Chapter Fifteen - The Gospel of Faith: From John, the Disciple Jesus Loved

 The Gospel of Faith: From John, the Disciple Jesus Loved

I just started Chapter 15 in the Gospel of John. This is quite an experience, to go through an entire Gospel and explain the main points.

From Alec Satin, Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

It is a peculiar characteristic of faith that the more it confides in God's Word, and the more it recognizes His works, so much the more is it astonished and moved to praise and thanksgiving. Where there is no faith, indifference prevails as to what is seen or heard, and there is neither joy nor pleasure there.

 

Luther, from Sermon after Christmas, House Postil

Ecclesia College Bought Land They Did Not Need from Tax Funds, Which Could NOT Go to a Church. EC Calls Itself a Church So How They Squandered Our Money Is None of Our Business

 No one in the Paris family was qualified to run a college or an online school, but they went for tax funds "to expand" and only expanded their debt.

Foreclosure seeks land bought by Arkansas college linked to corruption case

By Tracy Neal

Posted: August 31, 2018 at 4:30 a.m.

BENTONVILLE -- Ecclesia College faces foreclosure on land at the center of a federal corruption investigation.

E.C. Funding LLC, a newly formed Rogers investment firm, filed a foreclosure lawsuit Thursday in Benton County Circuit Court against the private Christian college that seeks more that $1.8 million. The investment firm claims that Ecclesia defaulted on two loans for which a majority of the 240 acres it owns was put up as collateral, according to court documents.

"It may be a one day story," James Baxter, the attorney for E.C. Funding, said Thursday. "Today's Bank reached out to my client about a payoff amount. They are interested in helping Ecclesia out of the foreclosure."

Today's Bank is chartered in Huntsville and has 11 branches. Larry Olson, president and CEO of Today's Bank, did not immediately return a message left for him late Thursday afternoon.

Travis Story, an attorney representing Ecclesia, provided a statement from the college confirming a potential new loan.

"Earlier this summer E.C. Funding, LLC, a local group of investors in Rogers purchased our loans from Centennial Bank. Less than a week ago, we were informed that E.C. Funding, LLC would discontinue the normal annual practice of automatically renewing our loans," according to the statement. "However, in just four days we were able to find a local bank that will be refinancing all of Ecclesia's loans in the coming days."

Ecclesia took out loans of $1 million and $1.3 million in February 2014, when it was also seeking the state grants. The loans underwent several modifications over the years and were due Tuesday.

Filings that changed ownership of the mortgages from Centennial Bank to E.C. Funding were recorded May 18 with the county clerks in Benton and Washington counties.

Arkansas secretary of state records show E.C. Funding was incorporated on May 21 and lists Robert Powell McKinney as the lone officer.

Ecclesia has an outstanding balance of $1 million on the first loan and $855,218 on the second loan, according to the complaint.

The foreclosure lawsuit also names former Ecclesia College President Oren Paris III and Cari Paris as defendants.

Oren Paris resigned as college president April 3. He pleaded guilty the next day in federal court to paying kickbacks to former state lawmakers Jon Woods and Micah Neal in return for state grant money used to purchase some of the land sought in the foreclosure.

The kickbacks involve $550,000 of the more than $717,500 in state General Improvement Fund grants Ecclesia received from 2013 through 2014, the U.S. Department of Justice contends.

Duane "Dak" Kees, U.S. attorney for the Western District of Arkansas confirmed during court proceedings that the federal government has no method to recover any of the money, which was issued by the state.

The school said it used the state grant money to help purchase two parcels of land: Ecclesia purchased a tract at 4095 Arkansas 112 on Nov. 7, 2013, for $500,000; and a tract at 3870 Als Drive on Dec. 2, 2013, for $675,000. Both parcels are included in the foreclosure lawsuit.

Less than a year later the school was failing to raise enough money to cover expenses, said Seth Duell during April 13 testimony in Woods' corruption trial. Duell is the college's former professional fundraiser.

Ecclesia had no record of any donations greater than $15,000 when he came on board, Duell testified. The college's enrollment was too small to cover its expenses with tuition, he testified.

A jury found Woods guilty of money laundering, wire and mail fraud and conspiracy in May. Neal pleaded guilty in January 2017 to a conspiracy charge.

Also convicted in May was Randell Shelton Jr., a consultant formerly of Alma. Federal prosecutors argued during trial that Paris disguised the kickbacks as consulting fees to Shelton, who then passed money along to the former legislators.

