From Herman Otten - "Thanks For being a CN- Free Household!"

"Thanks For being a CN- Free Household!"


Herman Otten,. Facebook IM

I responded - "UOJ free, too. And I don't worship the infallible Walther."

Mid-Week Advent Service, 7 PM Central Standard Time.

By Norma Boeckler

Advent, December 18, 2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Mid-Week Advent, Wednesday, 7 PM Central

The Hymn # 240  Father Most Holy                   2.56
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41

The Psalmody            Psalm   14                           p. 124
The First Lection                   
The Second Lection        
 The Sermon Hymn #108       We Sing              1.94

         Paul Gerhardt Hymn

God’s Sacrament-Like Communication

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer                         p. 44

The Collect for Peace                                           p. 45

The Benediction                                                   p. 45

The Hymn # 558 All Praise to Thee                   2:9

Third Mid-Week Advent Sermon

Micah 5:2
"But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from of old, from ancient times."

John 7:42
Does not Scripture say that the Messiah will come from David's descendants and from Bethlehem, the town where David lived?"

Matthew 2:6

And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.

People often try to avoid conflict, especially in religion, but it is good to take note of where the resistance is and why people resist certain concepts.

The Old Testament should teach us that God uses concrete terms and memorable objects to communicate with us, to show us His grace in more than one way.

I will call that sacrament-like, for lack of a better term. When God could have simply taught, using the invisible Word, He chose to make the lessons more lasting, with the invisible Word, signs of His grace.

Circumcision was a sign used by God to unite His people, and that served as preparation for the meaning of Holy Baptism. What do all Christians have in common? Baptism. It is rare to find a believer who has not been baptized, and in one case where it happened, the smart-aleck wanted to be ordained without being baptized.

That brings to mind the resistance to the Sacraments, which many Protestants and Lutheran Pietists exhibit at all times. They do not want an altar and font, but a praise band. They do not see the point of those religious objects getting in the way of their entertainment.

But how did God speak to us in ancient times – and still does through the Word today?

We can hardly count the sacrament-like actions of the Exodus. The blood of the lamb on the doorposts, the spotless lamb sacrificed, the pillar of smoke and fire, the bread from heaven (a foreshadowing of Holy Communion) and the water from the rock (like Holy Communion, see John 4 – the Woman at the Well).

God not only gave commandments but wrote them on tablets of stone, which were carried in an ark. The ark continues to fascinate people today and there are at least two known locations for it, both “proven” by their advocates.

God communicates through visual elements because of our frailty. We want to be sure of things through objects we can see, touch, and experience. One of the largest businesses in St. Louis is built on awards. Why give awards? Why not simply say “Attaboy”? People love trophies, awards, prizes, objects, gold and platinum records.

So we recognize the crown as a sign of triumph. It was made of laurel leaves in the Roman Empire, and is made of gold and silver for the English throne. We see crowns all over church decorations, on banners and in stained glass windows.

But a crown is a Stephanos in Greek, so the name Stephan or Steve comes from that word crown. Was it a coincidence that the first man to die for the Christian faith was named Crown and the New Testament often mentions the Crown of Life?

Likewise, there is this little town of Bethlehem. Picture this, as Twilight Zone used to say. The prophet said the great ruler would come from this little town – not Jerusalem the world city.

And this town was known for one thing – being the birthplace of David, the shepherd boy who became the visible symbol of the Messiah. All the promises of the Messiah are linked to the House of David, the Son of David, just as Jesus was called when He entered Jerusalem the last time, riding on a donkey, assuming the role of the King of Israel, true heir of David, the Lord yet David’s Son.

This is where the visual communication of God’s Word is so inspiring – and inspired. David is known as the shepherd, and Jesus is the Good Shepherd. King David wrote, “The Lord is my Shepherd,” and Jesus is that Shepherd.

Jesus is defined as the Good Shepherd especially in John 10 (and Luke 15), but also as the shepherd in other places.

So the materialistic ideas of the Messianic reign were tied to the image of David as the warrior, but God intended to convey the Son of David as the Good Shepherd.

