Hymns of Hope, Peace, and Comfort from The Lutheran Hymnal. Illustrated by Norma A. Boeckler.

Heaven Is My Home - #660

Be Still My Soul - #651

A Pilgrim and a Stranger - #586 - Gerhardt

What Our Father Does Is Well - #571

Abide with Me, Fast Falls the Eventide - #552

What God Ordains Is Always Good - #521

Commit Whatever Grieves Thee - Gerhardt - #520

If Thou But Suffer God To Guide Thee - #518

God Moves in a Mysterious Way - Cowper - #514

Art Thou Weary, Art Thou Troubled? - John Mason Neale - #513

The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want - #436

What Is the World To Me? - #430

I Walk in Danger All the Way - Brorson - #413

Just As I Am Without One Plea - #388

From Depths of Woe I Cry to Thee - Luther - #329

If God Had Not Been On Our Side - Luther - #267

PS - These are not all the hymns of hope, peace, and comfort, but a convenient selection for now. Vote for the ones you think fit this categories by sending me an email. More categories will follow.

Golladay Books at the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

Robert Emory Golladay. The Ten Commandments by Robert Golladay.

Robert Emory Golladay. The Light in the Window by Robert Golladay.

Robert Emory Golladay. The Cross Athwart The Sky by Robert Golladay.

Robert Emory Golladay. The Lord's Prayer by Robert Golladay.

Robert Emory Golladay. The Apostles' Creed by Robert Golladay.

Golladay's The Ten Commandments

Golladay's books remain quite popular today, and they circulate widely.

The Paperback, available on Amazon.

The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry

                              In This Issue

The Ten Commandments by Robert Golladay

The Gospel Selections of the Ancient Church: An Exegetical-Homiletical Treatment by R.C.H. Lenski

The Growth of Individualism [Journal Article] by Edward McPherson

Christianity Contrasted With Hinduism by Timothy East

The Forgiveness of Sin: And the Possibility of Attaining a Personal Assurance of it by Timothy East

Featured

The Ten Commandments by Robert Golladay

“The message of the Law is needed in our congregations today as much as ever. Even where church attendance is gratifying, spiritual life is often on a rather low spiritual and moral plane… The range of topics treated in these sermons is virtually extensive with the spiritual needs and duties of our people. Subjects… likely to result in resentment upon the part of some of the hearers, are boldly dealt with from the standpoint of one who is accustomed to declaring: ‘Thus saith the Lord.’” – From the Introduction by C. B. Gohdes

Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed.

The Ten Commandments by Robert Golladay

“The message of the Law is needed in our congregations today as much as ever. Even where church attendance is gratifying, spiritual life is often on a rather low spiritual and moral plane… The range of topics treated in these sermons is virtually extensive with the spiritual needs and duties of our people. Subjects… likely to result in resentment upon the part of some of the hearers, are boldly dealt with from the standpoint of one who is accustomed to declaring: ‘Thus saith the Lord.’” – ...

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The Gospel Selections of the Ancient Church: An Exegetical-Homiletical Treatment by R.C.H. Lenski

“No Calvinistic preacher has ever produced a Postil, — the term derived from post illa (sc. verba), meaning “after those words,” i.e. the sermon spoken after reading the words of the text. Among the sermon books of all time Luther’s Postil stands in the front rank. Great is the number of other Postils. All of them expound the anciently chosen texts. Often they were called Sermons for the Church Year; many of them bore specific and beautiful titles. All these preachers ...

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The Growth of Individualism [Journal Article] by Edward McPherson

“So thorough has become the importance of the Individual, that the supremacy of law over royal power is now an established rule in England, and every individual has the right to resist an illegal act against his person or property, by whomsoever attempted. The right of Freedom of Debate in Parliament, and the immunity of the representative from all answer elsewhere, long contested by the King, were ultimately wrested from him, as also the Freedom of the Press and the personal Freedom of ...

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Christianity Contrasted With Hinduism by Timothy East

“…if the character of a religious system can be ascertained by the rites which it imposes, and the practices which it sanctions, I should not hesitate to pronounce the mythology of Hinduism to be cruel and obscene. If you examine it, you will not discern any of the amiable and lovely qualities which Christianity manifests. The emblems which adorn their temples, and the instruments with which their deities are armed, are more calculated to inspire dread than confidence, and betray the ...

