The Tenth Sunday after Trinity - 2024,

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The Muslim temple is on the site of Abraham's sacrifice, which was stopped by the Angel of the Lord, a ram caught in the thicket. Genesis 22.

The Hymn # 619            Jerusalem Thou City Fair and High

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

As for me, I will call upon God; 

and He shall hear my voice: 

He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me.

God shall hear and afflict them, even He that abideth of old: 

Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee.

Psalm. Give ear to my prayer, O God: and hide not Thyself from my supplication.

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

Collect

O God, who declarest Thine almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity, mercifully grant unto us such a measure of Thy grace that we, running the way of Thy commandments, may obtain Thy gracious promises and be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual     

  

Gradual

Keep me, O Lord, as the apple of the eye: 

hide me under the shadow of Thy wings.

V. Let my sentence come forth from Thy presence: 

let Thine eyes behold the things that are equal. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. O Lord God of my salvation, 

I have cried day and night before Thee. Hallelujah!

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn #239         Come Thou Almighty King

The Sermon - The Great Destruction of Jerusalem

The Communion Hymn # 246     Holy, Holy, Holy                   

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 #447                    Fight the Good Fight

• In our prayers - Sarah Buck, Lori Howell, Dr. Lito Cruz and his wife Lyne; Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris, Kermit Way, Alicia Meyer, Norma Boeckler getting better.  
• Included in our prayers - those suffering from emotional stress and those with metabolic disorders.
• Charlie Sue has invited Shorty over for a few days this week.

KJV 1 Corinthians 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I would not have you ignorant. 2 Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led. 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost. 4 Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. 8 For to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom; to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit; 9 To another faith by the same Spirit; to another the gifts of healing by the same Spirit; 10 To another the working of miracles; to another prophecy; to another discerning of spirits; to another divers kinds of tongues; to another the interpretation of tongues: 11 But all these worketh that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will.

KJV Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. 45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. 47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

The Great Destruction of Jerusalem

KJV Luke 19:41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ took place around 30 AD, the Destruction of Jerusalem about 70 AD. However, the Christians had been persecuted and driven out of Jerusalem before its utter destruction. The temporary visit of Jewish pilgrims was included in the city's destruction and all the victims were sent off as slaves. Josephus associated with the Roman Army as a historian. (The Latin of this word means only "a writer of things," not infallible and perfect.

The future destruction of Jerusalem was made more bitter with its name meaning "a place of peace (Salem). The city was constructed so well, its wall so high and thick, with water available underground, that it seemed impossible to destroy. The Roman Army had the advantage of slaves and soldiers, so they circumvallated the entire city (surrounding the walls to keep everyone inside, with no food supplies). A minor skirmish earlier had defeated the Roman garrison and prompted the enormous invasion. Imperial Rome thought the Jewish kingdom was vulnerable and came to win back one of the great cities of the world.

Keeping everyone in, the Roman army forced starvation on everyone, and the city's inhabitants and tourists quickly panicked (Pan, the pagan god, was supposedly the key factor in winning battles, by causing Pan-ic). The strong stole food from the weak, and a large supply of grain was burned to the ground, far worse than seeing the only Walmart closing as a wreck. We know from major storms that the largest supermarkets are emptied of food, strawberry Poptarts, and flashlights within a few hours of the news. 

The Wailing Wall is the remnant of Herod's earlier improvement. It measures from 60 to 100 feet high.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,[circumvallation] 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

The great Temple of Jerusalem was so magnificent that no one expected its fall. Its  destruction was magnified by the Roman soldiers prying blocks apart to find the gold which they suspected was hidden. If they suspected people were swallowing gold or jewels....

45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; 46 Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves.

As Lenski wrote in his Luke commentary, those who read Isaiah 29:1-4 cannot miss the  meaning of Ariel. We were discussing the prophetic sayings being mysterious until they are revealed. The apostate rationalists of today cannot accept Jesus predicting the Fall of Jerusalem, because they figure the New Testament - and Luke - wrote it down after the fact.

