Cantate Sunday - 2025.

 

The Hymn #347                           Jesus Priceless Treasure                     

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Oh, sing (cantate) unto the Lord a new song: 

for He hath done marvelous things.

The Lord hath made known His salvation: 

His righteousness hath He openly showed in the sight of the heathen.

Psalm. His right hand and His holy arm hath gotten Him the victory.

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

Collect

O God, who makest the minds of the faithful to be of one will, grant unto Thy people that they may love what Thou commandest and desire what Thou dost promise, that among the manifold changes of this world our hearts may there be fixed where true joys are to be found; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual 

Gradual

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. The right hand of the Lord is exalted: 

the right hand of the Lord doeth valiantly. Hallelujah!

V. Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more: 

death hath no more dominion over Him. Hallelujah!

    

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #132                O God of God   

                 Jesus Teaching the Holy Spirit

Communion Hymn #259     Flung to the Heedless Winds

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 #657                        Beautiful Savior                     

In Our Prayers -

• Treatment and recovery - Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris, Lori Howell, . Dr. Kermit Way, Sarah Buck, Dr. Cruz is doing better. BibleJohn is getting diabetic treatments.
• The St. Louis tornado took 5 lives and much more to comprehend.
• Pray for our country's leaders as the major trials continue. 
• Biblical doctrine is broadcast live on Tuesdays and Thursdays, at 10 AM Central. 
• The Bethany Lutheran Hymnal  has 91,547 views.

KJV James 1:16 Do not err, my beloved brethren. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. 18 Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures. 19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath: 20 For the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God. 21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

KJV John 16:5-15 5 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more;  11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.14 He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15 All things that the Father hath are mine: therefore said I, that he shall take of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

   Jesus Teaching the Holy Spirit

John 15:5-7 But now I go my way to him that sent me; and none of you asketh me, Whither goest thou? 6 But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. 7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.

This puzzles many people in great numbers, because they assume or argue everything except the message given, the Spirit-Word combination. 

• Everyone has to be excited and entertained. No.
• Everyone has to be learned, impressed by the most educated. No.
• Everyone has to name the newest building as an honor to him. No.
• Everyone has to be popular. No.

The Spirit works through the Word of God, so we are certain that gardens and fields, lawns and weeds will spring up, flower, fruit, and set seed. Jesus taught the disciples that they must mourn and be without Him as it was in their time together. These passages in John's Gospel show us what has to be so that a few hundred or thousand people can cover the earth with the Gospel of forgiveness and everlasting life.

8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

This is the center of Jesus' work and cannot be escaped. Not only are denominations against faith in Jesus Christ, they openly ridicule the basics of the Good Shepherd's divinity - teaching, miracles, dying to atone for the sins of the world, rising from death and ascending to heaven. How is it that the Father of the Church Growth Movement - Donald McGavran - published his approval of Planned Parenthood? His book was the bible for all the Lutherans, including LCMS-ELS-WELS-ELCA.

That is the big picture, as they say, but it also covers the small one, down to the individuals, based on whether they believe the blessings, miracles, and divine help of the Savior. Some pick and choose.

I remember that my mother had me memorize the 23rd Psalm when I was in Sunday School. I was about 5 years old and we were at Plymouth Congregational Church, now gone, along with First Christian Church. I had her join the Lutheran Church later. Her last stay was in our sun-lit living room in Glendale, Arizona, not far from the venue of the ELCA convention in July. One final day I brought my Bible to her and said, "You taught me this, Mom." I read the 23rd Psalm to her and she passed into eternal life.

The foundational work of the Christian Church is to teach faith in Jesus Christ, in all aspects, from Genesis 1 to the end of time. The wife of my friend from Moline boasted about her studies at a joint-seminary  - Unitarian and Disciples of Christ. "They work together, unified!" So Christina said, "How can you tell the difference?" The lady said this - about the Virgin Birth of Jesus and His resurrection - "Those items are not very important." I was removed from my friend's Facebook list. He had all the catechism lessons of our Augustana congregation and he attended a Lutheran college. 

People feel the burdens of past errors, sins, and various difficulties. This issue is extremely important because the Bible is there for our healing and peace. "Access to His grace" is the key.

Listen Up to the Great Slogan from the First Female Archbishop of ELCA.And Good Riddance!

 

According to the ELCA website, early in her tenure, Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton set forth her own convictions to guide the members of the ELCA in understanding our unique identity, and these convictions have become a recognized way of articulating who we are:

We are church.

We are Lutheran.

We are church together.

We are church for the sake of the world.

That sums up the tenure of Liz Eaton when she could have resigned.

All the ELCA seminaries are closing, so make sure your compost tumblers are ready to move.

***

And LCMS-WELS-ELS-etc Want To Work with ELCA?

From the ALPB Ovaltines

In 2008, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) approved a churchwide budget with a current fund income of $81.67 million and a World Hunger income proposal of $19.25 million, totaling approximately $100.92 million.
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America

By 2011, the ELCA's financial situation had changed significantly. According to reports, national donations decreased from $88 million in 2008 to $40 million in 2011. This decline in revenue was accompanied by a drop in membership, with over 600 congregations leaving the ELCA between August 2009 and January 2011

I had no idea. My impression was giving to churchwide was an slow downward slant, steadily evenly declining through the years. These numbers show another reality. The numbers went over a cliff.

Membership Stats:
2008: The ELCA reported approximately 4,633,887 baptized members.
2011: Membership 4,059,785
2024: 2,793,899 baptized

Funny, no one ever talks about this publicly at synod functions and such.

