Creation Gardening - Early and Late

Discounts for flowers are easily obtained early, when most gardeners have not thawed out or even thought about new plants. Surprisingly, gardening interest and purchasing drops off early in the summer, prompting another round of discounts. End of the season discounts in tools are especially fun to exploit. Rose clippers will not rust or rot over the winter.

I never got Bee Balm going in Phoenix, because the desert is good for cacti and little else. I was a marvel with cacti - everything grew like crazy. A lady stopped by to harvest prickly pear fruit because I had hundreds of them along the outside cinderblock fence. The fruit are great for jam and tea, but murder on the skin, with little hair-like needles easy to attract, difficult to extract.

I tried to get red Bee Balm during peak buying and missed out. Another supplier had leftovers, so some are on the way. They seem especially attractive to hummingbirds, though the color attraction is hotly debated.

The Butterfly Garden already boasts two Joe Pye Weeds, large and tall. I have Yarrow growing there, plus Comfrey. A Chaste Tree is on the corner toward the main garden. But lo, the area around these flowers is weedy-grassy and extremely fertile. Below is how I will exploit this for Bee Balm.

The only way to block weeds in the sunniest spot in our yard is to block the sun thoroughly. I have been gathering big cardboard boxes for the first layer of sun blocking. Jessica Walliser pointed out the trick of laying down cardboard in the fall and cutting holes in it for plants in the spring. I will lay down cardboard and cut holes for the expected Bee Balm. I can keep the cardboard in place with water buckets, bags of leaves, and wood mulch. In the fall, the Bee Balm will be growing well, d.v., and I can piled up leaves around them. The weeds that exploit a heavily mulched area are tall and strong, so they are also easy to snip at the base, blessing them for opening up the soil and fertilizing it. 

The Butterfly Garden is a long walk around the house, out the front door, down to the sidewalk, walk over and up the south side of the garden, voila - butterflies and bees. Some will shake their heads and say, "Why so much trouble for an almost hidden secret garden?"

My answer, "We may not see them most of the time, but they provide a home base for a number of beautiful creatures, all of them spilling into the adjoining Rose Garden for the feeders, plants, birdbaths (note the plural), and bird food.

Our porch is modest but perfect for after noon pour-over coffee. We are in the shade, usually sheltered from wind, and just a bit above the garden sloping down to the sidewalk. Yesterday Ranger Bob, Mrs. Ichabod, and I watched for bunnies, birds, and bees. Sassy stood watch over the treats when she was not scanning the cul-de-sac for enemies of the U. S. Constitution, foreign and domestic.

A grand porch would put us high above God's Creation, with a porch built of sturdy fencing to keep children safe. Yes, I fell off our little porch, because the base is a bit above the garden. I bent over the tiny fence to clean the bird bath, and the laws of gravity over-ruled my Franciscan ideals. Nothing was harmed, and Ranger Bob had a good laugh about it later.

The Feast of the Holy Trinity, 2021.

The Feast of the Holy Trinity, 2021

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Video of Bethany's Trinity Service

https://video.ibm.com/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church Link

The melodies are linked in the hymn name. 

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH Lyrics are linked from the Bethany Hymnal site.

The Hymn # 246               Holy, Holy, Holy               

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Blessed be the Holy Trinity and the undivided Unity: let us give glory to Him because He hath shown His mercy to us.

Psalm. O Lord, our Lord: how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given unto us, Thy servants, grace, by the confession of a true faith, to acknowledge the glory of the eternal Trinity and in the power of the Divine Majesty to worship the Unity, we beseech Thee that Thou wouldst lump us steadfast in this faith and evermore defend us from all adversities; who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual       

Blessed art Thou, O Lord, who beholdest the deep; 

and who dwellest between the cherubim.

V. Blessed art Thou, O Lord, in the firmament of heaven: 

and greatly to be praised forever. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Blessed art Thou, O Lord God of our fathers: 

and greatly to be praised and glorified forever. Hallelujah!

