that Joel would waive his right to the hearing, because the evidence is so appalling that no one can imagine anyone, let alone a married man with a son, engaging in such behavior.



Synod President Mark Schroeder, now doing public relations for Joel Hochmuth, said his former Director of Communications was "repentant" and "assured of his forgiveness."


How does that match up with a not-guilty plea?


 Joel's criminal lawyer, one of the most expensive in the state, will now use the system to plea bargain down to a superficial charge.


 WELS has gone down this route before, and the evidence is out - this abusive sect is totally corrupt.


 And Joel is free on a very small bond.


If WELS tries to whitewash this one, I will publish the Criminal Complaint verbatim for everyone to read.


Here is the Facebook page dedicated to their Martin Luther College gay video.

---

We are confident that the powerful working of the Holy Spirit in God’s Word has brought him to recognize and repent of his sin, and we also know that he has sought and received the comfort of forgiveness in the redeeming sacrifice of our Savior. Please pray that Joel will continue to be assured of forgiveness at the foot of the cross and that God’s grace will restore him, renew him, and strengthen his faith.

Serving in Christ,
Rev. Mark Schroeder, WELS President


(Kelmed from the fake blog, where Tim Glende assures everyone that Schroeder is handling this well.)


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Wauwatosa Patch:

Fired WELS Official Pleads Not Guilty to Child Pornography

Joel M. Hochmuth, 52, is out of the Waukesha County Jail on $20,000 bail and is ordered to not use the Internet.

Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect that Joel Hochmuth was fired from his duties at the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod following his arrest.


The former communications director for Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod, who was fired from his position after his arrest, pleaded not guilty to three counts of child pornography possession Friday morning in Waukesha County Circuit Court.


Joel W. Hochmuth, 52, of Waukesha, waived his preliminary hearing during his court hearing. Another hearing has been set on the case for Feb. 3. Hochmuth currently is out of jail on $20,000 bail and is ordered to not access the Internet. Hochmuth faces up to 75 years in prison if convicted of the three felony charges.


Detectives from the Waukesha Police Department met with a special agent from the FBI in mid-November, who told detectives that Hochmuth was using the Internet handle “Skiguy10101” had child pornography on his computer depicting “pre-pubescent and adolescent boys engaged in various sexual acts,” according to the criminal complaint.


Hochmuth told authorities that the number of images found on his computer in Waukesha “was nothing compared to what they would find in his office,” the complaint states. Hochmuth denied downloading pornographic images on his work computer but police located three thumb drives at the WELS office in Wauwatosa, 2929 N Mayfair Rd., that had images and videos of young boys engaged in sexual acts, the complaint states. Authorities believe boys shown in the graphic pictures ranged from 10 to 14 years old.


The Rev. Mark Schroeder, president of WELS, previously told Waukesha Patch that the religious organization was “shocked, devastated and surprised” about the allegations against Hochmuth. Hochmuth was suspended “until the facts are fully known,” Schroeder told Patch.


“We take allegations such as these very seriously,” Schroeder said. “Our church body has absolutely no toleration for the behavior that is being alleged here.”


Related Topics: Joel Hochmuth and Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Court for former Lutheran official in Waukesha child porn trial - 620 WTMJ - Milwaukee's Source for Local News and Weather

When will the synod clean up their act?
Hundreds of homosexual child porn files were found at WELS headquarters.
Hochmuth's attorney has already tried to spin the story as adult porn - "he needs counseling."

Video of news story.

Court for former Lutheran official in Waukesha child porn trial - 620 WTMJ - Milwaukee's Source for Local News and Weather:


WAUKESHA - A former Lutheran official accused of possession child pornography was expected to appear in a Waukesha courtroom on Friday.

Authorities arrested Joel Hochmuth at his home in Waukesha County.  He was set to have a preliminary hearing at 10:00 a.m. Friday after being charged with three counts of possessing child pornography.

The former communications director of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod told investigators he had been struggling with an addiction to viewing pornographic images of young boys.

"He is facing substantial exposure, 75 years in the state prison system," said Court Commissioner Martin Binn.

Court documents show investigators uncovered more than 1,000 images and videos of "young males engaged in sex acts."

After speaking with Hochmuth, detectives also found explicit pictures in the man's office at the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod.

