Mid-Week Lenten Service, Wednesday 7 PM Central Standard Time

Midweek Lenten Service, 

7 PM Central Standard Time

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7PM  

The Hymn #479          Zion Rise                                 
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody                   
The Lection                            The Passion History

The Sermon Hymn # 657            Beautiful Savior                      

God Makes Something Good

 
The Prayers

The Lord’s Prayer

The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn #49        Almighty God Thy Word Is Cast

God Makes Something Good

"That is enough on the first article concerning which the theologians of the Augsburg Confession have quarreled with each other. Although it was a very scandalous controversy, nonetheless God, who lets nothing evil happen if He cannot make something good out of it, has produced this benefit for His church through the controversy: The chief article of our Christian faith, on which our salvation depends, has been made clear, so that there is not a passage in the Old or New Testament which has not been considered and discussed." Jacob Andreae, The First Sermon, On the Righteousness of Faith in God's Sight. Cited in Robert Kolb, Andreae and the Formula of Concord, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1977, p. 76. 

Luther expressed this in a slightly different way, so that is worth remembering too. From memory - The Holy Spirit is so powerful that He can take the greatest evil and turn it into the greatest good, as shown by Good Friday.

The reason why each Gospel devotes about 25% of its space to the Passion is easy to figure out. The atoning death of Christ is the great treasure of the Bible. Therefore, everything else is an introduction to this great revelation, which connects to all the mysteries of the Bible (mysteries are revealed by the Holy Spirit):

1. The Holy Trinity
2. The Messianic Promises
3. Creation
4. The Virgin Birth and the Two Natures of Christ
5. The miracle of Christ
6. His teaching with authority
7. The Father and the Son - We are One - witnessed by the Holy Spirit
8. The Atonement and Resurrection
9. Justification by Faith

This knowledge of the atoning death of Christ is essential for understanding and interpreting the difficult times of our lives. 

The Atonement is so difficult that unbelievers question it, reject it, and mock it. The famous ELCA Braaten-Jenson Christian Dogmatics book (two volumes!) utterly rejects the atonement, the Trinity, the Virigin Birth, the adiaphora of ELCA! And yet some LCMS gasbags debate (on LutherQuest!) whether one of the Braaten-Jeson editors got the Atonement right. And yet not one of them gets Justification by Faith right - and that is the judge of all other articles of faith - if we follow Luther - a big "if" today.

The Atonement is difficult for children to grasp. I recall wondering - as a child - how it could be called Good Friday and listed as one of the great events of history. This kind of information does not appear to reason, which is  why so many have re-interpreted it to make sense for human reason. The 19th century German rationalists imagined that Jesus simply taught the Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God, not His Messianic mission at all. It was a Unitarianism for the timid and is still practices today with great zeal.

Children are normally taught first by the Holy Spirit in Baptism and nurtured in that faith by parents. Many of the lessons of faith in childhood are then tested as we grow up, providing a fertile ground for the spiritual fruits that follow. Those who have no background in the faith experience all kinds of trouble in dealing with the challenges and responsibilities of life.

The Atonement is so important because we that God can transform any evil into something good. There are many experiences that are a kind of crucifixion for people. They may  not show it on the outside, but  they feel it on the inside. That can come from having over-sensitive feelings, which are good unless they tune in too long and too hard on every positive negative signal, like playing several video music channels at once.

Some have had painful experiences forced upon them - by the economy, by sudden shifts in culture and public policy, by the sinfulness of man.

I have often had adult students send me messages like this, "I am going to be late with the assignment because I no longer have a place to live. I was tossed out and need to find a place at once."

An accident can cause a disability, and so can bad medical care. To wind up as the victim of a life-long or long-term difficulty is quite discouraging.

The key to grasping the meaning of life's bad turns is stated in the Andreae quotation and Luther's. If God can do this with the greatest of all injustices, Christ dying on the cross, then that Gospel transformation can also happen with our experiences of pain and loss.

The Reformation itself came close to a collapse, as Luther predicted. After 50 years, the Lutherans were squabbling with each other in front of the opponents at theological conferences. One said, "Why should we discuss this with you, when your group does not even agree among yourselves?"

