Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Tom Fisher's Beautiful Sheep

Does anyone else stare at these tender lambs? They are innocent, small, and easily attacked. Food and water are near them, but so are the predators.

The Lamb of God is the ultimate power and the most danger for all other figures, even though He is the symbol of weakness and purity. That is because the Lamb is central, not merely one of many.

Monday, April 27, 2026

We Are Almost Forgotten in the Skill of Reading -
Now Even Worse in the Divinity of the Bible Itself.

We are almost forgotten in reading, even in worse in the value of the Bible itself. That was once the bedrock of the West, from Greece and Rome, Europe, England, and America.

Somehow we accepted English up to the denial of the Virgin Birth of Christ. That was thanks to the Left-wing antics of the 1952 Revised Standard Version, canonical because of its "holy birth" in the Yale Divinity School library. My mother soon noticed the change and refuted it a few years later.

That is only a snip of the change in American English, which turned the RSV and others into a hodge-podge (The Oxford English Dictionary definition is: "A dish made of a mixture of various kinds of meat, vegetables, etc., stewed together" and "esp in Scottish.)

Most of us - older than 70 - find the Bible and similar books too demanding to understand, the books they loved, with special pain derived from eye strain and extensive vocabulary.

The Book of Psalms is a wonder, because its relatively short passages are easy to learn and repeat.

Psalm 8

8 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth! who hast set thy glory above the heavens.
2 Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings hast thou ordained strength because of thine enemies, that thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained;
4 What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?
5 For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honour.
6 Thou madest him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet:
7 All sheep and oxen, yea, and the beasts of the field;
8 The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!

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(I read this to my mother while she breathed her last.)

23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

***

Creation! No shame!

24 The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein.

2 For he hath founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the floods.

3 Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? or who shall stand in his holy place?

4 He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.

5 He shall receive the blessing from the Lord, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6 This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Selah.

7 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.

10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory. Selah.

Long, Steady Rain Has Finally Returned to Sleepy Eye

So many have run to the windows lately that the weather-bureau has almost given up. Today began with tiny drips and now we have very steady rain. The local farmers are very happy already.

Sunday, April 26, 2026

Good Shepherd Sunday. Misericordias Domini. April 26, 2026 - 9 AM Central Standard. Prayers for President Trump And Our Country.

"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."
Isaiah 40:11. The Good Shepherd painting by Norma A. Boeckler

Click for Introduction -> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gki9j_hYsKk&t=61s

The Hymn #436 The Lord's My Shepherd

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord: by the word of the Lord were the heavens made. Psalm. Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous: for praise is comely for the upright.

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

God, who by the humiliation of Thy Son didst raise up the fallen world, grant unto Thy faithful ones perpetual gladness, and those whom Thou hast delivered from the danger of everlasting death do Thou make partakers of eternal joys; through the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Then was the Lord Jesus known of the disciples: in the breaking of bread. Hallelujah!

V. I am the Good Shepherd: and know My sheep and am known of Mine. Hallelujah!

The Gospel

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #206 Jesus Christ, My Sure Defense - Winkworth translation

The Good Shepherd

The Communion Hymn # 328 O Jesus Lamb of God Thou Art - CPE Bach

The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #50 Lord Dismiss Us

Second Sunday After Easter

Lord God, heavenly Father, who of Thy fatherly goodness hast been mindful of us poor, miserable sinners, and hast given Thy beloved Son to be our shepherd, not only to nourish us by His word, but also to defend us from sin, death, and the devil: We beseech Thee, grant us Thy Holy Spirit, that, even as this Shepherd doth know us and succor us in every affliction, we also may know Him, and, trusting in Him, seek help and comfort in Him, from our hearts obey His voice, and obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy Son Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV 1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23 Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 25 For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. 12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. 13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. 15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

Three of Luther’s sermons on this text:

The Good Shepherd

Background for the Sermon on John 10 - The Good Shepherd

One of the most prominent themes in the Bible is that of the shepherd and shepherding - about 500 references. This is another instance of the Son of God, the Creating Word, teaching from His own handiwork. Flocks of sheep were essential for providing so many products and were useful for the examples used. Sheep are completely reliant on their shepherds, because they have little self-defense. Besides that, their weaknesses do not make them humble. Instead, they will go ahead and do what they want or follow sheep ahead of them. They will crowd into a pen just because one sheep got pointed that way (as our family friend showed us). They continue to push and shove with nowhere to go.

In the Bible, Jesus is both the powerful and loving Shepherd and the innocent Lamb of God. This is where Madam Hulda, human reason - as Luther named it, becomes all confused. It is great sport for unbelievers to ask how the Savior can be the Lamb sacrificed and the Good Shepherd at the same time. But that is how God teaches us, from many different perspectives, so we can identify as the lost sheep of Luke 15 and see Jesus as the Good Shepherd leading his flock and thrashes robbers and false teachers.