Christians have adored the warrior king at times, going to battle for their cause  -  which caused Zwingli the Swiss Reformer and many other clergy to die on the battlefield.

In contrast, Jesus as the Good Shepherd died on the battlefield for us, and serves as the gentle Shepherd Who calls us, guides us, and comforts us in all distress and anxiety.

How Many Years Have I Written about Thrivent and Abortion on Demand?

Sex education from incompetent boobs
is always a path to the abortion clinic.

http://daringlutheran.net/2013/12/17/thrivents-dangerous-game/

Thrivent’s Dangerous Game

December 17, 2013Commentaryabortion, Christian, conscience, LCMS, Lutheran,Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod, Missouri Synod, Planned Parenthood, Thrivent, Thrivent Choice,Thrivent Financial for Lutherans

Earlier today, I was alerted to the presence of an entry in the Thrivent Choice database. The entry was for Planned Parenthood of Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota. It can be found here.

Planned Parenthood is the leading abortion provider in the United States, having performed around 327,000 abortions in 2012.

Thrivent Choice is described in this way on Thrivent’s website: “The Thrivent Choice® program lets members recommend where some of Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ charitable outreach funds go by directing Choice Dollars®.”

Thrivent is “a faith-based, not-for-profit membership organization nearly 2.5 million members strong.” Why is Thrivent providing a way for Planned Parenthood – an abortion business that commits atrocities every day that are completely contrary to the will of God – to receive charitable contributions from them?

I asked Thrivent on Twitter:

Thrivent responded with a few tweets, neatly summed up here:

I’m not a Thrivent member, so I’m not entirely clear on how the Thrivent Choice program works. Browsing the Thrivent Choice website, I came across a similar list of requirements for an organization to be listed in the Thrivent Choice catalog:

Organizations Eligible for Choice Dollars

• 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations and congregations that meet program eligibility rules; and
• Recommended by a benefit member; and
• Approved by a Thrivent Chapter/chartered Thrivent FR Community leadership board before being added to the online catalog.

Notice that these three requirements need to be met before the organization is listed in the Thrivent Choice online catalog. Planned Parenthood is currently listed in the Thrivent Choice online catalog. Which means that the local chapter board has already approved of Planned Parenthood as a fitting organization to receive Thrivent Choice dollars.

It’s puzzling to me that Thrivent has left themselves open to dollars being given to an organization that would so clearly be offensive to a large portion of their members. So I asked:

and

Thrivent responded:

Then, thankfully, this:

So, while at this point Thrivent Choice dollars can be awarded to Planned Parenthood by a Thrivent member designating their own Choice dollars to Planned Parenthood, it has not yet actually happened. Thanks be to God.

Thrivent is playing a dangerous game. They have created a charitable giving program that lacks any sort of rules limiting eligible organizations to those that are consistent with the word of God. At any time, Thrivent Choice dollars could easily end up in the hands of Planned Parenthood.

It seems that Thrivent could change this quickly. The Terms & Conditions for organizations participating in the Thrivent Choice program clearly state that “Thrivent Financial adopts Terms and Conditions as well as other Program Rules for Thrivent Choice at its sole discretion. Thrivent Financial may change, limit, modify, cancel or revoke Thrivent Choice and/or Terms and Conditions and/or other Program Rules at any time and for any reason, with or without notice…” In other words, Thrivent can make a rule eliminating the eligibility of organizations like Planned Parenthood.

Likewise, the member’s direction to Thrivent to give Thrivent Choice dollars to a specific organization is only a direction – in other words, similar to advice. According to the Terms & Conditions for members, “Thrivent Financial retains total discretion as to whether or how all Choice Dollars are distributed. Any “direction” that I provide to Thrivent to designate recipients of Choice Dollars is a request and recommendation from me suggesting a recipient of Choice Dollars funding which Thrivent is under no legal obligation to approve or follow. The use of the term “direct,” “direction,” “choose,” “choice” or other terms in these Terms and Conditions or in any communications regarding Thrivent Choice, does not provide me with any authority to make any decision regarding the use of any funds.”