"I can tell you on one of the thumb drive at his work, there were about 310 particular files on that thumb drive," said Waukesha Police Sergeant Jerry Habanek.

"I am totally shocked," explained Rev. Mark Schroeder, the president of WELS.  "All of us are shocked, devastated that something like this could possibly happen."

Hochmuth has been fired.

SP Gurgel hired Joel Hochmuth to improve the Wisconsin Synod's image.

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Luther Rocks: Purely Intentional?Check Out His Link

Luther Rocks: Purely Intentional?:


WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 2011

Purely Intentional?
Some of the upcoming installments of the current series I have been posting will get more into music theory.  It will talk about unresolved cadences; chord progressions that don't make sense on the surface; chord selection; rhythm selection and the hypnotic affect of all this through repetition.

While driving to and from work lately, I have been listening to CCM again.  It has been research time well spent in the light of this BWBW series.  This morning I listened to Third Day's cover of O Come All Ye Faithful.  The original setting of the song (in all the hymnals) is in a major key and an anthem that will be sung in many churches on Christmas Eve and Day.  But the Third Day version isn't the same joyful from the opening downbeat to the ending, at least from a musical perspective.  In fact I found it quite striking that the words 'joyful' and 'Christ' are sung over minor chords.  The phrases are major except for the minor chord which enters and departs quickly and subtly.  Why would they do that?  So it really got me to thinking.  I Googled some things regarding Third Day and this interesting web page came up.  It makes you think.  The Third Day song is posted below.  You be the judge.


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Florida governor calls for suspension of Florida A&M president over hazing death, fraud probe - The Washington Post

Florida governor calls for suspension of Florida A&M president over hazing death, fraud probe - The Washington Post:

GJ - When will WELS call off their secret hazing ritual at Mequon - GA?

They hazed six chosen students this year, as reported by...

I forget.

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Intrepid Lutherans: Rebuking and Correcting the Church Growth Movement. GJ - Better Late Than Never

Intrepid Lutherans: Rebuking and Correcting the Church Growth Movement:


Rebuking and Correcting the Church Growth Movement

We found this post on Brothers of John the Steadfast very edifying, and they have been kind enough to let us repost it here. There are many parallels between what has happened in the LCMS and what has happened in the WELS with respect to the Church Growth Movement. One difference is that the WELS never toyed around too seriously with the historical-critical method, so it never needed to be debunked in the WELS, which means there was never a "void" left to be filled by something else. So what is our excuse for letting in all this non-Lutheran CGM stuff? [GJ - The answer is that the WELS leaders all studied CG at Fuller with Missouri, the ELS, and ELCA. They all share the same doctrinal foundation: forgiveness without the Word, Enthusiasm. But boy oh boy are they unforgiving!]

---


Five Simple Scriptural Truths that Rebuke and Correct the Church Growth Movement, by Pr. Rossow
December 14th, 2011 Post by Pastor Tim Rossow


I am convinced that the church growth movement is harmful for the church. Some of you may ask “What is the church growth movement?“ It is a way of “doing” church that arose in the 1970’s and 80’s. By the middle of the 80’s it was being taught at the St. Louis Seminary.

On a benign level it is the application of common sense to the parish in order to make sure that we are doing our best for the Lord’s church and with an eye toward growth. For instance, if people are driving right past your church on a Sunday morning because your parking lot is full, it would be good to rally the parishioners around the goal of raising funds to increase parking.

The church growth movement harms the church when it extends the reach of reason to the point of compromising the Scriptural and Confessional approach to the Lord’s church. This faulty way of applying church growth methods took hold among the LCMS movers and shakers as a natural filling of the void left when the historical-critical method of understanding the Bible (liberalism’s use of reason to question the truth of the Scriptures) was debunked in the synod in the early 1970’s. It is as if a certain element in the church learned from the battle for the Bible that it was wrong to apply reason to critique Scripture but that they did not fully realize nor have the depth of thought to reject the use of the whore reason (one of Luther’s favorite phrases) when it is applied to church practice. This move was aided by the American’s love for its only indigenous philosophy – Pragmatism, which asserts that whatever works is true. Countless parishes in the LCMS today are organized around this false use of reason and practicality.

