Creation Roses - The Gamble

 

Neighbors said, "You are planting roses now?" and "Will they freeze?"

Left unsaid, "Are you crazy?" These are not hybrid tea roses, which are grafted and more easily killed by cold weather. They are Freedom roses from Springhill, my favorite provider, and they only cost $10 each with no shipping fee.

It is the gambling with a purpose fever within me. I like to see how plants turn out, and roses have been a great thrill for many - Queen Elizabeth (the best pink), Veterans Honor (best red, best cut flower), Easy Does It (50 sunset colored and varied blooms at once, becoming long-stemmed besides), Falling in Love (bi-color, fragrant, very thorny).

Each plant wonder is a gamble. Some I never see mature. Others fool me and pop up later with great strength.

I may see Yarrow and Comfrey in my dreams next year. Both are poised to take over swaths of land unless I intervene.

Hymn - And Will the Judge Arise?

"And will the Judge Descend"
by Philip Doddridge, 1702-1751
1941)

Tune - Southwell - linked here

1. And will the Judge descend,
And must the dead arise
And not a single soul escape
His all-discerning eyes?

2. And from His righteous lips
Shall this dread sentence sound
And thro' the num'rous guilty throng
Spread black despair around:

3. "Depart from Me, accursed,
To everlasting flame,
For rebel angels first prepared,
Where mercy never came"?

4. How will my heart endure
The terrors of that Day
When earth and heav'n before His face
Astonished shrink away?

5. But ere that trumpet shakes
The mansions of the dead,
Hark from the Gospel's cheering sound
What joyful tidings spread:

6. Ye sinners, seek His grace
Whose wrath ye cannot bear;
Fly to the shelter of His cross
And find salvation there.

Hymn #610
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Matthew 25:41
Author: Philip Doddridge, 1755, ab.
Composer: William Daman, 1579
Tune: "Southwell"
1st Published in: Psalter

 By George Vertue - National Portrait Gallery
Doddrigde wrote "Grace Tis a Charming Sound." 

Hymn - Around the Throne of God

"Around the Throne of God a Band"
by John M. Neale, 1818-1866

Tune - Winchester New - linked here

1. Around the throne of God a band
Of glorious angels ever stand;
Bright things they see sweet harps they hold,
And on their heads are crowns of gold.

2. Some wait around Him, ready still
To sing His praise and do His will;
And some, when He commands them, go
To guard His servants here below.

3. Lord, give Thy angels every day
Command to guide us on our way
And bid them every evening keep
Their watch around us while we sleep.

4. So shall no wicked thing draw near
To do us harm or cause us fear;
And we shall dwell, when life is past,
With angels round Thy throne at last.

Hymn #256
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 91:11
Author: John M. Neale, 1842, cento
Tune: "Winchester New"
1st Published in: Musikalisches Handbuch"
Town: Hamburg, 1690

Hymn - God Who Madest Earth and Heaven

"God, Who Madest Earth and Heaven"
by Heinrich Albert, 1604-1651
Translated by Catherine Winkworth, 1829-1878

Tune - Gott des Himmels - linked here

1. God, who madest earth and heaven,
Father, Son, and Holy Ghost;
Who the day and night hast given,
Sun and moon and starry host;
Whose almighty hand sustains
Earth and all that it contains:

2. God, I thank Thee, in Thy keeping
Safely have I slumbered here;
Thou hast guarded me while sleeping
From all danger, pain, and fear;
And the cunning evil Foe
Hath not wrought my overthrow.

3. Let the night of my transgression
With night's darkness pass away.
Jesus, into Thy possession
I resign myself today;
In Thy wounds I find relief
From all sorrow, sin, and grief.

4. Help me as the morn is breaking,
In the spirit to arise,
So from careless sloth awaking,
That, when o'er the aged skies
Shall the Judgment Day appear,
I may see it without fear.

5. Lead me, and forsake me never,
Guide my wanderings by Thy Word;
As Thou hast been, be Thou ever
My Defense, my Refuge, Lord.
Never safe except with Thee,
Thou my faithful Guardian be.

