Links:
Springdale school gym trashed by tornado
CNN - Possible Tornado - "Trump's Fault"
Springdale Tornado - Seven Injured, Two Critically
Links:
Springdale school gym trashed by tornado
CNN - Possible Tornado - "Trump's Fault"
Springdale Tornado - Seven Injured, Two Critically
The Hymn #263 O Little Flock Fear Not Thy Foe
The Confession of Sins p. 15
The Absolution
The Lenten Reading
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Communion Hymn #388 Just As I Am (Elliot)
I AM the Good Shepherd
The Sermon Hymn #316 O Living Bread from Heaven
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 # 50 Lord Dismiss Us
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| By Norma A. Boeckler |
Lord God, heavenly Father, who by Thy Son didst feed five thousand men in the desert with five loaves and two fishes: We beseech Thee to abide graciously also with us in the fullness of Thy blessing. Preserve us from avarice and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things perceive Thy fatherly goodness, through Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God world without end. Amen.
KJV John 10:11 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. 17 Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. 19 There was a division therefore again among the Jews for these sayings. 20 And many of them said, He hath a devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? 21 Others said, These are not the words of him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind? 22 And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch. 24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. 25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me. 26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: 28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
29 My Father, which gave them me, is
greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. 30
I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32
Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for
which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a
good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a
man, makest thyself God. 34 Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law,
I said, Ye are gods? 35 If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came,
and the scripture cannot be broken; 36 Say ye of him, whom the Father hath
sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I AM the
Son of God? 37 If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. 38 But if I
do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe,
that the Father is in me, and I in him. 39 Therefore they sought again to take
him: but he escaped out of their hand, 40 And went away again beyond Jordan
into the place where John at first baptized; and there he abode. 41 And many
resorted unto him, and said, John did no miracle: but all things that John spake
of this man were true. 42 And many believed on him there.
KJV John 10:11 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.
The first few words define the
chapter, with I AM the Door being the introduction, and the Good Shepherd
giving His life for the sheep as the overall theme. One kind of teaching and
preaching Jesus Christ as the Son of God and Savior is to describe and explain
His miracles – nature miracles (stilling the storm, walking on water, changing
water into wine, multiplying the loaves and fish), healing miracles (the blind,
the deaf, the lepers, the crippled and palsied), and greatest of all - death
conquering (the widow’s son, the young girl, Lazarus called out from his tomb).
Another significant part of teaching and preaching Jesus Christ is to describe
Him as He is, from the beginning, as the Son of God, the Creating Word (Logos),
Messiah or Christ, the Son of David, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
The I AM sermons define Jesus so
clearly that we can see the miracles promoting and sustaining faith in Him, but
knowing Jesus as He teaches about Himself is the most productive way we can
think about Him, meditate about Him, pray to Him, and rely on Him in all the
miraculous, sad, joyous, challenging, and painful parts of our lives. Jesus
Himself made this clear in the Gospel of John. The miracles confirm His
divinity, and yet those who were there to see and even taste the miracles
(wine, bread, fish) were not all converted. Many wanted even more. His teaching
about Himself as the Son, as the Voice, Will, and Face of God – that is the
most powerful of all.
Does anyone wonder why the
rationalists and apostates hate the Fourth Gospel and try to omit it from the
New Testament? The Son of God focuses the terror of the apostates and
rationalists, thereby showing us the way out of their Castle of Doom (Pilgrim’s
Progress). The miracles are very important, because they show us the Son of God
at work. Even more important is the nature of the Son of God as the Good
Shepherd, which will be the introduction of the sermon book when these are
completed – all the connections from the Old Testament: 23rd Psalm,
Isaiah 40 and 53, Creation in Genesis 1, etc.
I AM the Good Shepherd means, in the
original Greek, I AM (God’s own Name)
·
the Shepherd above all Shepherds,
·
the Noble Shepherd,
·
the Highest and Best Shepherd,
·
the ideal Shepherd.
