Propers Plus for October 16

Eighteenth Sunday after Pentecost

As We Gather 

We give Thee but Thine own,

Whate’er the gift may be;

All that we have is Thine alone,

A trust, O Lord, from Thee.

May we Thy bounties thus

As stewards true receive

And gladly, as Thou blessest us,

To Thee our firstfruits give!

William W. How

Hymn ~ “God, Whose Almighty Word”.................................... LSB 979

PSALMODY                                         Psalm 96:1–9 (antiphon: v. 9a)

Worship | the Lord*

     in the splendor of | holiness.

Oh sing to the Lord a | new song;*

     sing to the Lord, | all the earth!

Sing to the Lord, | bless his name;*

     tell of his salvation from | day to day.

Declare his glory among the | nations,*

     his marvelous works among all the | peoples!

For great is the Lord, and greatly | to be praised;*

     he is to be feared a- | bove all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are worthless | idols,*

     but the Lord made the | heavens.

Splendor and majesty are be- | fore him;*

     strength and beauty are in his sanctu- | ary.

Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the | peoples,*

     ascribe to the Lord glo- | ry and strength!

Ascribe to the Lord the glory | due his name;*

     bring an offering, and come in- | to his courts!

Worship the Lord in the splendor of | holiness;*

     tremble before him, | all the earth!

Glory be to the Father and | to the Son*

     and to the Holy | Spirit;

as it was in the be- | ginning,*

     is now, and will be forever. | Amen.

Worship | the Lord*

     in the splendor of | holiness.

Reading from The Book of Concord

The Formula of Concord, The Epitome

Article III, The Righteousness of Faith Before God, 4.

We believe, teach, and confess that our righteousness before God is this: God forgives our sins out of pure grace, without any work, merit, or worthiness of ours preceding, present, or following.  He presents and credits to us the righteousness of Christ’s obedience [Romans 5:17-19].  Because of this righteousness, we are received into grace by God and regarded as righteous.

Old Testament Lesson                                     Isaiah 45:1–7

        ¹Thus says the Lord to his anointed, to Cyrus,

        whose right hand I have grasped,

      to subdue nations before him

        and to loose the belts of kings,

      to open doors before him

        that gates may not be closed:

        ²“I will go before you

        and level the exalted places,

      I will break in pieces the doors of bronze

        and cut through the bars of iron,

        ³I will give you the treasures of darkness

        and the hoards in secret places,

      that you may know that it is I, the Lord,

        the God of Israel, who call you by your name.

        ⁴For the sake of my servant Jacob,

        and Israel my chosen,

      I call you by your name,

        I name you, though you do not know me.

        ⁵I am the Lord, and there is no other,

        besides me there is no God;

        I equip you, though you do not know me,

        ⁶that people may know, from the rising of the sun

        and from the west, that there is none besides me;

        I am the Lord, and there is no other.

        ⁷I form light and create darkness,

        I make well-being and create calamity,

 I am the Lord, who does all these things.

Epistle Lesson                                  1 Thessalonians 1:1–10

¹Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy,

      To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:

      Grace to you and peace.

      ²We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, ³remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁴For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, ⁵because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. ⁶And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, ⁷so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. ⁸For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. ⁹For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, ¹⁰and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

Holy Gospel                                           Matthew 22:15–22

¹⁵Then the Pharisees went and plotted how to entangle [Jesus] in his talk. ¹⁶And they sent their disciples to him, along with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true and teach the way of God truthfully, and you do not care about anyone’s opinion, for you are not swayed by appearances. ¹⁷Tell us, then, what you think. Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” ¹⁸But Jesus, aware of their malice, said, “Why put me to the test, you hypocrites? ¹⁹Show me the coin for the tax.” And they brought him a denarius. ²⁰And Jesus said to them, “Whose likeness and inscription is this?” ²¹They said, “Caesar’s.” Then he said to them, “Therefore render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” ²²When they heard it, they marveled. And they left him and went away.