6. O my God, I now commend me
Wholly to Thy mighty hand;
As the powers that Thou dost lend me
Let me use at Thy command.
Lord, my Shield, my Strength divine,
Keep me with Thee,--I am Thine.

Hymn #549
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Psalm 7:17
Author: Heinrich Albert, 1644, ab.
Translated by: Catherine Winkworth, 1855, alt.
Titled: "Gott des Himmels und der Erden"
Composer: Heinrich Albert, 1644
Tune: "Gott des Himmels"

Hymn - Beloved It Is Well

"Beloved, 'It Is Well!'"
by George W. Doane, 1799-1859

Tune - Cambridge - linked here

1. Beloved, "It is well!"
God's ways are always right,
And perfect love is o'er them all
Though far above our sight.

2. Beloved, "It is well!"
Though deep and sore the smart,
The hand that wounds knows how to bind
And heal the broken heart.

3. Beloved, "It is well!"
Though sorrow clouds our way,
'Twill only make the joy more dear
That ushers in the day.

4. Beloved, "It is well!"
The path that Jesus trod,
Though rough and strait and dark it be,
Leads home to heaven and God.

Hymn #519
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Romans 11:33
Author: George W. Doane, 1833
Composer: Ralph Harrison, c. 1784
Tune: "Cambridge"

If the New Bible Versions Cannot Agree about Their Greek Text, How Can They Strut about Their Virtues?They Contradict Their Earlier Editions, Too!

 Dynamic Equivalence from Eugene Nida replaced the concept of precise translation in the KJV.

 

An important point comes from the various books about text criticism. The so-called modern, "scientific" Greek text of the New Testament does not come from a single source. No, it is patched together by the committees and sub-committees appointed to oversee them. 

The modern translations - paraphrases, to be honest - do not agree at all about how to treat the text they claim to own, copyright, brand, and protect. Even their own editions are at war with each other. For example, the first RSV dropped the ending of Mark's Gospel, after Mark 16:8. Next - after the furor - they brought it back up from the footnote to the chapter with a space between verse 8 ("for they were afraid") and verse 9. Likewise, they turned the Virgin Birth of Isaiah 7:10 into a woman having a child in the first RSV Old Testament. Then they replaced "young woman" with virgin in the next edition and put "or, young woman" in the footnote. That footnote is a shining example of denying the Two Natures in Christ, human and divine, and the truth of the Gospel, Jesus Christ dying for our sins and rising from the dead.

We can make judgments on Bible versions and their deficiencies without being professors of text criticism who know 10 ancient and modern languages. Basic logic shows how empty their claims are - that they take comfort in creating a monopoly over the Bible, getting friendly kisses and hugs from the Church of Rome.

Much of the prejudice of 19th century rationalists taint the explanations of the 21st century experts. For example, the 19th century rationalists reasoned that the simple narratives about the Jesus the Teacher turned into elaborate Gospels and apostolic letters. Therefore, these apostates argued that the simpler Gospel of Mark was the original one, with Matthew and Luke "adding Q to their versions." They have never found that Q document, which has nothing to do with Trump supporters. Nevertheless, modern Biblical scholarship - to stretch the term scholarship - still harkens back to that notion. Many, if not all professors, think Mark was the earliest and crudest Gospel.

If we read the Gospel of Mark straight through, it is clearly stressing the miracles performed by Jesus Christ and at the end, the Passion. Rationalists are allergic to miracles, so that annoys them. They are very sensitive about divine healing and the Virgin Birth, even more about the Resurrection. When I wrote a letter to each ELCA seminary about whether any professor taught the Virgin Birth and the actual Resurrection, only one letter came back  - and that had a maybe on the Resurrection. That was the best they could do. 

If we end the second Gospel at Mark 16:8, there is no Resurrection and no Virgin Birth. According to the modernists, Jesus is a miracle worker because people loved Him and followed Him. Should we bind the wounds or make the road to Jericho safe? (That is the Social Gospel twist on the Good Samaritan, thank you Walter Rauschenbusch, rationalist Baptist.) Every text of the Bible is really a call to arms "to make the world a better place" because "justice demands that we act now!"

The Scriptures do not shape the agenda; the agenda imprisons the Scriptures. 

