The Funny Little Robin. Yes - Finishing the I AM Sermons from the Gospel of John

 

I have seven watering places for birds and critters, four in the backyard and three in the front. The third one, new, is a pipe that leads from the AC condenser drip to a clay bowl just below the patio.

During the drought, birds were very anxious to drink and bathe. This one combined desperation with skillful dodging. Robins tend to be anxious, so this one landed on the ground, far to my left but moving around, looking in my eyes for suggestions of human malice. She backed away and came toward me directly but retreated again. Then she went far over to the right and tentatively stepped up to the clay dish, solid and easy for her to perch. She looked anxiously at me one more time and dipped into the water. She was safe.

+++

I will begin regular additions to the I AM sermons in the Gospel of John, starting tonight. My teaching schedule is lower now and includes only the two classes I enjoy most - Old Testament Survey and How To Teach Online.

From the Babylon Bee!

 

Hunter Biden Breathes Sigh Of Relief As FBI Raid Team Passes By His House On Way to Mar-A-Lago

WEST PALM BEACH, FL — High-level Chinese asset and sex trafficker Hunter Biden breathed a sigh of relief this evening as an FBI raid team passed by his West Palm Beach vacation home to raid Donald Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago

Typical WELS - Look at How They Illegally Sneaked Ski Out of Appleton into Kudu Don Patterson's Waiting Arms. Or the Glende Staff Taking the Victim To Court! Glende, Ski, and Two Staff Accused the Innocent, But Got Slapped Down by Judge.

 

WELS Martin Luther College - Their School for Ministry and Cross-Dressing. Adam Mueller approves!

Doubting Miranda: WELS High school principal accused student of making up sexual harassment claims

Kirsten Swanson

"When Miranda Waade was 14 years old, she reported to her high school principal that she’d been sexually harassed and assaulted by two classmates.

Instead of launching an investigation, the principal at West Lutheran High School in Plymouth accused Waade of making the story up, ignored key evidence that supported her claims, and refused to re-enroll the teenager in school the following year, according to internal school documents and police reports obtained by 5 INVESTIGATES.

Records obtained by 5 INVESTIGATES include a text message from one of the male students who harassed Waade, admitting he tried to touch her in a sexual way, a recording of a police interview with the principal and state records that detail how the school failed to follow its policies."

WELS Is a Cult Where the Innocent Are Accused and the Guilty Absolved

 

Minnesota Department of Human Rights settles sexual assault lawsuit against Plymouth WELS school

Kirsten Swanson
Updated: January 27, 2022 - 9:23 AM
Published: February 27, 2020 - 4:33 AM

A judge has ordered a Twin Cities Lutheran school to make significant changes to the way it handles allegations of bullying and harassment.

The Minnesota Department of Human Rights sued West Lutheran High School for discrimination and retaliation in 2019, claiming school officials failed to act after a female student had reported she’d been sexually harassed and assaulted by two fellow classmates.

Miranda Waade, 19, told her story to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in October, after 5 INVESTIGATES obtained records that showed the school’s then-principal, Adam Wiechmann, dismissed her story and accused her of making it up.

Doubting Miranda: High school principal accused student of making up sexual harassment claims

The state will have oversight over West Lutheran High School in Plymouth for the next three years as part of a court-ordered consent decree that was approved Thursday.

[KSTP-TV]

DHR Commissioner Rebecca Lucero said the comprehensive approach will ensure changes that benefit students.

"I think it sends a really clear message that this should not be tolerated," Lucero said in an interview with 5 INVESTIGATES. "When these things happen, like they do everywhere, students need to make sure they are supported and corrective actions are taken."

The consent decree requires West Lutheran High School to take immediate steps to:

• Develop, adopt, and publicly distribute written policies, including a social media policy, that address and prevent bullying, harassment and discrimination;
• Implement a comprehensive protocol for investigating every complaint of harassment, discrimination and retaliation;
• Require all students, faculty, staff and members of its Board of Regents sign a Code of Conduct Pledge each school year that specifically addresses bullying, harassment and discrimination;
• Add bullying and harassment as topics to the curriculum for a required class;
• Train all faculty, staff, students and members of the Board of Regents annually on the school’s obligations to create an environment that is free of discrimination, harassment and bullying;
• Train all staff and officials responsible for conducting investigations with trauma-informed investigation training; and
• Report to the Minnesota Department of Human Rights the number of complaints made related to bullying, harassment and discrimination, the steps taken to investigate the complaint, the outcomes of the investigation and other information necessary.

