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.
"Only in America - Land of Foolish Fads and Foods"
America is the only nation in the world where people shove aside the healthiest foods and wolf down garbage, the worst kinds being the extra expensive demands of the pagan Diet Fads.
People actually buy fiber, jars and boxes of it so they can mix it with water or orange juice or Hawaiian Punch, cuz "fiber is good for yah."
The most delicious fiber is found in fruit and vegetables. Really! True, it lacks the powered cardboard taste of commercial fiber, but it is more likely to be used from the original sources.
I want to put on sackcloth and ashes in those grocery store aisles that line up huge displays of fiber and protein.
Mom and dad were right about eating good food, even though they went for Fritos, desserts, and wonderous food products. Why repeat their errors, though we are snacking on milk supplements and protein supplements and other hideously expensive products?
God created us so that we would digest food slowly, not in a plastic cup from McDonalds, Starbucks, and "nutrition" stores.
Fiber itself is filling and slow to work, so it reduces the urge to pig out on something we have been trained to love - like donuts or - yuk, yuk - energy bars of processed protein and fat and a few peanuts.
Based on 70 years of experience, I can claim that the expensive side of eating is also the most fattening and least nutritious.
Fresh fruit is loaded with fiber and tastes sweet, which slows down the sugar high and fills our digestive system while slowing it down. Orange juice itself is a sugar bomb. So is grape juice and apple juice. Save time with Kool Aid and just add sugar and water - very satisfying for 10 minutes.
Most vegetables are the same - excluding corn and potatoes. So what do we eat the most of? Yes, potatoes and corn, but they need globs of butter, sour cream, etc. Seriously, potatoes and corn are popular because of the sugar-starch-fat lift.
Super-nutritious raw greens (cooked too) are full of the best ingredients, very inexpensive, and extremely tasty once we get the taste of Frosted Corn Flakes out of our system.
Spinach, kale, collards, and turnip greens are massive DAILY improvements in our diets. The only bad result is stuffing us too full for apple pie with ice cream.
Fruits are the true desserts. They have some sugar but overwhelming amounts of fiber. I have experimented often and found that two large apples alone with wreck my craving for a rich, calorie packed, grease-salt-sugar supper. (Hint - TV dinners do not help the cause at all, even if the dessert portion is tiny and toxic.)
If one must have a midnight snack, apples and oranges are far better than what we crave (fill in the blanks).
God made our complex digestive system so that the best and least expensive foods can improve and even repair various damage from previous bad choices. Following Dr. Fuhrman showed me that I could reduce high blood sugar, high blood pressure, and bathroom scale damage simply by following good nutrition standards without fanaticism.
This volume includes “Christ and the Sabbath” by P A Peter, “City Missions” by Simon Peter Long, “The Fourteenth Article of the Augustana” by J Humberger, and a “Short History of Higher Criticism” by G Finke.
“This Magazine is designed to supply the want, long since felt, of a Lutheran periodical devoted to theological discussion. Its aim will be the exposition and defense of the doctrines of the Church as confessed in the Book of Concord. Theology in all its departments is embraced within its scope, though for the present special attention will be given to the controverted subject of predestination.” — Matthias Loy
You can expect your e-book to arrive within a few hours. If it doesn't arrive, check your spam or junk mail folder. You can also request a copy of this or any Lutheran Library e-book by sending an email with the book's title and format.
President of the Joint Synod of Ohio, the Columbus Seminary and Capital University, and edited the Lutheran Standard and the Columbus Theological Magazine. In 1881 he withdrew the Joint Synod from the Synodical Conference as a result of Walther’s teaching about predestination.
5. This lawyer was perhaps a wise man and well acquainted with the Scriptures, as his answer also suggests; yet here he becomes a fool, and must first begin to learn from the Lord, when he is put to shame and disgrace. For Christ teaches him a good lesson, and with one word takes out of him all his self-conceit. For he was in the delusion that he had kept the law wholly and perfectly, and was therefore something extra, above others, which undoubtedly he was, and imagined, because he was so pious and learned, that he was of course worthy to talk with the Lord. But now what does the Lord do to ensnare him in a masterly manner? He does this: he permits him to judge himself. For the Evangelist proceeds thus: “And he said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he answering said: Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.”