Testing this notion, we can see that WELS-LCMS-ELS-ELDONA are indifferent about translations and what they really mean. They agree on hating and banning the KJV, but their alternatives show hatred or indifference about Christian doctrine and the actual wording of the Bible.

The old NIV led the way in denying the sacraments and teaching Church Growth (Make disciples!). The new NIV does more of the same and deliberately perverts Romans into teaching that the entire world is forgiven. 

New NIV Romans 3: Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 

KJV Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:

The Fort Whiners are weak on Biblical languages, much like their idol CFW Walther. No wonder Objective Justification and its twin, Universalism, find advocates and comfort there.

So you see, there is nothing in this post that requires years of Biblical languages to see that massive deception of the modern Bibles - all of them under the umbrella of Eugene Nida's Bible associations (ABS, UBS) and his invention of "dynamic equivalence." 

Do you believe the New NIV is the dynamic equivalence of the KJV? Hardly! The New NIV is the opposite, which is just what the rationalists and the Romanists want.

The high church smells and bells Lutheran clergy are ferocious about every little detail in copying Rome, and that includes obedience to their Father Below and veneration of Holy Mother Church.

Vimeo Test

 

I am in Vimeo boot camp, trying things. Here is one link.

First test - Texts Behind the Greek New Testament.

The Great Biblical Perversion - Replacing the KJV and Majority Text.WELS New Calvinistic Hymnal Is All NIV

 

Today we have fairly dense fog, which reminds me of Kurt Aland's boast. All the denominations have united with the Church of Rome to produce the snip and clip, copy and paste text of the Bible. Aland calls it the "Standard Text." They have expelled the Majority Text, used since the Reformation.

 Barbara and Kurt Aland

Apparently the earlier name - the Eclectic Text - did not roll smoothly off the tongue - or brain. Eclectic gave away the truth - they assembled a text that is not found anywhere in this universe, picking and choosing, and constantly changing their minds. A new edition of "the Greek text" can have thousands of changes, but no matter - they are in charge.

 Between the *** - WELS has no self-awareness about their pick of the worst translation ever, but it does deceitfully promote OJ.

***

Hands off the Bible! - WELS Fulminations in Royal Purple

The Bible is God’s Word. He doesn’t want us to pick and choose what we believe. 

***

A few men and even fewer women made those choices.

Rev. Simpleton (MDiv, Ft. Wayne, DMin Fuller Seminary) is satisfied. "Now we have a standard text!" 

No so fast. Each new translation (paraphrase) picks and chooses the text they use for their English version and carry on a footnote debate with that. The highly promoted ones - NIV, NRSV, ESV - do not agree with each other, except for rejecting the Majority Text and the KJV.

The New KJV changes its English, with new editions, whenever the itch is there. They also have quasi-KJV English footnotes smooching up to Kurt Aland. M is for Majority Text and NU is for Nestle-Aland-United Bible Societies. This accentuates the propaganda that the modern text critics have the oldest, best, most accurate original.

I have quite a pile of books on text criticism, so one fact struck me - Vaticanus (B) is a ghostly figure with very little said about it. Vaticanus has supposedly been owned by the Vatican for centuries and was completely ignored. Although it is newly promoted as the co-exemplar with Sinaiticus, the codex was ignored until recent times and disagrees with Aleph extensively.

Another fun fact - they often show a type set version of an old text because the original is extremely difficult to read. So what people see is really an edition, not the real thing at all, even if they could translate what they see.

I have used the Greek New Testament for 55 years and I would not call myself an expert, so I truly wonder if all the New Testament professors in Lutheran colleges and seminaries really know what they are promoting with their modern texts and their hatred of the KJV and the Majority Text. It is easy for academics to fall into a rut of school matters, denominational busywork, and other distractions. "Synod says" solves so many problems.

 Eugene Nida wanted to get as far away from the text as possible - hence the Spanish Good News for Modern Man as the stepping stone for radical bad Bibles - TEV.

Eugene Nida was there the whole time, working away from the text and translation of the KJV. We could call him the Hort of 20th century, tremendously powerful from his century of connections, influential posts, and rewards. 

Has the English language improved from the simpleton translations sold to the public? Each new edition is worse than the previous one.

