Oculi -The Third Sunday in Lent.

Bethany Lutheran Church

 ->The Zoom Link Is Here<-

The Hymn #175      When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

 Introit

Mine eyes are ever toward the Lord: 

for He shall pluck my feet out of the net.

Turn Thee unto me and have mercy upon me: 

for I am desolate and afflicted.

Psalm. Unto Thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul: 

O my God, I trust in Thee; let me not be ashamed.

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

Collect

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, look upon the hearty desires 

of Thy humble servants and stretch forth the right hand of Thy majesty 

to be our defense against all our enemies; through Jesus Christ, 

Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual             Ephesians 5:1-9
The Gospel                                 Luke 11:14-28
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #376                         Rock of Ages

                      The End Game

The Hymn #315:1-5          I Come O Savior To Thy Table

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 #568                  We Praise Thee O God        

    

Prayers and Announcements

• Treatment and recovery - Randy Anderson - hospital, Pastor Jim Shrader, Lori Howell, Sarah Buck, Kermit Way.
• If Zoom "recording" still does not work, another expert will be brought in.
• Wednesday - Vespers at 7 PM.  

Norma A. Boeckler

KJV Ephesians 5:1 Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; 2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour. 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not be once named among you, as becometh saints; 4 Neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not convenient: but rather giving of thanks. 5 For this ye know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience. 7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them. 8 For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light: 9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)

KJV Luke 11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. 15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils. 16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house against a house falleth. 18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub. 19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. 24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. 28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

Third Sunday in Lent

Lord God, heavenly Father, who hast sent Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself our flesh, that He might overcome the devil, and defend us poor sinners against the adversary: We give thanks unto Thee for Thy merciful help, and we beseech Thee to attend us with Thy grace in all temptations, to preserve us from carnal security, and by Thy Holy Spirit to keep us in Thy word and Thy fear, that unto the end we may be delivered from the enemy, and obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The End Game

KJV Luke 11:14 And he was casting out a devil, and it was dumb. And it came to pass, when the devil was gone out, the dumb spake; and the people wondered. 15 But some of them said, He casteth out devils through Beelzebub the chief of the devils.

KJV Matthew 12:22 Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and dumb: and he healed him, insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake and saw.

Being unable to speak is not rare. Medicine can cause a stroke; our area has a regional center for strokes. He had multiple problems, and Jesus, the Great Physician, healed this man. The crowd was filled with wonder. Wherever there is faith in the Savior, there is also opposition. Some in the crowd said, Satan's power is behind this healing!

16 And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from heaven. 17 But he, knowing their thoughts, said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and a house against a house falleth.

This is like the miraculous feeding of the multitude, where one great miracle of feeding led people to demand another miracle from heaven, as if their own feeding in the desert was not the great wonder they experienced for themselves. "A sign" is not meant to be a hint or a nudge, but we have watered down that phrase "a sign" to make it almost meaningless. Example - "A postcard came - it was a sign from heaven, I'm sure." Jesus knew the thoughts of people, as He does today, and that led to His warning - A kingdom divided is ruined, and a house divided falls.

Luther wrote:

By this act Christ draws us to himself, leads us to look to him for every blessing, and to go to him in every time of need. He does this that we also, according to the nature of love, should do unto others as he does unto us.

18 If Satan also be divided against himself, how shall his kingdom stand? because ye say that I cast out devils through Beelzebub.

If someone wants to observe Satanic hatred, only a nudge toward the Scriptures or basic Christian doctrine is needed. The extreme liberal ELCA pastors and bishops found that out when an even more extreme group united against them to take away the clout of the not-extreme-enough radicals. But there must be a far more extreme faction, because the demands continue. It is no good to mark off a stopping point, because that has been done many times already.

The beauty of the King James Version is its steadfast language. A few words are ancient but easily looked up - leasing means "lying, false witness, deceit, hypocrisy, artifice, empty talk, frivolity, laxity.” What we really know comes from the context of the language, so the mischief-makers are always changing the meaning. Even worse, they challenge any traditional meaning of those words, which hearken back to their original use. Some of us began in a Biblical age, when the US Constitution reflected the divine origins and the meaning of law. The 10 Commandments could be framed on the teacher's wall, and Christmas carols were sung to a packed audience of teachers and parents.

