Rush Limbaugh on Thanksgiving

 

Yes! I Killed Off the Triple Lies of DEI - Diversity, Equity, Inclusions

 

Also - America’s Largest And Most Expensive DEI Program Is About To Go Up In Flames - U. of Michigan

I knew DEI (radical Left's Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) was being promoted at the University of Phoenix. I considered it one more rah-rah program and ignored it completely. They asked me to participate in renewing the introductory MA class in Education, for pay. Two of us Zoomed the project and I ignored the cute graphic about DEI. By that time the fad was being shoveled out to various  entities. 

I batted away DEI and the staff supervisor did not object...until her supervisor said it had to be in there and expanded. Genders and pronouns were beginning to catch on among numbskulls in higher education. I was told we had to promote DEI, and I said, "I won't help destroy the English language." I taught a few more education non-DEI classes and then asked to be completely removed from the roster.

So far, this is a dull repeat.  But listen up.

Walmart has long been rabidly promoting gender confusion and DEI. Walmart staff were paraded on the stage at the monthly meetings. "Celebrities" like Anderson Cooper were featured and interviewed by like-minded Walmart staff, if you know what I mean.

Walmart And Other Large Entities Are Kicking DEI Out!

Some noticed that the entire program was a violation of the Bill of Rights and likely to tie up large corporations for years.

More needs to be done at the Constitutional level of laws, especially the Bill or Rights. I did not bring down the University of Phoenix - not immediately! They felt the pain of growing competition and the death of the founder, and they went looking for a partner.

By now UOP has been absorbed into the University of Utah, the names kept separate.

***

U. of Michigan

"“I write to share information with you about impending threats to the University of Michigan’s DEI programming and core values of diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Rebekah Modrak, faculty senate chair, wrote in an email to faculty senate members. “It has been confirmed by multiple sources that the Regents met earlier this month in a private meeting with a small subgroup of central leadership members, and among the topics discussed was the future of DEI at UM, including the possibility of defunding DEI in the next fiscal year.”

NEW: The University of Michigan Board of Regents has asked its president for a plan “to defund or restructure” the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion—according to the UM faculty senate chair.

Did Some Grading And Then Some News Plus Graphics

 

I opened up the university website and began some grading. Thanksgiving Day is one for memories. I can see my mother in the breakfast nook, grading her students' papers, like she was harvesting the entire corn crop by herself. "Mo...." 

"Quiet! I'm grading. Talk to me later." Friend Bill told me many years later, "She did not walk with us outside. She drove us!"

I start every day with the Internet, not the morning newspaper. 

Citizen Free Press  is a series of links to important stories, a great way to scan all those stories. Drudge is now a joke, probably owned by a syndicate, so I glance at that just to see how bad the Leftists are.

My second choice is American Thinker

Border Czar Homan

"HOMAN: It absolutely is. And we had whistleblowers from HHS saying these kids, they are trafficked. And they’re not vetting their sponsors. That's why they lost track of over 300,000 [children]. But President Trump’s committed. He’s got three rails of business: We’re going to shut down that border and secure it at the highest level ever in this nation. We’re going to run the biggest deportation operation this country has ever seen. And we’re going to try and find those 300,000 children and rescue them.

Because based on my three and a half decades I guarantee you some of these children are involved with sex trafficking. Some of these children are involved with pedophiles. Some of these children are in forced labor. So we need to find these children and save them."

GJ ***

If this is not reversed, North America is doomed. The most evil people in the world have combined harvest human beings for vote power (think 2020) and for money.

Thanksgiving Eve, 2024

YouTube

 

 Bethany Lutheran Church

Thanksgiving Service -  7 PM Central

Pastor Gregory Jackson

The Hymn #575            Before the Lord We Bow - F. Scott Fitzgerald     
The Order of Vespers p. 41
The Psalmody Psalm 100 p. 144
The First Lection Philippians 4:4-7
The Second Lection Luke 17:11-19 

The Sermon Hymn #577      God Bless Our Native Land

Thankfulness - God and Country

The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The Collect for Peace p. 45
The Benediction p. 45

The Hymn #568     We Praise Thee O God 

In Our Prayers

• Pastor Jim Shrader - and Chris Shrader; Dr. and Mrs. Lito Cruz, Theodore; Alicia Meyer.
• President Trump, and those who defend the U. S. Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

Philippians 4:4-7. 4 Rejoice in the Lord always: again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your forbearance be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. 6 In nothing be anxious; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

KJV Luke 17:11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us. 14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

                 Thankfulness - God and Country

I was tempted to say, "Jesus knocked on my door today." However, he pronounced his name Hay-soos. He came to install surveillance equipment, and he worked very hard at closing the gaps. He left after a few hours and a couple dropped by to take care of a few things.