Getting Ready for Live/Saved Vimeo Short Lessons - Tomorrow (Thursday)

 

Job One today was getting the copies of Lutheran Christina out the door at Amazon. I dropped off copies at the Circle of Life hospice, too, with Sassy's help. I enjoyed taking them there, because the nurses were so good to Christina.

The new books will arrive at random times. If someone does not have one by Thanksgiving, let me know. I can also send extras any time. 

Second, I began shifting the computers around. The one with 32 megs of RAM is in the chapel for Vimeo. I also have 700-900 megs of download/upload from fiber optic. One computer is for writing and the oldest one is for backups, besides the backups, Dropbox, and cloud. 

I am behind in communication because the email program crashed and burned. I am recovering some from new emails and 1-800-NSA-HELP (great people but always whispering).

I am testing Vimeo for live/saved work Thursday-Friday. Note what one regular emailed me -

I clicked the link and it brought me to a page on the Ichabod site, which had a link to Vimeo. I clicked on the Vimeo link and it brought me to the Reformation Day video. I was able to start the video from there.

This morning I had gone to the Vimeo home page and searched and found your Bethany Lutheran site.

https://vimeo.com/user156178638

The site has links to the 3 videos posted thus far. I played the video for the Reformation Day service. I found that the video quality was better than the the IBM site. The sound quality for your voice was good, but the quality of the music was not quite as good as IBM, although this may have been due to my internet connection speed.

I noticed something interesting. When you select a video from the list on the Vimeo Bethany site, there is no button to download the video. But, when I followed the link you provided, the video came up and there was a button to download.

A plus for Vimeo is the option for a viewer to download a video as an MP4 file. I couldn't do that from the IBM site, I tried several video-download products, but it appeared that the IBM site was built not to permit downloads. I ended up using a video screen capture tool to save several of your services. 

Now we can have two operations at once. 1-The current production and saves on Vimeo, 2 - downloads from IBM and edits from Team Cartee, YouTube. The person who kept pushing me into video editing must be smiling. I am glad I did not want to retire at 65.

 "How about trying something new, Pastor, something you have no knowledge of and grave reservations about, you know, fun!"

Learning from Bruce Metzger, Princeton Seminary.

 

 Metzger's autobiography reminded me of Eighty Eventful Years, by Fuerbringer - but so dry. Young Calvinist, old Unitarian.

The bedrock of all modern English New Testaments is Vaticanus (B), kept under wraps by the Church of Rome until recently. My textual criticism library has almost nothing on Vaticanus, but quite a bit on Sinaiticus, Aleph. The two Tischendorf miracle codices - Aleph and B - do not agree with each other, so they are childless orphans. They are associated with Egypt.

 Aleph in Wonderland. I wonder how this parchment (skin) manuscript lasted 1400 years.

The situation today is something like 100 historians discussing the beginning date of the USA. Ninety-five of them agree that the Constitution in 1789 marks the beginning of our nation. Five deny the 1789 fact and quarrel among themselves about the original date.

That 95 to 5 ratio in Greek New Testaments means the traditional text was reproduced, published, and known by everyone - not hidden and cloaked with secrecy. Erasmus edited the GNT from Majority Text (the 95%) manuscripts.

The Latin Vulgate, attributed to Jerome, has been edited again and again by Rome, because certain popes wanted their edition to be the official Bible. They also hated the idea of people reading the Bible in their own language. Latin remained the only Roman Catholic language for Bibles until the Reformation forced their hand. 

In modern terms, the 95% ratio is a hindrance to accepting the Majority Text. Rationalists assume that those passages contrary to traditional Christian faith are the earliest and best (Aleph and B). Because a later church council used the new term Trinity to define the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, there is no Trinity in the Bible and Jesus is just a man - a boatload of prejudice among these scholars, eh?

The ecumenical scholars own the Greek New Testament now, and Roman Catholics are part of every modern Biblical effort - American Bible Society, United Bible Societies, etc.

