LutherQuislings' Didies Are All Bunched Up - But Still No Scriptural Exegesis

"I want my OJ, straight up, full strength!"

Start of sarcasm:
GJ has no use for Lutheran theologians. Take a deep dive with Luther, Melanchthon, Flacius, Heshusius, Brenz, Andreae, Chemnitz, Westphal, Musculus, Gallus, Chytraeus, Selnecker, Kirchner, Gerhard, Calov, Quenstedt, etc. and he will plug his ears and say, "Na, na, na, I can't heeeeear you!"

In fact, GJ doesn't have any use for any orthodox Lutheran teaching, jettisoning it all in favor of his own musings. This was the Wauwatosa method. "Lutheran theology is soooooo boring," they said. "All those big words and categories are confusing. Can't we just selectively read the Bible? Who cares what all those dead guys, y'know, actually said and confessed?"
End of quotation, but there is much more.

Sschmidt
Full Name:	Steve Schmidt
Last Logged In:	October 17, 2019
Registered:	March 27, 2017
Total Posts:	791
Status:	Advanced Member
Denomination:	LCMS
Positions Held (elder, pastor, layman, teacher, etc.):	Layman

***

GJ - I always enjoy hearing from my fan club at the Hive. I noticed the current Christian News is equally frantic in propping up their OJ and CFW Walther, BA.

I thought the LCMS, Matt the Fatt, and Paul the Plagiarist banned people from addressing doctrinal and practical issues if they did not have a call to do so. Few if any howled about Missouri's Midwestern papalism. Perhaps the OJ Enthusiasts have a universal absolution for pretending to know theology or Scriptural exegesis.

Our little group has published more Luther volumes (11-0) than LQ, so they should be ashamed of their presumptions.

This is a cover for their fear of exegesis. They cannot deal with Genesis 15:6 and Romans 4. They should confess their fears and stop publishing falsehoods with no basis in fact.

Book list - 32 titles.

Young and Old Alike - The Truth Matters

 William Blake's illustration - Christian meets Evangelist, Pilgrim's Progress.

My birthday paralleled the retirement of Yale professor Harold Bloom. He retired from teaching four days before he died, at the age of 89. That is the ideal retirement age for me, 89.

Dividing US citizens into two groups, I consider the younger population below 40 years of age and the older population above 40.

Those who are younger should build a foundation of knowledge that will inform them and influence others over the years. Those who are older should direct people toward the path of truth, because there are absolute truths.

There is no substitute for reading. That should always include printed books, but fortunately we can also supplement with all kinds of free or low-cost ebooks.

Areas of Study for the Younger Group

• The Bible as the Word of God - too many commentaries are no better than the broadcast news, full of opinions with no relationship to the data. The Scriptures are the only revelation of God, and they present a unified, harmonious truth, revealed by the Holy Spirit through many humans. As one pope said, the Bible is like the Savior, having a divine and a human nature, but without error.
• Creation - too few know - from observation - the basics of plants, animals, planets, the moon, and the stars. Our generation undoubtedly knows the least about nature, the most about digital games.
• Literature and music - we can know or enjoy all of it, but God moved people to create the best works of all time. But now, people gush over comic book movies and canned cacophony.
• Latin and Greek teachers killed interest in their subject matter, but medicine, science, languages, theology, philosophy, literature, law, math, engineering, music, and theater all originate in the golden age of Athens and spread through Rome. "Rome had the drains, but Greece had the brains."
• American and world history. Required courses keep these two areas alive, though their teachers do their best to mummify them. The genius of the U.S. Constitution comes from the British Catholic/Protestant struggles and its rulers. America became free while Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire was being published - a naughty but fascinating study that informed our Founders, who were trained in Latin and Greek. The U. S. Constitution reflects where Rome and Britain went wrong.

 If you do not know what this Blake illustration means, you should read Pilgrim's Progress again - or for the first time.

The Older Group

Opportunities to share and promote the truth are endless.

1. Anyone can teach through blogging, writing, lecturing - whether it is done informally or through established structures.
2. I thought some should learn New Testament Greek, so I began teaching the subject through videos on Ustream. One pastor began teaching his son NT Greek. The page is - Bethany Lutheran Easy NT Greek.
3. There are many outlets through publishing, small organizations that reach several thousand people.
4. Conversation can be so much more than trivia, though trivia is fun. It is possible that the oldest members of denominations are the only ones keeping some of the clergy anchored in the Word.

I was going to erase this post after working on it yesterday. But someone I do not know wished me Happy Birthday on FB and said she enjoyed my scholarship - very encouraging.