So Thrivent can act to do the right thing. They should eliminate eligibility for organizations such as Planned Parenthood that carry out purposes contrary to the will of God. They should inform their members that may have directed Choice Dollars to such organizations that they will not be paying any money to those organizations.

Others have been engaging Thrivent on Twitter today as well, and it’s encouraging that Thrivent is at least listening, responding, and promising to get the feedback to the Thrivent Choice team. It seems that right now it’s very important to get the word out so that current Thrivent members can contact Thrivent and encourage them to modify the Thrivent Choice policies. Urge Thrivent to block eligibility to organizations like Planned Parenthood that perform abortions or in other ways act or lobby contrary to the will of God.

(Thanks to Steven Cholak for bringing this to my attention.)

***

GJ - When President Mark Schroeder phoned me, to get Ichabod on the side of his administration, I mentioned the toxic Thrivent involvement. He had no interest in changing that.

Working with ELCA, as WELS and Missouri do, means endorsing everything they do. 

WELS and Missouri have the added connection with their jointly-supported false teacher, Mark Jeske, on the Thrivent Board, doling out abortion dollars.

The Jeske Nebula has been spotted moving closer and closer
to the Megabucks Constellation.

Pat the Bunny Plagiarist Matt Doebler, WELS - To Asian Seminary. "We Are Becoming More Confessional"

"You thought we hit rock bottom in Asia with Lawrenz and Witte?
No way!"

    Doebler, Rev Matthew D     East Asia Administrative Committee   12/03/2013
         Professor, Asia Lutheran Seminary

Doebler got a $20,000 grant for this?



Are WELS congregations in Texas so devoid of the Gospel that they need live bunnies and an Easter egg hunt to draw visitors?

Kudu Don Patterson did this last year, so I borrowed the bunny photo and replaced Dom Perignon's face with Doebler's.

WELS Church Lady says Doebler is confessional. If Doebler is a confessional Lutheran pastor, then Glaeske is a conservative DP.

For all you missionaries looking for a call, any call, and all the congregations and schools that are out of money - rent a bunny suit. The grant-givers love a touch of fleece.

I am sure the ELS and WELS boards of doctrine will jump on this like hobos on a hotdog.

Search Easter egg hunts in WELS.

Search Easter egg hunt in the LCMS.



---





"We rejoice where God has brought us and look forward to where God is taking us for 2009 and beyond."Audio here.


Part 1 - Long illustration about Pastor Matt being sick and taking Nyquil. A real nail-biter. 

Part 2 - More about Matt Doebler being ill and anxious.

Part 3 - Paul and Thessalonica.

Part 4 - Rock and Roll Church is three years old. Make it or break it time. Lost some major WELS synodical grants. Hoping for some other grants. [GJ - Church and Chicanery teaches its disciples how to eat high on the hog.]

Part 5 - Typical statistics about the unchurched in Round Rock, Texas. Assumes that people who do not go to church "have no relationship to Jesus Christ." [GJ - Maybe they are sick of apostasy from the pulpit, marketing the Gospel, and rock-n-roll seeker services.]

Part 6 - Calls Law and Gospel "theological mumbo-jumbo." Members are "filled with the Holy Spirit." Some baptisms coming up. Praising members up and down, especially for setting up and taking down [GJ - routine for most mission churches].

Part 7 - Pastor Matt is "totally excited about the new year." "God is working here, guys." [GJ - I am interested in these awesome new liturgical words. Grace, mercy, and peace, guys. I totally like it.]

Part 8 - Paul enters the sermon again. Briefly. "God wants grace to come to this community." Does a little voice quaver, which is popular among the Reformed. 

Part 9 - Typical Church Growth section about outreach, Law-based. Everyone has to reach out and "love our community." Get on a ministry team. Sunday is not "just about us." Focus on the guests. Love them. This may be our only chance. [GJ - I would feel like a guest at a Herbal Life sales meeting.]