Bruce Metzger, the leading and longest lasting text critic in America, left us an autobiography, which could be considered a series of crime scenes. The first edition of the RSV New Testament dropped the ending of Mark (16:9ff) into a footnote. The next edition lifted it back with a space between 16:8 and 16:9-20. If I recall correctly, that is the same point made by the neo-Seminex Gospel of Mark commentary - published by Concordia Publishing House. ("Tastes great, less doctrine!") 

Note this - a sure sign for most modern Bibles, though they all participate in the deception - footnotes below often reverse the meaning of the passage above. Many verses are simply omitted from the English text without comment.

Here is a simple Bible translation test. Look up Isaiah 7:10 - Behold a virgin will conceive...

The footnote will say "verse 10 - or a young woman." That is the great miracle from God Himself, and somehow Matthew and Luke continued the idea that a virgin gave birth to our Savior. 

The same frauds who do this to the text cannot find the Virgin Birth in John's Gospel (the Word became flesh and dwelt among us) or Paul 

Romans 1:3 Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; 4 And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead:

Vimeo Attempt 1

 Reformation Day Service

Reclaiming the Majority Text - The King James Version - Luther's Bible

 

The people have decided - the most popular Bible is the King James Version. No modern version comes close.

If we put together all the modern versions, which are so anxiously pressed upon congregations, college and seminary students, we would find that not one version agrees with the others. In fact, the New NIV does not agree with the old NIV. The publisher will not allow the old NIV to be used anymore.

Why is one verse added back in and others removed, multiplied many times over in these new paraphrases? None of your business! Can you read Greek-Latin-Syriac-Arabic-German-Coptic? No? Then how dare you question these great scholars. 

The Holy Spirit inspired writings of the Apostles were treasured by the early Church. It is true that heretics provided their own versions, and we have samples of them, from the first two centuries. Egypt was a hotbed of more heresies than anyone can remember. So we have samples that never found more than a local audience.

The faithful preserved the Majority 
Text. Erasmus edited the Greek New Testament that provided the text for the Reformation. The Hebrew Old Testament was translated too. Luther worked with a team of genius theologians to word the German Bible as precisely as possible. Tyndale, who associated with these scholars and died for translating it into English, was safer in Germany than England.

 Aleph is the symbol for Sinaiticus, the Bible found in Egypt, so precious that no one copied and passed it around! Tischendorf fed it to the modernists hungry for a bad version, and the Lutheran synods use it in their NIV-ESV-RSV-TEV paraphrases.

The Newest Publication Lutheran Christina Is Being Sent Now

 

I received the first 10 copies of Lutheran Christina yesterday and began filling out the print orders. Christian News is getting multiple copies - again - but is unlikely to acknowledge this one too. We were sitting in New Haven, Missouri when the editor was still on his trike.

No one would publish Bruce Metzger's first book, so he self-published it. Eventually it sold 200,000 copies.

Books last much longer than magazines, and magazines last longer than newsprint. When I reprinted a couple of my books, I had to buy them from Alibris and have them retyped. 

Christina was the reason so many books were written. She was 100% behind them, all the time, and always anxious to know what the next one would be. 

Many people dream of having great riches, finishing the race with the most money. I am happy to say that I can stay in the black and freely distribute the treasures of the Means of Grace. 

KJV Matthew 6:19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: 20 But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: 21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

The Glorious Tischendorf Manuscripts Are "Parents Without Children" - Pickering

 

 Tischendorf

 Tischendorf's Aleph, the first letter in the Hebrew alphabet. 

The Calvinist Warfield broke the ice for modernism by affirming that the original texts of the Bible were inerrant. He influenced A. T. Robertson, who influenced Lenski in playing with the original Greek text. In the Age of Billy Graham, the same was stated by Graham himself - the originals (which are lost) are inerrant. That meant all the Hebrew and Greek texts of today are errant, not inerrant.

Wonders of wonders, the two books (codices) most famous are Codex Sinaiticus, dubbed Aleph to be first on the manuscript lists, and Codex Vaticanus, or B on the lists, only after A for Alexandrinus. Tischendorf made himself famous by promoting both Aleph and B.

 Westcott and Hort used their Greek New Testament stealthily to affect the KJV Revision.

