More Luther Quotations for Icha-peakers - Those Who Look for One More Post Before Bed. Volume IV, The Sermons of Martin Luther

As the Word Is, So Is the Heart

For as the Word is, so will the heart be, which believes and cleaves firmly to it. The Word is a living, righteous, truthful, pure and good Word, so also the heart which cleaves to it, must be living, just, truthful, pure and good.

#6. Ninth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

Listen to the Precious Word or the Devil’s Cry of Murder?

32. If we will not wish to enjoy this happy day which he gives us unto grace and our salvation, he can also instead permit us to see and experience nothing but the dark and terrible night of all affliction and misfortune. And since we will not hear this precious Word and the proclamation of peace, we will be forced to hear the devil’s cry of murder ring in our ears from every direction. Now is the time for us to know the day, and well employ the rich and golden year, while the annual fair is before our very doors, and acknowledge that he has severely punished us. If we neglect it and allow it to pass, we can never hope for a better day or expect any peace; for the Lord, who is the Lord of peace, will be with us no longer.

33. But if Christ be no longer with us, our hope will vanish; and wherever this beloved guest is rejected, and his Christians no longer tolerated, government, peace and everything shall perish, for he too desires to eat with us, to rule and to provide bountifully.

Tenth Sunday after Trinity

Justification by Faith Does Not Mean Hedonism

45. Again, you must be like the publican in this, that you henceforth forsake sin, for it is not said of him that he continued as he was before, but went forth and applied grace to his own heart, so that God declared him righteous, as the text says: “This man went down to his house justified.” These words do not conclude that he remained in his sin, as he did not go into the temple and pray for that; for whoever desires to continue in sin cannot pray for grace and forgiveness, but he who prays thus thinks, wishes and desires to be just and entirely free from sin. This you must know so that you do not deceive yourself. For there are many who only consider that the publican as a sinner receives grace and forgiveness, and do not think that God requires that they should forsake sin, and let the grace received be henceforth powerful in their lives. But some want to understand it as though God saves sinners in a way that they may still remain in sin and unrighteousness.

Eleventh Sunday after Sunday, Second Sermon

Yet Another Clear Statement against Objective Justification

8. Therefore let everybody mark well, that he can never be saved through another person’s faith. But it of course may happen, that by the faith of other persons you may be brought to a faith of your own. Likewise the good works of other persons may be of service to me to obtain works of my own. Therefore those lie, who declare that we may be saved through the works or faith of other persons, whether we ourselves believe or not. No, this is not so! Unless you yourself draw out from God’s kindness and mercy a faith of your own, you will not be saved. Thus it must be; otherwise no other person’s faith or works avail, not even Christ, though he is the Savior of all the world; his kindness, his help will do you no good whatever, unless you believe in it, and are enlightened by it.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Praying for a Personal Faith

13. Therefore say: I must neither rely upon your works nor you upon mine; but I will, by my own faith, pray God to give you a faith of your own. This is what is said, that we all are priests and kings, that we, like Christ himself, may intercede for one another before God, praying for personal faith. Thus, if I happen to notice that you have no faith of your own, or a weak faith, I go and ask God to help, you to obtain faith, not by giving you my faith and my works, but your own faith and your own works; so that Christ may give him all his works and salvation through faith, as he hath given them to us by faith.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity

Ears and Tongues

14. In like manner the ears of both differ. A Christian’s ears have the same Word which the tongue preaches, and the heart believes; but the world prefers to hear one speak of her wisdom, understanding, honor and glory. The ears and tongues of Christians are thus different from the ears and tongues of the world, or of unbelievers, caring naught for silver or gold, but only for that which is said of Christ, and how to speak and preach Christ.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

15. This now is one of the afflictions which caused Christ to sigh; as though he would say: Be watchful! Beware of deceitful tongues which meddle with the Scriptures, more than of those which hold forth in the wine-house or in the grocery store; though the latter are not harmless, yet when those tongues begin to speak which I have made loose so that they can boast of Christ, beware of them, etc. And in very deed, it is worthwhile to deplore the fact that those who have the Word and can talk much about it, should nevertheless persecute the Word with tongue and fist. The Turk also is a menace to Christendom, but his harm is inflicted only by the sword, and is in no way equal to the harm done by sectarians. There is need even now that one should sigh because such tongues which mislead so many people and still claim to be Christians, and to have improved the Christian Church. This is the first point, namely, that the devil, after the tongue is loosed and people know what Christ is, still inflicts injury by subverting the doctrine.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

Christ Cares for Us

20. We should learn now from these ceremonies and demonstrative actions, which Christ uses here, how earnestly Christ our Lord cares for us; we should diligently be on our guard to keep our ears and tongues in the condition in which he gave them to us, and fortify ourselves against the devil and against men, lest they change our ears and tongues to the contrary. Secondly, we should also, everyone in his calling, show our gratitude toward his Word for this blessing in such a manner that a ruler in his country, a preacher in the pulpit, father and mother in the home, rightly fulfill the duties of their calling, while the others should hear it, keeping open their ears as Christ has opened them, and diligently see to it, as Christ acted in the case of this man, that they may also be as serious, and thank God for it.