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The Forgiveness of Sin: And the Possibility of Attaining a Personal Assurance of it by Timothy East

Timothy East’s practical book is intended to, “disturb the false peace of the criminally indifferent… impart consolation to the conscientiously fearful, (and to) excite to higher degrees of gratitude the comparatively few, who know that they are safe for eternity.” Timothy East (1817-1892) was the writer of the famous “Evangelical Rambler”, later republished under the title “The Sheepfold and the Common.” Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter ...

Don't Ask Me To Remember More Than Half of Them - 19,000 Posts Since 2007

Why are the LutherQueasies so afraid of quoting this blog when they pretend to be on a quest for Luther. They hardly mention the Reformer's name - except for the masthead. That is like having a website called Astronomy Now! and posting about vegetable gardens most of the time.

And po' Hale - he has pages to fill with the glories of Objective and Subjective Justification, but he dwells on his Pietist roots. He is afraid of quoting any Biblical, Lutheran books, because something unsettling might come up.

Mark Schroeder, prune-faced principal of the WELS cult! He could just list the felonies covered up each month, and people would sigh and say, "We picked the right man!" They always frame their compliments in self-praise.

 I no longer know anyone who reads CN.
And my friendship list has expanded.

The Big Question - "How Did You Get So Interested in Birds?"

Mrs. Ichabod asked me, "How did you get so interested in birds? Was it your mother?" I will try to explain.

Growing up, I thought birds were boring, because our homestead in Moline was filled with very old trees, the maple being the largest I have seen. The elms in our front yard were for climbing, so birds did not care to nest in them.

The current Ichabode is a paradise for birds, simply because the front yard is all garden and the backyard combines bushes, kiddie pool birdbaths, and mulch. Besides, the front porch is ideal for observing Creation, from the casual bunny stroll to the hummingbirds, cardinals, hawks, robins, and cardinals. The backyard has mischievous squirrels, starlings, grackles, cardinals, crows, juncos, mourning doves, blue jays, goldfinches, common finches, and chickadees.

Yesterday we were drinking coffee on the porch when a female cardinal zoomed right past us, at eye level, a few feet away. A hummingbird sipped some food from one of four feeders in the garden. Best of all, the female cardinal stopped to rest in the nearby clethra (Cinnabon Tree), which is little more than a slender bush and leafing out. 

Clethra, or Summer Sweet, or Sweet Price, is a slight bush, perfect for birds to land,
too fragile for most cats or squirrels.

When Andrea's family was here, the cardinal called out so loudly in the backyard that they thought the bird was in the house. I was being scolded by the cardinal for not having more food out. No matter how much a mother prepares food for her family, she still likes some take out.

Bringing birds closer for observation is a lot of fun:

They need baths, so a shallow birdbath is a great attraction, but it needs to be kept clean. We have two kiddie pools in the back, three shallow birdbaths in the front. Sassy uses the concrete one I got on sale for $7.

Start with one bath and one feeding place. Expect little activity for two weeks. Birds are cautious.

Provide food twice a day on open, flat feeders like our garbage barrels.

Grow seed plants, like sunflowers.  

Save stale bread products and extra fruit for the flat feeders.

Raise fruit bearing plants, such as wild strawberries, beauty berries, and Poke in the south. Poke Weed is scorned as a weed but attracts more species than any other plant. We have a beautiful specimen outside the back door, heavily mulched, and watered from the rain barrel. 

So far, a cardinal and a starling have dashed in to grab food while I would pouring it on the top of the recycle barrel. Ranger Bob says, according to Indian lore (Osage tribe, Oklahoma) - cardinals in the yard are a good sign.

Gardening Develops Biblical Doctrine, Which Is Why So Many City Slickers Are Snookered

If not by the faith of Jesus Christ and by faith in Jesus Christ, forgiveness and salvation will be mistakenly by the Law and works.

I dug three new holes yesterday. Two were easy, one was very tough. Last fall, as I explained to Mrs. Ichabod, the neighbor's grandchildren abandoned their autumn leaf fortress in the front yard. Glee turned to ennui, and the circular wall of leaves remained, sure to leave a donut of dead grass by spring.