The elementary school I attended taught the poor, all races, upper class families, and three students who went to Yale. Crimes were rare - and doorlocks were not taken very seriously. However, no one wanted to meet the wrath of mothers who watched over the neighborhood children. Much later, I told many of my  adult classes that we did not need surveillance because all mothers were licensed to phone a problem directly to another family's child. Getting home after being shouted at by a mother - that meant no escape.

Our great country was created that way, with a strange mixture of cultures, languages, and ambitions. We just went through a period, 2020, where the ballots added up to 15 million extra votes. I saw it election night (2020) when the talking heads called the election early, based on Arizona's numbers. But more than that. They all looked guilty, those paradigms of popular opinions. That great lie opened up - for a collapse - many of our festering culture diseases - the news media, the entertainment radicals, and extreme violation of the US Constitution. 

This story about the 10 lepers is so much like America.

KJV Luke 17:11 And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12 And as he entered into a certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar off: 13 And they lifted up their voices, and said, Jesus, Master, have mercy on us.

Nothing was quite so repulsive as leprosy. It killed and spread, setting the lepers apart so much that we still use that term for a repugnant illness. Our founders came over to America for a chance for freedom, prosperity, distance from cruel royals and witchcraft. Moreover, clashes among Christians were settled by royals and riots. My kin came over some time after a slaughter of French Protestants so horrible that no one could really count the losses. St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.1572.

14 And when he saw them, he said unto them, Go shew yourselves unto the priests. And it came to pass, that, as they went, they were cleansed. 15 And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, and with a loud voice glorified God, 16 And fell down on his face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan.

All the lepers were cleansed, but only one came back to glorify Jesus Christ. Falling at the feet of Jesus meant that he knew the Lord was divine. He was thankful by himself even though the rest of them did not come back, did not thank the unique Good Shepherd. Luther said, "I would have given the leprosy back to the nine who did not care."

17 And Jesus answering said, Were there not ten cleansed? but where are the nine? 18 There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger. 19 And he said unto him, Arise, go thy way: thy faith hath made thee whole.

Are we not the nine in this country? We can see that the "great" American churches are run by hooligans, corrupt, bathing in their fake glory. Religious journalists are struck by the clergy melt-downs in Dallas alone, where the pastors were leading 5000 to 8000 members each. The rest of them are so enormous but they all consume the same cotton candy, so appealing yet nothing more than spun sugar. 

Believers need to take back their country and their Bibles. The ultimate word is not the gathering of strutting peacocks who are horrified by Objective-Justification Deniers. That weighty term means they reject Justification by Faith in Christ, which is the only conduit of grace for individuals. 

All these matters come together in how we study the Bible, how we stand up for the truth in all areas of our society, how we thank God in Christ for all the benefits and blessings He has given us.

This is an old story but it means a lot. When we were young, all of us above 40, for example, we took for granted that our parents and even grandparents would live on. We found fault with them, as if the troubles of the world came from them. Those who never got past that stage of ignoring parents lost a great deal, whether they believed it or not. I could tell some stories. But this is most certainly true - the blessings and sacrifices and guidance of parents are a goldmine from which we can never gather all the timeless wisdom we ignored or scoffed at. 

And isn't it terrible that the adults, who were once bathed and clothed with the best clothes, are now without pity, lacking the ability to stay clean and well fed? Japanese people were asked, "What is the greatest treasure of your country?" They said, "Our elderly."

When we took my mother to dinner in New Ulm, a block away, the Chinese owners literally bowed and scraped because she was so OLD. In Phoenix the same thing happened when we went to lunch together. Bowing, asking forgiveness if something seemed off. My mother beamed. She loved it and made bird feather designs for them. In turn, they gave her extra fortune cookies.

So, God gives us many opportunities to turn the table and gush love to the elderly, ust as they gushed love to us when we were young and growing up.

LutherQuislings and the ALPB Ovaltines - Insipid Warriors in the Battle for Mediocrity

 

LutherQuest - is hilariously named - they have yet to find Martin Luther in their quest for the truth.