KJV John 10:11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

εγω ειμι ο ποιμην ο καλος ο ποιμην ο καλος την ψυχην αυτου τιθησιν υπερ των προβατων

John's Gospel has this word order - I am the Shepherd the Good, the Shepherd the good lays down His life for the sheep.

The words used to describe Jesus mean - in effect - I am the Shepherd above all Shepherds. The repetition of those four words remind us of Psalms, especially Psalm 23, and Isaiah's description of the Messiah - "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." Isaiah 40:11.

Throughout John's Gospel (but not in his Gospel alone), Jesus uses I AM as the Name of God, with the special significance of I AM and the Burning Bush in Exodus 3. Moreover, the introductory ministry of John the Baptist pointed everyone to Isaiah 40 and the passages following. Some call Isaiah the "Fifth Gospel" because of all the predictions about the Messiah. With Isaiah 40 proclaiming a voice crying in the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord, and John the Baptist fulfilling it, the region was charged with the thoughts

of John bringing on the Messianic Age they longed for.

But Jesus' statement, now so comforting, incited anger and confusion. Jesus clearly identified as the promised Messiah and was God Himself in the flesh. But the reaction of the opponents was "You are not the Messiah we wanted and expected."

This clash had to happen, because no one could grasp God in the flesh, though they saw His divinity in the miracles and the sermons. His true mission was not their mission. That struggle can even be seen in His carefully trained disciples. To prove themselves right, the opponents had make Jesus weak, a criminal, all predicted in Isaiah 53 and Psalm 22.

12 But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

The hired hand does not protect the sheep, so they run from the wolves and leave the sheep on their own. The wolves catch, kill, and scatter them.

Luther:

21. He names three kinds of persons or three offices which have to do with the sheep: The true shepherd, which, as has been said, he is himself; the hireling, including all besides him who preach the Law and teach how we ought to live and do good, but do not point to Christ, like the scribes and Pharisees among the Jews of old; and finally the wolf, who wishes to be among the sheep and to rule over them but only works injury and ruin. The wolf is the devil, who also has his messengers and preachers. However, they have not the Word of God, neither the ten commandments nor the Gospel, but they mislead souls by false doctrine and heresies, which St. Paul, 1 Timothy 4:1-2, calls “doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy.” Such are now the pope’s anti-christian doctrines, the Koran of the Turks, and doctrines of other sects. These three kinds of teachers have always been in the world from the beginning. We should keep the first, reform the second, and shun the third. None do this, however, except the true sheep, that is, the little flock which knows Christ.

Decades ago, an LCA district mocked the inerrancy of the Bible, saying that people who teach inerrancy "don't have the guts to rely on Jesus Christ." That was the strangest example of cause and effect. When the district president was in trouble with a radical group taking control of a parish (with the pastor's help), the same district president wanted to quote Luther about the wolves and Satan. Luther always taught the efficacy and inerrancy of the Scriptures. In fact, the Latin words for inerrancy and infallibility are in the Large Catechism, part of our Book of Concord.

The Good Shepherd is the standard because He died for our sins in our stead. No one can approach His excellence and His grace and mercy. Pastor is Latin for shepherd, so pastors are to protect and care for their flock, keeping wolves away. One part of this is providing spiritual food and drink, so the flock is filled with Scriptural knowledge and strengthened against the wiles of Satan. He may have 1,000 arts, but the Word - as Luther wrote - has 100,000 arts.

13 The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

In the early days of America, the pastors often stayed in the parish their entire lives. When denominations gained more control, they began moving men around, so the best way to have a larger congregation and more comforts was to get a better call.

14 I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

There is only one Good Shepherd because He alone is innocent of sin yet died as a criminal and blasphemer. Everything possibly wrong was done against Him, because He was sent to be the atoning sacrifice. Blood sacrifice stopped at the Temple when the Roman army came in and destroyed it. Another rebellion caused even more damage and the Jewish people were forbidden to enter the area. The priesthood could no longer do their jobs because Jesus was and is the priest and the sacrifice.

I never understood Melchizedek (King of Righteousness) very well until I saw the passage in Hebrews - again - and looked at Lenski. Abraham honored Melchizedek because that man represented the eternal priesthood of the Son. Centuries of blood sacrifice in the Temple and the Passover meals featuring the spotless lamb taught the people the meaning of Atonement. Jesus fulfilled it, and that is the heart of the Gospel.

Faith comes from hearing the Report of the Gospel (Isaiah 53, Romans 10). Faith is the access we have to the grace of God in Jesus Christ the Son of God.

Isaiah 53 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

Romans 10:16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? 17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

One of my graduate students in Old Testament expressed her change of perspective well.

"Growing up in a strict denomination, I always felt a sense of guilt when I did things wrong. I have to admit that the one thing I began to resent about the church is that we were "scared" into doing the right thing. We were told of God's love, but guilt was always there. Throughout this course, I have seen that God's love is what we experience even when we sin. I have seen that there is no end to God's love, He is there for us and He will forgive us and give us another chance. He is the God of another chance, not just a second chance. All is takes is faith in God and he will transform us."

