Christmas Eve Candlelight Service - 2013

Christmas Readings and Hymns
Bethany Lutheran Church
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Hymn 77:1-6 All My Heart This Night Rejoices 2.25

The First Gospel
Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

KJV Isaiah 40:1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. 6 The voice said, Cry. And he said, What shall I cry? All flesh is grass, and all the goodliness thereof is as the flower of the field: 7 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. 8 The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever. 9 O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! 

The Place of Jesus’ Birth 
KJV Micah 5:2 But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.

#102 O Come All Ye Faithful 1:7

KJV Isaiah 9:2 The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, upon them hath the light shined.

Virgin Birth
KJV Isaiah 7:10 Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Incarnation
KJV Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

#109 While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks 1:35

KJV Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily. 20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. 22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. 24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife: 25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.


Sermon – God in the Flesh, The Incarnation, Immanuel (God With Us)

Today I was thinking especially about the stars and the Old Testament prophecies. As Luther wrote, all the heavenly bodies were part of this miraculous birth. What is the greater wonder – that all the prophecies were fulfilled, or that the Star of Bethlehem was formed in the sky to lead the Wise Men to Jesus?

The Roman Empire helped too. The family had to be enrolled in their home town, so they went to Bethlehem, where David came from – 1000 years before. That was well planned, too.

There are only two attitudes about religion. One is that the Bible is the absolute truth, revealed by God through the Holy Spirit, inscribed by men with their individual personalities. This was the united witness of the Christian church until rationalism began to undermine the clarity, efficacy, and inspiration of the Scriptures. Rationalism first took away from the divinity of Christ, then from salvation in Christ – justification by faith. In other words, this attitude was kidnapped by the second attitude, although the trappings still remain.

The other attitude about religion is that various men and cultures across the ages have had deep thoughts and therefore have invented world religions that express their own values, universal truths in the sense that everyone thinks about life, death, sin, forgiveness, and eternity. For those people, the Christian Faith is an interesting commentary on culture and worth studying for that reason.

The difference is faith and non-faith. Those without faith cannot see what the Scriptures unfold for us. The more they explain away, the less they see. The more they dismiss what is clearly taught, the more frantic they become to prove their case. That is why atheistic religion professors do so well in academics, whether the big state universities or the private, elite colleges. Nothing makes unbelievers smile more than expressions of unbelief, especially the polemical type.

One “Lutheran” professor was quoted as denying all the truths of the Bible and smirking, “God has not struck me with lightning.” But worse – the power of God’s Word had struck him blind. He left an impression, because the person who quoted him was someone I met at an inerrancy conference, when the minority view got together for some fellowship among those who still believed that the Bible teaches the truth.

This is especially striking with the Isaiah 7 and 9 prophecies – with the Messiah being called Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace, and Mighty God, and God with us.

The Virgin Birth receives plenty of attention, as it should, but it parallel with the divinity of the Messiah. In the Old Testament days, the concept of the Son of David being God Incarnate is difficult to imagine. And yet the words were there, and they heard those words from Isaiah for centuries. The Jewish people knew the major and minor prophets better than we do now, so the fulfillment of the prophecies fostered faith as Jesus was revealed, first to the shepherds, to the people in the Temple (as a baby and a youth), still later in His earthly ministry.

God’s way of teaching us is to give us one part of the concept at a time, until we can grasp more of the complete picture. We can never grasp all of it, but it continues to grow in our minds as we learn more and more.

The revelation to Ahaz was – I will give you the greatest miracle of all time – the God-Man born of a Virgin – Immanuel God with Us.

The revelation to the shepherds was the angelic host singing that the Savior, the Son of David was born. Various aspects of the revelation of God test our understanding of the Scriptures. We can even see that in New Testament, where sermons aimed at Jews emphasized the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. But that did not mean much to non-Jews, so other appeals were made. When Gentiles became Christians, they learned about the Old Testament and how that prepared Israel for their Messiah.

The Nativity itself warms our hearts, as Luther says. The ordinary things of life are used to illuminate God’s grace for us. Instead of a mighty apparition of the Savior, we have a child born in a stable, placed in a manger, and adored by common shepherds.

