Reviewing CN 8-22-2016. Otten Praises the False Teacher Reuel Schultz, RIP, WELS Church Growth Enthusiast. Want the Same Treatment from Otten? Attend Fuller Seminary!

"For several years I've been a Pete Wagner fan. Although I don't see eye to eye with him on many important theological points (he approves of faith healing and speaking in tongues as long as it promotes church growth and he comes from a Billy Graham decision for conversion doctrinal background), he is the most eloquent spokesman of the Church Growth Movement. A prolific author on mission/evangelism/church growth subjects, Wagner is also an excellent teacher and a crystal clear writer." 
Pastor Reuel J. Schulz The Evangelism Life Line (WELS) Winter, 1980.

"The publication TELL ('The Evangelism Life Line') has been inaugurated to promote the cause of church growth." Ernst H. Wendland, "Church Growth Theology," Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly, April, 1981, 78, p. 105.

Schulz was famous for his Fuller Seminary, Church Growth Enthusiasm.

Otten:
The first eleven pages of this issue contain some of the many writings of one of the WELS’ finest pastors and writers. Read what Pastor Reuel Schulz wrote and judge for yourself. Northwestern should now publish “A Pastor’s Role Model” with the writings of Reuel Schulz. Right now CN is working on a book titled “Back to the Bible, Luther, and ‘Old Missouri’ – The Writings of Raymond Surburg.” Northwestern has far more help and resources than CN to publish the writings of Reuel Schulz. In an age when far too many computer literate pastors spend little time visiting both members and the unchurched it would be helpful for them to read what the brilliant, courageous, well informed, bold and humorous Reuel Schulz has written.

The Wit and Wisdom of Fuller UOJ Pastors - 
One of Reuel Schulz’s humorous comments on p. 3 mentions the “GJ Church.” CN’s review of Thy Strong Word by Gregory Jackson, Ph.D., who at one time was considered the WELS’s whiz kid, is still on the growing pile of material prepared to publish for which CN has not yet had space. Finances prohibit adding more pages. Hopefully it will appear next week. Jackson writes: “We now belong to the largest synod of all, the 5,000,000 people who are Lutherans but refuse to attend the synodical franchise congregations. Some of us have started independent congregations” (ii). “Do the LCMS, WELS, ELS, and CLC leaders ever imagine that their jealousy, spite, envy, and peevishness have driven the synod into the ground?” (477). “Christian News has been a spectacular failure” (509). “Once Ylvisaker and the Preus brothers were gone, the ELS had no intellectual leadership” (510).

And here is the bon mot from WELS Pastor Schulz, apparently from 2000 -

“Thanks for printing all my articles about our mission in Grenada. So nice of you: “Best regards and God bless you, RJS “P.S. Have you heard about the new church in Arizona, the GJ Church, with one member who has a tough time getting along with himself. G for either God or Greg. J for either Jesus or Jackson."

***

GJ - If Schulz had spent some time checking out his facts, he would not have made a fool of himself in print. Church Growth dogma has dominated WELS for a long time. But why would Otten exhume this typical WELS misfire as an example of wit?

Our congregation has pioneered streaming video for live and saved worship services, which are viewed around the world. So far we have 14,500 views. The sermons are recorded live and also published via this blog - with a Luther sermon each week.

This blog has 4.8 million total views, with the highest number going to a Luther quote - the object of Ichabod - to promote Luther's doctrine.

Herman Otten does not like to reminded of his ecumenical twists, his need to have SP candidates fawn over him until they are safely in office, at which point he says his latest Sycophant President "must go."

I would much rather read about Harrison singing "The Ballad of Herman Otten" before being elected the first time - not much later, after being enthroned in his office with a princely salary.

I would love to see Herman Otten finally teach the Chief Article of the Christian Faith rather than the dogma of Halle University, Universal Objective Justification.

Otten the politician has the same faults as the Synod Presidents he promotes and then disdains. He has no grasp of Lutheran doctrine, promotes Church Growth, and tries to silence anyone who disagrees.

Review

Here is a brief review of crimes covered up in Christian News by not reporting them or - at best - burying them on page 17 (Hochmuth).

Question on Adult Education Classes

One reader asked about what I use for adult education. Luther preached for an hour at a time and advised pastors, "If you cannot preach that long, preach 30 minutes." Now the standard is 10 minutes of fluff copied from the Net." Therefore, Luther combined preaching the Gospel with doctrinal and Biblical lessons.