After checking with the children, who held the title to the fortress, I carted it to my garden in three trips with the garbage barrel. I figured that would be easier to move large amounts on sturdy wheels. I dumped each one in a large mound, which I was fixin' to carefully rake level, rather than having three Mount Maplemanjaros. Fixin' is easier than rakin' when carefully considered.

Each mound flattened as fall and winter broke down many of the leaves from above and even more from below, where soil creatures gather for a long, damp and cold feast. Without assigning duties, times, or methods, a collection engineered by God flattened all three piles. Underneath were fat, active earthworms and uncountable numbers of bacteria, mites, fungal strands, a battle where the predators become the food and soil is enriched.

When we arrived at Mequon, 32 years ago, several professors heard that I knew about composting. I was invited to view John Jeske's attempt. I said, "That is not compost. That is a little pile of garbage." I told him how to stack up layers of leaves, grass, and soil, with organics included, such as rabbit manure - but no kitchen scraps. Using chicken wire to form a cylinder, the layers will sink down as they are chewed up and decomposed into rich humus.

The Jeske Crime Family - to this day - is largely responsible for the WELS distrust of the power of the God's Word,  relying instead on gimmicks. Mark and Avoid Jeske fashioned a entire factory based on gimmicks called Church and Change.

The leaf mountains show us that God's Creation can take unloved organic matter and turn it into the best roses, mint, and lilies. 

Simply teaching faith from the Word of God has the same effect, because any number of the fruits of the Spirit will emerge, not according to our plans, but His. Do not scatter the Word of the Gospel carefully, timidly, advisedly - with an eye to future rewards. But broadcast with abandon, as children do when handed a bag of seed. 

Once I planned a row of Snow on the Mountain - the actual flower - not the shade loving Bishop's Weed falsely named SOTM. I almost forgot about it, then took the packet of seeds and threw them behind the flowers along the garage in Midland. One day a visitor said, "What's that?" 

I said, "True Snow on the Mountain, not Bishop's Weed, nor Bishop Gardener Weed." He was planted in Florida.

My answer confused people, who thought the only Snow on the Mountain was that spreading stuff, so easy to careful, on the north side of every home in the area, often shared as a great heirloom. You can even buy Bishop's Weed.

In the same way, a false gospel is taught everywhere and spread by ignorance, by lazy and greedy clergy and by laity who think their parish is a business they operate. Their Bishop's Weed gospel spreads on its own - what could be better! Laity and clergy can devote themselves to food, entertainment, parish gossip, and power struggles. 

Behold, this is true Snow on the Mountain - below.

LCMS-ELS-WELS-CLC, Pan Lutheran Association of Nonbelievers: "When All Else Fails, Try Religion!"

Synod hymn - "This train is bound for glory, this train."

One synod president traveled to a congregation to protect a pair of alcoholic pastors from their own stupidity. That from a sect that excommunicates pastors by email.

A future synod president, before his enthronement, turned a letter asking about Objective Justification into "How can people who question Objective Justification even call themselves Christian?" That was published in their little synodical magazine.

One hopeful synod president sang a ballad praising Herman Otten, traveling to New Haven with his entourage, but in office called the editor crazy and a liar when the man was dying.

 "I am your cell group formation leader. No? I am your Praise Band leader. No? I am your Unstuck Leader. No? Where are we? I know there is something that works. Where is my three-ring binder?"

+++

We Do Not Search for Good Soil

Given those examples of leadership, no one should be surprised by the melt-down numbers of LCMS, WELS, ELS, and the CLC (sic). Let's look at gardening as a parable about this slow-motion fiasco.

The recipe for a garden is simple - plant good seed, bulbs, and baby plants in the soil. As Paul himself wrote, 

1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

7 So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase.

The whore-mongers at the shrunken Fuller Seminary, the dried up Willow Creek, and the Crystal Cathedral (RIP) sell the gullible, stupid, and poorly trained denominational leaders on finding the perfect soil. Look at your own abode - do you really have a choice?

The idea is to plant by scattering the Living Seed - the Word, which is imbued with power to grow, from the Holy Spirit, as promised. We do not need self-confidence if we have confidence in the Word. We do not need good soil if we realize that the Gospel, like all living plants, improves the soil.

