Maundy Thursday 2025.

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Bethany Lutheran Church

Maundy Thursday Holy Communion 7  PM

7 PM Central Savings Time

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.

• The melody site is linked here.

 Norma A. Boeckler 466

The Hymn #322             And Wilt Thou Pardon Lord?  Over 1200 years ago.

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 #371      Jesus Thy Blood           Zinzendorf
        

Maundy Thursday

Communion Hymn #311 Jesus Christ Our Blessed Savior - Huss was burned 

at the stake for opposing the pope.

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

1 Corinthians 11

23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:

24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.

25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, this cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.

27 Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.

28 But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup.

29 For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.

30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many sleep.

31 For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged.

32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world.

John 13

Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

2 And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;

3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

6 Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

7 Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

8 Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

9 Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

10 Jesus saith to him, He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean, but not all.

11 For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean.

12 So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?

13 Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am.

14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet.

15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

 KJV John 13:34f A new commandment (mandatus, maundy) I give to you. That you love one another, as I have loved you. By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if you have love, one to another.

Maundy Thursday

The title of the special service is typical of British quirks. Bethlehem was a hospital that was especially

noisy, and the name was distorted into Bedlam. That was a term used in my grade school classes when we got too noisy. Maundy is mysterious because it began with the Latin - mandatus - a commandment.

We are not a loving nation, or a loving culture. The Roman Empire was no better. The real story would not be fitting for a home or for anyone. We are similar now. Just as paganism dominated Rome, so paganism dominates America and the West. Jesus was commissioning His tiny group of disciples to go out among the Jewish and the pagan opponents, seemingly a hopeless task. Yes we can see that unbelievers were converted by the Gospel of Jesus and by His disciples after the Ascension. 

The overwhelming population was Jewish, so there was a great knowledge (and opposition) among the Jews and an intolerance from the Romans. As Luther said, "Rome loved every religion except the One True God." (paraphrase) The temple for all religions was built for all religions except Christianity and that temple is strong and impressive to this day (The Pantheon), 27 BC

Giving the overwhelming number of those outside the Christian Faith, the disciples needed to observe the commandment of Jesus - love one another as I have loved you. Otherwise they would tear that small group of people apart and destructive. That did happen among various groups that took on their own agenda. As revealed in the early New Testament Greek manuscripts, the fakes were overwhelmed by careful copying. The apostates of today jump on the very few early mistakes and make those errors  a shrine for their future destruction of Christianity. 

However, the attacks on the Biblical text prove what Jesus said - "Heaven and earth will pass away,  but My Word will never pass away." Matthew 24:35 The True Vine (John 15) will always be fruitful, by remaining with the Good Shepherd.

What Jesus taught and practiced was the opposite of -

1. The Stinkeye.
2. Shunning.
3. Boycotting (invented by Boycott himself).
4. Rejecting.

We should always remember why the sinners clustered around Jesus and rejoiced to sit with Him for supper when the works-righteous were disgusted and appalled. He began with faith in Him and love for the rejected, dismissed, ignored, and hated. We cannot fix the world but we can follow the Christ-like attitude of Luther - to aim at helping rather than hurting. 

Reformation Seminary Lecture - Acts 4 - Part 2

 

KJV Acts 4 - Part 2

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

14 And beholding the man which was healed standing with them, they could say nothing against it.

15 But when they had commanded them to go aside out of the council, they conferred among themselves,

16 Saying, What shall we do to these men? for that indeed a notable miracle hath been done by them is manifest to all them that dwell in Jerusalem; and we cannot deny it.

17 But that it spread no further among the people, let us straitly threaten them, that they speak henceforth to no man in this name.

18 And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus.

19 But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye.

20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.

21 So when they had further threatened them, they let them go, finding nothing how they might punish them, because of the people: for all men glorified God for that which was done.

22 For the man was above forty years old, on whom this miracle of healing was shewed.

23 And being let go, they went to their own company, and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said unto them.

