Laetare: The Fourth Sunday in Lent. John 6:1ff

Laetare Sunday, The Fourth Sunday in Lent, 2012

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

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

Bethany Lutheran Church, 10 AM Central Time

The Hymn # 151                  Christ the Life                       2:78

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual        

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #429    Lord Thee I Love                  2:54 

The Power of God's Word

The Communion Hymn #311       Huss Hymn               2:79

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 # 45                    Now the Hour                      2:95

KJV Galatians 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise. 24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband. 28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise. 29 But as then he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now. 30 Nevertheless what saith the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman. 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman, but of the free.

KJV John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias. 2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased. 3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples. 4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh. 5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do. 7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little. 8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many? 10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand. 11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten. 14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

Fourth Sunday in Lent

Lord God, heavenly Father, who by Thy Son didst feed five thousand men in the desert with five loaves and two fishes: We beseech Thee to abide graciously also with us in the fullness of Thy blessing. Preserve us from avarice and the cares of this life, that we may seek first Thy kingdom and Thy righteousness, and in all things perceive Thy fatherly goodness, through Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God world without end. Amen.

The Power of the Word

John 6:1 After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is the sea of Tiberias.

Jesus crossed in a boat, while the crowd had to walk around the sea. The crowd had twice as far to travel, so Jesus had some rest from being with them so much.

2 And a great multitude followed him, because they saw his miracles which he did on them that were diseased.

Lenski:

The three imperfect tenses picture Jesus in the full exercise of his activity at this period, including, of course, the present crossing of the Sea. The statement that the crowds were attracted by “beholding the signs he was doing” is intended to parallel 2:23 and to show that in general the situation here in Galilee was a duplication of the previous one which occurred in Jerusalem. Not the teaching but merely the signs were the great attraction. This John wants us to bear in mind for the sake of what follows.

            Lenski, R. C. H.: The Interpretation of St. John's Gospel. Minneapolis, MN : Augsburg Publishing House, 1961, S. 428.

“Doing signs” has always seemed to be weak, in my opinion. The meaning of that phrase is “performing miracles.”

We have diminished the meaning of “sign from heaven.” People interpret anything as a “sign,” just as Eduard Preuss (UOJ guru) did when he saw a glorious sunset. To him that was a sign from heaven to join the Roman Catholic Church and leave the Lutheran Church. But apparently it was not a day of mass conversions to Romanism, even if two Concordia Seminary professors in a row “poped.”

A miracle is our best word today for something that defies the laws of physics, such as walking on water, turning water into wine, or stilling the storm. The crowds saw these miracles and enjoyed them. They wanted more. As Lenski noted, they were more interested in the show than the teaching.

Jesus taught and performed miracles together, to confirm people in their knowledge that He was indeed the Son of God and Savior. Those who only wanted miracles were bound to be disappointed. Even when they witnessed miracles that kings and philosophers would have loved to see, they wanted even more.

3 And Jesus went up into a mountain, and there he sat with his disciples.

Hills surround the Sea of Galilee, which gave Jesus a view of the crowds working their way around the seashore. Probably a path helped them, but it was the long way around and a long distance to go.

4 And the passover, a feast of the Jews, was nigh.

The Fourth Gospel gives us a calendar (unlike Matthew, Mark, and Luke) so we know about a three-year public ministry of Jesus, while the other three conflated the three years into one trip toward Jerusalem. In many ways the Gospel of John supplements the first three Gospels and gives us additional facts, as well as many long sermons to study and meditate upon.

One of our regular readers (and emailers) said he loved the material in John 16 about the work of the Holy Spirit.

5 When Jesus then lifted up his eyes, and saw a great company come unto him, he saith unto Philip, Whence shall we buy bread, that these may eat? 6 And this he said to prove him: for he himself knew what he would do.

Jesus brought up a problem that the disciples could not solve on their own. By questioning them, Jesus set the agenda. Unprepared, they thought of it solely in human terms.

There is no human answer. They are far away from a settlement. There are many other problems as well.

Jesus had the answer and knew what He would do.  Instead of a confession of faith, He received a statement of doubt.

7 Philip answered him, Two hundred pennyworth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little.

Philip answered the way any finance committee would. They did not have enough money to give the crowd a little bit of food. The other impossibility was obtaining enough for that little bit of food for each one. Therefore, it was doubly impossible.

Naturally, this Gospel lesson is one that teaches the efficacy of the Word, contrasting it with the cleverness of man. Philip was not at all foolish in what he said. Everything was logical and based upon fact. The only thing missing was faith in Christ.

The efficacy of the Word is not incidental in Scripture, but foundational. Every passage in the entire Bible rests upon the concept of the divine power of the Word and its supremacy over anything man can imagine or design.

The rationalists are bit more honest than the apostate Lutherans. The rationalists are consistent in saying, “This cannot happen, given the laws of physics.”

The apostate Lutherans say, “This is a wonderful miracle. Now this is what we learned about marketing the Gospel at Fuller Seminary.”  (Or Willow Creek, Mars Hill, Granger, Life Church, Saddleback, or NorthPoint.)

8 One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, saith unto him, 9 There is a lad here, which hath five barley loaves, and two small fishes: but what are they among so many?

The dialogue does not show the disciples to be foolish but just like us. That is exactly what we would say.

Some would say, “But they had Jesus with them. That makes them foolish. He can do anything.”

But we have Jesus with us, too. He is not limited to His visible presence. The centurion knew this better than most. He said, “You do not need to come to my house to heal my servant. And I am not worthy to have you enter there, Lord. Speak the Word and he will be healed.”

KJV Luke 7:6 Then Jesus went with them. And when he was now not far from the house, the centurion sent friends to him, saying unto him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that thou shouldest enter under my roof: 7 Wherefore neither thought I myself worthy to come unto thee: but say in a word, and my servant shall be healed. 8 For I also am a man set under authority, having under me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it. 9 When Jesus heard these things, he marvelled at him, and turned him about, and said unto the people that followed him, I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel. 10 And they that were sent, returning to the house, found the servant whole that had been sick.

When pretend-Lutherans assail our little group for being small, for not having gold ornaments and marble altars, they are just revealing their lack of trust in God’s Word. Jesus said, “Wherever two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them.”

KJV Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

Mocking God’s Word is not good practice. It is as dangerous as playing with high voltage lines, like the lineman who took off his gloves for a second and lost both arms in a flash of current. God’s Word is more powerful than a power line.

Any time we are tempted to say, “What are we among so many?” or “Who am I to question all these leaders?” or “How can we have any influence when we have no money to persuade people?” – we should look at this response. The disciple says – We have a little food, but it amounts to nothing in this enormous crowd. True, it amounts to nothing, but God’s Word turns nothing into something, as He did at Creation, as He does whenever the elements are consecrated as the Body and Blood of Christ.

10 And Jesus said, Make the men sit down. Now there was much grass in the place. So the men sat down, in number about five thousand.

Here we see a little detail worth noting. This was a grassy area, so it was well watered, by a spring or a well. In Arizona there are areas where the rock traps and stores water. They are called “tanks.” Outside of Phoenix are the White Tank Mountains. If you read the novels of Louis Lamour, you will see that the heroes look for tanks where they can water their horses and get refreshed themselves.

The reality of a desert is that the grassy areas give away where the water is. Certain plants also indicate underground water, easily accessed. (It is not true that someone can chop up a barrel cactus and eat it like watermelon.)

The place where they sat down was large, grassy. They sat in ranks so the food could be distributed. There were 5000 men (fully humans in WELS-speak), so the total number of people could have been 15,000.

This vast throng made the tiny bit of food even more comical, in comparison with the needs. At first a large sum of money was not enough to give everyone a tiny bit. But they could not buy food out there, so the donation of one child was even smaller, reminding us of the fall of Jericho.

God reduces the number, money, and power of the people involved to reveal His power in the Word. Otherwise, people would praise themselves for their own abilities and wealth rather than God for His ability to transcend all rules and principles to reveal Himself as He is.

11 And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise of the fishes as much as they would. 12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.

This is not a communion service in John 6, but it shows us how God provides the Body and Blood of Christ in the consecrated elements. All the objections to Holy Communion as a sacrament are answered by this miracle and by many other passages (such as the healing of the centurion’s servant).