Centuries of illustrations and stained-glass
windows have given us the image of the Shepherd holding the lamb and guiding
the mother. To clarify His divine role, Jesus also describes two other
personalities in Christendom. One is the wolf inside the flock, killing and
scattering and wounding the flock. Luther said, “People like wolf-preaching.” There
should be no surprise to see a glittering but empty cathedral when the wolf is
done. Reversing Luther’s famous quotation – That wherever a cathedral is built,
the devil builds a chapel, now we see that wherever a chapel is built, even a
spare room in a rented house, the devil builds a cathedral.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd because He
laid down His life for the flock. There are many parallels to raising sheep in
this chapter and other places, but never did an earthly shepherd give up his
own life for a sheep. As great as every single miracle is, the greatest miracle
is God’s own Son taking on the sins of the world to stir up faith in our hearts
and receive His righteousness. So that is why He is the Good Shepherd, so when
we are full of doubts, uncertainty, fears, and qualms, we know – He gave up His
life for me. He fashioned the path to eternal life for believers in Him, so we
can follow Him in eternal life as we did in this life.
The other character is also familiar
in Christendom. He is the hired hand, who connects his pay to the work he has
to do. If he wants a pension, a health plan, and the friendship of other hired
hands, he does what he is told. He is easily frightened by lupine threats and
runs away for safety. He sells gadgets mocking the Christian Faith to show how
cool he is, and nobody seems to mind. The crowd likes the weak and timid
hired-hand minister, because he is no threat to their mistaken view of
Christianity.
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.
Verse 14 should quash doubts more than
a thousand miracles might. Jesus us knows us by our Christian names. When we
are baptized, our baptismal names become our identity. As one famous LCMS
professor said, “Every soul has a name.” The baby and toddler eating ice cream –
Jesus knows them, and they know Jesus by the visible Word of Holy Baptism and
the teaching and preaching they hear.
Adults explain miracles into oblivion,
but children simply declare their faith in Jesus. How did Jesus enter a locked
room? Answer from a child – “He is God. He can do anything.” There is more
faith in a believing child than in an entire conference of professional
Biblical scholars, especially the Vaticanus-Sinaiticus text salesmen.
Verse 15 is not the plan for the World
Council of Churches, though they would like to think so. Many have scattered
their flocks by saying they must be in one organization, where everyone must
believe in the newest fads the ecumenical groups. As Herman Melville saw so
long ago, the radical Left churches set Europe and America up for the radical
Left politics we see in government and education today. When I argued against
them in the 1970s at the local pastors’ conferences, they clergy looked on me
with pity and scorn.
17 Therefore doth my Father love me,
because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. 18 No man taketh it
from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have
power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.
John’s Gospel repeatedly shows us that
God the Father and God the Son teach and command together. The Father commands
and yet the Son acts willingly. This reinforces the idea of the Atonement not
being forced upon Jesus but willingly accepted the role. Even then, His life
was not taken away from Him, but he laid it down and took it up again.
19 There was a division therefore
again among the Jews for these sayings. 20 And many of them said, He hath a
devil, and is mad; why hear ye him? 21 Others said, These are not the words of
him that hath a devil. Can a devil open the eyes of the blind?
As the sectarians say, “Doctrine
divides.” Jesus had a great following, among the common people and among the
religious nobility. Some came to mock and to oppose. Others came to hear the
voice of the Messiah. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea were believers from the
upper class, and they risked their lives for Jesus.
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| Let's show our respect for the Papacy and its equal partner in Eastern Orthodoxy. |
Some danger signals have been flashing for decades - on adiaphora, matters of indifference.
Biblical knowledge is at its lowest ebb, yet the conservative sects (WELS-ELS-LCMS-ELDONA) push hard to promote the Apocrypha, those books which have never been canonical. His Holiness in Rome said a Mass of thanksgiving for this blessed change.
Holy Father in Rome created a three-year lectionary. ELCA followed, then the "conservatives." The Antichrist says, "Thank you for supporting our work."