The Gospel               

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Athanasian Creed             p. 53
The Sermon Hymn #250      Holy God We Praise Thy Name
       

The Unity of the Trinity

 

The Communion Hymn  #297                The Gospel Shows

The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #660                I'm But a Stranger Here  

            Prayers and Announcements

• This weekend we honor and mourn the soldiers who gave their lives in the service of the United States of America.
• Prayers - Christina Jackson is on a lighter regimen; Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader have health challenges; Alec's brother is better.
• Next in video - saving previous videos and editing them for YouTube, etc.
• Ichabod the Glory Has Departed - 7,000 views in 24 hours. The normal amount is around 1,800.

 By Norma A. Boeckler

Luther’s Trinity Sermons Linked Here

Romans 11 33 ω βαθος - O the depth

1. πλουτου 0f the riches
2. και σοφιας  and of the wisdom
3. και γνωσεως θεου and of the knowledge of God.

ως ανεξερευνητα τα κριματα αυτου και ανεξιχνιαστοι αι οδοι αυτου.

34 τις γαρ εγνω νουν κυριου η τις συμβουλος αυτου εγενετο

35 η τις προεδωκεν αυτω και ανταποδοθησεται αυτω

36 οτι 

1. εξ αυτου και - from Him and
2. δι αυτου και - through Him and
3. εις αυτον τα παντα αυτω - in Him are all things.

 η δοξα εις τους αιωνας αμην

KJV Romans 11:33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! 34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor? 35 Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? 36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.

KJV John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews: 2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. 4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? 5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. 6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.

The Unity of the Trinity

Background for the Gospel, John 3:1-15

The people who deny the Trinity - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit - are like the person who said, "There is no shepherd's purse growing in our yard." Someone who knew herbs and wildflowers (my mother) said, "I will show you." She went to the spot and pulled some out for our family pet rabbits. "Are those shepherd's purse?" My eyes were opened.

Denying the Trinity in the Bible is a popular way for unbelievers, rationalists, cynics, and theology professors to make their claim that the Scriptures are only a book written by man. But we can start with Genesis 1, find the Holy Trinity, and throughout the Old Testament - the Father, the Promised Son - and the Son before His Incarnation - and the Holy Spirit at work in the prophets. In the New Testament, the Father Son and Holy Spirit are named within two verses all through those 27 books, and named in the familiar group of three many times, such as in the Great Commission at the end of Matthew. The denial of the Trinity in the Bible is proof that the Spirit is effective in hardening and blinding those who willfully reject the Scriptures. The more they know in academics, the less they know about the spiritual realm. John's Gospel is a great way to begin and to support our knowledge of God - Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

KJV John 3:1 There was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews:

When we read the Gospel of John, we find that many details are provided that add a great deal to our knowledge of that history and also about the future. The passage points us to the connection between Old Testament Judaism and the conversion of Jews in the New Testament and beyond. My Old Testament students often express the fallacy that the Old Testament is all Law and is for the Jews, the New Testament is all Gospel and is for the Gentiles. 

Note the three-fold connection revealed - Jesus was presented in the Temple for His circumcision. He stayed deliberately in Jerusalem to have a conference with the elders and scholars there. He converted Nicodemus, a leader of the Pharisees. Besides that, there are many descriptions of the Jewish opponents following Jesus to dispute anything He did or said. Opposition is a great way to spread the Word of God. In the process of arguing and studying their own writings, many became Christians.

Nicodemus was a leader of the Pharisees, so that meant he was the strictest observer of the Law. Like Paul, no one was more observant or more painstaking in pursuing the righteousness of the Law. And what happens in obsessive perfection is the lack of fulfillment through perfection. Jesus knew this and saw this in Nicodemus, so He completely got Nicodemus off balance, wondering, thinking.

2 The same came to Jesus by night, and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him. 

One question is - why by night? Perhaps he studied by day and could not by night, so he came to Jesus very late. More likely, since evening light was never better than moonlight and often lacking that, Nicodemus came at night to avoid being seen by his fellow Jews and Pharisees. Nicodemus had the beginning of faith - "Who had heard our Report?" Isaiah 53 and later Romans 10. But he was also uncertain and fearful. His help with the body of Jesus proved that "perfect faith casts out fear" when he did the unthinkable in honoring someone condemned by the Roman Empire and his fellow Pharisees.

I have seen a lot of pastors scared just for questioning the edicts and actions of their Synod Popes.