24 And when they heard that, they lifted up their voice to God with one accord, and said, Lord, thou art God, which hast made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all that in them is:

25 Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things?

26 The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ.

27 For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together,

28 For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.

29 And now, Lord, behold their threatenings: and grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word,

30 By stretching forth thine hand to heal; and that signs and wonders may be done by the name of thy holy child Jesus.

31 And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together; and they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness.

32 And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.

33 And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all.

34 Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,

35 And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.

36 And Joses, who by the apostles was surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,

37 Having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at the apostles' feet.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Second Easter Sermon - "When the heart has been conquered, the Word unites this poor heart to Christ and leads it gently and quietly from hell and from sin, although the soul still feels sin and imagines to be still under its power. Then a conflict begins, the feelings struggling against the Spirit and faith, and the Spirit and faith against our feelings; and the more faith increases, the more our feelings diminish, and vice versa. We have still sins within us, as for instance pride, avarice, anger and so forth, but only in order to lead us to faith, so that faith may increase from day to day, and the man become finally a thorough Christian and keep the true sabbath, consecrating himself to Christ entirely."

 

Luther's Sermons - Mark 16:1-8.
Easter Sunday. Second Sermon

14. Take as an illustration the fish in the water. When they are caught in the net, you lead it quietly along, so that they imagine they are still in the water; but when you draw them to the shore, they are exposed and begin to struggle, and then they first feel they are caught. Thus it also happens with souls that are caught with the Gospel, which Christ compares with a net, Matthew 13:47. When the heart has been conquered, the Word unites this poor heart to Christ and leads it gently and quietly from hell and from sin, although the soul still feels sin and imagines to be still under its power. Then a conflict begins, the feelings struggling against the Spirit and faith, and the Spirit and faith against our feelings; and the more faith increases, the more our feelings diminish, and vice versa. We have still sins within us, as for instance pride, avarice, anger and so forth, but only in order to lead us to faith, so that faith may increase from day to day, and the man become finally a thorough Christian and keep the true sabbath, consecrating himself to Christ entirely. Then the conscience must become calm and satisfied and all the surging waves of sin subside. For as upon the sea one billow follows and buffets the other, as though they would destroy the shore, yet they must disappear and destroy themselves, so also our sins strive against us and would fain bring us to despair, but finally they must desist, grow weary and disappear.

15. In the second place, death is still at our elbow. It also is to exercise the faith of him who believes that death has been killed and all his power taken away. Now, reason feels that death is still at our elbow and is continually troubling us. He who follows his feelings will perish, but he who clings to the Word with his heart will be delivered. Now, if the heart clings to the Word, reason will also follow; but if reason follows, everything will follow, desire and love and all that is in man. Yea, we desire that all may come to the point when they may consider death to be dead and powerless. But this cannot come to pass until the old man, that is the old Adam, be entirely destroyed, and meanwhile that process has been going on of which Christ speaks in Matthew 13:33, where he compares the kingdom of God to leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal. For even if the kneading has begun, the meal is not yet thoroughly leavened. So, it is here. Although the heart clings to the belief that death and hell are destroyed, yet the leaven has not yet worked through it entirely. For it must penetrate and impregnate all the members of the body, until everything becomes leavened and pure, and there remains nothing but a pure faith. This will not be brought about before the old man is entirely destroyed; then all that is in man is Christlike from center to circumference.

Tom Fisher - The Blunder of Church Membership versus Holy Baptism

 

 "There were four lambs playing king of the hay bale and this stout little fellow ended up on top." Photo by Tom Fisher

Dear Pastor Jackson,

Please post this article and add you comments as you wish. You may use my pictures and videos freely.

Please pray God will heal and fight off the tooth infection until I have oral surgery on May 1.

Please pray God will help me to write about His Word to strengthen faith in Jesus without adding our own works. Especially pray God will help me to share God's Word and my faith in Jesus with my brothers and their families. 