(700 BC) - KJV Isaiah 29:29 Woe to Ariel, to Ariel, the city where David dwelt! add ye year to year; let them kill sacrifices. 2 Yet I will distress Ariel, and there shall be heaviness and sorrow: and it shall be unto me as Ariel. 3 And I will camp against thee round about [cirumvallation], and will lay siege against thee with a mount, and I will raise forts against thee. 4 And thou shalt be brought down, and shalt speak out of the ground, and thy speech shall be low out of the dust, and thy voice shall be, as of one that hath a familiar spirit, out of the ground, and thy speech shall whisper out of the dust.

This Isaiah passage should rock all unbelievers to the bone and shatter their self-confidence in the latest commentaries--- by CPH (Codex Vaticanus?!) and other quacks. How could Rome (which barely existed then) have known 700 years later what they were going to do against Jerusalem, 70 AD. Imagine the planning involved over the centuries to make this happen!

I am writing this - apologetics, in defense of the Word of God - to show how many ways there are to throw sand in the eyes of the faithful so the anti-Scripture people can have fun and take all the undeserved honors!

The willingness of pastors to accept falsehood while pretending otherwise is one of the clear signs of apostasy (falling away from the Faith). Hermon Otten published a book in his name about Walter Maier, PhD Harvard. The back of the cover says this - copied to avoid typos and covers removed -

Pastor Herman Otten published this on his own, establishing Walter Maier's proclamation of Justification by Faith and Biblical inerrancy. However, the same printing press promotes Objective Faithless Justification and the horrid, liberal, disgusting "Beck Bible," where the empty tomb of Mark 16 is questioned, just like the new Vaticanus dripping from the CPH Mark Commentary.

The fake support of the Chief Article of Christianity - and the drooling over the Beck Bible - clearly converts the Otten Family Enterprise into a bundle of profitable blasphemies. 

Needless to say, the Traditional Text of the King James Version and Luther's Works are looked upon with great piety and long faces while stealthily chuckling.

47 And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, 48 And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him.

Here we have the perfect of example of truth versus hatred of the truth. There is no middle ground, so believers must rely on the entire truth or slowly slip away into indifference and finally opposition. The vast majority of clergy have accepted indifference in the name of peace and prosperity - no cross to bear. The laity have moved in the same direction because that suits them.

When things come tumbling down, one day, most will remember, "When the Son of Man returns, will He find peace?" 

KJV Luke 18:8 I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

The end.

Drowning in Drivel - Disloyal Lutherquest and Perfideous Ovaltines

 

The misnamed LutherQuesters studiously avoid the Scriptures and Luther. Their problem comes from being stuck on Stephan-Walther and their fervid opposition to the Scriptures. Currently, Rolf Preus is super-charged to counter any possible hint of Justification by Faith on an Australian Confession Lutheran Forum. If they let me into their enormous chat-circle, I would be eager to quote the Chief Article of the Christian Religion and hope they would respond.

I replaced the Statue of Liberty from Planet of the Apes, with a Luther statue from the LCMS. WELS has one Luther statue (for jesting about faity), and they all bow to the sainted Schwan.

The Ovaltines of ALPB Online Bore'em are even less interesting. They monopolize their little squabbles so only a few people can waste everyone's time with their chatter. I was enjoying a great run about David Benke's revelation that he was the real star of the Augsburg Confession's annual celebration, which is all about Luther, Melanchthon, the brave lay leaders, and Benke. Since then, Benke has been almost silent. I miss how everything nestles on his broad shoulders and celebrated personal history. He has been saying "It's OK to pray" ever since he gilded the wonderful Yankee Stadium pan-religious prayer circle with his personal thoughts. Before that moment, few accepted the efficacy of worshiping with every religion except Christianity. His Missouri Synod mentors declared, "One small step for a prayer circle, one giant leap for Benke."

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 10 - "But if Christ be no longer with us, our hope will vanish; and wherever this beloved guest is rejected, and his Christians no longer tolerated, government, peace and everything shall perish, for he too desires to eat with us, to rule and to provide bountifully."

 

Complete Sermon - Tenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 19:41-48. Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem

THE CONCLUSION.