So Nicodemus' address was tentative and seems to be polite and even flattering, but rather weak. A "teacher from God" is a good address but not different from the colleagues of Nicodemus.

3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again [from above], he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Often, when discussing the Christian Faith with a skeptic, it is better to let him beg for the answer. As I have said many times, when someone equivocates about Christianity, I tell him - "All world religions are alike." 

The person responds with a smile. So I add one tidbit. "All are alike except for one thing." Silence. The person has to know. He says, "What is the exception." 

I say, "All religions teach the Law, what man has to do to please God. Christianity teaches God's grace - what He has done for us through Christ." 

Nicodemus also talked about the miracles of Jesus, which were part of His evangelism. The miracles proved that Jesus was teaching with the authority of God. All the religious leaders taught about God, but Jesus taught as God. Jesus said, If you do not believe My teaching, at least believe in the miracles. So Nicodemus' acknowledgement of the miracles was the start of faith, and that faith drew him to go to Jesus.

The phrase "born from above" has the secondary meaning of "born again." Nicodemus heard obstetrics  when he should have been thinking about Jesus as the One from Above. In this discussion, Jesus showed His divine knowledge by keeping Nicodemus off-balance and therefore eager to learn more.

What is the "good and perfect gift from above" in James. 

4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?

This is a lame, strange, and absurd response, so it has never been forgotten. Almost anyone with a little knowledge of the Gospel has heard this from Nicodemus. What the befuddlement promises is a flood of Old Testament Promises about the Messiah, where a host of phrases and images combine in the New Testament to show the fulfillment and the precision of those words.

This is doubly true because this passage peaks with John 3:16, founded upon the bizarre example of the bronze serpent lifted up to heal the wounds of the Israelites. That strange image is isolated, either trivial or strange or both, ignored, until they are the anchor for the Little Gospel - John 3:16. So God set up this miracle in the desert to foreshadow the crucifixion of His only-begotten Son - long before there was a Roman Empire or crucifixion. 

The New Testament does not engage just some of these Promises but all of of them.

5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.

Here we must honor Queen Grammar, who rules over Greek grammar. The Greek text literally means - Unless a man be water/Spirit born, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God. I won't get into the reasons, because you have not had enough coffee yet. But water and Spirit are together, not two separate actions. As many know from other passages, Spirit and Word together, never one without the other, so we can say - Unless a man be baptized with water using the Gospel Word, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God. This passage is all about the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

Yes, there are exceptions with baptism, but baptism is given to us as a gift, a visible Word to help us when we are weak, and a powerful Sacrament to keep us with God and the Good Shepherd of our souls.

6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again [from above]. 8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit. 

This is beautiful prose, poetic and yet simple in language. If we have a rebirth through the Spirit at work in the Word, we belong to God in the Spirit - guided by the Spirit - truth revealed by the Spirit. 

In Greek and Hebrew, wind and Spirit are the same word. Pneumonia comes from the Greek word. No one has seen the wind, but many of us have been near tornadoes and their destructive power. With harmonics, wind can bring down a skyscraper or the George Washington Bridge. That is the power of the Word/Spirit.

9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be? 10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things? 11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak  [solemnly teach] that we do know, and testify [witness, martyr] that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness. 12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? 13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven,

Jesus is saying here (verse 11) that He is solemnly teaching Nicodemus earthly things and He is witnessing about Heaven because He has come down from above (another indication of the Incarnation and the Virgin Birth). Jesus is the connection between the mysteries of God's will and work, so He teaches nothing but the truth about these matters, earthly and heavenly.

14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

Moses asked from God and God gave. Example - manna, bread from heaven. Jesus provided the bread for the multitude and taught them "I am the Bread of Life from Heaven." Moses asked, the Son of God provided.

 By Norma A. Boeckler

From the Lutheran Librarian - Alec Satin

 

A good reminder.

 It always surprises me when I get to know a professing Christian to some degree, and then discover that they do not believe the Trinity. Ask around and you might be shocked too.

Lenski:

The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is basic for the Christian faith and Church. Without this doctrine the Church, or anyone listed as her member, ceases to be Christian in any sense of the word; with this doctrine the Christian character, at least to some degree, remains. Hence we begin every divine public service “in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost,” and close it with the benediction and doxology, both of which name the Triune Name.