So one part of Christmas is God with us – the divinity of Christ, His Virgin Birth. But the other part is His humanity, born of a woman, a tiny baby who cries and nurses, yet He formed the mountains, the stars and plans as the Creating Word.

Human reason cannot grasp this, but faith drives reason to understand as much as possible. One FB friend wrote today, “Dogs are divine.” I added, “Dogs are divinely created” and got a like from that person. There is quite a difference – though we abuse English all the time, making ice cream or chocolate “divine.”

When we sing the hymns of faith, we witness to these great truths. The greater the author, the more profound the expressions. It is no wonder to me that Luther and Gerhardt, who both related to children so well, wrote the best hymns of all.

Like the Fourth Evangelist, they expressed the eternal truths of the Bible in the simplest terms, and we grasp those truths better because of it.

Recently a young woman in college wanted to emphasize how important music was to her. She began her talk by asking, “How did God announce the birth of the Savior to man?” The answer was – Angels singing. He used music to reveal Jesus to man.

Therefore music is blessed by God as the means by which we are able to express our emotions and faith together. It is like praying, but praying with our souls (to borrow from Luther again).

This is the message – that God saw our weakness and our need for forgiveness. Knowing that we could not atone for our sins or do enough to make up for them, He sent His only-begotten Son to us, first to teach us about faith in Him, and second to die on the cross and rise from the dead for our salvation.

Luke’s Account
KJV Luke 2:1 And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. 2 (And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria.) 3 And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city. 4 And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judaea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; (because he was of the house and lineage of David:) 5 To be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child. 6 And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. 7 And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. 8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 

#646 Silent Night 4:38

Heavenly Host
Luke 2:13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us. 16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

The Prayers and Benediction


#87 Joy to the World 1:20

Christmas Eve Candlelight Service - Tonight at 7 PM Central

I tested Ustream, and the broadcast was working fine today. I emailed them to spray their servervs with WD-40, and it worked.

Tonight's service will be saved, but also broadcast at 7 PM Central.

If we have a problem again, I will provide the service on Christmas Day instead.

The Fourth Sunday in Advent, 2013

The Fourth Sunday in Advent. John 1:19-28.
Beyond Jordan

http://www.normaboecklerart.com

The Fourth Sunday in Advent, 2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn #477   Lord Jesus Thou            3:90

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

Peace and Forgiveness

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.

http://www.normaboecklerart.com

 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.

Peace and Forgiveness

Someone wrote back about the sermon being everything. One reason I posted that was the utter lack of work involved in most sermons. They are copied all over the Net, sold by some, given away by others. Obviously the sermon means nothing to those clergy who borrow and steal them.

Apparently the idea is to please everyone, even though we are warned that the era of apostasy is one where people will pile up false teachers that will tell them what their itching ears want to hear.

That also means the congregations have no regard for the sermon, because they would also demand original work instead of plagiarized tosh.

When clergy are off-base about the sermon, the results are never the Gospel. It may seem like to the Gospel to some, but it is really the Law in disguise, with the new Moses saying, “This is what you have to do.”

The Law has one purpose in the sermon, to make us more aware of our need for the Gospel of forgiveness. Paul illustrated that in Romans 1-3, where he showed that the civil law and the Mosaic law can only condemn –  and can never give righteousness.

That is why Paul did not simply write about the Law in the first few chapters. Otherwise it would have been all condemnation, like the cop who told me about all the ways “an open bottle is violated” in driving. He said it applied to soda, too, since it was a distraction. And he added, “I violate that law all the time.”

Business is full of the law, where the boss says, “Great. Your sales are up 40%. Now let’s see how you can do much better.”

Condemnation makes people agitated to do something. That is why the law has been used to motivate others. They are told they owe something to God, so they need to pay with money and good works. This is how Purgatory has served the Church of Rome and why it will never be given up. It gives false peace of mind to think, “I have been a criminal all my life, but I can make up for that if I give my entire estate to Holy Mother Rome and the priests pray for my soul forever. Yes, I can endow masses that will alleviate my suffering in Purgatory and bless those who attend and those who say the Mass.”

The apostle Paul encouraged the Philippians with the nearness of the Lord’s coming. The Lord is at hand – let your gentleness be known to all.