No wonder the modern Lutherans are copying from Captain Billy's Whiz Bang - or the equivalent thereof. Many Lutheran pastors cannot define their own doctrine, apart from memorized and confused bits from the talking points in Dog Class.

First of all, I feature one or more Luther's sermons for the Sunday in the historic lectionary year - no papal readings for us. I publish those weekly on Facebook and this blog.

Secondly, I quote from that Luther sermon during my sermon. I have used Lenski a lot and will use Lenski more in the future.

The adult class is either going through a book of the Bible, verse by verse, or a section of the Book of Concord.

Here are three books others have used for adult classes or confirmation:

Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant

Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure

Jesus, Priceless, Treasure - An Introduction to the Christian Faith

Soon all three will be on Amazon and Kindle.

Feedings, Inspections, Weedings and Blessings

Sassy and I are usually up before dawn, so she waits for some sunlight to take our walk. Today the sun was up already. Sassy ate her Science Diet breakfast while I got dressed for the walk. She walked toward the Four Esses, where every daughter's name starts with an S, but she veered when the Army Ranger called out. "Get over here, you three-legged dawg."

Sassy's favorites are greeted by a howl of pleasure - "Ah-roo-roo-roo." The Ranger and I had a long talk about politics and crime while Sassy got petted and combed by my fingers. When she was ready to walk, she barked sharply. "Have you got an appointment?"

"Bark! Bark!" People laugh about our dialogues, but we communicate all day long. She stops on our walk, hanging back so I can play "Go. Go." with her. She will be 50 feet back and bark sharply. I yell "Go go go go!" as she races toward me, like the days when she was running toward me in the park. I reach toward her and she dodges me each time.

If I miss the implication of her sounds and body language, she lets me know. The other night I thought she was ready for sleep at the end of our bed. She sat up, after having lidded eyes and that drowsy look. "Aroo. Bark! Bark!"

She wanted good-night petting from both of us. She wants to be invited, so I clap my hands softly and say, "Move, move." She comes up and sits for some petting from both of us, with exclamations of how gentle and loving she is. We enjoy that session almost every night, but we have to invite her.

If I miss all hints I suddenly find a dog's head under my hand, with a big Sassy grin looking up at me. "Time for night-night?" She will stand up and fall over for both of us to pet her.

That is the hanging feeder - not my photo.
My squirrels are much livelier.

Feeding Time for the Birds Squirrels
The normal quota for the bird feeders is - one big cup of sunflower seeds for the platform feeder and four cups for the hanging feeder.

Today I had a young squirrel on the platform and another one using the hanging feeder as his vending machine. Squirrels know to spin the six-sided feeder to bring the loose seeds closer. I closed the window sharply to reset the feeders.

Birds and squirrels fly, but still remain close to the food. The Butterfly Bush is strong enough for both. Now seven birds are on the platform and one squirrel is spinning the hanging feeder for breakfast.

Spiders Casting Their Nets on Privet Hedges
Two neighbors behind us on Joye Street do landscaping work and have boxy privet hedges on the front of their property. They keep them trimmed neatly.

Almost every morning the spider webs on top of the hedges are highlighted by dew. What a bountiful zone for spiders. They can snag the insects landing on top and the bugs crawling up from the branches. Bushes are feeding zones for spiders, nesting places for birds, and havens for insects.

The webs are irregular circles, never touching, leaving a margin around each feeding site. Web spiders are created and engineered to cast a net wherever food is likely to appear.

Spiders without webs (cursorial) march across the property to hunt for food. Spiders alone number in the thousands in a field, so one can only guess how much damage they do to pests.

God manages all the beneficials so they have their own territory and favorite foods, including themselves. Almost every beneficial will devour its own, but that protests the gene pool to favor the strongest.

At first we earthwormed the yard,
mulched and pruned the Crepe Myrtle.

The Crepe Myrtle was newly trimmed in this photo.
Now the bush and yard are even more bloom covered.

Honoring Creation
Not using toxins is one way to trust in God's Creation, engineering, and continuous management.

The plants and animals carry out their duties according to a calendar and plan we do not comprehend or implement. I know the Crepe Myrtle bush enjoys plenty of sun and food for its roots, so I have another pyramid of food under the bush, an explosion of color people point to as an example of they want to grow.

The food supply is comprised of cow manure, shredded wood, the blooms I cut off to encourage more growth, twigs cut to spur growth, pieces of rotten wood, and pieces of lawnmower manure. The large powered lawnmowers build up clumps of dust and grass, which fall off from time to time. Some are scraped off. They are pure energy held together by fine dust. This larder is almost free and always settling down.