Yes, 75% of the fertility in soil comes from the living roots, so I value the dandelions, crab grass, and weeds. They have power I lack with my hardware store tools. They infiltrate the clay soil and create a network of rich soil and life-giving fungal networks. The results are astonishing, and God gives the increase.

At Bethany Lutheran Church, we scatter the Gospel Word with abandon  - no passwords for the videos. That has created an environment for even more activity. 

Can you predict that someone asking about a Lenski book can make it happen, so all of us can read it? Lenski's Kings and Priests is available, though it was difficult to find.

For those who enjoy audio from worthwhile books -we have Audio Gutenberg on YouTube.

When I look at synodical messages and clergy discussions, I find little or no references to planting the Living Seed, the Word of God.

"When all else fails, try religion." That was advice given to a pastor whose congregation had tried every possible gimmick to raise money, cake sales and the rest.

A Preus Crime Family member announced breathlessly that they were created the only Lutheran Classical College in the world! The next comment was about how to get Schwan money for it. Hahahahahahahahaha. Filthy Lucre Classical College - "because we are too cheap to do it on our own."

More on the Astounding Success of the Church Growth Movement in LCMS-WELS-ELS

 Matt the Fatt has slimmed down the LCMS - it is lean and mean, like him.
He even gratuitously insulted the dying CN editor who helped him become Synod Pope.

The LCMS Website has posted the latest membership totals for our Synod.

2020.........1,861,121 Baptized members

2010.........2,310,235 Baptized members

 This was posted on Facebook by Matt the Fatt's pals.

How Many Are Starting To Miss the Geneva Gown?

 

 BTW, in this photo of Rev. Jacob Benson (center) at his installation at St. John's Lutheran Church in Lovell, WY, Wyoming District President John Hill is the person wearing the off-center cope. I couldn't find the identity of the others, including the pastor wearing the ruff collar (common in Scandinavian Lutheran churches). No, that one guy is not Eldona bound, more like the Ukraine.

One LCMS pastor is signaling interest in ELDONA.
Don't ask how I know.

Humor Department - Category, Heiser's ELDONUTS

The Right Reverend James Heiser, STM, claimed on his own video tape that he knew nothing about Objective Justification until Rydecki was being tossed out of WELS. The tell (as they call it in spycraft and poker) is the gulp as he tries to sell the deception - he does not believe his own lies. We were discussing OJ on the phone before 2000, and he sold copies of Thy Strong Word where the differences are laid out.

This is the latest - Hollywood Heiser - the archbishop in the Philippines. His outfit would feed a family for a year, if converted into the local currency. Get your bishop's uniform here.

"The pride, luxury, and profligacy of the clergy, led not a few laymen to ask if better and more certain guides were not to be had. Many of the troubadours were religious men, whose lays were sermons."

Wylie, J.A. . The History of the Waldenses (p. 16). Kindle Edition. 

Creation Garden Roll Call - Heavy Rains Help

 

Borage is called bee bread, for providing so much food for the insects.
They form seed easily and re-seed the garden. Growing some will increase the beneficial insect population.

We had more rain yesterday, after the mowing. Ranger Bob brought over a bunch of iris blooms for Christina, and we had coffee on the porch. Sassy Sue has an official spot where she made her bed of leaves and grass. She likes to listen and bark out orders for treats.

The new plants coming up, greening up, and blooming are:

1. Roses - budding and blooming, most of the rainbow clearance roses are looking strong and good.
2. Joe Pye Weeds - are just starting to rise from their winter quarters .
3. Alium - grown up and opening the flowers.
4. Grape Hyacinth - are finishing their blooming season.
5. Clethra - leafed out in a few days, lightly pruned for faster growth.
6. Dandelions - their seed parachutes are used by hummingbirds, which are sipping from the five (5) feeders. 
7. Shasta Daisies - are slowly forming the plant but not budding yet.
8. Yarrow - are robust in the butterfly garden (meaning - could be a pest in the future).
9. Comfrey - is very robust in the butterfly garden. Cousin borage below.
10. Cousin borage - is blooming from last year's seed drop, very tall.
11. Lilies, which seemed to die underground last year, are now growing well. 
12. Cat mint has turned into a large patch of luminous tiny purple flowers for the bees.
13. Likewise, bee balm has formed larger patches than last year and is about to bloom.
14. Ajuga weed has almost finished its attempted takeover of the garden.
15. Wild strawberries have bloomed and will soon have fruit for the birds and squirrels all summer.
16. Ten maple trees were growing in on small space, looking suspiciously like a squirrel food bank. They were uprooted.
17. Ivy pulled some tall grass weeds while they were staying. She wants a garden.
18. I planted hosta, more hosta, lambs ear, and astilbe - all for the shade garden in back.

