Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed

Sunday, April 19, 2026

Commandments - First and Second.

Tom Fisher's new calf!

Saturday, April 18, 2026

Shepherd Sunday - Misericordia 2026.

Video link here - Vimeo -

For Shepherd Sunday -

9 AM or 10 AM Central

Bethany Lutheran Church

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

https://youtu.be/AmcVwl0GuJw

Misericordias Domini –

Second Sunday after Easter, 2026

This version has some conflicts.

The Hymn #436 The Lord's My Shepherd

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

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

Collect

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 #196 I Am Content

I AM 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

Prayers and Announcements

Medical Care - Pastor James Shrader and his wife Chris, Kermit Way and his wife Maria Ellenberger Way.

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:

I AM the Good Shepherd

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

Greek, the universal language at the time, phrases this unlike anything we have in English. It is literally "The Shepherd the Good" which means The Noble Shepherd - or - The Shepherd above All Shepherds.

I got into a discussion about German Shepherd dogs on Facebook. The owners (or rather - the staff) were agreed that their dogs terrified strangers but were very intelligent, gentle and very protective with children.

Jesus strikes many as terrifying because they do not know Him or believe in Him. Some people respond to Jesus by mocking His Two Natures, human and divine. They have all kinds of clever things to say, and they want to reduce the Savior to someone not as bright as they are.

A new/old book arrived that showed me how cleverly the Bible has been defamed in the last 150 years. I have 20+ books on this topic. The author of this book pointed out how easily the new Bibles were accepted, and how many denominations had a variety of translations they used without much fuss at all. The reason is - the battle was over. The corrupt Greek texts (fraudulent Sinaiticus and corrupt Vaticanus) - mixed in with Apostolic (Traditional, Received, Byzantine) Text - were easily passed off as "scholarly, the oldest, the best, the most accurate, the earliest" Greek New Testaments.

Jesus is the Unique Shepherd, the Shepherd above all human shepherds, unlike any human shepherd. This Sunday is called Shepherd Sunday because Jesus teaches us the true nature of being the Son of God. The Bible has around 500 references to shepherds and shepherding, and they point to this very special description - The Good Shepherd.

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 Good Shepherd gave up His life for His flock, those who believe in Him. Every Christian believer has a name. I was asked about this last week. I said, "The baptismal name is the one which stays with that person's soul into eternity." Question - "What about non-believers?" I said, as I often do, "I am sales, not management."

The hireling is there for the money, which we can often see, because they define their work with glory and glitter, the size of their parking lots and their endowment funds. One famous grandson wrecked his well known congregation and blamed it on his wife. No worry - he showed up later in another format, because he was and is a hireling.

The wolf, who represents all false teachers, slaughters and scatters the sheep, the first group gathering his funds for a great income, tenure, and the adoration of the foolish. The second group of wolves charge at the believers for the fun of it - destroying faith in Jesus Christ through mocking the Scriptures and boasting of their great knowledge.

One seminary professor had his adult son read from a ridiculous book called "The Shining Stranger" - supposedly from Harvard and written about Jesus. (secret author at the time) When I pointed out how ridiculous it was, in front of the graduate class, the professor was outraged - but never mentioned the book again. This author was the "first one ever to discover this special knowledge about Jesus." I asked, "Really? Nobody had a clue about Jesus, century after century, until NOW?" Book readings stopped and nothing more was said.

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

The hirelings do not stay to protect the flock but run away, because they have no love for the flock. That is why so many giant churches evaporate, almost overnight. In contrast, the Apostle Paul met with all kinds of threats and tumult, and was always in anguish over the constant threats of false teachers and their false doctrine.

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

The Son of God knows each and every one of His flock, and His own know Him. In the past, when I was asked to give the sermon at a liberal (apostate) church, the believers would nod their heads in agreement and the council members would frown and fold their arms. My divisive message was about the truth of the inerrant, infallible Scriptures.

This should always be in our minds - Jesus knows us and works through the Word to keep us in the flock. The Holy Spirit, through the Word, condemns unbelief in Jesus (John 16). The Spirit through the Word (Isaiah 55)

Always accomplishes God's Word
Never returns void, empty.
Always prospers His purpose.

Those two passages are the bedrock of Christian life.

John 16 teaches that unbelief in Jesus is the foundational sin.
Isaiah 55 teaches that God's Word always accomplishes and prospers God's Word. The verification is - "never returns empty," a double negative that forms a 100% positive.