 Lenski's publisher - the ALC - thought so little of him that they let the copyright lapse, so many more can enjoy his labors today. We published the pdfs for free.

From WELS Pastor Mark Walters - 10 Years Ago - Threats from Canada, eh?

WELS Pastor Mark Walters, from Abiding Word, Ottawa, Canada:

Greg:

Thanks for the stimulating conversation.  Would you be willing to help promote confessional Lutheranism in Ottawa by posting our website on your blog…I hope you have some nice cartoons for me.

I also pray that you discover grace…not intellectually but that it melts your heart to breathe the love of the Gospel of Christ,

Thanks,

Mark

www.abidingword.ca

[December 8, 2009]

---

GJ - The following is an email from Pastor Mark Walters, pictured above. I phoned him in case the email was fraudulent. He called back a few days later and confirmed that he sent it, that he meant to shut down Ichabod. "I am going to contact some people in the States and see what can be done. You are harming the Kingdom."

---

Subject: Let me know one thing (December 2, 2009)

pastor.abidingword@rogers.com

Greg Jackson:



My name is Mark Walters. I think I went to school with your son, Marty.



I am a pastor in the WELS and serving at Abiding Word Lutheran Church in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada



I am a VERY supportive brother of Jeff Gunn, Ski, Tim Glende, and many others that you seem to enjoy trashing.



How do I get my picture on your website so that I can join your toxic hall of fame?????????



I’m very sad that you spend your time putting up such a legalistic, judgemental (sic) website, without knowing the true facts about things.



I will do everything in my power to shut you down because you are destructive to the kingdom.



Please contact me soon.



613-824-2524



Mark Walters

***

GJ - Walters had no problem with his friend Ski going to Groeschel, Stanley, Beeson, etc for training. "Name one false doctrine from Groeschel," he demanded. I said, "Everything."

He tried the "spoiling the Egyptians" argument on me, not using those words but the concept. He claimed - Christians need other Christians and they can use their discernment, which he found somewhere in Paul. He did not seem to connect with Matthew 7, 1 Timothy 4, or 2 Timothy 4.

---


-----Original Message-----
From: Gregory L. Jackson
Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 11:33 AM
To: pastor.abidingword@rogers.com
Subject: Your wish has been granted



Were you at the latest Church and Change conference? Or previous ones?



This is my regular email account.



In Christ,



Greg Jackson, PhD

---

Not at the last one…at previous ones.

Thanks,

Mark

"God: Never Get Too Big For Him." Ben Carson

Pastor Mark Walters

1575 Belcourt Blvd.

Orleans, ON K1C 1M3



Phone: 613-824-2524

Fax: 613-824-2905

---

Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

"Supporting brother of Jeff Gunn, Ski....etc"

That means he went to school with the whole group.

Mark Walters--WLS Class of '97
James "Ski" Skorzewski--Class of '98
Tim Glende--Class of '98

Its hard to disagree with someone when you sat next to them in class or drove them back from the bar late one night. At least, its hard when you don't have a backbone.

The reverse Ad Hominem support system of classmates is a ridiculous system. The guy is good...so he must be doing things the right way. Then you base all arguments on the guy's sterling character.

"Supportive Brother" just means these men were in COS together.

Rev. Mark Bitter on "Spoiling the Egyptians:" "While the Lord was telling Moses exactly how he wanted to be worshiped, the Israelites were worshiping like the Egyptians did."

He then went on a 10 minute binge against churches who want to use praise songs instead of psalms.

It was easy to see the classmates who were grinning and those squirming in their seats.

This was all at Evangelism Day...somewhere down the hall "Ski" was torturing minds. I skipped Kelm's key note for my own sanity.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Congratulations!
It's just noon and you took out 2 minor trolls and now they send in the "Creeker Errand Boy" from Ontario.
Pretty good and it's just noon.

More cow bell puhleez, Pastor Jackson

I'm ROFL, keep slingin that sword
Blogging and Scholarship what a combo, only a REAL Lutheran could pull that off!

--The LCMS Church Lady

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mjleyrer has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Nothing like empty, unexecutable threats to get your morning going eh Jacko?

If someone did shut you down I would be upset because if there's one thing that I care about as much as the church it Constitutional Liberties. This would definitely be an infringement of one.

I don't even think he could file libel against you if he wanted to. Maybe he could.

See Jacko, even the guys who don't agree with you want you stay up and running. Because if you went away, who would I have to argue with?

***

GJ - I was shocked, shocked to find out Rev. Mark was a regular at Church and Chicanery conferences. And he links to Time of Generic Grace.