The fragrance of Clethra is sweet and cinnamon. Some call it Sweet Spice or Summer Sweet. Butterflies and bees love it, and garden visitors enjoy catching that Cinnabon aroma, as if coming from a bakery at rush hour.

The Jesuit Pope apologized for the Waldensian women, babies, and men murdered by the Church of Rome and its allies. 

"The pride, luxury, and profligacy of the clergy, led not a few laymen to ask if better and more certain guides were not to be had. Many of the troubadours were religious men, whose lays were sermons."

Wylie, J.A. . The History of the Waldenses (p. 16). Kindle Edition. 

Lenski - On James' Epistle

 

"The gravest wrong is constantly done to James, even by evangelical preachers, when they regard James as a preacher of morals who insists on works to save the soul. They imagine that he follows the teaching of the Jewish rabbis. Yet James has just said: “Receive the implanted Word!” (v. 21) and no one receives it except by faith. He has just said that this Word saves your souls, and it does that by faith. Moreover, it is the gravest misconception to imagine that being a doer of the Word is to be a doer only of works. To be a doer of the Word is to do God’s will, and his Word and his will is “that every one which seeth the Son and believeth on him may have everlasting life” (John 6:40). To do the Word is to believe it for the saving of the soul. The Word ever asks for faith and intends to implant faith. The Sermon on the Mount is often regarded in the same wrong way. It is thought to inculcate law and not Gospel. But its very basis, the Beatitudes, is pure and wondrous Gospel, and its whole framework is the same. Note the Lord’s prayer, seeking first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, the tree that must first be good before good fruit follows, etc. James preaches faith as fully as Paul, and he does so right here."

From: Lenski. The Epistle Selections of the Ancient Church: An Exegetical Homiletical Treatment: A Series of Epistle Texts for the Entire Church Year. 1935/2021 LutheranLibrary.org “Rogate”

Shade Garden - Growing Plastic Bags

Hostas are grown mostly for leaf color, but hummingbird fans enjoy the flower spikes which attract the tiny birds for a sip. This is Blue Hawaii, which costs as much as a trip there, so I have clearance hosta.

Ranger Bob came over to give Mrs. Ichabod some fresh flowers (around his 20th time) and to feed treats to Sassy Sue. I was put in charge of pour-over coffee. I was grinding beans when he said, "What is that?"

I had planted hostas and lambs ear in the shade to the right of the tool shed. To keep the mowers and me from stepping on them, I placed their shipping pages on sticks and stuck them in the soft soil. "I have started a plastic bag garden, to save money." Bob laughed but asked penetrating questions about bags stuck on sticks. 

I woke up from a dream about the LCMS. Memo to self - do not write about the LCMS just before falling asleep. But that prompted me to think about church matters as I began to wake up - what a time to be alive!

Above - the Extraordinary League of Failures, WELS. They were old enough to have read Gausewitz - and the New Testament in Greek. What moved them to change from Justification by Faith to Objective Justification? Their Church Growth partners include - David Valleskey, Frosty Bivens, Wally Oelhafen, Fred Adrian, Floyd Luther Stolzenburg, Jon-Boy Buchholz, etc.

We are now looking at the dissolution of the Mainline Church Era, started by rationalist Baptists (Walter Rauschenbusch) and similar Methodists and Episcopalians. They could not do enough damage individually, so they banded together in any number of unions, from the morganatic (secret) to the open (WCC, NCC, and several pan-Lutheran councils). The liberal Lutherans were disgusted that the synods could not gather into one big organization - like ELCA? David Granskou, teaching at Waterloo Seminary, was quite vocal about this, as the former paid Secretary of one of these. He was very shy about the Virgin Birth of Christ (did not answer the question) and wrote a book saying no one understands the parables. I thought of one in particular - Granskou - who did not.

The excuse is - "If we staunch, quia, orthodox, confessional Lutherans work with ELCA, we can influence them in a positive way."

