Reformation Seminary Lecture - KJV John 17:1-14. 4 PM Central Today.

KJV John17 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee:

2 As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.

3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

4 I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.

5 And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.

6 I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word.

7 Now they have known that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.

8 For I have given unto them the words which thou gavest me; and they have received them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and they have believed that thou didst send me.

9 I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine.

10 And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them.

11 And now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to thee. Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.

12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.

13 And now come I to thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have my joy fulfilled in themselves.

14 I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

Heavy Snow for Us - Thoughts on the Sower and the Seed

 

Clethra or Sweet Spice or Summer Sweet - is a bush for bees, butterflies, and hummers. I call it Cinnabon. Neighbors catch the breeze and light up.

I wonder why the vast majority of clergy, professors, and denomination drones overlook the most obvious in the speeches of Jesus. The words are simple yet profound and give us remarkable examples from God Himself, Father Son and Holy Spirit.

The snow is coming down hard now but more like down. A visitor wondered about the daffodils popping up with their greens. They should be extra good, especially with a blanket of thick but light snow.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Sexagesima - "The fourth class are those who lay hold of and keep the Word in a good and honest heart, and bring forth fruit with patience, those who hear the Word and steadfastly retain it, meditate upon it and act in harmony with it."

 

Luther's Sermons - Luke 8:4-15.
Sexagesima

5. The second class of hearers are those who receive the Word with joy, but they do not persevere. These are also a large multitude who understand the Word correctly and lay hold of it in its purity without any spirit of sect, division or fanaticism, they rejoice also in that they know the real truth, and are able to know how they may be saved without works through faith.

They also know that they are free from the bondage of the law, of their conscience and of human teachings; but when it comes to the test that they must suffer harm, disgrace and loss of life or property, then they fall and deny it; for they have not root enough, and are not planted deep enough in the soil. Hence they are like the growth on a rock, which springs forth fresh and green, that it is a pleasure to behold it and it awakens bright hopes. But when the sun shines hot it withers, because it has no soil and moisture, and only rock is there. So these do; in times of persecution they deny or keep silence about the Word, and work, speak and suffer all that their persecutors mention or wish, who formerly went forth and spoke, and confessed with a fresh and joyful spirit the same, while there was still peace and no heat, so that there was hope they would bear much fruit and serve the people. For these fruits are not only the works, but more the confession, preaching and spreading of the Word, so that many others may thereby be converted and the kingdom of God be developed.

6. The third class are those who hear and understand the Word, but still it falls on the other side of the road, among the pleasures and cares of this life, so that they also do nothing with the Word. And there is quite a large multitude of these; for although they do not start heresies, like the first, but always possess the absolutely pure Word, they are also not attacked on the left as the others with opposition and persecution; yet they fall on the right side, and it is their ruin that they enjoy peace and good days. Therefore they do not earnestly give themselves to the Word, but become indifferent and sink in the cares, riches and pleasures of this life, so that they are of no benefit to any one. Therefore they are like the seed that fell among the thorns. Although it is not rocky but good soil; not wayside but deeply plowed soil; yet, the thorns will not let it spring up, they choke it. Thus these have all in the Word that is needed for their salvation, but they do not make any use of it, and they rot in this life in carnal pleasures. To these belong those who hear the Word but do not bring under subjection their flesh. They know their duty but do it not, they teach but do not practice what they teach, and are this year as they were last.

7. The fourth class are those who lay hold of and keep the Word in a good and honest heart, and bring forth fruit with patience, those who hear the Word and steadfastly retain it, meditate upon it and act in harmony with it.

From Norman Vincent Peale to Robert Schuller to Rick Warren - Purpose Driven - To LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic)

Yes, my life was changed, suddenly discovering the Purpose Driven cult during a trip to Saddleback, Orange County, California. I saw the street sign - Purpose Driven - and found a parking place. We were at a Purpose Driven motel when we were guided to where all the motel visitors were flocking.

This event was "paid for" and we had no money to spare, so Christina talked our way in, citing my numerous articles on the Church Growth Movement. We listened to Warren's buffoonery and left, discovering it was a Baptist church. Who knew?

Warren is making waves (see graphic above) about his latest deep thoughts on Jesus - not worth quoting.

Norman Vincent Peale started fan-based church fads, but he plagiarized his Positive Thinking books. WELS members really loved Peale. In Columbus, Ohio, where the WELS churches had a pro-life place, the magazines were all by Peale but the WELSians threw away their own synodical magazine, afraid they would annoy the clients.

Rick Warren - our Ichabod Church Growther of the Week - denied his change of life being derived from a Robert Schuller gathering. WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC found Schuller to be a wee bit secular, so they devoured Warren in their seminary classes and secretive church planting sessions. I cannot measure how many millions of dollars came from the the Big Five Apostates - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic). World missions and US missions were going to explosive results from attending the pricey Church Growth conferences and earning their precious DMins.

So who was it that told me that Rick Warren was heavily influenced by Robert Schuller?

That person was Rick Warren’s wife KAY WARREN! Here is what KAY WARREN told Christianity Today back in November of 2002:

During his last year in seminary, he and Kay drove west to visit Robert Schuller's Institute for Church Growth. "We had a very stony ride out to the conference," she says, because such nontraditional ministry scared her to death. Schuller, though, won them over. "He had a profound influence on Rick," Kay says. "We were captivated by his positive appeal to nonbelievers. I never looked back." (Online Source)

"Nobody in WELS or LCMS attended Fuller Seminary," but they bragged they had more post-seminary students at Fuller than their own synods did. The CLC hacks were also furious that I uncovered their deep love for Enthusiasm. I was "always lying," but my verbatim quotations were too obvious to deny. Olson's DMin paper was published and included lovingly at Martin Luther College library. Students must say "Doctor Olson" or he will not respond to their questions.

The WELS Love Shack is equal to the president's $500,000 mansion.