That shame and embarrassment was the best thing to happen to the Reformation. That event united the Lutherans in a study and documentation of what they believed. Martin Chemnitz had been highly trained by many years of publishing and debating the issues. The others were also great, articulate students of the Scriptures.

This shame brought about the only coherent statement of faith in Protestantism - the Book of Concord. Chemnitz was trained by Luther and Melanchthon and shared the Biblical strengths of both men, plus great knowledge of the early documents of the Church.

While most people look at the years from 1517 to 1580 (The 95 Theses to the Book of Concord), just the opposite was true. The entire world was coming unglued, and the Muslims were invading Europe with great success. They helped the Reformation by drawing away the military forces of the Roman Catholic Emperor.

So this is a case of God becoming what we think of Him. If we do not see the good in Good Friday, and many do not, then we cannot see the wisdom and mercy of God in allowing bad things to happen to us. The irony is that many seem to have the least in blessings are also the most thankful about what they have. And the obverse is also true, that some have obvious advantages in many ways and only see the shortcomings. 

People of faith will say, wisely, that God gives special children to those parents who are best for those children. Likewise, those special children teach their parents and others more about love, mercy, and joy than any professor could try to do. Special children with special problems are transparent, to use one popular term, letting the divine purpose shine through. 

One example I often consider, whenever I look at my hymnal marker - Brenda K. who always worried about everyone else and did her best to help others. Her big thrill was giving presents to others when she had almost no money at all.

I have often quoted her - "I cling to the Savior because I have nothing else." And she could laugh. She showed me the mechanical lift for her wheelchair. When I mistakenly made it bang up down and flap like crazy bird, she laughed helplessly. She could barely breathe when she said, "Maybe I will let my helper run the life instead."

Episcopal Divinity School Pursues Merger with Union (aka The Devil's Playground)- Juicy Ecumenism

 Fewer and fewer want to pay more and more
for less and less.

Episcopal Divinity School Pursues Union Merger - Juicy Ecumenism: "Two progressive seminaries are on the road to merging following a financial shortfall and dropping enrollment at a historic Boston-area institution affiliated with the Episcopal Church.

The Board of Trustees of Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) today voted to pursue an affiliation with Union Theological Seminary. According to an announcement from EDS, such a merger would create an EDS entity to provide Episcopal theological education at Union’s New York City campus. The merger would entail the closure of the EDS campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and its programs.

A corresponding vote was cast by Union trustees in support of the move.

One of ten seminaries educating students for ministry in the Episcopal Church, EDS announced in July that it will cease granting degrees at the conclusion of the current academic year, citing “unsustainable” levels of spending. At the same time, the school’s dean tendered his resignation. In November, trustees from the school released a letter revealing staggering financial losses at the troubled progressive seminary.

According to the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada, EDS has four full-time faculty and 35 full-time enrolled students. EDS investments are currently valued at approximately $53 million plus the real estate value of its campus, which is adjacent to Harvard University. More than half of the endowment is restricted. In a statement made available by the school, Board Treasurer Dennis Stark stated, “We are spending six million a year from our endowment, and 30 percent of that is above a reasonable amount.”

Union was one of three finalists considered by a committee tasked with reviewing proposals for EDS’s future. Both schools emphasize progressive political advocacy. EDS describes itself as “leaders in educational programs that are enlivened by theologies of liberation, especially the many voices of feminist, congregational, ecumenical, and global studies.”

UPDATE [4:30 p.m.]: Union President Serene Jones has released a letter about the proposed merger.

“EDS will exist inside Union in such a manner as to deepen Anglican studies and to allow our Episcopal students to get their Union degree from a seminary recognized by the Anglican tradition. This is great news for our already large contingent of Episcopal students and our many Anglican alumni/ae who made their way through Union without this incredible level of support. It is even better news for future generations of Episcopal students who will enter a fully formed program. There are also enormous gifts that EDS and the global Anglican Communion promise to bring to Union as a whole; the programs designed in Anglican studies and ministerial and spiritual formation will enrich the education of every student here, including those of us who are not Anglican and those who are not Christian. Moreover, the significant funds EDS will bring to Union will allow us also to strengthen scholarship aid and to deepen faculty support and infrastructure capacity.”