The Church Growth Movement Has Done Its Magic! Seminary Graduates Are Fewer and Fewer. But Look at Their Beautiful Empty Buildings! And Their Trojans - Trojan Horses

Two LCMS Seminaries - 92 Calls Total!

This past week  Concordia Seminary, St. Louis issued Calls to 59 Pastoral Candidates.

Also Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne issued Calls to 33 Pastoral Candidates.    

This makes a total of 92 Pastoral Candidates available to parishes in the LCMS in the Spring of 2021. As one ELDONUT pastor said, "There's Ft. Wayne and the other one."

The Same Schools Next Year - Maybe 70 Calls Total?

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis assigned 38 seminarians for vicarage and Concordia Seminary.

Ft Wayne assigned 32 seminarians for vicarage.  

This makes a total of 70 vicars available this year to LCMS parishes.

I contend that the Church Growth Movement in LCMS-WELS-ELS has nothing to do with increasing numbers or saving souls. It continues to be nothing more than Trojan Horses to infiltrate Objective Justification, Universalism, Calvinism, and Unionism into their inbred sects.

The Roman Catholics are just as keen about Church Growth as the deceiving, lupine Protestants are. They are equally successful in advancing what is wrong by anyone's standards.

Three things prove my case:

1. Church vocations are collapsing in all of the church bodies, mainline, Lutheran "conservative," and Roman Catholic.

2. Numbers in worship have become catastrophic, and mask removal will make little difference.

3. The ELCA-hugging, priest wannabees on the ALPB Online Forum address the problems with sociology, marketing, and peeking into other denominations' numbers. 

When He comes, the Holy Spirit will convict the world of resisting change and bad numbers? That is the part in the movie where we walked in - odd couple Waldo Werning and Kent Hunter screaming that everyone had to graph their church numbers and fix the problem!

 "Porkers! Everyone meet at Fuller Seminary to prevent losses and increase money and members. Holy Mother Thrivent will pay part of it! Fuller is failing too? Willow Creek has blown up? Let's go to the Crystal Cathedral? What? It is Catholic? OK, OK, HerChurch - they are on the cutting edge. Sorry, that was insensitive, a bad pun, if you ever lost someone to bacon or pulled pork."

Cantate, The Fourth Sunday after Easter. The Passage Lutherans Forgot. The Holy Spirit Will Convict the World of Sin, Because They Do Not Believe on Me

The video for Cantate Sunday is linked here. The Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin, "because they do not believe on Me."

Cantate, The Fourth Sunday after Easter, 2021

Luther's Best Sermon on This Text

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn #458        Our Father – Luther                    

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Oh, sing (cantate) unto the Lord a new song: 

for He hath done marvelous things.

The Lord hath made known His salvation: 

His righteousness hath He openly showed in the sight of the heathen.

Psalm. His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him the victory.

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

O God, who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will, grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest and desire what Thou dost promise, that among the manifold changes of this world our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual 

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. The right hand of the Lord is exalted: 

the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Hallelujah!

V. Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more: 

death hath no more dominion over Him. Hallelujah!

    

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #462      I Love Thy Kingdom           

The Spirit/Word Convicts the World of Unbelief

Communion Hymn #304     An Awe-full Mystery Is Here

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
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 #657                        Beautiful Savior                     

In Our Prayers -

• Treatment and recovery - Mary and Lori Howell, Christina Jackson. Pastor Jim Shrader.
• Prayers - Alec Satin's brother and another person's brother.
• Pray for our country as the major trials continue. Victory is around the corner for the duly elected President.
• "The Bethany Lutheran Hymnal texts are finished. All the hymns have their own pages. Norma A. Boeckler is providing art for them. Typo alerts are welcome." That was one year ago! - 16,000 views have been recorded, as of today. 

   

        

Fourth Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst through Thy Son promise us Thy Holy Spirit, that He should convince the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment: We beseech Thee, enlighten our hearts, that we may confess our sins, through faith in Christ obtain everlasting righteousness, and in all our trials and temptations retain this consolation, that Christ is Lord over the devil and death, and all things, and that He will graciously deliver us out of all our afflictions, and make us forever partakers of eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Epistle

KJV James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.

The Gospel

KJV John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart.