Hymn ~ “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name”............................ LSB 940

Collect of the Day

O God, the protector of all who trust in You, have mercy on us that with You as our ruler and guide we may so pass through things temporal that we lose not the things eternal; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Recessional ~ “Lord, Dismiss Us with Your Blessing”.... LSB 924

      

Presentation on Isaiah 25:6–9, Old Testament Lesson for Sunday, October 9, 2011

Isaiah 25:6–9 Proper 23 (Year A)
Click for view of a the presentation


Some notes from The Lutheran Study Bible, Concordia Self-Study Commentary, Concordia Self-Study Bible. Texts generally from ESV.

Propers Plus for October 9, 2011

Each week I make choices for the service beyond the propers.  This week I am going to share them calling them "Propers Plus."

Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost 

As We Gather 

It can be difficult to rejoice when the outlook is bleak and unpromising. The Apostle Paul experienced many difficult times but he had confidence in God who controls our future.  Therefore he was able to advise the Philippians to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Trusting in the promises of God made sure in Christ’s resurrection allowed him to be content in every situation.  May we also have this peace that surpasses all understanding, even in these difficult economic times.

Hymn “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” ................................. LSB 803

Entrance Psalm                          Psalm 23 (antiphon: v. 5a)

         

P        You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

C     The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

P        He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

C     He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

P        Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

C     You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

P        Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

Collect of the Day

        Almighty God, You invite us to trust in You for our salvation. Deal with us not in the severity of Your judgment but by the greatness of Your mercy; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Reading from the Book of Concord                                    

Luther’s Large Catechism, The Third Commandment, 100-102

Let me tell you this, even though you know God’s Word perfectly and are already a master in all things: you are daily in the devil’s kingdom [Colossians 1:13-14]. He ceases neither day nor night to sneak up on you and to kindle in your heart unbelief and wicked thoughts against these three commandments and all the commandments.  Therefore, you must always have God’s Word in your heart, upon your lips, and in your ears.  But where the heart is idle and the Word does not make a sound, the devil breaks in and has done the damage before we are aware [Matthew 13:24-30].  On the other hand, the Word is so effective that whenever it is seriously contemplated, heard, and used, it is bound never to be without fruit [Isaiah 55:11; Mark 4:20]. It always awakens new understanding, pleasure, and devoutness and produces a pure heart and pure thoughts [Philippians 4:8].  For these words are not lazy or dead, but are creative, living words [Hebrews 4:12]. And even though no other interest or necessity moves us, this truth ought to urge everyone to the Word, because thereby the devil is put to flight and driven away [James 4:7]. Besides, this commandment is fulfilled and this exercise in the Word is more pleasing to God than any work of hypocrisy, however brilliant.

Old Testament Lesson                                     Isaiah 25:6–9

⁶On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all peoples

 a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine,

 of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.

 ⁷And he will swallow up on this mountain

 the covering that is cast over all peoples,

 the veil that is spread over all nations.

 ⁸He will swallow up death forever;

 and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces,

 and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth,

 for the Lord has spoken.

 ⁹It will be said on that day,

 “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.

 This is the Lord; we have waited for him;

 let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.”

Gradual

P       He will command his angels concerning you

C    to guard you in all your ways.

P       Bless the LORD, O my soul,

C    and all that is within me, bless his holy name!

                                                                                      Ps. 91:11; 103:1

Epistle Lesson                                        Philippians 4:4–13

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. ⁵Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 ⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

 ¹⁰I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length you have revived your concern for me. You were indeed concerned for me, but you had no opportunity. ¹¹Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. ¹²I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. ¹³I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

Holy Gospel                                             Matthew 22:1–14

¹Again Jesus spoke to them in parables, saying, ²“The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who gave a wedding feast for his son, ³and sent his servants to call those who were invited to the wedding feast, but they would not come. ⁴Again he sent other servants, saying, ‘Tell those who are invited, See, I have prepared my dinner, my oxen and my fat calves have been slaughtered, and everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast.’ ⁵But they paid no attention and went off, one to his farm, another to his business, ⁶while the rest seized his servants, treated them shamefully, and killed them. ⁷The king was angry, and he sent his troops and destroyed those murderers and burned their city. ⁸Then he said to his servants, ‘The wedding feast is ready, but those invited were not worthy. ⁹Go therefore to the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you find.’ ¹⁰And those servants went out into the roads and gathered all whom they found, both bad and good. So the wedding hall was filled with guests.