6. I think the Lord gave this pious man a good lecture. Alas, it was not right, he should have spared him a little, he puts him to shame before all the world. For what good does it do him? Christ shows him that he has as yet done nothing, when he allowed himself to think he had done everything.
He asks what he should do. I contend that he has enough to do now, if he is only able to do great things.
7. Now much might be said on these two commandments, and it is also really needed, had we the time, for these are the highest and greatest themes on which Moses wrote; yea, on these hang all the law and the prophets, as Christ himself says in Matthew 22:40. Nevertheless, we will briefly consider some phases of them.
8. When we examine the laws of Moses, we find they all treat of love. For the commandment: “Thou shalt have no other Gods before me,” I cannot explain or interpret otherwise than: Thou shalt love God alone. Thus Moses himself interprets it in Deuteronomy 6:4-5, where he says: “Hear, O Israel; Jehovah our God is one Jehovah; and thou shalt love Jehovah thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” From this passage the lawyer has taken his answer. But the Jews understand this law to mean no more than that they should not set up idols and images to worship, and when they could say and confess with their lips that they have only one God and honor no other gods, they think they have kept this commandment. Thus this lawyer also understood it, but it was a false, erroneous knowledge of the law.
9. Now we must have high regard for the law. It says: “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” Thou, thou, it says, thou, and everything thou art; and especially does it mean the heart, the soul and all thy powers. It does not speak of the tongue, or the hands, or the knees; but it speaks of the whole body, and of all thou hast and art. If I am to have no other God, then I must surely possess the only true God with my heart, that is, I must in my heart be affectionate to him, evermore cleave to him, depend upon him, trust him, have my desire, love and joy in him, and always think of him. Just as we say at other times when we delight in something, that it tastes good in our very heart. And when one speaks or laughs and is not in earnest, and does not mean it from his heart, we say: You laugh, and your heart is not in it. The heart is quite a different thing than the lips. Therefore in the Scriptures the heart signifies the great and ardent love we should have for God. Those who serve God only with their lips, with their hands or with their knees, are hypocrites, and God cares nothing for them. For God does not want only a part, on the contrary he wants the whole man.
How is the Sparkle Creed "so-called" when an ELCA pastor announces it with a smirk, reads it with the ELCA congregation in Edina, and publishes it on YouTube?
"Brett, I know this Presby-Lutheran preaching costume is pretty tacky, but I cannot go for the pink stole, the QVC incense, and the $10,000 communion sets from Almy."
Recounting the story of the Syrophoenician woman in Mark 7, Hanson spends half the sermon condemning and belittling Jesus for how he treated her. He describes Jesus’ behavior towards her as “despicable” and suggests he echoes the same attitude towards her that bad people have towards immigrants and children who are gender-transitioning.
Hanson concludes his sermon by revealing that Jesus eventually relented from his cruelty and “changed his mind, changed his heart, changed his attitude, changed his action.”
What is wrong with this ordination? Not enough makeup!
Bishop April Larson inspired a generation of lady pastors to follow her in losing weight.
She showed them how to lose weight! What? She became a bishop and gained a wee bit?
Drag queens know the real meaning of Christmas, and teach it to young ELCA kids.
WELS college of ministry graduate - united together with ELCA, LCMS, ELS.
"Eaton was ordained in 1981 and served three different congregations in Ohio before being elected bishop of the ELCA Northeastern Ohio Synod in 2006. She was reelected synod bishop in May 2013, shortly before her election as ELCA presiding bishop.
Eaton’s four emphases for the ELCA are: We are church; We are Lutheran; We are church together; We are church for the sake of the world. These four emphases are fundamental to identifying who the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America is.
In 2015, under Eaton’s leadership, the ELCA underwent an extensive vision process to help this church journey faithfully and effectively together in the years ahead. The process resulted in Future Directions 2025, a strategic framework that helps shared leadership across the ELCA realize common aspirations and better face the challenges of this church.
In addition, with Eaton’s guidance, the ELCA launched Bishop Eaton’s Leadership Initiative, which encourages all ELCA members to seek out and inspire gifted people in our congregations and communities to consider a call to the ministry of the gospel.
As chief ecumenical officer of the ELCA, she represents this church in a wide range of ecumenical and interfaith settings. She is vice president for North America on the Council of the Lutheran World Federation and serves on the governing board and development committee of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA and on the Religions for Peace USA Council of Presidents.