What happens?

The soil creatures, mold, and fungus work on the more complex ingredients of bark and mulch, and share it with the roots below. Spiders set up shops to process fresh insects, the hollows and dampness ideal to attract their food. Bees manage the flowers to provide seed for the Cardinals nesting above.
Bacteria devour the simpler foods, like grass, below. Earthworms and slugs shred bigger pieces, and bacteria in the earthworm gut carries out digestion for the earthworm. Since bushes attract insects, the Cardinals also have fresh meals for their young. Additional flying patrols are carried out by beneficial insects like wasps, tiny Flower Flies, Tachenid Flies, and Ichneumon Wasps. Although I knew only a portion of this last year, the creatures did their work anyway.

If anyone has ever worked on a church building project, it is well known that the project will take at least two years to complete from start to finish. Many details have to be managed, so one error can spoil the results. And yet, this little spot of Creation can exist and flourish with only a little help from us, if we only appreciate what God has created, engineered to perfection, and managed so well.

Fluffy pink fireworks of flowers
hide the Cardinal nest within.
Note the layer of branches and mulch
on top of composted cow manure.

Inspecting the Yards
Once again I am Hamlet debating - "To water or not to water, that is the question."

Some genuine rain is promised for tomorrow, and I soaked everything already for the recent faux-rain. The KnockOut roses look splendid because we pruned them back by 50% at first droop, and they received some serious rain right after. Our helper and I clipped off the spent KO blooms, so now they are all fresh and bright and reaching their former height.

Roses droop in dry and hot weather, so pruning and soaks give them energy. I have no qualms about sprinkling and hosing them down, to remove the dust and sweat from their toil. OK - just the just. Rose canes are spongy rather than woody, so they soak up the water fast and loose it fast on hot, sunny, windy days. The spongy canes green up fast too.

Veterans Honor - give the rosebush,
share the blooms.

Falling in Love roses donated generously and now rest for the next cycle. They will be a very special next year, with the roots established all winter. I expect some good rains will yield another crop of these roses.

Easy Does It orange roses produce strong stems and clusters of roses. Its color production says "Look at me" all the time.

Mr. Lincoln will generate the longest, strongest, and most fragrant roses before any other hybrid tea. If someone wants to grow impressive roses for the vase or yard, Mr. Lincoln is an easy choice. Our friend loves to see her Mr. Lincoln bud open up and slowly turn purple.

Veterans Honor is the  other red rose bloom in mug-like form, fat rather than tall in shape, its red color so pure that the blooms glow in low light and stand out among all other roses in the garden. Veterans Honor also earns high praise for its longevity in a vase.

In the backyard I found two roses with non-rose leaves. I looked again. Growing from the middle was probably a nut tree, planted by the squirrels - watered and mulched by me.

The ground is so fertile that nuisance trees and bushes erupt from the ground, so I am always doing some weeding and yanking out growth.

Mr. Lincoln buds are tall, very fragrant,
and open up to large blooms.

Birds and Squirrels - New Show Every Hour, Every Day

Norma Boeckler's Bluebird

I set up some bird baths and feeders a distance away from the bedroom window, then moved everything in.

A White Profusion Butterfly Bush has grown at least 8 feet tall and serves as a waiting room for birds, stairs and escape for squirrels. Next to the bush is a large Pokeweed, which is ready to bear fruit for the birds. Together they screen and shade the window.

Below is a children's swimming pool kept clean and full of water for all animals. I cut the sides down to make it easier for all creatures to use. Also, birds are intimidated by deep water but love to bathe in shallow pools. I tried using rocks and deeper water, but that increased the surface area to clean of algae and dirt.

Four bird feeders, sheltered by the eaves, close to the window, keep the area busy:

1. The platform feeder is perforated and filled with sunflower seeds each day.
2. The hanging baskets are filled with suet during the cooler seasons, not in summer when they melt away.
3. The squirrel-proof (sic) feeder has finch seed, so only the finch family and sparrows feed from it.
4. The Lowe's hanging feeder holds a lot of sunflower seeds and its multi-sided design allows five birds to eat at once.

I let Sassy in from the backyard, and there on the Yellow Coneflower was a Goldfinch eating the seeds formed by the flower. The bird was unfazed by our activity, so I went back to watch more feeding. He finished with one flower, looked up, and hopped onto the next. I hope he plants a few seeds in my yard. I bought that plant for beneficial insects and got a bonus.

