ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
Martin Luther Sermons
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Bethany Lutheran Church Springdale AR 72762 Reformation Seminary Lectures USA, Canada, Australia, Philippines 10 AM Central - Sunday Service
We use The Lutheran Hymnal and the King James Version
Luther's Sermons: Lenker Edition
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Sunday, July 16, 2023
Mozart's Adante in C Major - Exquisite Musical Piece
The Seventh Week after Trinity, 2023. Mark 8 - The Feeding of the Multitude
Pastor Gregory L. Jackson
Vimeo Link to Trinity 7 Service
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
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 #12 This Day - Bishop How
- Pastor and Mrs. Jim Shrader - 41st wedding anniversary July 10th.
- Christina Jackson's birthday, July 20th. Andersons will arrive here that day.
- Glen and Esther Kotten's first anniversary is Saturday, July 22nd.
- Alicia Meyer's birthday, July 27th.
- Medical treatment - Matt Howell, accident; Kermit and Maria Way; Pastor and Mrs. Shrader; Sarah Buck; those dealing with metabolic and stress disorders.
- Best Buy sent a Geek Squad member to address sound issues and alternatives.
SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY
- The Miracles - Mark 1 - 10.
- The Atoning Death and Resurrection - Mark 11 - 16:20.
KJV Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth.
- The Bible is the Book of the Holy Spirit (Luther) and
- not a jar of fortune cookies with useful quotes (most Biblical "scholarship" today).
KJV Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,κατα την δυναμιν (dynamite) την ενεργουμενην (energy, efficacy) εν ημιν
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
The Holy Spirit is always building us up in the Gospel, in the faith of Jesus. This comes from Jesus Christ and glorifies His Name.
8 So they did eat, and were filled: and they took up of the broken meat that was left seven baskets. 9 And they that had eaten were about four thousand: and he sent them away.
The more they ate, the more they had to eat, so they had seven baskets full - but before they barely had enough for a few.
Soon the Pharisees were questioning Jesus, who had provided miracles greater than Moses. But it was not enough for them, and there never will be enough. We only need to wait for what God has already set in motion.
The key is to express our thanks for everything God has done for us, for every person. Secondly, we should express our concerns within the family and among those we know.
Saturday, July 15, 2023
Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 7 - "Yes, He Does Indeed Very Much Work Instantly And Aside from and Without Any Human Help. He Plows, Harvests, Threshes, Grinds and Bakes in a Twinkling of the Eye."
Click here for the complete sermon ->SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. SECOND SERMON: MARK 8:1-9.
13. Thus will Christ warn us first of all here through his own example that everyone is required to help the kingdom of God and his Word with temporal provisions for the body; in case he himself cannot or will not become a minister of the Gospel.
14. Following this he also comforts those who are in the ministerial office, that they become not distressed or alarmed through their present want or poverty; but that they may know that Christ cares for them and will nourish them even in their poverty and will never permit them to suffer need and want, but will finally provide the richer bounty for them; yea, he has already thought of all things before and provided for them before they thought from what source they should obtain what they need.
15. For he shows indeed forcibly in this example that he is a rich and powerful lord and provider; yea, he is a rich miller and baker, better than any other upon the earth that has learned his trade perfectly. Yes, he does indeed very much work instantly and aside from and without any human help. He plows, harvests, threshes, grinds and bakes in a twinkling of the eye. For it is indeed a miracle and beyond the comprehension of reason that so many thousand men, not counting the women and children, were fed with seven loaves, that they all were satisfied, and yet some were left over; but he did it so quickly by one word, when he only touched the bread and gave to his disciples to distribute; there is at once ground to flour, baked and everything prepared for so many thousand persons and even more. He must be a fine king (as the five thousand said whom he also fed in a like manner, John 6:14), him we would also wish to have as our king, who should lead a multitude of people to the field and care for them, so that one could at all times reach into the basket or into the pocket, and richly feed and pay a whole multitude.
16. Now he can do that and in him we have such a king. Where he reaches there all is full, and where he gives there all must be sufficient and overflowing. Thus in Matthew 17:27 he told Peter to go and take a shekel out of the mouth of a fish. Who prepared or minted the silver there or who would seek there in the water and even in the mouth of the fish for money? But he can create it and take it when and where and as he wishes; yea, can also bring bread and water out of the rock with which to feed the whole world; for we see everywhere he does so daily and everything that the world has comes about only by such miracles which are not less miraculous, as St. Augustine says, than this miracle.