1. How can God provide the Body and Blood of Christ for millions across the centuries?  Answer – By His Word, the same way He provided for 15,000 people with some bread and fish.
2. How can God forgive sins through those elements? Answer – It is His will to give us a visible form of His Word. God reveals His will to us; we do not manage God or give Him advice.
3. Why are there so many Means of Grace among you Lutherans? Answer – why did Jesus provide us with so many miracles? Why did God leave us four Gospels? Why have a dozen or so Pauline letters instead of just Romans? The answer is God’s overwhelming bounty. He gives in abundance so we are never deprived or lacking in anything that will be a blessing for us.
4. It looks like bread and wine to me, after the consecration. I think it is just symbolic. Answer – Then the feeding of the multitude was also symbolic. They ate symbolic bread and symbolic fish and they were satisfied in a dream-like way when they went home on water alone. If the Real Presence is rejected, the miraculous feeding is rejected. If the miraculous feeding is accepted as true, then the Real Presence and Holy Communion as a Means of Grace are both true. Likewise, if God cannot consecrate the elements with His Word, and Jesus be present in both natures in the elements, then the Savior was locked in the cave until the angels opened the stone lid and let Him out of the grave.

The central human problem is turning God’s Word into man’s word – that people believe according to their rational limits.

12 When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. 13 Therefore they gathered them together, and filled twelve baskets with the fragments of the five barley loaves, which remained over and above unto them that had eaten.

The gathering was just as important as the distribution, because it showed that the disciples ended up with more food than they had in the beginning. The people were famished when they arrived. Walking along a lake for hours, the hot sun beating down – that eats up a lot of calories. That was the idea about fainting on the way back, recorded in another Gospel. They were all completely satisfied, but they had more than at the beginning – 12 times more.

This shows us that God takes a little, because He honors His Name this way, and multiplies it beyond all human imagination. And we have enough to share. And the more we share, the greater the abundance.

I can say now that many people are blessed and participating through study, worship, and the production of new books establish Lutheran orthodoxy for the next generation.

14 Then those men, when they had seen the miracle that Jesus did, said, This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world. 15 When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone.

This was God’s timing and not man’s. The people wanted a king who fed them with miracles, and only some remained believers. That should not shock us. Many use church to feed them in a material way – and not all of them are ministers  - some are laity too. I read about one (name omitted) who used his many church affiliations to stay out of prison. He had loads of character witnesses on his behalf because they were on his payroll.

This is a passage, like each one in John’s Gospel, designed by the Holy Spirit to created and deepen our trust in Christ as our Savior, to depend on Him for love and mercy, to set aside our human logic and doubts when trusting in Him.

Quotations

"So it goes in the spiritual government of the Church, as specially indicated in the narrative now before us.  Where I have preached and taught during the past ten or twenty years, there another could perhaps, have done more in one year; and one sermon may bring forth more fruit than many others.  Here, also, it is true that our labor, diligence and effort can accomplish nothing These two things must go together, namely, that each one does his duty, and that he, nevertheless, acknowledges with Peter: 'My labor cannot bring forth anything, if thou dost not give the increase.'"

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, IV,  p. 153. Fifth Sunday after Trinity Luke 5:1‑11.        

"A hardened heart will not be instructed, no matter how plainly and clearly the truth is presented; but the faith of the righteous is strengthened when they see that the ground of their faith is right and good."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 157. Third Sunday in Lent Luke 11:14‑23.                  

"All preaching of sin and God's wrath is a preaching of the Law, no matter how or when it may be done.  On the other hand, the Gospel is such preaching as sets forth and bestows nothing but grace and forgiveness in Christ. And yet it is true that the Apostles and preachers of the Gospel sanctioned the preaching of the Law, as Christ Himself did, and began with this in the case of those who had not yet acknowledged their sins and had felt no fear of God's anger."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, IV,  p. 158. Fifth Sunday after Trinity Luke 5:1‑11.          

"The unavoidable conclusion then is that, as long as the Holy Spirit does not enter our hearts, we are not only incapable of any good, but are of necessity in the kingdom of Satan."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 159. Third Sunday in Lent Luke 11:14‑23.                  

[The office of preaching]...cannot produce profitable or fruitful results in all men; yet great power and much fruit are found in those who remain steadfast and are kept to the end."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, IV,  p. 165. Fifth Sunday after Trinity Luke 5:1‑11.                  

"The preaching of this message may be likened to a stone thrown into the water, producing ripples which circle outward from it, the waves rolling always on and on, one driving the other, till they come to the shore.  Although the center becomes quiet, the waves do not rest, but move forward. So it is with the preaching of the Word.  It was begun by the apostles, and it constantly goes forward, is pushed on farther and farther by the preachers, driven hither and thither into the world, yet always being made known to those who never heard it before, although it be arrested in the midst of its course and is condemned as heresy."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 202. Ascension Day Mark 16:14‑20.      

"You may tie a hog ever so well, but you cannot prevent it from grunting, until it is strangled and killed.  Thus it is with the sins of the flesh."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 247. Easter, Second Sermon Mark 16:1‑8.

"Therefore the Holy Spirit must come to our rescue, not only to preach the Word to us, but also to enlarge and impel us from within, yea, even to employ the devil, the world and all kinds of afflictions and persecutions to this end.  Just as a pig's bladder must be rubbed with salt and thoroughly worked to distend it, so this old hide of ours must be well salted and plagued until we call for help and cry aloud, and so stretch and expand ourselves, both through internal and through external suffering,that we may finally succeed and attain this heart and cheer, joy and consolation, from Christ's resurrection."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 253. Easter, Third Sermon Mark 16:1‑8.        

"If I do not believe it, I will not receive its benefits; but that neither renders it false nor proves that anything is lacking in Christ."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 258. Easter, Third Sermon Mark 16:1‑8.

"Learn then from this Gospel what takes place when God begins to make us godly, and what the first step is in becoming godly.  There is no other beginning than that your king comes to you and begins to work in you.  It is done in this way:  The Gospel must be the first, this must be preached and heard.  In it you hear and learn how all your works count for nothing before God and that everything is sinful that you work and do.  Your king must first be in you and rule you.  Behold, here is the beginning of your salvation; you relinquish your works and despair of yourself, because you hear and see that all you do is sin and amounts to nothing, as the Gospel tells you, and you receive your king in faith, cling to him, implore his grace and find consolation in his mercy alone."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, I,  p. 26. First Sunday in Advent Matthew 21:1‑9.  

"It is a faithful saying that Christ has accomplished everything, has removed sin and overcome every enemy, so that through Him we are lords over all things.  But the treasure lies yet in one pile; it is not yet distributed nor invested.  Consequently, if we are to possess it, the Holy Spirit must come and teach our hearts to believe and say:  I, too, am one of those who are to have this treasure. When we feel that God has thus helped us and given the treasure to us, everything goes well, and it cannot be otherwise than that man's heart rejoices in God and lifts itself up, saying:  Dear Father, if it is Thy will to show toward me such great love and faithfulness, which I cannot fully fathom, then will I also love Thee with all my heart and be joyful, and cheerfully do what pleases Thee.  Thus, the heart does not now look at God with evil eyes, does not imagine He will cast us into hell, as it did before the HS came...."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 279. Pentecost Sunday John 14:23‑31.

"The Holy Spirit teaches man better than all the books; He teaches him to understand the Scriptures better than he can understand them from the teaching of any other; and of his own accord he does everything God wills he should, so the Law dare make no demands upon him."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 280. Pentecost Sunday John 14:23‑31.                

"The Holy Spirit is given to none except to those who are in sorrow and fear; in them it produces good fruit.  This gift is so precious and worthy that God does not cast it before dogs.  Though the unrepentant discover it themselves, hearing it preached, they devour it and know not what they devour."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 281f. Pentecost Sunday John 14:23‑31.                

"He permits it to happen that many great saints err and stumble, in order that we may not trust in men, though they be many, great, and holy.  We must be led to rely upon the Word that is sure and cannot deceive, as here these two men, and all the others afterward, were directed to the Scriptures."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 290. Easter Monday Luke 24:13‑35.                

"Thus, we know how and where the Holy Spirit is to be found, and we need not be in doubt nor waver, gazing here and there for special revelations or illuminations. Each one should hold to the Word, and should know that through it alone, and through no other means, does the Spirit enlighten hearts and is He ready to dwell in them and to give true knowledge and comfort through faith in Christ."          Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 300. Pentecost, Third Sermon John 14:23‑31.            

"Be not worried because of this! for even though a man preach and continue in the Gospel for many years, he must still lament and say:  Aye, no one will come, and all continue in their former state.  Therefore you must not let that grieve or terrify you."   Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 305. Easter Tuesday Luke 24:36‑47.                

"But when St. Peter stood up and preached, they made a mockery of it and considered the apostles drunken fools.  When they had urged the Gospel a long time, they gathered together three thousand men and women.  But what were they among so many?  Yea, no one could discern that the Gospel had accomplished anything, for all things continued in the same state as before.  No change was seen, and scarcely anyone knew that there were Christians there.  And so it will be at all times."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 306. Easter Tuesday Luke 24:36‑47.          