 ¹¹“But when the king came in to look at the guests, he saw there a man who had no wedding garment. ¹²And he said to him, ‘Friend, how did you get in here without a wedding garment?’ And he was speechless. ¹³Then the king said to the attendants, ‘Bind him hand and foot and cast him into the outer darkness. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ ¹⁴For many are called, but few are chosen.”

Hymn “Rejoice, O Pilgrim Throng”............................................ LSB 813

Distribution Hymns

Draw Near and Take the Body of the Lord................... LSB 637

O Lord, We Praise Thee.............................................................. LSB 617

Hymn “Now Thank We All Our God”................................. LSB 895

All scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Reading from the book of Concord is from Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions-A Readers Edition of the Book of Concord - 2nd edition, Copyright 2005, 2006 Concordia Publishing House

NIV2011

I found the NIV2011 unsuitable when I first began to read it. It appears that I'm not alone. Here's a good compilation of critiques that are out there.

http://cyberbrethren.com/category/biblebible-translationbible-publishing/

If you don't want to follow that link, here are the two problems that I see.

1. It doesn't say what the underlying text says.

2. It often misses the beauty of the underlying metaphor and poetry.

"Paradigm-Collapse Trauma" and the end of Biblical Minimalism.

If you know me, you know that I have great interest in Biblical Archaeology. I'm very interested in the everyday life of Biblical people. The more we know about them the more we understand the Bible.

So through the years, my reading has sent me deeper and deeper into the sometimes arcane world of Biblical Archaeology. Like most disciplines, there is the over simplified view promoted to outsiders and the multifaceted few understood by insiders. It does seem that the media generally like to promote the over simplified view of "scholars" who promote a low view of scriptures and ignore evidence to the contrary.

Here is a very interesting article on the collapse of the low view of Biblical chronology. To sum it up, the Bible is much more historically accurate than it is often assumed by those influenced by these "scholars."

The Birth & Death of Biblical Minimalism By Yosef Garfinkel BAR 37:03, May/Jun 2011

http://www.bib-arch.org/bar/article.asp?PubID=BSBA&Volume=37&Issue=03&ArticleID=06&Page=0&UserID=0&

What about the NIV 2011 edition?

I've used the NIV 1984 edition since it was published. There are many good things to say about it. For those who remember those days, we were stuck in the "Living Bible" & "Good News Bible" mode with nothing really appropriate for public worship. When the NIV came out it satisfied a hunger for a dignified, modern language Bible suitable for study and public reading.

The NIV 1984 edition was not without its problems but compared to everything else it was going in the right direction. I've often said, "Reading the NIV is like getting into bed and finding that someone had put sand on the sheets." Most of the problems were in the area of irritations more than anything. (Although I know that the decidedly Reformed bias cannot be ignored, it was on most counts a usable translation.)

Now after fits and starts with failed NIV updates the NIV 2011 edition is being forced upon us. It really isn't a usable translation and unfortunately because it still bears the moniker NIV many people will be confused and think that they are purchasing the same Bible that they have come to love over the last generation.

Rather than try to catalogue the issues here is a link to Paul McCain's blog that has a compilation of articles on the NIV 2011 edition. You may not agree with all the arguments presented but when all is said and done it becomes clear the the NIV 2011 edition does a disservice to the translators of the original edition.

Why the New NIV is Bad News for Confessional Lutherans

http://cyberbrethren.com/2011/05/04/why-the-new-niv-is-bad-news-for-confessional-lutherans/

A Multi-Faith Reality

In a recent Christianity Today article Ed Stetzer articulates a helpful understanding how to relate to each other in a multi-faith environment. This ought not be novel but he advocates honesty and integrity in dealing with people of other faiths. This article should to be required reading for anyone treading in the waters of interfaith relationships.

Here is a short portion of what he writes:

Worldwide trends indicate that multi-faith is both a current reality and our future. The number of people who claim adherence to the major world religions is growing. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche and other post-Enlightenment thinkers predicted the death of God and the decline of religious belief over 100 years ago, but their predictions were premature. In fact, secular thinking has long embraced the idea that religion was the socio-political problem, not so much the solution.