He confuses satire with slander. The funny Photoshops seem to rile him more than is healthy for someone so brittle and humorless. I tried to point out the long history of satirical cartoons, going back the the 19th century at least. But Mark is slow to listen, quick to talk, quick to anger.

My suggestion is that he go to court in Ottawa and get an injunction banning anyone in Ontario from reading Ichabod. That would be fair, eh?

Muslims in Canada went after Mark Steyn. Perhaps Mark is taking lessons.

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Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

OF COURSE Rev. Mark is a regular at C&C events. If my church offered to pay my way to a drinking date with my buddies, I'd take the money too!

I love when he asked about Groeschel...that quote needs to be sent, verbatim to every and all of his superiors from the Mission counselors to President Schroeder.

If this man can't test the spirits of a yahoo like Groeschel, I can't believe he is a fit expositor of God's word.

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Michael Schottey has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Leyrer,

Speaking of logical fallacies...I didn't say he would be a bad preacher because he is trying to "shut down Ichabod."

I said I couldn't imagine a fit expositor of God's word who can't find fault with Craig Groeschel's filth pile that is LifeChurch.tv

If someone wasn't paying attention in class while Professors Fredrich and Schmidt were talking about the dangers of false teachers, how much else did they miss?

---

rwiedenhoeft@wisc.edu

Pastor Jackons (sic),


What are your shortcomings?


Chairman Bob

***

GJ - I can spell. I can tell you are probably from UW Madison, perhaps a victim of Willow Creek Chapel.

---

I. J. Reilly has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Brett--

I don't think your comments would convince Anders. I went to the web page he advertised on this blog and it is apparently the work of a group who believe that the real teachings of Jesus were corrupted by the church and "The Apostate Paul." (Wow, someone besides GJ knows how to compose insulting nicknames that reduces an opponent to a stereotype.) I don't think he'd find much creedence (sic) in your quotes from Romans, Titus, Galatians, and Ephesians. Noble effort, though.

***

GJ - How delicious it must be, to post anonymous, gratuitous comments and be able to brag to fellow sots, "Look at what I published!" With enough comments posted, a semblance of proper spelling may emerge. No, wait, it hasn't so far.


---

JR has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

Wow, I'm on holiday for a few days, and look what happens when I return! Trolls abound, Jews enter the fray, and Canadian pastors threaten to turn out the lights. Ichabod is the place to be!

Mr. Leyrer, I gotta give it up to you. You took a beating, but you hung in there. Great last comment, by the way. Those were my sentiments exactly! +1 for you.

Mr. Schottey, how has your outspokenness affected your standing in WELS? I'd love to "come out," but I am wary of the backlash. I'm interested in hearing what has happened to you.

***

GJ - Total freedom of expression in WELS: real diversity. Not to worry.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Pastor Mark Walters Threatens To Shut Down Ic...":

GJ, all theological arguments aside, "judgmental" is in fact the proper Canadian spelling of the word. To poke fun at a pastor in Canada for using correct Canadian spelling is either intentional mean-spiritedness I'll wow the Americans who are ignorant of Canadian spelling rules) or just ignorance of Canadian spelling on your part. If one posts from the US on a British website, one is not expected to use the affectation of British spelling.

***

GJ - I love the patronizing tone of these anonymous comments. Notice how one little (sic) can rustle their chicken feathers. That little Latin word means "thus" - not "this person is an idiot." Mark is not Johnny Canuck. is he? He had the benefit of 8 years of WELS higher education, in America. I am not sure if he is returning to the Motherland or just spending a few years in exile for threatening someone else. They have some good anger management classes in Ottawa, eh?

Here's a a conveniently located one for Mark -
Anger & Emotions Management Institute,
421 Gilmour Street, Ottawa, ON K2P 0R5, Canada
(613) 231-2051‎.

My wife and I earned degrees in Canada, so we spent a few enjoyable years there. The Canadians are great people. We have many relatives there, so we know how to say Chooseday, ask for serviettes (not napkins), and smile when offered biscuits (cookies). We learned to plug our lamps into the hydro when we sat on our chesterfield. We know about British/Canadian spelling, favouring the extra vowel, in Saviour or aluminium. Spelling is our speciality.

I relish the moments when some humorless Chicanery starts lecturing in stealth mode.



