Pastor of sister church blocks from Trinity Lutheran: ‘Any of these churches are a spark away from a fire’ | FOX6Now.com

Pastor of sister church blocks from Trinity Lutheran: ‘Any of these churches are a spark away from a fire’ | FOX6Now.com:



"St. John’s on the Hillside Lutheran Church

When you take a look at the crawl spaces at St. John’s on the Hillside Lutheran Church near 8th and Vliet in Milwaukee, you can understand how the Trinity Lutheran Church went up in flames so quickly.


Pastor William Schaefer

“Any of these churches are a spark away from a fire,” said Pastor William Schaefer.

Pastor William said his congregation formed just a year after Trinity.

“It’s just about six blocks as the crow flies,” said Pastor Schaefer.

Once known as the “City of Steeples,” Milwaukee has lost part of its skyline after Tuesday’s fire.

“Broke my heart. Honestly — it’s like my sister losing a home,” said Pastor Schaefer."

 Church and Change or Die! rules.

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***

GJ - I get all busted up when Team Jeske steals a congregation and its endowment fund, using those funds to pay the lawyer for the theft. But that's just me - I'm sentimental.

 I knew about it before the theft took place.

Weed and work in the Woods: The Senator's hijinks took advantage of Ecclesia's rare designation | Arkansas Blog

 Guilty, guilty, guilty.

Weed and work in the Woods: The Senator's hijinks took advantage of Ecclesia's rare designation | Arkansas Blog:

"The most colorful scheme described by federal prosecutors in the recently completed trial of former state Sen. Jon Woods was a gimmick to direct marijuana tax money to Ecclesia College.

Woods, who was found guilty earlier this month on federal corruption charges related to kickback schemes, including to Ecclesia, tried to sneak language into the medical marijuana amendment that would have directed money straight to the tiny Bible college in Springdale, according to testimony at the trial. "I think it is great to take money from Satan and Kingdom of darkness and put it to Kingdom of God use," then Ecclesia President Oren Paris III, who pleaded guilty for his own role in the kickback scheme, told Woods.

The novel gimmick — first reported by the Arkansas Blog — would have put language specifically designating some of the tax revenues from medical marijuana to go to grants for federally recognized "work colleges," an unusual designation that only seven liberal arts colleges in the U.S. have. These schools make up the "Work Colleges Consortium." The key for Woods was that Ecclesia was the only such college in the state, allowing the senator a mechanism to direct money straight to Ecclesia without ever putting the school's name into any of the language.

I suspect I am not the only one who had no idea what a "work college" was until it turned up in the news. It turns out...it's a pretty interesting concept! (Amusingly, some of the seven members of the Work Colleges Consortium are polar opposites of Ecclesia, such as the famously hippie college Warren Wilson).  The program is distinct from the need-based federal work-study program; at work colleges, all students are enrolled in the program, with jobs on campus, typically working 8 to 15 hours per week. "

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Ecclesia took out $1 million loan in February 2017, backed by properties bought with GIF help | Arkansas Blog

 

• ECCLESIA COLLEGE: Financially troubled school took out $1 million loan in midst of scandal, secured by properties taxpayers had helped pay for.

Ecclesia took out $1 million loan in February 2017, backed by properties bought with GIF help | Arkansas Blog:



"According to county property records, Ecclesia College took out a $1 million loan from Centennial Bank on February 28, 2017. The loan was backed by two properties that Ecclesia had purchased in 2013. Those properties were aided by nearly $700,000 in public General Improvement Fund (GIF) money, directed by ten legislators in 2013 and 2014.

Two days after Ecclesia took out the loan, on March 2, Oren Paris III, then the president of the college, was indicted, along with former state Rep. Micah Neal and former state Sen. Jon Woods, accused of participating in a kickback scheme to funnel GIF money to the college. Paris and Neal eventually pleaded guilty; Woods was found guilty on 15 of 17 counts earlier this month.

I asked Ecclesia College spokesperson Angie Snyder about this loan: What was the money spent on? Was it used to reduce other mortgages? Was any of it used in the criminal defense of Paris or in the civil litigation against the college stemming from an FOIA request related to the GIF documents? She has not replied.