If anything, "God is dead" has been replaced with "God is back." Economists John Micklethwait and Adrian Wooldridge, an atheist and a Roman Catholic, wrote a fascinating book in 2008 with that title. In it they noted that while statistics about religious observance are notoriously untrustworthy, most surveys seem to indicate that the global drift toward secularism has halted. Quite a few surveys show religious belief to be on the rise. They reference one source that says that "the proportion of people attached to the world's four largest religions—Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, and Hinduism—rose from 67 percent in 1900 to 73 percent in 2005, and may reach 80 percent by 2025."

Read the entire article here:

Proselytizing in a Multi-Faith World

Religion May Become Extinct In Nine Nations!

This BBC headline is shocking! What is even more shocking is the list of nations that are becoming irreligious: Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand and Switzerland. You can see from this list that these are all historically Christian nations. Three are English speaking countries. Some are historically Catholic; some are historically Reformed; and one is historically Lutheran. You can read the article at: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12811197

How can this be happening? What are the causes? How can the religion of the martyrs waste away to extinction???

How can those who once sang: The Word they still shall let remain Nor any thanks have for it; He’s by our side upon the plain With His good gifts and Spirit. And take they our life, Goods, fame, child, and wife, Though these all be gone, Our vict’ry has been won; The Kingdom ours remaineth, abandon the faith?

The decline of Christianity in these nations did not happen overnight. It began with complacency. It began when people took their Christian heritage for granted. It began when parents and grandparents thought little of passing the faith on to their children.

So What's wrong with Rob Bell and his new book?

American pragmatism strikes again! Because Rob Bell is the pastor of a megachurch, what he says must be true. Get ready for people to start pushing his kind of non-Christianity. Here's a review to let you in on the whole story:

God Is Still Holy and What You Learned in Sunday School Is Still True: A Review of “Love Wins”

Wednesday Update:

Another article on the same subject:

Rob Bell and the (Re)Emergence of Liberal Theology

"This brings us to the controversy over Rob Bell’s new book, Love Wins. As its cover announces, the book is “about heaven, hell, and the fate of every person who ever lived.” Reading the book is a heart-breaking experience. We have read this book before. Not the exact words, and never so artfully presented, but the same book, the same argument, the same attempt to rescue Christianity from the Bible.

As a communicator, Rob Bell is a genius. He is the master of the pungent question, the turn-the-picture-upside-down story, and the personal anecdote. Like Harry Emerson Fosdick, the paladin of pulpit liberalism, Rob Bell is a master communicator. Had he set out to defend the biblical doctrine of hell, he could have done so marvelously. He would have done the church a great service. But that is not what he set out to do.

Like Fosdick, Rob Bell cares deeply for people. It comes through in his writings. There is no reason to doubt that Bell wrote this book out of his own personal concern for people who are put off by the doctrine of hell. Had that concern been turned toward a presentation of how the biblical doctrine of hell fits within the larger context of God’s love and justice and the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that would have been a help to untold thousands of Christians and others seeking to understand the Christian faith. But that is not what Bell does in this new book.

Instead, Rob Bell uses his incredible power of literary skill and communication to unravel the Bible’s message and to cast doubt on its teachings."

Commentary on Schwan's Propositions on Unevangelical Practice - 1862 (3 & 4)

3. For this very reason, when we follow evangelical practice, we do not discard the Law or make its edges dull through bringing in the Gospel, but we rather preach it with all the more seriousness in its full severity, however, in evangelical fashion.

4. The Law is used in an evangelical way if it is employed solely for the purpose of preparing the soil for the evangelical message (the Gospel) and of submitting a divine norm for the manifestations of the new life that spontaneously arises through the evangelical message.

Relying on the Gospel does not mean that we reject the law. In fact it means that we preach it with earnestness. The Gospel lesson ( Matthew 5:21–37) for this week is a prime example. In his Preface to his Commentary on the Sermon on the Mount, Luther points out that his opponents say, “Christian teaching would have much too hard a time of it if it were loaded down with things like this.” But we understand that Jesus meant exactly what He said in His Sermon on the Mount, “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire."

We along with the Pharisees must come to understand that the mountain of keeping the Law is too great even for those who have the best intentions. We must rely solely and completely on the work of Christ for Salvation. The only solution to the deadliness of Sin is faith in Christ. Without a full and complete proclamation of the Law, we will always be tempted to also avoid the foolishness of the cross.