The American Lutheran Publicity Bureau Online Forum earns the longest group blog title name, because no one wants to make matters worse. The Ovaltines are typical wannabee Roman Catholics, praising one of their own upon leaving the Lutheran Church to become priests - like Leonard Klein. When I searched "Lutheran pastors who turned into Catholic priests," the list was long and quite Ovaltine-centric, starting with Richard John Neuhaus.

Both organizations kicked me out, "an honor devoutly to be missed," as Shakespeare might have written. The ELDONUTs were worse, getting rid of my books, which were offered free of charge by a postulant. Donated Bibles disappeared too, not a good sign of devotion to Lutherdom. Bishop-for-Life Heiser sold Thy Strong Word earlier, but failed to pay for them.

Soon after 2000 AD, Bishop-in-Waiting James Heiser was selling copies of Thy Strong Word, which concentrates on the efficacy of the Word in Justification by Faith. The Ichabod post was 2017. "A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." James 1:8 KJV.

LQ began its invitation to me - by inviting and then piling on me - with their bad manners and worse grammar. My Internet friends had some fun battling those routine windbags, so LQ locked down its precious forum. 

What Do These Barnacles Have in Common?

The talk about "the Word" but they despise the efficacy, clarity, and precision of the KJV Old and New Testaments. No wonder they scoff at the KJV, mock and reject it, lest someone get at glance at their cloven hooves. They cling to their sinking ship.

They are all "Confessional Lutherans," although their "distinctly Lutheran concepts" reject the Book of Concord, yea even the Augsburg Confession and the Apology. But this only increases the harmony of the apostates. Yes, they walk like contestants in a three-legged race, falling down and rising up in shame, but they are at least going the same way with the same results.

Lastly, the LQuislings and ALPB Ovaltines are singing this tune in harmony - 

1. We are losing readers, shrinking fast.
2. We used to be much more interesting in our discussions.
3. We will never quote Ichabod, unless we "bury the lead" (journalism talk) on page 1057. 

Draining the Swamp, Petting the Dogs

 

Some still chant, "Drain the swamps." I was working on that today. I have a giant plastic barrel - very sturdy - that is filled with rain water. Why not push it over? Answer - it is very heavy. But twice before I have drained several large containers. One was our pool for the fish in New Ulm. I filled a garden hose with water and shut the open part on the low side of the lawn. The aroma was so organic that our neighbor dropped the end of the host farther over onto my side. I was sympathetic.

When I tried to tip the water barrel over yesterday, the mass of water sloshed a bit but did not want to give up all that wonderful rainwater. Charlie Sue and I went out to lower the water today. She pranced around on her hind legs because she loves to go out and show off for two sets of dogs, north and south fences.

It went well. I filled the hose and clamped the drain side with my thumb, before removing the hose from the faucet. The force was notable when I held the two ends at the same height. I pushed the faucet side halfway into the barrel of rainwater and threw down the end at the lower end of the drainage miracle. The water from the faucet emptied out and began taking the rainwater along with it. If no one sips from the barrel, it should be half-empty later. Then I will shove it over and upright it for ran or snow. P.S. - The barrel drained almost to the bottom, and Charlie helped push it over and inhale the fragrance of rotten leaves.

Too bad I did not excel in chem-physics, an honors course at Moline High, but not a  course where I shined. My experiment buddy became a PhD in math and taught. Another class member earned a PhD in physics and designed missiles for the military. “You don’t understand! I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender, I could’ve been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am.” (On the Waterfront)

Draining the Swamp - That will take a lot of time and enormous effort to rid our Constitutional Republic of the sewer rats. Let us hope and pray, with our action, to help make this happen.

Reformation Seminary Lecture - John 13 - Part 2

 https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89176218041?pwd=2cWj1E7w3AFIqKgF3kHCKUVExszDZZ.1

John 13:1-17

KJV John 13:21-38

21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

22 Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.

23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved.

24 Simon Peter therefore beckoned to him, that he should ask who it should be of whom he spake.

25 He then lying on Jesus' breast saith unto him, Lord, who is it?

26 Jesus answered, He it is, to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it. And when he had dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.

27 And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, That thou doest, do quickly.

28 Now no man at the table knew for what intent he spake this unto him.

29 For some of them thought, because Judas had the bag, that Jesus had said unto him, Buy those things that we have need of against the feast; or, that he should give something to the poor.

30 He then having received the sop went immediately out: and it was night.

31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.