As presiding bishop, Eaton travels extensively, representing the ELCA in a variety of capacities. This has included a visit to a Syrian refugee camp; commemorating the 500th anniversary of the Reformation with Lutherans from around the world in Namibia; participating in an ecumenical service to commemorate the Reformation in the Lund, Sweden, cathedral with Pope Francis; visiting with migrants in Honduras; and attending the fifth consultation of women pastors and theologians in Tanzania.
Eaton’s husband is the Rev. T. Conrad Selnick, an Episcopal priest. They are parents of two adult children, Rebeckah and Susannah."
1. I hope you thoroughly understand this Gospel lesson, inasmuch as it recurs every year. And since it annually returns in the Pericopes we are required to consider it; and this we will now gladly and briefly do. In the first place, the Evangelist relates how Christ our Lord led his disciples aside, and being alone with them rejoiced in his spirit, and earnestly and directly said to them: “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see; for I say unto you, that many prophets and kings desired to see the things that ye see, and saw them not: and to hear the things which ye hear, and heard them not.”
2. This hearing and seeing must be understood simply and plainly as external seeing and hearing, namely, that they saw Christ and his office, heard his preaching, and witnessed the miracles he performed among the Jews. The Jews also beheld these things with their natural eyes and some of them indeed experienced them in part in their hearts. But in fact they did not recognize him as the Christ, like the Apostles did, and like Peter, who representing all the others, confessed and said in Matthew 16:16: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” We indeed admit, that even some of the Jews like the Apostles recognized him as the Christ; but since they were but few who did, Christ therefore takes his Apostles here to himself apart.
3. However, in spirit, many prophets and kings saw Christ, as Christ himself says to the Jews concerning Abraham in John 8:56: “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it, and was glad.” Then the Jews thought he spoke of natural seeing, but Christ spoke of spiritual seeing, as all pious Christian hearts saw him before he was born, and still daily see him. For if Abraham saw him, without doubt many more prophets in whom the Holy Spirit dwelt saw him. And although this seeing made the holy fathers and prophets blessed, yet they had a real heartfelt longing and desire to behold Christ the Lord in the flesh, as is intimated time and again in the prophets.
4. Therefore the Lord here says to his disciples who saw both with their natural and their spiritual eyes: “Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see.” As though he would say: This is a blessed time, an acceptable year, a special season of grace. That which is now at hand is so precious that the eyes which see it are truly called blessed. For in the past ages the Gospel was never preached so publicly and clearly unto all men as at present; the Holy Spirit was not yet publicly poured out: but was still concealed, and had as yet accomplished little.But Christ began the office of the Holy Spirit, and afterwards the Apostles continued it in full earnest.
Therefore he calls all those blessed, who see and hear such grace. Now when the Lord said this and was rejoicing in spirit, one presents himself, a lawyer, who acting as though he also amounted to something, tempted the Lord and said: “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
The Confession of Sins The Absolution The Introit p. 16
Introit
Make haste, O God, to deliver me:
make haste to help me, O Lord.
Let them be ashamed and confounded:
that seek after my soul.
Psalm. Let them be turned backward and put to confusion:
that desire my hurt.
The Gloria Patri The Kyrie p. 17 The Gloria in Excelsis The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Collect
Almighty and merciful God, of whose only gift it cometh that Thy faithful people do unto Thee true and laudable service, grant, we beseech Thee, that we may so faithfully serve Thee in this life that we fail not finally to attain Thy heavenly promises; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
The Epistle and Gradual
Gradual
I will bless the Lord at all times:
His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
V. My soul shall make her boast in the Lord:
the humble shall hear thereof and be glad.
Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
V. Sing aloud unto God, our Strength:
make a joyful noise unto the God of Jacob. Hallelujah!
The Gospel
Glory be to Thee, O Lord! Praise be to Thee, O Christ! The Nicene Creed p. 22
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 Closing Hymn #283God's Word Is Our Great Heritage
Medical Treatment - Sarah Buck, Lori Howell, Randy Anderson, Robert Northcutt, Kermit and Maria Way, Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader.
Ranger Bob's daily IV infusions will continue another three weeks, more or less.
Zach Engleman is flying to the Philippines this week.
KJV 2 Corinthians 3:4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious.
