The Thunderstorm Was Late But Seems To Be Quite Effective

 

 Enchanted Peace is fast growing, fragrant, and about seven feet tall.
They seem to have lasted the fickle Arkansas winter.

Planting roses is always a bit tricky. I have used bare root roses shipped from various companies. They need to be soaked in water - rain water is best - for days or quite a few days. I kept some in water indoors when we had an early harsh cold spell. Digging them in would have bent my shovel and wrecked their new growth. This time I waited for rain and went to a gardening center for potted roses, not to be confused with potted bishops (purple shirt) and suffragen bishops (purple buttons).

They were featuring David Austen roses in full bloom, so I got them, the most beautiful roses I have seen. I already had some Queen of Sweden roses for chapel for Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday chapels. Tuesday and Thursday are seminary lectures. Wednesday is New Testament Greek lessons. All are at 11 AM and they are saved on this link, the latest one on top. The link for all YouTubes is here -

Click here for all previous YouTubes

The link is at the bottom of the masthead area on Ichabod.

Would Greek be left alone since it is shunned by seminaries everywhere? I already see 19 views, which may be curiosity but it is a good start. The new fad is "Summer Greek" which means a superficial start on Greek and splashing in the fountain after a few weeks (Concordia St. Louis). Wartburg Seminary, ELCA, demands $3,000 cash in advance for their summer Greek. When are people going to learn that Greek for pastors is necessary, not a short spell in Purgatory? It also opens up our knowledge of English, which is very close to the Koine Greek of the New Testament.

"The Romans had the drains, but the Greeks had the brains." Ancient Greek Epigram

Future Greek lessons will feature well known New Testament passages in Greek only. That makes it easier to connect the English with the Greek, because we can easily translate the Greek of - for instance - the Beatitudes or the Lord's Prayer or John 3:16. [Note to ELCA - you remember John 3:16, don't you?]

I think we can get reasonably priced Greek NTs from the KJV source - Trinitarian Bible Society.

The Stephanus Greek NT is already on Biblegateway.com - courtesy of the NIV chaps.

Paine NT textbooks can be found used by summer Greek NT students. Just kidding. I used the Paine in 1966, so it is a long liver. I ignore grammar as much as possible, but learning Greek grammar helps our English, don't it?

Behold! - Luther's Statement Silences Objective Faithless Justification!The Holy Spirit Is To Convict the World In Respect of Sin, of Righteousness, And of Judgment!

 

"These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: 

1. Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith;

2. the judgment is the holy cross. Therefore give heed and learn to consider everything that is without the Spirit as nothing and as condemned,

3. And afterwards be prepared for the holy cross that thou must suffer on account of it."

If every congregation would adhere to the three explanations above, they would become healthy, strong, and devoted to the Scriptures. The last 50 years take us back to what was happening in 1974 A.D.

All the denominations used to be infatuated with plans for new missions, new ideas, new Bibles, new hymnals. They knew the demographic shift, but lo! - they wanted the spin, the glory, the glamor of Fuller Seminary. World missions executives were first sent to Fuller, because seminaries were not preparing missionaries for anything except quinine for malaria. Their American missions executives trained the same way - completely wrong.

The last 50 years were a con job, the perfect example of -

“Whoever marries the spirit of this age will find himself a widower in the next. ”

William Ralph Inge

A Facebook poster linked me and others to his garage sale of electronics. He was apparently building on the multi-campus model, because he had a large pile of very expensive electronics and a big bill for renting an empty space. (People do not have buildings anymore - they have spaces.) In short, his space and his toys were bleeding him dry. 

His offerings disappeared, which reminds me of the motto - "A sucker is born every minute." - the iconic P.T. Barnum - because every one and every thing is iconic when it often should just be ironic. English is so degenerate now that media people say "very iconic" and "the most iconic." I'm so old I remember "unique." I could neve be a media expert now, because my vocabulary is bigger than 50 words.