Pastor Jackson I want to thank you for posting my articles on your web site. This gives me encouragement to write. 

Modern day "church membership" replaces Holy Baptism. Why do we trust our own works instead of God's Work in Holy Baptism? Baptism makes us members of God's church and gives us the gift of God the Holy Ghost. At Pentecost God added 3,000 souls to His church by His Word, Will, Name, and Work in Holy Baptism. 

Modern day "church membership" is actually an unspoken loyalty oath where you promise not to attend Holy Communion at a different church or Lutheran synod. This completely destroys Holy Baptism and faith in Jesus. Why do we reject God's Work in our Baptism by adding our own works, will, endeavoring, devotions, and loyalty oaths. 

Modern day "church membership" is the same as joining a country club or a football team where you fight for the team and their uniform and name. The result is complete destruction of God's Will and Work in Holy Baptism and His efficacious Word. 

God's efficacious Word and His Will and Work in Holy Baptism must prevail and replace our own works, will, endeavoring, loyalty oaths, promises, and "modern day church membership".

Why do we put our trust and confidence in our "church membership" instead of God's Work in our Baptism? Why are we afraid and unwilling to say "I am Baptized in the name of God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost instead of saying, "I am Lutheran."

 Today the label of "Lutheran" actually means you reject justification by faith and cling to justification prior to and without faith in Christ (Objective and subjective justification). The label of "Lutheran" means you reject God's pure Word in the King James Bible and cling to the corrupt modern Bibles (NIV, ESV, NKJV, NASB, RSV, Beck's, Nestle-Aland, Westcott-Hort, Vaticanus, Sinaticus, etc ). During the reformation, God clearly rejected this family of corrupt Bibles and chose the INCORRUPTIBLE family of Bibles ( Greek TEXTUS RECEPTUS, Ben Chayyim Masoretic Hebrew Text, Luther's Bible, King James Bible, Russian Synodal Bible, Spanish Reina-Valera Bible, Czech Bible of Kralice, Portuguese Almeida Recebida Bible, Dutch Statenvertaling Bible, etc ) that contain NO errors or omissions. 

The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

7 Thou shalt keep them, O Lord, thou shalt preserve them from this generation for ever. Psalm 12:6-7

In Christ,

Tom Fisher

The Church Growthers Are Sterile, Whether ELCA, LCMS, WELS, ELS, or the Remainders

 

Conference of Presidents holds April 2025 meeting

The WELS Conference of Presidents (COP) held its spring meeting this month at the WELS Center for Mission and Ministry, Waukesha, Wis. The COP comprises the 12 WELS district presidents, the synod president, and two synod vice presidents. Here is a summary of what they discussed.

• The COP continues to develop sample governance models for congregations developing congregational constitutions and bylaws.
• The COP reviewed the procedures it will follow as it carries out teaching assignments at Martin Luther College, New Ulm, Minn., in May, including clarifying that preseminary graduates (who do not continue at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary) are not automatically certified for non-pastoral ministry. Those called to other types of service (such as teaching) will normally need to enroll in the synod’s teacher certification program.
• The COP continues to review the calling process, especially in view of the challenges of pastor and teacher shortages.
• The Assignment Committee will continue to consider emergency teaching calls after the assignments are made in May.
• The COP was asked to reconsider a proposal to change the synod convention from a biennial to a triennial schedule. The 12 districts heard this proposal last summer, and the majority of districts were not in favor of the change. In view of that, the COP declined to reconsider the proposal at this time, but it did decide that additional rationale could be placed before the district conventions in 2026.
• The COP reviewed the new long-range strategic plan that will be presented to the synod convention in July.
• As of the April meeting of the COP, there were 156 pastoral vacancies in the synod, with 149 of those being parish pastor positions. The 2025 seminary graduating class will provide candidates numbering in the mid-20s, meaning that the pastoral vacancy situation will improve only slightly in the near term. Larger classes at the seminary in the coming years, however, will provide some relief in the future. In the meantime, the COP asks every WELS congregation and member to encourage young men to consider training for the pastoral ministry.
• A similar high vacancy rate is taking place in teacher positions. WELS school enrollments have increased significantly in the last two years—a real blessing—but that has caused a need for more teachers than are currently available. It’s estimated that even after teacher candidates are assigned at Martin Luther College in May, there will still be approximately 100-120 vacancies in teaching positions. The Commission on Lutheran Schools has been working with congregations to find ways to fill the vacancies. At the same time, Martin Luther College has been redoubling its efforts to recruit both traditional and non-traditional teacher candidates. It will also be exploring other ideas to provide more teacher candidates. As in the case of pastors, those in the best position to recruit and encourage young people for the teaching ministry are congregational members, called workers, parents, and grandparents.