---

Greek Lesson - Finishing Mark 13, Starting Mark 14

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

Lenski's Mark Commentary - download as a PDF

Mark 13

21 και τοτε εαν τις υμιν ειπη ιδου ωδε ο χριστος η ιδου εκει μη πιστευσητε

22 εγερθησονται γαρ ψευδοχριστοι και ψευδοπροφηται και δωσουσιν σημεια και τερατα - προς το αποπλαναν ει δυνατον, και τους εκλεκτους

23 υμεις δε βλεπετε, ιδου! προειρηκα υμιν παντα

24 αλλ εν εκειναις ταις ημεραις μετα την θλιψιν εκεινην, ο ηλιος σκοτισθησεται και η σεληνη ου δωσει το φεγγος αυτης

25 και οι αστερες του ουρανου εσονται εκπιπτοντες και αι δυναμεις αι εν τοις ουρανοις σαλευθησονται

26 και τοτε οψονται τον υιον του ανθρωπου ερχομενον εν νεφελαις μετα δυναμεως πολλης και δοξης

27 και τοτε αποστελει τους αγγελους αυτου και επισυναξει τους εκλεκτους αυτου εκ των τεσσαρων ανεμων, απ ακρου γης εως ακρου ουρανου

28 απο δε της συκης μαθετε την παραβολην - οταν αυτης ηδη ο κλαδος απαλος γενηται, και εκφυη τα φυλλα γινωσκετε οτι εγγυς το θερος εστιν

29 ουτως και υμεις οταν ταυτα ιδητε γινομενα γινωσκετε οτι εγγυς εστιν επι θυραις

30 αμην λεγω υμιν οτι ου μη παρελθη η γενεα αυτη μεχρις ου παντα ταυτα γενηται

31 ο ουρανος και η γη παρελευσονται οι δε λογοι μου ου μη παρελθωσιν

32 περι δε της ημερας εκεινης και της ωρας ουδεις οιδεν ουδε οι αγγελοι οι εν ουρανω ουδε ο υιος ει μη ο πατηρ

33 βλεπετε αγρυπνειτε και προσευχεσθε ουκ οιδατε γαρ ποτε ο καιρος εστιν

34 ως ανθρωπος αποδημος αφεις την οικιαν αυτου και δους τοις δουλοις αυτου την εξουσιαν και εκαστω το εργον αυτου και τω θυρωρω ενετειλατο ινα γρηγορη

γρηγορέω - watch, stay awake, the name 

Greg comes from this verb

35 γρηγορειτε ουν ουκ οιδατε γαρ ποτε ο κυριος της οικιας ερχεται οψε η μεσονυκτιου η αλεκτοροφωνιας η πρωι

36 μη ελθων εξαιφνης ευρη υμας καθευδοντας

37 α δε υμιν λεγω πασιν λεγω γρηγορειτε

Mark 14

ην δε το πασχα και τα αζυμα, μετα δυο ημερας, και εζητουν οι αρχιερεις και οι γραμματεις πως αυτον εν δολω κρατησαντες αποκτεινωσιν

2 ελεγον δε μη εν τη εορτη μηποτε θορυβος εσται του λαου

3 και οντος αυτου εν βηθανια, εν τη οικια σιμωνος του λεπρου, κατακειμενου αυτου ηλθεν γυνη εχουσα αλαβαστρον μυρου ναρδου πιστικης πολυτελους και συντριψασα το αλαβαστρον κατεχεεν αυτου κατα της κεφαλης

4 ησαν δε τινες αγανακτουντες προς εαυτους και λεγοντες εις τι η απωλεια αυτη του μυρου γεγονεν

5 ηδυνατο γαρ τουτο πραθηναι επανω τριακοσιων δηναριων και δοθηναι τοις πτωχοις και ενεβριμωντο αυτη

6 ο δε ιησους ειπεν αφετε αυτην τι αυτη κοπους παρεχετε καλον εργον ειργασατο εις εμε

7 παντοτε γαρ τους πτωχους εχετε μεθ εαυτων και οταν θελητε δυνασθε αυτους ευ ποιησαι εμε δε ου παντοτε εχετε

8 ο ειχεν αυτη εποιησεν προελαβεν μυρισαι μου το σωμα εις τον ενταφιασμον

9 αμην λεγω υμιν οπου αν κηρυχθη το ευαγγελιον τουτο εις ολον τον κοσμον και ο εποιησεν αυτη λαληθησεται εις μνημοσυνον αυτης

Leading from the Closet - Cross-Dresser a Keynote Speaker at National Leadership Conference

 Wayne Mueller's son, Pastor Adam Mueller, is one of the keynote speakers at the national WELS Leadership Conference.

https://dawnsview.smugmug.com/Church/Redeemer-HomeComing-Nov-9-2014/i-MnmPBd7

Mueller's WELS congregation held a picnic where Mueller and the men on the church council dressed as women. Children put makeup on the men. Lots of photos were taken, because they were so proud of their family oriented fun, and they posted them on social media with the password, so everyone could download them.

 Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6

 Leadership!

Church and Change, formed from WELS benevolence money, was organized to promote the doctrine and practices of Fuller Seminary and Willow Creek Community Church - both hotspots of scandal.

 Christian News supports the Mueller family and Objective Justification. Question: has Wayne Mueller found any Church Growth in WELS yet? He denied it in print years ago.

WELS Mark Jeske supports the agenda of ELCA through Thrivent - and why not? - WELS promotes the same family values. 

 Time of Grace - the Jeske influence continues.

 "We have so much fun with the truth - in WELS."

Secondary Doctrine Thesis - From a Lutheran Layman

 Building and correcting - Objective Justification builds and corrects the Chief Article, according to their snake-oil salesmen. What better way to supplant it and reach the point of assailing faith at every opportunity? Stay tuned for the real LCMS-WELS.

A Lutheran layman wrote to suggest Objective Justification is a secondary doctrine. I was intrigued because of his comparison with Roman Catholic dogma.

Why does Purgatory exist without any support from the Scriptures? It answers the logic of people who think that Christ has forgiven them, but still they sin, sometimes in terrible ways. Purgatory, borrowed from the pagans, answers that question in the rational mind. Christ has paid for sins with His Atonement, and that forgiveness is given with Holy Baptism. But what about afterwards?

Mother Angelica preached on her TV program that landing in Purgatory meant "I made it!" - escaping Hell. Thus the "logic" of Purgatory continues.

How often I have heard that "I have to know I am already forgiven before I can believe in it"? That is one secondary excuse for OJ.

Rolf Preus recently wrote on LutherQueasy, "Justification by Faith requires OJ," another form of the same argument.

A. Hoenecke wrote in his Dogmatics that "Objective Justification protects the Gospel." Many Hoenecke fans find that shocking, but he did graduate from Halle, the same school that trained Bishop Martin Stephan, the Pietist leader who taught his Pietist student CFW Walther the Easter Absolution of the world.

Matthias Loy - If There Is No Lutheran Congregation. From Alec Satin, Lutheran Librarian

On the subject of what to do if there is no faithful church where you live.

The Lutheran believer by an inward necessity, which is also taught and enforced by the Word of God, is led to unite with the pure visible Church of the Augsburg Confession and perform his duties as well as exercise his privileges and seek his edification in the fellowship of that Church. He cannot without danger to his spiritual life and ultimate salvation deny any portion of his faith by joining another Church which teaches and confesses otherwise than God’s Word teaches, and must be ready to make sacrifices in behalf of the Church of the Augsburg Confession with its pure Word and Sacraments. It is surely not loyalty to that Confession which inspires the thought that, if there be no congregation of that Confession in the place of our residence, the best thing to be done is to join some other Church that professes to be Christian. Such conduct can reflect no credit upon a professed believer of the evangelical truth for which our fathers contended in the days of the Reformation. Indifference to the truth is thus manifested rather than faith.

If there is no Church of the Augsburg Confession where a Lutheran believer lives, there ought to be; and his calling has evidently become that of a missionary who providentially has the high duty of confessing the truth and, if possible, of gathering other believers around the Augsburg Confession and forming an Evangelical Lutheran congregation.

Meantime instead of denying his faith by holding fellowship with those who confess a different doctrine, he will be content with his own family worship, employing the services of the nearest pastor for the administration of the sacraments and an occasional sermon, until a little congregation can be collected in his own locality.

From Loy, Matthias. The Augsburg confession: An Introduction To Its Study And An Exposition Of Its Contents Columbus, Ohio: Lutheran Book Concern, 1908.

Sword of Margarine Award - Will Supplant the Faux-Sabre of Boldness

 The Sword of Margarine

The Sabre of Boldness award committee has informed me that they are tired of giving their phony prize when nobody in Lutherdom deserves it. In fact, they are so timid that they took several years to gather the gumption to tell me.

Therefore, I have honored their request and their sincere well-earned modesty. I have covertly assembled a group of savvy judges - highly trained in Biblical doctrine and abnormal psychology - to give the new prize - The Sword of Margarine.

Nominees

1. Christian News - Suggested for their adroit selling to both sides of the issue:

• Church Growth and Lutheran doctrine, 
• Walter Maier and Rolf Preus, 
• Roman Catholic hatred of Luther and Luther trinkets, 
• Walther idols and Bibles.

