 |
| Norma A. Boeckler |
Thanksgiving Eve, 2019
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
The Hymn #574 Come Ye Thankful
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 100 p. 144
The First Lection 1 Timothy 2:1-8
The Second Lection Luke 17:11-19
The Sermon Hymn #361 O Jesus King
Paul's Prayer and Thanksgiving
The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The Collect for Peace p. 45
The Benediction p. 45
The Hymn #558 All Praise to Thee - Gounod
In Our Prayers
- Carl Roper and his wife Lynda.
- Pastor and Mrs. Jim Shrader
- Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes.
- Those looking for work and a better income.
- Our media ministries - Alec Satin, Norma Boeckler, Travis and Lauren Cartee, Pastor Jordan Palangyos.
- Army Ranger Bob gave the flowers on the altar in honor of Pastor and Mrs. Jackson's 50th wedding anniversary.
 |
| The next stage at Bethany Philippine Mission is a permanent roof. |
KJV 1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; 2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. 3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. 7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
KJV Luke 17:11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.
Paul's Prayer and Thanksgiving
KJV 1 Timothy 2:1 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men;
We should not be surprised that Paul's interest in all of civilization led to America's role today. These words are so gracious, coming from someone from the tiny minority (very much suspect) in the Roman Empire. Many saw the Christians as one more branch of the troublesome Jews, and the Christians did not have official standing.
Nevertheless, the Apostle asks for prayers, intercessions, and thanks for all men. And he expands this beyond the average person.
2 For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.
Without making a political statement, he includes kings and everyone with authority. Of course, this is great wisdom, spiritual wisdom, because combining religious strife with secular authority is bound to increase bloodshed and cause undue harm to many innocent people.
There are many historic examples of military leaders imposing their views on the conquered people and causing riots and additional warfare. Alexander the Great was different in being impartial, which gave him the greatest empire of all, strangely orchestrated by a tiny group of expert soldiers and a brilliant general. That brought Greek culture, sports, and trade to the areas he vanquished, laying the groundwork for Greek being the universal language of the educated.
If the Christians took on a rebellious attitude toward the Roman Government, the next stage in empires, they could have been crushed. That is what happened in the Jewish revolt against Rome around 70 AD.
The fate of all theocracies is to become utterly corrupt or - violent in their oppression of everyone else. This is good advice from God because Christianity can survive and thrive in any culture. Although ours seems to be the most ideal, the Third World is hungry for the righteousness of faith in Christ, which Christianity is growing fast.
3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
A great difference exists between Christianity and every other religion. The Christian Faith is the only one where God gives to the individual instead of the individual working to please God. When the Christian Faith grows among people, they are blessed in many ways by God.
The Christian Faith has been the energy behind making all people free, though our world has a long way to go in that regard. Nevertheless, sincerely believers cannot overlook the suffering of others or of the unborn. There are many things we would all like to see improved, which are heavily funded or profitable, and yet the faithful work of believers can foster the miracles of God, as seen in the book and film Unplanned.
God our Saviour; 4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
Here is a clear statement of the universality of Christianity, which can flourish anywhere the Gospel reaches. The power of the Word is so great that it works upon people and accomplishes His will whenever trust the truth to do this.
The effect is paradoxical. Where people try to eliminate the truth, the value and attraction of the Word of God grows. The nature of hatefulness toward the Scriptures is such that it wakes up some and draws others to test if this is true. Most of the follies take place because some have twisted the truth and tried to eliminate all other perspectives. It is the theocracy of false believers who can tolerate no questions.
Every effort to denounce Justification by Faith increases interest in the topic and questions about why people oppose what is clearly taught in the Bible.
I sent The Path To Understanding Justification to Christian News to have it denounced, waking up the sleepy ministers and laity who rely on synodical public relations and false appeals to authority (do not abandon what we taught you in seminary!, as they once said to St. Paul).
--
October 31, 2019
Format: Kindle EditionVerified Purchase
Acquaintance with this author's other works leads one to notice his academic dishonesty in dealing with this topic. He mischaracterizes his opposition and engages in the same logical fallacies that he accuses them of engaging in: poisoning the well, ad hominem attacks, guilt by association, etc. In the shrinking world of conservative Lutheranism the author embraces the bitter opposition to the theology of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Conference of North America (1872-1967). The victim in this conflict is the biblical doctrine of Justification itself. The author does not offer a clear positive doctrine but settles for a rant against his opponents.
[GJ - This is exactly what Ft. Wayne genius Phil Hale wrote in Christian News. The path is Scriptural exegesis - i.e. explanation - which Hale wrote in CN as the "wrong path." Ahem.]