"We want to have an impact here," Lucero said. "We want to make sure these policies and procedures are being implemented and that they are having the intended effect."

The consent decree is in effect for three years. If at any time, West Lutheran fails to follow the requirements in the agreement, Minnesota’s Department of Human Rights is allowed to seek civil penalties and other relief through the court process, under the terms of the agreement.

West Lutheran’s Board of Regents chairman Mark Kaesmeyer, who signed the consent decree on behalf of the school, could not be reached for comment.

Due to a pending civil lawsuit, Miranda Waade and her family declined to comment through their attorney Thursday.

Are the ELDONUTS Cheaper by the Dozen? Bailing Out of the Archdiocese

 

 World traveler Jim Heiser has spent a lot of money going to Finland twice and the Philippines at least once. The script reads, "If this is Tuesday, you are in or near Manilla."

First, I heard that Paul Rydecki was no longer in ELDONA, which was verified by Paul's own words on his website. 

Then I learned that others had left the stony vastness of ELDONA:

Pastor Sullivan - Ask the Pastor - is no longer affiliated with ELDONA and the Rogers Arkansas congregation has excommunicated those items from their website. I am not hip on social media defenestrations. Apparently, a video can be recommended as kosher one week and jettisoned another week. 

Pastor Carver - He was touted by ELDONA as a Missouri Synod pastor leaving the fetid swamps of that denomination. The little sect of Texas did not mention Heiser clinging to the Missouri Synod while waiting for his pension benefits to vest. Carver gave up his call, unlike Bishop Heiser, and is not in ELDONA. 

The Organization Declares the Word - OR - The Word of God Forms the Institution According to God's Will

 

I am quite sure that many agree with this basic description of denominations today - 

The organization, just like the Church of Rome, tells everyone what the Scriptures say - that is, the Biblical passages they mangle mercilessly.

In this respect, there is no difference between one denomination and the others, except a different emphasis. The important part is who rules what the Scriptures say.

They agree about repudiating the Apostolic witness in the Majority Text, and they despise the King James Version - the best and most precise English Bible.

They punish and expel those who seek the Word instead of the brass-knuckle law of the denomination. 

They reward their in-bred relatives, protect their felons, and treat any departure from their decrees as horrible sins punishable by stink-eye, shunning, and permanent exclusion. 

In Contrast

Those who study the Word of God as it is, instead of forcing a specific structure on everyone (to benefit the hierarchy), will find that God's efficacious Word accomplishes miracles apart from land, titles, and endowments.

One small but significant example - I have joked with people that if I demanded a member find and produce hundreds of classic Lutheran and Christian works, with dozens of them brought into print, I would have been called a bully, a thug, a tyrant, a megalomaniac. 

But that is what Alec Satin, Lutheran Librarian, has done - and he continues! If I post numbers, they will be obsolete tomorrow. 

Or - "Listen here - Norma A. Boeckler - buy and learn Photoshop and start producing Christian graphics - hundreds upon hundreds - many hundreds alone just for The Lutheran Hymnal hymns!" 

My email would have boiled over with rage from the membership and many other readers. But Norma did that on her own because she loves combining art with the Christian Faith.

Pastor Rydecki Is No Longer an ELDONUT

 

About Emmanuel

Rev. Paul A. Rydecki, Pastor

Greetings! Emmanuel Lutheran Church has been gathering around God’s Word and Sacraments in Las Cruces since the late 1970’s.  We officially organized as a mission of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) in 1987.  For awhile we met together in homes, at bridge clubs and at the local VFW, but since 1992 we have been gathering at our present facility on Highway 70. We became an independent Lutheran congregation in 2012, no longer affiliated with the WELS.

Rev. Paul A. Rydecki has been serving as our pastor since April, 2007. Pastor Rydecki graduated from Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in 2000 after completing eight years of pastoral training and was ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry in July, 2000. He served as a WELS missionary in Puerto Rico and in Mexico from 2000 – 2007 and was a member of the Evangelical Lutheran Diocese of North America (ELDoNA) from 2013 until 2022, when he chose to become an independent Lutheran pastor. He is fluent in Spanish, and also has a love for German, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew.