32 If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.

33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [Maundy Thursday is named for the new commandment - mandatus - the British corrupt many words.]

35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.

37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.

38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Advent 1 - "Such a faith will work in you love for Christ and joy in him, and good works will naturally follow. If they do not, faith is surely not present; for where faith is, there the Holy Ghost is and must work love and good works."

 

First Sunday in Advent, Matthew 21:1-9. Christ Enters Jerusalem: or Faith; Good Works; and the Spiritual Meaning of This Gospel

11. Such a faith will work in you love for Christ and joy in him, and good works will naturally follow. If they do not, faith is surely not present; for where faith is, there the Holy Ghost is and must work love and good works.

12. This faith is condemned by apostate and rebellious Christians, the pope, bishops, priests, monks, and the universities. They call it arrogance to desire to be like the saints. Thereby they fulfill the prophecy of Peter in 2 Peter 2:2, where he says of these false teachers: “By reason of whom the way of the truth shall be evil spoken of.” For this reason, when they hear faith praised, they think love and good works are prohibited. In their great blindness they do not know what faith, love and good works are. If you would be a Christian you must permit these words to be spoken to you and hold fast to them and believe without a doubt that you will experience what they say. You must not consider it arrogance that in this you are like the saints, but rather a necessary humility and despair not of God’s grace but of your own worthiness. Under penalty of the loss of salvation, does God ask for boldness toward his proffered grace. If you do not desire to become holy like the saints, where will you abide? That would be arrogance if you desired to be saved by your own merit and works, as the Papists teach. They call that arrogance which is faith, and that faith which is arrogance; poor, miserable, deluded people!

13. If you believe in Christ and in his advent, it is the highest praise and thanks to God to be holy. If you recognize, love, and magnify his grace and work in you, and cast aside and condemn self and the works of self, then you are a Christian. We say: “I believe in the holy Christian church, the communion of saints.” Do you desire to be a part of the holy Christian church and communion of saints, you must also be holy as she is, yet not of yourself but through Christ alone in whom all are holy.

14. Thirdly he says: “Behold.” With this word he rouses us at once from sleep and unbelief as though he had something great, strange, or remarkable to offer, something we have long wished for and now would receive with joy. Such waking up is necessary for the reason that everything that concerns faith us against reason and nature; for example, how can nature and reason comprehend that such an one should be king of Jerusalem who enters in such poverty and humility as to ride upon a borrowed ass? How does such an advent become a great king? But faith is of the nature that it does not judge nor reason by what it sees or feels but by what it hears. It depends upon the Word alone and not on vision or sight. For this reason Christ was received as a king only by the followers of the word of the prophet, by the believers in Christ, by those who judged and received his kingdom not by sight but by the spirit — these are the true daughters of Zion. For it is not possible for those not to be offended in Christ who walk by sight and feeling and do not adhere firmly to the Word.

15. Let us receive first and hold fast this picture in which the nature of faith is placed before us. For as the appearance and object of faith as here presented is contrary to nature and reason, so the same ineffectual and unreasonable appearance is to be found in all articles and instances of faith.

It would be no faith if it appeared and acted as faith acts and as the words indicate. It is faith because it does not appear and deport itself as faith and as the words declare.

If Christ had entered in splendor like a king of earth, the appearance and the words would have been according to nature and reason and would have seemed to the eye according to the words, but then there would have been no room for faith. He who believes in Christ must find riches in poverty, honor in dishonor, joy in sorrow, life in death, and hold fast to them in that faith which clings to the Word and expects such things.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Advent 1 - "This is said to the ministry and a new sermon is given them to preach, namely, nothing but what the words following indicate, a right knowledge of Christ. Whoever preaches anything else is a wolf and deceiver. This is one of the verses in which the Gospel is promised of which Paul writes in Romans 1:2; for the Gospel is a sermon from Christ, as he is here placed before us, calling for faith in him."

 

First Sunday in Advent, Matthew 21:1-9. Christ Enters Jerusalem: or Faith; Good Works; and the Spiritual Meaning of This Gospel

FIRST SUNDAY IN ADVENT.


TEXT: Matthew 21:1-9. 

21.1 And when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, and were come to Bethphage, unto the mount of Olives, then sent Jesus two disciples, 2 Saying unto them, Go into the village over against you, and straightway ye shall find an ass tied, and a colt with her: loose them, and bring them unto me. 3 And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them. 4 All this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 5 Tell ye the daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 6 And the disciples went, and did as Jesus commanded them, 7 And brought the ass, and the colt, and put on them their clothes, and they set him thereon. 8 And a very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strawed them in the way. 9 And the multitudes that went before, and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest.