Part 10 - Hamburger joint section. "All about the experience." "How many have been to Mighty Fine Burger? They want you to have an experience." Oh, Oh, Matt just discovered another Church Growth principle - We should emulate Mighty Fine Burger. More Law - we have to show how great things are for us. We have to represent God and say we are "mighty fine."

Part 11 - Goals. Call a worship leader. What is Matt? Go to multi-site (GJ - which is the Mars Hill and the North Point model). $210,000 grant to Antioch request. Decide by January 10th. That is a "huge, huge deal." We need a worship coordinator.

Start two to three sites by the end of 2009. "Someone donated, like, three computers." 

Small groups. Four non-church people for every Rock member. "It's time to draw the line in the sand. This is the point."

"We have to step it up."

***

GJ - I do not know what this Antioch grant thing is. A doctor of divinity found an Antioch Foundation in La Crosse, Wisconsin, giving grants to WELS.

There are many overlapping Emerging Church, Becoming Missional, and Church Growth businesses known to all the Church and Chicanery pastors. C and C pastors drop names and jargon which go right over most people's heads. Only the insiders understand. Suffice it to say, the epicenters of learning are still Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek Community Church. The Enthusiasts to emulate are Mars Hill, North Point, and a few others.




---




Tuesday, May 19, 2009




Doebler - District Popes Approve Rock and Roll, Copy and Paste Lutheran Church








Why are WELS sermons so Calvinistic?
Answer: They are Kelmed.
Matt Doebler's sermon:

Hasnt Christianity been an Agent of Oppression hypocrisy, Jesus Christ, oppression, church.

This sermon and more from Presbyterian minister Tim Keller can be found here:

Right-click "Download" and select 'save target/link as' to listen to sermons related to Tim Keller's book The Reason for God from the series The Trouble with Christianity: Why it's so Hard to Believe it.
Exclusivity: How can there be just one true religion? 1 John 4:1-10 Download
Suffering: If God is good, why is there so much evil in the world? 1 Peter 1:3-12 Download
Absolutism: Don't we all have to find truth for ourselves? Galatians 2:4-16 Download
Injustice: Hasn't Christianity been an instrument for oppression? James 2:1-17 Download
Hell: Isn't the God of Christianity an angry Judge? Luke 16:19-31 Download
Doubt: What should I do with my doubts? (AM) John 20:1-18 Download
Literalism: Isn't the Bible historically unreliable and regressive? (AM) Luke 1:1-4; 24:13-32

Doebler Sermons:
Dont we all have to find truth for ourselves?
Matt Doebler
05-03-2009
4 listens

How can there be only one true religion?
Matt Doebler
04-19-2009
9 listens

Open the Gates for the King of Glory!
Matt Doebler
04-05-2009
7 listens

The Rebel's Guide to Joy in Poverty (another borrowed series - Mark Driscoll)
Matt Doebler
03-15-2009
30 listens

The Rebel's Guide to Joy in Exhaustion
Matt Doebler
03-01-2009
18 listens

The Rebel's Guide to Joy in Temptation
Matt Doebler
02-15-2009
20 listens

The Rebels Guide to Joy in Death
Matt Doebler
02-01-2009
25 listens

The Rebels Guide to Joy in Loneliness
Matt Doebler
01-18-2009
16 listens

The State of the Church 2009
Matt Doebler
01-04-2009
56 listens

The Hero Follows Through
Matt Doebler
12-21-2008
11 listens

The Hero Delivers
Matt Doebler
12-07-2008
14 listens

The Hero Sacrifices
Jim Radloff11-23-2008
15 listens

The Hero Heals
Matt Doebler
11-09-2008
24 listens
---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Doebler - District Popes Approve Rock and Roll, Co...": 

One day the light bulb will come on at the Sausage Factory with the answer: WELS central will prepare all the sermons, and email them out to the local pastors. Of course, the local pastors will gladly pay several thousand dollars of offerings each year for the service. 