21. Among us, God be praised, the tongue has been so developed that we speak purely, and that the ears gladly hear it; for there still are many pious people everywhere who take delight in hearing God’s Word. But side by side with this there is great ingratitude also among us, and frightful contempt for the Word of God, perhaps, indeed, a secret persecution and suffering. Other princes persecute it openly; but we here sit under shelter, as in a garden of roses, and yet secretly there are so many, citizens and peasants, and the noblemen with their golden chains, who would gladly hound all pastors and preachers out of the country, if only they could do it. This shows that they despise the Word and hate it secretly; as we see it is the case that, where the Word is persecuted openly, there only it would live, and where it is unhindered and public, there they do not want it.

Twelfth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

In WELS, unread since 1850.

Kathleen Styx | Obituaries | qconline.com

Kathy Pobanz Styx was my Moline neighbor,
a short walk down the alley.

 Kathy was in the Garfield Brownies Troop.

Kathleen Styx | Obituaries | qconline.com: "Kathleen Styx
19 hrs ago
Kathleen D. "Kathy" Styx, 69, of Rock Island, passed away Sunday, Aug. 27, 2017, at her home.

Funeral services will be 6 p.m. Thursday at Rafferty Funeral Home, 2111 1st St. A, Moline, with visitation one hour prior to services. In lieu of flowers, memorials can be made to the family. Kathleen proudly donated her body to the University of Iowa for further research and studies. That meant so much to her.

Kathleen was born May 27, 1948, in Moline, the daughter of Merlon and Ruth Almblade Pobanz. She married Rory DeBacker on Aug. 30, 1967, in Moline, and later married Jeff Styx in Moline.

Kathleen worked for Kmart and Walgreens, Moline.

Kathleen enjoyed vacationing in Minnesota with family, watching Nascar races and spending precious time with her grandchildren.

Survivors include her children, Kim (Mike) Resler, Rock Island, Keith DeBacker, Bettendorf, and Kara (Thomas) Hall, Hot Springs, Ark.; grandchildren, Aaron, Hailey and Trevor Cook, Janie Rae and Jacob DeBacker and Ayden and Addyson Hall; sister, Cherie (Ernie) Duffee, Moline; and brother, Randy (Kassie) Pobanz, Davenport.

The family would like to thank the Fort Armstrong nurses and staff who took such good care of mom and the Hospice Compassus for their care.

Condolences may be left at RaffertyFunerals.com."



'via Blog this'

Garden Victories This Summer

 Joe Pye Weed was first grown as an herbal medicine.
Butterflies love it and the plant grows easily.

I did not have our regular helper to keep down the weeds this summer, so we went from potential jungle to reality when heavy rains were followed by melt-down combinations of heat and humidity. Now the front and back are cleaned up, thanks to some reliable and hard-working helpers.

 Early this summer, the mother of all Crepe Myrtles bloomed and went to seed instantly, so I pruned off all the blooms and seeds, mulched the plant with the trimmings.
Now all the other CMs are quickly going to seed
while ours is in full bloom.

1. We have a wide variety of butterflies in the garden, thanks to planting many different kinds of bushes and flowers to keep them happy, fed, and nurtured in the caterpillar stages. 
2. Birds entertain us daily. Nestlings stay on the ledge to eat. Young squirrels eat at Jacksons when weaned.
3. More members of the carrot family grew this year. The rabbits ate the parsley but the dill grew to seed, which is promising. Caraway was neglected and grew too. 
4. Shasta Daisies - who knew? They keep flowering and beneficial insects love them.
5. Elderberries - now I know. They are impressive when flowering and fruiting - and the 12 foot tall plants screen well too. 
6. Sunflowers grow best when I plant no seeds. Birds do it for me. I finally had some sunflowers this year and watched Goldfinches eat the seeds from a few feet away (indoors).
7. Hostas flower and hummingbirds come to them. We are going to have more of both in the future. And they are like roses and humans - loving sun in the morning, shade in the afternoon. 
8. Crepe Myrtles are a great choice in this area, and we will add some later in the right places.
9. Joe Pye Weed  is an attractive tall bush that butterflies love.
10. Mountain Mint - very tall and total chaos in pollinators enjoying the three bushes. One little plant was buried under mulch and newspaper but it burst through anyway.