29. Thus we have heard the second part of our Gospel, how Christ drove out the merchants that pandered to base appetites, and made room for his Word. It would be a good thing, in this same way to cleanse our cloisters, and turn them into schools or preaching places; if this is not done they will be and continue to be nothing but dens of robbers; for if Christ calls Iris own house a den of robbers, how much more will our churches and temples, not consecrated by God, be called dens of robbers?

30. I have often requested you to pray God to turn his wrath and restrain the devil now in the world. For you have undoubtedly heard of the great calamity, how many have been slain in the insurrection. We fear they have all been lost, for God requires obedience, and has himself pronounced the sentence, Matthew 26:52: “For all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword.” The devil has taken possession of the world, who knows when our turn will come. Therefore let us pray that God’s kingdom may come and Christians may be multiplied, that he send wise and intelligent ministers to care for the people and listen to their wants, he who knows the gift of God prays for others who have not yet heard the Word, it is high time to do so. [Pray the Lord’s Prayer.] 31. Well, wherever this calamity begins and prevails, that the people maliciously despise the day God visits us with his Word and grace, for the sake of the belly and a little temporal benefit and advantage; there must follow as a consequence of such treatment the final punishment and wrath of God, who will utterly destroy them, remove the foundation of their trust, and overthrow the country and the people, so that both temporal and eternal interests go down together. For how shall he otherwise treat us, because of our scandalous ingratitude for his great love and mercy which he publicly declared unto us by his gracious visitation? How shall or can he do more for us, while we with wantonness and defiance spurn his help, and ever struggle and strive after wrath and destruction? For if those are not free of punishment who transgress the law and sin against the ten commandments; how much less will he permit those to go unpunished, who blaspheme and despise the Gospel of his grace, seeing the law by far does not bring as many good things as the Gospel?

32. If we will not wish to enjoy this happy day which he gives us unto grace and our salvation, he can also instead permit us to see and experience nothing but the dark and terrible night of all affliction and misfortune. And since we will not hear this precious Word and the proclamation of peace, we will be forced to hear the devil’s cry of murder ring in our ears from every direction. Now is the time for us to know the day, and well employ the rich and golden year, while the annual fair is before our very doors, and acknowledge that he has severely punished us. If we neglect it and allow it to pass, we can never hope for a better day or expect any peace; for the Lord, who is the Lord of peace, will be with us no longer.

33. But if Christ be no longer with us, our hope will vanish; and wherever this beloved guest is rejected, and his Christians no longer tolerated, government, peace and everything shall perish, for he too desires to eat with us, to rule and to provide bountifully. However, he desires also to be known as such a Lord, in order that we may be thankful to him, and also permit this guest and his Christians to eat with us, and give him his due tribute; if not, we will then be forced to give it to another, who will so thank and reward us for it, that we shall not be able to retain a bite of bread or a penny in peace. But the world will not believe this, just as the Jews also would not believe it, until they experienced it, and faith came to their assistance. For God has ordained, that this Christ shall be Lord and King upon the earth, under whose feet he has put all things, and whoever would have peace and good days, must be kind and obedient to him, or he will be dashed to pieces like a potter’s vessel. Psalm 2:9.

THE SECOND PART OF THIS GOSPEL.

“And he entered into the temple, and began to cast out those that sold, saying unto them: It is written, And my house shall be a house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of robbers.”

34. Here he shows the aim of his great activity, and what concerns him most of all, which was also the cause of his weeping. It is indeed a terrible history, that he who so recently wept out of great sympathy and compassion, so soon can change and come forth in great anger, (for our beloved Lord burns with great devotion and zeal), and goes into the temple as in a storm, and strikes with his uplifted arm as the Lord of the temple, of course with an excellent and warm spirit by which he is moved, beholding the chief cause of distress and the destruction, of which he spoke and over which he wept; namely, that the chief government, which should be God’s own and be called his temple, is all perverted and desolate, God’s Word and true worship entirely suppressed and corrupted, even by those who would be leaders and teachers of the people, on account of their disgraceful greed and their own glory. He would say by this: Yes, it is this, that . will completely bring on the calamity, and make an end of everything among this people.