***

GJ - I heard there was a sermon service from The Love Shack. I cannot verify it. At one meeting I suggested shutting down Perish Services and getting everything from Fuller Seminary - direct, instead of filtered. Shocked laughter followed.

Divine Call - Thrivent Insurance Salesman

Kinda like a pastor selling insurance products as a divine call.

http://www.wels.net/about-wels/synod-reports/call-report-archive

Stern, Rev Jonathan D      Conference of Preside (sic) - Waukesha WI  12/15/2013
         Christian giving counselor, AZCA & SC districts

A requirement of Planned Giving Counselors is that they have an insurance license - so they can sell Charitable Gift Annuities and earn a commission.

I do not know if this is exactly the same, so I will wait for the official denial to confirm it.

Ski Replaced - Or Is Blumer the Designated Driver?Yes, They Found Someone Ickier Than Ski

Engelbrecht to Blumer:
"Those are some big beer mugs to fill, son."

http://www.wels.net/about-wels/synod-reports/call-report-archive

    Blumer, Rev Dustin S       St Peter - Appleton WI               12/08/2013
         Associate Pastor @ The CORE

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http://www.amazinglove.org/our-values

PASTOR



 It is one of my greatest joys to be the pastor of Amazing Love. I couldn’t be any more excited to be starting a church in this growing part of Illinois! It is my heart’s desire for everyone to know the great gift of love that is theirs (sic) through Jesus.

As you can see, I'm surrounded by the loves of my life. Kathryn is my college sweetheart, and our daughters are Bella and Nadia.

I graduated from Martin Luther College (New Ulm, MN) in 2004, and from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (Mequon, WI) in 2008. In my third year during Seminary I interned at Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church in Charleston, SC.

And now I look forward to meeting and getting to know you. I think you will find our church has a lot to offer you. You will find a church family who is there to support you. You will find Biblical teaching made relevant for every-day living. You will find people pumped up about the amazing love of Jesus. We hope to see you soon!

Sincerely,

Pumped-Up Pastor Dustin Blumer
---

---




OUR VALUES



1) Outward Focused - We must continue to ask and be driven by this question, “How can we reach others with the saving message of Jesus?” Driven by the needs of those outside, not the desires of those inside. Those with the food of the Gospel sharing food to the starving, not commenting, “I’m not sure I like how this meal tasted.” <<-- Incomplete sentence.

2) Relevant - We will seek to preach and teach today's timeless tosh in timely ways. Our various ministries are also designed for the age in which we live not for the 1500s, 1900s, or 1960s. As Luther took the German Bible and made the prophets speak German - our goal is to take the Bible and use the language and technology of today in order to speak to the heart of people, and not over the head of people. Got that, Dudes?

3) Compassionate - We will deeply care for and love all who (sic) we meet. This compassion will be displayed the very first Sunday people visit and thereafter. We will seek to serve and meet the various needs of our community, especially those outside the church.

4) Bringing Best - Sunday will be the best part of our week and will build us up. The best of God’s gifts on display in all elements of what we do as we gather around his Word. We reject that Jesus deserves our leftovers - as he gave his best, his life, so we give it our all and then some.

5) All Involved - We are together the universal priesthood of believers. We all have work to do as the body of Christ. Every member must be involved in this mission. The mission is a collective mission not the pastor’s mission. The pastor can’t do everything the body was intended to do.

6) Humility - In all things reflecting glory back to God - especially at times where God grants success or blesses the church with visible gifts or talents.

7) Inviting - We all will be actively inviting others to church in order to see the great gifts our God has for us.

8) Big Faith - The God who made the universe is the same God who is the Lord of his body the church. We have heard of his fame and wonder and want him to renew those great deeds in our day (Habbakuk 3) We expect great things as we look to do his will and further his kingdom. Standing on his promises we are secure - no matter how scary it seems.

I Am Healthy - But It Is Grading Season with Two Book Projects

Management by Objective - tossed out the window by Luther.
Why not try the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace?
Salvador Dali painting.