So Jesus challenged the critics to make sense out of their claims. If He was possessed by Satan, how could He as Satan cast out Satan? 

19 And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your sons cast them out? therefore shall they be your judges. 20 But if I with the finger of God cast out devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come upon you.

Rabbis were known to be healers, so Jesus challenged them about whether their sons would be Satanic. Jesus was addressing whether the next generation would be godly or divided. Jesus' claim is very clear - and often ridiculed - The Kingdom of God has come upon you, because I cast out demons through the power of God. Verse 20 is saying - You are all going to be part of the revealed Kingdom of God, whether you believe it or not.

Luther:

What then were these blasphemers able to say to such clear arguments? They were put to silence, but their hearts were hardened, so that they did not heed his words. A hardened heart will not be instructed, no matter how plainly and clearly the truth is presented; but the faith of the righteous is strengthened when they see that the ground of their faith is right and good. And for the sake of such we must answer those whose hearts are hardened, and put them to silence.

21 When a strong man armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: 22 But when a stronger than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.

At first this little parable seems to be confusing, but that is the point. Jesus did not teach for every single one, but for the believers. The strong man is Satan. His power and authority continued until the public ministry of Jesus began. The Son of God was stronger and overcame Satan by the cross and resurrection. The tiny band of apostles became the earthly ambassadors of the Gospel and continued in the miracle working of Jesus and His Gospel.

23 He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth.

There is no middle ground. Many ministers find an easy way to live and by being so accommodating to fashion or movements, they end up being against Christ. Neutrality is not possible - a person is on one side or the other, Satan or the Messiah.

24 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest; and finding none, he saith, I will return unto my house whence I came out. 25 And when he cometh, he findeth it swept and garnished. 26 Then goeth he, and taketh to him seven other spirits more wicked than himself; and they enter in, and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first.

I have seen this take place, more than once. Someone gets away from the grip of gambling, or drugs, or alcohol abuse, and more. He is happy and goes back to work. This parable gives the perspective of the unclean spirit, so it is puzzling at first, but with renewed study, it is ironic that the unclean spirit goes back home to haunt someone's life. The unclean spirit finds the repentant tidied up and in good shape again.

And this applies to whole world. As Luther says, the unclean spirits latched onto the Vatican and its fake, unhealthy dogma -

Luther:

When Christ had become known in the world and the devil’s former kingdom with its idol worship had been destroyed, he adopted another plan and attacked us with heresy and introduced and established the papacy, in which Christ was entirely forgotten, and men became worse heathen under the name of Christ than before he was preached, as we can see now with our own eyes.

27 And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. 28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

The Word of Jesus, spoken about His mother, shows the highest respect, but He did not promote the elevation of Mary into a divine. I found two things in working through these issues at a Vatican owned library, near our parsonage in Columbus. One was the beautifully written passages about Roman Catholic doctrine, page after page - nothing wrong at all. But two - there were inevitable landmines planted here and there, so the Gospel was destroyed entirely. I find dreamy ex-Lutheran pastors trying to feast on what is generously offered by Rome, for good reasons. When Lutherans began to be ashamed of Reformation doctrine, they found themselves easy targets for propagandists.

When LCMS-AELC-LCA Pastor Richard Neuhaus had lunch with the Pope, he was a Roman Catholic priest. I captioned it "Neuhaus has lunch with the Antichrist." He found that amusing. When I talked to him at the Ad Fontes gathering, I mentioned to him that I heard his very conservative father preach on Easter Sunday in Canada. Ad Fontes was organized to gather Lutherans to Rome. I told him, "We are already Fontes (at the Font - the Gospel) and not on the way to your font."

There should be no confusion and no compromise. There is only one Truth, the revealed Truth of the apostolic Scriptures (KJV). Compromising is the easy way, but sticking to God's Truth is the eternal Way, Truth, and the Life.

The end

Universities and Colleges Turned into Edsels in a Few Decades

 

 Edsel quickly became a joke.

Some of us saw the shrinking of higher education coming long ago. One cause was the student loan program, which made it easy to earn a degree, creating more supply than demand. 