The four men will be sentenced in the next two weeks.

 Ask where the money went. New classrooms? Ha.
Ask about Oren III's pay and bonus!

Two Kinds of Encouragement

Encouragement 101
Nothing stirs me like having someone create an anonymous account on LutherQuest (sic) and launch a vicious, irrelevant personal attack against me and Sassy Sue, the Wonderdog.

That means something is really eating at that rotten soul, and the corrupt tree must shed its evil fruit. I am still waiting for a host of false teachers to tell us all why they hate Justification by Faith. They never quote the sources I have supplied promiscuously in the hopes they would come clean about their perfidy.

Let's blink at the marvel of it all. A group of people spent an enormous amount of hours for a year - preparing a very inexpensive, illustrated set of Luther's Sermons, Lenker edition, plus the Gems volume, and LutherQuest (sic) denounces it and the practice of posting one Luther sermon each week.

It's public domain! - What a scandal.
Anybody could do that! - But no one else has.

And worse, we broadcast our worship service for free, no secret passwords, for anyone to appreciate or deprecate.
They broadcast on the Net! - So does our synod.

The truth brings out the bully in these sewer rats, who scurry away when the light goes on. I started this blog for a few friends, not for anyone else. Why would someone order me to stop writing? Are they required to read anything on this blog? I would never think of silencing LutherQuest (sic), SteadfastUOJists, or ALPB. I mine their posts for quotable pratfalls and quirky sectarian nonsense.

 The worst ones have endowed positions.

 Why would the LCMS publish a Book of Concord with ELCA?
Wengert is the ELCA hero of gay activism, yet LCMS-WELS pretends to scorn  ELCA for its deviant ways.

Encouragement 201
Laity and some pastors encourage me to keep writing. I could add a lot of details here, but for some reason they slip my mind at the moment.

A lot of background information and links come from laity.

 God's wrath is revealed in His use of false teachers, who shun the truth of God's Word and reward error and corruption.

The Abuse Springs from False Doctrine - Roman Catholic and Papal Lutheran

I hear often from people who are disgusted with the rapid downward plunge of WELS. They are not worried about numbers but about the many ways WELS has turned its back on its own heritage.

The global scandal is the Pope and his utterly degraded franchise, where large abuse networks have been identified for decades and yet remain hardly damaged and regrowing everywhere.

Let's stick to Lutherans for the moment. They have borrowed the papal attitude of the insitutional church being infallible and indefectible. Oh yes, they all acknowledge (Pope and Mini-Popes) that mistakes have been made. Nevertheless, the denomination is without spot or blemish and the leaders are infallibly correct.

I heard this garbage in the LCA, where it was well known that no one - and I mean no one - was allowed to mention any flaw in the denomination, its programs, its materials. Wrath was visited upon the speaker, the writer, and the entire family.

Need I say this? WELS is even touchier and even more dictatorial. They retreated to rationalistic Pietism by chasing Fuller and the laughable Willow Creek denomination. WELS has only one sacrament - shunning. It is comical to see how they shun and hate on people for sound criticism, while loving their lavender bedfellows in ELCA. Of course, that reveals more than they would like about their many scandals (that never happened, but if they did, were handled well).

 Who told you that?

Jesus Ended the Sermon on the Mount This Way Matthew 7

Matthew 716 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.

19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.

20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?

23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

 My home congregation in Moline mentioned their Thrivent chapter lovingly. Thrivent is another institutional supporter of abortion and its hideous body parts sales.

A Bit More on Publishing

God willing, the first draft of John's Gospel will be done this weekend, ready for artwork late on Sunday. Reason - I got a big break on finishing some odious paperwork, and tent-making is calm but steady for the moment.

Luther's Sermons - Lenker Edition - In One File
Breaking news - If all goes well, I will soon have the entire Luther's Sermons set in one PDF, which means easy Internet sharing and searches. Example - where did Luther write about marriage? Control - F "marriage." Searching all 9 volumes. Then another word could be used to make it more complete.

That file, which includes the Gems, will be free for anyone to have and share.

I am trying to make up for the disgraceful response of the WELS-ELS-LCMS to the Reformation's 500th Anniversary.

Definite Schedule
Lutheran Dictionary
Calvinism
More Luther

Potential Titles
Creation as Taught by Jesus