Reader Trying to Figure Out the UOJ Contradictions

The Efficacy Motherlode

A reader was trying to figure out how someone could advocate UOJ when it is full of contradictions. I pointed out the lack of classical Western disciplines being taught, not only basic logic and critical thinking, but the foundations of Latin and Greek.

No one in seminary today could make it through the Philadelphia or Gettysburg seminaries of the General Council/General Synod. Their Biblical language requirements were that difficult.

But there is a more important matter, which I should have stated. The issue is authority. No matter what the UOJists say, the clear Word of God has no authority for them. Like Roman Catholics who mine the most absurd alloys from the Scripture, the UOJists simply repeat the dogmatic statements that seem to reflect the favored passages. I am not saying they ever look at them closely. That obviously stopped happening at the 1932 LCMS convention, when they cited Romans 4:25 for their imaginary dogma. Did anyone at the convention notice that Romans 4 is about Abraham as the example of Justification by Faith?

As they say about counterfeit currency, the best way to spot it is to know the attributes of genuine currency. That is utterly missing in their training, because the students are fed the warped and twisted meanings going back to Walther, Stephan, and Rambach.

As Matthias Loy wrote, no one was allowed to disagree with Walther. I have heard legends about CFW's fits and tantrums when opposed, but fortunately Loy put them into writing. Although Loy was excessively polite and gracious toward Walther, one disagreement led to a permanent rupture. Note how that happened with Loehe too, and even today true blue Waltherians must hate Loehe.

 The UOJ cool cats do the same with doctrine.

European Lutherans are bad too. Ask Otten. Ask Cascione. I wonder if they include Luther, Melanchthon, and Chemnitz. They certainly know more about Geschichte der Leben-Walther-Forschung* than they do about Luther's doctrine.

*The original title of Schweitzer's The Quest of the Historical Jesus was Geschichte der Leben-Jesu-Forschung - The History of Life-of-Jesus Research.

If Holy Mother Synod is the ultimate authority and power, then UOJ is the key to success and promotions. Felonies do not keep church workers from their church jobs, but questioning Holy Mother means immediate excommunication.

All the logic in the world will not turn the UOJists away from their pot of fool's gold. Logical fallacies? Their idols use logical fallacies all the time. "Your faith is not in Jesus! Your faith is in faith, so you are your own Savior!" That drivel is best delivered in a towering rage with a red face.

My favorite for being deliberately dishonest is - "We are saved BY GRACE through faith," always when correcting Justification by Faith.

My simple vocabulary test is the following:

1. Can you say Justification by Faith is the Gospel?
2. Tell me about the Means of Grace.
3. Can you express the Gospel without using the Pietistic terms of Objective Justification and Subjective Justification?
4. How does your position differ from ELCA's?

Duke to hold workshop on 'White Fragility' - Washington Times

Duke to hold workshop on 'White Fragility' - Washington Times:



"The event, first reported by The College Fix, features former University of Washington professor Robin DiAngelo, who claims to have coined the phrase “white fragility” in 2011. She is the author of the forthcoming book “White Fragility: Why It’s So Hard for White People to Talk About Racism.”

According to Ms. DiAngelo’s book, white fragility “refers to the defensive moves that white people make when challenged racially.” It can include emotions such as “anger, fear, and guilt,” and behaviors as divergent as “argumentation and silence.”

This is the second conference in as many months hosted by the Duke Divinity School featuring Ms. DiAngelo’s work."



'via Blog this'

Duke Divinity School dean's speech interrupted by LGBT protest | The Herald Sun

Stanley Hauerwas

Duke Divinity School dean's speech interrupted by LGBT protest | The Herald Sun:


"DURHAM


A long-running quarrel at the Duke Divinity School resumed at the end of February in spectacular fashion when a group of students interrupted its dean’s annual state-of-the-school address to press for better treatment of gay, lesbian and transgender students.

The group rolled out a list of 15 specific demands, with timetables for the school to fulfill them, that touch on such things as scholarships, internships, curriculum and faculty hiring."