35. Therefore, as merciful and compassionate as he showed himself to be to the poor multitude of people who are so wretchedly misled to their destruction; so great was the anger he showed against those who are the cause of this destruction. Otherwise he did not often resort to physical force and cause an uproar, as he does here, so that it is a strange act for an excellent and kind man, so full of love. But the cause of it is the great and powerful zeal and fervency of Spirit, which sees whence all affliction and sorrow come, namely, because the true worship of God is abolished and the name of God is so blasphemed that it is used merely for a show.

36. For the temple and the whole priesthood were ordained for the purpose of enforcing God’s Word, to praise his grace and mercy, etc.; and to testify to this and thank him for his Word by an external worship of offerings. However, they did not teach praise and thanksgiving to God, but instead they perverted it into the doctrine of monks and works, so that with such offerings one merited the grace of God, and if they only offered a great deal, God would give them heaven and every good thing on earth.

And hence they built their hopes for everything, which they ought to look for out of pure grace and mercy of God, on their own works and merits.

And besides they were misled so far in the devil’s name, that their avarice set up there in the temple tables for bankers and counters for traders in doves and all kinds of cattle used for offerings, so that those coming from distant lands and cities could find enough there to purchase, or if they had no money, they might barter for or borrow it, so that there might by all means be as many and as great offerings as possible.

Thus under the name of divine worship the true worship of God was overthrown and rooted out; and they substituted for God’s grace and goodness their own merits, and for his free gift their own works, which he was obliged to accept from us and thank us for them, and allow himself to be treated as an idol, compelled to do what pleases us, be angry or laugh, just as we wish it; and besides satiate their outrageous greed, by such idolatrous doings, and without any sense of shame carry on a public annual fair.

37. Just as our Pope’s crowd, priests and monks, also did, who taught nothing but to trust in human works, and on this doctrine constructed everything in their church government, So that the people are compelled to purchase these things from them, who thus established a daily public fair over the whole world. And nothing was omitted that could be made to serve their greed, and for money they sold God, Christ, the Sacrament of the mass, absolution, and forgiveness of sins, the losing and binding key.

And. to this must be added their own invented human nonsense, which they pretend is divine worship, such as the brotherhood of monks, and their own superfluous merits; yea, even to put upon the dead a monk’s hood and cords; likewise the bishop’s and priest’s nasty oil, all kinds of bones of the dead which they call holy, letters of indulgence to eat butter, married women, children of priests and the like. All this had to bring and yield them money daily.

38. And especially the great rat king at Rome with his Judas purse, which is the great money gulch that in the name of Christ and the church has appropriated to itself all the possessions of the world. For he has reserved unto himself the power to forbid whatever he pleased and again to allow it for money, even to take and give kingdoms, whenever and as often as he pleased, and taxed lords and kings as it suited him.

This is a much more infamous and barefaced perversion of the temple of God into a house of merchandise, than was perpetrated by the Jews at Jerusalem. For it belonged to Antichrist, as is prophesied of him, to levy and collect for himself the treasures of the world; and St. Peter, speaking of such a hoard in 2 Peter 2:3 says: “And in covetousness shall they with feigned words make merchandise of you: whose sentence now from of old lingereth not, and their destruction slumbereth not.”

39. Therefore Christ is justly angry at such desecration of his temple by these bloated misers, who do not only despise and forsake the true worship of God, but also pervert it and trample it under their feet. And thus they truly make out of the temple which God ordained for the purpose of teaching the people the Word of God and guiding them to heaven, nothing but a den of robbers, where nothing but the destruction and the murder of immortal souls take place, because they silence God’s Word, through which alone souls can be saved, and instead they are fed on the devil’s lies, etc.

This is truly the chief sin and principal cause, why the Jews with their temple and all they had, deserved to’ go to destruction and ruin. For, as they destroyed the kingdom of God itself, he will no longer build up their kingdom for them. Wherefore he says: Because you go to work, and instead of my kingdom you build the kingdom of Satan, so will I also work against you, and will destroy everything utterly, that I have built for you.