Be anxious (careful) about nothing. English has changed since Tyndale wrote his translation and the KJV edited it for posterity. Careful used to mean full of cares, but no longer. There are very few words that need explanation in the KJV, but this is one of them.

Anxiety comes from lack of faith. Some will say, “No, there are many reasons to be anxious – the world is bankrupt, wars are everywhere, medicine seems to be failing.” All those things are true, and they have been true in the past as well. The Roman Empire became so big that the financial and security problems were almost the same. King Henry VIII spent so much money that the country began debasing its own currency to make up for it. His daughter Elizabeth had the country invaded by a vast Spanish Armada. History then was known for war years, plague years, and the Great Fire.

Still, anxiety comes from lack of faith in God’s power and compassion. In His compassion He solves our problems, often before we think to ask. He has the power to do this in an instant, through the oddest of means.

I was at the faculty meeting when I mentioned I began teaching English because I met someone in the post office in Bella Vista. Someone asked my wife Chris, “Post office. Met someone?” That was how it happened. My boss had a similar experience, finding the campus by chance when he was out driving in the winter.

We all have our knowledge and experience from which we based our opinions and expectations. A lot of anxiety comes from that, as the disciples showed when they were in the storm-tossed boat with Jesus. What they did not include in their thoughts was the presence of Christ.

Faith gives us the peace that exceeds our knowledge, our experience, our understanding. That peace primarily comes from receiving forgiveness in faith, which is the greatest miracle of all, given to the greatest and the least but only understood with a child-like faith.

This peace guards (keeps) our hearts and minds, that is, our emotions and thoughts. Emotions are great. Nothing is more disturbing than someone with no emotions. We worry about that – flat affect. But emotions are real devils at time, too. We can be elated and despondent, worried, fearful, reckless, and bound up.

The peace of salvation in Christ changes how we view everything, from the smallest detail of life to the greatest challenges, because everything is “in Christ” for the believer.

If We Understand Luther and the Reformation Correctly - The Sermon Is Everything. Therefore, We Should Read Luther's Sermons as a Primary Source for Lutheran Doctrine and Regularly for Our Own Spiritual Welfare

The morons who promote Universal Objective Justification want us to believe that their dogma is the Chief Article of the Christian Faith, the master and prince of all other articles.

This statement, from "The Righteousness of Faith" in the Formula of Concord, simply destroys the entire UOJ argument. The UOJ Hive has to buzz about various people so they can ignore the real issue, their colossal ignorance or vapid atheism. Experience with these thugs has taught me that vapid atheism is the better answer.

They behave the same way on the ALPB Online Forum as they do on SpenerQuest. My neighbor has four pit-bulls in a yard with a very high fence. However some boards are missing so they can peer out through the chain link fencing, and I can look in. Every so often three start attacking one, even though they are all one tribe. The pack makes a terrible racket as the bottom one howls and screams, the top three bark and bite. They remind me of those forums where the clergy and a few brain-bleached laity exchange insults in spite of their obvious agreement about unfaith and universal forgiveness.

In contrast, Luther and the Concordists - in the graphic above - are saying that the sermon is everything.

The purpose of the Holy Spirit's work in the Church is to convict the world of its sin:
Not the sin of individual communion glasses.
Not the sin of polity
Not even the sin of Thrivent.

John 16:8 And when He is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on Me...

The foundational sin is unbelief, so the foundation of all Christian ministry must be justification by faith.

Any pastor or lay leader will admit how easy it is to fall into Law preaching and Law solutions. I listen to various Lutherans and scattered denominations deliver their best, and their best is full of secular suggestions, must have's, and scoldings. If scolding worked, we would all be almost perfect by now. No generation has been scolded and hectored more than this one, on an infinite number of manifest short-comings, from failure to recycle to thinking Holy Mother Synod is them. ["No - WEEEE are the Synod!" says the synodical bureaucrat, who will break your kneecaps for questioning him.]

Luther himself saw the ministry as the Preaching Office - Predigtamt. A pastor's sole duty consists of preaching the Gospel of justification by faith from the pulpit, in the classroom, and in regular visits to his members and others. He does not have the Calming Office, the Office of Balancing the Budget, or the Office of the Really Busy Parish.

After 11,500 Posts - Some Results

At least I have this going for me, which is pretty nice.