'via Blog this'

From Alec Satin - On Election without Grace

At the time the controversy was going on, it seems clear that the Missouri had taken the stand that the Symbols either did not teach Intuitu Fidei, or that the fathers were confused in teaching it.

 

The author of Intuitu Fidei expects that Missouri will practically speaking eventually disregard the Confessions.

 

Here's my question:  What does the Synodical Conference teach and believe now in 2018?

 

(a) Election was made upon a limited group of unbelieving sinners without regard to their future faith. (election comes first), or

 

(b) Election was made with regard to those who would believe (God's knowledge of future faith comes first).

 

The first is of course pure Calvinism.

***

GJ - I was just reading a book by a Missouri Synod professor, on the Confessions. He declared that Walther's views on election virtually reproduced Article XI of the Formula of Concord. Thus the blindness is passed onto the next generation.

Birds Feeding in the Rain - Let's Have Another Cup of Coffee. Impulse Plant Buys at Local Stores

Yesterday I filled all the bird feeders, and the rain began overnight. I was going to check the level in the wheelbarrow, but the backyard was already underwater. My curiosity abated.

When birds feed in the rain, they are saying, "We are in for a long, cold storm." The more it poured this morning, the faster they arrived. I even saw a woodpecker getting his sunflower seed.

So, I thought, "What better time for more coffee? Another pot of pour-over coffee, which Mrs. I loves as much as I do." She agreed.



Sipping coffee and writing is fun, especially since many readers are gardeners. So I decided to mention low-cost plant purchases at local stores. I either buy at Walmart or Lowe's.

Shasta Daisy - They grow well and attract beneficial bugs, especially Tachinid Flies, which look like houseflies but make up for their dirty cousins. They come back early in the spring and form large clumps.

Cone Flower family - Rudbekia. Goldfinches love their seeds, late in summer, so they are worth the trouble. A full-colored goldfinch on a seed head, eating them all, in full sun, is quite a sight.

Carrot family*- But not carrots. The carrot family has a lot of cousins loved by beneficial insects. The plants are very hardy too, good for planting and forgetting.

angelica, anise, asafoetida, caraway, carrot, celery, chervil, coriander, cumin, dill, fennel, lovage, parsley.

*Cow parsley and hemlock are on the list - also giant hogweed. All are very good for beneficial insects but dangerous for one's health. Giant hogweed became very popular in England, just as UOJ did in the Synodical Conference. Common sense is not common.

Mint family. I am fond of Mountain Mint, Cat Mint, and Monarda. Scarlet Bee Balm is a spreader, so it is good for a wild area, not a garden. Some mints are clumping; some spread through roots. Catnip is a nonononono. Cat Mint is clumping and attractive to cats and pollinators.

The Efficacy of God's Word - Hardening and Blinding. Question from a Reader

 Click here for the efficacy motherlode.

Exodus 7:13 And he hardened Pharaoh's heart, that he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had said. 14 And the Lord said unto Moses, Pharaoh's heart is hardened, he refuseth to let the people go.

Exodus 9: 12 And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, and he hearkened not unto them; as the Lord had spoken unto Moses.

13 And the Lord said unto Moses, Rise up early in the morning, and stand before Pharaoh, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord God of the Hebrews, Let my people go, that they may serve me.

--

Matthew 13 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand. 14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: 15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

--

Ephesians 417 This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, 18 Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: 19 Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 20 But ye have not so learned Christ;

The efficacy of God's Word is no longer taught in Christendom, and one can find scant reference to this Biblical doctrine in all the scholarly Biblical literature.

Simply put, God's Word always has an effect - when read, heard, or remembered. The clearest and most powerful statement of many can be found in Isaiah -

Isaiah 55 8 For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord.

9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.

10 For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater:

11 So shall My Word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.

This does not limit God's Word to positive effects - contrition and faith, fruits of the Spirit - but includes the divine effect upon individuals from rejecting, scorning, and twisting God's Word. 