This is an example he began to do on that very day when he rushed among them in the temple, as his last public act before his death, which after his departure the Romans would effectually complete; namely, they with all they had would be totally swept away, as he cleanses his temple of them, that they may no more possess either their worship, temple nor priesthood, country or people.

40. He has, God be praised, even commenced to overthrow our idols and spectres, and Popery’s abominable merchandise of perfidy, and to purify his churches through the Gospel, also as a prelude, that it may be seen that he will also make an end of them, as before our eyes they have already begun to fall, and they must daily fall more and more, and they will be much more horribly dashed to the earth and everlastingly destroyed, than the Jews were destroyed and exterminated, because theirs is still a much more shameful abomination. This shall first properly begin when the Gospel has departed on account of their disgraceful, horrible blasphemy; but it will finally come to an end on the last day and be completely and forever destroyed.

41. Let Germany, which, praise to God, now has the Gospel, beware, that she may not meet the same fate, as it already so strongly everywhere indicates she will. For we dare not think that the contempt and unthankfulness, which are gaining control among us as great as among the Jews, will remain unpunished. After that he will let the godless world complain and cry: If the Gospel had not come, such things would not have come upon us; just like the Jews at Jerusalem blamed all their calamities to the preaching of the Gospel, and they themselves at the risk of their own necks prophesied that if Christ with his Gospel should continue, the Romans would come and take away their place and nation. And afterward also, even the Romans blamed their destruction to this new God and new doctrine. Just as it is said at present, since the Gospel has appeared things have never been right.

42. And thus it will also go with the world; as its people despise and persecute God’s Word, and become so hardened and blinded, they will blame no one as the cause and merit of their destruction but the precious Gospel itself; which nevertheless alone preserves, thank God, what is still preserved; otherwise all things would long since lay in one common heap of ruins. And yet it must bear the blame for everything that the devil and his clans transact. Because people continue to blaspheme and will not recognize what our sins deserve and the grace and mercy which we have in the Gospel, God must thus repay such blasphemers, so that they become their own prophets, and for a double wickedness receive a double reward.

This premonition has already gone forth, except that it is yet withheld on account of the faithful few; just as he beforehand admonished the Jews by this example when he cast those that sold and bought out of the temple, and afterwards went into the temple himself and finally taught until the day of his death, and yet for a time withheld as long as he could, and afterwards by his Apostles until they would no longer tolerate them; so now we, who cleave to Christ, restrain punishment as long as we live; but when these too shall lay down their heads, then the world will realize what it once had.

 Jordan Belfort, The Wolf of Wall Street, was the special speaker for Thrivent Insurance - love those irrevocable annuities sold to the elderly, blessed by the synods.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 10 - "It is true that God himself has established the temple at Jerusalem, not because it consisted of beautiful stones and costly buildings, or because it was consecrated by bishops, as at present men employ such foolery and juggling tricks; but God himself had consecrated and sanctified it with his Word, when he said: This house is my house: for his Word was preached in it. Now, wherever God’s Word is preached, there is God’s own true house, there God most certainly dwells with his grace."

Complete Sermon - Tenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 19:41-48. Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem

PART 2. THE CLEANSING OF THE TEMPLE.

24. This is the second part of our Gospel, where the Lord takes hold of matters in earnest with his powerful hand, when he goes into the temple and casts out those who bought and sold there. For the first part was nothing but an admonition and incentive unto faith. Here the Lord now tells us what the temple of God is, and quotes passages from the Scriptures, and especially from the prophet Isaiah, 56:7, where God says: “For my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” You, however, have made it a house of merchandise. This is a strong passage which the prophet utters: “for all peoples, for all Gentiles,” is against the Jews, who trusted in the temple of God at Jerusalem, and thought that this material house in Jerusalem would stand forever, and that it was impossible for God to demolish this temple or destroy this city. The Word of God does not lie. For this reason they also murdered Stephen, because he spoke against that holy place and said, Acts 6:14: “Jesus shall destroy this place, and shall change the customs which Moses delivered unto us.” And they said: have not the prophets praised this house, and Christ himself says here, that it is a house of prayer, and you Apostles say, he will destroy it.