Serving with you in Christ,
WELS President Mark Schroeder

Archbishop Liz Eaton Majors in the Minors - The Big Five Apostates - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) Agree, More or Less

 

March 31, 2025

CHICAGO (March 31, 2025) — ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton has issued a video message for Transgender Day of Visibility.

 

In the video, Eaton speaks out against the inhumane actions by legislatures and executive orders while also speaking directly to the transgender and nonbinary community.

“God created you in God's image and loves and cares for you exactly as you are. ... You deserve to be safe in our communities. Bullying and discrimination have no place in the body of Christ,” Eaton said.

Watch the video.

The ELCA’s commitment to civil and human rights can be found in our resources for the LGBTQIA+ community at ELCA.org/lgbtq.

Another way to learn more about the church's commitment can be found at reconcilingworks.org, an independent Lutheran organization.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Easter Sunday 2 - "To this I reply: I have often said before that feeling and faith are two different things. It is the nature of faith not to feel, to lay aside reason and close the eyes, to submit absolutely to the Word, and follow it in life and death. Feeling however does not extend beyond that which may be apprehended by reason and the senses, which may be heard, seen, felt and known by the outward senses. For this cause feeling is opposed to faith and faith is opposed to feeling. Therefore the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes of faith: “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” For if we would see Christ visibly in heaven, like the visible sun, we would not need to believe it. But since Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification, we cannot see it nor feel it, neither can we comprehend it with our reason. Therefore we must disregard our feeling and accept only the Word, write it into our heart and cling to it, even though it seems as if my sins were not taken from me, and even though I still feel them within me."

 

Luther's Sermons - Mark 16:1-8.
Easter Sunday. Second Sermon

10. Here we also refer to the passage in Hosea 13:14, which Paul quotes in reference to the victory that Christ has won by his resurrection and by which he has conquered sin, death, hell and all our enemies. Paul says that death is swallowed up in this victory, and he defies death with these words: “O death, where is thy victory? O death, where is thy sting?”

Just as if Paul would say: O death, where are thy teeth? Come, bite off one of my fingers. Thou formerly hadst a spear, what has become of it now?

Christ has taken it from thee. Death, where is now thy spear, etc.? Sin, where is now the edge of thy sword and thy power? Paul says that the power of sin is the law. The more clearly we understand the law, the more sin oppresses and stings us. For this reason Paul says that Christ has completely destroyed and annihilated the spear and whetstone of death.

Now, this Gospel he has not taken with him into heaven, but he caused it to be preached throughout the world, so that for him who believes in Christ, spear and whetstone, nay, sin and death, should be destroyed. This is the true Gospel, which bestows life, strength, power and marrow, and of which all the passages of Scripture speak.

11. Therefore seek and learn to know Christ aright, for the whole Scriptures confer upon us the righteousness of the true knowledge of Christ. But this must be brought about by the Holy Spirit. Let us therefore pray God that his Gospel may prosper, that we all may truly learn to know Christ and thus rise with him and be honored by God as he was honored.

12. The question now arises: If Christ has taken away death and our sins by his resurrection and has justified us, why do we then still feel death and sin within us? For our sins torment us still, we are stung by our conscience, and this evil conscience creates the fear of hell.