Inevitable - Plants and Weeds

 

 

We had a funny episode yesterday. Ranger Bob decided to move the soil from his non-productive flower boxes and donate the contents to my yard. Soon the truck appeared with a load of soil and three men, so I went to get my shoes on and see where they were putting it.

Two mounds of soil were parked on top of two Coconut Daisies, which I had planted and watered almost daily during the drought. The soil movers left the scene quickly, so I grabbed my roll of POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS and stretched the tape across the entrance to the backyard.

We had a laugh over the plight of the two plants and a ton of soil covering them. Moreover, a thick layer of wood mulch was also buried.

Gardeners soon learn this - or abandon the hobby. "Every year will be great disappointments and even greater surprises." This year, my collection of butterflies, hummingbirds, and bees reached a peak, where all three creature groups conspired to generate a constant display to enjoy. In the afternoon shade, the sun is behind the house and we drink coffee and watch. The fearless hummingbirds come within inches.

The Coconut Daisies were prospering in the Rose Garden while suffering in the burning heat of the backyard fence area. 

The Gospel lesson for Matthew 7:15ff is quite clear - weeds produce nothing of value, but good plants can only produce good fruit. Even the Rugosa Rose is doing its part. That plant is not much for roses but produces big, fat, red seed pods called "hips." The hips are loaded with Vitamin C and invite 

• birds to gather them, 
• people to make rose hip tea for colds and poxes.

 "I am stuck on Unstuck Church, cuz Unstuck's stuck on me. I am..."

"Barry Manilow took a break from singing “Mandy” to write the popular “I am stuck on Band-Aid” jingle in 1976. This jingle, and the commercial it was part of, were all over TV in the 80’s. The campaign even went on to receive a CLIO award for excellence in advertising. People haven’t been able to get the song out of their heads ever since!"

The laughable clowns like the Unstuck zombies try so hard to develop a product they can sell to the desperate. I can give away a non-secret: "Those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who died for our sins and rose from the grave - they will produce fruit, the nature of God's plan. That fruit will glorify God in every possible way."

If you search for these men's failures, look around. Their rapidly growing weeds have filled the world with astonishment and prompted this question - "How do we get rid of them?"

The Ambitious But Foolish Leaders Do Not Grasp This - Their Folly and Falsehoods Are Known to Us, But Especially Known to God

No rainbow stole...yet.

 Here is a really expensive robe for Matt the Fatt, but no fish hat yet. Time to catch up with ELDONA: a fish hat and a really big stick.

The Right Reverend (his chosen title) Bishop James Heiser wears the full panoply of episcopalian finery, except he is only a circuit pastor in reality, not yet ready for those oh-so-cool Medieval titles, like His Beatitude, The Right Reverend STM. I enjoy seeing the Canadian lady bishops grasping their too thick sticks in their tiny feminine hands, equally awkward, given the tiny numbers of ELCiC members.

I have watched many church leaders and craven laity stand there and lie, sometimes on the phone, but also by mail.

I have often carried out searches on the Net, illuminating to me, boring to most. I searched one name and got eldona.org showing up - no content, just the website domain, which had to be formalized in some way. That is the domain they use today. Go ahead, try it.

Anything new going on? "No." Yet that same parson had decided on an organizational name and established a domain for the group. This same parson used to cling to the LCMS the way lint clings to black slacks. I thought it would take a SWAT team to get him out of the synod. He waited for his pension to vest - not exactly martyrdom!

I continue to be astonished at the way clergy leaders lie, as if God does not know anything and we are also easily fooled.

Look at the data. The braggarts of yesteryear are hiding the statistics today. The very nature of their pronouncements sound like they are holding back the anguish, depression, and terror - "How much worse will it get?"

The United Church of Christ, a goldmine of mergers, has incredible losses, which seem to be accelerating. 

Kent Hunter, Waldo Werning, Paul Kelm, and David Valleskey (all in partnership with ELCA) wanted people to look hard at their numbers. Will these Lutheran Quislings finally own up to their disastrous addiction to low-brow Calvinistic marketing flops?

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity, 2022.

The Eighth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Permanent Vimeo link here.

