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How I Found the True Faith by Samuel McGerald “The story of a remarkable conversion from Roman Catholicism, with additional chapters on subjects vital and fundamental.” Level of Difficulty: Primer: No prior subject matter knowledge needed. Contents About the Lutheran Library Titlepage What’s said about the book by Distinguished Men of Both Continents Autograph Frontispiece Epigraph Contents Foreword 1 My Early Years 2 Boyhood Experiences 3 Coming to America 4 A Turning Point in My Life 5 Reading the Sealed Book 6 The Word Winning Its ... Read more Reasons Why I Cannot Return to the Church of Rome by Samuel McGerald “In view of the persistent and unflagging efforts of my friends to win or force me back to the Roman faith, I am led to give the following reaosns why I cannot return to the church I broke away from sixty-five years ago…” -From the Foreword Level of Difficulty: Primer: No prior subject matter knowledge needed. Contents About the Lutheran Library Titlepage Frontispiece Contents Introduction Epigraph Foreword 1 The Glories of Mary 2 Rome an Apostate Church 3 The Roman Church Founded on ... Read more Handbook to the Controversy with Rome by Karl von Hase “This Handbook… has been fitly called indispensable for a knowledge of the Roman controversy, and a masterpiece of Protestant theology, both in form and contents, unrefuted and irrefutable.” - The Translator Level of Difficulty: Intermediate: Some prior subject matter knowledge helpful. Contents About the Lutheran Library Titlepage Contents of Volume 1 Note Analysis of the Argument Translator’s Preface Prefaces Book 1. The Church 1 Catholicism A Unity B Infallibility C The Sole Means of ... Read more The Doctrine of Justification by Matthias Loy “Human reason and inclination are always in their natural state averse to the doctrine of Justification by Faith. Hence it is no wonder that earth and hell combine in persistent efforts to banish it from the Church and from the world.” — Matthias Loy Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter knowledge needed. The Great Doctrine of Christianity “This great doctrine of the sinner’s justification by faith in the Redeemer of the world, who lived and suffered and died to save our lost ... Read more The True Church: Its Way of Justification and Its Holy Communion by Emanuel Greenwald “The doctrine of Justification by Faith alone, was the turning point of the Reformation; it was the experience of its necessity and efficacy in the heart of Martin Luther that constituted his best qualification for the work of the Reformation; and as it distinguished the Lutheran Church from the Church of Rome, so it has come to be regarded as the distinguishing mark of separation between Protestantism and Romanism.” — Emanuel Greenwald Level of Difficulty: Primer: No subject matter ... Read more Student Witnesses for Christ by S Ralph Harlow “The sketches in this short volume are studies of young men and women… who have been set free from self and and sin through captivity to Jesus Christ.” - from the Preface Level of Difficulty: Primer: No prior subject matter knowledge needed. Contents About the Lutheran Library Titlepage Dedication Contents Preface Epigraph 1 The Student Volunteer Movement in Turkey 2 Shemseddin 3 Maria of Ancient Samos 4 In the Shadow of the Rock 5 A Mountain Jewel 6 Savas from Galatia 7 Koordish Amy 8 ... Read more

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Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Trinity 26 - In short, what do you think Christ will say on that day, seated on his judgment throne, to such unmerciful Christianity? “Dear sir, listen, you have also pretended to be a Christian and boasted of the Gospel; did you not also hear this sermon, that I myself preached, in which I told you what my verdict and decision would be: ‘Depart from me, ye cursed?’

 

Luther's Sermons - Matthew 25:31-46.
Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity

14. In short, what do you think Christ will say on that day, seated on his judgment throne, to such unmerciful Christianity? “Dear sir, listen, you have also pretended to be a Christian and boasted of the Gospel; did you not also hear this sermon, that I myself preached, in which I told you what my verdict and decision would be: ‘Depart from me, ye cursed?’ I was hungry and thirsty, naked and sick, poor and in prison, and ye gave me no meat, no drink, clothed me not, took me not in, and visited me not. Why have ye neglected this, and have been more shameless and unmerciful toward your own brethren than the Turk or heathen?”