Universities and colleges were able to expand - in population, buildings, and programs - because of the money flowing in from the loan programs. Schools could get even fancier with alumni gifts. Endowments did not ease the burden of tuition costs, so some suggest that the richest schools have become trust funds with a campus, kids, and profs serving as a side venture.

Denominations started with schools dedicated to teaching their children in specific areas. My mother took 10 years to finish her bachelor's degree at Augustana College, taking night school to earn a MA in education. 

ELCA went completely woke at its 2009 convention, when the rules were reversed for pastors. The failing seminaries in ELCA were scaled down so they could maintain some dignity in the midst of reducing everything. 

Mergers became popular - or a necessity. WELS combined Dr. Martin Luther College with Northwestern College to become Martin Luther College School of Ministry. All the women at MLC are ministers now - didn't see that coming? 

ELCA turned Gettysburg and Philadelphia into United Lutheran Seminary,  but their new lady president was not woke enough for them.

The next decade will have many colleges, seminaries, and universities sheltering in place, trying to keep their budgets in the black, their faculties passive, and their alumni wealthy.

Oh noes!

More "Oh Noes" Are Coming from Valporaiso

 

More information is here - https://www.valpo.edu/uplift-valpo/thrive-2/operational-sustainability/

From Matt Becker

Some elements in today's announcement did catch me and others by surprise. The proposal includes the elimination of tenure (even for those of us who have been tenured for decades [not sure they can do this, but that's in the proposal]), the establishment of one-year rolling contracts for all affected faculty (which means that any one of us could be told mid-year that our contract won't be renewed for next year), and the requirement (at least for me) to teach an additional course per semester at no additional pay. (I have been teaching a 3-3 load, and occasionally a 3-2 load, since I joined the faculty in 2004. The proposal requires a 4-4 teaching load for all affected faculty.)

It is not at all certain that the current theology requirement (two required 3-hr courses in the gen ed curriculum) will continue. The basic 200-level "Christian Tradition" course will likely continue, at least for a while, but the upper-division theo courses will likely go away. If that would happen, the dept would eventually disappear, since no prospective faculty member will want to come to an institution where they can't teach in their area of expertise and research. As theo faculty retire (or if their contracts are not renewed), those spots won't be filled. Who would want to join a dept if the university can only offer new faculty a one-year rolling contract, no tenure, no program per se, no support for research, just "service teaching" in the gen ed curriculum at a 4-4 level?

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Lent 3 - "Therefore it is necessary for us to watch as the apostles always admonish us, especially St. Peter, 1 Peter 5:3: “Brethren, be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”; for wherever he overthrows faith, he easily restores again all former vices."

 

"I Borage, give thee courage."

Complete Sermon - 

Luther's Sermons - Luke 11:14-23.
Oculi. Third Sunday in Lent

20. That he comes again and finds the house swept and garnished (Matthew adds “empty”) signifies that the man is sanctified and adorned with beautiful spiritual gifts, and that the evil spirit clearly sees that he can do nothing there with his familiar tricks, for he is too well known. Thus when the worship of idols was driven from the heathen, he never attacked the world with that device again. But what did he do then? He tried something else, went out, took with him seven spirits, more evil than himself, and entered in with them and dwelt there, and the last state of that man was worse than the first. So he has dealt with us. When Christ had become known in the world and the devil’s former kingdom with its idol worship had been destroyed, he adopted another plan and attacked us with heresy and introduced and established the papacy, in which Christ was entirely forgotten, and men became worse heathen under the name of Christ than before he was preached, as we can see now with our own eyes.

Such also was the lot of the Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem, and of the Greeks under the Turks. And so all will fare, who at first hear the Word of God and afterwards become secure and weary of it. St. Matthew says, in Matthew 12:14, that Satan finds the house empty. And in Matthew 13:25, he sowed tares among the wheat, by night, while men slept. Therefore it is necessary for us to watch as the apostles always admonish us, especially St. Peter in 1 Peter 5:3: “Brethren, be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”; for wherever he overthrows faith, he easily restores again all former vices.

Valparaiso University (somewhat Lutheran) Is Kicking Out Their Theology Major and Minor

https://t.e2ma.net/webview/g32bun/8a9a26f09e8335a53b15c0ad06317119.