"The Word and the gifts of the Holy Spirit are materials with which He builds.  Though the dwelling is not altogether completed, yet through His grace and love it is accepted of God."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 322. Pentecost, Third Sermon John 14:23‑31.                  

"Secondly, it is shown here that this Word precedes, or must be spoken beforehand, and that afterwards the Holy Spirit works through the Word.  One must not reverse the order and dream of a Holy Spirit who works without the Word and before the Word, but one who comes with and through the Word and goes no farther than the Word goes."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 329. Pentecost, Third Sermon John 14:23‑31.              

"We hear God's Word, which is in fact the preaching of the Holy Spirit, who is at all times present with it, but it does not always at once reach the heart and be accepted by faith; yea, in the case of those who are moved by the Holy Spirit and gladly receive the Word, it does not at once bear fruit."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 330. Pentecost, Third Sermon John 14:23‑31.                

"This is going through closed doors, when He comes into the heart through the Word, not breaking nor displacing anything.  For when the Word of God comes, it neither injures the conscience, nor deranges the understanding of the heart and the external senses; as the false teachers do who break all the doors and windows, breaking through like thieves, leaving nothing whole and undamaged, and perverting, falsifying and injuring all life, conscience, reason, and the senses.  Christ does not do thus."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 355. First Sunday after Easter John 20:19‑31.          

"Thus we have two parts, preaching and believing.  His coming to us is preaching; His standing in our hearts is faith.  For it is not sufficient that He stand before our eyes and ears; He must stand in the midst of us in our hearts, and offer and impart to us peace."      Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., xd., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 355. First Sunday after Easter John 20:19‑31.                

"The first and highest work of love a Christian ought to do when he has become a believer, is to bring others also to believe in the way he himself came to believe. And here you notice Christ begins and institutes the office of the ministry of the external Word in every Christian; for He Himself came with this office  and the external Word."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 359. First Sunday after Easter John 20:19‑31.              

"But ye have not the power to create faith.  For there is a great difference between planting and giving the growth; as Paul says to the Corinthians: 'I planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.' 1 Corinthians 3:6"

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 362. First Sunday after Easter John 20:19‑31; 1 Corinthians 3:6.                

"Now God drives us to this by holding the law before us, in order that through the law we may come to a knowledge of ourselves.  For where there is not this knowledge, one can never be saved.  He that is well needs no physician; but if a man is sick and desires to become well, he must know that he is weak and sick, otherwise he cannot be helped."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 370. Second Sunday after Easter, Second Sermon John 20:19‑31.              

"There are the infants, bare and naked in body and soul, having neither faith nor works.  Then the Christian Church comes forward and prays, that God would pour faith into the child; not that our faith should help the child, but that it may obtain a faith of its own.  If it has faith, then after that whatever it does is well done, whether it suckle its mother's breast, or whether it soil itself, or whatever it may please to do."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, IV,  p. 378. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity Mark 7:31‑37.            

"If God does not take me alone to a separate place, and give me the Holy Spirit, so that I cling to the Word which I have heard, then all preaching is in vain."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, IV,  p. 380. Twelfth Sunday after Trinity Mark 7:31‑37.                   

"Observe from this text how Christ in plain words ascribes to baptism, which He calls water, such glory and power as to say that the Holy Spirit is present in it, and that by its means a person is born anew.  By this statement all false doctrines and errors against the doctrine of faith and baptism are overthrown."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 434. Trinity Sunday John 3:1‑15.              

"Nor does He send such trial upon you in order to cast you off, but that you may the better learn to know and the more closely cling to His Word, to punish your lack of understanding and that you may experience how earnestly and faithfully He cares for you."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 44. First Sunday after Epiphany, Second Sermon Luke 2:41‑52.                

"But the Lord refutes this and says:  Go ye there and preach what does it matter if it is against you?  You will find there what I say.  We should now do likewise. Although the masses storm against the Gospel and there is no hope that they will be better, yet we must preach, there will yet be found those who listen and become converted."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, I,  p. 48. First Sunday in Advent Matthew 21:1‑9.              

"But here you come to the Word of God which is sure and infallible, where you shall certainly find Christ and the Holy Spirit, and can be and remain firmly fortified against sin, death, and the devil."        Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II, p. 51. First Sunday after Epiphany, Second Sermon Luke 2:41‑52.                  

"That the Holy Spirit works in the heart is true; nevertheless He intends ordinarily and usually to do so in no other way than through the spoken Word. St. Paul says that a man cannot believe unless he has previously heard (Romans 10:14)."

            Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II,  p. 664. Romans 10:14.                  

"Whoever comes to faith can only say that the Holy Spirit comes when and where and to whom He pleases at the time He pleases.  He comes when and where He pleases, and also gives a person as many gifts as He pleases."

            Martin Luther, What Luther Says, An Anthology, 3 vols., ed., Ewald Plass, St. Louis:  Concordia Publishing House, 1959, II,  p. 665.  

"Indeed, because its course is contrary to reason, sense and thought, the world regards the doctrine as pure folly and delusion, and condemns and persecutes all who adhere to it and are unwilling to follow the world's own opinion."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 67. Second Sunday after Easter John 10:11‑16.                

"The worse of all is, that we must not only suffer shame, persecution and death; but that the world rejoices because of our great loss and misfortunes. This is indeed very hard and bitter.  Sure it shall thus come to pass, for the world will rejoice when it goes ill with us; but this comfort we have that their joy shall not last long, and our sorrow shall be turned into eternal joy."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, III,  p. 80. Second Sunday after Easter John 10:11‑16.              

"Hence everything here depends only upon this, that you rightly learn to look upon Christ according to the Word, and not according to your own thoughts and feelings, for human thoughts are frauds and lies, but His Word is true and cannot lie."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, IV,  p. 92. Third Sunday after Trinity, Second Sermon Luke 15:1‑10.                

"Now it is the consolation of Christians, and especially of preachers, to be sure and ponder well that when they present and preach Christ, that they must suffer persecution, and nothing can prevent it; and that it is a very good sign of the preaching being truly Christian, when they are thus persecuted, especially by the great, the saintly, the learned and the wise."

            Martin Luther, Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids:  Baker Book House, 1983, II,  p. 97. Fourth Sunday after Epiphany Matthew 8:23‑27.  

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - Weedon accepts call to LCMS Worship, IC chaplaincy post

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - Weedon accepts call to LCMS Worship, IC chaplaincy post:

Weedon accepts call to LCMS Worship, IC chaplaincy post

The Rev. William C. Weedon of Worden, Ill., has accepted the call to serve as the Synod's director of Worship and International Center (IC) chaplain.

He will join the staff at the IC May 1. His installation is planned for May 7 at 10 a.m. in the IC chapel.

Weedon, 51, has been pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church, Hamel, Ill. -- just northeast of the metropolitan St. Louis area -- since 1992.

In his new position with the Synod's Office of National Mission (ONM) as the director of Worship, he will report to ONM Executive Director Rev. Bart Day. As IC chaplain, he will report to the Office of the President. 

In his director of Worship role, Weedon will be responsible for proposing and creating programs that will carry out the purposes and aims of the Synod in matters of worship. As IC chaplain, he will work with the President's Office in planning and supervising all chapel services at the IC and Lutheran Church Extension Fund (LCEF), as well as rendering informal chaplaincy and counseling services to employees as requested.

'via Blog this'

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GJ - I am trying to figure this out. The Purple Palace is a congregation that issues calls to hire a Word and Sacrament pastor?


What Would Walther Say? 


SP Harrison accepted a token call to one a wealth surburb, to play to the Walther crowd.


And yet Paul McCain poses as a pastor, wearing an Oreo clergy collar and DP pectoral cross, even though he has been without a call for 20 years.


Why did Harrison not hand McCain the court chaplaincy job, to keep Paul away from the Internet for a few minutes each day?

Sharing secrets of the Harrison-McCain diet.

St. Patrick's Day at Martin Luther College of Booze

Febreze has left a new comment on your post "St. Patrick's Breastplate - The Hymn or Prayer Att...":

I hate to judge one's actions but I think my following comment is a reflection of some MLC student's actions:

St. Patrick's Day. I doubt many MLC students even know what this day entails. Yet this weekend they are most likely out getting drunk and partying like pagans. Is this supposed to be a reflection of those "serious about ministry?" Should those students studying for the Biblical ministry, which they adhere to, be thrown into the same basket as pagans? It is happening with every COS/DEX. There is more secularization happening. Do they not take Scripture seriously when it states to "not be unequally yoked with unbelievers?" Do they not take Scripture seriously when it says to not be cast into drunkenness? Yet this happens with every COS/DEX. This even happens on weekends when these events aren't hosted by the pastoral or educational Ministry.

