Gutted USAID, wasting billions in aid and costing lives.
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Comic performer Matt the Fatt sang a song to help him become a Sect President. |
ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the National Council of Churches.
Monday, April 28, 2025
ELCA Bishop Liz Eaton, Rev. Fake Doctor Matt Harrison, And Thrivent All Partook of the Supernatural Loot
Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Shepherd Sunday - Easter 2. - "This kingdom, as we have said, is so constituted that we all must daily increase and grow in holiness, and it is not governed by any other power save the oral proclamation of the Gospel."
Psalm 51 (Misericordias. Also called “Shepherd Sunday”).
Text: John 10:11-16.
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
1. This is a comforting Gospel, which so beautifully portrays the Lord Jesus and teaches us what manner of person he is, what kind of works he does, and how he is disposed toward men. And there is no better way to understand it than to contrast light and darkness and day and night; that is, the good shepherd with the wicked one, as the Lord himself does.
2. Now, you have often heard that God has given the world two different proclamations. One is that which is declared in the Word of God when it says: Thou shalt not kill, not commit adultery, not steal (Exodus 20:13-15), and when it adds the threat that all who do not keep these commandments shall die. But this declaration will make no one godly at heart. For though it may compel a man outwardly to appear godly before men, inwardly it leaves the heart at enmity with the Law, and wishing that there were no such Law.
3. The other proclamation is that of the Gospel. It tells where one may obtain that which will meet the demands of the Law. It does not drive or threaten, but tenderly invites us. It does not say, Do this and do that, but rather: Come, I will show you where you may find and obtain what you need to make you godly. See, here is the Lord Jesus; he will give it to you.
1. This is a comforting Gospel, which so beautifully portrays the Lord Jesus and teaches us what manner of person he is, what kind of works he does, and how he is disposed toward men. And there is no better way to understand it than to contrast light and darkness and day and night; that is, the good shepherd with the wicked one, as the Lord himself does.
2. Now, you have often heard that God has given the world two different proclamations. One is that which is declared in the Word of God when it says: Thou shalt not kill, not commit adultery, not steal (Exodus 20:13-15), and when it adds the threat that all who do not keep these commandments shall die. But this declaration will make no one godly at heart. For though it may compel a man outwardly to appear godly before men, inwardly it leaves the heart at enmity with the Law, and wishing that there were no such Law.
3. The other proclamation is that of the Gospel. It tells where one may obtain that which will meet the demands of the Law. It does not drive or threaten, but tenderly invites us. It does not say, Do this and do that, but rather: Come, I will show you where you may find and obtain what you need to make you godly. See, here is the Lord Jesus; he will give it to you.
I. THE NATURE OF THE OFFICE AND KINGDOM OF CHRIST EXPLAINED.
5. Now, here Jesus has in mind the second proclamation. He explains it and sets himself forth as the chief shepherd, yea, as the only shepherd; for that which he does not tend is not kept. This comforting and sweet proclamation we will now consider.
6. You have heard that after his sufferings and death Christ our Lord arose from the dead and entered upon, and was enthroned in, an immortal existence. Not that he might sit up there in heaven idly and find pleasure in himself, but that he might take charge of the kingdom of which the prophets and all the Scriptures have so fully spoken, and might rule as a king. Therefore, we should think of him as being present and reigning among us continually, and never think of him as sitting up there doing nothing, but rather that he from above fills and rules all things, as Paul says to the Ephesians 4:10, and especially that he is taking care of his kingdom, which is the Christian faith, and that therefore his kingdom among us here on earth must prosper. This kingdom, as we have said, is so constituted that we all must daily increase and grow in holiness, and it is not governed by any other power save the oral proclamation of the Gospel.
Therefore, the two are as contrary to each other as taking and giving, demanding and presenting; and this distinction must be well observed. Thus God ever has ruled and still rules the world today. To coarse and rude persons, who are not influenced by the Gospel, the Law must be declared, and they must be driven until they are humbled and acknowledge their imperfections. When this has been accomplished, the Gospel is to be applied.
4. These are the two divine proclamations, which come from heaven.
Besides these there are others that are not from heaven, but are human prattle, which the pope and our bishops have invented that they might terrify our consciences. Such men are not worthy of being called shepherds or hirelings, but they are here designated by the Lord Jesus as thieves, murderers and wolves. For if men are to be savingly governed, it must be done with the Word of God; and if it is not done by the Word of God, they are not properly governed.