 Mountain Mint is famous for attracting a buzz
of pollinators, plus bees and butterflies.
The tiny insects are often the most beneficial.

Luther Is Not for Snowflakes and Drama Queens. Gems From The Sermons of Martin Luther, Volume IV, Lenker Edition

Luther is not for sissies - that is why the
graduates of Mequon, Bethany, and the Concordias
seldom read or quote Luther.

The Learned Are the Most Perverted

13. Hence it is very foolish for the councils to wish to determine and establish what a man must believe, when there is often not a single man present who ever tasted the least of the divine Spirit. So it was in the Council of Nice, when they undertook to enact laws for the spiritual orders that they should not marry, which was all false because it has no foundation in the Word of God. Then a single man arose, by the name of Paphnutius, and overthrew the whole affair and said: Not so, that is not Christian. Then the entire council, in which undoubtedly were many distinguished and learned individuals, were compelled to drop the resolution, and give. way to this simple and honest man. For God is a great enemy to high titles and human wisdom, hence he allows them at times to be handled roughly, and puts them to shame in their speculations, that the truth of the proverb may appear: The learned are the most perverted.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity

A Man Has Said This – Building on Sand

Even here so many holy fathers have erred like Gregory, Augustine and others, in that they take from us this right of judgment, for this torment and misery began far back in history, that we must believe the Pope and the councils. Hence you must be able to say: God said this, and that God has not said. As soon as you say: A man has said this, or the councils have determined that, then you are building on sand.

15. Hence there is no judge upon the earth in spiritual things concerning Christian doctrine, except the person who has in his heart the true faith, whether it be a man or woman, young or old, maid or servant, learned or unlearned. For God is no respecter of persons, since all are alike precious to him, who live according to his commandments, Acts 10:34, hence they alone have the right to judge.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Begin with Faith, No Sin on Earth Except Unbelief

28. Thus we must begin with faith. But the Pope begins with works, and commands persons to do good works that they may become good. Just as if I should say to the tree: If you want to be a good tree, then begin and bear apples. Just as though I could bear apples before I was an apple tree. But I must say: If you want to bear apples, then begin and be an apple tree. Hence the tree must be there before it can produce fruit.

29. From all this it follows now that there is no sin on earth except unbelief, as Christ says in John 16:8-9: “And the Holy Ghost, when he is come, will convict the world in respect of sin; because they believe not on me.”

Eighth Sunday after Trinity

Why Give the Soul to the Devil?

12. Here and there throughout the whole Scriptures we see how greatly it offends God, who regards it as the greatest sin when his Word is despised; which is so dear and precious, that it cost him the blood of his own dear Son, and we cast it to the wind as though it were of little importance. For this reason he sends us the severest calamities, which cannot be compared to the present calamity now going on in the world, that during and after the peasants’ war so many have been slain, of which there seems to be no end, for who knows when it will cease? Yet all this is but playwork in comparison to the misfortune when men are hardened, blinded and misled by false prophets, by which heaven is closed against them and hell opens to receive them, and everlasting life is lost forever. What does it matter, as die we must at any rate, if we are killed by the sword? But that the soul should be forever given to the devil, this is an eternal calamity, an everlasting misfortune and torment.

13. I would gladly prevent it, if I could, by preaching, praying and writing.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

The Bible Is a Book for Rogues and Heretics

23. Therefore it is true as men say, the holy Bible is a book for heretics, that is, it is a book that heretics dare to claim for themselves most of all.
For there is no other book which they so wickedly misuse, than just this very book. And there never was a heresy so bad or gross, that they did not try to patch up or cover with the Scriptures. Just as men say, God is the God of rogues, because they, who are the largest crowd in the world, claim for themselves the name of God, not that God is to blame, but the rogues, who thus take the holy name of God in vain. Thus the holy Bible must be a book for heretics, not that the holy Bible is to blame, but the rogues, who so shamefully misuse it. Should I for this reason neglect the Bible and not read it? By no means! As men are accustomed to say in the proverb: “In God’s name all misfortune begins,” which is true. Well then, I will not use the name of God at all, and guard myself against misfortune. But what talk is this? What blame can attach to a name, which is given us in order that we might be saved? God will surely punish such rogues and knaves. Thus the Bible is a book for heretics, but I will not for this reason cast it away, but so much the more study and learn it, because these rogues oppose it.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