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The melodies are linked in the hymn titles.

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.
• TLH lyrics are found at the Bethany Lutheran Hymnal Blog.

The Hymn #370           My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less    

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

We have thought of Thy loving-kindness, O God: 

in the midst of Thy Temple.

According to Thy name, O God, 

so is Thy praise unto the ends of the earth: 

Thy right hand is full of righteousness.

Psalm. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised: 

in the city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness.

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

Collect

Grant to us, Lord, we beseech Thee, the Spirit to think and do always such things as are right, that we, who cannot do anything that is good without Thee, may by Thee be enabled to live according to Thy will; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth...

The Epistle and Gradual      

Gradual

Be Thou my strong Rock: for an house of defense to save me.

V. In Thee, O Lord, do I put my trust: 

let me never be ashamed. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Give ear, O My people, to My Law: 

incline your ears to the words of My mouth. Hallelujah!

 

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Hymn #268             Zion Mourns   

The Scriptures - Either Objective Truth or Subjective Opinion

The Communion Hymn #463      For All the Saints

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 #511                         Jesus Shall Reign

                        In Our Prayers

• Randy Anderson has a mass needing medical treatment.
• Zach's mother, Anita Engleman, in our prayers.
• Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris Shrader; Kermit and Maria Way.
• Honest, elections and renewed dedication to the US Constitution, where state legislatures control their elections.

              

 Norma Boeckler's Christian Art

KJV Romans 8:12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. 13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. 15 For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: 17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. 16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? 17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.  21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

Luther's Three Sermons on Matthew 7:15ff - Beware of False Prophets

Eighth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father, we most heartily thank Thee that Thou hast caused us to come to the knowledge of Thy word. We pray Thee: graciously keep us steadfast in this knowledge unto death, that we may obtain eternal life; send us now and ever pious pastors, who faithfully preach Thy word, without offense or false doctrine, and grant them long life. Defend us from all false teachings, and frustrate Thou the counsels of all such as pervert Thy word, who come to us in sheep's clothing, but are inwardly ravening wolves, that Thy true Church may evermore be established among us, and be defended and preserved from such false teachers, through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

The Scriptures - Either Objective Truth or Subjective Opinion

Introduction

There are only two stances on the Scriptures. One is common to most readers, the other is hidden, recused, but dominant in today's world - 

1. Objective Truth - The Bible is the infallible, only revealed Word of God, without error or contradiction, and judges all books. 
2. Subjective Opinion - The Scriptures are the work of man, from many different sources, and are judged by the scientific knowledge of scholars who alone can bring clarity to the Word.

The Bible as Objective Truth is the proclamation of the Reformation. That Luther Bible was first translated in Germany for all the people, by churchmen who believed in the power, efficacy, and clarity of the Scriptures. Likewise, the King James Bible in England was translated by Tyndale and others to give the Holy Scriptures to everyone, no matter how poor and lowly they might be. 

The Bible as Subjective Opinion is the plague visiting us today, because churchmen let businessmen take over translating and publishing - embarrassed about miracles, the Virgin Birth, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The modern Bible factories are willing to please any faction, to see more Bibles they can sell for profit.

Many people do not realize that our American Bibles, thrust upon us, are lacking in those verses removed or corrupted by the Bible business and the rationalistic "scholars." Ministers are often trained by unfaithful professors to change the meaning of the clear, powerful, and gracious Word of the Gospel. 

Subjective opinions about the Bible:

• Miracles are only wonders in the eyes of primitive, ignorant onlookers. We know better. Rauschenbusch, The Social Gospel, was publishing this in 1917 at Yale. This approach began in the Biblical department of Halle University, where rationalism replaced Biblical Pietism.
• The Virgin Birth is a wonderful story for Christmas, expressing the hopes of all mankind. However, Joseph or someone else was the actual father of Jesus. That is why Isaiah 7:10 was changed by the RSV to - "a woman will conceive" - which is something less than a miracle from God Himself. 1950s - RSV - this was moved to a footnote then moved back into the current text.
• Jesus died on the cross to show solidarity with other suffering people. Rauschenbusch, hippies, and the movie Godspell.
• The Bible is only a human book - it "did not float down from heaven." (That sarcastic statement about floating down is a rejection of something never claimed by believers, who know that God Himself preserves His Word.) Therefore, the modern, scientific scholars can study and present the "real truth" of the Bible, minus "the roses," as Braaten-Jenson wrote in their whale-sized Christian Dogmatics, 1984.