25. But we must rightly understand this expression, that the city of Jerusalem, the temple and the people, should remain until the time of Christ. With this agree all the prophets, who have given all things into the hands of Christ; as he would then dispose of it, so it should be and remain.

Hence the passage in Isaiah goes no further than unto the times of Christ, as also all the prophets say, that after that there shall come a kingdom extending over the whole world, as in Malachi 1:10-11 we read: “For from the rising of the sun unto the going down of the same my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering; for my name shall be great among the Gentiles, saith Jehovah of hosts.” Here the prophet speaks of the spiritual kingdom of Christ, who shall build himself a house of prayer as extensive as the whole world.

26. It is true that God himself has established the temple at Jerusalem, not because it consisted of beautiful stones and costly buildings, or because it was consecrated by bishops, as at present men employ such foolery and juggling tricks; but God himself had consecrated and sanctified it with his Word, when he said: This house is my house: for his Word was preached in it. Now, wherever God’s Word is preached, there is God’s own true house, there God most certainly dwells with his grace. Wherever his Gospel is, there is a house of prayer, there men shall and may truly pray, and God will also hear their prayer, as Christ in John 16:23-24 says: “If ye shall ask anything of the Father, he will give it you in my name. Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name; ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be made full.” Here again, where the Word is not found, there the devil has full sway.

27. That we have imitated the Jews and built so many churches, would be well enough, if we had done it in order that the Word of God might be preached there; for where the Word goes there God is present, and looks down from heaven and pours out his grace. Therefore he says to the Jews here: I will not that you should make out of my house a den of robbers. For there were money changers in it who sold sheep and oxen, that strangers might buy them for their offerings in divine service. Why then does he call it a den of robbers? Surely, he gives it a scandalous name. He does it however because they no longer appreciate the house as the house of God, but as a market house; that is, the priests did not inquire how the Word of God was preached in it, although they sang, they babbled and read the prophets and Moses; but God cares nothing for such a murmuring of Psalms; that belongs to children.

28. They did just as our priests and monks do now, who have also made dens of robbers of our churches and cloisters, and have preached poison, and held masses only that the people might give them money and presents for holding them that they might thus fill their stomachs. They made the church a market house, in which they carried on their idle talk, corrupted and destroyed the sheep of God’s pastures by their scandalous false doctrine, that it may well be called a robber’s den for the soul. This title we should write on all churches in which the Gospel is not preached, for there they mock God, destroy souls, banish the pure Word and establish dens of murder; for he who listens to their words must die. Oh, how shamefully we have been deceived! Now, however, we should praise God, that this Word again brings us life, drives out the murderers, and teaches us how to pray aright; for an honest heart must pray, not with the mouth, but with the heart.

Reformation Seminary - Highlights of John's Gospel

Augsburg Confession

This is the link for YouTube. It is not working as it has in the other videos.

Chapter 1

1:1-5

The Trinity is emphasized in the three-fold nature of the opening.

The "same" is autos - very strong pronoun. Emphatic about the Son.

Jesus is the One who executed the Father's Commands.

Answering questions - Did the Son in the beginning? Was He part of the Trinity?

He is not ordinary light - but The Light in the I AM passages.

6. John is subordinate to the Son.

12 - 13. They are the Sons of God by virtue of believing in Him.

14. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Fourth Gospel = Moses commentary.

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. - The exegete of the Father.

KJV John 1:1-18

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.

2 The same was in the beginning with God.

3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.

4 In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

5 And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.

7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.

8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.

10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.

11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

15 John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before me.

16 And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.

17 For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

18 No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 10 - "If God wants me here, he will give me other treasures, for he has promised to give enough for this life and for the life to come. If he does not want me here, I owe him a death, which will bring me into eternal life; when he calls me, I will go trusting in his Word."

 

Complete Sermon - Tenth Sunday after Trinity, Luke 19:41-48. Prophecy of the Destruction of Jerusalem

17. We pass over these and many like passages, and besides despise them, and depend only on what we have in our banks, and how we may keep our purses filled, and do not consider that God has also given us what we have, and will still give us more; nor do we consider that when we lose God, the stomach will also be lost. Therefore we are served just right in losing both the creator and the creature besides.