This Bella Vista super-squirrel owned my squirrel-proof (sic) feeder,
using the mechanism to shake seed into his greedy mouth.

The Daily Bird and Squirrel Show

Naturally, the birds were shy about the new contraptions when the feeders were set up near our window. The Jackson EZ Bird-Swing also had almost no activity.

Now we have a show every day, almost all day. The juvenile squirrels love to squat on the platform and bat away birds that threaten them. Meanwhile birds line up on the Butterfly Bush and hop over to the finch feeder or the hanging sunflower feeder.

Sometimes I open and shut the sliding glass window to get the squirrels away, But they know that opening the window is no threat. They just flinch and keep eating. Popping it shut later can turn two squirrels into flying squirrels in a second. Even then, they prepare to come back in quickly. 

I love to see a baby squirrel twitching and sniffing as he comes up to the window, after crawling up the side of the house. The tail moves back and forth in little darting motions, to show he is ready to eat but also ready to flee.

Believe it or not, the squirrels do not eat all the platform food. When that feeder is clear, Mourning Doves will sit and sift through the seeds to find some for themselves. Sometimes they land close to menace the squirrels away. That makes the squirrel reach out to warn the bird away. 

Dove fluttering - "Away! Away!"

Squirrel - "I will push you out of the air with my paw!"

Cardinals are the shyest birds, so I love seeing Mr. and Mrs. Cardinal eating sunflower seed from the hanging feeder each day. Lately I learned they also love Crepe Myrtle seeds, so I am letting most of the flowers go to seed for them. That also explains why they nest in the Crepe Myrtle. It is like sleeping in the linens department of a Walmart Supercenter. Hungry? Dinner's a few inches away.

Unlike many bird-lovers, I enjoy having flocks of Starlings - and their cousins, the Grackles - in my yard. As relatives to the Crows, they flock together, eat like teenagers, and remove tons of pests, including grubs like Japanese Beetles. 

Many Plants and Bushes Can Replace Acres of Yawn-Lawn

As I learned from the Coneflower, one plant by itself can appeal to beneficial insects and beautiful birds. Each creature of God has its own time to flourish and set up for the next year, by forming a brood locally or - for some birds - heading South.

In the Upper Peninsula, the poor people go to Minnesota for the winter.

Grass makes a convenient pathway between gardens, where everything contributes to a vibrant yard filled with birds and insects.

The Elderberry plants I began - for the first time, from Almost Eden - are now bowed down with black berries. They attracted insects at first and served as base for a lot of beneficial activity. Now they will feed birds into the cold season.

Beautyberries are edible only for birds, and they form very late. They are the berries useful late in the year, when everything else has stopped fruiting. Right now I only see flowers on the Beautyberries.

Leave It Trashy Until Early Spring

Gardeners want to mow everything down and clean up the yard for winter - wrong! The dead plants are havens for beneficial insects and wild bees. A dead stalk is a cozy chamber for insects, which are 99% beneficial.  Flowers gone to seed are bird-food - and that includes weed seeds. How else have some weeds spread so well?

God mulches all his plants, so we should too. I look at leaves as something to add to the yard, not as trash to haul away. I used 60 bags of leaves from my hard-working neighbors last year, and where are they? Some are carpeting the Wild Garden, but most have rotted into the soil, converted by earthworms and mites, slugs and other creatures.

If insects like the tiny flowers,
Hummingbirds are likely to enjoy them too.

ELDONUT Song. Correction on the Vespers Service!

Deacon Anthony Oncken

ELDONA, less than one square mile
Where mullets are in style, year-round.
Oh, church bandit, you sure planned it,
Wherever you're going, I'll goose-step your way.

EL DONA, makes Hispanics smile,
Where mitres are in style, year-round,
We're after the same smells and bells,
Glad we're not in WELS, or with Missouri swells
ELDONUTs and me.
sung to the tune of Moon River

 Official mascot for ELDONA:
Suffragen Bishop Cujo.

At the last ELDONA meeting, a Vespers service was announced, but it was only for the pasteurized, homogenized ELDONA priests and bishop. No layman was allowed to attend. A postulant could not attend either. Nor could an applicant for their seminary.

When laity found out they were barred from worship, they looked around at each other.

What would St. Ignatius say?

GJ - Correction. 8-18-2016. Everyone was allowed to attend the Vespers service, but the party afterwards was for clergy only. Not very hospitable.

"What's wrong with a mullet?"