Take Away the Heretic’s Weapon and Smite Him

24. Therefore let now every person be thus well prepared and thoroughly equipped, that he may not so easily be led astray by their showy life, although they even attempt to quote Scripture to you, for ravening wolves are most certainly back of it. And although they think they feed and satisfy you, they actually rend you, destroy and devour you. However, without spiritual eyes no one will be able so soon to decide or judge of this matter. The crowd and common people will not do it; the largest crowd despises the Gospel and are unthankful, while only the smallest flock accept it and can appreciate it. I have often said, and will always say it, that the greatest and most difficult contest is, for a person to contend with the Scriptures against the Scriptures; to strike aside another man’s sword and wrench it out of his fist, to slay him with his own sword; to take from him his weapon, and with it strike him again. This no one can accomplish, except he who is enlightened by the Holy Spirit, so as to be able to recognize these rogues.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

Against WELS and the Objective Justification Stormtroopers

30. Now, take heed rightly to distinguish works from one another. In all their works you will not find a single spark of love. You will indeed find that they are friendly within their own sect, calling one another Christians and brethren; but there is nothing in them but the very poison of the devil. They have neither mercy nor patience, nor friendship for anyone who is not of their sect. For if they could destroy us body and soul in an hour or a moment they would do it. This fruit flesh and blood do not see, but in the meantime they wear gray gowns and belong to a quiet order, and observe the same rule and habit.

Eighth Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon

Post Script to John 14

I will add this section to the recently published post on John 14

People object to a combination of sound doctrine being taught and false doctrine being denounced, as if that were against Jesus and His style of teaching.

The Fourth Gospel makes it especially clear that Jesus taught the truth and also rejected the falsehood that might be substituted for it, leaving no question about His teaching.

For example, John 14:6
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

The liberals concede that Jesus was a teacher, but that is all. He is "a way, a truth," because all truths are God's truth and all paths lead to God. That warms the apostate heart-strings like no other.

But Jesus excluded that  by using a double negative, allowing no exceptions, no bolt-holes by which to escape - No man comes to the Father, except through Me. Those simple words are used to exclude any other Savior. No Buddha. No Lord Krishna. No Moses.

That reminds us of John 1 where two Greek words are used - the sources for homiletics and martyr.

John the Baptist witnessed (homiletics). He did not deny but testified (martyr).

A sermon (homiletics) should be witnessing the truth - never denying any truth of the Word - but testifying about these truths. The UOJ clergy sneak around, using the terms Justification and Chief Article. But like Valleskey caught in a searchlight, they bolt when asked about Justification by Faith, when asked to denounce UOJ.

"Error loves ambiguities," as Krauth said, so the entire crowd loves it when nothing offensive is said. They can take the statements one way or another. The upcoming beer-fest at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. Will they teach Justification by Faith and denounce UOJ? No. They will dance around the theme of the Reformation, lest they clarify what they teach and how they excommunicate these days. To their credit, the LCMS allows for Justification by Faith and teaches  this truth through CPH books. But to their everlasting shame, the leaders promote UOJ and undermine the Gospel every chance they get.

 Will they teach the Reformation and Luther's Biblical doctrine, or Halle University's rationalistic Pietism?
I have noticed the LCMS clergy on Facebook lately
standing up for Justification without Faith, though in
mealy-mouthed, cowardly terms.

One of the intriguing episodes in the LCMS soap opera was the drama of Robert and Jack Preus using UOJ as the executioner's axe. But later, Robert Preus began writing a book where he included devastating quotations against UOJ. Two of Bob's many sons, Dan and Rolf, supposedly edited Justification and Rome, but they were as oafish in editing as they were in reading comprehension. They published the book posthumously without realizing that they called in heavy artillery on their own position. But do they answer that? No, Rolf is offended that I quote from and Photoshop his father's research, which he pretended to edit.

 I kelmed this from Justification and Rome.
Calov was a favorite author for J. S. Bach.
Is this not a complete refutation of UOJ's error?

As the future commentary will show, John's Gospel does not only teach the truth about Jesus, which means faith in Him, but also denounces error.

 Affirmative - a House of Prayer for All Nations.
Negative - not a Den of Thieves, as you have made it.
That applies to the LCMS, WELS, ELS, and other sects.