Here is a letter that went out today. Apparently the theology department got the news just this morning.

Dear Friends -
 
I'm writing to give you a heads up about some news that you may hear coming out of Valpo today. Over the past year we have been going through a program review as part of our strategic planning process. Part of that review includes evaluating the number of majors we offer and the enrollment in each program.
 
The decision has been made to place a small number of programs into a program discontinuance process. The Theology major and minor are among those programs. You can find the full information here: https://t.e2ma.net/webview/g32bun/8a9a26f09e8335a53b15c0ad06317119.
 
This does not mean that the programs will definitely be discontinued. It also doesn't mean that Theology would disappear even if the major and miner were discontinued. All of our students have to take 2 or 3 Theology courses depending on their major. Regardless of final decisions, all current students enrolled in these programs will be able to finish their degrees at Valpo.
 
I wanted to let you know about this before you hear about it elsewhere. The campus community received an email at 11:30 AM. The affected departments were informed this morning.
 
Valpo remains committed to its Lutheran identity and faith-based mission to prepare students "to lead and serve in church and society." This is evidenced by the fact that we have the highest number of students we've ever had in our Allen Scholars program. This program helps students discern how they are called to live out their Christian vocations. Many of those students are discerning a call to ministry; all of them will be fantastic leaders in their congregations.
 
What can you do?
 
1.   Please pray for our community...particularly those who are directly affected by the cuts.
 
2.   Feel free to reach out to me and/or the President's office to express your feedback. My email address is brian.beckstrom@valpo.edu and you can email the President at president.admin@valpo.edu.
3.   Please pray for wisdom and guidance for the coming review process. After I learned about the affected programs on Tuesday, I felt a lot of emotions. Now I find myself asking, "What is God up to at this moment? How is God calling us to reimagine the way we prepare ministry leaders and help all our students to develop theological literacy?"
 
Thank you for your prayers and faithful service to the church. May you be filled with the hope of the resurrection even as we travel with Jesus this Lenten season through the darkest valleys.
Blessings,
Brian

From Daniel Lee Gard - Updates on the Ann Arbor and Mequon Dual College Arrangement

 

Daniel Lee Gard earned a PhD from Notre Dame, in theology.

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Yesterday at 04:33:24 PM

This was received today:

Dear members of the Concordia community:

A special session of the CUWAA Board of Regents is taking place today in Wisconsin. Prayers continue to abound.

We will make any outcomes from their discussion public on Friday, March 1, 2024.

Here are the details for how you can access the outcomes:

    Update from Board Chairperson Rev. John Berg to be posted online at www.cuaa.edu/future
    Friday, March 1, 10 a.m. Central/11 a.m. Eastern

Please note that the link isn't live yet, but will be tomorrow!

List of LCMS Colleges Already Gone or Going

1. The Chinese campus was sold to pay down the LCMS college debt, as I recall.
2. The Selma campus was shut down.
3. The New York City campus was sold and another school took it over immediately.
4. The Portland college embroiled itself in HotChalk, with both sides going to court over the online learning dream gone sour.
5. The Ann Arbor and Mequon schools, separate but equal, are getting the publicity now. The new president of the arrangement, with a Jesuit degree, seems to be a closer, not a builder.

Every campus gets a big load of federal student loan money, and foreign students are called "walking bags of money." However, the gradual erosion of Lutheran identity and doctrine has made the colleges very much like the other schools that were almost 100% for the teachers and students.

Online students can be from anywhere, and there is nothing keeping students from bouncing from  campus to campus, via the keyboard. 

ELCA was closing down colleges and slimming seminaries years ago. WELS/ELS are thinking they might be in a Schwan song of their own. Marvin liked to spread the loot around, so his gifts were stretched out between the ELS, WELS, and who knows?  Those shiny new buildings, chapels, and gyms are looking bad, turning into Christian (Pilgrim's Progress, which nobody reads) carrying a heavy burden on his back - his sins.

My high school English teacher asked the class, "Have you read Pilgrim's Progress? If you haven't, you are IGNORANT!"

Zoom Worked Very Well Yesterday in a Test

 

Some setbacks work wonders with practice.