I also contacted Travis Story at the Story Law Firm, which represented Paris after his criminal indictment and Ecclesia in the FOIA case. He has not responded.

The two properties that secured the loan are 4095 Highway 112 and 3870 Als Drive. Those are the two tracts, totaling nearly 50 acres, that the GIF money at the center of the scandal was allotted for.

The school purchased the 25.5 -acre property listed as 4095 Highway 112 in November of 2013 for $500,000. The school later received $200,000 in public money in 2014 to help pay for that property, all of it directed by Woods and Neal.

Ecclesia purchased the 23-acre property listed as 3870 Als Drive in December of 2013 for $675,000. The school received $492,500 in public money in 2013 and 2014 to help pay for it. Woods directed $200,000 of that. "

Read more about Ecclesia  here on the Arkansas Blog.


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Massive fire causes $17M damage to Trinity Lutheran Church; ‘Nonetheless, the building is still standing’ | FOX6Now.com

 The building itself was saved and some contents.
The main tower is 200 feet high.

Massive fire causes $17M damage to Trinity Lutheran Church; ‘Nonetheless, the building is still standing’ | FOX6Now.com:

 When they opened the doors after the fire was out,
the picture of Jesus was the first thing they saw.

"Chief Mark Rohlfing said at a news conference the fire caused an estimated $17 million in damage — $13 million to the building itself and another $4 million to the contents within the building. Rohlfing said the fire started on the roof — which was under construction at the time. There are reports heating tools caused the fire, but Rohlfing indicated the cause of the fire remains under investigation."

...

Reverend Jonah Burakowski of Trinity Lutheran Church indicated the congregation is committed to restoring or rebuilding the church at the same corner.

Reverend Jonah Burakowski

“It is an absolute loss for Trinity Lutheran Church and the congregation that gathers here, but at the same time, the building is just one piece of the ministry puzzle,” Rev. Burakowski said.

Burakowski said the building may look marginally or substantially different from what it used to — depending on how things work out.

“Nonetheless, the building is still standing,” Rev. Burakowski said. “It is a testament to those who built the building 140 something odd years ago, but more so to the fire department that came in and were able to address the fire really early, to prevent fire from getting behind the brick or into the brick and causing the walls to collapse.”

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Greek Lesson - Romans 2:12 - 24. 7 PM Central Daylight Tonight

 Romans 4 and Galatians 3 -
Children of Abraham by Faith.

Parsing Link

Romans Lenski - Download and save public domain PDF.

12 οσοι γαρ ανομως ημαρτον,  ανομως και απολουνται, και οσοι εν νομω ημαρτον δια νομου κριθησονται

alpha - negation. Look for sigma as future.

13 ου γαρ οι ακροαται του νομου δικαιοι παρα τω θεω αλλ οι ποιηται του νομου δικαιωθησονται

Notice parallel with James in language and message - hearers, doers.

14 οταν γαρ εθνη τα μη νομον εχοντα φυσει τα του νομου ποιη, ουτοι νομον μη εχοντες εαυτοις εισιν νομος

Seems, tangled, pretty clear though.

15 οιτινες ενδεικνυνται το εργον του νομου γραπτον εν ταις καρδιαις αυτων, συμμαρτυρουσης αυτων της συνειδησεως και μεταξυ αλληλων των λογισμων κατηγορουντων η και απολογουμενων

Many cognates: ergonomics, graph, martyr, logic, category, apology

16 εν ημερα οτε κρινει ο θεος τα κρυπτα των ανθρωπων κατα το ευαγγελιον μου δια ιησου χριστου

crypt, anthropology, Evangel

17 ιδε συ ιουδαιος επονομαζη, και επαναπαυη τω νομω, και καυχασαι εν θεω

onoma  name; 

18 και γινωσκεις το θελημα και δοκιμαζεις τα διαφεροντα - κατηχουμενος εκ του νομου

catechism - find it in this verse

19 πεποιθας τε σεαυτον οδηγον ειναι τυφλων, φως των εν σκοτει

Opposites make it easier to translate.

