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.