18. But believers in God risk all in him and transfer all things into his care, for him to do according to his pleasure, and think thus: God has given you your home and wife, you have not produced them yourself; now because they are God’s, I will entrust them all to his care, he will keep them from all harm. I must otherwise leave all at any rate, therefore I will bravely trust him with them, and for his sake give up all I have. If God wants me here, he will give me other treasures, for he has promised to give enough for this life and for the life to come. If he does not want me here, I owe him a death, which will bring me into eternal life; when he calls me, I will go trusting in his Word.

19. Whoever is not thus disposed, denies God, and must at the same time lose both, the present and the eternal life. The belly with its foul odors is our God, and prevents us from clinging to God’s Word. First, I will be certain how I shall feed, and where my supplies are. The Gospel says:

Trust in God; and your stomach shall most certainly be provided for, and have enough [without believing or trusting in it]. But if I have only five dollars they give me so much courage to think I have anyhow enough food for ten days, that I trust in such limited provisions, and do not trust God who fed me hitherto, that he will care for me to-morrow.

20. Is it not a shameful vexation or calamity that I trust in a penny that I will have something to eat to-morrow? How contemptible this carcass!

Shall a penny have more weight in my heart and give me more courage than God himself, who holds heaven and earth in his power, who gives us the air we breathe and the water we drink, who makes our corn to grow and gives us all things? It is so scandalous that it cannot be uttered, that God should not amount to as much with us as a hundred guilders. Why not think that God, who has created me, will surely feed me, if he wants me to live? If he does not want this, very well, I shall be satisfied.

Hope ELCA Lutheran Church in West Des Moines Has Abandoned Its Denomination, Refusing To Host Gay Weddings.

Hope Lutheran Church in West Des Moines averages 8,700 people worshiping per week.

Protestia

The world’s largest Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) church has officially left the denomination. On July 13, The Synod Council of the Southeastern Iowa Synod voted to remove the Lutheran Church of Hope, West Des Moines, from its membership rolls.

On paper, the Synod is dropping them over a disagreement with their pastoral staff. The multisite mega-church, under the leadership of Rev. Mike Housholder, has seven pastors on staff “who are not on the roster of the ELCA or any of its full communion partners, which conflicts with the ELCA constitution.” Yet in a letter sent to the church family, LCOH has a different take, insisting these pastors are badly needed and are more than qualified, refusing the purge them for the sake of remaining.

The candidacy and call process for pastors, a point of tension between Hope and the ELCA for years, has reached a tipping point. The ELCA has a pastor shortage. As a result, on occasion and out of necessity, Hope’s search for new pastors to serve our rapidly growing congregation has included some who were ordained in non-ELCA denominations. All of these pastors earned a Master of Divinity or higher degree, fulfilled other traditional requirements for Lutheran ordination, and expressed interest in becoming ELCA pastors. However, due to resistance from ELCA synod candidacy committees and the high cost of up to two extra years of required (and often redundant) post-M.Div. classes, they opted out.

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GJ - This congregation is Church Growthy, and ELCA put up with them for many years. When Liz Eaton was a young Ohio bishop, she ridiculed the idea that ELCA would punish those congregations who did not conform to the gay agenda. However, ELCA did that 100%, step by step, with Liz Eaton as Presiding Bishop of the fast-shrinking national synod, 5.3 million members in 1987, probably down by 50% in 2024. Scholars are divided about the records kept.

To keep up the pastoral roster, ELCA began a series of recruiting efforts, graphics below - not fakes.

"Do you feel called to be a leader in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America? We have Discernment Advocates ready to guide you to what might be next. Join an online discernment group today!"

St. John Lutheran Church in Des Moines is an ELCA church noted for being one of the largest in LCA/ELCA.

My vicarage supervisor in Kitchener Ontario, Henry Opperman, had been the senior pastor at St. John, Des Moines. I am guessing they are no longer quite so large. However, these facts are not easily obtained. St. John, Des Moines, is below.