However When we believe and trust in the sweet message of forgiveness, life and salvation through faith in Christ, we are more than willing to live the new life that has been born anew in us by the working of the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments.

Schwan's Propositions on Unevangelical Practice - 1862

Commentary on Schwan's Propositions on Unevangelical Practice - 1862 (#2)

"2. This means that since we expect justification before God, the renewal of the heart, and the fruits of the Spirit only through the Gospel, we have this one thing in mind in everything that we do, to give free course and sway to the Gospel."

Here is something that we seem to find tremendously difficult. It always seems easier to manipulate results with the law rather than to trust God and the Gospel.

When the church needs money, we are often guilty of finger pointing and trying to shame people into giving more rather than trusting the Holy Spirit to work through the Gospel to make people generous.

When we are disappointed in church attendance, we are tempted to make rules regarding membership privileges that are connected to church attendance. Such as giving a break in school tuition to those who are more faithful, etc.

As soon as we use the world's standards to judge success, we are tempted to use the world's methods to create this success rather than relying on the promises of God. This is how marketing and commercialism gain entry into the Holy Christian Church, The Communion of Saints.

Schwan's Propositions on Unevangelical Practice - 1862

Commentary on Schwan's Propositions on Unevangelical Practice - 1862

You can find Schwan's Propositions on Unevangelical Practice - 1862 on Matthew Harrison's blog and also in his book At Home in the House of My Fathers

Today I am starting a commentary on each of his propositions. I find them insightful and helpful even today. As I read through them, I am struck by the thought that Schwan would not have written these propositions if unevangelical practice had not been an issue among pastors of his day.

Here we are almost 150 years later and most of his examples of unevangelical practice are still very common in our churches. In fact I often hear pastors boast of their faithfulness as they recount their activities that Schwan identifies as unevangelical practice. What a different church we would be if we allowed the Gospel to have sway in our practice as well as our preaching.

Schwan's first proposition is:

Evangelical practice consists not in this, that we teach and treat nothing except the evangelical message (the Gospel), but in this, that we treat everything in evangelical fashion.

I would like to have a nickel for every meeting that I have attended where Gospel practice has been abandoned in favor of a law solution to problems in the congregation.

When things don't seem to be going well, everyone points the finger at those uncommitted people. We must force them to attend church, give more, etc.

It takes patience and trust to allow the Gospel to work in the hearts of people so that they will respond in a Christian fashion to the challenges of day to day life in the church and the world. The law offers a quick fix to our perceived problems but it damages the hearts of our people.

Faithful evangelical (Gospel preachers) will be faithful in evangelical (Gospel) practice.

More to come as we walk through the propositions.

Our greatest battles are not against culture per se

"Our greatest battles are not against culture per se, but rather against the demonic abhorrence of the humiliation and weakness of God." is quote from today's Memorial Moment by Dr. Scott Murray.

He goes on to say:

"Sometimes the gurus of "church growth" encourage the church to get rid of her culturally objectionable practices as she goes about her business of proclaiming the Lord's Word in the world. The theory is that if we could just remove the stumbling blocks that keep people from joining the church they will come to faith in Christ more easily: "If we could just get rid of chanting in the church, more people would be attracted to join it." You could replace the word "chanting" with a thousand other examples, but the significance would be the same. This is something like suggesting that lipstick applied to a pig would make her more beautiful. The big deal issue of the cross still looms over the church, overshadowing every other "objectionable" thing the church says and does. "So you don't like chanting, because it sounds 'weird.' If you want weird; how about the fact that the church worships a dead guy as very God and Savior and the only way to heaven, who was crucified by the Romans a couple millennia ago and claims to have risen from the dead?" How do you put lipstick on that?"

Dr. Murray insights are always worthwhile and well done. Read his entire devotion here.

The challenge of Cross and culture are always before us. The danger on one hand is to capitulate and on the other is to stubbornly refuse to recognize that the Vulgate is no longer the language of the people. Luther was able to navigate this Scylla and Charybdis well. He held firm to Scripture but made God speak German like a native in his translation of the Bible.

How do we model reverence in a culture that deifies the casual?

How do we preach the cross to a success driven Christian mindset?