Jones also specifically notes the closing of EDS’s programs and campus, which was not mentioned in the EDS announcement.

The EDS statement is below:

Episcopal Divinity School Votes to Pursue Affiliation with Union Theological Seminary in New York

Cambridge, MA – February 24, 2017 – The Board of Trustees of Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) today voted to pursue an affiliation with Union Theological Seminary that would create an EDS entity to provide Episcopal theological education and other programs at Union’s campus in New York."

 We need more souls at Union NYC - my playground -
if you know what I mean.

'via Blog this'

Emmaus Conference Making Money Taking the Wrong Positions - Ignoring Luther on the Reformation's 500th Anniversary

This article concerning justification by faith (as the Apology says) is the chief article in the entire Christian doctrine, without which no poor conscience can have any firm consolation, or can truly know the riches of the grace of Christ, as Dr. Luther also has written: If this only article remains pure on the battlefield, the Christian Church also remains pure, and in goodly harmony and without any sects; but if it does not remain pure, it is not possible that any error or fanatical spirit can be resisted. (Tom. 5, Jena, p. 159.) 7] And concerning this article especially Paul says that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Therefore, in this article he urges with so much zeal and earnestness the particulas exclusivas, that is, the words whereby the works of men are excluded (namely, without Law, without works, by grace [freely], Rom. 3:28; 4:5; Eph. 2:8-9), in order to indicate how highly necessary it is that in this article, aside from [the presentation of] the pure doctrine, the antithesis, that is, all contrary dogmas, be stated separately, exposed, and rejected by this means.

Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, III, #6, The Righteousness of Faith, Concordia Triglotta, p. 917.

---

 Cascione and McCain love to quote Edward Preuss,
who joined the Roman Catholic Church as an editor and expert theologian, after teaching this nonsense to the young LCMS.
Does anyone notice today that the Lutheran church bodies - ELCA included - are celebrating the Pietism of Halle University
and rejecting the Lutheran Reformation?
I mean - someone besides me.

"Everyone...have been declared..."
Verb subject agreement is no more necessary
than Book of Concord agreement.

"The doctrine of salvation through the Means of Grace is distinctive of Lutheranism. The Catholic churches have no use for means of grace, for a Gospel and for Sacraments which offer salvation as a free gift. And the Reformed churches, while they hold, in general, that salvation is by grace, repudiate the Gospel and the Sacraments as the means of grace. It is clear that matters of fundamental importance are involved. The chief article of the Christian religion, justification by faith, stands and falls with the article of the Means of Grace. Justification by faith means absolutely nothing without the Means of Grace, whereby the righteousness gained by Christ is bestowed and faith, which appropriates the gift, is created." The. Engelder, W. Arndt, Th. Graebner, F. E. Mayer, Popular Symbolics, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1934, p. 4f.

"That is enough on the first article concerning which the theologians of the Augsburg Confession have quarreled with each other. Although it was a very scandalous controversy, nonetheless God, who lets nothing evil happen if He cannot make something good out of it, has produced this benefit for His church through the controversy: The chief article of our Christian faith, on which our salvation depends, has been made clear, so that there is not a passage in the Old or New Testament which has not been considered and discussed."
Jacob Andreae, The First Sermon, On the Righteousness of Faith in God's Sight. Cited in Robert Kolb, Andreae and the Formula of Concord, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1977, p. 76.

What's Up in the March Garden

 Soon, but not yet.

The roses are leafing out already and will be pruned soon. They love being pruned, and I enjoy the response to the pruning.

Crepe Myrtles are late to produce anything, but they bloom all summer, so I forgive them.

The mother of all forsythias is starting to bloom, so I hope to get a good photograph of this giant when it is fully formed at my neighbor's home.

The elderberries leafed out early. They spread on their own, which is good. I like useful plants that spread on their own.

Cat Mint (not catnip) is growing well from my Direct Gardening buy last fall. Mints can be invasive and obnoxious, but they are also frequent bloomers and good landings for beneficial insects. I only like clumping mints. Those that spread through the roots are a disaster in time.