20 παιδευτην αφρονων, διδασκαλον νηπιων, εχοντα την μορφωσιν της γνωσεως και της αληθειας εν τω νομω

Pediatrics, Morphology, didactic,  

21 ο ουν διδασκων ετερον, σεαυτον ου διδασκεις; ο κηρυσσων μη κλεπτειν κλεπτεις

Hetero, kerygma is like a town crier, hence preaching, kleptomaniac

22 ο λεγων μη μοιχευειν μοιχευεις, ο βδελυσσομενος τα ειδωλα - ιεροσυλεις

Hebrew uses verb/noun combinations, as we do.

23 ος εν νομω καυχασαι δια της παραβασεως του νομου τον θεον ατιμαζεις

Boasting often comes up in Paul

24 το γαρ ονομα του θεου δι υμας βλασφημειται εν τοις εθνεσιν καθως γεγραπται

The Name of God is sacred. Judaism Name, rather than just God

-- Next lesson --

25 περιτομη μεν γαρ ωφελει εαν νομον πρασσης εαν δε παραβατης νομου ης η περιτομη σου ακροβυστια γεγονεν

26 εαν ουν η ακροβυστια τα δικαιωματα του νομου φυλασση ουχι η ακροβυστια αυτου εις περιτομην λογισθησεται

27 και κρινει η εκ φυσεως ακροβυστια τον νομον τελουσα σε τον δια γραμματος και περιτομης παραβατην νομου

28 ου γαρ ο εν τω φανερω ιουδαιος εστιν ουδε η εν τω φανερω εν σαρκι περιτομη

29 αλλ ο εν τω κρυπτω ιουδαιος και περιτομη καρδιας εν πνευματι ου γραμματι ου ο επαινος ουκ εξ ανθρωπων αλλ εκ του θεου

1550 Stephanus New Testament (TR1550)

Let It Rain - Garden Bursting into Bloom and New Plants

 Cat Mint - this is leap year for mine.

We had a good rain yesterday, with more predicted for today and tomorrow. I watered the Cat Mint to move it and dug up one gigantic plant today.

A fun part of Creation Gardening is seeing how the plant follow their engineering and succeed in their particular corner of God's world.

Wiki:

Lyrics as published in 1861 in A Garland of Songs:

We plough the fields, and scatter the good seed on the land;
But it is fed and watered by God's almighty hand:
He sends the snow in winter, the warmth to swell the grain,
The breezes and the sunshine, and soft refreshing rain.

Chorus All good gifts around us
Are sent from heaven above,
Then thank the Lord, O thank the Lord
For all His love.

He only is the maker of all things near and far;
He paints the wayside flower, He lights the evening star;
The winds and waves obey Him, by Him the birds are fed;
Much more to us, His children, He gives our daily bread.

Chorus
We thank Thee, then, O Father, for all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest, our life, our health, and food;
No gifts have we to offer, for all Thy love imparts,
But that which Thou desirest, our humble, thankful hearts.

Chorus

Verse 3 was revised to make it better suited to the harvest in Hymns Ancient and Modern, 1868 Appendix:

We thank Thee, then, O Father, for all things bright and good,
The seed time and the harvest, our life, our health, and food;
Accept the gifts we offer, for all Thy love imparts,
But what Thou most desirest, our humble, thankful hearts.

The hymn references Acts 14:17 (verse 1), James 1:17 (chorus), Psalms 65:7 and Matthew 6:26 (verse 2, line 3).

 Imagine Mountain Mint shoulder high and buzzing with beneficial life.

More on Cat Mint - and Mountain Mint
Last year was leap year for Mountain Mint, an even taller plant, so the roots are deeper and tougher.

Since watering combined with rain, I decided to dislodge one Cat Mint and cut some Mountain Mint away from its mother lode.

In both cases, the soil was soft, but the roots were more like tangled cords. I had to go deep, as they say at GCU, to get under the roots and bring them up.

This meant I could set up several Cat and Mountain Mint locations in the Butterfly Garden, the area first known for crabgrass weeds, then for a disastrous hay bale mess, and next - a tomato plant massacre.

The hottest and sunniest garden area, usually on the south or west side, is good for tomatoes (pests allowing) and corn (ditto) or butterfly plants. 

I decided on mints that mound instead of Catnip and othermints than take over the entire yard. Mints have tiny flowers that attract bees and other pollinators.