Rome's liturgical calendar had to be changed, along with the paraments, because that would also be unifying. Most of the Protestants and all of the Lutheran sects agreed, adiaphora - but why follow Roman Catholic practices when they reject Justification by Faith? I get it - the Lutherans also reject the Chief Article of the Christian Religion, so that makes it A OK.
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| Father McSorley, a priest who visited Waterloo Lutheran Seminary said, Luther was correct. |
Christian News had no problem with selling Father O'Hare's The Truth about Luther, a vile and dishonest book by a Roman Catholic. Do Roman Catholic publishing houses do the same for Luther? CN's defense was, "We sell to both sides of the issue."
In fact, there is only one side of the ecumenical issue - Calvinistic Objective Justification. I can name many people who thought my writing was great, until I dared to question Justification without Faith, their Helen of Troy. They have invoked their primary sacrament - shunning - which gives me time to write back to believers instead of listening to apostates whining and gnawing.
Vatican Conference Hall in Rome, By Invitation Only
One layman asked me to write about the issue of adiaphora - matters of indifference in Latin. The term is abused in today's Lutherdom, because education is so poor and continued study is lacking, except for phony degrees from Fuller Seminary. The master's degree after a divinity degree was once called - Latin word order - STM - a master of sacred (Christian) theology. Fuller should have retained the practical Doctor of Sacred Theology - STD. Then no one would attach the initials to the name. That is far more sensible than Doctor of Ministry, though D.Min. sounds pleasingly like Demon. Fuller has produced many demons.
I would pay money to hear the Church Growth experts in WELS, LCMS, and ELCA say, "All of us picked up STDs at Fuller Seminary, so pay attention to us."
Enough ruminations! Article VII of the Augsburg Confession states that unity comes from general agreement, not from every possible picky thing anyone can imagine. That is used with Article X of the Formula of Concord to label everything as adiaphora, Latin plural for "matters of indifference." WELS specializes in everything being matters of indifference, including women consecrating Holy Communion, bedding down with ELCA, and promoting Calvinism.
Confidentially, WELS knows as little about the Book of Concord as the Missouri Synod. That is shown by their shared ignorance and mutual opposition to an important part of Article X in the Formula of Concord.
X. 5. Namely, when under the title and pretext of external adiaphora such things are proposed as are in principle contrary to God’s Word (although painted another color), these are not to be regarded as adiaphora, in which one is free to act as he will, but must be avoided as things prohibited by God. In like manner, too, such ceremonies should not be reckoned among the genuine free adiaphora, or matters of indifference, as make a show or feign the appearance, as though our religion and that of the Papists were not far apart, thus to avoid persecution, or as though the latter were not at least highly offensive to us; or when such ceremonies are designed for the purpose, and required and received in this sense, as though by and through them both contrary religions were reconciled and became one body; or when a reentering into the Papacy and a departure from the pure doctrine of the Gospel and true religion should occur or gradually follow therefrom [when there is danger lest we seem to have reentered the Papacy, and to have departed, or to be on the point of departing gradually, from the pure doctrine of the Gospel].
How about this, synodicals, ye who worship the organization and bow down before the fancy-robed and fish-hatted dictator?
The synods - with ELCA - endorsed and promoted the Roman Catholic three-year lectionary.
The synods - with ELCA - love every Biblical paraphrase except the Apostolic Text, aka the Majority or Traditional Text of the KJV, and promote the snip and clip monstrosities of apostate liars Tischendorf, Westcott, Hort, and Aland.
The synods - with ELCA - endorsed and promoted Rome's San Francisco color scheme for the paraments, adding pink, sky-blue, and who knows what.
The district and synod presidents -with ELCA - have become more Roman in their liturgical finery than ever before.
WELS - suffering from withdrawal, giving up their black Geneva gowns - brazenly adopted an expensive Calvinist hymnal of their own and demanded big bucks from the parishes to pay for it.
The synods - with ELCA - despise Biblical Lutheran doctrine, if they even deal with it, and pile up experts of their own from Rome, Calvinism, and the popcorn praise band advocates of the Babtists.
