Wednesday, March 27, 2019

Breaking News - Mark and Avoid Jeske Leaving Time of Grace.
Mike Novotny at The CORE Will Take Over.


Leave the Thrivent Board? Are you kidding me?



"Our wistful little star was far too high..."




This ELCA pastor led Jeske's Change or Die! re-education camp. Bring on Nadia - at least she works out.

MidWeek Lenten Service - Mark 1:19-22



Midweek Lenten Service

7 PM Central Daylight Time


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson


Bethany Lutheran Worship, 7PM Central Daylight Time



The Hymn #479          Zion Rise                                 
The Order of Vespers                                             p. 41
The Psalmody                 
The Lection                            The Passion History

The Sermon Hymn # 657      Beautiful Savior                      
The Son of God Created Faith in Them - They Followed Him


 
The Prayers
The Lord’s Prayer
The Collect for Grace                                            p. 45

The Hymn #558            All Praise To Thee


Mark 1
16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.
17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.
18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.
19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.
20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.
22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.


The Son of God Created Faith in Them - They Followed Him

Mark 1:16 Now as he walked by the sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers.

As Jesus walked along the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers, Simon and Andrew, and He had divine knowledge about them. The narration is very simple and therefore more powerful in its effect. The men could hardly miss the extraordinary effect Jesus had on them. 

17 And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men.

This is a familiar theme that children learn in Sunday School. We got the impression the disciples had rod and reel fishing poles, because we reeled them in with the song, "fishers of men, fishers of men."

That is a great jump in ideas, from casting nets to catching men in nets.

Matthew 1347 “Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was let down into the lake and caught all kinds of fish. 48 When it was full, the fishermen pulled it up on the shore. Then they sat down and collected the good fish in baskets, but threw the bad away. 49 This is how it will be at the end of the age. The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous 50 and throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

 18 And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

Lenski assumes they were first taught by Jesus and then He called them to be apostles. However, we can certainly assume that He read their character and budding faith in Him, simply commanding them to follow Him in faith.

Jesus gave the gracious invitation, and they responded in faith. We should always remember their stages or growth in faith. As time went on, they received more instruction and saw more miracles. The initial success met with opposition and they felt that death threat. Their greatest growth came as a result of the arrest, torture, and death of their Master. They saw the depths of woe He endured - that they endured with Him - and were guided by the purest faith afterwards, most of them dying young and violently while teach the Gospel of Peace.

At this stage they gave up their living - and food - and followed Him who showed them how to trust in Him.

19 And when he had gone a little farther thence, he saw James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, who also were in the ship mending their nets.

Here is a second pair of brothers, doing work necessary for their food, repairing the nets. Simple statements of fact are mixed with the call of Jesus to become apostles and their immediate acceptance.



20 And straightway he called them: and they left their father Zebedee in the ship with the hired servants, and went after him.
21 And they went into Capernaum; and straightway on the sabbath day he entered into the synagogue, and taught.

Jesus was assembling a group of disciples, soon to be called "apostles" after the name for "sent." As Jesus was sent by the Father, so He would send them. And they heard Him teach the Word of God as the divine Son of God.

22 And they were astonished at his doctrine: for he taught them as one that had authority, and not as the scribes.

This marked the beginning of people believing in Him and also - opposition growing. When someone teaches with the authority of the Word, then those who rely on other authorities become jealous. They want the digested view of the past, not hard but fulfilling work of studying the Word itself. The result is a lot of hemming and hawing. "Scholars are divided on this." And - "This is a graaaay area of Scripture." 

Because Jesus taught the pure Word, people responded with joy about the Promises of God. Ordinary people felt blessed and believed in Him.



Fourth Greek Lesson - Mark 1:16-22




Helps 

Parser - tells us the I.D. of the word

Lenski's Mark Commentary - download as a PDF

Copy and paste a Greek word into Google, add "Strong" and "Thayer" - you will get an instant word study about that Greek word. This is modestly called "The Ichabod Greek Treasure Hunt."

English derivatives of Greek words

Mark 1:16-22

16 περιπατων δε παρα την θαλασσαν της γαλιλαιας ειδεν σιμωνα και ανδρεαν τον αδελφον αυτου βαλλοντας αμφιβληστρον εν τη θαλασση, ησαν γαρ αλιεις
Post-positives - gar - our comma goes before the post-positive.
17 και ειπεν αυτοις ο ιησους δευτε οπισω μου και ποιησω υμας γενεσθαι αλιεις ανθρωπων
σ - future,
18 και ευθεως αφεντες τα δικτυα αυτων ηκολουθησαν αυτω
19 και προβας εκειθεν ολιγον ειδεν ιακωβον τον του ζεβεδαιου και ιωαννην τον αδελφον αυτου και αυτους εν τω πλοιω καταρτιζοντας τα δικτυα
20 και ευθεως εκαλεσεν αυτους και αφεντες τον πατερα αυτων ζεβεδαιον εν τω πλοιω μετα των μισθωτων απηλθον οπισω αυτου
21 και εισπορευονται εις καπερναουμ και ευθεως τοις σαββασιν εισελθων εις την συναγωγην εδιδασκεν
22 και εξεπλησσοντο επι τη διδαχη αυτου ην γαρ διδασκων αυτους ως εξουσιαν εχων και ουχ ως οι γραμματεις

Calvinists Wobble But They Do Not Convert


From the beginning, with Zwingli and Calvin, a group of non-Catholics has pretended to be almost Lutheran. We would be succumbing to their chameleon-like poses if we called them Protestants, because the Lutherans were first called that at the Speier Conference, 1529.
From this protest and appeal the Lutherans were called Protestants; with good reason, if we look at their attitude to Rome, which remains the same to this day.
Luther preferred to call his group the Evangelicals, but that name was also nicked by the Calvinists.

They would like us to believe that the Lutherans are too Roman to be called Protestant or Evangelical, because - like mercury adhering to gold and silver - they want to be associated with the Reformation. Their earnest desire is to sell their books and programs to the Lutherans without being "infected" (they would say) by the efficacy of the Word, the Means of Grace, and Justification by Faith. If that resistance to Biblical basics reminds you of Lutheran leadership today, you are catching on.

Do Calvinists teach the Sacraments?
No, they do not. The Sacraments are merely ordinances, symbols that do not work God's will, since the Holy Spirit is independent of the Word.

Do Calvinists agree with the Bible and Luther on predestination?
No, they teach people as being born elect or born to the covenant, since their salvation was determined at the beginning of time.

Do Calvinists teach Justification by Faith?
No, their peculiar anti-Biblical separation of the Word from the Spirit fills the void, they think, with double predestination. Robert Preus went to the Calvinists to prop us his Objective Justification arguments, according to David Scaer.

How does one cooperate with Calvinists?
Lutherans are free to deny the efficacy of the Word, the Means of Grace, infant faith, the Real Presence, and Justification by Faith, because these doctrinal points annoy Calvinists and prevent what they consider true fellowship with Lutherans. Calvinists will cease being scandalized by Biblical, Lutheran doctrine when their demands are met. And they are largely met today.

Do Calvinists eventually become Lutherans?
No, they turn into Unitarians, because rationalism supplants Biblical faith.

Is there anything we admire about the Calvinists?
We admire everything about the Calvinists - except their doctrine. (Krauth)