St. Ignatius ELDONA Seminary, Malone, Texas.
Oncken is in charge of the entire student body - one person.
The Live Bait sign was ordered but was not yet installed in time for the photo-shoot.

Moline Classmate Had His Business Burn Down When a Fire from the Other Side Rekindled - Firemen Went Home

Mike Collins, MHS Class of 1968, lost his entire shop when the local firemen let a fire rekindle from next door. Let's pitch in and help him with rebuilding his business.

https://www.gofundme.com/2gc8nvj8

Here is his Facebook page.

Take Luther With You - Especially Galatians

The Galatians Lectures can be found in the shorter form or the longer, final effort of Luther to keep people straight on Justification by Faith.

The two best productions by Luther are Galatians and his Small Catechism. Luther offered that assessment, and most would agree. No doubt that can be found in most seminarians' notes - "L. best, Gal and small cat." But no one reads them. Even fewer study them, especially Galatians. The genius editors of the Formula and Book of Concord, 1580, commended Luther's Galatians for additional study of Justification by Faith.

Jar Jar Webber condescended to mention Galatians but revealed no insights from the book he ignored so ungraciously. Why not? Galatians repudiates every word of the Emmaus Dreck already enshrined in the precious WELS Essay File. I nominate Webber for a professorship at Mequon - they so richly deserve God's wrath for their promotion of false doctrine.

Me? No, that was a long time ago.
The number may be up to several dozen by now.

We make stops where I have to wait for a period of time, from very short to hours, depending. I often take Luther's Sermons with me or Galatians.  I can open Galatians to Galatians 3 and be knocked over by Luther's insights in one paragraph.

He observed that teacher of the Bible can take a flower and plant a meadow with it. One concept can be compared and multiplied by many other texts and insights from personal experience. But Luther has taken the Apostle's meadow and built landmass of flowers with it.

There are many opportunities to pick up Luther and read a paragraph. Throw away the synodical drivel and read the Reformer for a year. That is a bit dangerous. The Word brings with it many blessings and plenty of crosses.

The blistered and injured athlete will say the Olympic gold was worth the sacrifices, and the one who reads Luther will eventually realize what the Reformer meant by "the blessed and holy cross" one must bear in teaching the truth.

Luther is available in many convenient forms:

1. Printed works are often very inexpensive - used ones are hardly worn at all. WELS copies will crack when opened.
2. E-books are handy for all computers and digital devices.
3. The Lenker Luther sermons are published on this blog - see the top - and featured every Sunday for the Church Year.
4. Fortress Press' Day by Day We Magnify Thee is a good devotional book built around Luther's insights, verbatim.

Once a reader is used to Luther, he will notice that the Reformer had many caustic remarks for false teachers.

The more delicate Lutheran leaders of today are slugs in public, spineless and slow, but they are full of venom for anyone who questions their precious infallible sect. Hold your breath after making an observation. You will not pass out waiting for them to say, "Eighth Command!" or "Matthew 18!" or "Slander!"

ELDONUTs are full of themselves, as their own graphic shows.

Rain Predictions Disappoint - Rescue Plants. Creation, Acid Soil, Sweet Soil. Good and Bad Aromas

Blueberry flowers are beautiful and delicate,
like the berries themselves.
Those who grow them will attract birds and squirrels.
So far I have eaten one blueberry in two years of growing them.
They are more productive in acid soil, so I mulch them with pine needles
and pine cones.

Springdale has perfected the feel of going to rain and yet not raining. Even the weather services are fooled. Last night, after threatening rain all day, Accuweather had us down for storms at 1 AM and 4 AM, but the pavement is strangely dry again.

I watered front and  backyards yesterday, often a guarantee of rain. The last time I did that, I had to run out in the rain to turn off the water spigot.

Nevertheless, I had fun with rescue plants. One is a young willow that was knocked down and almost uprooted, either by Sassy, another animal, or wind. It looked dried up, but some green was still showing in two places on the plant. I snipped away the dead plant material, anchored the plant with small logs, and watered it several times with rainwater.

Optimism about rescues came from recent efforts with rainwater. I watered Barbara Streisand into blooming with rainwater. I also brought Mr. Lincoln into better production by favoring it with stored rain.

Chaste Tree smells like medicine,
like many herbs.