Dr. Lito Cruz wondered about my health, and Bruce Church asked about a missing post. The semester is closing, so I have grades to finish and post. In the midst of this activity I have - an extra faculty meeting, and a trip we took to Little Rock for a special conference.

My Lutheran Hymnal is finishing and the apologetic novel is starting. I have found the December-January academic lull a good time to get book projects done. Christmas gives me the only two weeks in the year without any teaching and four weeks without local classes.

Teaching is quite busy for the time being. As I expected, the time would come when the retirements and home-going of the highly trained Boomers would open up a lot more opportunities.

Third Sunday in Advent. Stewards of the Mysteries of God. 1 Corinthians 4:1-5

The Third Sunday in Advent, 2013

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn # 8 Father Who the Light            2. 20

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #76 A Great and Mighty Wonder            2.2  

Stewards of Mysteries Revealed Only by Faith

The Hymn # 77:1-8 All My Heart               2.25

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 # 77:9-15            All My Heart               2.25

KJV 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

KJV Matthew 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples,3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.

Third Sunday In Advent

Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst suffer Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to become man, and to come into the world, that He might destroy the works of the devil, deliver us poor offenders from sin and death, and give us everlasting life: We beseech Thee so to rule and govern our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may seek no other refuge than His word, and thus avoid all offense to which, by nature, we are inclined, in order that we may always be found among the faithful followers of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and by faith in Him obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Stewards of Mysteries Revealed Only by Faith

KJV 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.

As Luther pointed out, and everyone knows, the Corinthians were divided into factions, lining up according to the men they followed. Nothing reveals conflict more than this manner of settling doctrinal problems. We can see that today when people line up according to this man or that man, taking turns attacking each man. It reminds me of John 9 and the Keystone Kops, chasing around foolishly.

Paul addressed this problem with great eloquence and simplicity, giving us the greatest possible treatment of the ministry – which is why it is so widely ignored today.

This word “account” is an interesting one. It could be translated as “reckon” and we usually associate it with justification by faith. Abraham believed and it was accounted as righteousness (Gen 15, Romans 4, Galatians).

So this is a job evaluation. If any human being wants to be give a job evaluation of Paul and the apostles – we are ministers (servants) of Christ and stewards (managers) of the mysteries of God.

This one sentence condenses all we need to know about how the Christian Church works in its gracious operation.

Paul is clearly arguing against the wrong definition implied by these words. Is he popular? Are his numbers good? Is everything running smoothly? Are they changing so they do not die, as the popular apostates teach (to loud applause).

His job evaluation cannot be done by people and he awaits the only possible one, done by God alone.

Minister means servant, so Paul is a servant of Christ – as all the apostles were. This is the opposite of being the servant of people, or as the pope calls himself, Servant of the Servants of God. That is why he is infallible.

Stewards of the mysteries of God contains the most important phrase of all. Luther did not know how he could translate the term mysterion, so he left it the same in German, as we do in English.

Secrets could be another term used. Each synonym has other associations, so we have to look at what it means. The mysteries are articles of faith, known only to believers. A non-believer may know the term Holy Trinity and define it, but it remains a mystery until he believes it. This happens through the Holy Spirit’s power in the Word.

If someone wants to look at the popular claim that the Trinity does not appear in the Bible, he only needs to study those passages where the Divine is spoken of in groups of three, from the Aaronic benediction in Numbers 6 to Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God of Hosts (Isaiah 6:3). Add to that the man Father/Son references and the Spirit’s role in witnessing. Use a computer t find Father, Son, and Holy Spirit within two verses – the Trinity is all over the New Testament and begins at Genesis 1.

The arguments against this shorthand term (Trinity) are lame when confronted by faith and knowledge. Trinity itself as a term is not found in the Bible, since it was first used about 500 years after Christ. But the Trinity is there in the Scriptures. One must be blind not to see it – and that is a clue. One can read the verses all day and become more blind to the mysteries because of a proud arrogance judging the Word of God as one more religious book.

The job description of the minister of Christ is to teach the mysteries of faith and nothing more. Apart from teaching and preaching and take the Word to others in visitation and evangelism, a minister has no other task to accomplish.