Covenant or Testament
Lenski 2 Corinthians 3:3
p. 921
The Revised Versions’s translation “3. new covenant” (“testament” in the margin) is not an advance on the A. V.’s “a new testament.” Commentators also waver. See the author’s exposition of I Cor. 11:25, from which we repeat only the main point: the Hebrew berith is “covenant,” which is rendered diatheke, “testament,” by the LXX which thus conserves the main idea of one-sidedness: this covenant is like every testament that is made by God to Israel and is not a mutual agreement between equals. Its substance was promise, Christ fulfilled the promise, and this fulfillment is now laid down in a testament. All believers are named as the heirs who're to be paid out with all the gospel blessings. We may call the ministers of God the administrators (I Cor. 4:1), yet they themselves are heirs. So in the New Testament diatheke = “testament.” And we should render, not “ministers of a new testament,” but as one concept: “new testament ministers.” The newness lies in the fulfillment of the former covenant promises by Christ.
KJV Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. 33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. 36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; 37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
Twelfth Sunday After Trinity
Almighty and everlasting God, who hast created all things: We thank Thee that Thou hast given us sound bodies, and hast graciously preserved our tongues and other members from the power of the adversary: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy grace, that we may rightly use our ears and tongues; help us to hear Thy word diligently and devoutly, and with our tongues so to praise and magnify Thy grace, that no one shall be offended by our words, but that all may be edified thereby, through Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen. Luther on the Epistle text - Here
KJV Mark 7:31 And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. 32 And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him.
As I have often said, the miracles of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark are often ignored, revised, and mocked, because the preachers or scholars do not accept what the Word of God clearly teaches. The miracles alone teach the divinity of Jesus Christ, and His work plants faith in the heart of those who see and hear His Word at work.
In faith our congregation prays for the divine miracles of healing, restoration, and improvement of our condition. The best practice is to take a time each day to name those whose situations move us to ask for God's power, wisdom, guidance, strength, patient, and grace - in the Name of Christ. Although God does this already, even without our asking, it is good to suffer with (com-passion) with others and show our love for others - family, friends, neighbors, and contrary people.
This wish came from someone reading the blog - "When you finally die, everyone will be so happy." It is difficult to calculate how many people read that and laughed.
Praying for miracles and remaining steadfast in our faith in God means - more and more miracles will become apparent. If we falter and become dis-couraged (losing courage), we can turn to the Scriptural passages that en-courage us. My favorite is Ephesians 3, where God begins to answer prayer before we think to ask, and that He gives us more than we could even imagine. The inert person will say to himself, "Really? Really? Before I ask? More than I can ask?" Even the most dedicated believer will see that, upon reading the verses because the efficacious Word (fueled by the Holy Spirit) will enlarge and deepen our understanding of the miraculous power of God.
KJV Ephesians 3:7 Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working (efficacy, OT, Isaiah 55:8ff) of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ (Genesis 1, John 1):
10 To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
11 According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:
12 In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him (through the Faith of Jesus).
13 Wherefore I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
15 Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,
16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit (the Holy Spirit in the Word, John 16:13) in the inner man;
17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
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 (the Spirit working in the Word in us),
21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.
33 And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; 34 And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. 35 And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
These two verses are puzzling at first, and mocked, but let's look at each phrase.
Jesus took the man aside from the crowd, because the man could not hear or speak. Jesus used touching to help the man understand and be healed, ears and tongue. What was the man with neither ability? - confused, frightened, and unable to understand. Jesus commanded "Be opened!" for bystanders. The man heard! and he spoke plainly!
36 And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it;
Two forces are at work because of this miracle. One is the warning not to spread this around. That is because of people wanting to make Jesus the Messiah, in the mold of King David the warrior. That was achieved only 40 years after Jesus' death and resurrection, when the Zealots provoked the Roman Empire to come down with a massive army and destroy Jerusalem. On the other hand, Jesus' miracles were intended to establish faith in Him, at the very least believing in His divinity. The cheering and jeering went together.
37 And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak.
The Gospel of Mark concentrates on the miracle work of the Son of God. Matthew connects the Old Testament with the Messianic predictions, revealing especially to Jewish people that Jesus is the fulfillment of the entire Old Testament. Mark provides a concentration of miracles to show the Gentiles or pagans how powerful He is.