The Chaste Tree was my rescue based on studying the plant. My instincts were to use rainwater on it when it drooped, but that made the sad look even more prominent. I finally looked up How To Raise Chaste Trees and discovered out three rules:

1. Never water a Chaste Tree.
2. Feel free to prune it however the gardener wishes.
3. Grow the plant in the sunlight.

As I wrote earlier, I dug up the small bush from its shady spot and placed it in a shallow hole I dug. I placed the Chaste Tree in the sun, near the blueberries, in a place we could enjoy it. Unlike all previous plantings, I did not water it. Instead I pruned every branch to encourage root growth and mulched the area around it. Now the plant is leafed out everywhere and certainly taking root in its sunny, dry spot.

The Creating Word has fashioned plants and insects for every climate, so we can do well if we study the favorite locations and climates of the plant and animal kingdoms. Potential gardeners are shocked by the truth about plants, that some thrive in the cold and rain, even under snow. Others favor the burning sun. Still others, especially herbs, would rather be in poor soil, where they thrive and produce.

The dominant plants will diagnose the soil for the discerning gardener. They want acid soil, favor slight acidity (like roses), or want sweet soil (peas). Eventually the gardener has a mental database of what should go where in the garden. Do I mulch with pine (acid soil)? or dump the charcoal and fireplace ashes here (sweet, which is really base soil). Caltrate makes the soil sweeter, and earthworms have their own, unique Caltrate or calciferous glands.

Let us pause a moment to consider the work of earthworms. They are created and engineered to gather the elements of calcium carbonate and manufacture the chemical for the soil. They are the only animal to do this, but then, earthworms are almost everywhere. This effect is so powerful that rogue earthworms, set free by fisherman and other scoundrels who visit pine forests, convert the soil slowly into deciduous tree areas. This slow conversion is cause for alarm when people want evergreens to stay and perpetuate the habitat.

Longfellow - Evangeline

This is the forest primeval. The murmuring pines and the hemlocks,
Bearded with moss, and in garments green, indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids of old, with voices sad and prophetic,
Stand like harpers hoar, with beards that rest on their bosoms.
Loud from its rocky caverns, the deep-voiced neighboring ocean
Speaks, and in accents disconsolate answers the wail of the forest.

Wiki:

On August 27, 1829, Longfellow wrote to the president of Bowdoin that he was turning down the professorship because he considered the $600 salary "disproportionate to the duties required". The trustees raised his salary to $800 with an additional $100 to serve as the college's librarian, a post which required one hour of work per day.[27]

Sweet Soil - Less Acid

The conversion of acid soil spells doom for some plants and gives life to others. Sweet soil is a bit confusing, because the soil is not more sugary, but more base/less acidic. Of course, an acid soil does not dissolve plants. Acid soil is on the other side of neutral, just as sweet soil is the opposite on the other side of neutral.

Sweet soil is unlocks more chemicals for the plant roots to use, and clay soil has the most to use, plus the fine particles that provide more charges for ion exchange. I do not know much about chemistry, but I can pretend a bit by reading the basics. I thought chemistry was "loud boiling test-tubes" - like my Gilbert Chemistry Set - not black and white diagrams of compounds. My chemistry instructor and I were mutually disappointed. 

So this one creature, scorned or ignored by most, is the key to soil chemistry and fertility. And there is not just one earthworm, but many earthworm varieties, suited for their locations in various parts of the earth. One theory about the abundance of America is the transfer of hard-working European earthworms to the vast potential of our soil. Voisin's classic Better Grassland Sward, used for only $70, explains his theory. He also wrote, The Cow and Her Grass. You laugh, but you drink milk and enjoy ice cream. The delicate balance of nutrition in a herd of cows will make or break a dairy farm.

One act of God's providence is linked to another. The vast herds of buffaloes on the Great Plains created up to 20 feet of top soil, because the deep-rooted prairie grass fed and was fed by these herds and other creatures. When the European earthworms arrived, the prairie soil was unlocked for all time and became the most productive place on earth for food, the breadbasket of the world.

Slime molds clean up other fungi -
and they often look like plastic dog vomit.

Smells, Aromas, and Stinks

Our sense of smell is nothing compared to cats and dogs, but we easily discern the stink of decomposition, the strange smells of fungus and bacteria. The creatures of rot are attracted to those aromas and gradually sanitize them so that nothing is left but the pleasant smell of soil (coming from one distinct soil bacterium).

If not aromas, then other factors attract beneficial creatures. Sometimes chemicals are released by stressed plants to alert the beneficial insects. I understand that the sound of munching will also bring some.

"What's that?"

"Our favorite food is crunching on some flowers. Let's eat those monsters."