2. Steadfast Lutherans - Brought up because -

• They got huffy about DP-sponsored sex abuse but erased the evidence about the abuse.
• They featured one spaghetti-spine who criticized Paul the Plagiarist McCain and then offered to pay for a statue in his honor. The committee favors idolaters for this honor.
• They started as a Matt the Fatt toadies; they no longer had a candidate this year.

3. Intrepid Lutherans - Almost Winners -

• Mirthless Mark Schroeder had his classmate Steve Spencer start a group to support him against "the other side." 
• The group did an excellent job of fussing about issues but were utterly silent at synodical meetings when it mattered. Well played!
• The Intrepid founder, Steve Spencer, bailed out first - due to trepidation - followed by the rest of them.
• The committee decided it would be difficult to find someone still identified as Intrepid or Lutheran, so they had to pass on this group.

The Winner!

The contenders were highly qualified - no doubt. Margarine perfectly represents them - a substance created by chemistry to be a cheap, unhealthy substitute for butter. And yet margarine was marketed as healthy while butter was panned as unhealthy.

LutherQuest - aka SpenerQuest - aka LutherQueasies - 

aka LutherQuislings

After considering their vast effort to mock Luther and his doctrine, barely ever mentioning him, except to exploit his name - LQ had to be top contender.

Significant Achievements:

1. They slavishly reproduced Paul McCain's plagiarism of The Catholic Encyclopedia, and never rebuked him. 
2. They let someone engage in anonymous slander until they realized it could be costly to the websty owner.
3. Like the other supposedly "fierce and faithful" groups, they barely mentioned the appalling Mark Jeske Change or Die! pro-abortion gay ordination conference.
4. They present CFW Walther, BA, as a great theologian with all the answers and refuse to address the Scriptures teaching Justification by Faith. 
5. Best of all, they engage in endless trivia, like ALPB.org's forum, so that no one wakes up from the apostasy around them.

 This did not happen by accident. The Objective Justification salesmen took over from about 1932, "improving" by substitution.

Thankful to Many People

 Life can be simpler, but good donuts are much harder to find now.

I keep trying to write this post, but delays come along. I am thankful to God, first of all, for the opposition that placed me where I am today. The best and intangible joys of life came about because the inbred Hategood family in Lutherdom wanted to cause me pain for asking the wrong questions or worse - providing some of the answers. Imagine a dysfunctional alcoholic in WELS and his cousin in the CLC (sic) working together, sharing the same nickname for their Father Below.

The sacrament of shunning in Pietism has relieved me of the burden of fake friends who run when no one pursues. Instead, I have genuine friends who value the heritage of the Reformation. These friends are a jolly bunch, not the pinch-faced Puritans who sound so much like Calvin.

I could have been engulfed by twin horrors - endless editing and PR tasks, magnified by the horrors of crucial meetings, compounded by a constellation of unwritten rules.

 Veteran's Honor Rose - for all our veterans - Ranger Bob, Pete, Gary, Norm.

I enjoy writing, gardening, and getting advice from Sassy the Wonder-Dog. Mrs. Ichabod enjoys hearing the latest before I post an article. She eventually got used to the vitriol as a mark of success - "When you finally die, everyone will be so happy." (Anonymous)

A lot of the work done is a team effort, so we each do our share based on interests, ability, and time available. Frustrations and suggestions turn into books. One person said, "The House Postils should be available." That came after eight volumes of Lenker's Luther Sermons were just finished. Soon Alec Satin, the Lutheran Librarian, had them published with art from Norma A. Boeckler.

I worked with several publishers in the past, and a book project went from finished product to printed book in years, not weeks or months.

I told Pastor Shrader that one of his stories created an ongoing joke. It had to to with honorary degrees being "automatical." We always use that term and evidence suggests its use is growing.

I took computer science, web design, and Photoshop to improve what I could do in publishing. That became the path to teaching in higher education for the last 20 years. Teaching online made it easier to publishing online. A traditional tenured job would have meant being shackled to the university system.

 At age four I discovered that child labor laws were not applied within the family, so I began my career of promoting, making, selling, and eating donuts.  

Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, 2019 - Ephesian 4:1-6

 Norma A. Boeckler's artistic books

The Seventeenth Sunday after Trinity, 2019

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/bethany-lutheran-worship

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Daylight Time

The Hymn #37            Lord Tis Not That I Did Choose Thee              

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 #203            Morning Breaks                  

In the Unity of the Spirit

The Communion Hymn #315:1-5      I Come O Savior             

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 # 361                  O Jesus, King

                      In Our Prayers

• Andrea is doing very well.
• Carl Roper and his wife Lynda.
• Thanksgiving - Elizabeth Mior is seeing the cancer depart.
• Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes.
• Those looking for work and a better income.
• Glen Kotten is visiting the Philippines this month. We met him at the Shraders. Pastor Shrader continues his battle with cancer. Pastor Shrader's congregation is in fellowship with us and the Bethany Philippine Mission - they are also contributing to the effort.