Thursday, just a few hours ago, I took a suggestion and tried a different configuration for Zoom.

1. Everything should work well, whether speaking or using hymn melodies, on the same computer.

2. It is encouraging to have another computer check how it works for the congregation.

This worked well in the chapel, checking results with the library computer. SHARE takes the melody from the computer for a clear broadcast, but now the melody also comes out of the chapel speakers - no feedback, no fighting over the sound or sounds. I can sit and sing with the audience, hearing what they are hearing, but through my speakers, not theirs.

This will work well for the Reformation Seminary.

In other news, My Good Shepherd is being shipped.

Some of the copies have been sent, and more will follow for the rest of the congregation. 

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Lent 3 - "When Christ had become known in the world and the devil’s former kingdom with its idol worship had been destroyed, he adopted another plan and attacked us with heresy and introduced and established the papacy, in which Christ was entirely forgotten, and men became worse heathen under the name of Christ than before he was preached, as we can see now with our own eyes."

Complete Luther Sermon Here -> Oculi. 

Third Sunday in Lent - Luke 11:14-23.  

19. The text continues, “When the unclean spirit has gone out, he wanders through dry places, seeking rest,” etc. This means as much as the saying, “The devil never takes a vacation” and “The devil never sleeps,” for he is seeking how he may devour man. “Dry places” are not the hearts of the ungodly, for in such he rests and dwells like a mighty tyrant, as the Gospel here says; but there are dry and waste places here and there in the country where no people live, as forests and wildernesses. To these he flees in wicked rage because he is driven out. You will remember that the devil found Christ in the wilderness. Now, in Judea, there is not much water, hence we read that it contains many arid wastes. In other countries, however, as in our own, which are well watered, the devils stay in rivers and lakes, and there they sometimes drown those who bathe or sail upon them. Furthermore, at some places there are water spirits, who entice the children from the shores into the water and drown them. These are all devils.

20. That he comes again and finds the house swept and garnished (Matthew adds “empty”) signifies that the man is sanctified and adorned with beautiful spiritual gifts, and that the evil spirit clearly sees that he can do nothing there with his familiar tricks, for he is too well known. Thus when the worship of idols was driven from the heathen, he never attacked the world with that device again. But what did he do then? He tried something else, went out, took with him seven spirits, more evil than himself, and entered in with them and dwelt there, and the last state of that man was worse than the first. So he has dealt with us. When Christ had become known in the world and the devil’s former kingdom with its idol worship had been destroyed, he adopted another plan and attacked us with heresy and introduced and established the papacy, in which Christ was entirely forgotten, and men became worse heathen under the name of Christ than before he was preached, as we can see now with our own eyes.

Such also was the lot of the Jews after the destruction of Jerusalem, and of the Greeks under the Turks. And so all will fare, who at first hear the Word of God and afterwards become secure and weary of it. St. Matthew says, in Matthew 12:14, that Satan finds the house empty. And in Matthew 13:25, he sowed tares among the wheat, by night, while men slept. Therefore it is necessary for us to watch as the apostles always admonish us, especially St. Peter in 1 Peter 5:3: “Brethren, be sober, be watchful: your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour”; for wherever he overthrows faith, he easily restores again all former vices.

Read And Weep - Lutheran Big Five - United Methodist Budgets Are Racing Downhill

WELS college students anticipated the social trend that led to Bud Light.
ELCA turned their almost vacant seminaries into the latest thing.

The Lutheran Big Five - ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC (sic) are looking at the budgets and asking, "Is the United Methodist Church our canary in the coal mine? - the Bud Light in our social ministries?"

The UMC budget was $604,000,000 in 2016, when the break-out of conservatives began.

The current proposal is $346,700,000 - and that may be too much.

The Big Five should explain their waste of money on Church Growth fiascos, exciting new projects, and the rest of blather they ferment at their favorite anti-Lutheran feminist schools.

Why Read Luther? Lutheran Seminarians Do Not Really Want To Know.Notice How Fitting These Luther Quotes Are.