13. To this I reply: I have often said before that feeling and faith are two different things. It is the nature of faith not to feel, to lay aside reason and close the eyes, to submit absolutely to the Word, and follow it in life and death. Feeling however does not extend beyond that which may be apprehended by reason and the senses, which may be heard, seen, felt and known by the outward senses. For this cause feeling is opposed to faith and faith is opposed to feeling. Therefore the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews writes of faith: “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.” For if we would see Christ visibly in heaven, like the visible sun, we would not need to believe it. But since Christ died for our sins and was raised for our justification, we cannot see it nor feel it, neither can we comprehend it with our reason. Therefore we must disregard our feeling and accept only the Word, write it into our heart and cling to it, even though it seems as if my sins were not taken from me, and even though I still feel them within me. Our feelings must not be considered, but we must constantly insist that death, sin and hell have been conquered, although I feel that I am still under the power of death, sin and hell. For although we feel that sin is still in us, it is only permitted that our faith may be developed and strengthened, that in spite of all our feelings we accept the Word, and that we unite our hearts and consciences more and more to Christ. Thus faith leads us quietly, contrary to all feeling and comprehension of reason, through sin, through death and through hell.

Then we shall see salvation before our eyes, and then we shall know perfectly what we have believed, namely, that death and all sorrow have been conquered.

A New Unforced Error

 

I was doing everything right with Zoom today - until I did something wrong. By turning off the office broadcast I made the chapel broadcast lonely - refusing to broadcast normally. 

I assumed I could save the file and convert it, so the entire lecture was saved and added to our collection today.

 That is how I felt when I realized my innocent mistake.

Reformation Seminary Lecture - Acts 4 - Part 1 - 10 AM Central Today

 

7t

KJV Acts 4 - Part 1

4:1 And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them,

2 Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

3 And they laid hands on them, and put them in hold unto the next day: for it was now eventide.

4 Howbeit many of them which heard the word believed; and the number of the men was about five thousand.

5 And it came to pass on the morrow, that their rulers, and elders, and scribes,

6 And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

7 And when they had set them in the midst, they asked, By what power, or by what name, have ye done this?

8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel,

9 If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole;

10 Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole.

11 This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner.

12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

13 Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Second Easter - "This is the meaning of the words by St. Paul: “Christ was raised for our justification.” Here Paul turns my eyes away from my sins and directs them to Christ, for if I look at my sins, they will destroy me. Therefore I must look unto Christ who has taken my sins upon himself, crushed the head of the serpent and become the blessing. Now they no longer burden my conscience, but rest upon Christ, whom they desire to destroy. Let us see how they treat him. They hurl him to the ground and kill him. O God; where is now my Christ and my Savior? But then God appears, delivers Christ and makes him alive; and not only does he make him alive, but he translates him into heaven and lets him rule over all. What has now become of sin. There it lies under his feet. If I then cling to this, I have a cheerful conscience like Christ, because I am without sin."

 

Luther's Sermons - Mark 16:1-8.
Easter Sunday. Second Sermon

II. THE FRUITS AND BENEFITS OF THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST.

6. St. Paul writes in Romans 4:25 as follows: “Christ was delivered up for our trespasses, and was raised for our justification.” Paul is indeed the man who extols Christ in a masterly manner, telling us exactly why and for what purpose he suffered and how we should conform ourselves to his sufferings, namely, that he died for our sins. This is a correct interpretation of the sufferings of Christ, by which we may profit. And as it is not sufficient to know and believe that Christ has died, so it will not suffice to know and believe that he rose with a transfigured body and is now in a state of joy and blessedness, no longer subject to mortality, for all this would profit me nothing or very little. But when I come to understand the fact that all the works God does in Christ are done for me, nay, they are bestowed upon and given to me, the effect of his resurrection being that I also will arise and live with him; that will cause me to rejoice. This must be brought home to our hearts, and we must not merely hear it with the ears of our body nor merely confess it with our mouth.