Here are five common examples of how this is practiced in the LCMS today and simple Scriptural truths that rebuke and correct such false uses of reason.
The tiresome and unending over-emphasis on personal evangelism. There is not even one single Scripture in the New Testament that mandates or even exhorts one to personal, lay evangelism. (If you can find one, please share it with us in the comment section below.) Another way of saying this is to reject the false assertion that the main thing the church is to do is to grow. No, the main thing the church is to do is to be steadfast and faithful (Colossians 1:23).

We need to love people to Christ (in other words, doctrine and teaching turn people off). The Church is not about loving people to Christ – the Bible says we are to love the brothers and respect the world. It is an error of liberalism to supplant the preaching of the forgiveness of sins with peace and justice for all. Search the Scriptures and you will see that when the Bible speaks of acts of mercy it overwhelmingly is speaking about love for the brothers and sisters in the body of Christ. A few years ago I read through the entire Scriptures with an eye toward recording all of the incidents where Christians were exhorted to show mercy and compassion. Clearly over 90% of the passages were about showing mercy to those in the body of Christ. The classic statement of this is in I Peter 2:17 where it says “honor everyone, love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the emperor.” Our concern for the world is expressed in honor. Our concern for fellow Christians is expressed in love. This applies to the worn out passage about the priesthood of all believers. It is not so much about personal evangelism as it is about being respectful in the culture. Read I Peter 2 carefully and you will see that we are to be respectful and decent in the world so that the pagans cannot hold our disrespectful behavior against the Gospel that is preached from our pulpits. It is hardly an exhortation to knock on doors for Jesus. (Knocking on doors is not necessarily a bad idea – it is just not emphasized in Scripture like it is by the synodocrats of the last decade.)

The Bible teaches that where two or three are gathered together there is a small group. Actually, where two are three are gathered together, according to Christ’s own word, is not a small group but is an assembly of the congregation with the authority to excommunicate someone. The passage of note is Matthew 18:15-20. Yes, this is the infamous Matthew 18 passage. Verse 20 speaks about two or three being gathered and it is included in the passage on rebuking sin. It is not an exhortation to small group meetings. Allow me to rescue it from infamy and bring it back down to the voters assembly where it belongs. Do the math. When your brother sins against you and will not repent go get one more and give it another try. When he still won’t repent go get one or more in addition and give it one more try. Now we are starting to see how Jesus intends us to understand “where two or three are gathered.” The three or more are the church. In verse seventeen Jesus tells the church that they have the authority to treat someone like a tax collector (excommunicate them) and since that is a scary prospect he encourages them by saying “wherever two or more of you are gathered in my name to do this scary thing, I am there with you.” The misuse of this passage to support “small group ministry” is a classic case of the church growth movement abusing Scripture. I cannot tell you how many times I have had people throw this verse at me in defense of small groups. Church growth advocates don’t like excommunication because it tends to shrink the church. But Christ’s words about two or three gathering together are about exactly that, gathering the church together to make the last attempt to love the brother via excommunication (i.e. to wake them up out of the slumber of their unrepented sin).

WELS figures that weeds will go away on their own.
Check out Fox Valley, Kudu Don Patterson, just about everywhere.

Doctrine divides and turns people off. Touching people’s emotions works better than teaching them doctrine. This of course is the principal that is used to support the singing of popular American Evangelical songs in place of the old, boring, stuffy doctrinal hymns out of the hymnal. I encourage you to read the epistles of Paul and do a comparison of the number of times Paul encourages people to learn and grow in knowledge (doctrine) versus the number of times he encourages them to grow in their emotional attachment to Jesus. (Does he ever do that? I can’t think of a single case but I am happy to learn and I am sure you will be happy to teach in the comment section below.)

Everyone is a Minister. The Pastor is a player-coach and his vocation is essentially the same as every other Christ. Pastors are unique. Their work is unique. There is not a single New Testament Scripture about the laity teaching (the proper work of the pastor) but there are dozens of Scriptures about pastors being given the vocation of preacher/teacher (not to mention the first two entries in the Small Catechism’s table of duties). This does not mean that we are not to have an educated laity. To the contrary, the preachers are teaching the laity. The laity are to learn (see #4 above). Learning doctrine is crucial for the church to be faithful. It’s just that everyone is not a teacher in the church.