Holy Spirit work is Word work. If it is not Word work, it does not belong to God but to man. So there is a clamor to have so much of man’s work that there is no time or energy left for God.

Man’s wisdom excludes God’s wisdom in the church, and vice versa. Studies show, as Fuller Seminary likes to say, that studies prove nothing and only serve to blind more people to the truth of the Word.

2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.

Steward simply means manager. In an estate he was the chief servant who ran the estate for the owner. In Europe, the stewards were those who sat on the throne until the prince came of age, so he could rule. In various applications the steward has great power, but it is subordinated to the master, so it is required that a steward be faithful in his duties.

Faithful does not mean successful in man’s terms, but in God’s terms. Staying out of prison would be a good thing for most church organizations, but John Bunyan (Pilgrim’s Progress) did more in prison than most evangelists do in a lifetime – and his work continues today in teaching the Word of God, justification by faith apart from the works of the Law.

What counts today is conformity to the structure of the organization. The agenda keeps changing but the conformity mandate does not. One criterion (reckoning) excludes the other. To be judged faithful to the synod is to be unfaithful to the Word of God.

When the poor, innocent, and helpless are attacked and used by clergy perverts, the synod says, “Erase the evidence, because the lawsuit will cost us $10 million.” When I pointed out that one such lawsuit cost $40 million, an advocate for UOJ called me a liar because he did not know such a thing to be true. So I provided the evidence that ELCA did this and faced the judgment for their evil judgment in ordaining a known predator against boys.

These evils continue because men are not faithful to the Word but to the synod that rewards them for infidelity.

3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.

Many things are coming to light already, but far more will be known, revealed in Judgment. Those who enjoyed rich benefits and benefices for their denominational loyalty will be exposed, their homes and BMWs no more comfort to them.

We hear all the time about what recent professors said, but what did Luther say about this crucial passage?

Luther:

11. Their claim that in addition to the teachings of Christ, the commandments of the Church may be taught and they intimate that their teachings are the doctrines of the Church is of no significance. Paul’s teaching here continues to stand, that the Church belongs neither to Peter nor Paul, but to Christ only, and acknowledges none but the servants or ministers of Christ. You see, then, the blasphemy of the Pope in crying obedience to his doctrines as the road to salvation, and disobedience to them the road to damnation. Paul here makes obedience to these things a work of the devil; as he does also in 1 Timothy 4:1-3: “But the Spirit saith expressly, that in later times some shall fall away from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons, through the hypocrisy of men that speak lies, branded in their own conscience as with a hot iron; forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by them that believe and know the truth.” And Christ says: “My sheep hear my voice, and a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers. I know mine own, and mine own know me.” John 10:5-14.

18. So, then, the mysteries of God are simply the blessings in Christ as preached through the Gospel and apprehended and retained by faith alone.

Paul says relative to the matter, speaking on how men should behave themselves in the house of God: “Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness; he who was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, received up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16. This is spoken of Christ, who was manifest in the flesh. He dwelt among men who had flesh and blood like himself, yet he was still a mystery. That he was Christ, the Son of God, the life, the way, the truth and all good, was hidden.

19. Yet he was “justified in the Spirit;” that is, through the Spirit’s influence believers received, acknowledged and retained him as all we have mentioned. “To justify” means simply to pronounce just, or at least to admit as just; as we have in Luke 7:29: “All the people when they heard, and the publicans, justified God.” Again, in Psalm 51:4: “That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest.” This is equivalent to saying:

The believer in Christ justifies him, and acknowledges the truth that Christ alone is our life and righteousness and wisdom, and that we are sinners, condemned and perishing. For such Christ is, and such is his claim. He who acknowledges this his claim justifies him in the Spirit; but he who does not justify him relies upon his own works; he does not see himself condemned but contends against and condemns Christ. [This justification of Christ is effected by no one unless he possesses the Holy Spirit, whose work alone it is. Flesh and blood cannot do it, even if it be publicly presented to our eyes and preached into our ears.]