I find it most disturbing when COS/DEX at MLC hosts these drunken parties in the same context of pagan ritual drunkenness. If anything they should be in chapel thanking the Father, through Christ, for St. Patrick. This is all but forgotten in today's society. And if it's forgotten in today's society than we can be certain it's forgotten in WELS' society. Where has the 3rd use of the Law gone? Where has brother correcting brother gone? These sons and daughters of Christ are running rampant in MLC campus. Those who are studying for the Ministry are running rampant with drunkenness and sin. It's more than original sin...it's willful sin on a repeated occasion. But they will be promoted and defended because they show a fake "zeal" for the Gospel -- whether or not their willful sins show otherwise.

MLC students: rethink the Ministry. Are you serious? Read Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. Are you serious? Repent and receive the remission of sins. Go forth and continue study in this renewed Light. But don't, by all means, continue this study with willful sins.

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GJ - There is a strange concept of hedonism being proof that one is not a Pietist. Although no sect is more Pietistic than WELS, this term is always tossed around.

Alcohol addiction is slow to develop. It can take 20 years to become a physical addiction. WELS clergy DUI accidents are not rare, not even among the faculty. What an example - an alcoholic serves liquor at the WELS worship conference - real cute until some innocent people are turned into tiger meat.

A WELS member created this graphic,
to go with this video, still published on Facebook.
What would Hochmuth say?

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Febreze has left a new comment on your post "St. Patrick's Day at Martin Luther College of Booz...":

Lol, in regards to the VP graphic. He (Schone) is a joke. Wandering around in his Hawaiian shirt and promoting Beckerism ad nauseam. Things will not change at that school as long as the faculty stands in line with the philosophy of education (UOJ or excommunication (hell), women in the Ministry, no adherence to the Book of Concord, etc.) Once they actually came around with a somewhat decent chapel they ruin it with their Mars Hill philosophy -- adding a $40,000 projector screen (with one more coming once they get the money I hear).

When I attended that school (within the past year) I heard from students that they "didn't give **** about the Book of Concord." (yes, that's an actual quote ya'll) "I don't care about that...just Scripture." My inside response is, "Okay, go to your nearest non-denominational church then." This is what is being taught there folks. These people come out of there with no idea about what the Lutheran confessions are. The most they come out of there with is a vague Biblical overview. With this overview they have an interpretation of Scripture that imitates the sects in order to bring in more money, I mean, I'm sorry -- more people. It's not going to change unless the faculty is thrown out and a confessional one is brought in. And if there are confessionals there...then why aren't they standing up? The silence means acceptance. God knows what's happening on the seminary level. Oh wait, Ichabod has cited that extensively...

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "St. Patrick's Day at Martin Luther College of Booz...":

WELS identify People as Giving Units.

Link to the Vehse Account of the Saxon Migration to Perry County, Missouri

Carl Vehse, attorney, defended Martin Stephan in court,
yet went along with the Saxon migration.

Walther set a record for kidnapping - his niece and nephew,
then the removal at gunpoint of the bishop he swore in writing to support.

This is where you can download a free version of the Vehse book.

I suggest two other books to provide more perspective: Philip Stephan, In Pursuit of Religious Freedom. Forster, Zion on the Mississippi.

The Suelflow book is good to fill in dates and details - Servant of the Word. This is a prime example of uncritical hagiography, almost as funny as The Glories of Mary.

Someone asked me yesterday, "Has this information been known all along?"

Vehse and Forster covered most of the scandals long ago. The P. Stephan book is good for details about Stephan's syphilis - all the facts without the obvious conclusion.

My used copy came from the Buenger (kidnapping)
and Stellhorn (who left Missouri) families.

Forster makes it clear that Stephan was a serial adulterer, that everyone knew in Europe. Kidnapping the children from the grandfather's parsonage - that was known. All these things have been documented and known, but spun as the Great Walther rescuing the Perry County group from the evil Martin Stephan.

Apparently there is even a hysterical historical marker in Missouri, naming Walther as the Great Walther and Stephan as the False Teacher. Who followed the false teacher and carried out his commands? CFW!

The clergy constantly lie about the Stephan/Walther drama, just as they do about UOJ. They are so frightened of the truth coming out that they try their best to silence anyone who knows. That does not just include misanthropes like Paul McCain, Jack Cascione, and Herman Otten, but also the Synod Presidents.

Nothing is going to happen until the laity wake up and do their own studies. I know that is happening here and there. The laymen are donating hundreds of millions to promote false doctrine, to prop up the lies, to cover up the scandals, and to promote the clergy criminals.

I think it is clever how the UOJ Stormtroopers warn everyone away from those who saw through their false doctrine. Stellhorn was one of their own. They do not say much about that.

If one guy created an enormous row over not getting a job at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis - certainly a slanderous accusation - then why did Stellhorn leave Missouri and write an enormous book called The Error of Missouri?

19. Birth of the Perpetual Fundraising Industry «:

19. Birth of the Perpetual Fundraising Industry

BY GAYLE SULIK, ON OCTOBER 20TH, 2011

On the first day of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month (2010) GoComics published the comic strip Non Sequiter by Wiley Miller. It explains the “Birth of the Perpetual Fundraising Industry.” When approached by a dragonslayer, the dragon offers a rational explanation as to why sparing its life would be a win-win proposition. The dragon says:

“Look. You’re dead if you lose and out of a job if you win. So what I propose is a win-win that can be summed up in 3 words…Dragon-Slaying Research.”

'via Blog this'

St. Patrick's Breastplate - The Hymn or Prayer Attributed to the Saint

The symbol of the Trinity was drawn by Norma Boeckler.

I bind unto myself today
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three.

I bind this day to me forever,
By power of faith, Christ’s incarnation,
His baptism in the Jordan River,
His cross of death for my salvation,
His bursting from the spiced tomb,
His riding up the heavenly way,
His coming at the day of doom,
I bind unto myself today.

I bind unto myself today
The virtues of the starlit heaven,
The glorious sun’s life giving ray,
The whiteness of the moon at even,
The flashing of the lightning free,
The whirling wind’s tempestuous shocks,
The stable earth, the deep salt sea,
Around the old eternal rocks.

I bind unto myself today
The power of God to hold and lead,
His eye to watch, his might to stay,
His ear to hearken to my need,
The wisdom of my god to teach,
His hand to guide, his shield to ward,
The Word of God to give me speech,
His heavenly host to be my guard.

I bind unto myself the name,
The strong name of the Trinity
By invocation of the same,
The Three in One and One in Three,
Of whom all nature has creation,
Eternal Father, Spirit, Word.
Praise to the Lord of my salvation;
Salvation is of Christ the Lord!

Hymn # 172 from Lutheran Worship
Author: Irish
Tune: St. Patrick’s Breastplate
1st Published in: 1774

Lake George pastor’s bail set at $1 million in sex case | Bemidji Pioneer | Bemidji, Minnesota

Darwin Frederick Schauer

The former pastor of a small Lutheran church in northern Minnesota has been jailed on charges that he regularly had sex with a teenage girl over whom he was in a position of authority.

The Rev. Darwin Frederick Schauer, 70, who led the congregation of Trinity Lutheran Church of Lake George from 1998 until about 2006, was being held in the Hubbard County jail in lieu of $1 million bail or $750,000.

Schauer was charged last week with 15 counts of felony criminal sexual conduct with a minor teenage girl. The girl told police Schauer had sex with her twice a week from the spring of 2009 until late last month, according to a criminal complaint filed in Hubbard County District Court.

The girl told investigators that she was afraid Schauer would hurt her if she didn't comply. District Judge Robert Tiffany appointed a public defender, who did not respond to a request for comment.

Schauer's next court appearance was set for March 19. The church issued a statement saying, "Our hearts and prayers go out to the young victim of these horrific acts." ---

Lake George pastor’s bail set at $1 million in sex case | Bemidji Pioneer | Bemidji, Minnesota:


Unconditional bond in the amount of $1 million has been set in the case of a former Lake George pastor facing 15 counts of criminal sexual conduct with a teenager.

Darwin Frederick Schauer, 70, the longtime pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church of Lake George, MN, was arraigned Wednesday on the charges in Hubbard County District Court. He served in Lake George from 1998, when the church merged with Immanuel in Cass Lake, until about six years ago.

The conduct, including sexual intercourse, is alleged to have begun in 2009, after he left Trinity, according to the criminal complaint. Schauer currently resides in Laporte.