I did not go searching for these principals. They began to strike me in the last twenty years or so once I took off the synodcrat glasses and started reading the Scriptures for what they say and in the manner that they are read by the Confessors.

BTW, speaking of reading the Scriptures as the Confessors did, here is a sixth bonus debunked principal:
Predestination is a harmful, dangerous topic that ought to be avoided. Do a word search on “predestined,” “election,” and the like in your Bible and you will find that it is a prominent and important topic in the Scriptures. Read Luther’s Bondage of the Will and you will begin to see how false and bankrupt the American Evangelical approach is to Scripture, conversion, growing the church and Christian piety in general. Sadly the American Evangelical approach has overrun the minds of many of our pastors. The Scriptural teaching of eternal election properly highlights the monergism of God and leaves our pragmatic approach to life in the church in the lurch. We are not to “do church” in a practical way. We are to do church in a faithful way. We preach his word to those that like it and those that like it not and God sorts out the rest. This does not entirely rule out practicality or growth, but growth and practicality do not order the way we do things in Christ’s church.

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Kent Hunter was teaching the LCMS DPs
when Al Barry and Paul McCain were running the show.
Neither one stood up against Church Growth, DP Benke, or
congregations belonging to Willow Creek - another denomination.
Yes, I met Kent on his way INTO the Purple Palace for that meeting.

GJ - I am not at all impressed with "Steadfast Lutherans," but I am glad the Intrepids are belling the cat in WELS.

I discovered the sound of one hand clapping when I published about 300 articles in Christian News against Church Growth in WELS, the LCMS, and the Little Sect on the Prairie. Herman Otten responded by selling  Valleskey's Church Growth textbook as a doctrinal book.

LCMS-NALC Discussions

NALC-LCMS Discussion Group.
Lutheran Church in Canada, too, eh?

LCMS-NALC Discussions:

On 15 – 16 December 2011, representatives from The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod (LCMS) and the North American Lutheran Church (NALC) held discussions in Saint Louis, MO, at the LCMS International Center. NALC Participants included Bishop John Bradosky, Dr. James Nestingen, Bishop Emeritus Paull Spring, Rev. Dave Wendel (Chair of Ecumenical Relationships Committee). LCMS participants included President Matthew Harrison, Vice-President Herb Mueller, Dr. Albert Collver, Director of Church Relations, Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, Executive Director of the CTCR, Rev. Larry Vogel, CTCR Staff, and Rev. John Pless, Professor at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne. Rev. Dr. Robert Bugbee, President of the Lutheran Church Canada (LCC) attended the LCMS-NALC discussions as an observer.

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Mid-Week Advent Service. John 1:19-28

By Norma Boeckler

Mid-Week Advent Vespers

The Christmas Eve service will be at 7 PM Central.

We will be traveling south to be with our son’s family on Christmas Day,

so there will not be a Christmas Day service.

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7 PM Phoenix Time

The Hymn # 552                 Abide with Me            2:11
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody                   Psalm 92                    p. 143
The Lection                            John 15:1-10

The Sermon Hymn #645            Behold a Branch            2:2

The Sermon – Pointing to Christ

The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45
 The Hymn # 558     All Praise to Thee               2.9

KJV John 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ. 21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No. 22 Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? 23 He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias. 24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Pointing to Christ

John 1:19 And this is the record of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, Who art thou? 20 And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am not the Christ.

After the previous sermon about John the Baptist, someone said that others foolishly said this – John sent disciples to Jesus because he had lost faith while in prison. That contradicts the plain message of the passage, Matthew 11:2ff. Jesus said John was “more than a prophet,” not the kind of commendation given to someone who lost faith in the Savior.

The faith of John is emphasized in this Gospel lesson for the Fourth Sunday in Advent.

It is from the Gospel of Faith.

John the Baptist had a following, so the religious leaders came to him, asking about his intentions. The civilized world was looking for the Savior, and the Jewish people were especially aware of the predictions about this figure. The throne had passed from the House of David, which was a key sign, since Herod was on the throne. The Star of Bethlehem was seen at the time of Jesus’ birth. Anyone who could count might wonder when the adult Messiah would appear.

John the Baptist reminded everyone of the Old Testament prophets, because he commanded people to repent of their sins and believe in the Savior.