Good mints - Cat Mint, Mountain Mint, Bergamot (purple).

Bad mints - Cat Nip, Peppermint, Scarlet Bee Balm. 
Scarlet Bee Balm would be good in an area that is going wild. The floppy plants will form a lot of red flowers and attract Hummingbirds and bees. And it is easy to remove later.

Hot spots reported Wednesday morning at historic Milwaukee church gutted by fire

Hot spots reported Wednesday morning at historic Milwaukee church gutted by fire:



"MILWAUKEE —
Hot spots were reported early Wednesday morning at a church near 9th Street and Highland Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, approximately 10 hours after a massive fire broke out.

Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, the oldest Lutheran church in Milwaukee and the second-oldest Missouri Synod Congregation in Wisconsin, was reduced to a shell after being engulfed by flames "

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In That Day | Comfort for Christians

In That Day | Comfort for Christians:


"In That Day
15 May 2018 in Devotions on Martin-luther-1483-1546, Sanctification

From Devotional Readings From Luther’s Works For Every Day Of The Year compiled by Rev. John Sander. LutheranLibrary.org edition in preparation.

There shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; mens hearts failing them for fear. Luke 21:25, 26.

The signs preceding the judgment day are many and great. They will all be fulfilled, even though none or very few men take note of or esteem them as such. Two things must take place according to the Word and prophecy of Christ and the apostles: first, many and great signs will be made manifest; second, the last day will come unawares; the world will not expect it, even though that day be at the door. Though men see those signs and be told that they are signs of the last day, still they will not believe. Some, indeed, will see it and it will be those who least expect it. That there will be such security and indifference among men we prove from the words of Christ and the apostles. Christ says: “Take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that day come on you suddenly as a snare, for so shall it come upon all them that dwell on the face of the earth.”

From these words it is clear that men in great measure will give themselves over to surfeiting and drunkenness and the cares of this life, and that, drowned as it were in these things, they will rest secure and continue to dwell on the earth as if the dreadful day were far away. For were there no such security and heedlessness, that day would not break in unawares. But he says it will come as a snare by which birds and beasts are caught at a time when most concerned about their food and least expecting to be entrapped. In this figure he gives us clearly to understand that the world will continue its carousing, eating and drinking, building and planting, and diligently seeking after earthly things, and will look upon the day of judgment as yet a thousand and more years off, when, in the twinkling of an eye, they may stand before the terrible judgment bar of God. Whatever other signs may appear before Christ’s coming, I know that, according to Christ’s words, surfeiting and drunkenness, building and planting, buying and selling, marrying and giving in marriage and other cares of this life will be in evidence."



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Note - Historic St. John Lutheran Church Is Just North Of - Across 145 - Historic Trinity Lutheran LCMS, Milwaukee

 WELS kicked Historic St. John Lutheran Church out of the synod over an act of petty vandalism. Under Mirthless Mark Schroeder, they stole it back - with the endowment. The last I heard, they still had two members.

 We can give you a deal on the rental fees.

 St. John is possibly more beautiful than Trinity was.

Mark and Avoid Jeske wanted to buy this altar at one time, long ago, when he was high church instead of clown church.

Destroying the Foundations of Biblical Study. Rebuilding the Foundations

Many posts come from discussions with readers. Today I show how the foundations of Biblical study have been destroyed by the Evangelicals and Lutherans. But they can be repaired.

 Tischendorf was a con artist who manipulated the facts to make himself a great hero.

Text Criticism of the New Testament, aka Lower Criticism
The foundation - in the modern age - came from Count Tischendorf and the Wescott/Hort team. These three men led the field in creating a pseudo-science of text critcism with their own ideas, which are really assumptions. This field of study centers on the New Testament.

For example, one assumption - which they call a rule - is that the shorter reading is better than the longer one. But that does not bear the weight of a few questions. A story can be shortened or lengthened by retelling it. Length does not change its veracity.

Another assumption is that the more difficult reading for traditional Christians is the better one. That means one account is more factual and mythical elements were added over time. So a miraculous healing began as someone thinking he was sick, then thinking he was healthy after meeting Jesus. The rationalists like Mark's Gospel, because they think Mark is early.