After years of posting about the evils of Thrivent Insurance, I noticed some action from the LCMS and WELS. Some bloggers, FB denizens, and tweeters noted that Thrivent was using matching funds to donate money to Planned Parenthood. They were not happy.

Planned Parenthood is still the biggest provider of abortions in America. The business was started by Margaret Sanger, who wanted to rid this country of Blacks. The KKK thought so much of her work that they invited her to speak. She was quite flattered - agreed - and wrote about her experience.

WELS took a hands off position. Thrivent is just a business that gives funds to various Christian groups. That factoid was wrong - Thrivent gives to all religions and atheists, too. Brett Meyer has done some great research on Thrivent.

Missouri was a little more upset - but why? The LCMS is happy to work with ELCA, whose health plan pays for abortions on demand. ELCA uses its World Hunger money to pay for lobbyists in every state and in DC to lobby for Left-wing causes, including abortion on demand. Big, brave Missouri suddenly has a problem with abortion?

ELCA and Mark Jeske are two great reasons to avoid Thrivent altogether -

• To stop using their cheap junk at the coffee hour, receptions, and minister meetings.
• To stop promoting their matching funds.
• To stop giving their agents membership directories in order to sell third-rate products to a captive audience. "Oh, Thrivent gives money back to your synod and congregation." 
• To cease selling annuities and other Thrivent products to little old ladies in the name of Planned Giving Counselors with a divine call from Holy Mother Sect.

Mark Jeske is on the national board of Thrivent, and he is the real leader of false prophets/profits in WELS and Missouri. He has the connections with all the Daddy Warbucks. Jeske has his hand in every deep pocket around. Actually, it is so cold in Milwaukee this weekend that he has his hands in his own pockets - but that will not last.

A recent Seibert Foundation report showed that Jeske was pulling out six figure sums, three different ways, from that foundation alone. He teaches Church and Changers, where he is the leader, how to write grants to skim most of the loot for themselves.

Short-Term Calls Make LCMS Look Better to Gubmint Educational Loan People?

The LCMS pays David Scaer a princely salary to teach
against Luther's doctrine.
Salaries = tuition = debt.
Students borrow enormous amounts of money to pay faculty salaries and benefits.

Crippling Costs Related to Sky-High LCMS Seminary Tuition Loans:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/08/crippling-costs-related-to-sky-high.html


Comment: Some schools pay employers to hire their graduates in order to boost their placement rates right out of school. However, the graduates find they are soon laid off and then they are on their own to find another job, though they have to continue paying off their student loans. So in other words, part of the student loan debt they incurred is used by schools to bribe employers into hiring them temporarily straight out of college or trade school. Could a variant of that practice be happening in the LCMS? Sure looks like it:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/16/corinthian-colleges-job-placement_n_4433800.html?ncid=fcbklnkushpmg00000010

Even that short-lived gig wasn't secured on the strength of Parms's degree. The college had paid his contractor $2,000 to hire him and keep him on for at least 30 days, part of an effort to boost its official job placement records, according to documents obtained by The Huffington Post. The college paid more than a dozen other companies to hire graduates into temporary jobs before cutting them loose, a HuffPost investigation has found.

---

"I will show you the way."

Are They Kidding Us?

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2011/09/lcms-seminary-cost-scandal-fabulous.html

 

Seminary to study issue of student indebtedness after receiving grant for that purpose:
 

SEMINARY RECEIVES LILLY GRANT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

December 11, 2013

ST. LOUIS—Lilly Endowment Inc. has awarded more than $12.3 million for 51 theological schools across the United States as part of the second round of its Theological School Initiative to Address Economic Issues Facing Future Ministers. Concordia Seminary is a thankful recipient of a part of this grant.

Recent research indicates that student educational debt in excess of $30,000 is not uncommon for seminary graduates, and some students are graduating from seminary with loans of more than $100,000. The financial pressures caused by these debt levels severely limit the ability of seminary graduates to accept calls to Christian ministry and undermine the effectiveness of too many pastoral leaders.

To help address this issue, Lilly Endowment created the Theological School Initiative to Address Economic Issues Facing Future Ministers. The initiative’s aim is to encourage theological schools to examine and strengthen their financial and educational practices to improve the economic well-being of future ministerial leaders.