Will you excuse yourself by pleading: “Lord, when saw we thee hungry or thirsty?” etc. Then he will answer you again through your own conscience:

Dear sir, were there no people who preached to you; or perhaps poor students who should have at the time been studying and learning God’s Word, or were there no poor, persecuted Christians whom you ought to have fed, clothed and visited?

15. We ought really to be ashamed of ourselves, having had the example of parents, ancestors, lords and kings, princes and others, who gave so liberally and charitably, even in profusion, to churches, ministers, schools, endowments, hospitals and the like; and by such liberal giving neither they nor their descendants were made poorer. What would they have done, had they had the light of the Gospel, that is given unto us? How did the Apostles and their followers in the beginning bring all they had-for their poor widows, or for those who had nothing, or who were banished and persecuted, in order that no one among them might suffer for the necessities of life! In this way poor Christians should at all times support one another. Otherwise, as I have said, the Gospel, the pulpit, churches and schools would already be completely exterminated, no matter how much the rest of the world did.

Were it not for the grace of God, by which he gives us here and there a pious prince, or godly government, which preserves the fragments still left, that all may not be destroyed by the graspers and vultures, thieves and robbers; were it not for this grace, I say, the poor pastors and preachers would not only be starved, but also murdered. Nor are there now any other poor people than those who serve, or are being trained to serve the church; and these can obtain no support elsewhere, and must leave their poor wives and children die of hunger because of an indifferent world; on the other hand the world is full of useless, unfaithful, wicked fellows among daylaborers, lazy mechanics, servants, maids, and idle, greedy beggars, who everywhere by lying, deceiving, robbing and stealing, take away the hardearned bread and butter from those who are really poor, and yet go unpunished in the midst of their wantonness and insolence.

16. This I say, that we may see how Christ will upbraid the false liars and hypocrites among Christians, on the day of judgment, and having convicted them before all creatures will condemn them, because they have done none of the works which even the heathen do to their fellows; who did much more in their false and erroneous religion, and would have done it even more willingly had they known better.

Touchy Women Bishops Are 55%, A Bit More Than Their Cowering Male Counterparts.

 

Thrivent binds them together. 

 

Grand Canyon Synod of ELCA 

 Liz took an ussy for their youth convention.
So cool, so yesterday.

ELCA Church Council Considers Legislative Proposals for the 2025 Churchwide Assembly

November 21, 2024 Brian Flatgard

The Church Council of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) gathered at the Lutheran Center in Chicago, Nov. 14-17. The council, which serves as the ELCA churchwide organization’s board of directors and interim legislative authority between meetings of a churchwide assembly, focused much of its work on preparations for the ELCA 2025 Churchwide Assembly.

In her report to the council, ELCA Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton spoke of God’s Love Made Real as the umbrella for the church’s vision of “a world experiencing the difference God’s grace and love in Christ make for all people and creation.” The vision calls for two distinct strategies for the church moving forward: the church that is and the church that is becoming.

Eaton emphasized that the focus of this work is to build out ways to strengthen and walk alongside congregations and the ministries that take place outside the walls of a traditional church building. “All these people, we all desperately need to hear the liberating word of Jesus and the gospel,” she said. “So how do we connect with them?”

In key actions, the council:

·      Approved amendments to “Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA” that were drafted in response to the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Accessibility (DEIA) Audit. The audit report was presented to the council at its fall 2023 meeting.

·      Recommended to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly certain amendments to “Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA” that were brought to the council by the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church (CRLC).

·      Approved a 2025 fiscal year current fund spending authorization of $67,875,000 and a 2025 ELCA World Hunger spending authorization of $21,500,000.

·      Passed a social policy resolution affirming support for and collaboration with Jubilee USA Network. The ELCA is a founding member of the network, a coalition aimed at debt relief for under-resourced countries and redirection of resources to reducing poverty and providing health care and education to people living in poverty and with deep need.

·      Named Des Moines, Iowa, as the site for the 2028 Churchwide Assembly.

·      Approved amendment of certain continuing resolutions in “Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA.”

·      Received reports and approved actions related to the creation of a racial justice ombudsperson position, as recommended by the task force on the ELCA Discipline Process for Rostered Ministers of Color.