Schauer is charged with six counts of first degree criminal sexual conduct, each punishable by a maximum of 30 years in jail and/or a $40,000 fine; two counts of second degree criminal sexual conduct, each carrying a maximum of 25 yeas and/or a $30,000 fine and seven counts of third degree criminal sexual conduct. Those charges are each punishable by a maximum of 15 years in jail and/or a $30,000 fine upon conviction.

Judge Robert Tiffany set conditional bail at $750,000 with the conditions that Schauer surrender his passport, have weekly contact with a probation officer, remain law-abiding and not contact the victim.

Schauer was appointed a public defender at Wednesday’s appearance. His next appearance is set for March 19.

A call to the church office had not been returned by Thursday afternoon.

The arrest came after a complaint was filed with the Hubbard County Sheriff’s office March 4.


'via Blog this'

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GJ - In WELS and the ELS this would be filed under - "Future Church Growth Consultant and Youth Leader. Check for rich friends." They would build a church in his honor and exterminate anyone who found out the truth.

Someone requested that this story be posted.

Studying Charities and Foundations

Emanuel Swedenborg was an interesting character,
perhaps the first environmentalist.
This graphic is as useful as many of the IRS forms,
but some of them - WOW!

How does one find charitable tax returns, loaded with information? Long ago I signed up for Guidestar.org, free at my level of use.

This is where I found the IRS forms, 2008-10, for Marvin Schwan's Foundation.

This is WELS Lutherans for Life, aka Christian Life Resources.

There is also a Metro Milwaukee version, with another $374,000 of income.

You will notice that organizations started years ago with Lutheran names, then became generic. Christian News was incorporated as Lutheran News, Inc. Here are Herman Otten's IRS forms.

Here is one of many forms (identical?) for WELS Kingdom Workers, about $3 million in income. All the grants are listed by name, although the location is the same building, near The Love Shack. I am only guessing this - the local chapters parcel out the loot, which is considerable in some cases. Twin Cities - $1.5 million, prit-near. In other words, a few people control a lot of money.

WELS Kingdom Workers has a ton of forms, various amounts of income and many listed as zero income.

The Salem Lutheran Foundation (George Skestos) is listed.

Lutheran News aka Christian News is here.

I suggest creating a user name and password, to look around at where millions of dollars are going.

If you have a favorite search tool, send a comment and I will upgrade it to the main post. Thanks.

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bruce-church (http://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Lazy Pastors Do Not Study, Do Not Visit, Do Not Pr...":

Guidestar has a free registration feature like Charity Navigator does. It allows one to see the latest IRS 990 Forms.

Guidestar doesn't really rate the charity using a star system like Charity Navigator does, nor does it really indicate whether it follows good NPO practices, but only gives "tools" to compare NPOs so the user can come to his or her own conclusions. By contrast, Charity Navigator has everything Guidestar lacks, and does everything Guidestar doesn't do, i.e., it actually rates the charities, and even shows all this at the free registration level. It seems Guidestar, even at the premium level, is just an informational database. Nevertheless, Christian Life Resources has shied away from giving either GuideStar or Charity Navigator complete and up-to-date information about itself:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=9509
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http://www.guidestar.org/rxg/analyze-nonprofit-data/index.aspx

Nonprofit Intelligence
If you're doing a quick search or need only a little information, use our basic search, available at no cost to all users.

Foxes Have Holes - No Mansions - But the Son of Man Has No Place To Lay His Head

According to the WELS directory, Robert Fleischmann lives at 5503 Beechwood Court.

Robert Fleischmann is another WELS pastor
whose large living is justified by
not serving a congregation.

Zillow estimates its value at $331,000 - a single family home on 1.8 acres. His home is near the spiffy new building in Richfield, Wisconsin.

Fleischmann's Sausage Factory class
was rich in Church Shrinkage leaders - Olson, Krause, Free, Birkholz, Pieper,
and look at how well they have done for themselves!

Support Your CEO

But it's for the babies.
All those beautiful offices - for the little ones.
Could this job be done from a small parish? Yes.

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Lazy Pastors Do Not Study, Do Not Visit, Do Not Pr...":

Part 1 of 2:

Charity Navigator says that out of every donation dollar, 8 cents goes to pay the CEO's salary which is $87,490. And while Fleischmann is raking in that grand salary, guess what!--the Christian Life Resources (CLR) charity is racking up a huge debt, and is a half million bucks in the hole, probably because they just moved to a very nice location in a brand new building in July 2008 right when the Great Recession started:

CLR location, front streetview: http://g.co/maps/d4wvh

Side view: http://g.co/maps/qz6qq

About Us - Our Office
http://www.christianliferesources.com/about-us.html

Charity Navigator gave Christian Life Resources one star! Also, if you register for free, you can compare similar charities as given in a list. I compared all four similar charities to CLR, and all four had net assets in the black, and only CLR was in the red.

Two charities had five stars and two had three stars for their overall rating, while CLR had one star, as noted above. Only 6% of all charities received a "Poor" one-star rating, and only 1% were rated worse and denied even a star.

If you thought charitably that CEO salary maybe led CLR to have a low rating, you're wrong. CEO compensation doesn't count in the star rating, and is only provided in the interest of full disclosure. Even in 2005 CLR had a one star rating.

bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Lazy Pastors Do Not Study, Do Not Visit, Do Not Pr...":

Part 2 of 2:

Of the five compared charities, 3 had given Charity Navigator their Form 990 FYE for 2010, but CLR and one other charity has only their 2009 form in, according to Charity Navigator. This other charity watch site indicates that CLR hasn't filed a 2010 990 Form yet, to their knowledge:

http://seriousgivers.org/find-a-charity/

Here's the 2009 990 return for CLR:

http://dynamodata.fdncenter.org/990_pdf_archive/391/391601307/391601307_200912_990.pdf

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=484#118

6% received a one-star rating and only 1% received zero stars.

Here's what one star (*) out of five means:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm/bay/content.view/catid/2/cpid/43.htm

* Poor Fails to meet industry standards and performs well below most charities in its Cause.

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=484#119

Why is the CEO's salary greater than the amount the charity spends on administrative expenses?

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GJ - Don't forget the Gift Store. Yes, a business hiding in a charity.

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bruce-church (https://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Lazy Pastors Do Not Study, Do Not Visit, Do Not Pr...":

Robert Flieschmann seems to live in this nice wooded court with palatial houses:

Satellite view:

Beechwood Ct, Hartford, WI
http://g.co/maps/6dexh

Nearest streetview of neighborhood:
http://g.co/maps/c66uu

Robert R Fleischmann Jr:
http://www.whitepages.com/name/Robert-Fleischmann/Wisconsin 

---

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=9509

bruce-church (http://bruce-church.myopenid.com/) has left a new comment on your post "Lazy Pastors Do Not Study, Do Not Visit, Do Not Pr...":

Guidestar has a free registration feature like Charity Navigator does. It allows one to see the latest IRS 990 Forms.

Guidestar doesn't really rate the charity using a star system like Charity Navigator does, nor does it really indicate whether it follows good NPO practices, but only gives "tools" to compare NPOs so the user can come to his or her own conclusions. By contrast, Charity Navigator has everything Guidestar lacks, and does everything Guidestar doesn't do, i.e., it actually rates the charities, and even shows all this at the free registration level. It seems Guidestar, even at the premium level, is just an informational database. Nevertheless, Christian Life Resources has shied away from giving either GuideStar or Charity Navigator complete and up-to-date information about itself:

http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=search.summary&orgid=9509

-------------

http://www.guidestar.org/rxg/analyze-nonprofit-data/index.aspx

Nonprofit Intelligence
If you're doing a quick search or need only a little information, use our basic search, available at no cost to all users.

As this blog turns three — my thanks! « Churchmouse Campanologist

As this blog turns three — my thanks! « Churchmouse Campanologist:


Churchmouse Campanologist celebrates its third anniversary on March 17, 2012.

As I celebrate this occasion, please accept my thanks for reading, referring, subscribing and commenting!

Your visits have given me much pleasure as we have commiserated, debated and empathised with each other over not just matters ecclesiastical but socio-political as well.

My readers are a broad church — Anglicans, Lutherans, Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Baptists, Reformed, Evangelicals and secularists.  This is precisely what I had hoped for from the beginning in 2009. Thank you for helping me realise this objective!

Geographically, my largest number of visits are from the US: California (4,700+), Texas (2,900+), Florida (1,900+), New York (nearly 1,900) and Georgia (1,600+). Then comes the UK, with 7,500+ visits, followed by Canada (2,700+), Australia (1,900+) and the Philippines (1,200+). Incidentally, Vatican City has made 62 visits, up from 39 last year.