To think otherwise would mean - as an analogy - that I can power a subdivision with electricity and yet cut into a live electrical cable at the substation without any danger to myself. People have done that, to steal copper from thick cables, but they have not escaped the experience.

Moses asked for God's Name at the Burning Bush, and God said, "Tell them I AM sent me." Therefore, Moses was not speaking on his own when he spoke to Israel and Pharaoh. He was speaking the Word of God to them. Pharaoh grew increasingly hardened until he sent out troops to kill the Israelites.

However, after the Angel of Death killed the firstborn, Pharaoh repented for a short time and believed the Word. I have marked his temporary conversion in red below.

Exodus 12 31 And he called for Moses and Aaron by night, and said, Rise up, and get you forth from among my people, both ye and the children of Israel; and go, serve the Lord, as ye have said.

32 Also take your flocks and your herds, as ye have said, and be gone; and bless me also.

So his final hardening was deadly in all respects. And so we have an example from the ancient past of the effect of God's Word when obstinately rejected, time after time.

One Modern Example, Biblical Studies

Biblical studies have been pursued as an academic exercise for several centuries. Halle University was founded for Biblical piety and quickly became rationalistic - the Bible was just another book about religion. Modern scholars hail that turn of events.

Modern Biblical scholars mock the Bible, laugh at its historical narrative, and glory in rejecting its doctrine. Moreover, they cannot tolerate any Biblical scholar among them who believes in Christ and the truth of the Scriptures. Thus the product of modern seminaries is going to be a man or woman or transition who only uses the Bible as a political podium.

A Second Modern Example - Halle's UOJ

Universal Objective Justification came from Halle University's rationalistic phase. By the way - Halle absorbed Wittenberg, which is no more, just as DMLC swallowed NWC in WELS.

A brief glance, a passing word from the mainlines - will teach anyone that the entire National Council of Churches and Rome teach all people have already been forgiven and saved. Like Karl Barth and his hawt assistant Charlotte Kirchbaum, they embraced the OJ and dropped any mention of the SJ in their dogma. Note - SJ is not faith, but a decision to accept universal absolution without faith.

But lo, the robed and doctoral-striped leaders of WELS, ELS, LCMS, and the CLC (sic) teach Halle's UOJ too. Are they blinded and hardened by toying with the power of God's Word, scorning and twisting and rejecting it? Yes, they are.

They show that first in their utter and comprehensive corruption. They treat pastors as their slaves and eunuchs, except for the equally corrupt ones. They treat the laity as their harem and as sheep to be fooled and fleeced and fooled again.

The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation was more than an x-ray of Lutherdom in America. It was a complete Positive Emission Tomography scan of all the sects, from the dying ELS down to the pagan Rome they call ELCA.

UOJ is obviously Halle rationalism and clearly shared by all the Christian denominations in America. What the big seminaries of the past failed to accomplish was completed by Fuller and Trinity Divinity.

The Lutheran conversion from Justification by Faith has been slow but inexorable. Each generation buries a few more of the faithful and raises up more of the blinded and hardened UOJ experts. 

People should be terrified by this last age, the Era of Apostasy. When Noah built his ark, at God's command, the rest mocked him and ignored his preaching of righteousness through faith. 

They did not consider their fate until the atmosphere condensed down upon them and the earthquakes spilled millions of gallons of water into their lands, the volcanoes

spewing steam into the air to add to the unrelenting rain. I was in St. Louis when it rained 60 days in a row, the evaporating rainwater adding to the clouds above. Flooding was everywhere and people saw the power of Creation for a moment. But it is so easy to forget when the flowers are blooming again and the fields are white with grain for the harvest.

The Lutheran Church May Depend Only on the Laity in the Future - The Clergy Are Too Lazy and Comfortable

Spring Observations - A Wonderful Place To Live - Springdale Arkansas

 Norma A. Boeckler

We had some rain today and more is coming, but our friends around the US are shocked we have such warm weather. As Mrs. Ichabod said on the way to the reunion, "It is a long way north to Moline, Illinois."