 

I am glad the Daily Luther Sermon Quotes are appreciated by so many. The early morning excerpts  from Luther's Sermons (Lenker edition) always encourage me and often make me laugh. He established the German language and his Reformation gave William Tyndale even more background for what became the King James Version. No wonder the Big Five - ELCA-WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC (sic) - loathe and ignore Luther and the KJV.

This statement about the Holy Spirit and the Word should teach seminarians the efficacy of the Word. The mast majority of Protestant pastors - all denominations - brush this aside. What they should treasure the most is met with an intricate ballet dance around the Word of God, always making someone say, "That is something new. I never heard it before!"

The seminarians are not taught faith but success. Their lack of Biblical and doctrinal study makes it easy to grab a new opportunity to be new, fresh, exciting, and different, even if they are simply behind the fads by 10 years or more. Notice how often they apply the word effective to their apostasy. It is a nod to those who want to undermine the only good Bible and the best Luther teachers.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Lent 3 - "Then he gathers up his armor, the powerful, wise, rich and holy people, and sets them all to attacking God’s Word, as we see in the persecution of the teachers of the Gospel."

"Then he (Satan) gathers up his armor, the powerful, wise, rich and holy people, and sets them all to attacking God’s Word, as we see in the persecution of the teachers of the Gospel."

Complete Luther Sermon Here -> Oculi. 

Third Sunday in Lent - Luke 11:14-23.  

II. THE ALLEGORICAL OR SPIRITUAL MEANING OF THIS GOSPEL.

14. This dumb, deaf, blind, and demon-possessed man represents all the children of Adam, who through the flesh are possessed of Satan in original sin, so that they must be his slaves and do according to his will. Hence they are also blind, that is, they do not see God. They are deaf, for they do not hear God’s Word, and are not obedient or submissive to it. They are also dumb, for they do not give him one word of thanks or praise, nor do they preach and proclaim Christ and the grace of God. But they are all too talkative about the teachings of the devil and the opinions of men. In these things they see only too well and are wiser than the children of light in their undertakings, opinions, and desires. In these things they hear with both ears and readily adopt the suggestions of flesh and blood. So then, whatever we do, in word and deed, as to both body and soul, is of the devil, whether it be externally good or bad, and must be redeemed through the work of God. We are in his kingdom and therefore we acknowledge him, see, hear, and follow him and praise and proclaim his name. All this takes place through the Spirit of God in his Word, which casts out the devil and his kingdom.

15. The Jews called the chief of the devils Beelzebub. The Hebrew word “sebub” means a fly; “baal” or “beel,” a man or ruler, as a householder. When the two words form a combination, they mean an arch-fly or chief-fly, or, in plain German “Fliegenkoenig oder grosse Hummel,” that is, king-fly or the great drone. They gave Satan this contemptuous epithet as though they were entirely free from him, secure against him, and lords over him. That is the way all conceited, corrupt hypocrites do; they imagine they are so pure and holy, that the devil is a helpless, feeble fly compared with them, and that they do not need the grace of Christ nor the Word of God.

Still they think he is strong enough for others, yet, that whatever godfearing people teach and do must be the devil’s own work, and they consider it such a trifling thing as though it were a dead fly. The devil can well endure such contempt, for by it he is placed above the true God in their hearts.

16. The tyrant in the court or palace is the devil, as I said before. He is in peace, however, as long as God’s Word and finger do not oppose him, and just like this deaf-mute, his people do whatever he wishes, for they know no better. His weapons and armor are the carnal conceit, doctrines and traditions of men, by which he terrifies the conscience and protects himself.

17. But when the stronger man, the Gospel, comes, peace flees, and he rages like a madman, for he resents being condemned, unmasked, punished, and publicly branded. Then he gathers up his armor, the powerful, wise, rich and holy people, and sets them all to attacking God’s Word, as we see in the persecution of the teachers of the Gospel. Such rage and persecution signify that the devil retires very unwillingly and raves in his whole body; for as he acts in the body and its members when he must depart, so he also behaves in the whole world, resisting with all his power when he is to give place to the Gospel; but it is all in vain, he must be expelled.

 Philipp Jakob Spener is considered the father of Pietism. ELCA, LCMS, WELS,

and ELS came to America as Pietists.

LCMS Concordia Publishing House sold doggie shirts in honor of the Reformation.