 All the ecumenical confessions confess most solemnly the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, three Persons, one Essence. All Unitarians are outside the pale of the Christian Church, and that of necessity, for its extreme border line is marked by faith in the Trinity.

 Our people need to be told these facts again and again. Their consciousness must be fully alive to them in this age especially when so many are deceived and satisfied with the bare names “God” and “Father,” which so often are meant to deny the Trinity.

 Free Masons and other lodge men confess only a Supreme Being, and do it together with Jews, Mohammedans, and other non-believers in the Son of God, and yet claim membership in the Christian Church, perhaps hold high office in her organization. The thing is really monstrous — once to deny by lodge connection and confession this solemn doctrine, the very rock bottom of Christianity, and again to confess this doctrine with true Christians, means a lie one way or the other. Such double, contradictory confession is the palpable mark of the most damnable hypocrisy possible, since it deals with the Lord God himself.

From: R.C.H. Lenski. The Eisenach Old Testament Selections: An Exegetical-Homiletical Treatment: Texts for the Entire Church Year. 1925/2021. LutheranLibrary.org

Two Aids for Studying Genesis - Keil-Delitzsch and Alfred Rehwinkel

 

Franz Delitzsch

Carl Friedrich Keil

Genesis 2 - Keil-Delitzsch

https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/kdo/genesis-2.html

The Flood: In The Light Of The Bible Geology And Archaeology

Rehwinkel has many parallels to the Flood, showing that it was a real event, not mythology. However, as many have noted, he was enchanted by Margaret Sanger and Planned Parenthood. 

Pagan Origin of the Fish Hat

The "cross" held by various popes, including Francis, is more like a devil's stang.
The Vatican is quite comfortable with a host of pagan symbols.
Fishhats or mitres sell for $400 to $3,000 dollars, but one is needed for each colorful season, from sky blue to rosy pink.


The adiaphora article in the Formula of Concord is almost universally ignored. One point is that we should not identify with false religion, even when it is not done with bad intent. The purpose of such grand costumes is to impress the ignorant and the easily persuaded.

Pope John - and Paul after him - loved to wear the papal tiara, the crown signifying rule over all kingdoms. Pope John Paul II had to leave it alone because it was considered too arrogant. Francis? - no one does humility better than a Jesuit.

The papal audience hall features a crucifix more like a snake.

 The ceiling of the papal audience hall suggests a snake and its eyes.

 The long view is obvious, but we will never be invited to see it.

Adiaphora, Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Article X

5 "Namely, when under the title and pretext of external adiaphora such things are proposed as are in principle contrary to God’s Word (although painted another color), these are not to be regarded as adiaphora, in which one is free to act as he will, but must be avoided as things prohibited by God. In like manner, too, such ceremonies should not be reckoned among the genuine free adiaphora, or matters of indifference, as make a show or feign the appearance, as though our religion and that of the Papists were not far apart, thus to avoid persecution, or as though the latter were not at least highly offensive to us; or when such ceremonies are designed for the purpose, and required and received in this sense, as though by and through them both contrary religions were reconciled and became one body; or when a reentering into the Papacy and a departure from the pure doctrine of the Gospel and true religion should occur or gradually follow therefrom [when there is danger lest we seem to have reentered the Papacy, and to have departed, or to be on the point of departing gradually, from the pure doctrine of the Gospel]."

***

GJ - When the Lutheran leaders are not aping the Calvinists, they are aping the papists, copying as much as they can about Vatican worship, readings, and costumes to wear. 

The Fourth Gospel - The Greatest and Simplest

 The print version of John's Gospel of Faith is available on Amazon, and can be ordered at the author's price.

John's Gospel does not harmonize with Objective Justification, so the answer from the WELS-ELS-LCMS-ELCA-CLC is - "Ignore John!
This link explains why.

The Gospel of John - Reflects the Church of Whats-Happening-Now

 

Ladies, Gentlemen, and Undecided -

I have concluded that the Gospel of John perfectly reflects the Church of Whats-Happening-Now.

Everyone knows the basics of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but John is entirely different. 