How do we raise the level of worship beyond "giving it a 78 because it has a beat and you can dance to it"?

Consumerism Christianity is the mega church game and it works. It is justified under the guise of being missional. Pragmatism seems to be the "...ism" that challenges our people.

The promises of God in Christ through the cross are never in vogue. Yet we seek to make God speak clearly in the language of the people.

May the Holy Spirit give us such wisdom, patience, and trust that we do not weary in proclaiming Christ and Him crucified.

Easier, Cheaper and Faster

We Have Met the Enemy: Self-Control in an Age of Excess is reviewed in the New York Times. One paragraph reads:

"The growing epidemic of obesity, the reckless debt that contributed to the financial crisis, the proliferation of so-called addictions to everyday activities from shopping to video games to sex are all evidence of how a technologically advanced capitalist democracy makes temptation easier, cheaper and faster to indulge than most Americans seem equipped to manage sensibly."

Here are some interesting thoughts that most Americans don't seem to want to hear. Giving into temptation has become easier, cheaper and faster. This can't be a good thing.

Unfortunately it seems to also have infected the church. We want easier, cheaper and faster spiritual growth. Anything that hints of tentatio is rejected.

How December 25 Became Christmas

If you haven't read this, you should, especially if you think you know the answer!

Here the link http://www.bib-arch.org/e-features/christmas.asp

Here's a quote.

The December 25 feast seems to have existed before 312—before Constantine and his conversion, at least. As we have seen, the Donatist Christians in North Africa seem to have know it from before that time. Furthermore, in the mid- to late fourth century, church leaders in the eastern Empire concerned themselves not with introducing a celebration of Jesus’ birthday, but with the addition of the December date to their traditional celebration on January 6.

A Reformation Story from Paul McCain

Fifteen Minutes That Changed the World Forever: Reflections on the Reformation

by Paul T. McCain

I'm asked for a copy of this article every year, and so am happy again to provide it. Please feel free to copy and share it, but I would ask that it not be changed. Thanks.Fifteen Minutes that Changed the World ForeverBy Rev. Paul T. McCain

Several years ago, I attended a conference on the doctrine of justification in Wittenberg, Germany. There were pastors, presidents and bishops from Lutheran churches throughout Europe, Scandinavia, the Baltics, Eastern and Central Europe, Africa, and various countries in the land of the former Soviet Union. These servants of Christ know what it means to be distinctly Lutheran, often under extremely difficult and challenging circumstances. In many cases, they are walking through fiery trials suffering various forms of persecution for their commitment to Christ and His Word. It was humbling to be with them and discuss the chief article of the faith.

It was also quite a thrill to spend four days in Wittenberg and walk where Luther walked. On the last day of the conference I decided to time how long it would have taken Martin Luther to walk from the door of his Augustinian monastery to the Castle Church to post the ninety-five theses. Another LCMS pastor attending the conference, Bob Zagore, came with me and he counted the steps. Bob counted 2,000 steps. I counted fifteen minutes.

As Luther left his monastery on October 31, 1517, turned left, and walked to the Castle Church on the west side of town, I doubt he had any idea just what he was setting motion. Four years later, Pope Leo’s representative, Aleander reported, “All of Germany is an uproar! Ninety-percent of the people are shouting, “Luther!” and the other ten percent—if they don’t care about Luther—at least have “Death to the Roman court!” as their slogan.” (Martin Brecht, Martin Luther The Road to Reformation, Fortress Press: 1:439).

Father Martin, parish pastor, was outraged by the Roman system of indulgences and what it was doing to the precious souls he cared for at the city church of St. Mary as confessor and preacher. He was deeply angered when one after another member of his congregation told him about the indulgence that they had walked all day to buy from John Tetzel in the little town of Jütebog, just over the border of Electoral Saxony. They thought they had assurance of grace and comfort, for themselves, or for loved ones who had died. They clung to their indulgence receipt, instead of the crucified Lord. They believed that with their act of penance and contribution to the construction of St. Peter’s in Rome, God would smile on them and make things easier for them after their death.