A third assumption is that the mass of manuscripts preserved by the Greek, Byzantine Church are inferior to the ones discovered and promoted by Count Tischendorf. The eevul Orthodox Greeks must have suppressed the good ones that the Count found and promoted.

The Bible is better preserved than any other ancient text of any kind, and we have earlier versions of the Bible than we do of more modern books.  However, the modern translations follow Tischendorf, Wescott, and Hort. The KJV Bibles (older and newer) do not.

Canon Criticism
Jews and Christians have regarded the books of their traditions as canonical, rejecting the other ones as questionable. Making a big study of this leads the apostates to say with glee, "There could be 20 books in the entire Bible - or 100! It is not God's Word to man, but man's word about God."

Scepticism fuels canon criticism, and canon criticism supports scepticism - as long as the facts are concealed. An apostate will seize upon any factoid to support his attitude that the Bible is just one more religious book.

 "Charlotte, vas dat your knee?"
The Great Barth at work - teaching the Bible contains the Word of God. He conveniently erased the Sixth Commandment.

Higher Criticism - The Historical-Critical Method - HCM
All Biblical "scholarship" today is concentrated in the Historical-Critical Method, which by definition treats the Bible as any other book.

That means every issue is debatable.

1. Did Paul write Romans? Did he hate women? Rather - how much did he hate women? 
2. Did Jesus ever consider Himself divine? 
3. When did the Trinity really develop as dogma - and how did that change the original New Testament texts?
4. How do we separate the mythical from the historical in the Bible?
5. How did Hellenistic philosophy influence the Gospel of John?
6. How did Paul turn Jesus the Rabbi into the Son of God?
7. Etc. etc. etc. So much baloney and it gets far worse with the HCM gurus supporting the Lavender Mafia.

The old mainline schools like Princeton and Yale were orthodox a century or more ago. Now all the university departments and seminaries are 100% HCM.

Fuller Seminary is the dedicated to this modernism and remains the guiding light of Protestantism - especially the "conservative" Lutherans: LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic). Roman Catholics are HCM and Eastern Orthodox do not care.

How To Repair the Foundations
I am an expert in desserts, after growing up in a bakery and enjoying between-the-snacks snacks all day long. Donuts and cookies make someone hungry for cookies and donuts, which is why we took food breaks.

We ate real meals away from the bakery. Nothing kills an appetite for donuts, cookies, and candy like meat, potatoes, vegetables, and salad.

The only way to fix the problem among Lutherans is to return to the text, in Hebrew where possible, in Greek often. All the theories have been published and they will be recycled every few years. The only certainty we have, as Nils Dahl stated in class, is "The text!"

 Nils Dahl studied under Bultmann and debated Bultmann's assumptions - Dahl taught "The Text!"

The Text!
Ministers should be studying the text of the Bible (not helper books written by synod simpletons) and the laity should be as studious. That alone will kill the appetite for corn sugar candy delivered by the religious press. It also prevents the foothold false doctrine is always seeking.

NT Greek
Greek is easy to learn and to teach. The WELS pastors are supposedly infallible, as Tim Glende claimed, because "They. Study. Greek!" Why not teach Greek to their children and also the congregation? Not everyone wants to learn NT Greek, but why hold back?

What a difference, to study the actual text and compare parallel verses? All the text-based scholarly books make sense - Lenski, Kittel, dictionaries, etc.

The English language is formed from Greek, Latin, and German, which are also the theological languages. At the very worst, a language education will make someone far more appreciative of our English language, medicine, law, and science terms.

The Quia Marias talk about the Confessions. Do they teach the text of the Confessions? I doubt it.

Here is a beautiful church sign:

NT Greek Taught Here

Book of Concord Lessons

The Vulgate is not vulgar - Learn Latin

Yes indeed, this Age belongs to the Ignorant, the Greedy, and the Self-Deluded, but we do not need to surrender to them without a fight. The best weapon is the Word, sharper than any two-edged sword.

Photos of Historic Trinity Lutheran Church, LCMS - Before the May 15, 2018 Fire

Initial reports of the May 15, 2018 fire can be found here.

 A description of the Trinity Lutheran Church Buidling is here.

 The organ is irreplacable. Congregational website.

 Wikipedia article and links.