Westcott and Hort jumped on the Tischendorf bandwagon with their Greek New Testament, which I bought for $5, and their influence on the 19th century revision of the King James Version, 1881. The initial failure to gain traction on their ideas was replaced decades later  with awe and respect for them.

The Westcott-Hort argument was simple - the oldest and best sources were to dominate the text, which meant Aleph and Vaticanus. However, that also meant the leading sources (Aleph and B) were "parents without children" - Pickering.

Pickering, my favorite author on the Greek New Testament, distilled the arguments into one phrase. If those two codices (bound books) were so great, why were they not copied as exemplars?

Using some common sense, there must be a reason why 90-95% of the witnesses are the Majority (Traditional, Byzantine, Ecclesiastical) Text, while the exceptions to this dominance are few and often unrelated to each other. Aleph and B disagree about 40%, so neither one is the parent or sibling of the other.

Many scholars concede that spurious copies of New Testament books came from the deliberate alterations of early heretics. That seems to have stopped around 200 AD as the known Majority Text established itself. 

Thanks to Alexander the Great, Greek was not only the international language three centuries before Jesus Christ, but also the most beautiful and expressive language of all. The Apostolic Church did not archive manuscripts of skin (parchment) and paper (papyrus) because that could not be done with constant copying and the effects of weather. Once a standard text was outside a useful life, it was burned to protect it from heretics, after a new template was copied to use for the paper versions. Skin was extremely expensive and paper was fragile, so parchment served for the example and paper served the expanding population of churches. The Apostolic Church did not save up money for five acres, a busy highway, and a WEF to get started. They began with the inerrant Word of God.

Because they depended on the Word of God, the early Christians did not consider the value of gimmicks, fads, and evasions. As the Church pushed forward into new lands, based on preaching and persecution, translations were useful and necessary. Those copies are available and show the Majority Text was the standard back to 200 AD.

So which is "earliest, best, and most accurate"? Aleph and B have to be considered very late, even though Tischendorf raved about them. The highly promoted stars disagree with each other, but are "the best and most accurate"? Let us pause for some pious laughter. 

In comparison, the Majority Text has to be the earliest and best because the papyrus discoveries after the 19th century reveal the affinity between them and the KJV text. As the Church expanded into many areas and languages, the Bible was translated accordingly. The Majority text is the example, not the childless Aleph and B.

That is why I have little use for the New KJV. First of all, the New KJV honors the changes made by the rationalist text critics, using footnotes for NU - Nestle Aland United Bible Society. Secondly,  the New KJV changes its own wording, willy-nilly, proving their great breakthrough in the English language is only good for a few years at a time.

 WELS-LCMS-ELCA leaders love every Bible translation but their own - the English version of Luther's Bible - the KJV. They do not like sacramental language but adore "making disciples." They see the Calvinism of the modern rationalist paraphrases and hold fast to the latest and worst Bibles. They start up cell groups with eyes bulging with Enthusiasm. 

Working with HAL 9000

 

I thought I was broadcasting on Vimeo today, but I think not. Let me know if you saw anything.

I will send the Reformation service again after I experiment with short efforts and getting more background and help. Vimeo experts are welcome to write me at greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com

I am dealing with the loss of all my emails and addresses, some hardware issues, and lack of experience with the new video freedom and complications. 

I have two different sources with IBM, so one of them should be able to fill me in. I just bought a Kindle on the topic of Vlogs.

Be Patient - I Am Working on the Live Stream Plus Saving It Option.Wait Until Later Today, Thanks.

Be Patient - I Am Working on the Live Stream Plus Saving Option. Wait Until Later Today, Thanks.

This should work for Vimeo Live Reformation Service.

Vimeo Wins the Contest For Now. Working on Ways To Broadcast and Save the Video - Greek To Me

  

I am up, drinking coffee, and looking at Vimeo.

Here is a Vimeo information link. 

Vimeo will allow us to live stream (the most complicated and expensive part with other sites)

 - record and archive those recordings. That parallels what we were were doing with IBM/Ustream until they dropped support of the original software from Ustream.

The plan is - start at the usual time today Sunday, 10 AM Central Daylight Time, with the vimeo link larger and the older IBM/Ustream link smaller, top of the page. The plan will be free at first, $900 a year normal price. No extra equipment is needed.