Luther could not remain silent. And so he spoke, and wrote, and preached, and taught, and debated. He posted his theses and he mailed a copy of them on the same day to the Archbishop of Mainz, protesting the indulgences that were being sold within his diocese. In so doing, Luther set an axe at the root of the Papal tree. Enormous sources of revenue were at stake. Papal and imperial politics were involved beyond what Luther fully realized. Luther said after the controversy was under way:

America’s Four Gods

From Cranach: The Blog of Veith

By Gene Edward Veith.

Veith is the Provost and Professor of Literature at Patrick Henry College, the Director of the Cranach Institute at Concordia Theological Seminary, a columnist for World Magazine and TableTalk, and the author of 18 books on different facets of Christianity & Culture.

Baylor sociologists Paul Froese and Christopher Bader have conducted research into people’s conception of God. They published their findings in a new book America’s Four Gods: What We Say About God — And What That Says About Us. They found that Americans have four different assumptions about what God is like. They also found correlations between the kind of God someone believes in and their political and moral beliefs. Here are America’s four Gods:

•The Authoritative God. When conservatives Sarah Palin or Glenn Beck proclaim that America will lose God’s favor unless we get right with him, they’re rallying believers in what Froese and Bader call an Authoritative God, one engaged in history and meting out harsh punishment to those who do not follow him. About 28% of the nation shares this view, according to Baylor’s 2008 findings.

“They divide the world by good and evil and appeal to people who are worried, concerned and scared,” Froese says. “They respond to a powerful God guiding this country, and if we don’t explicitly talk about (that) God, then we have the wrong God or no God at all.”

•The Benevolent God. When President Obama says he is driven to live out his Christian faith in public service, or political satirist Stephen Colbert mentions God while testifying to Congress in favor of changing immigration laws, they’re speaking of what the Baylor researchers call a Benevolent God. This God is engaged in our world and loves and supports us in caring for others, a vision shared by 22% of Americans, according to Baylor’s findings.

“Rhetoric that talks about the righteous vs. the heathen doesn’t appeal to them,” Froese says. “Their God is a force for good who cares for all people, weeps at all conflicts and will comfort all.”

Asked about the Baylor findings, Philip Yancey, author of What Good Is God?, says he moved from the Authoritative God of his youth — “a scowling, super-policeman in the sky, waiting to smash someone having a good time” — to a “God like a doctor who has my best interest at heart, even if sometimes I don’t like his diagnosis or prescriptions.”

•The Critical God. The poor, the suffering and the exploited in this world often believe in a Critical God who keeps an eye on this world but delivers justice in the next, Bader says.

Bader says this view of God — held by 21% of Americans — was reflected in a sermon at a working-class neighborhood church the researchers visited in Rifle, Colo., in 2008. Pastor Del Whittington’s theme at Open Door Church was ” ‘Wait until heaven, and accounts will be settled.’ “

Bader says Whittington described how ” ‘our cars that are breaking down here will be chariots in heaven. Our empty bank accounts will be storehouses with the Lord.’ “

•The Distant God. Though about 5% of Americans are atheists or agnostics, Baylor found that nearly one in four (24%) see a Distant God that booted up the universe, then left humanity alone.

via Americans’ views of God shape attitudes on key issues – USATODAY.com.

Isn’t it true that none of these, in isolation, is anything like the Christian God? Surely Christians believe that God has ALL of these qualities. Christians believe that God is a Trinity, that He is complex and a mystery. (And if natural laws, such as we are seeing with quantum physics are complex and mysterious, shouldn’t God be far more so? And yet people insist on these simplistic, anthropomorphic, unitarian deities.) While each of these deities can be adapted into an ecumenical paradigm in which all religions “have the same God,” the Christian God is completely different from these four, each of which is some variation of a transcendent deity looking down on the creation. Notice that there is no category for God Incarnate.

No wonder churches are so weak and Christians’ faith is so anemic, if they don’t have the right God.