Another benefit we have is having the worst storms go north of us (bound for Joplin and St. Louis) and south of us (Ft. Smith and Little Rock).

The first green I noticed was a weed poking out of the mulch. Next the daffodils emerged from the mulch and in the mulch. I pulled pine needles from among the flowers we had on the altar yesterday. Mrs. Gardener is enjoying them now.

 Grape Hyacinths are not grapes and are not hyacinths,
but they bloom early and smell sweet.

The only other bulb plants in flower now are the grape hyacinths.

The roses began to leaf out a few weeks ago. They are surprisingly hardy plants and scoff at the cold. Now their leaves are green. The first order of bare root Easy Does It is already in the front yard, and now I wish I had the second order in as well. But I learned that ordering a lot of roses is much easier than digging them into damp clay and maple tree roots.

The dripping rain is good for the canes of the new bare root plants. The inches of rain coming will speed up the renaissance in the soil - bacteria, mold, protozoa, earthworms, moles, and many more soil creatures. Tons of nitrogen fertilizer will fall from the sky - as rain - and green up the newest plants and restart the perennials.

I now have more crepe myrtles, with a bargain shipment last year. I gave away four of them to our lawn crew and our daughter-in-law. Still I will have them growing along the Gardener fence and the Wright front yard. They are late to start, late to bloom, but steady in flowering the rest of the summer.

 The Mother of All Crepe Myrtles was almost upstaged
by two crops of Buckwheat.

I dumped wheelbarrows of leaf fragments from the street at the base of the Mother of All Crepe Myrtles. Each year I dote on it and get rewarded with a stunning display, often a second full bloom. I piled organic matter up to see if the pyramid would flatten out again. For that to happen, the soil creatures must pull down the flakes of leaves and digest them. Earthworms and mites do most of the work. The pile is already flattened and should be a normal blanket soon.

Caladiums will grow under the myrtle, their color protected by the shade.

Many bushes are leafing out now - Elderberry, Butterfly, Gooseberry, Spice Bush. The mints are just starting to wake up. I saw some green in the Cat Mint. Parsley was the last to go dormant in the fall and is now the first to green up.

Trump memes and more to share | Churchmouse Campanologist

Q - how do you find such great graphics, ChurchMouse?

Trump memes and more to share | Churchmouse Campanologist:





"This will be my last political post before Easter.

Below are useful memes and a brief news update which can be discussed with family, friends and — for those online — readers."



'via Blog this'

What Would Jesus Rationalize? (Gwen Moritz Editor's Note) | Arkansas Business News | ArkansasBusiness.com

 "Thompson’s story topped the front page the next morning. That was just four days after he blew my mind by reporting that the FBI believed Wilkins’ briber, lobbyist and mental health care executive Rusty Cranford, had tried to hire a hit man to kill a co-defendant in the embezzlement case that has him in custody in Springfield."

What Would Jesus Rationalize? (Gwen Moritz Editor's Note) | Arkansas Business News | ArkansasBusiness.com:



"Micah Neal, the former state representative from Springdale, pleaded guilty to taking kickbacks in return for steering grants from the state General Improvement Fund to Cranford’s company and to Ecclesia College. Jon Woods, the former state senator from Springdale, is accused of the same and will be tried next month, along with Ecclesia President Oren Paris III and a mutual friend, Randell Shelton Jr. of Alma.

According to the indictment, Paris suggested in a text message that “a good selling point” when encouraging “conservative legislators” to route GIF money to Ecclesia was it “produces graduates that are conservative voters.”

Imagine the righteous outrage if Democratic legislators argued that taxpayers should support Hendrix College — an affiliate of the United Methodist Church — because it produces a lot of liberal voters. But Woods was not outraged. His texted response to Paris: “Agreed.”

I will note that Wilkins resigned as soon as his corruption became public, even though he has not yet been charged with a crime. And he even expressed regret in his letter of resignation: “I am profoundly sorry that my own actions make this resignation necessary.”