7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

John 16

8 και ελθων εκεινος ελεγξει τον κοσμον περι αμαρτιας και περι δικαιοσυνης και περι κρισεως

9 περι αμαρτιας μεν οτι ου πιστευουσιν εις εμε

10 περι δικαιοσυνης δε οτι προς τον πατερα μου υπαγω και ουκ ετι θεωρειτε με

11 περι δε κρισεως οτι ο αρχων του κοσμου τουτου κεκριται

The Spirit/Word Convicts the World of Unbelief

Background for John 16:5ff

"Receive with meekness the engrafted Word, which is able to save your souls." James 1:16ff

Throughout the Bible, the Word is always at work through the Spirit, and the Spirit is at work through the Word. Sometimes the Bible emphasizes the Spirit, at other times the Word. That is similar to the two natures in Christ, human and divine, but often with one or the other nature emphasized. In the past, heretics rejected the human nature of Christ - now they reject His divine nature.

This Biblical teaching of the Word/Spirit together means the Word always has the power of God. That is true of Creation in Genesis 1, the explanation of Creation in John 1, and the comparison of the Word being like the rain and snow from heaven, always productive, always accomplishing His will, always prospering His will - Isaiah 55:8ff.

James gave us a short parable - the engrafted Word. The rose bushes are budding and blooming here, but some of the roots are wild, producing dark red blooms once a year. To give the rose two natures, a hybrid rose is grafted onto the wild rose roots, shown by its lumpy graft. The rose is wild and hybrid, so we are both utterly human - capable of any sin - but grafted onto Christ through the Word/Spirit. We receive this with meekness because no person can become a believer in Jesus Christ without the power of the Gospel/Spirit. The Gospel must be spoken or taught (included in infant baptism) and this Gospel plants faith in Christ in our hearts.

God gave birth to us as members of His family through the Spirit at work in the Gospel (James). So we not only know this to be true, as taught throughout the Bible, but we have also experienced this a truth. God's only published book, the Holy Bible, teaches us this Good News and expands our concept of His will, making the Scriptures "The Book of the Holy Spirit," as Luther wrote.

Many have passed by this central, foundational teaching, because denominational leadership has abandoned it, avoided it, and mocked it as as contrary to their own anointed, holy, and inerrant human will. If you listen to a faithful sermon, sing a Gospel hymn, read or remember the Scriptures, the Spirit is at work teaching the Gospel and its fruits.

KJV John 16:5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

This harmonizes so well with Acts and Pentecost, the sending of the Holy Spirit  to all believers. This lesson is part of Jesus' farewell sermons, where He taught what was coming. In the Bible, farewell sermons are treated with special respect because of their importance. He knew that the disciples could barely hold onto a Word, since they were so grieved He was going. But they were thinking of an ending entirely separate from what was clearly predicted by Jesus. 

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 

Luther summarized these three thus:

26. These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the judgment is the holy cross.

Sin is hardly ever defined this way. Those today who would deny that "sin is unbelief" are the outwardly religious, just as in the time of Jesus. The Pharisees were certainly locked into their righteousness of works, but the vast majority of nominal Christians are no different.

Sin was redefined during the Social Gospel Movement, which made activist politics "the Gospel." At the same time, the last and chief promoter - Walter Rauschenbusch - made political activism the mark of a Christian. Although the clergy were clever about hiding this, the activism became their "Gospel" and they shared the same rationalistic views as Rauschenbusch. Rationalism meant Jesus was divine only in showing us the divine. Miracles are stories that made us stand back in astonishment (not divine, but internal). The Kingdom of God, for them, was wherever Christians established a new order for society. The agenda of the Brotherhood of the Kingdom, a small secretive group, was federal control of wages, work conditions, food and drugs, roughly the agenda of the Franklin Roosevelt administration. These activists got their principles adopted by the Federal Council of Churches (renamed the National Council of Churches).

One basic idea with all this was universal forgiveness and salvation - their idea of grace. To talk about faith in Christ is outmoded and prejudicial. These nominal Christians consider themselves all grace and often are utterly lacking in faith in Jesus Christ. This represents the vast majority of the Protestants and Catholics.

They have all called for mutual cooperation and merger, which means they covet the buildings, endowments, and pensions of the minority believers.