Thank you also to those who have translated my posts into Spanish, Portuguese, French, Hebrew, Russian, Indonesian, Danish and Arabic.

Special thanks go to my regular referrers, particularly to two clergymen (Lutheran and Anglican) whose perspectives are highly valued, but also to Linda Kimball and Dick Puddlecote — two diametrically-opposed blogs but with some common talking points.


'via Blog this'

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GJ - ChurchMouse has been one of my favorite blogs - ever since I found it. I also enjoy emails from the author. I appreciate his research done on various topics.

I could discuss the Christian faith with one person at Notre Dame, an Episcopalian priest. He made me interested in his denomination and the forces dividing it. At that time, the LCA and the Episcopalian Church were the same size, about 3 million members. Now they are rushing down the same road to perdition together.

Many Episcopalian leaders here have articulated a message that Lutherans fail to offer, one which declares gay advocacy anathema to historic Christianity.

The Odd Couple - Mark Hanson and Mrs. Schori.

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Kenyan Archbishop and Episcopal Presiding Bishop Clash over Lenten Message. "Sell the Millenium Goals!"

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - Kenyan Archbishop and Episcopal Presiding Bishop Clash over Lenten Message:


Kenyan Archbishop Eliud Wabukala has issued a strong rebuke to US Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's understanding of Lent.

The Presiding Bishop has called on Episcopalians to focus on the Millennium Development Goals for Lent 2012. "I invite you to use the Millennium Development Goals as your focus for Lenten study and discipline and prayer and fasting this year. I'm going to remind you that the Millennium Development Goals are about healing the worst of the world's hunger. They're about seeing that all children get access to primary education. They're about empowering women. They're about attending to issues of maternal health and child mortality. They're about attending to issues of communicable disease like AIDS and malaria and tuberculosis. They're about environmentally sustainable development, seeing that people have access to clean water and sanitation and that the conditions in slums are alleviated. And finally, they are about aid, foreign aid. They're about trade relationships, and they're about building partnerships for sustainable development in this world. The Millennium Development Goals are truly reflective of several of the Five Marks of Mission."

Archbishop Wabukala took issue with the Presiding Bishop saying the Millennium Development Goals have grown out of a secularized Western culture that is pushing Christianity to the margins and using the language of human rights and equality to promote irresponsibility in social life and diminish personal responsibility.

What the Bible says, more often than anything else, is to tend to the needs of the widows and orphans, those without. Jesus himself says, "Care for the least of these." I invite you to consider your alms-giving discipline this Lent and remember those in the developing world who go without, said Jefferts Schori.

In his pastoral letter, the archbishop said his mission, as the Anglican Church of Kenya, is "to equip God's people to transform society with the gospel. This is an holistic transformation much deeper and more lasting than any government or international agency can bring because it addresses our deepest need, that of a restored relationship with the God in whose image we are made and whose workmanship we are."


'via Blog this'

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - ABC RESIGNS: It is the end of an embarrassing tenure of failed leadership

Rowan Williams, Lavender Mafia

 

VirtueOnline - News - Exclusives - ABC RESIGNS: It is the end of an embarrassing tenure of failed leadership:


From the moment he took office, Dr. Rowan Williams' tenure as Archbishop of Canterbury was marked by uncertainty, controversy and unacceptable compromises to global orthodox Anglicans.

When his book The Body's Grace revealed his stand on homosexuality, evangelical Anglicans in the Global South and West were unhappy. They immediately distanced themselves from his remarks despite his promise that his private views would not interfere or override the Anglican Communion's public position on such unbiblical, proscribed behavior.

For almost a decade it has been a rocky, quarrelsome road for Dr. Williams, culminating in one third of his archbishops and bishops failing to show up at Lambeth 2008. A third of his African, Southern Cone and Asian bishops failed to show up in Dublin last year when the world's Anglican Archbishops met. It was billed as a "crisis summit". As the majority of orthodox Anglican Primates failed to show, it was not a summit and a crisis was averted.

Middle East Archbishop Mouneer Anis, a no show Primate, said the meeting had been "cooked and precooked" with no outcome that was not already a forgone conclusion. Decisions made at previous primates' meetings were not acted upon and orthodox primates no longer allowed Dr. Rowan Williams to play shuttle diplomacy between the two groups, both of whom have very different gospels. The "big issues" were quickly swept under the carpet.

Prophetically true.

In Dromantine in 2005, Williams faced excoriation from both sides. He was accused of being weak and ineffectual by then US Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold for not standing up to Nigerian Primate Peter Akinola over homosexuality, while the Global South Primates continued their distancing from Dr. Williams. Relationships became so estranged that the Primates would not take Eucharist together.

Over the years whenever the words "Anglican Communion" appeared, the press immediately followed it with words like "embattled", "crisis" or "schism". It became an all too familiar theme.

Such public embarrassments have only been heightened with the pending consecration of women bishops in the Church of England, (even though there are women bishops in the US and Canada) and an Anglican Covenant, which is striking out across the globe in one Anglican province after another. US Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori is on record as saying that it is "past its shelf life."

Williams has invested much personal authority in these issues, but has suffered embarrassment in both.

He put forward a compromise on women bishops to staunch the flow of Anglo-Catholics out of the Church of England and to keep traditionalists from taking up an offer of a personal Ordinariate from Pope Benedict to convert to the Roman Catholic Church.

His compromise on women bishops is doomed to fail as the synod will vote for women bishops after the dioceses and parishes, overwhelmingly said "yes". Traditionalists feel betrayed.

The Covenant too, seems headed for a fall. Church of England dioceses are at the moment voting on the Covenant, an initiative put forward by Williams in an attempt to prevent disputes between churches in North America and Africa over homosexual bishops and same-sex unions. But dioceses look set to vote it down.

Williams has warned that the Anglican Communion faces a "piece-by-piece dissolution" if member churches fail to avoid actions that upset others. Many believe that his failure to act or to offer a definitive word on pressing moral issues has contributed to the dissolution.

Williams gave no reason for his stepping down, but his tenure has come during some of the church's most turbulent times. In Sept. of 2011, it was reported in the Telegraph that Williams would step down before the year's end. He will continue to carry out all the duties and responsibilities of the Archbishop of Canterbury, both for the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, until the end of the year.

Dr. Williams' long struggle to prevent a schism over women and gay bishops and same-sex unions has been a high wire act that has no resolution. Orthodox Anglicans in the West and the vast majority of the Global South are deeply entrenched in Scripture's prohibition of any form of sexual expression outside of marriage between a man and a woman, while Western liberal provinces embrace pansexuality with first a homosexual and then a lesbian bishop consecrated in The Episcopal Church.

Williams believed he could not discipline The Episcopal Church, but hoped that Section IV of the Covenant might offer a way forward with those provinces who stepped over the line. However Williams was more anxious and concerned about what he perceived were cross-border violations than he was about human sexual behavior.

Another factor that undoubtedly figured in his resignation is the rise of the Global South and the formation of GAFCON and Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans (FCA) along with the Jerusalem Declaration. This declaration signaled a whole new reality for the Anglican Communion and came just weeks before the 2008 Lambeth Conference. These Anglican leaders representing a clear majority of the world's practicing Anglicans addressed the crisis gripping the Anglican Communion over scriptural authority. It called for the creation of a new council of primates overseeing a volunteer fellowship committed to mission and biblical Anglicanism as well as a new structure of accountability based on the Jerusalem Declaration. It also signaled the move of most of the world's practicing Anglicans into a post-colonial reality, where the Archbishop of Canterbury is recognized for his historic role, but not as the only arbiter of what it means to be Anglican.

That was a slap in the face and a humiliating moment for Williams who no doubt saw it as a schismatic statement that he could not control and a further diminishment of his authority as the Communion's titular head.

Next month the six Anglican archbishops who form GAFCON's primates' council will meet in London to continue talks on the deteriorating situation in the Anglican Communion. They will meet with FCA leaders and turn up the heat on Dr. Williams.

Restive Evangelicals are also making it difficult for Williams to remain in office. The recent formation of the Anglican Mission in England (AMIE) - a new mission initiative to revive Anglicanism in England - must have seemed like another peg in the new tent of Anglicanism that Williams could not control even though AMIE's leaders said they intended to remain within the Church of England.

Now, at the age of 61, some nine years before he needed to have officially retired, he is taking an appointment as Master of Magdalene College, a medieval appointment that is largely ceremonial. He previously taught theology at Cambridge and Oxford universities. Magdalene founded in 1428 remains, despite a 20th-century expansion, one of the smaller colleges within Cambridge University, numbering some 300 undergraduates.