The shape of flowers will bring hummingbirds and the sweet fragrance of some will bring butterflies. But these creatures specialize too. Butterflies need specific plants to raise their young. The most obvious is the Monarch, needing Milkweed or Butterfly Weed.

Butterfly Bush smells like grape jelly -
no wonder the insects and butterflies love it.

John 1:3

These are only a few of the relationships between plants and soil, plants and creatures, plants and aromas. Soil chemistry really begins with microbes - fungi, bacteria, protozoa - another layer of complexity and mutual dependence.

Every layer is complex and mutually balanced by the actions of other players in the design and engineering of Creation. Expert management is proven by the way soil fertility asserts itself again, over time, once man has finished his own adjustments. Weeds will conquer weed barriers. Plants will overcome the toxic effects of man-made chemicals. Soil microbes will return to do their work - all without the knowledge or permission of man, the pinnacle of God's Creation.

Norma Boeckler's butterfly notecard.

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, 2016. 2 Corinthians 3:4-11. The Ministration of Righteousness

The Twelfth Sunday after Trinity. 2016

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn #649                             Jesus Savior Pilot Me

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 #123                       Our God Our Help             

The Greater Ministry of the Gospel

The Communion Hymn #304               An Awful Mystery             

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 #657             Beautiful Savior                                

KJV 2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

KJV Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.

Twelfth Sunday After Trinity

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast created all things: We thank Thee that Thou hast given us sound bodies, and hast graciously preserved our tongues and other members from the power of the adversary: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy grace, that we may rightly use our ears and tongues; help us to hear Thy word diligently and devoutly, and with our tongues so to praise and magnify Thy grace, that no one shall be offended by our words, but that all may be edified thereby, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Luther’s Sermons on the Gospel text - Here:

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/08/luthers-sermons-on-twelfth-sunday-after.html

The Greater Ministry of the Spirit 

KJV 2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 

As Luther says, Paul's writing is quite strange to the uninitiated, such as beginning Christians, but especially to unbelievers. That is why scoffers mock Paul and make fun of him for all his apparent faults, that is, faults apparent to the scoffers. In an age where most cultures considered women as property, Paul taught quite the opposite. He also elevated the position of the slave and gently encouraged Philemon to free his slave. But what are the facts to scoffers? 

The first to criticize Luther are the Lutherans, such as Jar Jar Webber's famous rant, which made me ask, "Have you read Luther?" He answered, "No, I should." But that is not good for advancement in Lutherdom. Wait for all the American synods to mark the 500th Anniversary by posting their latest efforts against Luther and holding special fund-raisers to "honor Luther and the Reformation." They may find themselves hung up on the barbed wire of those who know better and address those errors of the leaders.

Paul is address the conflict with the false apostles who brag about their works and try to enslave the Corinthians in their newly discovered dogmas. Any teaching against Justification by Faith is necessarily Justification by Works, Justification by the Law, as anyone can see among the Leftists in ELCA and the Pietists in the LCMS-ELS-WELS.

Paul has a special office, one which only a few had - apostle. He saw and heard and was taught by the Risen Lord. Like the original and larger group (500) that saw and heard Jesus, nothing could take away Paul's certainty in the Gospel message. The Apostolic Age had a clearly defined group of teachers versus those who pretended to improve upon and clarify what Jesus taught, sending themselves as all false teachers do, living off of what others had done before. Not one drop of martyr's veins is ever found in the false teachers. They run at the sound of dry leaves blowing and hide away from their imagined dangers.

The false teachers glories in themselves, but Paul gloried in the Gospel converting the Corinthians and bearing spiritual fruit in them. He did not need hand-written letters from or to the congregation. Their believing souls were his living epistles, engraved with the Gospel in their hearts.

Therefore, Paul's confidence was in God, but he is not bragging about a virtue he has developed in himself. His sufficiency is from God. Everything he does is from the power of the Spirit in the Word - that is entirely how God accomplishes His work.

6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

This letter is a play on words, about writing. The Law was engraved on stone tablets, which is contrasted with the Gospel taught by the Spirit. The Law by itself kills, because no one stands forgiven and saved by the Law. No one can properly observe even one Commandment, let alone all Ten Commandments.

False teachers always engage in some form of the Law, even when they say the Law is obsolete, like the Antinomians. Those people, who hold onto UOJ like drowning men, say that with universal forgiveness, everything in the past, present, and future is already forgiven - ergo, no Law. Some offer superficial confession of sin only to boast they are already forgiven and saved.