1. In the preface I said that there are two things to be noted and considered in the Gospel lessons: first, the works of Christ presented to us as a gift and blessing on which our faith is to cling and exercise itself; secondly, the same works offered as an example and model for us to imitate and follow. All the Gospel lessons thus throw light first on faith and then on good works. We will therefore consider this Gospel under three heads: speaking first of faith; secondly of good works, and thirdly of the lesson story and its hidden meaning.

I. CONCERNING FAITH.

2. This Gospel encourages and demands faith, for it prefigures Christ coming with grace, whom none may receive or accept save he who believes him to be the man, and has the mind, as this Gospel portrays in Christ. Nothing but the mercy, tenderness and kindness of Christ are here shown, and he who so receives and believes on him is saved. He sits not upon a proud steed, an animal of war, nor does he come in great pomp and power, but sitting upon an ass, an animal of peace fit only for burdens and labor and a help to man. He indicates by this that he comes not to frighten man, nor to drive or crush him, but to help him and to carry his burden for him. And although it was the custom of the country to ride on asses and to use horses for war, as the Scriptures often tell us, yet here the object is to show that the entrance of this king shall be meek and lowly.

Again it also shows the pomp and conduct of the disciples towards Christ who bring the colt to Christ, set him thereon, and spread their garments in the way; also that of the multitude who also spread their garments in the way and cut branches from the trees. They manifested no fear nor terror, but only blessed confidence in him as one for whom they dared to do such things and who would take it kindly and readily consent to it.

3. Again, he begins his journey and comes to the Mount of Olives to indicate that he comes out of pure mercy. For olive oil in the Scriptures signifies the grace of God that soothes and strengthens the soul as oil soothes and strengthens the body.

4. Thirdly, there is no armor present, no war-cry, but songs and praise, rejoicing and thanksgiving to the Lord.

5. Fourthly, Christ weeps, as Luke 19:41, writes, weeps over Jerusalem because she does not know nor receive such grace; yet he was so grieved at her loss that he did not deal harshly with her.

6. Fifthly, his goodness and mercy are best shown when he quotes the words of the prophets, Isaiah 62:11; Zechariah 9:9, and tenderly invites men to believe and accept Christ, for the fulfilling of which prophecies the events of this Gospel took place and the story was written, as the Evangelist himself testifies. Therefore we must look upon this verse as the chief part of this Gospel, for in it Christ is pictured to us and we are told what we are to believe, and to expect of him, what we are to seek in him, and how we may be benefited by him.

7. First he says: “Tell ye” the daughter of Zion. This is said to the ministry and a new sermon is given them to preach, namely, nothing but what the words following indicate, a right knowledge of Christ. Whoever preaches anything else is a wolf and deceiver. This is one of the verses in which the Gospel is promised of which Paul writes in Romans 1:2; for the Gospel is a sermon from Christ, as he is here placed before us, calling for faith in him.

8. I have often said that there are two kinds of faith. First, a faith in which you indeed believe that Christ is such a man as he is described and proclaimed here and in all the Gospels, but do not believe that he is such a man for you, and are in doubt whether you have any part in him and think: Yes, he is such a man to others, to Peter, Paul, and the blessed saints; but who knows that he is such to me and that I may expect the same from him and may confide in it, as these saints did?

9. Behold, this faith is nothing, it does not receive Christ nor enjoy him, neither can it feel any love and affection for him or from him. It is a faith about Christ and not in or of Christ, a faith which the devils also have as well as evil men. For who is it that does not believe that Christ is a gracious king to the saints? This vain and wicked faith is now taught by the pernicious synagogues of Satan. The universities (Paris and her sister schools), together with the monasteries and all Papists, say that this faith is sufficient to make Christians. In this way they virtually deny Christian faith, make heathen and Turks out of Christians, as St. Peter in 2 Peter 2:1 had foretold: “There shall be false teachers, who shall privily bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master that bought them.”

The Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity - 2024. The Sheep Ask the Ultimate Question.