Now, I know that seems like the least a corrupt elected official could do upon being found out, but Neal did not resign upon pleading guilty. (His term as state representative expired days later.) And Jake Files continued to draw a salary as a state senator for almost a year after he admitted to the Democrat-Gazette that he had submitted fake bids for a construction job that was being paid for with GIF money he directed."

'via Blog this'

The Care of Roses - Listen Up! - Creation Gardening Is So Much Easier and Cheaper Than Gardening Center Slavery

 Norma A. Boeckler - yes this is a painting.

I am just going to briefly note some things about the care of roses. The best thing most people can do is stop the toxins and prune a lot more.

Planting Roses
Either roses are in pots or they arrive bare root. I am keen about soaking plants in rainwater for hours, even overnight, before planting.

Pruning is always good for roses. I prune the roots and the canes when planting. The ones I pruned the most also popped their leaves first. Listen up - roses love to be pruned. They go to sleep when not pruned.

They are thirsty for water, so newly planted roses should have their canes watered every other day or so, every day if windy.

Listen up! - Do not fertilizer roses with that garbage they sell in hardware stores, gardening centers, etc. That green grainy stuff has little long-term effect and does a lot of damage to the balance of God's Creation. Mulch will be pulled down by soil creatures, and they like leaf fragments, compost, wood mulch, newspaper, and cardboard. Newspaper held in place by wood mulch is useful and attractive.

The War Against Aphids and Chewing Pests
In my garden, aphids go for the white roses and Peace first of all. I leave them alone, because the beneficials will feast on them and set up a happy household nearby. They are not fast to arrive, but they do their jobs. Later the same roses will be almost damage free.

Listen up! Insecticides and fungicides are banned from Creation Gardens. They wipe out beneficial life above and below ground.

Birds, spiders, and toads are assets for the Creation Gardener. They are like military specialists, each group having their own specialty. A lack of toxins and an abundance of food, shelter, and water will favor all the good creatures. The birds sing for joy when I enter the front or back. Either I will feed them or water the plants to help them bath and search for worms.

Continuous Pruning - Continuous Growth
Some people really need to study John 15. Nothing grows on dead wood and blackened stems. Dead wood is not neutral. It drags down the vitality of the bush. Summer means continuous harvesting of roses and pruning  the dead wood. Cutting a rose bloom or a bud means the plant will grow above and below for new ones. Leaving them alone means letting them go to seed and go to sleep.

Listen up! The flowering branch is cut to make it even more productive. The dead wood is cut off and thrown away. KnockOut roses especially respond to pruning. Cut 30% away, that growth will be back quickly with dozens of blooms.

Look for the Death Star - the empty bud with the petals fallen away. That means the rose is done blooming ready to form a hip, a seed pod. KnockOuts are so prolific that Death Stars are all over the plant. Cut them off short, cut them off long, snap them off with fingers.

Roses Are Not Members of the Cactus Family
Listen up! Roses need a good watering at least once a week. I do not just water the base, but give them a good shower as well. Falling petals will give away spent blooms, something to prune away later when the plant dries. Do not prune wet plants.

I Do Not Treat for Blackspot and Never Worry about It
My roses are almost free of blackspot. If I have some ugly leaves on the ones for the vase, I cut them away.

Roses and Hostas and Mulch - Oh My! Roses Go Postal

Roses and hostas and mulch - oh my!

I feel relaxed enough to start writing more Creation Gardening posts.

I am limiting my plant selection to roses and hostas and Joe Pye Weed. The Easy Does It roses soaked first in the rain barrel. I obtained some hostas last fall so they can enjoy sun/shade of the front yard.

As gardening books have pointed out, hostas will get along in deep shade, but that makes people want to limit them to planting under trees. We have a distant neighbor who fashioned most of their shady front yard out of hostas, and it is very appealing. But hostas like sun too, and their prime appeal for me is their production of flowers that hummingbirds adore.

The only problem with sun and hostas is from colorful ones being bleached out by too much sun.

I am thinking of hostas as the plants between roses, because the living roots of plants will hold water and fertilize the soil. Most of the organic material in soil comes from roots, so all roots matter.