5. Now, here Jesus has in mind the second proclamation. He explains it and sets himself forth as the chief shepherd, yea, as the only shepherd; for that which he does not tend is not kept. This comforting and sweet proclamation we will now consider.
6. You have heard that after his sufferings and death Christ our Lord arose from the dead and entered upon, and was enthroned in, an immortal existence. Not that he might sit up there in heaven idly and find pleasure in himself, but that he might take charge of the kingdom of which the prophets and all the Scriptures have so fully spoken, and might rule as a king. Therefore, we should think of him as being present and reigning among us continually, and never think of him as sitting up there doing nothing, but rather that he from above fills and rules all things, as Paul says to the Ephesians 4:10, and especially that he is taking care of his kingdom, which is the Christian faith, and that therefore his kingdom among us here on earth must prosper. This kingdom, as we have said, is so constituted that we all must daily increase and grow in holiness, and it is not governed by any other power save the oral proclamation of the Gospel.
Therefore, the two are as contrary to each other as taking and giving, demanding and presenting; and this distinction must be well observed. Thus God ever has ruled and still rules the world today. To coarse and rude persons, who are not influenced by the Gospel, the Law must be declared, and they must be driven until they are humbled and acknowledge their imperfections. When this has been accomplished, the Gospel is to be applied.
4. These are the two divine proclamations, which come from heaven.
Besides these there are others that are not from heaven, but are human prattle, which the pope and our bishops have invented that they might terrify our consciences. Such men are not worthy of being called shepherds or hirelings, but they are here designated by the Lord Jesus as thieves, murderers and wolves. For if men are to be savingly governed, it must be done with the Word of God; and if it is not done by the Word of God, they are not properly governed.
Bye-Bye Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (E Free) in Chicago
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I recall WELS references to using Trinity Divinity to enhance its Church Growth muscle, suggesting both were muscle-headed. Trinity Divinity is derived from the Evangelical Free Church which separated itself from Lutherdom and portrayed itself as very Pietistic, known commonly as "E Free" to save time and space.
E Free congregations were considered Church Growth hot stuff to WELS, and that denomination enjoyed a lot of quality time with WELS staff members. Some might have learned that E Free used dishonest tactics to increase its membership. A good friend told me how a young lady kept inviting him to dinner at a restaurant, only to have her disappear and be replaced with two men urging the poor victim to become a member. Similarly, my wife and I were invited to an insurance agent's home only to discover it was that same gimmick which switched into JOIN MY CHURCH.
When I was studying the Church Growth cancer at various libraries, the E Free name appeared as being in the forefront of CGMism. The apostasy of WELS and the LCMS is clearly linked to all the snake oil movements from the bowels of Fuller Seminary, Schuller's Hour of Power, Purpose Driven, Willow Creek and more. I was at WELS events where they funded pastoral trips to Willow Creek - to catch the magic of Bill Hybels, exposed later as an adulterer.
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| Team Jackson visited Willow Creek Community Church because WELS was slobbering over how wonderful it was. This is Hybels and his wife when they first met. |
Raise your hands if you think the collapse of Trinity Divinity School and WELS/LCMS are exactly the same in foolishness and the urging of their Father Below.
The Irresistible Trinity Evangelical Divinity School Hustles Out of Chicago
Alumni of the Illinois-based Trinity Evangelical Divinity School say they are saddened but not necessarily surprised by the announcement earlier this month that the seminary will leave the Chicago area and move over 2,000 miles away to Western Canada amid years of declining enrollment and financial concerns.
With historic roots in the northern Chicago suburbs, TEDS entered into a commitment to become the seminary of Trinity Western University in British Columbia, one of the largest Christian universities in Canada, also aligned with the Evangelical Free Church of America.
Leaving the campus of Trinity International University in Deerfield, Illinois, the divinity school plans to hold its first classes in Canada in the fall of 2026. American students still enrolled at that point can complete their degrees online.
Likewise, the WELS sect now has only 20 students graduating from the Sausage Factory (the ELS nickname for Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, Mequon).
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| Imagine the thrill of WELS Pastor Ski getting a photo-op with Andy Stanley! |