"It has been an immense privilege to serve as Archbishop of Canterbury over the past decade, and moving on has not been an easy decision," he said in a statement. Maybe, but one should not be fooled into believing that by staying he held a winning card hand. He didn't. There was no ace up his sleeve. He faced opprobrium from people like Colin Coward and Changing Attitude every time he prevaricated over homosexuality, and the liberal broad sheets in the UK ripped him apart for his repeated waffling. He got no relief from Akinola's successor, Archbishop Nicholas Okoh who seems to be a clone of the former Nigerian Archbishop and just as steadfast on human sexuality issues.

The bookmakers' favorite to replace him is the Church of England's second most senior cleric, the Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, though there are some who are against his outspoken views at a sensitive time for the church. Another in the running is the Bishop of London, Richard Chartres, a friend of Prince Charles. But his chances may have suffered over St Paul's Cathedral's botched handling of a four-month camp by the anti-capitalist movement Occupy London on its doorstep. A VOL reader in London believes the choice will be a total outsider, though he will lack the necessary gravitas for the job and have very little international standing. If he is a liberal, it will only ratchet up the continuing and ongoing realignment now firmly underway. If he is an evangelical, he will need a spine of steel to stand up to the Country's growing and very strident homosexual and Islamist lobby especially in the Church of England.

Either way, the Church of England and the Anglican Communion will continue in turmoil if clear stands are not taken on pressing moral and theological issues. The truth is there may be no stopping the decline.

Whichever way it goes one thing is certain, there will be no stopping the rise of the Global South with its millions of evangelical Anglicans and the slow but inevitable death of Western Anglicanism if it does not repent of its sin. And that it would seem, is not going to happen.


American Anglican Council spokesman Canon Phil Ashey talks about the resignation of Dr. Williams. You can view it here - Anglican Perspective: Canterbury to Resign http://www.americananglican.org/anglican-perspective-canterbury-to-resign


'via Blog this'

Lazy Pastors Do Not Study, Do Not Visit, Do Not Preach

I marvel at how little the full-time ministers do. They must be like the royalty in Europe, who are always exhausted from the latest party, the most recent vacation.

The pastors have to study the Word in order to preach, so many of them plagiarize their sermons and skip the studying part (which they imagine is boring).

They do very little visiting.

Those are the three components of a healthy congregation. I gave that away without charging a consulting fee.

WELS had two "consultants" in Columbus, both divorced. They did their best to wreck the congregations.

Everyone wants to be a boss and earn the big money. WELS Lutherans for Life has a generic name, to make more money. Their payroll in 2010 was about $350,000, and they listed assets of $500,000. Few pastors make as much money as Bob Fleischmann (divorced and remarried). His Christian Life Resources gathers in $1 million a year, so he goes around raising money from congregations that will never see that kind of annual budget, from pastors who actually do Means of Grace work.

$1.3 million income for his generic charity.

Salaries used to be listed in the IRS forms, but they are not in the 2010 report for Fleischmann. His was quite hefty many years ago.

Thoughts on the Latte Church - In Song

rlschultz has left a new comment on your post "Closed Latte Church Fan Shows Signs of Over-Caffei...":

"I really thought Elton Stroh would turn them around. He is the turnaround specialist."
My apologies to the Ichabodians and to Johnny Lang. Here are the lyrics to his blues song "Turn Around":

I was a young man in a hurry
I didn't stop to think
The next thing I knew I was in trouble - deep trouble
Then I remember what aunt Linda used to tell me back in the day
The words that she said are still in my head, she said,

The choices you make might be mistakes
But it's never too late to turn around, turn around
The road that you take might lead you astray
But don't be afraid to turn around, turn around

I knew a young man named Charlie,
He went and lost his way
Now he's in prison, cold prison
No chance to escape
They gave him new clothes and a Bible, and the Word he did read
Now the four walls can't keep him 'cause Charlie is free

The choices you make might be mistakes
But it's never too late to turn around, turn around
The road that you take might lead you astray
But don't be afraid to turn around, turn around.

You might be in trouble
You might be running
But it's never too late to turn around
'cause as long as you're still breathing
There'll always be enough time
To make the right decision before you die, because

The choices you make might be mistakes
But it's never too late to turn around, turn around
The road that you take might lead you astray
But don't be afraid to turn around, turn around.

I looked up the Schwan figures, giving in 2010 - pretty thin,
all the way around.
Bethany Lutheran College got the most, given its size, $2.5 million -
the typical debt of a graduating student.
The LCMS got $3 million.
Thrivent gave Missouri $50 to 60 million the same year.

From Caleb

In fact the WELS fits the “cult and control” model complete with its financial planning

way back in the late 70’s and 80’s My ex pastor told another pastor who was removed for not growing the church fast enough, that the congregational giving was no longer going to be the main resource of the synod, that the synodical approach was to secure the majority of their funding from corporations and foundations so they could “cut to the chase” and get accomplished what that oligarchical theocracy wanted to get accomplished without the bother of the bureaucracy and encumbrances of the laity.

In my opinion, Pietism was Christianity’s concession to rationalism.  It opened the door to the lazy man’s priesthood.  Talking feelings instead of the means of Grace is much easier to implement and use as a tool of control in doctrine and practice than living the means of Grace which demands constant shepherding of individual souls) in a specific congregation-hence no confession or self-examination before the Lords Supper, no periodic visitations to a members family ect ad infinutum.  

It opened the door to the new Papacy that demands that doctrine and practice come from the Lutheran Pope down to the sheep.—Lutheran ex cathedera?  (Walther’s shepherd/sheep sermon an oxymoron?)  They decided that apologetics are too tough and it hurts to engage in them, so let’s go the “touchy feely” route;--much easier to the invite the cultures sin into the closed door of the divine service than to deal with the sins of the culture.

In a sense, the formula for the declining declension of Lutheran Orthodoxy goes like this.

1.       Publish the myth to gain legitimacy and make it a montra.   UOJ and Priesthood of all believers (roughly translated as doing all the dirty work the pastor doesn’t want to do).

2.       Diminish the means of Grace to a mere “ordinance” while…..

3.       Accelerating substitutions for the means of grace;  rock music, entertainment, epicurean gluttony, charismatic inventions; all controlled through the priesthood (and they say the priest hood is not a sacrament

4.      Means of Grace back—seated, manmade conventions increased.

5.      Laity gets transformed  into the “new feudalism.” of the manmade slavery of the soul.

6.      Diminish all doctrinal precepts and run “loose like they are running loose.”

Closed Latte Church Fan Shows Signs of Over-Caffeination, Halucinations, And a Possible Psychotic Break

Shaking, sweating, rapid-fire speech, 

http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2012/03/closed-latte-church-fan-shows-signs-of.html


Anonymous said...
I know this comment doesn't fit under this thread but this is really too ironic not to mention. Mr. Jackson has detailed on his blog how great it is that the St. Andrew's Waunakee campus is closing and how it is evidence of God's judgement. ("God will not be mocked." by AC V) Mr. Jackson only gets 15 people from around the world to watch his service online. Yet he views a satellite campus ministering to a specific community with low attendance as evidence of God's judgement and a source of mockery. Which is it Mr. Jackson? Are numbers evidence of God's judgement or not?

I'm guessing your answer is the same as always. It's OK to do whatever you want as long as it fits your distorted view of God's Word.

I'm guessing it's too late for Mr. Jackson but hopefully some of his few followers will see what a danger it is to mock a ministry for a lack of growth.

March 15, 2012 3:48 PM

***

GJ - I enjoyed posting the Randy Hunter pages, before they disappear faster than a Glende blog or Kilcrease comment. This blog has a strange effect on other websites, making pages vanish faster than Rick Johnson's offering figures - not to mention his veneration of Leonard Sweet.

If I may repeat myself, the posts came from the urging of WELS members and pastors. They know they can deal with issues safely here. When they obey orders to talk to pastors about false doctrine and lupine practices, they are excommunicated. Ask the Kokomomo families, Rick Techlin, and the Krohn family.

Here are some self-justifications from the flop-sweat Church and Change team.

Look at the staff at the dual single parish:
Randy Hunter - Pastor
Kristen Koepsell - Minister of Worship
David Hochmuth - Minister of Spiritual Growth
Elton Stroh - Pastor/Crossroads Consulting
Newlin Schafer - Pastor

Five people could not do all the work! It was wearing them out:

• ordering the coffee and filters, 
• plumping up the couch cushions, 
• debating which false teacher to plagiarize for the next sermon,
• applying for more loot from Thrivent, Schwan, the synod, and the ladies' groups.

They did not bear their cross patiently.

Once again, I have to ask - how much money was wasted on the coffee and lounger fad before they took their initial group of 50 people down to 25?