The false teachers, wolves wearing cashmere, soften their message but only want to rend and butcher the flock. We see examples of these daily - the Scriptures are rejected, members robbed, and the reverend lupines make merry with the ewes and kids. Thus they must have their modern Bibles.

KJV Matthew 7:15 Beware of false prophets, which come* to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.

*They come on their own - they are not sent by God.

Contrary to the apostates, the Sermon on the Mount is a real sermon with a definite structure, beginning with the Beatitudes, one of the most glorious passages in the Bible. The Sermon ends with the house built on sand-or-a rock-parable and the ravening wolf illustration. The house built on a rock illustrates whether our faith is based upon the eternity of God's Word or the current fads.

This warning relates to that house today - Western Civilization's repudiation of the Biblical message and mocking of Jesus Christ as the Son of God, the Savior, our Good Shepherd. The Lutherans - including the so-called conservative ones - and the rest of the mainstream Protestants and Roman Catholics - are that bad example. They welcome the false prophets and feed the flocks to the wolves, knowingly, happily, gleefully.

In any given situation, the wolves enter like little kittens, softly and winsomely announcing they are there to help everyone. False teachers are not called - they send themselves. In one situation, they "discovered" that each parish needed a fellowship hall - very expensive. They suggested their friends would help raise the money for a large fee. When that was done, the church was deeply in debt with a big room that by itself did nothing at all. Was that mass stupidity or greed? 

Jesus' warning is to carefully examine what false teachers are claiming for themselves. Discernment means to compare what is claimed to what is clearly taught in the Scriptures. When the wolves find they are being exposed as frauds, they howl and begin to snap, bite, and devour. When Sassy and I were being troubled by a very large dog on our walks, I carried a big elm walking stick. I shook it in the dog's face and said, "Go HOME!" The next time he saw me, he disappeared faster than a July frost.

False teachers come to stay. Like wolves, they are rather weak alone but very destructive in packs. False teachers band together, form societies, and endlessly praise each other. The Lutheran Forum issue on Robert Jenson praised him throughout and treated his writing as the very Word of God, though he participated in denigrating all the articles of faith we confess in the Creeds. A far more famous wolf, Karl Barth, has his own Center for Barth Studies devoted to him at Princeton University.

16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?

This is simple and plain. As Lenski says, the fruits of the false teachers are their doctrine. That is what naturally comes from the source. The tree is a good visual because we do not ask a tree to be friendly, nice, smiley, or working 18 hours a day. We expect a good tree to bear good fruit. 

For example, a Church Growth pastor said everyone had to be in a cell group studying a book. He did not care what the book was - each one had to be in a cell group, period.

Some people have said, "It worked for a while." Yes, LCMS members joined WELS to flee from the LCA-ALC apostasy, so there was no real numerical growth, which does not matter anyway. The issue is whether someone believes in Christ and remains on the True Vine (John 15) bearing fruit. Thorns and thistles do not produce anything worthwhile. They produce more thorns and thistles - which cling to our clothing and find new places to infest. But no one makes thistle pie or a cake full of thorns.

18 A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. 19 Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. 20 Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.

The Crepe Myrtle on the altar is a good example of this comparison which the Lord of Creation taught. The flowering bush, often as tall as a tree, cannot do anything but bear good fruit. First it flowers and bees, butterflies, and Hummingbirds fly in and out to obtain what they need. Next the fruit forms as a round seed loved by Cardinals and Robins. Those birds love the plant so much that they build their nests there and warn intruders who approach.

Someone once called these colorful plants "weeds," but weeds are sterile - never producing anything worthwhile. Weeds are prolific, but in the wrong way, which is good to recall when a false teacher names his gatherings, buildings, and money. No matter what his or her boast is, nothing good is coming from it.

21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

One famous Evangelist said he "owned Toronto," but became obsessed with rationalism and lost faith in Jesus Christ entirely. That ate away at him but he seemed unable to return to faith.

Broadcasting fake piety is not the same as trusting in the Son of God, who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the grave, ascending to Heaven.