“Concordia Seminary through its Center for Stewardship will use the funding to conduct research on the components of student debt,” commented Rev. Wayne Knolhoff, director of the Center. “It will aim to assist current students in limiting debt, and assist congregations, pastors, and students by providing resources to address various stewardship issues.”

For more information on the Center for Stewardship, please contact Rev. Knolhoff at knolhoffw@csl.edu.             

Arkansas Renewal Project Conference in Little Rock

Mrs. I enjoyed meeting LCMS Pastor Laurence White, Our Savior, Houston,
who was the best of many good speakers the first day.
White mentioned reading my articles to Chris.

We were invited to the Arkansas Renewal Project meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas. The sponsors paid for the hotel, excellent meals, and a number of national speakers, including former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, historian David Barton, and - surprise - a Lutheran pastor, Laurence White.

This was a typical Evangelical-Pentecostal group of ministers, which means that a professional group sang modern songs for everyone. The assembly did not sing on Friday, when we were there.

I wonder if the next generation will even be aware of classical Christian hymns. White's line about not needing entertainment did not get the applause of the rest of his speech.

The conference was 100% pro-life and challenged the ministers to be consistent in their pro-life support rather than get-along go-along guys. Although there was a regular urging of people to get out the Evangelical vote, most of the conference was about spiritual values and spiritual renewal.

Huckabee was asked about running for president in 2016. He switched the topic to the Senate race of 2014. He questioned the wisdom of ObamaCare and offered one possible alternative.

White impressed the audience with his comparison of Hitler seducing the Christian Church with security and privileges while he subordinating them to his Nazi cause.

The most dramatic line was about the beautiful Berlin churches that are now restaurants, art galleries, and museums. When the family traveled from the concentration camp outside of Berlin and saw the skyline of the great city, with spires of dead churches, he argued the direct connection between surrender to Hitler and the secularized buildings today.

Mike Huckabee is a regular on Fox News.

I am optimistic about what can be done, if voters take action in 2014. Only half the registered voters actually vote in national elections.

Special interest voters have almost 100% turn-outs (often fake, but there they are). The traditional Constitutional voters have to act this election or we are doomed to live in a permanent Bosnia.

Hugh Jackman and Duck Dynasty - Recent Walmart Meetings

I walked over to shake hands with Hugh Jackman after the last Walmart meeting.
LI was right behind me and did the same, saying a few words to the actor/singer.

We made a point to be early to the Walmart Saturday Morning meeting for December. We already knew that Hugh Jackman (Les Miz, Wolverine) would be in the area stores and very likely at the meeting. He was the best host ever at the annual stockholders meeting last year.

We went to the Fitness Center, where a large room was set up for the meeting. Usually the meetins are divided among the Sam's Club and headquarters meeting rooms. The Walmart choir sang popular music and Christmas carols.

We were quite close to the stage, positioned stage left. Hugh Jackman was relaxed, friendly, charming. A four year-old girl walked up with her drawing and Hugh was delighted. His father was converted to Christianity at a Billy Graham rally and raised his children in the faith. Jackman told some family stories about his father's pride in his work as a performer.

Jackman made a point of his Christian faith when he introduced the solo he sang from the movie. Best of all, he invited the Walmart choir to join him in singing Gloria in Excelsis Deo, with the audience singing the words on the screen, at the close of the meeting.

We were very impressed with everything Jackman did, but the end of the meeting was special. Jackman (unlike any other celebrity in four years) stayed after the meeting was completely over. He walked over to the mother of the little girl and talked to her. He shook hands with the Walmart executives. I saw my chance and took it.

I power-walked to the center, not far away, and reached out to join the few who realized what was happening. Jackman graciously shook hands with me and then with Martin (LI for Little Ichabod).
That was our favorite - of all the meetings we have attended together in the last four years.

Sometimes I am a little jealous of my cohorts' glamorous travels. Then I realize, "In Northwest Arkansas, the entire world comes to us."

Walmart featured Duck Dynasty's star, Phil Robertson, at their meeting not long ago.
He is the Duck Commander.

I started writing up Walmart Saturday Morning Meetings when the toxic blogger from Fox Valley referred to this area as Podunk-Land.