Compare and contrast Vimeo and YouTube here.

+++

Looking around - IBM, who took over Ustream, suggests Telestream Wirecast, which seems to have a $600 price. It sounds promising for live and saved programs. We have the money for that.

http://www.telestream.net/wirecast/store.asp

++

My tentative move was to use YouTube. I am trying to set that up for the Reformation service live. If not, I hope to have it saved on my YouTube channel. 

I am a total innocent in these matters, so it is difficult to navigate. IBM directed us to open source, so I have OBS loaded.

https://obsproject.com/welcome

In addition to the Web Broadcaster, you can also stream to IBM Watson Media using a variety of third-party encoding products. This compatibility with most encoding products on the market offers you an excellent number of choices for streaming, from free and easy-to-use, to robust and configurable encoders that offer enterprise-grade professional features.

If you're new to the world of encoding, we recommend that you are familiar with IBM Watson Media's recommended encoding specs. And don't forget to read the manual for whatever product you buy! By learning your encoder's settings and following recommended encoding settings, you can combine the power of industry-leading hardware and software with the industry-leading streaming platform.

Note on plugins: Many third party encoders have built in plugins that allow a user to enter their login using their IBM Watson Media(or other service) credentials to access their endpoints for streaming.  We have discovered that connecting via the  old Ustream plugin, or logging in with your IBM Watson Media credentials, can cause broadcasting issues.  To avoid this, please connect via manual RTMP configuration as opposed to using IBM Watson Media or the older Ustream login credentials and select a channel.

You can find instructions for streaming to IBM Watson Media for some of the most popular encoders here, or follow the instructions below to obtain the RTMP server address and the stream name for your IBM Watson Media channel and consult your encoder's manual for how to send RTMP streams.

• Open Broadcast Software (OBS)

Obtaining the RTMP Address and stream name for your channel

 

Choose the channel you wish to broadcast to within the dashboard.

Click on Channel>Broadcast Settings or Broadcast settings in the overview section

The Festival of the Reformation, 2021.

 

The Festival of the Reformation, 2021

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Working on the video solution

- 

Daylight Savings Ends Next Sunday

Hymn # 262      A Mighty Fortress         

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 Hymn #387     Dear Christians One and All            

The Scriptures Comfort and Convert

The Communion Hymn #267   If God Had Not Been on Our Side                    

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 #259  Flung to the Heedless Winds 

In Our Prayers

• Seizures - Callie, who is in college now. 
• Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes  
• Zach Engleman's mother, Anita, has health issues. 

Ministries of Bethany Lutheran Church 

1. The Christian Art of Norma Boeckler and Norma's print books.
2.  Martin Chemnitz Press - Kindle and print books, and free pdfs.
3.  Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry and Lutheran Librarian - low-cost print books - Alec Satin.
4. Audio Gutenberg - Travis and Lauren Cartee.

           

KJV Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

KJV Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Romans 5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Collect

O almighty, eternal God: We confess that we are poor sinners and cannot answer one of a thousand, when Thou contendest with us; but with all our hearts we thank Thee, that Thou hast taken all our guilt from us and laid it upon Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and made Him to atone for it: We pray Thee graciously to sustain us in faith, and so to govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may live according to Thy will, in neighborly love, service, and helpfulness, and not give way to wrath or revenge, that we may not incur Thy wrath, but always find in Thee a gracious Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Background for the Sermon - Reformation Day

A superficial glance at the Reformation is the usual response to this moment and this era that changed the world. The most important factor was not the printing press, but that Luther - with a doctorate in the Scriptures and vast knowledge his religion - trusted the Word of God and fearlessly taught the Word, without regard to the consequence. He knew that his organization, the only Church in Europe, would be happy to murder him for his teaching. He also knew that many people around him were inclined to sway with public opinion, so he was very much alone at times. But Luther's endless trust in the power and efficacy of the Scriptures fueled the Reformation, threw off the shackles of Medieval superstitions, and showed people the real Gospel - Justification by Faith, apart from the works of the Law. 

The Scriptures Comfort and Convert

Romans 4:20 He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;

21 And being fully persuaded that, what He had promised, he was able also to perform.

22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.