I have various mints to divide. They are clumping plants, so they do not take over the way catnip does. I can share them with other gardeners too. They can make tall or large mounds once they are growing well. Mountain Mints are tall and large when established.

 Creation Gardening
The cover design and illustrations are by Norma A. Boeckler.

Roses Go Postal
The mailman began a discussion with me about roses. His wife does not like to prune at all. Since he  had a few houses left on the cul-de-sac, I went to find Creation Gardening and gave him two copies. "So YOU wrote this?" I said, "Yes, those are my roses in the book."

Yes, I just told this story, but some of you do not read and memorize everything in this blog - to your peril.

I look my own photos of roses and think, "I grew that? Wow!" Like everyone else, I am stunned by the beauty of roses. I often tell people, "God grew them. I just dug a hole, watered, and pruned them."

As St. Paul wrote, "Sow abundantly, reap abundantly."

But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully. 2 Corinthians 9:6

I do not recall Paul saying, "Plan abundantly, grow bigly."

I coddled the roses for the winter, with collars and mulch protecting each one. However, four died. When someone says, "Why?" I have to respond, "I don't know. They don't leave a note."

But if I have a large number of bushes, I will have plenty to share with others, far beyond what we need for ourselves and the altar. When the landlord's repairman comes by, I give him a rose vase with roses for his mother. She loves them. We have many stories from people around town about roses being shared and enjoyed. They get  Creation Gardening free if they are interested.

 Bride's Dream - largest hybrid tea rose.

Buying Roses

When ordering roses -

I like Edmund's Roses; Jackson and Perkins roses are too expensive.

I favor fragrant roses because everyone wants to enjoy the various kinds of scents coming from the bloom. If they get  a few Peace (no fragrance) with one Mr. Lincoln, they think the scent-bomb is from the whole bunch.

I favor red roses over yellow because of blackspot being more active in yellow roses. Mr. Lincoln is inexpensive and grows like a weed. Fragrance - chokingly strong.

 Easy Does It - sunset colors, constantly blooming.

Veterans Honor is the most perfect red rose ever and lasts forever in a  vase. The canes are not as strong as Mr. Lincoln's.

 Veteran's Honor red set off by Pope Paul II white.
The background is Sassy's limo - 1994 Lincoln Town Car.

Floribundas are going to give more color in the garden, so they are the best choice for that outcome. Some - like Easy Does It - also produce great roses for the vase.

Pope John Paul II is a splendid pure white rose - and prolific in the garden, but wilts fast when cut.

 Fragrant Cloud - Duftwolke - ranks with Mr. Lincoln
in rose fragrance. The color is kinda orange, kinda brick, much more attractive than descriptions allow. The shape of the bloom is exquisite.

Use Insecticide Indoors, Beneficial Bug Plants Outdoors
Toxins do not belong in the garden. The more we favor the beneficial bug plants - and attract birds with food, baths, and resting areas - the more our favorites will be spared.

Let's say a particular beneficial insect kills the creatures that eat up roses. (Don't forget spiders helping out.) Would you not want to have a strong, willing, hungry army of pest-easters ready for the next round of blooms? That is God's design, which panicky gardeners mess up by killing everything in sight.

If the beneficial bug eats those destructive critters, his family will settle in the area and plot more stratagems against the next invasion. The benefits are exponential, as people have seen from perfect roses handed to them, sometimes with little Hover Flies still trying to do their jobs.

 Two of my college students fell in love and became engaged,
so I put two Falling in Love roses in a vase and delivered them the day they announced their engagement. We attended their wedding.

 Falling in Love has a white reverse and great fragrance too.

Question about Sermon Writing

Someone with Seminary Experience wrote:
Please accept my compliments on today's sermon.  I've listened to it twice so far.  Perhaps one day you will walk me through your sermon-writing process.

***

GJ - I will write down some basics, in case they help anyone.

I work on doctrinal and Scriptural issues all week, so often something is on my mind when I am writing the sermon.