Are they all grace? Hardly. These Anti-Law people are nothing but man-made requirements (theirs) and commands to infinity and beyond. If anyone transgresses their unwritten canon law, they are condemned and sentenced to shunning and exile, utter silence as befits those who have violated one tiny bit of their code.

The Spirit gives life. This is an unusual comparison because the stone tablets are such a well known figure that they are used all the time. And we have many of them today in various forms - monuments and places of honor - built to last forever.

But the Gospel is written on our hearts as promised in the Old Testament. This Gospel gives life because the Promises are forgiveness, blessings, and comfort. These first Epistles of Paul, written on leather or copied onto papyrus, were quite fragile in themselves, but the Gospel itself was written on the hearts of those first believers, and that could not be removed by false teachers and their boasting.

As Paul reminded the Thessalonians, they knew and experienced the power of the Gospel Word. Anything else weighs down people with demands and works to be done to satisfy justice. But the Gospel teaches us that Jesus has satisfied the righteousness of God. We are justified by the faith of Jesus (three times stated in the New Testament), who placed Himself in the hands of God and paid for our sins, rising from the dead.

Paul always backs away from anything hinting at making a decision, as he does in this lesson, because that would place part of salvation on man as responsible for making a correct decision. The Law salesmen demand a decision in favor of their return to slavery. To enforce it, they exile anyone who questions this.

The Gospel itself converts, whether in tiny babies or adults, because of the power of the Word. It is not  - Jesus has done it all and now you must do this - but the Gospel revealing this truth to us and opening our hearts to receive it with joy, as the Election article teaches in the Formula of Concord.

29] And this call of God, which is made through the preaching of the Word, we should not regard as jugglery, but know that thereby God reveals His will, that in those whom He thus calls He will work through the Word, that they may be enlightened, converted, and saved. For the Word, whereby we are called, is a ministration of the Spirit, that gives the Spirit, or whereby the Spirit is given, 2 Cor. 3:8, and a power of God unto salvation, Rom. 1:16. And since the Holy Ghost wishes to be efficacious through the Word, and to strengthen and give power and ability, it is God's will that we should receive the Word, believe and obey it.

7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 

From the lesser to the greater - that is a common comparison used then and still in our times. Swedes thought Lindsborg Kansas was the great destination, the City on a Hill. When they landed in New York City, they said, "If this is NYC, what must Lindsborg be like?"

Paul never denigrates the Law by itself. Nor does Luther, who pointed out that God gave us the Law with Promises. And the Law is an essential revelation of God's will, what He commands for our good. Our country's Founders realized this and all criminal and civil law was based on the Ten Commandments.  But as great and glorious as the Law is, the Gospel is far greater.

9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.

The Law is so embeded in us that students ask, in a sense, "What is the minimum that I must do in order to fulfill the assignment's requirement?" And they often say something like this, "You did not mark my assignment that much and I did what was required, so I deserve an A." One even said, ignoring what I said previously in the clearest way, "Why only a 95%? I should get 100%." He earned an A but he was not happy with only an A. He wanted a gold leaf cluster under it, though he ignored my suggestion for improvements.

On the other hand, some start with the attitude of doing their best because want to, and that is the ideal. How much more can I do so I learn even more? Thanks for the corrections - I will apply them to the next effort. Even - thank you for teaching me about plagiarism and cheating. You are the best teacher I ever had.

The entire difference between Law and Gospel is - have to, or want to. Those who live under the Law "have to." The thoughts direct their words and actions. Those who live under the Gospel "want to." There is no getting even in the Gospel. Out of God's abundant mercy and generosity flows the fruits of that Spirit in our lives. 

This is our guide to sound doctrine and the true glory of the Gospel. If someone wants to enslave people with their new and better version of the Bible, then they are Law salesmen. If they specialize in "must" and "have to" and "now do your part," they are simply appealing to man's logic rather than God's will. It is not a contract where God does His part and we do our part - it is the Gospel of Grace that plants faith in our hearts by the Spirit in the Word.

So I tested the Mormon missionaries by saying, "We are justified by faith, not by works." They said, "Not by works?" That was the hook that trapped them, more than their odd dogma about Jesus being the brother of Satan. The Chief Article cannot be amended or improved. If someone is against the Chief Article, he is against the Gospel. All the other errors flow from it. If he changes the Chief Article, which he cannot do, because it belongs to God alone, he condemns himself as a messenger of Satan, a liar, a peculator, and a murderer of souls.

He may call himself a Mormon, a Catholic, or a Lutheran. If he opposes or amends the Chief Article, he is against God's Word.