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

The Father-Son relationship is 100%. There is no gap in the Father's love and grace toward us, no gap in the power of Jesus the Son of God in helping us.

When our skepticism and doubts try to take over and win the battle, we have to return to these passages - which teach faith in Jesus Christ the Good Shepherd, the Son of God. We know and trust that we could never get to the steps of the pearly gates, but the Lamb of God has exchanged His righteousness for our sins.

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.

We should always remember that this little group of followers were isolated in a corner of the failing Roman Empire. The more they were hated, scattered, and killed, the more they grew. No other ancient work has a fraction of the copies of their works as we have of the New Testament. Translations were made and various publications were preserved so we have from 5 to 8 thousand copies, all proving how important the Bible was for people of all races and languages. And these Apostolic Texts agree with only a handful of exceptions (which include Sinaiticus and Vaticanus).

The missionaries were often translators, like William Tyndale, who insisted that everyone should hear the Voice of Jesus in their own language. The powerful clergy and king tried to silence him by arresting and killing him, but they found the Word of God was more powerful than the British Empire, the King, and her clergy.

The KJV is roughly 75% Tyndale's work.

What Hath Church Growth Wrought!?

Official presidential portrait of John Quincy Adams

What Hath God Wrought: The Transformation of America, 1815–1848 is a nonfiction book about the history of the United States written by historian Daniel Walker Howe.

Each Denomination Left Its Own "Growth Strategy" Faster Than a Scalded Dog

A clever fellow has created graphs on the decline of Congregationalists as churches, also as individuals. The United Church of Christ changes were well known 50 years ago, and I saw the similar numbers about Lutherans at an LCA conference.

By the way, ELCA lost half of its population from its merger-mobile - and splendid harmony - with LCMS-WELS-ELS populations.

Guess what? The United Church of Christ shrank from 8,300 congregations in 1957 slithering down to 4,500 in 2020!

UCC membership soared downward from 2.1 million members to 680,000.

Running Out of People -https://www.graphsaboutreligion.com/p/the-united-church-of-christ-is-running

New way of spelling McGavran! Yes, the Lutherans ATE IT UP!

Thursday, April 16, 2026

The Shepherd's Psalm - 23 KJV

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.

Francis Rous - By Frederick Newenham (1807–1859)

"The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want"
by Francis Rous, 1579-1659, et al.

Tune - Belmont - linked here

1. The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want;
He makes me down to lie
In pastures green; He leadeth me
The quiet waters by.

2. My soul He doth restore again
And me to walk doth make
Within the paths of righteousness,
E'en for His own name's sake.

3. Yea, tho' I walk in death's dark vale,
Yet will I fear no ill;
For Thou art with me, and Thy rod
And staff me comfort still.

4. My table Thou hast furnished
In presence of my foes;
My head Thou dost with oil anoint,
And my cup overflows.

5. Goodness and mercy, all my life,
Shall surely follow me;
And in God's house forevermore
My dwelling place shall be.

Hymn #436
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 23
Author: Francis Rous, et al., 1650
Composer: William Gardiner, 1812
Tune: "Belmont"

Tom Fisher's Regain of Strength, Plus 33 Ewes Lambing

Tom Fisher

Tue, Apr 14, 6:47 PM (2 days ago)

to me

Thank you Pastor Jackson for your prayers! I am feeling much better and steadily regaining my strength. I think I over exerted myself putting temporary fence up to contain my bull. It seems everything needs to be done all of a sudden. I have three more cows to calve and one perhaps two are having trouble carrying their calf to full term. My 33 ewes begin lambing May 1.

In Christ,

Tom Fisher

***

GJ - It is a pleasure to see the modern farms at work, to realize how much is reflected in the Scriptures today.

Wednesday, April 15, 2026

Free PDF Jackson books are linked here.

Tuesday, April 14, 2026

Hymns of Hope, Peace, and Comfort
From The Lutheran Hymnal.
Illustrated by Norma A. Boeckler.

Today's posting marked 121,145 views in a day. Some are reading, maybe only glancing, perhaps studying the material.

In years' past, many people counted on wisdom by reading well known literature. The Scriptures and the hymnals were precious worn books, kept at home for their use, many of them tiny and carried around as treasures.

I cannot imagine the ancients (1800s) doing anything alike ours today.

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