Those who rely on fear, or the Law, or their works will never provide comfort in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

15 As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

Sometimes people present the loving and gracious Jesus but leave the imaginary picture of God the Father, angry and punishing. The picture in Roman Catholicism is a kindly and helpful Blessed Virgin Mother, but an angry Jesus as judge.

St. John's true picture is that Jesus is a perfect mirror of God's love, mercy, and forgiveness. The anger of Jesus is aimed at little-faith and even more at no-faith.

John 16 - 8 And when He (the Holy Spirit) is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:

9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;

And how is this expressed by the Holy Spirit? - In the written and spoken Scriptures, in preaching and teaching. Flipping to the positive side, the Holy Spirit will teach faith in Jesus and oppose doubt and rejection. The foundational sin is lack of faith - not the carnal sins or covert sins but not believing in Jesus Christ.

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.

This too was confounding, because Judaism was largely an ethnic religion and very limited by its language, worship, and customs. Christianity - and this was a struggle - went out to all races and types, using the universal language of Greek. The Old Testament was already in Greek and the New Testament was written only in Greek until expansion made translations necessary.

There is only True Church, and that consists in those who believe in Jesus alone as their Savior, to take away their sins and give them eternal life.

Saturday, April 25, 2026

April 25, 2026 - The Computer Became Mysteriously Difficult Today

I tried some worship possibilities:

The computer itself was perhaps working.
Options could have thwarted the apartment's system.
Maybe the sports on TV were over-using their enjoyment and bandwidth.

The desk computer looks good now. I hope to run it at 9 AM Central tomorrow (Sunday). There will be some overlap, so do not be dismayed.

Friday, April 24, 2026

This Blog Began with 2007 - Charlie P. Krauth

Monday, May 7, 2007

The Peculiar Glory of the Lutheran Church - Hidden Away

"The doctrine of the means of grace is a peculiar glory of Lutheran theology. To this central teaching it owes its sanity and strong appeal, its freedom from sectarian tendencies and morbid fanaticism, its coherence and practicalness, and its adaptation to men of every race and every degree of culture. The Lutheran Confessions bring out with great clearness the thought of the Reformers upon this subject." "Grace, Means of," The Concordia Cyclopedia, L. Fuerbringer, Th. Engelder, P. E. Kretzmann, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1927, p. 299.

"Must Lutheranism be shorn of its glory to adapt it to our times or our land? No!" Charles P. Krauth, The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology, Philadelphia: The United Lutheran Publication House, 1871, p. 208.

The Ark of the Covenant was captured in this famous passage from 1 Samuel, so the essays about Lutheran doctrine will be called Ichabod. The glory has departed from the Lutheran Church. In fact, the Lutheran Church no longer exists in America in any institutional form. The enemy has not stolen the Ark of the Covenant - the Means of Grace. Instead the apostate Lutheran leaders have thrown a tarp over their Ark in order to glorify in their Fuller Seminary classes, their mission visions, their contemporary Pentecostal music, their pit bands, and their self-glorifying pep talks disguised as sermons.

Total Number of Page Views - For a Moment

Was the Total Page Views

Thursday, April 23, 2026

Looking at the Change in the Various Denominations

I found an article about Lutherans, having quite a bit in the opening but ending with the real news - the Lutheran pastor had a clever way to glide into the Vatican fold.

That suggested the bait and switch tactics used in so many situations, such as

"I just happened to walk in one day...."

"He was my best friend (or professor) and just had to try that!"

As one layman said, agreeing to me, "Everyone is selling! No teaching!"

Wednesday, April 22, 2026

How Strange, New, and Ancient Communication Can Be

How Strange, New, and Ancient

Communication Can Be

We thought the first, tiny efforts with email were very cool. I had to take Communication Classes, which were required. We even had leaded type (yes, for lead) for making projects.

I will be building up a list on Instagram, which seems to be quite useful. No one has to join.

In Christ,

Pastor Jackson

New Numbers Coming Up

Ichabod is about to roll over the numbers on this blog, probably today.

Meanwhile, Moline Memories is about to roll over a much smaller number - but with only one high school, one class - Moline 1966 High School.

Knowing I could slowly gather a lot of photos and stories, I accumulated my class size when past events showed up.

"But what about our diminished population?"

People can download, but they can also be picked for their favorites.

This is my first birthday cake - both of them in awe.

I posed for Melo-Cream Donuts at the age of four. It took the 1970s to replace bakery with nutrition - and it worked!

Tuesday, April 21, 2026

Reading the Psalms from the Middle to the Beginning

I always found the Psalms a problem for me, simply because the beginning is used too often (my fault) - and the great Psalms are likely to be overlooked.

As I wrote earlier, Psalm 36 is a masterpiece in showing us how to handle our emotions and act according to God's wisdom and outcome.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

9 For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.

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Constant blessings are wonderful for all.

Psalm 34

34 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2 My soul shall make her boast in the Lord: the humble shall hear thereof, and be glad.

3 O magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought the Lord, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.

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Psalm 24