Rome and the Calvinists have made such incursions into Lutheran doctrine and worship that all these "adiaphora" should be removed. No one should be indifferent about the adiaphora coming in the back door, no pun intended, but that is what the thieves like best (John 10).
I got a pineapple whole, which never quite worked before. Christina tried a special pineapple cutter, and I said, "Fingers will come off easier than that outside layer of armor." Cutting that one seemed unusually difficult, so we stuck with Dole.
This is - or was - a fresh pineapple, easily cut with a long, serrated Cutco knife. It seems our other Cutco tools disappeared some time ago. After I made cylinder slices, I looked up the "best way," which was laborious. "Don't eat the core." I just ate the core. I eat apple cores somewhat, depending on hunger.
I ended with four thick triangles per slice. Even with the core, the fruit was heavenly sweet and tasty. Doing everything backwards, I looked up the nutritional value of pineapple.
Pineapples are low in calories but boast an impressive nutrient profile. Just 1 cup (165 grams) of pineapple chunks contains the following nutrients (
Pineapples also contain trace amounts of phosphorus, zinc, calcium, and vitamins A and K.
As you can see, this fruit is particularly rich in vitamin C and manganese. Vitamin C is essential for immune health, iron absorption, and growth and development, while manganese offers antioxidant properties and aids in growth and metabolism (
Antioxidants help prevent oxidation in your body, which may help ward off inflammation that can lead to cancer and other chronic diseases (
Pineapples also contain other micronutrients, such as copper, thiamine, and vitamin B6, which are essential for healthy metabolism (
SUMMARYPineapples are especially rich in vitamin C and manganese, as well as numerous other vitamins and minerals.
Facty says that pineapple helps dissolve mucous (in a friendly way), helping with coughs and stuffiness. Sure enough, I felt the impact soon after eating.
This strikes me as funny because the meat-milk-fat-eggs group is relatively narrow in its nutritional benefits. But mixed greens, vegetables, fruits, and nuts provide
Those benefits are overlooked in favor of the Standard American Diet - basic vitamins, protein, sugar, fat, corn syrup, and high glycemic food (like popcorn with sugar, white bread, fast food, and rice).
| Wiki - the last word about everything - on chickpeas. |
Chickpeas boast an impressive nutritional profile.
They contain a moderate number of calories, providing 269 per cup (164 grams). Approximately 67% of these calories come from carbs, while the rest comes from protein and fat (
Chickpeas also provide a variety of vitamins and minerals, as well as a decent amount of fiber and protein. A 1-cup (164-gram) serving of cooked chickpeas offers (
As you can see, this legume is a particularly good source of the mineral manganese and the B vitamin folate.
SUMMARYChickpeas contain a moderate amount of calories and several vitamins and minerals. They’re also a good source of fiber and protein.
The protein and fiber in chickpeas may help keep your appetite under control.
Protein and fiber work together to slow digestion, which helps promote fullness. In addition, protein may increase levels of appetite-reducing hormones in your body (
In fact, the filling effects of the protein and fiber in chickpeas may automatically lower your calorie intake (
One study compared appetite and calorie intake among 12 women who ate two separate meals (
Before one of the meals, they ate 1.25 cups (200 grams) of chickpeas, then 2 slices of white bread before the other meal. They experienced a significant reduction in appetite and calorie intake after the chickpea meal, compared with the white bread meal (
Another small study found that those who ate pretzels and chickpea-based hummus for an afternoon snack experienced a 70% reduction in appetite and a 30% increase in fullness (
All the same, more research is needed on chickpeas and appetite control.
SUMMARYChickpeas are high in protein and fiber, which may keep you feeling full and reduce your calorie intake at meals.
Though scholars are divided and there are many grey areas of nutrition, anyone can look up the beneficial effects of each food, which is a lot of fun.
Going to the freezer section and canned beans at Walmart is an adventure. I get unusual frozen vegetables because a mistake can be mixed in with the favorites in the sauce pan:
One objection to processed foods, like pork and beans, is the cost. But the other objection is the sugar and salt added.