·      Recommended to the 2025 Churchwide Assembly amendments to “Constitutions, Bylaws, and Continuing Resolutions of the ELCA.” Topics include the Candidacy Leadership Development Working Group, on-leave-from-call status and specialized ministry, and allowing participants of synod-authorized worshiping communities to be elected as voting members of assemblies and to other elected positions.

·      Acknowledged amendment to the governing documents of this church related to nonbinary inclusion and to gendered language in the constitution.

·      Received a report and affirmed recommendation of the Task Force on On-Leave-From-Call and Specialized Ministry, and requested a final report for its spring 2025 meeting.

·      Deferred action on an ELCA name change until after the 2025 Churchwide Assembly.

·      Received the Holy Communion Practices report of the Worship team and encouraged continued dialogue and discernment on sacramental practice.

·      Approved criteria to establish and maintain relationships with ELCA outdoor ministries.

·      Affirmed the recommendations of the Service and Justice home area on the ELCA Strategy Regarding Black Migrants. This is in response to a 2022 Churchwide Assembly action requesting the preparation of a proposal to strengthen the advocacy, protection and accompaniment of Black migrants.

·      Encouraged congregations to implement the recommendations of the resolution “ELCA Advocacy for Peace and Justice in the Middle East and Dismantling of Christian Zionism in Our Churches.”

·      Elected members of the boards of directors of Wartburg Theological Seminary and the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, elected a member of the advisory board for Pacific Lutheran Theological Seminary at California Lutheran University, elected a member to the board of trustees of the Publishing House of the ELCA (Augsburg Fortress) and appointed a member to the board of directors of National Lutheran Campus Ministry.

The council received/engaged in the following:

·      An update on and discussion of the work of the Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church.

·      An update on God’s Love Made Real and the ELCA Vision team.

·      An update from Portico Benefit Services, addressing the “reExamined” project.

·      Reports and updates from officers, the chair of the Conference of Bishops, and committees of the Church Council.

·      Racial justice and gender justice education.

·      The meeting of the Luther College Corporation.

·      Personal reflections on faith from council members.

·      Worship, prayer, Bible study and fellowship.

Discover even less from Grand Canyon Synod of the ELCA

Vegetables Mean Health and Lowering Cholesterol

 

The 7 Best Frozen Vegetables for Better Cholesterol, Recommended by Dietitians

Keep your freezer stocked with these dietitian-approved, fiber-rich veggies. Your budget and heart health will thank you.

When it comes to managing high cholesterol, small dietary changes can help. Eating enough vegetables not only helps reduce high cholesterol but can actually prevent the condition. While you may think that fresh veggies are healthiest, think again. Frozen veggies are just as nutritious. Plus, they tend to be budget-friendly and have a much longer shelf life.

High cholesterol affects about 10% of U.S. adults. And having it puts you at a higher risk of developing heart disease and stroke.1 We spoke with registered dietitians and dove into the latest research to share the seven best frozen vegetables for lower cholesterol.

Are Canned and Frozen Vegetables Healthier Than Fresh?

1. Edamame

Edamame (aka young soybeans) is a good source of a key nutrient for cholesterol: soluble fiber. “Although fiber never enters the bloodstream, soluble fiber binds to bile in the digestive tract and carries it out of the body. The liver then uses cholesterol to create new bile, thus lowering blood cholesterol levels,” explains Stephanie Dunne, M.S., RDN, IFNCP, an integrative registered dietitian nutritionist and founder at Nutrition Q.E.D. Just 1 cup of frozen edamame contains 8 grams of fiber and 18 grams of plant-based protein.2

Edamame is also a source of isoflavones, compounds in soy products that may help lower cholesterol levels.3

You can find frozen edamame in the pod or shelled. “I always keep a bag of frozen edamame on hand to toss in salads, stir-fries and soups,” says Laura M. Ali, M.S., RDN, a culinary nutritionist based in Pittsburgh.

2. Green Peas

Green peas have 7 grams of cholesterol-lowering fiber per cup.4 Plus, they’re another plant-based source of protein, with 8 grams protein per cup. “Higher intake of plant-based proteins has been shown to be helpful with cholesterol as they are often lower in saturated fats,” says Patricia Kolesa, M.S., RDN, founder of Dietitian Dish LLC. In other words, replacing some animal proteins (think beef, sausage, bacon and deli meat) with peas can help lower your total saturated fat intake. Consuming too much saturated fat is associated with high levels of LDL cholesterol (known as “bad” cholesterol).5

Kolesa recommends tossing frozen green peas into pasta dishes, casseroles, stir-fries and soups or serving them as a side dish. If you’re looking for ideas, try our Pea Soup or Skillet Tuna Noodle Casserole. 