7. You have heard in the story of the Passion how Christ is portrayed as our exemplar and helper, and that he who follows him and clings to him receives the Spirit, who will enable him also to suffer. But the words of Paul are more Christian and should come closer home to our hearts and comfort us more, when he says: “Christ was raised for our justification.”

Here the Lamb is truly revealed, of whom John the Baptist testifies, when he says in John 1:29: “Behold, the Lamb of God, that taketh away the sin of the world.” Here is fulfilled that which was spoken to the serpent: “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed: he shall bruise thy head,” which means that for all those who believe in him, hell, death, and the devil and sin have been destroyed. In the same manner the promise is fulfilled to-day which God gave to Abraham, when he said in Genesis 22:18: “In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.” Here Christ is meant, who takes away our curse and the power of sin, death and the devil.

8. All this is done, I say, by faith. For if you believe that by this seed the serpent has been slain, then it is slain for you; and if you believe that in this seed all nations are to be blessed, then you are also blessed. For each one individually should have crushed the serpent under foot and redeemed himself from the curse, which would have been too difficult, nay impossible for us. But now it has been done easily, namely, by Christ, who has crushed the serpent once, who alone is given as a blessing and benediction, and who has caused this Gospel to be published throughout the world, so that he who believes, accepts it and clings to it, is also in possession of it, and is assured that it is as he believes. For in the heart of such a man the Word becomes so powerful that he will conquer death, the devil, sin and all adversity, like Christ himself did. So mighty is the Word that God himself would sooner be vanquished than that his Word should be conquered.

9. This is the meaning of the words by St. Paul: “Christ was raised for our justification.” Here Paul turns my eyes away from my sins and directs them to Christ, for if I look at my sins, they will destroy me. Therefore I must look unto Christ who has taken my sins upon himself, crushed the head of the serpent and become the blessing. Now they no longer burden my conscience, but rest upon Christ, whom they desire to destroy. Let us see how they treat him. They hurl him to the ground and kill him. O God; where is now my Christ and my Savior? But then God appears, delivers Christ and makes him alive; and not only does he make him alive, but he translates him into heaven and lets him rule over all. What has now become of sin. There it lies under his feet. If I then cling to this, I have a cheerful conscience like Christ, because I am without sin. Now I can defy death, the devil, sin and hell to do me any harm. As I am a child of Adam, they can indeed accomplish it that I must die. But since Christ has taken my sins upon himself, has died for them, has suffered himself to be slain on account of my sins, they can no longer harm me; for Christ is too strong for them, they cannot keep him, he breaks forth and overpowers them, ascends into heaven (takes sin and sorrow captive, Ed. 1531), and rules there over all throughout eternity. Now I have a clear conscience, am joyful and happy and am no longer afraid of this tyrant, for Christ has taken my sins away from me and made them his own. But they cannot remain upon him; what then becomes of them? They must disappear and be destroyed. This then is the effect of faith. He who believes that Christ has taken away our sin, is without sin, like Christ himself, and death, the devil and hell are vanquished as far as he is concerned and they can no longer harm him.

Palm Sunday - G. K. Chesterton

 

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Second Sunday of Easter - "These women also show us a beautiful example of a spiritual heart that undertakes an impossible task, of which the whole world would despair. Yet a heart like this stands firm and accomplishes it, not thinking the task impossible. So much we say for the present on this narrative, and now let us see what are the fruits and benefits of the resurrection of Christ."

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Luther's Sermons - Mark 16:1-8.
Easter Sunday. Second Sermon

I. THE STORY OF CHRIST’S RESURRECTION.

1. In the first place we shall briefly examine the text of this narrative, and afterwards speak of the benefits of the resurrection of Christ, and how we should build upon it. The text reads: “And when the sabbath was past.”