--
In fighting for the truth, all Christians become more able to discuss the meaning and purpose of the Gospel. That is the method of online schools, to have people discuss their ideas and write about what they have learned.
Clergy could take advantage of this basic method - learning more and being clearer, instead of copying "sermons" from cyber-preachers. Then they would be taught by the Holy Spirit through the Word.
 |
| But many are told the synod knows best, that the seminary professors cannot be wrong, that anything printed by the official publishing house is the best. |
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
The youth group in Cleveland, almost 50 years ago, offered to paint the basement wall behind the stage area. When they were done, this verse was also painted on the wall. I wondered if their unscripted effort would be criticized harshly, but that did not happen. They etched that on my mind, because I thought this was good to inscribe in a room used for many meetings and Sunday School.
And now that building is gone, but the Word continues teaching this truth. The atoning death of Christ is clearly taught, a ransom for all, and that truth remains. He is the Redeemer and Savior of the world, but that is the treasure distributed by teaching and preaching. The Gospel Word is effective, both in disturbing and in comforting. Those who have other ideas are disturbed and troubled until they come to a knowledge of the truth by the Word being taught in its clarity.
This is the eternal truth of the Gospel, that before we were born or knew anything, God provided a remedy for sin, a divine cause for forgiveness, a basis for eternal life. The truth does not confuse people who read the Scriptures in humility and sincerity. No one is excluded from this Promise. Also, no one is born entitled to forgiveness regardless of anything else. Double-predestination (from Calvin) simply cancels the Biblical teaching of the Gospel Word causing faith in the Savior, and faith receiving the Promises.
Double-predestination (just as foolishly) declares the elect are elect before birth and can never be separated from that fate.
Not only this, as Jesus teaches, the Shepherd goes out to find the lost sheep and returns rejoicing. The Gospel not only converts, among babies and youth and adults, it also seeks out and finds those who have drifted away.
So strange it is, but true. My wife asked how I found a medicine cup that was lost. I said, "If I am looking for something, my brain will not recognize it, no matter how long I look directly near it or even at it. But once I stop looking for it, the exclusion circuit in my brain shuts off and the object jumps out at me." She laughed for some reason. How the wandering and confused get found is a similar paradox - a seeming contradiction. Someone is so shocked and startled by false claims and practices that they go to literature, then the Bible to search and see if those things are true. The false teachers can drive us to the truth, because the truth remains unchanged, no matter what people say, deny, distort, or obscure.
Be thankful for the shocks and alarms that wake up the soul to the actual Gospel, which belongs to God alone and no one else. Paul taught that in Galatians 1:8.
Anything can be tested against that ruling norm, the Scriptures. We can even study the original text and how it has been clipped and edited away by the worldly wise (Pilgrim's Progress reference).
This reminds me of the synodical officials who would say, "Now do not get people upset with your sermons. Maybe buy a book of sermons and read from that." (One DP told that to a friend of mine.) Why would that be urged? Because it keeps people asleep and un-threatened. That kind of peace is called anesthesia in medical circles - feel no pain - and no brain at work.
7 Whereunto I am ordained a preacher, and an apostle, (I speak the truth in Christ, and lie not;) a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and verity. 8 I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting.
I am not an apostle, but I join St. Paul in being thankful for all the blessings that emerge from the Gospel. People enjoy purpose and direction in their lives. There is no such thing as work when there is purpose. Some things just seem like mountains to climb, a whole mountain range at a time. Many times it is a family medical condition. At other times it is the impossibility of a job or a location.
When we got into Luther's Sermons, 8 volumes, I thought the first one alone was quite a job. When we were done and some really special things happened (like a free PDF of them all, easy to distribute around the world), I thought - "That was really worth it and miraculously easy."
I am thankful to see so many people doing remarkable things for the Gospel - audio, print, art, editing, world mission, support of these efforts - that I can truthfully say - impossible. But we cannot deny what is tangible and happening on a regular basis.
When I first taught computers, I told the college students, "It comes down to yes and no, on and off, electric pulses sent from your computer to wherever. That color photo is nothing more than blips, same with sound and video. Some said, "No! That can't be." But they had to admit I might be right. And even then I could not imagine what was possible. However, I thought the Internet was the only thing equal to the printing press, the first universal communication device since a wine press became a low cost way to print the Bible, books, and illustrated posters.
Without wrath and doubting...
Wrath is bad because that distorts our emotions and our thinking, so it will bear evil fruit. Likewise, the word for doubting is always used in the negative sense, as in fighting against the truth.