"Build it and they will come" (Field of Dreams) said no one in the Bible. Tower of Babel - Build it and they will run.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Easter 4 - "These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the judgment is the holy cross. Therefore give heed and learn to consider everything that is without the Spirit as nothing and as condemned, and afterwards be prepared for the holy cross that thou must suffer on account of it."

 

What book is hated and despised by the great, the wise, the conceited?

Complete sermon -> Cantate. Fourth Sunday After Easter. John 16:5-15. How the Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin, Righteousness, Judgment

21. The world, in its holiness, maintains that righteousness means to perform good works wherewith to do penance for sin and reconcile God. This has been taught in all the schools of learning. Such teachers think it is right and well done if only they can accomplish good works. But now comes the Holy Spirit and says: Not so. You err and are mistaken. Your judgment is wrong. Therefore there must be another judgment. You should judge thus: Everything that your reason concludes, is erroneous and false, and you are a fool and a simpleton.

22. Reason may do other things; for instance, know how to judge in worldly and human matters and affairs, how to build cities and houses, how to govern well, and the like. In such matters one may easily be able to judge and decide more wisely than another. Of this, however, we do not speak here, but of judgment in the significance of what is right or wrong before God. Here the Holy Spirit concludes thus: Every judgment of reason is false and worth nothing. Everything that is born of man and is not born from above, must be rooted out and crucified, so that no one may boast of it and depend upon it. Again, whatever the world considers as wisdom, that which it votes as wisely and intelligently devised and accomplished, is foolishness before God. In short, whatever the world does, is useless and cursed, unless it proceeds from Christ, the Lord, and is of his Word and Spirit, as he teaches us. If it does not proceed from him, it is surely mere blindness and there is no good in it.

23. Therefore everything that the world considers good is debased. Everything is evil because it does not proceed from the Word and the Spirit, but from the old Adam, who is nothing more than a blind fool and sinner. And why? Should not your wisdom and reason be foolishness and count for nothing, since the most exalted one, who has all the power and wisdom of this world in the highest degree, is condemned? For, without doubt, there is no one in the world so wise, shrewd and rational as the devil, and no one is able to make a more pious appearance. And all wisdom and holiness that do not proceed from God, as well as the most beautiful things in the world, are found in their highest degree in the devil. Since he is a prince and the ruler of the world, the wisdom and righteousness of the world must proceed from him; here he reigns with all his power. Therefore, Christ says: Since the same prince of the world is condemned, with all that he has and can do, the world is ever blind because it considers that to be good which has been condemned already, namely his wisdom and piety.

24. We must, therefore, pass a correct judgment, such as Christ passes, if we are to guard against everything that the world considers and declares precious in order that it may appear before God prudent, wise and pious. If people who have not the Word and Spirit of Christ, desire to teach and govern, everything is already condemned; for in this way one accomplishes no more than to make the old Adam stronger and to establish him in his opinion that his works, his piety and prudence are to avail before God. Thereby one must work himself deeper and deeper into the devil’s kingdom.

25. But now, since the prince of this world and the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the devil, are directly opposed to one another, and the Holy Spirit is not willing that anyone should parade his own deeds and praise himself on account of them, the holy cross must soon follow. The world will not consent to be reprimanded for its blindness. Therefore one must willingly submit and suffer persecution. If we have the right kind of faith in our hearts, we must also open our mouths and confess righteousness and make known sin. Likewise we must condemn and punish the doings of this world and make it known that everything it undertakes, is damned. For this we must be considered heretics, and must pass through the fire. They say: This is against the holy councils and the canon of the holy father, the pope. Then you are to answer: How can I help it? Here it stands — the text does not say the Holy Spirit is to convict them and say their doctrine is error, blindness and the government of the devil. This, of course, they will not endure, but would have us call them gracious noblemen. Therefore, one must here risk his neck.

26. These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the judgment is the holy cross. Therefore give heed and learn to consider everything that is without the Spirit as nothing and as condemned, and afterwards be prepared for the holy cross that thou must suffer on account of it. Now follows in the Gospel further: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth.”