17. We are, to be sure, thus familiar with the fact that corn grows yearly out of the earth, and through this familiarity we are so blinded that we do not esteem such work. For what we see daily and hear, that we do not regard as miraculous; and yet it is even as great; yea, if one should speak correctly, it is a greater miracle that God should give us corn out of the sand and the stone, than that he should here feed a multitude with seven loaves. For what is the dry sand but crushed stones, or a stone other than sand and earth welded together; but how can bread which we eat come out of stones, and yet it grows only out of the sand of the earth? In like manner everything that grows, and all the animals give to us, each according to his own nature; whence does it come but out of the earth and dust?
18. These are even the miracles which have been established from the beginning of the world and daily continue, so that we are entirely overwhelmed by them, without our eyes and senses feeling them, since they are so common that God must at times, as he does here, perform not a greater, but a special miracle, which is extraordinary by which he awakens us and through such an individual and special miracle he shows us and leads us into the daily miracles of the whole world.
We Long for Rain and Then Take It for Granted
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Photo by Tom Fisher |
We had two days where it rained a bit, and that was appreciated. Before that, when Charli Sue ran or dug in the backyard, clouds of dust billowed from the clay soil.
But now we have an evening of severe thunderstorms coming up. Everything is green, rain barrels are overflowing, and few people feel a craving for more rain.
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Nine Clethra shrubs are growing and blooming, the smallest only knee-high. |
God's Creation lays out a map for us, what we should expect in the long run. Jesus said, "The sun rises on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just (believers) and on the unjust (non-believers.
KJV Matthew 5:45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
One readers likes to ask if my rain barrels are emptied for the next rain - without being mosquito maternity wards. Lacking rain, the barrels and the soil dry up, and sprinkling is only a little bit effective. Watering shriveled plants is discouraging, especially when we look at the current results.
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Is this an herb brought over to America for its many benefits or "just a weed" filling the coffers of Scotts Lawn and Garden? |
Be patient. This is all about congregations. The garden gets very discouraging at the end of summer, when few people buy gardening equipment and plants and tenacious weeds find many places to grow and thrive.
Spring brings a new look, especially when snow melt and sunlight prompt a revelation. The half-dead, feeble, dying plants show themselves as eager, growing, budding - elbowing and overshadowing the weeds. The roots work all winter and the bulbs popping up in the early spring add to the color and charm.
Discouraged gardeners mutter about all their problems. They openly suggest replacing the gardens with green-tinted concrete. That is the problem. Dis-couraged means lacking courage and faith. If the whole world responded with such pessimism, we would be eating frozen food made from algae. Mmmmm-yuk.
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Joe Pye Weed is medicinal, attracts butterflies and bees. It improves the soil's nutrition and water storage. |
God's Creation is full of surprises. Roots provide 75% of the organic matter added to the soil, much appreciated by the earthworms and an army of soil creatures, including moles, ants, beetles, larvae. Deep roots provide channels for rain and underground storage. Seven foot Joe Pye Weed is the trust fund for water and nutrition, farming the water supply and organic matter, giving and taking. Shrubs like Clethra (Cinnabon or Sweet Spice) need water and send roots down for aeration and storage, rewarding the soil creatures with mulch and leaf litter.
The congregational parallel is impossible to miss. There are two major church themes - essential and yet almost entirely neglected by Fuller dolts, synod officials, and rationalists:
- The efficacy of the Word and
- Faith in Jesus Christ.
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The Word of God is just as effective as the rain and snow - it never returns void, it accomplishes God's will, and it prospers God's will. |
The Word of God is active and energetic in all its forms, because the Holy Spirit never works apart from it. The Word never lacks the Spirit, and the Spirit is never divided from the Word.
That means a church should emphasize the Scriptures in their best form (King James Version) and trust in their power.
Faith in Jesus Christ, The Son of God, Savior
Pursuing the doctrine of the Holy Spirit in John's Gospel, I was struck by the practical advice given but clearly ignored by the soi-disant Lutherans. The work of the Holy Spirit is to teach sin - "because they do not believe in Me."
- There are your Fuller DMins (pronounced Demons).
- There are your phony success stories.
- There are your millions of dollars wasted on carnival style snake-oil salesmen.
- There are your dumb and lazy clergy who labor in the carnivals and bars, neglecting the vineyards.
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Photo by Tom Fisher |
Friday, July 14, 2023
Matthias Loy, Lenski, Quenstedt, Larry Darby - Authors Ignored by Seminary Students. Lutheran Librarian Alec Satin, Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry
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