Reformation Seminary Lecture - John 14 - 11 AM Today

14 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.

2 In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.

3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.

5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

7 If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.

8 Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

9 Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

10 Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.

11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me: or else believe me for the very works' sake.

12 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

14 If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.

Neve - Almost Forgotten Augsburg Confession

 

Hi Friends,
In the mornings I've been reading small bits of Neve's (small) book on the Augsburg Confession.  In the third section of the book he intersperses paragraphs of the Confession with questions and answers.  Somehow separating out these individual sections is helping me to get more out of the Augsburg. 

This morning in the first question in Article Two, Neve wrote this:

"1. What is to be said on the importance of this article?
"We keep in mind that Article IV on Justification is the central article of our Confession..."

Question for Greg, Jim and all of us in our little Bethany group:
Given that a Lutheran is someone who believes the Augsburg Confession is an accurate description of the Bible's teaching, isn't Neve saying here that anyone who de facto denies Justification by Faith (Article IV of the Augsburg), is in fact not Lutheran?

Follow up question, how in any way can "objective justification" be reconciled with Article IV?  Or how can anyone who confesses the Augsburg hate and malign "justification by faith"?

[GJ - The LutherQueasies call us OJ-Deniers! Wahahahaha!]

Rhetorical questions for us to think about. 
May the dear Lord continue to deliver us from sharks and wolves!

I took Christology under Heick at Waterloo Lutheran Seminary.
His two-volume book was based on Neve. The LCA canned it.
Christina and I went to lunch with Heick and visited him in the hospital.

Rejuvenating the Broadcast Equipment

 

Long ago, Sassy went on alert in the middle of the night.
She sent her message, "Try me."

I ended up with one Windows 11 box (Best Buy), one Windows all-in-one computer (WM), and and a refurbished Windows 10 setup (Amazon hahahaha) - all doomed to be returned. When I was returning the Windows 11 computer to Best Buy, the clerk asked why. I said, "Windows 11," which was all he needed to know. He slumped. Windows 11 is a warning label.

Getting back to zero left me with a lot of hardware, but do not weep. 

1. The office computer was moved around and then set up again. 
2. The chapel created a laptop set up, which will return to a traditional one today. 
3. The library will have a third option in case of difficulties, the laptop revived.

"One computer alone is simpler" - so true - but I deal with teaching daily (with a one week vacation each year) and regular services and lectures. 

A major distraction was caused by regular, juvenile, subtle break-ins, even when doors were padlocked. The house has an alarm system that records the outdoors and sets off alarms, police, and fire.

Charlie Sue Updates for Her Fans

 

Readers ask about Charlie Sue, who adopted me at the headquarters of Walmart and Tyson Chicken. She is a Patterdale Terrier with a mix of Chihuahua, lots of fun and excitement. She loves the outdoors, running and digging, and loves to adopt members of her fanclub.

She prefers to stay outside during the day, which is not enough. She loves to go out to run at the end of the cul-de-sac, a large expanse of grass with bushes and trees, plus access to more canine friends. Everyone has a dog.

Charlie races and digs all day, and she loves big circular runs in grass,  where she comes back to me as if on an attack, grinning. 

Porchie and Dustmop are members of Charlie's fan club.

The owner of Doggie Daycare (next door) is impressed with Charlie's willingness to walk with me, no leash. Sometimes I hold the leash in my hand for when we walk over to Bible John's home. John and Pat love to see her. Once Charlie knows a family, she wants to go over and get some love. One couple said, "So this is the next dog, from Sassy Sue to Charlie Sue." Sassy is fondly remembered for her long walks and affection. (Sassie refused to give Pat a kiss because that made Bible John and me laugh each time.) Sassy got so many chicken treats that the crows and starlings gathered on a large tree, overlooking two yards, to pick up the bones. 

Sassy always protected her Lincoln Town Car from strangers. An officer who stopped me asked if he could pet Sassy. I was a wee bit lost. He offered to drive me to the nearest gas station. Sassy adopted people quickly and listened to my suggestions.

Sassy's three-legged jumps stunned kids and adults who admired her.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Advent 4 - "They sent to him, why did they not come themselves? John had come to preach repentance to the entire Jewish people. This preaching of John they did not heed; it is clear therefore, that they did not send to him with good and pure intentions, offering him such honor. Neither did they truly believe him to be the Christ, or Elijah, or a prophet; otherwise they would have come themselves to be baptized, as did the others. What then did they seek of him?"

 

Fourth Sunday in Advent, John 1:19-28. The Witness and Confession of John the Baptist; and the Spiritual Meaning of His Witness

8. They sent to him, why did they not come themselves? John had come to preach repentance to the entire Jewish people. This preaching of John they did not heed; it is clear therefore, that they did not send to him with good and pure intentions, offering him such honor. Neither did they truly believe him to be the Christ, or Elijah, or a prophet; otherwise they would have come themselves to be baptized, as did the others. What then did they seek of him? Christ explains this, John 5:33-35, “Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne witness unto the truth. He was the lamp that burneth and shineth, and ye were willing to rejoice for a season in his light.” From these words it is clear they looked for their own honor in John, desiring to make use of his light,” his illustrious and famous name, in order to adorn themselves before the people. For if John had joined them and accepted their proffered honor, they also would have become great and glorious before all the people, as being worthy of the friendship and reverence of so holy and great a man. But would not hereby all their avarice, tyranny, and rascality have been confirmed and declared holy and worthy? Thus John, with all his holiness, would have become a sponsor for vice; and the coming of Christ would justly have been regarded with suspicion, as being opposed to the doings of the priests and tyrants, with whom John, this great and holy man, would have taken sides.

9. Thus we see what rascality they practice and how they tempt John to betray Christ and become a Judas Iscariot, in order that he might confirm their injustice and they might share his honor and popularity. What cunning fellows they are, thus to fish for John’s honor! They offer him an apple for a kingdom, and would exchange counters for dollars. But he remained firm as a rock, as is shown by the statement: “And he confessed, and denied not; and he confessed, I am not the Christ.” To John’s confession comprises two things: First, his confessing, and secondly, his not denying. His confessing is his declaration about Christ, when he says, “I am not the Christ.” To this belongs also that he confesses to be neither Elijah nor a prophet. His not denying is declaration of what he really is, when he calls himself a voice in the wilderness, preparing the way of the Lord. Thus his confession is free and open, declaring not only what he is, but also what he is not. For if some one declares what he is not, such a confession is still obscure and incomplete, since one cannot know what is really to be thought of him. But here John openly says, what is to be thought of him, and what not, this giving the people a certain assurance in confessing that he is not the Christ, and not denying that he is the voice preparing his advent.

11. Yet someone might say, The Evangelist contradicts himself in calling it a confession when John declares himself not to be Christ, whereas this is rather a denial, for he denies that he is Christ. To say, “Nay” is to deny, and the Jews wish him to confess that he is Christ, which he denies; yet the Evangelist says that he confessed. And again, it is rather a confession when he says, “I am the voice in the wilderness.” But the Evangelist considers this matter and describes it as it is before God, and not as the words sound and appear to men. For the Jews desired him to deny Christ, and not to confess what he really was. But since he confesses what he is and firmly insists upon what he is not, his act is before God a precious confession and not a denial. “And they asked him, What then? Art thou Elijah? and he saith, I am not.”