Every Attempt to Create an Ideal Church Results in a Church of Pharisees

Just read this post of Hermann Sasse by Paul McCain on Facebook. It bears repeating:

"Ubi Christus, ibi ecclesia, "Where Christ is, there is the church". With this saying one of the oldest church fathers spoke of the mystery of the church. The saying also sums up Luther's faith* in the church. It is not the power of our faith, nor the holiness of our life that constitutes the church, but rather that "Where Christ is, there is the church". When the church is called a holy people, a communion of saints, it is not to be understood in the way it has often been understood in the history of the church: "the church should be a holy people, therefore only the holy shall belong to her. Away with all the unholy! The honour of Christ demands it!" When the worst of sinners must be excluded from the fellowship, one must then begin to classify sins in order to determine which ones lead to exclusion. How often has not that been attempted, both in the past and more recently. How imposing was the strictness of the ancient church, when people sought to create a holy and pure church (as also happens now). Or consider the Donatists, who demanded that at least the clergy should be free of mortal sin. Whenever the attempt has been made to create an ideal church, the end result has always been bitter disappointment. The community of saints turns into a community of Pharisees."

— Hermann Sasse

*"Faith" in the sense that the church is an article of faith; see the Augsburg Confession, Articles VII & VIII - M.H.

Thought for the Day.

Martin Luther

"It is impossible for law and grace to exist together. Either we must be justified by faith and lose the righteousness of the law, or we must be justified by the law and lose grace and the righteousness of faith. It is a bitter and tragic loss when we retain the law while losing grace. On the other hand, it is a blessed and saving loss when we keep grace while losing the law.

"Seeing that Paul set this forth with the greatest care, we must unremittingly labor to show clearly the difference between law and gospel. This is very easy so far as the words themselves are concerned. For who does not see that Hagar is not Sarah and that Sarah is not Hagar (Gal 4:21-31)? Or that Ishmael neither is nor has what Isaac is and has? That is easily determined. But in profound terrors and in the agony of death, when the conscience struggles with the judgment of God, then to be able to say with firm confidence: 'I am not a son of Hagar, but of Sarah, that is, the law does not apply to me at all, because Sarah is my mother, who gives birth, not to slaves but to free children and heirs'--this is the most difficult thing of all."

Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians, loc. cit.

From Scott Murray's Memorial Moments for today.

Sad News from Finland

Let first say I'm sorry that I've been slow with posting. There are only so many hours in the day and the challenge of pastoral ministry in a large congregation with a school has been significant.

So what makes me break my silence? A post on Paul McCain's blog on the sad state of affairs in world Lutheranism. Sometimes it makes it difficult to say that I'm Lutheran. So here it is:

Sad News from Finland: First Woman Bishop Elected Who Can’t Even Recite, or Affirm, the Nicene Creed!

It was depressing watching her, during the ‘campaign’, squirm and prevaricate when asked about the Virgin Birth: “Well, it’s in the Creed and I happily say the Creed in church, but it’s not a doctrine that’s central to me. I’m not really sure what it means.” (My paraphrase) Then again, none of the candidates (2 women and 5 men) was able to recite the Nicene Creed from memory when cold-called by a journalist. Dark times!

http://cyberbrethren.com/2010/06/04/sad-news-from-finland-first-woman-bishop-elected-who-cant-even-recite-or-affirm-the-nicene-creed/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+Cyberbrethren+(Cyberbrethren)

Nominations for president of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

I ran across this article today at StLToday.com.

It's a report on the nominations for President of Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod. It's always interesting to note what the secular press has to say about things.

Nominations for President of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

God's Good Choices--Dr. Scott Murray

A miner panning for gold is excited to find a few flecks of shining metal in his pan. It is even more exciting to find the mother lode and a rich vein of ore. If you are not regularly reading Scott Murray, you are missing out on one of the richest resources available.

Today's devotion titled God's Good Choices includes this paragraph:

I am shocked by how many clergy do not know this thirst for the gospel. Paul's doctrine of justification is incomprehensible to them. They can speak of "Christianity" only in the terms dictated by the culture. For example, they can only speak of good choices, "We can make good choices with Jesus." One of the problems here is that the doers of the action remain those who are being addressed. Jesus is merely a helper or an incidental add on. You could substitute almost anything for Jesus in this statement, such as wisdom, good instruction, or parental involvement. This is not really the biblical gospel, but the world's order (as valid as it might be), with a little Jesus thrown in to sound religious. It is also a confusion of the two kingdoms. We would be better to speak to young people about their choices with the help of human wisdom, good instruction, or parental involvement. This is exactly where they need to get their ability to make "good choices."

Read the entire devotion here and especially the quotation from Luther at the bottom.