Sandra Bullock came to the meeting a few days after winning the Academy Award. Almost every celebrity expresses shock that a company can get an energetic crowd together for a 7:30 AM meeting on Saturday.

Contrary to the A and E channel's myth-makers, they did not make Duck Dynasty famous. But lately they have made the star even more famous, the star of every news show all day long.

Long ago, Phil Robertson began marketing his duck calls to Walmart by driving from store to store, on his own. That was off-spec for corporate marketing, so they had to write an official letter making him a vendor to Walmart.

Phil gave up a contract in professional football to keep on duck hunting, but he earned a bachelor's degree and a master's degree. As they say around here, "He ain't no dummy."

As everyone knows by now, Phil is very popular for expressing old fashioned American values in the midst of public media besotted with pro-abortion gay activism and anti-Christian rants.

The Walmart audience is drawn from all over. They are the executives who run marketing, legal, computers, personnel, real estate, and store management. They loved Robertson several months ago, without any special news story.

I read today that Walmart sold out of every bit of Duck Dynasty goods. That happens with hurricanes and tornadoes, but not with news stories.

Enthusiasts at SpenerQuest Criticize Kokomo Theses (Their Own Dogma) and Endorse DP Buchholz

UOJ Enthusiasts devour this swill, from a Missouri professor
who joined the Church of Rome after seeing a brilliant sunset -
a sign from God to join the Pope!

Christian Schulz (Schulzcj) New member Username: Schulzcj Post Number: 13 Registered: 10-2012	Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 - 3:41 pm:       I don't know if it's been brought up in this long discussion because I haven't followed it all the way through, but as far as "dealing with Scripture," what do you have to say about this paper? [GJ - Vernon Harley's paper] https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B0U0GKIkUYsKNnlWe GFxTlhPMG8/edit?usp=sharing
Joe Krohn (Jekster) Intermediate Member Username: Jekster Post Number: 210 Registered: 4-2011	Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 - 7:25 pm:       Harley denies the doctrine of objective justification just as ELDoNA does. Rydecki makes the same error as Harley by translating the two 'many' in Romans 5:19 as describing two different groups. All are called and few are the chosen, so why would you translate one of the 'many' to be just believers? The Bible never talks about believers as the many, but only few. To say that the two 'many' refers to two different groups, you would have to then change the meaning of Isaiah 53:11. I asked on Rydecki's Intrepid blog on more than one occasion to deal with Isaiah 53 in regard to his position and it never was.
Franz Linden (Franz_mann) Senior Member Username: Franz_mann Post Number: 1813 Registered: 12-2004	Posted on Tuesday, December 17, 2013 - 7:46 pm:       I read through the first several pages and found that there are many leaps in his explanations of the texts. For example, in discussing the Romans passage, he makes a big deal out of the context of a verse helping us to understand its meaning, but then leaps away from the immediate context of the verse to the context of the entire book. The extended context helps us in flow of thought, but it doesn't help us understand the precise meaning of a specific verse. It is a horrible way to do theology. A person could prove anything his sinful heart can imagine by Harley's method of hermeneutics. The whole paper is semi-Calvinism. Sorry, Mr. Schulz. Franz
Rev. David R. Boisclair (Drboisclair) Intermediate Member Username: Drboisclair Post Number: 436 Registered: 1-2002	Posted on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 - 3:03 pm:       Those of us, who are old duffers remember the controversy about the possibility of Dr. WAM, Jr. being elected SP in 1981. The rank and file synod wanted him to succeed J.A.O. Preus, but President Preus raised the legitimate concern of WAM's doctrine of Justification in his class on Romans. So, Vern Harley said that instead of the problem being WAM it is Objective Justification. His article in Christian News was "Problems with Objective Justification." R.C.H. Lenski is one that doesn't believe in the doctrine of Objective Justification either. This generation carries on with Jackson, Rydecki, and ELDoNA.
James Warble (Warble) Member Username: Warble Post Number: 158 Registered: 1-2013	Posted on Wednesday, December 18, 2013 - 3:51 pm:       Looking at the link above, and reading the 4 questions posed to the couples in Kokomo, Indiana, is this a proper way to speak? Do we speak of sainthood apart from faith? God forgives and declares the whole world whose sins Christ bore righteous at his resurrection. Yes. But is this the same as receiving the status of saints? I don't think so. I think a saint is one who is a member of the holy Christian Church, as we confess in the Creed. A saint is one who in faith receives God's declaration and so receives his status as saint. There is a distinction between righteous and holy, isn't there?
David Bickel (Drb) Advanced Member Username: Drb Post Number: 512 Registered: 11-2009	Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 8:49 am:       Luther's advice on election (Luther: Letters of Spiritual Counsel, Martin Luther, ed. & trans. Theodore G. Tappert, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 2006): "… the highest of all God's commands is this, that we hold out before our eyes the image of his dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Every day he should be our excellent mirror wherein we behold how much God loves us… In this way, I say, and in no other, does one learn how to deal properly with the question of predestination. It will be manifest that you believe in Christ. If you believe, then you are called. And if you are called, then you are most certainly predestined." (p. 116) "Do you believe what you hear in the preaching of the Word and do you accept it as the truth? … To have faith in him is to accept these things as true without any doubting. God has revealed himself to you. If you believe this, then you are to be numbered among his elect. Hold to this firmly in with assurance, and if you accept the God who is revealed, the hidden God will be given to you at the same time… If we cling to him, he will hold us fast, and he will tear us away from sin and death and will not let us fall." (pp. 133-134) "We should think of [Jesus Christ] daily and follow him. In him we shall find our election to be sure and pleasant, for without Christ everything is peril, death, and the devil, while in Christ is pure peace and joy. Nothing but anxiety can be gained from forever tormenting oneself with the question of election. Therefore, avoid and flee from such thoughts, as from the temptation of the serpent in paradise, and direct your attention to Christ." (pp. 137-138) Theology of the Cross: http://DawningRealm.com
Rev. David R. Boisclair (Drboisclair) Intermediate Member Username: Drboisclair Post Number: 437 Registered: 1-2002	Posted on Thursday, December 19, 2013 - 9:29 am:       I completely concur with James Warble about the Kokomo Theses. Jon Buchholz of WELS also finds fault with them, and he is from WELS! His essay is here. The provocative idea is that Judas in hell has the status of saint as do all those who are in hell. It comes from John P. Meyer's (WELS) 2 Corinthians commentary Ministers of Christ. Jon Buchholz a scholar DP in WELS writes in his paper (p. 40): Each of these statements is so poorly crafted that it cannot be accepted, regardless of authorship. Dr. Siegbert Becker, in an essay to Chicago area pastors, rightly lamented the poor choice of words, but he upheld the statements on principle. I would like him to have said, “Throw them out and start over!” The Kokomo Statements should be roundly rejected by the WELS as an incongruous mishmash. The rejection of these statements, as they are written, is not a repudiation of universal objective justification, which these statements pretend to defend.