YouTube

Bethany Lutheran Church 

Worship at 10 AM Central

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

The Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity, 2024

The Hymn #574   Come Ye Thankful People Come

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
Sermon Hymn #462           I Love Thy Kingdom Lord  

The Sheep Ask the Ultimate Question

The Hymn #376                   Rock of Ages
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

KJV 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10. 3 We are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren, even as it is meet, for that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the love of each one of you all toward one another aboundeth; 4 so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and in the afflictions which ye endure; 5 which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God; to the end that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: 6 if so be that it is a righteous thing with God to recompense affliction to them that afflict you, 7 and to you that are afflicted rest with us, at the revelation of the Lord Jesus from heaven with the angels of his power in flaming fire, 8 rendering vengeance to them that know not God, and to them that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus: who shall suffer punishment, even eternal destruction from the face of the Lord and from the glory of his might, 10 when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be marveled at in all them that believed (because our testimony unto you was believed) in that day.

KJV Matthew 25:31-46. 

When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory: 32 And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats: 33 And he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. 34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. 41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: 42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: 43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. 44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me. 46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity - From the Collects of Veit Dietrich
O almighty, eternal and merciful God, who by Thy beloved Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, hast established the kingdom of grace for us, that we might believe the forgiveness of our sins, in Thy holy Church on earth, since Thou art a God who hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: We beseech Thee, graciously forgive us all our sins, through the same, Thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Announcements

In treatment - Kermit Way is recovering at home from a fall outdoors; Sarah Buck; the grandson of Dr. and Mrs. Cruz. 

Wednesday - Thanksgiving vespers service at 7 PM.

The installation of surveillance equipment should be finished Wednesday morning.

The Sheep Ask the Ultimate Question

KJV Matthew 25:31-46. But when the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the angels with him, then shall he sit on the throne of his glory: and before him shall be gathered all the nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the sheep from the goats; and he shall set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left.

Old Testament students are struck by the vivid examples in the Bible - plants, flowers, birds, and animals. Here we have a metaphor to describe the ultimate question about how we exist at the end of time. Even the skeptics have to admit that this a striking metaphor that we cannot ignore, especially when we read or hear it. Sheep and goats are related somewhat, but there is a difference, especially because the Good Shepherd is so clearly taught throughout the Bible. 

The second part of of Isaiah has this special description of the future Messiah -

KJV Isaiah 40 - 11 He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.

KJV John 10:14 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.

So the question must be - the Scriptures teach faith in Jesus Christ throughout, so why does Jesus teach works? The sheep are placed on the Savior's right hand and the goats on the left. The sheep represent good works while the goats are those who gave nothing except for themselves.

    The setting is a courtroom where all are gathered. Jesus is seated on the throne to separate the sheep from the goats, the good from the bad. All the angels are gathered too, because this is final judgement. The great shame is that people of all types are caught up in works and have given up faith in Jesus Christ.

    Luther's sermon on this passage makes it easier to understand (much like the True Vine of John 15). The good works are the natural fruit of faith, just like rose plants growing, blossoming, and bearing fruit. I checked the  English roses that survived the long drought here. Several plants blossomed and quickly went to seed, producing rose fruit - rose hips (high in vitamin C). Vitamin C tablets taste just like rose hips, because they are.

The Six Examples

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

This is a very touching portrait, covering the basics of human needs and kindness, which have often been experienced by people. I found out this story only a few years ago. One of my best friends (at age 9) was in dire straits with his family, lack of money, lack of food, lack of clothing. Nobody knew this but a group of women, including my mother, gathered everything they could. My mother took clothing from my bedroom. I said, "Mom! Why are you taking my clothes?" She explained - "None of your business," one of two statements she used frequently. The other one was, "You're not old enough." Many decades later, he described how much that meant to him and his family. And he let people know the facts so they would understand how much generosity can do, to encourage us. 

    Another friend told us how he never held garage sales. Instead, he had free give-always with no questions asked. I never liked garage sales and I disliked filling the garage with extra stuff. We followed his example and suddenly had a garage with a car in it rather than near it.

    Works Always Come from Faith in Jesus Christ

    Faith in Christ always goes with forgiveness of sin. The good works which Christ poured upon His followers - and still does - are expressions of His kindness and His faith. 

Revelation 14:12 - Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

So we are inclined to think of good works aimed at people, but the teaching of Jesus moves us to see how much that matters to Him, thus a perfect loop, from Him to us and from us to Him. Luther described it well when he was cleaning the diapers and neighbors laughed at him. He responded, saying, "Laugh all you want, because the angels in Heaven are weeping with joy."

46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.

    The righteous are not perfect people but those who are forgiven through the atoning death of the Savior.