ICHABOD, THE GLORY HAS DEPARTED - explores the Age of Apostasy, predicted in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, to attack Objective Faithless Justification, Church Growth Clowns, and their ringmasters. The antidote to these poisons is trusting the efficacious Word in the Means of Grace. John 16:8. Isaiah 55:8ff. Romans 10. Most readers are WELS, LCMS, ELS, or ELCA. This blog also covers the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodoxy, and the Left-wing, National Council of Churches denominations.
I was reading, for the second time, Who Faked the "World's Oldest Bible"?
I checked on the Facebook news and saw ELCA in Chicago was doing what ELCA does best. The latest does not deserve being named, since is it all derived from 2009 and the cowardly years before that.
The vote - 2009 - aftermath.
The tongue-clucking will not include these questions, "Why are the Missouri, Wisconsin, and Little Norwegian synods working with ELCA?" or "Why are the pastors sharing their address lists with Thrivent?"
Calvinist News, now fronted by Phil Hale, has the same ecumenical and Thrivent problems. I do not worry that he never mentions my books, because he never mentions:
Justification by Faith
The Chief Article
The Means of Grace
The Efficacy of the Word.
The book I just finished is fascinating, because the marks of deceit and fraud are all over Codex Sinaiticus (Aleph). What made Tischendorf a party in promoting a recent, custom-made Bible as the "world's oldest Bible"? That turned him into an international celebrity, the reputation he craved.
I was discussing Justification by Faith with another pastor, a long-time friend. How does Objective Justification persist in the minds of some, especially among clergy trained in that dogma?
Chemnitz reminded his Examination of the Council of Trent readers that the early councils paraded the Gospels before the sessions started, to reminded everyone that they were the true sources of Christian doctrine, not any creed or source written by man. They were not against creeds, confessions, statements by men - but they did not want to start at a given point and work out from there, a cancerous practice pursued today with great harm to minds and morals.
One case in point serves as an example - if a synod staff member has engaged in heinous sins, the synod president tells him from the start that the felon is already forgiven. No, not that Christ died for his sins, but that he was forgiven even before he was born. Result? He continues his crimes and gets five years instead of his incredibly light lawyer-forged sentence.
The attempted solution with Objective Justification, is to embrace almost as many books on their topic as the Roman/EO Immaculate Conception of Mary (recently celebrated). The OJists circle the wagons around the timeless tosh of Walther, Pieper, and the false teachers of WELS, CLC (sic), etc. No one is ever going to escape that maze, because it is man's word and not God's Word. Worst of all, those who engage in hyperbole - like David Scaer - make everything worse, so the abused seminary graduates go through life blinded by their own obstinate rejection of the Chief Article.
The actual solution is to return to the Scriptures and let the Word of God be the exegesis of the Word of God. If one passage seems dark (our fault, not God's) then we use the bright, clear passages to shine their light on those places where the message is not as clear to us.
Romans 10 - sometimes called the Means of Grace chapter - clearly teaches that forgiveness comes through faith and faith from hearing the Gospel of the Atonement (Isaiah 53 for Ft. Wayne, St. Louis, Mordor, and Eau Claire graduates). "Who has believed our Report?"
Or - my radical suggestion - study Romans 4 for the example of Abraham, justified by faith that it might be by grace. And even more pointed - this example being applied to all who believe (Romans 4:24-25, not just 25), then summarized by Romans 5:1-2. "We have access by faith into this grace..."
Today began slowly, with grading online work. That turned into a visit to the dentist's office, then a stop at Carter's. Next Ranger Bob came over to visit a yelping Sassy, and later two phone calls. Pastor Jim Shrader and I had a good time. He called me while I was in the dentist's chair. Normally most of my calls are spammers - Medicare, then burial insurance, solar panels, and car warrantee. They know my warrantee is about to expire, but they cannot tell me anything about the car, its VIN, or mileage. I remind them it is their job to confirm the truth, not mine. Insurance people do not want to talk to a guy who is wheezing and coughing and 89 years old. Click.
I am working on improving the camera and music with Vimeo - new hardware. Frankly, the old camera was dusty and the serial number was in Roman numerals.
The Live Vimeo will appear below this line when it begins to broadcast. The video will be saved here and other places about 30 minutes after the service is done. If we have a pause, wait for the broadcast to resume. Press F5 to renew and get the right broadcast player - the one in sepia
Acts 6:7 And the word of God increased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the faith.
Thanks be to God - Randy Anderson and Mary Howell are doing well.
Corey and Abby Fagan's 7th wedding anniversary is Saturday.
Next week will feature - Mid-Week Advent 4, Christmas Eve, and Boxing Day on Sunday (English custom - servants got their presents on Boxing Day and it is a serious holiday in Canada).
Pastor Jackson's cataract surgery will be January 10th and 17th.
A better sound system will be tried on Sunday.
Summary of the message tonight. The Son of God existed as the Word of God before Creation. All things were created through Him (Genesis 1 and John 1), therefore every aspect of the universe is from Him.
The Spirit's primary role, after Pentecost, is to bring Christ to everyone through the Gospel. The Spirit and the Word work together, never apart from the other. That is why the Word is always powerful and effective.
Providing the Gospel Word in preaching and teaching is bringing the Savior to anyone who listens. That also moves believers to speak of the Gospel and to encourage the faithful.
People will need spiritual strength in the trials ahead. We have already seen tyranny at many levels, at home and abroad.
Oppression was just as great - and also demonic - in Jesus' time, in His captivity in the Roman Empire. But who was victorious? the mighty armies or the Christian Faith?
God willing, I will have cataract surgery in the first part of January. They will also add tiny stents to reduce eye pressure, which causes glaucoma. They use two separate dates, a week apart. I am looking forward to improved vision and eye health.
"Don't worry, Filbert. After nursing is over, the Jacksons will provide various foods for you - and ring the bell."
Later, Filbert grew quickly on nuts and snacks, but found himself getting sleepy when overfeeding.
Someone reminded me that people still go to movie theaters, which recalled popcorn buckets, diet Coke, and overpriced tickets. "Do you want butter on your popcorn?" GJ - "That is not butter - it's motor oil. I saw a bag of it poured into the tank. Everyone said Ew-w-w-w-w-w."
There are many overpriced foods for squirrels and birds, but a bit of selection will yield a good supply of entertainment for a week, far more fun than Ninja Turtles XII or Star Warship on the Angry Red Planet.
New feeding areas are avoided until the animals feel safe, so allow about two weeks for real fun.
I have three zones for feeding now, and three sources of fresh water for drinking or bathing. Each feeding area has one or two places for observation.
1. Garbage barrels. Their tops are large and designed to drain water away. They can be cleaned easily, unlike bird feeders from the store. I also use window ledges and the ground. More birds and squirrels come at a time that way, and we have a slow but methodical possum at night.
2. Metal wire baskets - I suspended them from the house to provide birds and squirrels with some extra exercise. A squirrel in a basket is hilarious, and so is a bird hopping in and out to get the food and eat it elsewhere.
3. The suet baskets. The squirrels ate seed enhanced suet so I keep pure suet in the baskets now and some seed in the actual feeder. Brutal weather brings the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Starlings, Woodpeckers, Finches, and Chickadees. Suet lasts longer than any other food. The suet-eaters are all bug chasers, so they should be coddled.
"The price of tickets! You throw away $20 instead of dollars for feeding me!"
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church on Ulloa Street in the Parkside District is embroiled in a legal fight with a childcare center it has housed for nearly four decades. (Kevin N. Hume/S.F. Examiner)
An effort by a Sunset District church to assert control over an infant care center that it has housed for nearly four decades has resulted in a restraining order against members of the church’s leadership and an ongoing legal dispute.
For more than 35 years, the nonprofit Grace Infant Care Center has operated out of the lower floor of the Grace Lutheran Evangelical Church at the corner of 33rd Avenue and Ulloa Street. Though managed by its own board of directors, the center was created from a constitution adopted by church members.
In a complaint filed June 21 seeking a temporary restraining order, permanent injunction and damages, the center’s leadership alleges “usurious actions” on the part of the church that included seizing the center’s bank accounts, terminating its board and attempting to co-locate a preschool on the premises last month, allegedly placing the center in violation of its child care licensing.
The center’s staff fear that the power struggle could result in its shut down, to the detriment of the dozen or so families who currently rely on its services. The church, led since 2014 by Pastor Megan Rohrer, contends that the center’s refusal to file a joint tax return triggered the intervention.
“Our taxes have been filed jointly for 35 years. In January, the board chose a different method to file taxes,” said Rohrer, who is transgender with the chosen pronouns them/they. “We received information from the IRS that the way they are filing their taxes is not authorized, and we had to resolve the issue.”
In June, the church’s council voted to terminate the board and seize its accounts. The center’s leadership maintains these actions violated the church’s constitution, which requires the center to be financially independent.
In turn, the center froze its accounts to deny Rohrer access.
Parents were asked by Rohrer to begin making their infant care payments to the church, and were notified that the center could close for up to to 30 days for the transition.
The center also alleges that attempts by Rohrer to rent out a portion of the church’s space to the Wah Mei School to bolster the church’s rental income is in conflict with its infant care center licensing. The Sunset District preschool was recently awarded an expansion grant and has been searching for a new space to serve up to 60 low-income students.
Per the complaint, the child care center’s licensing dictates that the “facility space be designated to infant care and not for other purposes” and that a co-location would “force [the center] to close operations.”
Rohrer said that there is no intention to shut down the center, but acknowledged that its board of directors and the church’s leadership had reached an impasse.
“If this childcare center can only be run by a particular board, I don’t think that I can work through that,” said Rohrer.
The reportedly amicable relationship between the church and the center appeared to crumble last fall, when Rohrer “was trying to assert more control over the center, which caused a lot of us discomfort,” said Andrea Murphy, a parent at the center and the current chair of its board of directors.
At the center of the dispute lies the church’s constitution, which governs its operations and is also the foundation for the creation of the infant care center.
In court documents, the center’s leadership argues that it is a secular institution with no financial ties to the church, apart from a monthly rent payment for use of about 40 percent of its physical space. The church also holds the center’s child care license.
Murphy said that the center’s leadership was forced to take “drastic measures” by filing a restraining order after the church allegedly violated its own constitution by interfering with the center’s finances and firing its board.
The legal complaint alleges that the funds were used to pay for the salary of its pastor, which is alleged to be upwards of $90,000, and that the church’s congregation has “made a decision to close the church once the account falls to $200,000 which is anticipated to occur by the end of 2019.”
In response, lawyers argue on behalf of the church that those allegations are false and fueling a “smear campaign” in an effort by the center’s leadership to break away from the church.
“The church has ample authority under its constitution to take the funds of [the center], the organization it created,” reads the opposition statement, adding that “funds were taken to ensure the proper filing of the church’s taxes.”
“None of that money was used for church operations,” said Mark Watson, an attorney for the church, adding that the center was never “governed separately” because the church’s constitution “requires a majority of the members on the infant care center board” to also be members of the church’s council.
Though a judge advised both parties settle out of court at a hearing last month, tensions appear to have escalated.
Unarmed security guards were hired to watch over a service led by Rohrer on a recent Sunday. In a Facebook livestream of the service, Rohrer informed members that interruptions by staff and parents affiliated with the center were anticipated.
“We are under extreme caution,” Rohrer said at the time.
Likewise, the dispute has left parents worried about the future of the infant care center in a city where such institutions are in high demand but short in supply.
“There is such a shortage of infant cares in The City, it takes like six months to a year to find a new daycare. We applied to a dozen places and got into one,” said Gunnar Skulason, whose child is currently enrolled at the center. “My main concern is that if the church takes over, that [the center’s director] would leave, the staff and the parents would leave.”
Both parties are expected to appear in court on Wednesday.
KJV Luke 10:38 Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39 And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40 But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41 And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42 But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.
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GJ - This is so true to life that it seems like a home movie today. Martha was not only burdened with lots of work to do, but also told Jesus to order her sister to help. Jesus said, "Martha, Martha, you are full of care and anxious about many things. One thing is essential, and Mary has chosen that one thing, which will never be taken away from her."
Jesus was with His good friends Lazarus, Mary, and Martha. He knew that his final trip would be at the funeral of Lazarus. As John's Gospel reveals, it was not really a happy event when Jesus raised His friend from the dead. The raising of an influential and well known man precipitated the arrest, torture, and crucifixion of Christ. He raised others from the dead, but Lazarus was a celebrity who lived a short distance from Jerusalem. The impact was even greater as Jesus took a train of witnesses to Jerusalem and was met by another crowd coming out to greet Him as the Son of David, Messiah, Son of God.
Jesus knew this earlier visit was more important than having everything cleaned and provisioned. Their earthly time together was short - He knew too well. The work done was not significant. Listening to His Word was essential.
We never know when it is the last visit, the last phone call, the last email, the last chance to say something that belongs to eternity. I remind Old Testament students that Jesus' disciples scolded Him for praying when they had so much work to do. One student said, "I never read THAT in the Bible." No, he did not see or remember it.
KJV Mark 1:35 And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed. 36 And Simon and they that were with him followed after him. 37 And when they had found him, they said unto him, All men seek for thee. 38 And he said unto them, Let us go into the next towns, that I may preach there also: for therefore came I forth. 39 And he preached in their synagogues throughout all Galilee, and cast out devils.
Vimeo made an appointment and we did a Zoom call about broadcast issues.
The primary one is the cut-off, both times at almost one hour. I am going to move the monitoring to the laptop and see if that helps, because in the chapel I have been sending and receiving at the same time.
I appreciate the responses. They help a lot.
The techie was impressed that we have been in live streaming so long (thanks Brett) and that we have fiber optic.
Travis and Lauren Cartee are now uploading the videos from Ustream/IBM to YouTube. They can be found on the link above.
If you subscribe, you will find many more videos as they get transferred from HAL 9000 to the sunny slopes of YouTube.
IBM decided to stop supporting its own software, so we had to find another way to continue live videos over the Net plus the ability to save them. IBM wrapped it up in one easy package, taking over Ustream, then they repo-ed the package.
The IBM tech lady yelled at me, "Green screen? There is no green screen?" I had to calm her down and remind her how much dough we put into the monthly fees. Several things happened, including the loss of all 900 videos in the IBM storage, but they came back.
IBM was really fair and understanding. I had to adjust my thinking on how to do this, and they explained.
Travis and Lauren agreed to make the transfers to YouTube, and the videos have begun to show up on the
We had another glitch in the Vimeo service today, so I made an appointment with one of their techies to discuss issues and how to resolve them. I will probably monitor the service separately on the laptop to give more elbow room for our mainframe - ok, desktop, but with 32 megs of RAM, gigabit fiber optic bandwidth, and a hot CPU.
The live service will remain with the blog's top entry for the day and the player will have that particular service there with the entire service, sermon, and hymns linked.
The Vimeo Player will appear below this. Set the quality button (lower right) on automatic or on a lower level to avoid stalling. Also, clear the browser history first.
The Confession of Sins The Absolution The Introit p. 16
Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
Let your moderation be known unto all men:
the Lord is at hand.
Be careful for nothing: but in everything,
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God.
Psalm. Lord, Thou hast been favorable unto Thy land:
Thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob.
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17 The Gloria in Excelsis The Salutation and Collect p. 19
Lord, we beseech Thee, give ear to our prayers and
lighten
the darkness of our hearts by Thy gracious visitation; who livest and
reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end.
The Epistle and Gradual
Thou that dwellest between the cherubim, shine forth:
stir up Thy strength and come. V. Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel: Thou that leadest
Joseph like a flock. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!
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 #657Beautiful Savior
Announcements and Prayers
One hundred lives were lost in the Friday hurricane.
December 18th - Seventh Wedding Anniversary of Corey and Abby Meyer Fagan.
Randy Anderson's operation was successful.
Pastor Jackson will have an evaluation for cataract eye surgery on Tuesday. This will also provide stents for improving eye pressure/glaucoma.
Mary Howell is doing well.
Ongoing medical care - Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader, Kermit and Maria Way, Pastor K, Doc Lito.
Epistle
KJV 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God. 2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. 3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
Gospel
KJV Matthew 11:2 Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another? 4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John again those things which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me. 7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee.
Third Sunday In Advent
Lord God, heavenly Father, who didst suffer Thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to become man, and to come into the world, that He might destroy the works of the devil, deliver us poor offenders from sin and death, and give us everlasting life: We beseech Thee so to rule and govern our hearts by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may seek no other refuge than His word, and thus avoid all offense to which, by nature, we are inclined, in order that we may always be found among the faithful followers of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and by faith in Him obtain eternal salvation, through the same, Thy beloved Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.
The pink candle represents the Introit for today - "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice." Philippians 4:4ff.
Guardians of the Mysteries
Introductory
There are only two ways to view the Scriptures - 1. The Old and New Testaments are the declared Word of God, preserved by God in their truth, inerrant and infallible and efficacious.
2. The Bible "did not fall from heaven," (their snark) and could have 40 books or 100 books in it. The Bible is the work of man.
Paul's use of "the mysteries" is extremely important to note. The term refers to those truths which are revealed by the Holy Spirit and are not subject to the rationalistic analysis of unbelievers. The Holy Spirit teaches us these mysteries through the Word, and all of us are charged with keeping (guarding) the Word - especially those who preach and teach. No Christian is excused from this guarding but pastors, teachers, and bishops (supervisors) are especially responsible for holding to the truth and teaching it.
These focal points are mysteries - the Trinity, the Two Natures in Christ, Creation by the Word, the miracles revealed, the Means of Grace (Word and Sacrament), Jesus' atoning death, the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, His Return in glory and final Judgment.
The more we study the Scriptures and hear the Gospel, the more we understand and believe these mysteries centered in Jesus Christ the Son of God.
KJV 1 Corinthians 4:1 Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.
The Apostle Paul has an important description of his work, in two parts. Accounting is the word used for Justification by Faith, accounted as righteous. First of all, he is a "minister of Christ."
Every man is a minister
1 Corinthians 3:5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?
It is extremely important to remember this. Paul and other faithful pastors are the way in which the Gospel is conveyed to others and believed, and it only matters that they are faithful to the revelation of God in the Scriptures. Results do not matter, which is why so many fail, because they are accounted and account themselves based on results.
Luther made the point that he could preach 20 years in one place and see no results at all. That is not the issue, because being faithful is serving Christ, being a minister/servant - not a master.
2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful.
Management enters the discussion because steward is another word for manager. The steward does not own but takes care of what belongs to someone else. No one - not a Pope, bishop, theologian, professor, nor Circuit Pastor has any ownership. But they do have responsibility to teach the truth of the Scriptures.
That is why it is such a scandal for the so-called conservative Lutherans to ignore the fact that their for-profit Bibles
reject the Sacraments,
remove the divinity of Christ,
erase words, phrases, and large portions of the New Testament.
dote on the worst of Biblical documents, the fraudulent Sinaiticus and Vaticanus codices.
They (NIV, ESV, RSV, NRSV, TEV) do not all commit these crimes the same way or in the same way. In fact, they change their message all the time and disagree with each other.
Mysteries
This is the turning point for faith or unbelief. The mysteries are the treasures of the Scriptures. There are many historical and geographical facts, but the mysteries are revealed only by God and only grasped by the Holy Spirit teaching us.
There are many people elevating their opinions to dogma, and many more who blatantly reject the Chief Article (Justification by Faith). God is already answering many of them with a firm "Get lost." Still others waver to get along - clouds without rain.
Very little is said about false teachers because they do not matter and should be shunned. The shame is that our only job as pastors, teachers, and laymen is to guard the Word, manage the mysteries - and that is neglected!
Being a steward is like having a garden. Everything relies on God's Creation and the great power of sun and rain. Ranger Bob said, "Do you realize you are the only one around here collecting leaves instead of getting rid of them?" I said, "And the only one with roses, too. Leaves contribute to the soil."
Every spring I see piles and heaps of leaves, until a little later, when they have been digested by worms, slugs, mites, molds, and bacteria. The work has been done by the relentless energy of Creation, using rain and sunshine to help the microbes and larger workers.
3 But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yea, I judge not mine own self. 4 For I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord. 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
Paul makes this especially clear in saying he has no idea how to judge himself. He will not judge himself about his courageous and dangerous career, which ended ultimately in a cell, not a cell group. Final judgment will determine everything - and it is all in God's hands.
If we take such things seriously and see things in God's perspective, it is all quite different from the way people look at life and its rewards.
The chaos of the moment and the threats of more problems make us think of material matters, but when we begin with the mysteries of God, there are countless ways temptation is suppressed and joy is found in God's blessings. God gives super-abundantly in His grace and loves those who love His Son.