***

GJ - SpenerQuest posted the argument that everyone destroyed in Sodom has been given the status of a saint. That came from one of their regular ravers.

Typically, they flit from one person to another, their blessings resting on those who agree with their false doctrine, their curses falling on those (already forgiven!) who agree with Luther, Paul, and the Holy Spirit.

Three of the four Kokomo Theses come from J. P. Meyer's Ministers of Christ, recently reprinted  by WELS with all the offensive passages left untouched  - A. Panning (aka Panzer) - editor. The fourth one comes from a controversy between the Augustana Synod (justification by faith) and some Norwegians (UOJ).

SpenerQuesters do not know what they are talking about. When are they going to apologize for linking Paul McCain's Roman Catholic posts that were plagiarized from The Catholic Encyclopedia? He is the knave who extracts apologies from everyone spineless enough to kneel before him, but he never addresses his cowardly dishonesty.



PS - I met Vernon Harley and used his excellent essays in preparation for Thy Strong Word. I also quoted his translation of the early, German LCMS catechism that made no mention of UOJ - circa 1905.

Missouri never charged Harley with false doctrine. The conflict with WAM.2 was manufactured by LCMS President Jack Preus to make his brother Robert the president of the seminary. Apparently WAM.2 had the seminary presidency in the bag until he was publicly assaulted and humiliated by Jack.

The Robert Preus family cannot admit to the sandbagging job, not will they face the fact that Robert repudiated UOJ in Justification and Rome. Their dealing with his last book reminds me of Pentecostals dancing in the Spirit.