1. The Fourth Gospel assumes knowledge of the first three.
2. The Fourth Gospel has the simplest language and sentence construction, making it perfect for anyone learning a language or just getting started in language studies.
3. Most important, the Fourth Gospel is rather short on background - facts we have already learned from Matthew-Mark-Luke - but John is filled and overflowing with teaching (doctrine), often directly from Jesus Christ: Creation, the Trinity, the Father-Son relationship, pre-existence of the Son, the Virgin Birth, Mary's position, miraculous healing, miracles of nature, forgiveness through faith, salvation, Final Judgment, the Atonement, and Resurrection.
4. We can only conclude that faith in Jesus Christ is the prime lesson of this Gospel - confessing this truth freely, without mental reservation, or purpose of evasion. Lutheran officials, clergy, and professors practice mental reservation - just like Catholic religious - pretending to agree while sticking to their corrupt definitions.

This puts the individual in a unique position. He is either 100% for the message of John's Gospel, or 100% against it. That explains why the Fourth Gospel has been put on the bottom shelf and ignored, because every passage torments and challenges the pretenders, the rulers of the Church of Whats-Happening-Now. 

The pretenders are the clownish Pharisees (John 9) trying to get rid of the Healer and anyone who believes in Him. The ruling pretenders are the Jewish leaders charging Jesus with the crime of calling Himself the Son of God. They did so for good reason - Jesus identified Himself with the I AM of the Burning Bush, Exodus 3, so He could say - emphasizing Justification by Faith - "Before Abraham was, I AM."

We can hear today's murderous Pharisees saying, "We have Wisconsin for our Mother!" or "We have Missouri for our Mother!" The murderous Pharisees of the Lutheran tribe do not care that their frozen food hero broke up two marriages and mocked his wife in Forbes with his divorce decree - so she ended her life. No regrets - they mined millions from that David-like sin and praised him into heaven. His second wife returned to Catholicism.

In contrast to these murderous Pharisees, who oppose faith but welcome everything else, the Fourth Gospel quotes Jesus teaching the great I AM sermons:

I AM the Bread of Life.

I AM the Light of the world.

I AM the Door.

I AM the Good Shepherd.

I AM the Resurrection and the life.

I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life.

I AM the True Vine.

Lenski and Schwan - Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

 Loy, Lenski, and Leupold made the Columbus, Ohio seminary famous and respected,
but their students rejected the Biblical view in favor of rationalism. The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry and the Lutheran Librarian printed books are the best sources for these authors. Note that the sign highlights Capital three times, Christ not once.

Epistle Selections of the Ancient Church 

by R.C.H. Lenski

A vast gulf exists between the Lutheran laity and the clergy, professors, and synod parasites of ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC and the micro-minies: the Pan-Lutheran Association of Nonbelievers, PLAN.

1. One side adheres to the pseudo-scholars who view the Bible as a book written by man, Jesus as merely a human, and the Church as a cozy place to accumulate wealth and undeserved honors. Their favorite leaders should be in a locked ward or a penal colony.
2. The other side includes faithful pastors, those whose parishes can only be found with help from Google Maps. but whose service is long, difficult, and unrewarded in material ways, but richly rewarded in spiritual treasures. 

Those who expect future generations to belong the second group need to fortify themselves and the younger generations with the works of Luther, Loy, Lenski, and Leupold. Simply put, the Bible is the revealed Word of God, and Jesus is the true Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, crucified for our sins, risen and ascended to Heaven. 

A Short Exposition of Dr. Martin Luther's Small Catechism: 

1905 Schwan Edition by Heinrich Schwan

WELS and LCMS have always taught Justification without Faith - Objective Justification - right? Wrong!

Gausewitz wrote a catechism for the Olde Synodical Conference that only taught Justification by Faith. It is harder to find an original Gausewitz than a sober WELS official.

As Pastor Vernon Harley published in the LCMS (reprinted on this blog), the 1905 Schwan Catechism taught Justification by Faith and did not teach Objective Justification.

Schwan was a missionary, a parish pastor, a district president, and the President of the Missouri Synod. He introduced America to the Christmas tree - another fact not mentioned by those who bend the knee to Presidents Walther and Pieper, who were before and after the 20 year presidency of Schwan.