Here we must remember Mark writes of the sabbath according to the custom of the Hebrews, for according to the Jewish reckoning the day began in the evening and lasted until the evening of the next day, as the first chapter of Genesis says: “And there was evening and there was morning, one day,” “a second day,” “a third day,” and so forth. Thus the first and greatest sabbath began on the evening of the day when Christ was crucified, that is to say at the time of sunset on the evening of Friday. Our reckoning conveys the wrong sense. Yesterday was the great sabbath, when Christ lay in the grave; in addition to this the Jews had seven full days which they celebrated and all of which they called sabbaths, counting them from the first holiday after the great sabbath and calling it prima sabbathorum (first of the sabbaths), and the third holiday secundam sabbathorum (second of the sabbaths), and so forth. On these days they ate only wafers and unleavened bread, for which reason they are also called by the Evangelist the days of unleavened bread. From this we must conclude that Christ rose before sunrise and before the angel descended in the earthquake. Afterwards the angel only came to open the empty grave, etc., as has been clearly described by the Evangelists.

2. The question now arises: How can we say that he rose on the third day, since he lay in the grave only one day and two nights? According to the Jewish calculation it was only a day and a half; how shall we then persist in believing there were three days? To this we reply that he was in the state of death for at least a part of all three days. For he died at about two o’clock on Friday and consequently was dead for about two hours on the first day.

After that night he lay in the grave all day, which is the true sabbath. On the third day, which we commemorate now, he rose from the dead and so remained in the state of death a part of this day, just as if we say that something occurred on Easter-day, although it happens in the evening, only a portion of the day. In this sense Paul and the Evangelists say that he rose on the third day.

3. For this period and no longer Christ was to lie in the grave, so that we might suppose that his body remained naturally uncorrupted and that decomposition had not yet set in. He came forth from the grave so soon that we might presume that corruption had not yet taken place according to the course of nature; for a corpse can lie no longer than three days before it begins to decompose. Therefore Christ was to rise on the third day, before he saw corruption.

4. The great longing and love of the women for the Lord must also be particularly noted here, so that unadvised and alone they go early to the grave, not thinking of the great stone which was rolled before the tomb.

They might have thought of this and taken a man with them. But they act like timid and sorrowing persons, and therefore they go on their way without even thinking of the most necessary things. They do not even think of the watchers who were clad in armor, nor of the wrath of Pilate and the Jews, but boldly they freely risk it and alone they venture on their way.

What urged these good women to hazard life and body? It was nothing but the great love they bore to the Lord, which had sunk so deeply into their hearts that for his sake they would have risked a thousand lives. Such courage they had not of themselves, but here the power of the resurrection of Christ was revealed, whose Spirit makes these women, who by nature are timid, so bold and courageous that they venture to do things which might have daunted a man.

5. These women also show us a beautiful example of a spiritual heart that undertakes an impossible task, of which the whole world would despair. Yet a heart like this stands firm and accomplishes it, not thinking the task impossible. So much we say for the present on this narrative, and now let us see what are the fruits and benefits of the resurrection of Christ.

Time To Slow Down the Synodical Gravy Train

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Anyone denying this satirical graphic should study the books of their own sect, the harmony of the three synods, and the Thrivent financial blend. Note - they "give away" little communion kits for the newly ordained, hilarious in light of their lavish self-giving.

Before they had a chance to generate a solid cover-up, Matt the Fatt and Liz Eaton were jumping up to deny the amount of gubmint funds being shoveled into their sects. Thrivent also enjoys cozying up its funds to gain easy, non-profit (pause to laugh a few minutes) funds for their insurance sales and beloved charitable annuities. Thrivent acts as one with their sects but also poses as benefactors individually to each synod. The sales agents used to demand photo albums from the pastors so they could call on every member of the congregation. The Lutheran identity (already a farce) is watered down since Thrivent is no longer "lodge insurance" like the Masons, Shriners, and other goldmines (maybe tin mines).

This is the link to the information.

The people who do the least amount of work and spend the most on themselves, also demand more from their underlings.