I will be looking for Mountain Mint sprouting soon in the main rose garden. Once established Mountain Mint can inspire feverish insect activity, like particles around an atom.

Daffodils are starting to appear above the soil. Others have them in full bloom. Tulips should bloom after.

Some Ideas on Rose Buying and Growing - To Make Your Friends Gasp in Amazement

Those new to growing roses should start with the older, more proven kinds. Every catalog is packed with the latest varieties, and they cost the most. Their inherent weakness are not listed - and you better buy before they run out of them!

For example, Pope Paul II is a beautiful and prolific white rose,but it is weak in the vase and does not last long. Therefore, it is ideal for creating contrast outside. In my garden, white roses and Peace roses attract aphids best. That does not bother me in the long run, because the aphids attract aphid-eaters, and the second bloom cycle is close to perfect.

I would buy three to five roses of the same variety, such as Double Delight, Fragrant Cloud, or Mr. Lincoln. That way a group of roses will be available to admire and to cut for vases at the same time. Fragrant roses were the exception a few decades back, but now the breeders are emphasizing aroma again. Most people want to smell roses first, so starting with the fragrant ones will be more satisfying. The three just mentioned are among the best performing and fragrant varieties.

Many times the name will give the scent away, as Fragrant Cloud does. Thus I am sure Bellaroma would be a good choice. I have not grown that one or many other choices.

I am now more likely to order an old favorite than the latest and best.

Long Term Investment
A bare root rose will bloom about one month from planting, which is quite a thrill. Roses used to flower once a year, so more blooms are a blessing of the modern age of hybrids.

Increased blooming takes place because of rain - not chemical fertilizers - and establishing a great root system with fungus helping out. Roots will also grow better with frequent pruning.

Some roses die, and a thorn-scarred veteran will think, "Oh so sad, now I have to try out a new one in that spot." But some roses continue and that longevity plus a good summer will yield spectacular results.

Eschew Man-Made Cures
To have the best roses, one must avoid all toxins, and that includes chemical fertilizers. OK, purists, manure is made up of chemicals too, but you know what I mean. If it has an NPK rating, put the container down. If the professional gardening writers despise it, use it -

1. Manure - rabbit, cow, horse, bird - but not cat or dog
2. Compost - the elements just below, rotted and mixed with soil
3. Mulch - leaves, grass, chopped up clippings
4. Rainwater

I have barrels of rainwater waiting for needy plants. A few large cheap trash barrels will becoming increasingly useful during the summer. If drought threatens, fill them with tap water to let the chlorine evaporate. If chlorine is good at killing bacteria, it is also good at suppressing plant growth. Good, stinky rot is great for the soil because the creatures of rot are attracted to foul smells and convert them to useful plant chemicals.

I look at piles of leaves the way some people look at the Golden Coral buffet spread. If I had the time and a good disguise, I would gather piles of crushed leaves from the street, where they are prepared perfectly for mulch. Our neighbors next door left a front yard carpeted with needles, a fact overlooked until the landlord began raking them into piles. "Just what I need for the cardboard covered lawn nearby." I will make my move today and claim them.

Crushed leaves are great because the tiny flakes are ready to rot when wet and to serve as food for earthworms. They will also suppress weeds and not blow away as eagerly as newly fallen leaves.

Leaves that survive the winter are always ready for the soil, so I gather as many as I can in this area. A lumpy green bag on the curb is my future prize if I find new gardening areas that have absorbed previous layers of leaves.

All this has been created, managed, and engineered by the Creating Word, identified clearly as the Son of God in John 1:3. Mankind has said many times over, "I have a better plan." But those plans are hopelessly flawed.

Insecticides kill beneficial insects and spiders much better than they eliminate pests. The pests always come back because toxins weaken the soil and plants.

Weed killers are especially effective on flowers and bushes, but not so much on weeds. Consider this - would the weed killer industry be doing so well if they actually worked? No - they are the equivalent of acne medicine, a profit-center for every company that can turn a few pennies of chemical into an imagined cure.

The more one seeds Creation in the garden, the more likely he will see the effectiveness of the Word in all matters.