John clearly told the religious leaders, “I am not the Christ.” The tradition then was to anoint the head of the king with oil when he was crowned. That is done with the king or queen of England to this day. (The royal fish is used – whale oil. All whales stranded on the shore belong to the crown.) The word for anointed with oil is Messiah in Hebrew, Christ in Greek. Both are shorthand for The King Anointed with Oil. The Anointed signifies this special figure.

Anointing is now abused by the Enthusiasts as a term to promote whatever they do. Their plays, dramas, and music are “anointed,” meaning “anointed with the Holy Spirit.” They never tire of divorcing the Holy Spirit from the Word. A better commendation would be “faithful to the Word.”

John’s role was not to point to himself but to point to Christ.

21 And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elias? [Elijah] And he saith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? And he answered, No.  Then said they unto him, Who art thou? that we may give an answer to them that sent us. What sayest thou of thyself? He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, as said the prophet Esaias.

Elijah would have been a definite choice, since Elijah was taken up into heaven. He was considered a forerunner to the Messiah.

That prophet was another one expected to appear just before the Messiah began his work. There are large books about Messianic expectations of the time, many of them based upon paradise on earth or freedom from Roman occupation. The political or military expectations led to two revolts after the time of Christ, the Zealot revolt and the Bar Kochba revolt, which led to Jews being banned from the remnants of Jerusalem.

The whole area was laid waste because of false expectations and the power of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire was defeated only by the Herman the German, luxury, and decadence. Luxury and decadence were the most powerful destructive forces of all.

John identified his mission with Isaiah 40 – the voice of one crying in the desert – Prepare the way of the Lord.

In ancient times (and even in modern times) special efforts were made for the visitation of the monarch. Our imperial president arrives in town and all traffic is stopped at the airport, all streets closed that might interfere with his travel. Every building is prepared. Windows are sealed shut along a parade route. Manhole covers are welded shut.

An imperial train traveled over rough roads in ancient times, so every effort was made to prepare the route, to offer the best possible experience for someone with god-like power.

John was preparing his community for the real Lord. It was essential to get them to begin listening to a faithful prophet, so they would listen to the Gospel of Christ. We heard someone like that many years ago. He was specifically in charge of cleaning things up. He gave a sermon where he identified (not by name) major Christian leaders who were violating the Sixth Commandment. He described a large congregation where every staff member was committing adultery and confessed to it. He was a religious version of the FBI.

But John did not just preaching the Law. He pointed people to the Christ.

24 And they which were sent were of the Pharisees. 25 And they asked him, and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26 John answered them, saying, I baptize with water: but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing.

Notice how many Christian leaders point everyone to themselves. They say, “Look at this building I built. Look at the acres of parking lots. Look at all the money we take in.”

What do we find in the Book of Concord and Luther’s writing? They are not concerned with institutions and numbers, but with the Gospel of Christ. If we summarized all the faithful books of those Lutheran Reformation leaders in a phrase, it would be “Here is the Christ. Here is forgiveness. Believe in Him.”

Someone wrote me that a pastor “does not agree with you.” I said, “It only matters if he agrees with the Scriptures and the Book of Concord.” When we start making a person or a denomination the standard, the Word of God is forgotten. People and institutions by nature protect themselves from imagined harm. The Word of God cannot be harmed or damaged in any way.

“Heaven and earth will pass away but My Word shall never pass away.”

It is true that people can twist the Word, but they do that at their own risk. Playing with the divine power of the Word is like the people who play with explosives, thinking they will do some damage. They often leave very little evidence behind of their futile efforts. One man set down a bomb in front of a house. They found his arms and nothing else, because the trigger was too sensitive. Obama’s best friend lost his girlfriend when she blew up an entire brownhouse while working on a bomb meant for others.

The Word remains even if only a few trust its message. But that message is plain and clear for all – Trust in Jesus for righteousness, for He speaks forgiveness in our ears.

I just finished a class last night. The members were supposed to reflect on Psalm 119. It made me sad, because there was so much Law in all those messages, as if being Christian meant obeying, commitment, and keeping all promises. By that I mean Christianity as obedience alone.

I said to them, “We are all born condemned by unbelief. The purpose of the Christian faith is to show us how to find forgiveness for our sins. All ministry is a proclamation of the Gospel of forgiveness, which comes to us through the Word.”