3. Spinach

Frozen spinach is jam-packed with fiber, vitamins, minerals and antioxidants to promote heart health. “Spinach is high in insoluble fiber and can help reduce LDL cholesterol levels. As a plant-based source of iron and protein, it’s also a great source of calcium, vitamin C and various antioxidants to help you stay healthy,” says Daria Zajac, RD, LDN, at The Polish Dietitian. 

This leafy green is also high in antioxidants, particularly one of them. “Spinach is rich in a compound called lutein, an antioxidant known to help reduce inflammation. Research suggests that lutein may help cholesterol oxidation, which may help prevent cholesterol from sticking to artery walls,” says Vandana Sheth, RDN, CDCES, FAND, a registered dietitian nutritionist and plant-based and diabetes expert. In fact, studies show that eating more dark leafy greens like spinach is linked with lower rates of cardiovascular disease.6

Zajac suggests adding it to stews, soups or your morning eggs. Added bonus: It goes great in your morning smoothie.

21 Recipes That Start with a Package of Frozen Spinach

4. Cauliflower

Cauliflower is another frozen veggie worth stocking up on. Heidi McIndoo, M.S., RD, the FoodieMomRD, recommends it for its heart-healthy fiber and lack of saturated fat. Each cup of frozen cauliflower has 3 grams of fiber—10% of the Daily Value.7

McIndoo notes, “It's delicious roasted with just a little olive oil and kosher salt, or fancy it up with a drizzle of Buffalo sauce before popping into the oven. You can also puree it after steaming it to turn it into a perfect substitute for some or all of the cream in cream-based soups and sauces like potato soup or fettuccini Alfredo.” Like McIndoo’s suggestion? Try our Roasted Buffalo Cauliflower version. 

5. Broccoli

Like the other veggies on this list, broccoli is rich in fiber and micronutrients. What makes it stand out is its glucosinolate content, particularly sulforaphane. This is a phytochemical found almost exclusively in cruciferous veggies like broccoli, cauliflower and Brussels sprouts. 

“Research suggests that sulforaphane may help reduce oxidative stress and inflammation, both key factors that support heart health,” says Sheth. In fact, one small study found that eating about 1 cup of broccoli per day improved HDL cholesterol (known as “good” cholesterol) by 7.6% in female participants. In male participants, it reduced their total cholesterol by 10%.8

A bag of frozen broccoli can be used in anything from ramen noodles to mac and cheese to casseroles and more.

6. Brussels Sprouts

Each cup of Brussels sprouts has 2 grams of soluble fiber, the kind that’s especially helpful for lowering cholesterol.9 Brussels sprouts are also rich in antioxidants and phytochemicals that could provide more cholesterol-related benefits. 

“Brussels sprouts contain plant compounds, including kaempferol, which has both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Kaempferol has been linked to promoting heart health and lowering cholesterol levels,” says Sheth. A 2022 study in Phytotherapy Research found that eating more brassica vegetables like Brussels sprouts is linked to significantly reducing total cholesterol levels.10

Roasting them is one of the best ways to enjoy them. Browse through some Brussels sprouts recipes to spark inspiration.

7. Mushrooms

These earthy veggies are easy to toss in pasta dishes, add to pizza or sauté on their own. Plus, they have unique benefits when it comes to cholesterol. “Mushrooms contain beta-glucans, a type of soluble fiber known to help reduce cholesterol by binding to cholesterol-rich bile acids and removing them from the body,” says Lauren Manaker, M.S., RDN, LD, a registered dietitian based in Charleston, South Carolina. 

“Some studies suggest that certain varieties, like shiitake mushrooms, contain compounds that can further enhance cholesterol metabolism and promote heart health,” says Manaker. Other varieties shown to benefit cholesterol include enoki mushrooms, reishi mushrooms and portobello mushrooms.11