              

 Norma A. Boeckler's artistic books

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

KJV Luke 14:1 And it came to pass, as he went into the house of one of the chief Pharisees to eat bread on the sabbath day, that they watched him. 2 And, behold, there was a certain man before him which had the dropsy. 3 And Jesus answering spake unto the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? 4 And they held their peace. And he took him, and healed him, and let him go; 5 And answered them, saying, Which of you shall have an ass or an ox fallen into a pit, and will not straightway pull him out on the sabbath day? 6 And they could not answer him again to these things. 7 And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them, 8 When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; 9 And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. 10 But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee. 11 For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.

Seventeenth Sunday After Trinity

Lord God, heavenly Father: We beseech Thee so to guide and direct us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not exalt ourselves, but humbly fear Thee, with our whole hearts hear and keep Thy word, and hallow the Lord's day, that we also may be hallowed by Thy word; help us, first, to place our hope and confidence in Thy Son, Jesus Christ, who alone is our righteousness and Redeemer, and, then, so to amend and better our lives in accordance with Thy word, that we may avoid all offenses and finally obtain eternal salvation, through Thy grace in Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God. world without end. Amen.

Background for the Sermon - Ephesians 4:1-6 - On the Trinity

So many of the worldly wise claim there is no Trinity in the Bible. G. Knapp, the patron saint of Objective Justification, did not think the Trinity was supported by the Bible. The term is late, shorthand for the concept, but the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are everywhere in the Scriptures.

In Genesis 1, the Father commands, and the Son (the Logos) executes the command, the Spirit witnessing to the Six-Day Creation. John 1 provides additional details about the Logos (the Son) and Creation.

Numbers 6 has this often used benediction -  

24 The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
25 The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
26 The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

And yet the Three are One - 
Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:

Is it by accident that I AM (God's Name) says, "I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob"? Exodus 3:6

Not only the Great Commission names the Trinity, but the terms come together throughout the New Testament. See The Holy Trinity Revealed in the Scriptures. Matthew 28:19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

This Ephesians passage names the Trinity. How can anyone miss this fact? It is given, data, which cannot be refuted, and the Scriptures throughout the Bible give us a complete, plain picture of the Godhead, Three-in-One, or the Unity of the Three Persons and the Three-ness of One God.

The most important emphasis in the Bible is God becoming man, born of a Virgin, as predicted in Isaiah 7 and 9. Therefore, the story of Jesus, from the beginning - at Creation - until now - is the utmost truth to know and hold to our hearts.

In the Unity of the Spirit

KJV Ephesians 4:1 I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, 

This is a powerful lesson in two sentences, a few verses. If any of our theologians were asked to cover as much material, they would issue a two volume masterpiece - Toward a Possible Conclusion about Some Tentative Theories, Though Scholars Are Divided.

The best argument for the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in the Bible is the compact, concise style in plain words that should lead us to be astounded. But we take it for granted when we should instead mull over the meaning of so few words. 

The Christian Church was built upon preaching the Gospel of Jesus, the faith of Jesus and faith in Jesus as the Savior. The Scriptures are the bedrock, and preaching must be based directly upon that bedrock (not Rocky Johnson, Simon bar Jonah). Jesus said, in effect, "Upon this Bedrock I will build my Church." The bedrock is the Son of God, not Peter, not the confession of Peter who quickly rebuked Jesus for predicting His Atonement.

the prisoner of the Lord

Notice what a fine twist Paul put on his captivity and almost certain death. He did not curse Rome or his enemies. He saw this as God's will, because we know God can and will do anything, according to His far-sighted wisdom. Paul's new title is "prisoner of the Lord" and that will glorify the Savior and expand His Church through persecution.

Paul is begging his fellow-believers and us to walk, to conduct our lives, worthy of the calling by which Christ called us. The disciples did not come looking for Him. He invited them to be followers. In the same way, the Holy Spirit invited us to be His disciples. That term means "learners" and some of them dropped out from the larger group, saying "These are hard sayings." (John 6)

When we say we are called by the Spirit, it is the same as saying we are called by the Gospel. The Gospel and Spirit working together have the power to convert. We do not have the wisdom and knowledge to do that. Paul reminded the Thessalonians that their very conversion was proof of the efficacy of God's Word. They experienced the conversion and knew it to be real. 

walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
Vocation is the word we use for being called by the Spirit to be Christian believers. Therefore, any person who believes in Christ alone as the Savior is called by the Gospel, not the result of persuasion and logic. 