23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;

24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.

Romans 5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

The Reformation is not about a man so much as it is all about the power of the Word of God. Luther had a bad start, going to a Roman Catholic monastery. He was so restless and intuitive, that he was told to get a doctorate in Biblical studies. 

A doctorate at a Roman Catholic university is a bad way to learn about the Gospel, grace, faith, and forgiveness. I walked over and took the Bible from the Notre Dame seminary library during a discussion about salvation and read Romans 5:1-4 to the whole class. Everyone was quiet and remained quiet. That ended the discussion.

Luther was forced to study the Scriptures and teach them. Nothing makes one more eager to learn than facing a class as the professor. Immersion in the Word of God changed him. He had to change one way or the other. Either he resisted the bare truth of the Scriptures or he hardened his heart against them.

Either he continued to think he could pay for his sins, with self-denial close to the point of death, or realize Christ atoned for all his sins, the petty ones and the great and terrible ones.

The Scriptures are in complete harmony, from beginning to end. One passage leads to the other, and all passages are ultimately about faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God and Savior.

Luther had the ability to do what our electronic libraries do for us. He could see the Bible as a whole and relate one part to another. Since it is all in harmony, one cannot "prove" something that is contrary to the rest.

So that is why Abraham is so prominent in the New Testament. I think my count was 27 times, always in the most positive way. Abraham was not just a geriatric father of his only son with the equally aged Sarah, he was the start of a line of people leading to the Messiah.

Ask a history-conscious man - Would you like to have more descendants than there are stars in the sky - a mighty and ever-growing kingdom? He would say, "That is not the human condition. Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain had great empires. Now they are known as the PIGS, four countries in deep financial stress, not mighty and ever growing."

That began with Abraham's family and the believers created by the prophets' Gospel Word. We know the prophets taught an effective Word, because most of them were killed. But they left behind their God-inspired prophesies and many believers in the future Messiah.

The Old Testament is exciting because the Son of God is there at the beginning, Genesis 1, and here and there in the Books of Moses, a vein of gold for those who open their eyes. Who is the innocent lamb sacrificed at the Passover Meal? That is the foreshadowing of Jesus the Lamb of God.

We get goosebumps thinking, "The Lord is my Shepherd" in Psalm 23 and "I AM the Good Shepherd in John 10.

We have three parts of the Bible -

1. The Old Testament preaching the coming Messiah
2. The public ministry of Christ proving His divinity, love, and mercy. The Gospels.
3. The Acts and Epistles, explaining and clarifying the Old Testament and the ministry of Christ. Revelation is a summary the Prophets and the Gospels.

The Medieval Church covered up the Gospel Promises and forgiveness with obligations, money paid, work done, suffering suffered. The harder one worked toward perfection, the more miserable (or phony) he became. The surface was full of pious acts and incense and beautiful sacred robes. The inside of that Medieval church culture was rotten, wormy, stinking, and corrupting.

2 By Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

This verse is one which Luther knew so well, and our darkened culture misses so easily. How do we find God's grace for ourselves? The grace of forgiveness and peace. No one is more tortured than the person not able to see or feel forgiveness of his sins.

Jesus is the conduit. He alone gives us access. Not Buddha, not Obi-Wan. "But how do we gain access?" That is the big question. 

Professor, the paper is found on this link.

The link says, "You do not have access."

Access to God's grace is faith in Christ. Trust in the Savior, not promises to be good. Making a deal in giving up something to obtain God's grace and forgiveness - that is not in this verse. Man can build marble and gold temples with those promises, those acts of contrition, those reparations. 

Jesus the Son of God is access to God's grace through faith in Him.

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; 4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

God's Word is so powerful that tribulations caused by evil people are bound to be good and God-pleasing in some way. We may not see that or expect it, but that is how God works. "My thoughts are not your thoughts and neither are your ways My ways."

The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Shed abroad by the Holy Spirit means - by the Gospel in reading, preaching, teaching, hymn singing. That is always God at work, in comforting and converting. 

The Word of God, when it was published faster than papal armies could form - set Europe free from Medieval slavery and tyranny.