That is why the vast majority of clergy do not teach faith in Jesus Christ, because that has been bleached out of the colleges and seminaries, out of their vocabulary, out of their way of thinking. That is why the Lutherans are united through Thrivent as the Pan-Lutheran Association of Nonbelievers - PLAN.

If sin is unbelief, then righteousness is faith.

That should tell everyone why Luther is either ignored or openly loathed by the clergy. That is also why a Catholic nun said to me, "Why is the writing of a man from 500 years ago going right to my heart today?" I said, "Because he simply explained the Bible as it is.

If part of this is wrong, then all of it is. This sermon announces the program of the Christian Church forever into the future. The main job is preaching (which is entirely ignored and fake sermons are copied promiscuously and presented as original). To oppose that in some quarters is reason for excommunication.

The foundational sin is unbelief. The cure is not physical suffering, as some practice, or monetary suffering, as the giving counselors suggest. This is so radical that people build up all kinds of explanations that avoid that harrowing word for them - faith.

Is this not the exact opposite of what Luther wrote? 

Faith in God means acknowledging His Book, and that treasury of truth is something we can never empty. My latest Old Testament class-member wrote, "I knew about part of the Old Testament relating to the Gospel.  Now I know that the entire Old Testament is the basis for the Gospel."

Another wrote, "I have studied the Old Testament my whole life, but I never knew what was taught in this class."

All I do is teach what Luther and his associates published.

This passage in John 16 counters all the errors I have seen among the "conservative Lutherans" and ELCA too. I found it difficult to comprehend the full meaning of it for a period of time. I learn more every time we celebrate Cantate. I look forward to it then feel like my fingers and tongue are tied up.

The judgment is the holy cross

If sin is unbelief, and righteousness is faith, then judgement is the holy cross.

We have to give credit to the Son of God - this passage is so simple that we have trouble with the universal causes and effects. As Lenski says, we are not to pick this apart and find fault with it. The Word is the fact of God's revelation, so we look at how this changes our blurred view instead of changing the proclamation itself. There are a thousand ways to distort and ruin the the Gospel, but the Holy Spirit has 100,000 ways to blast through our hard hearts.

This does not sound right, that people should both believe the Word of God and confess the truth to others - and have terrible results - insults, job loss, attacks on our families, the worst lies passed along to delight nominal Christians. That is the cross. Jesus is the only person who was without sin, and He was countered and attack at every opportunity. Some thought He free food, and others imagined He was the forerunner of Medical for All. If He healed on the Sabbath, He was attacked. If He performed a miracle no one else could imagine - the Miraculous Feeding - they demanded another miracle. 

If He taught the truth, John 6, the crowds who came to see Him said, "This is a hard saying. Who can endure it? And they walked away forever. They did not like Him as the Bread of Life, even though He did on His own what Moses obtained only by asking God.

Every aspect of Holy Week was horrible, from betrayal and arrest, to abandonment, torture, and the cross. Jesus said repeatedly, "Expect the cross. If you cannot take up the cross daily, you are not fit to follow Me."

Joel 2:13 And rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn unto the Lord your God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil.

God's peace is not mankind's peace, so the true cross is not accepted by many. But if God has blessed it personally through His Son, there must be a good reason for it. The Prince of this world is judged, so he will work his fury upon anyone who trusts in Jesus Christ and sees the Scriptures as God's Word. The time is short for Satan, the Opposer, and he will concentrate on whoever is left. 

12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. 14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

These Holy Spirit sermons are really a marvel, because they teach so much in a few words. I see nothing about getting a corner lot on a busy highway, switching to coconut oil for the popcorn to outdo the Pentecostals in gaining visitors, etc

God's Holy Spirit will guide us and show us the future.

He will glory Jesus Christ, just as the Son glorifies the Father.

All the spiritual wealth of the Father and Son will be transmitted by the Spirit.

Miracles? This week we had two miracles in our house. #1 A strong, charming, loving girl who should not have lived, born premature two years ago. #2 Her father, who had a raging cancer in his leg, could have lost it (standard practice).

His wife said, "The pastor said we already had one miracle. We can have another." He walked in, his leg healed by every art of man and God's will.

God performs miracles all the time, and the greatest one of all is speaking to our hearts, converting and guiding us through the Word/Spirit, and preparing a place for us.

James 2:18 Of his own will begat he us with the Word of Truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.