In parades we see bands marching down the street, in uniforms, though they each have a different role. The hats, feathers, and other equipment is to be worn just so, and they are to march in order, though they vary so much in abilities, height, weight, and ability. Wearing the bass drum, I did not pay attention as I should and marched into the row ahead, drum first, causing laughter on the sidelines.

So Paul says walk worthy of that vocation. It is our uniform or livery, as Luther wrote in Europe, where items of clothing actually represent towns and customs.

Luther:
1. This, too, is a beautiful sermon, delivered by Paul to the Ephesians, concerning the good works of Christians, who believe and are obedient to the doctrine of the Gospel. In the knowledge of good works Paul desires Christians to grow and increase, as we learned in the epistle for last Sunday. The ground of all doctrine, of all right living, the supreme and eternal treasure of him who is a Christian in the sight of God, is faith in Christ. It alone secures forgiveness o£ sins and makes us children of God.

I was talking with one member this week, and we discussed the unbecoming behavior of so many in the visible church and how that was excused for one reason or another. Forgiveness does not excuse living according to our own impulses. Paul provided some descriptions of the Christian who really does follow Christ.

2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; 3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

We should immediately recognize these as attributes of Christ Himself.

Matthew 11:29-30 King James Version (KJV)

29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

Jesus had reason to use His divine majesty but seldom did so. In contrast, many people adopt a regal attitude and cause all kinds of conflict and trouble because of it. Because we all get irritated at times, Proverbs 15 says, "A soft answer turns away wrath." But grievous words stir up anger.

Customer service people agree that threats and anger make them dig in and do the minimum in response to a grievance. However, being understanding of the service person will get the best kind of response. It is a simple matter of logic - the Law makes us do the minimum. The Gospel motivates us to think of the other person.  

The Savior is not only an example, but He is also the example of being meek, lowly, and long-suffering. He slowly built up the knowledge and faith of the disciples from their daily lessons and experiences. Even then they scattered during the arrest. His patience with them gave them the opportunity to repent and have faith in the risen Lord, far beyond their expectations when they were first called.

Many wanted Jesus to be the new David and drive out the Romans as the soldier-king, but He accomplished more with His death and resurrection than a war could have done. After all, there have been many wars and people have trouble remembering a fraction of them. Some civilizations from the past have gone out of existence and memory because of their temporary grandeur and subsequent droughts, wars, and decadence.

What people wish in material gain is nothing compared to the spiritual treasures of the Gospel, which are long-lasting, even to eternity.

forbearing one another in love
Anger and issuing orders can have a short-term effect, but forbearance has a long-time effect. It is far better to have patience multiplied than to have everyone playing top dog. I had a boss in insurance, who always encouraged people when he could have been critical. His rights included being in charge in whatever way he wanted, but one thing he did was to forbid office sniping. If it continued, he called the parties together for a "come-to-Jesus" session of repentance and forgiveness. As a result, patience was built up instead of getting even. 

3 Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Faith in Christ unifies and that comes from the Gospel of forgiveness, which gives us peace. There can be no true peace without forgiveness, so this medicine is given to us through the Means of Grace, the invisible Word of preaching and teaching, the visible Word of Holy Communion (and baptism).

One cannot be in the communion of believers and act as if the Word had no bearing on conduct. Inevitably, when people absolve themselves without contrition, more conflict follows. Such attitudes are transferred to others when just the opposite would be good, beneficial, and God-pleasing. 

We members of the Augsburg Confession (all who agree with the Augsburg Confession, whether members here or elsewhere) have a great opportunity to show what it means to be the true Pentecostals, emphasizing the Spirit in the Word, and the divine power of the Word.

4 There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5 One Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.

This is one of the great passage in the entire Bible. There are seven one's and the Holy Trinity is invoked (for a total of seven). As Lenski wrote, Paul is invoking the One, Holy, Christian, and Apostolic Church, often called Una Sancta, for short for those who took Latin 101.

First of all, this shows once again the Trinitarian message of the entire Bible. It is not an alien philosophy but the unique mystery taught by the Spirit in the Word. 

The unity of the Spirit means there is one revealed Truth throughout the Bible, without error or contradiction. As we know from human experience, people are eager to find fault and confuse matters. Sometimes it is done for humor, when we kid others, which is a mark of affection. At other times it is a way to distract, confuse, and cover over something. When we are confused or conflicted about the truth of the Bible, which can happen for many reasons, we have the assurance of the unified Truth of the Word and of Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior.