Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Tomorrow - Working on the New Video System

 I have had some heart-warming responses to my classes in education and Old Testament.

The video, which I shoehorned into the masthead, is my experiment with making videos on the front page, instead of linking them elsewhere.

Masthead is the ship lingo used for the standard name and symbol of a newspaper - editor, publisher, location, and slogan. The WELS-LCMS-ELS readers are no longer complaining that a blog about apostasy deals with - how shall I say it? - apostasy. Ichabod does mean "the glory has departed from Israel."

Until recently, the  masthead was easy to modify. Blogger decided to make it HTML code only, so I have to figure out the little symbols to make the message show up correctly in the browser. 

The test video is Vimeo because I wanted to see whether the mike made a difference (no) and whether I could put the Sunday video on the front page, starting up on schedule (yes).

Every so often I read this on Facebook, "We have been listening to your worship services for years."

One layman says he looks for post three times a day, morning-afternoon-late evening. A lot of times I think of this organ donor as motivation to write one more article. A lot of people are very encouraging and the ankle biters are no longer emailing their wisdom, like, "Why don't you stop?" and "When you finally die, everyone will be so happy." They were encouraging too, and some readers miss the fireworks, even if the opposition only had sparklers.


From Luther - And Alec Satin - via the Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry


“On the contrary, where the pure word is not taught, or where there is a weariness and loathing of the word, there the true religion becomes extinguished, and all true worship of God perishes.

“For where the true word of God is not taught, there is not any truth of God; there is found a great noise of external holiness, and the form of godliness, and hypocrisy; there, indeed, is psalm-singing, prayer, doctrines, consolation, thanksgiving, and all the varieties of the worship of God, with all interpretations of the scriptures.

I will add, also, that there you may find sufferings and martyrdoms. But all is outside show; all is the form of godliness only; all is false; all is feigned, and nothing but lies; all is full of the poison of the devil. Nor without true faith in the heart, nor without the divine word, nor without the worship of the First Commandment, is there, or can there be, any true and real worship of God.

From: Luther, Martin. A Manual on the Book of Psalms. Translated by Henry Cole. Lutheran Library 1837/2022. LutheranLibrary.org

Hymn Request - My Faith Looks Up to Thee



"My Faith Looks Up to Thee"
by Ray Palmer, 1808-1887

Tune by Lowell Mason - Olivet - linked here

1. My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary,
Savior divine.
Now hear me while I pray;
Take all my guilt away;
Oh, let me from this day
Be wholly Thine!

2. May Thy rich grace impart
Strength to my fainting heart,
My zeal inspire!
As Thou hast died for me,
Oh, may my love to Thee
Pure, warm, and changeless be,
A living fire!

3. While life's dark maze I tread
And griefs around me spread,
Be Thou my Guide.
Bid darkness turn to day,
Wipe sorrow's tears away,
Nor let me ever stray
From Thee aside.

4. When ends life's transient dream,
When death's cold, sullen stream
Shall o'er me roll,
Blest Savior, then, in love,
Fear and distrust remove;
Oh, bear me safe above,
A ransomed soul!

Hymn #394
The Lutheran Hymnal
Text: Ephesians 3:12
Author: Ray Palmer, 1830
Composer: Lowell Mason
Tune: "Olivet"
1st Published in: 1831