I really thought Elton Stroh would turn them around. He is the turnaround specialist. He even posted what might happen (with his help), inventing charts that made blinded eyes sparkle and larcenous hearts thump.

Team Glende really misses the point. We began Internet services for members, at their request. It cost a donated $100 camera, available broadband, and a better computer.

I saw a figure at Ustream that thousands of views had been enjoyed already. I am not sure if that means all the people reading the files or all the views live. It does not matter, because we are still operating and not closing anything down. In fact, more publishing is already in the works.

The printed sermons are published many ways:

1. Two blogs.
2. Various Facebook pages.
3. Twitter.
4. Via email from members to their friends.
5. Printed and shared by members with others. 

A normal page-read day is about 2,000 for one blog alone. I do not think the Latte Church ever held 2,000+ households. The newsletter says 25 people at its inglorious end.

I am not sure what the other figures are. I hear from various people. One couple in Virginia uses the sermon each Sunday. They do not use Ustream, but they read the sermon along with other orthodox Lutheran material. I only know this because the Virginia couple wrote to me about this. They asked me to get the sermon done faster so it would be ready for them, Eastern Liberal Time.

But the numbers do not matter. This tiny congregation serves others without synod subsidies, Thrivent groups, or foundation loot.

Randy Hunter and his band of clowns were not faithful stewards of the mysteries of God. That matters.


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. 6 And these
things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes; that ye might learn in
us not to think of men above that which is written, that no one of you be puffed up for one against another.

One day Hunter may appreciate the irony of posting this on his congregational website.

---

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Closed Latte Church Fan Shows Signs of Over-Caffei...":

they took their initial group of 50 people down to 25

They probably counted the six-piece band, plus Hunter even though he was only a prerecorded apparition on a PP screen.

From the St. Andrew newsletter: "Could we have tried other strategies and done more? Of course, but that's true of all endeavors."

Not exactly a ringing endorsement for in-house Crossroads Consulting, is it?

---

AC V has left a new comment on your post "Closed Latte Church Fan Shows Signs of Over-Caffei...":

The mockery is of the hypocrisy of an organization such as Crossroads Consulting that promises "growth" and yet even it - an in-house ministry with the chief architect consultant Elton Stroh - can't save the Waunakee "ministry."

The mockery is of WELS FiCl that highlights this ministry as cutting edge and "outside the box" thinking that every fuddy-duddy WELS congregation ought to be doing.

---

LutherRocks has left a new comment on your post "Closed Latte Church Fan Shows Signs of Over-Caffei...":

I hope that's not his boat...

***

GJ - Old Northwestern College meme, "That's not a booooat. That's a ship."

No One Can Champion One Justification And Affirm Another Justification

False teachers grab onto one scrap of Scripture and create a new sect out of it. This Galatians text has been used to promote Antinomianism - the Law is obsolete.

Now that UOJ has received many body blows, the UOJ advocates are covering themselves with a new-found love for justification by faith.

In any language, no one can be declared innocent (the meaning of forensic justification) and  be declared innocent a second time. Nor does it even make sense that justification can be universally true (the heart of UOJ) and yet need another declaration to be really true.

The UOJ claim destroys the meaning of justification by faith, evidenced by the Stormtroopers' neglect of the Means of Grace and the efficacy of the Word. They are like the kid who loves chocolate and chewing gum, so he puts both in his mouth at once. The result is neither one. The gum and chocolate dissolve together into an unpleasant mess. (I did scientific research on this, long ago.)

The Stormtroopers neglect the efficacy of the Word and the Means of Grace because they must. If they considered the Biblical concepts with any seriousness, they would have to concede defeat.

One Requirement for Pastors and Synodical Leaders. Epic Fail Today in the Age of Apostasy

Christian News: Cascione's Magnus Opus. Another UOJ Lie

Jack Cascione in his element,
selling used cars.

Christian News: Cascione's Magnus Opus:


Cascione’s Magnus Opus
Christian News, March 12, 2012, Vol. 50, No. 11

In Search of the Biblical order-Patterns in the Text Affirming Divine Authorship from Revelation to Genesis by Pastor Jack Cascione is now on the press. It is his magnus opus, involving more than 25 years of study accumulating evidence. The computer which scholars did not have in the past has been a tremendous help to him. This issue (p. 16) of Christian News includes a pamphlet now being widely mailed from Redeemer Press, Box 99, Saint Clair Shores, Michigan 48080 announcing a pre-publication price of $14.95 for the book which lists for $19.95. The pre-publication offer expires March 30, 2012. The case price is $220 plus shipping and handling.


ABOUT THE COVER
Through a Dark Colored Glass—an original serigraph by the author—invites the viewer to peer through a dark, transparent geometric object symbolizing the dark-colored glass in 1Cor. 13:12. The Greek text may also translate to mean a dark riddle or enigmatic reflection, evoking a veiled vision of the future. The rising cubic form is backlit from the glow of divine negative space. Light emanates from behind and above, and illuminates a cross on top of a cord stained red with the blood of Christ, symbolizing release from the bondage of sin. The object, released from the cord, rises and is spreading apart, soon to reveal a clear view of the beatific vision that lies behind it and ahead of the viewer.


David P. Kuske, professor emeritus of New Testament Theology at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary Mequon, Wisconsin is the editor. The pamphlet announcing Pastor Cascione’s magnus opus includes favorable comments of the first edition of In Search of the Biblical Order made by Professor David Kuske, Dr. Waldemar Degner, Dr. Robert Preus, Dr. James Voelz, Pastor Paul Burgdorf, Dr. Phillip Giessler, Dr. Arthur Sekki, Dr. John Drickamer and Dr. Otto Stahlke. Excerpts of reviews from the New Second Edition are from Pastor Brock Abbott, Pastor Steven Flo, Pastor Herman Otten, Professor Anna Betz, Profesor Robert A. Dargatz, Pastor Rolf Preus and Martin Steffke, student.


Pastor Cascione has long championed the doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible and justification by faith alone.


The author delves into the mysteries of divine revelation, the shape of divine communication, the Biblical text as an art form, and his lifelong pursuit of the divine style. Based on the astonishing accuracy of Codex Leningradensis, he presents the most important internal evidence confirming the authenticity of Daniel, Genesis, and other books of the Old Testament since the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls. The author defends long-ignored textual evidence that Revelation teaches the same forensic Doctrine of Justification found in Romans, 2 Corinthians, and Galatians.


This new edition contains 320 pages in an 8 ½ x 11-inch format. It includes a new translation of the Book of Revelation, typeset in aesthetic pattern format, a list of works cited, 620 footnotes, a full index, 161 tables of examples, and quotes or references the Bible more than 4,000 times.



'via Blog this'

***

GJ - Unfortunately, Herman Otten has always listened to Jack Cascione, dubbed "Mad Jack" and "Greasy Jack" at Concordia Seminary, Ft. Wayne.

Cascione teaches against Luther's Biblical doctrine, in the name of the Great Kidnapper Walther. Cascione and Paul McCain are both examples of following the Walther model and repudiating Luther.

Those pastors seduced by UOJ are easily drawn into many other aspects of false doctrine. Cascione does NOT teach justification by faith alone.

Here is another imposter recently published by Otten on his blog. Gary Ray Branscomb's post seems to teach justification by faith--at first glance--but is ambiguous, as many of them are. Gary repeats many typical Waltherian talking points but denies infant baptism and infant faith in his other Internet writings, which are also  verbose and mediocre.

UOJ advocates use a lot of Biblical words while avoiding Biblical concepts. They cannot discuss the efficacy of the Word and the Means of Grace because they reject both.

Jesus Commanded Us To Feed the Sheep and Lambs, Not To Cuddle the Playboy Bunnies

Joel Osteen and his wife.
WELS Pastor James (Ski) Skorzewski and his Playboy bunny,
posted in his Facebook album.

John has left a new comment on your post "WELS and the ELS Have Already Collapsed":

Why would ANY pastor/congregation/church body place ANYTHING above the tending of the sheep and lambs of their flocks?

We've witnessed how pandering to the secular culture works out by the examples of folks like Bakker and Schuller. Stay tuned to witness the fall of the guy in southern Texas, with the nailed on smile.

***

GJ - When Joel Osteen was asked on TV about Jesus being the only way to salvation, he hesitated and avoided saying yes.

Ski and Glende place Craig Groeschel, Andy Stanley, and Mark Driscoll above Biblical, Lutheran doctrine. They deny the Means of Grace when they elevate the drumset as their altar while hiding the Sacraments.

But their fake blog does support SP Schroeder's "handling" of Joel Hochmuth's felony arrest.

Craig Groeschel and Andy Stanley fleece the shepherds,
team teaching.
Wolves work in packs and kill for fun.