LCMS Pentecostalism - Diving into Error, Prepping for Fuller Yuk! Seminary

 

Christina and I went to the ELCA seminary in St. Paul to verify this statement in Christianity Today. She also found a WELS quotation which had been denied - as WELS always does. She said, "Now I've got you (deceased) you fat little liar!"

The Church Growth Movement was preceded by Pentecostalism, and the LCMS pastors and laity were hotter than Georgia asphalt for it. I remember Scaer quoting a pastor who was bawling because he would lose 25% of his members if he dared criticize  the Pentecostals in his congregation.

A Missouri DP asked me about accepting a parish where they had a lot of Pentecostals. I quoted Luther, "They act as if they have swallowed the Holy Spirit, feathers and all." The DP laughed out loud but he was like so many others - in the LCA too - afraid to touch the golden egg.

The Pentecostal Pratfall

Behind the movement, the victims failed to grasp the Spirit always connected to the Word, the Word always connected to the Spirit. The older term Enthusiasm was often used as the foundational error of so many strange, new, exciting, money-grabbing efforts. They turned away from the efficacy of the Word to cuddle and promote error. 

The CFW Waltherites turned their cult into a death rattle based on the deity of the Perryville idolaters. The key was shifting the CFW papacy into the next generation - F. Pieper! If one dares to read through Pieper's dogmatics, it is clear that the work is an echo of Walther and Stephan, a blend of Calvinism and gross error.

Pentecostalism had its first blush (a tea term, believe it or not) in the LCA, ALC, WELS, and Missouri. The supposed pro-life Lutherans (LCMS, WELS, and smaller) ignored the contradictions of Donald McGavran and his ardent promotion of abortion in his float-down-from-heaven textbook.

The Big Five Apostates - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) slobbered over Church Growth, which WELS defined as CHURCH! Growth rather than Church GROWTH!

Fuller Seminary, Robert Schuller, Willow Creek, and many other failures proved to be the leverage destroying any semblance of the Means of Grace, replaced by entertainment and rank stupidity, either in or out of a given synod.

Can anyone keep back the gagging reaction to this blarney?

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Easter 4 - Cantate - "Moreover, Christ says further: “He shall guide you into all the truth.” Here we conclude: If what the councils teach be the truth, that one is to wear the tonsure and the cap and live a life of celibacy, then the apostles never came to the truth, since none of them ever entered a cloister, nor kept any of those foolish laws. Thus, Christ must indeed have betrayed us in this, that he said the Holy Spirit should guide us into all the truth, when in reality he wished to teach how we were to become priests ‘and monks and not to eat meat on certain days, and like foolish things. 31. Without doubt it is “truth” before God when one lives an upright and sincere life. But if we now look at our ecclesiasts, pope, bishops, priests and monks, we see nothing but carnival masks, who give themselves the outward appearance of being pious, but in their hearts they are villains. What popes, bishops, and orders have ever led us into this truth, which should spring from within — out of the heart? In everything they are concerned about the outward appearance of things, in order that they may make a display before the eyes of the people."

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

30. Moreover, Christ says further: “He shall guide you into all the truth.”

Here we conclude: If what the councils teach be the truth, that one is to wear the tonsure and the cap and live a life of celibacy, then the apostles never came to the truth, since none of them ever entered a cloister, nor kept any of those foolish laws. Thus, Christ must indeed have betrayed us in this, that he said the Holy Spirit should guide us into all the truth, when in reality he wished to teach how we were to become priests ‘and monks and not to eat meat on certain days, and like foolish things.

31. Without doubt it is “truth” before God when one lives an upright and sincere life. But if we now look at our ecclesiasts, pope, bishops, priests and monks, we see nothing but carnival masks, who give themselves the outward appearance of being pious, but in their hearts they are villains.

What popes, bishops, and orders have ever led us into this truth, which should spring from within — out of the heart? In everything they are concerned about the outward appearance of things, in order that they may make a display before the eyes of the people.

32. Thus they have perverted this text masterfully in order to strengthen their lies; and yet we are to call them gracious lords! To hear such things is exasperating and it should grieve our hearts that we are to suffer such great outrage — should see how shamefully the people act against the precious Word of God and that they make the Holy Spirit a liar. Should not this single passage be powerful enough against the pope and the councils, even if we had no other in the Scriptures?

33. Thirdly, Christ says: “You cannot bear them now.” Here we ask: My dear, should it have been too hard for the apostles to understand or to obey such laws as abstaining from meat, and the like? They had been accustomed in the law of Moses to observe many such outward ceremonies, and had been educated therein all their life, so that it would have been child’s play for them. Moreover, they understood this better than we do. Is it such a difficult matter — that a monk must wear a black or gray cap, the pope three crowns, a bishop a pointed hat, or the manner of dedicating churches and altars and baptizing bells — are these so difficult as to make it necessary that the Holy Spirit should come from heaven to teach such things? If it is not acting the fool enough that one jests with these noble words, then I do not know how one may be a worse fool.

34. Therefore, beware of these liars and understand the words rightly, thus:

Christ wishes to speak of the inward, actual character, not of outward jugglery. He wishes to make the heart, before the eyes of God, pious and righteous in order that it, in the first place, acknowledge its sin, and in the second place, that it acknowledge him to be the one who forgives sin and suffers himself to be sacrificed upon the cross. This is that “truth” which the apostles were not yet able to hear and understand. But those outward things make no one righteous, lead no one to the truth. They make only hypocrites and a show, by which the people are deceived.

35. Thus, we have the true meaning of this passage, from which we see how fools who seek from it to bolster up their jugglery, place themselves in opposition to it and build upon the sand. There is scarcely a passage that is more strongly opposed to them than this one. We have briefly explained this Gospel lesson in order that we may see how it teaches just that which we have always preached.