We use the KJV for readings and The Lutheran Hymnal for hymns. I use a wide variety of hymns from TLH, with an emphasis on Luther and Reformation hymns.

We only use the historic one-year pericopes, because we grow from repetition of the Word, which was always the idea. Luther's sermons, Lenker edition, follow the same set of readings.

If I preached on the Epistle lesson last year, I normally use the Gospel for the current sermon. And vice versa.

I used to simply quote from Luther's sermon for that reading, but I realized that more people will read Luther if I post one or more of the sermons each week. I try to get it posted Saturday and linked on Facebook. I read through it again before I start.

I often open Lenski for that passage and quote Lenski.

Two things are very important:

1. The sermon must be written out completely, because writing makes a precise mind. In this Internet age, we owe people a form they can easily share with others via email, etc. We also save the Ustream file. If everyone published the written sermon, the plagiarism would jump up and do jumping jacks because of those buying or sharing sermons.
2. The sermon is almost always preached without any manuscript available. The notes are the text. Eye contact, even with a camera, is important. Classroom experience has taught me that reading a text to someone is not effective.
3. It is always a new sermon, never borrowed from the past, though I have a deep barrel - this blog.

This works for me because I finish writing the sermon early on Sunday morning. then it is fresh for me. Others may want to vary this, but completing it early has not worked for me. 

The Content

The purpose of the text is to teach faith in Christ. It is not for political action, fund-raising, joke telling, or adoration of the synod. 

People visit with me all week, by FB, email, even by phone. I also visit our neighborhood twice a day and see local people. People give me ideas about what bothers them. That definitely becomes part of the mix.

Ministers are obliged to teach the truth of the text and nothing else. In many cases, the Biblical text alone has enough in it to write a small book. 

If there is a miracle, I ask what lesson is being taught by the miracle. Sometimes there is a major lesson and a minor one. Parables offer a lot variety because so much is said in a few words.

I will go back to Luther, Lenski, and some classic passages in theology when I am getting stuck, such as on the robbery of Philippians 2:5ff. 

I also feel obliged to mention false doctrine, often from rationalism, that is applied to texts. I was blessed with three great Biblical professors at Yale. They emphasized the text above all else, but they also knew the theories and discussed them. Today I dealt with "the mind of Christ" as if Jesus did not consider Himself the Messiah. I also dismissed the idea that Paul never wrote about the Virgin Birth when this Philippians passage exalted His Incarnation. I suppose Moses never mentioned the Virgin Birth either, though the Burning Bush illustrates the Two Natures, just as Romans 1 does.

So I go through the Biblical text and teach what that is teaching. I try to be clear and plain. I tend to omit things preaching that were written down, but they are there for people to study. Sometimes I link material that cannot be discussed at length in a sermon.

I continue to be astonished and inspired by Luther's sermons. I have copied hundreds of his statements into a database and worked on the Gems Mined from Luther's Sermons. In short, I am saturated with Luther's thought and also admire Melanchthon and Chemnitz as well.

Stories

True to life stories are good in a sermon. Borrowing stories is not a good idea. A story is a verbal graphic. The abstract idea sticks to a narrative because the story is more personal. 

The Gracious Nature of Christ

There should always be a clear emphasis on the gracious nature of Christ and forgiveness through faith in Him. Jesus was very clear about this. The Holy Spirit's work in the church is convicting the world of sin - because they believe not on Me. That is the foundational sin. That continues to be shocking for many. Carnal sin is still sin, but making that primary is not in harmony with Jesus' farewell sermon in John 16.

Ministers should also have complete confidence through Isaiah 55:8ff and Romans 10. The Sower and the Seed should guide us in abundant sowing - as many ways as possible. We share the written sermons freely over the Net and serve a large group of people stuck under snow or keeping their flu to themselves at home.

I never finish a sermon feeling great confidence in what I said, but I do have endless confidence in the Word itself reaching people. Therefore, the sermon should quote other Scripture or refer to other Biblical passages as appropriate.