Interesting things I've listened to recently

These are mp3 that I've listened to and recommend:

• First is a discussion of the Easter Hymn "Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia" by Dr. Arthur Just Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne on Issues, Etc. -- April 8 .

Click here for the page.
Click here for the mp3

• Second is a discussion of of the "New Athiests" by Dr. John Warwick Montgomery on Issues, Etc. -- April 29.

Click here for the page.
Click here for the mp3

• Third is a discussion of the "National Day of Prayer" by Chris Rosebrough ExtremeTheology.Com on Issues, Etc. --- May 3. I acutally downloaded this one because I was interested in the discussion about the volume level of church music but it turned out that the first half of the show is on the National Day of Prayer. It is an interesting discussion, hope you enjoy.

Click here for the page.
Click here for the mp3

If you listen to any of these shows, let me know what you think

Greensburg Tornado

Thirteen member families of Peace Lutheran Church, Greensburg, Kan., "lost all their possessions" to the May 4 tornado that all but flattened the town of 1,500 and killed 10 residents.

Here's the Story

Message of Hope from Pastor Ken Klaus

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"Hope"

April 18, 2007

Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17

As this devotion is being written, the body count on the Virginia Tech campus is still rising. Parents are still trying to find out if their children are safe. Families and students are in shock, and the entire world is in mourning and looking for answers.

In the days to come, stories of heroism and fear will be told. Questions will be asked, and some will be answered. Most certainly many will be asking, “Where was God when a gunman roamed the dormitories and classrooms? If He loves us, and if He is all-powerful, why didn’t He stop this horrible tragedy? Why didn’t He strike down a bad person before He could do this horrible thing?”

Are there any answers for Christians? I believe there are.

First, we must confess that this action dare not be laid at the feet of God. He who gave His Son to live, suffer, and die so this world might be given forgiveness, peace, and heaven would not cause such a thing. The motivation for these murders will not be found in heaven. Rather, the motivation stems from a sinful human heart where Satan’s seeds of hatred found suitable soil for success.

Second, we must acknowledge that God’s great grace and unrelenting love have the ability, even now, to bring comfort to those who are mourning. It can bring strength to those who are destroyed and hope to those who are filled with hatred and despair. We must remember that when Jesus died upon the cross, He saw this terrible tragedy, along with every other horror that has been birthed by sin and Satan. So that God’s people might know that despair and desolation will not have the last word, Jesus rose from the dead. With the power of the resurrection, He promised to be with us always. It is a promise He keeps. Believers are given eternal comfort and hope, even when looking down the barrel of a gun or standing beside the casket of a murdered child or classmate.

Lastly, we need to remember that Christ’s people are custodians of hope—hope that is found in Jesus alone. When the Amish children were killed in Pennsylvania, one old grandfather said, “Even now we are praying for the families of the children, but we are also praying for the family of the man who did this. We want them to know we have forgiven them already.” Grandpa understood. The Savior’s people, who are forgiven of their sins, can use this moment of mourning to let the world know that Christ can comfort hearts that are hurting.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, we pray for those whose lives will never again be the same. We ask the Holy Spirit to descend upon those who mourn, hate, or feel loss. May He turn their hearts from this horror and cause them to look upon their Savior who wishes to make them more than conquerors in this catastrophe. Use us, wherever possible, to point people to a loving Lord who gave His Son so that all might be filled with eternal comfort and good hope. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,


Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker of The Lutheran Hour^®
Lutheran Hour Ministries

Click Here for daily devotions

Responding to Tragedy

Here are free downloadable study resources from Concordia Publishing House.

Responding to Tragedy

How can a kind and loving God allow terrible things to happen? In times of tragedy, we turn to God and His comforting Word. As a response to the recent Virginia Tech massacre, Concordia Publishing House offers the short, one-session Bible study, “The Puzzle of Pain: Where Is God in Human Suffering?” Free download. Discussion questions and leader’s guide included.

Statement Regarding Virginia Tech

"We offer our deepest sympathies to and sincere prayers for the families and friends of the victims, as well as to the faculty, staff, and students at the university."

Dr. Gerald B. Kieschnick
President, The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
(Click for full article)

Virginia Tech Tragedy

In your prayers, remember the parents and loved ones of those killed and injured today at Virginia Tech. This is more evidence of sin in the world! For comfort and strength read Psalms 121, 27, & 23.

This is not the first such horrible thing to happen in a world of sin. It is important that we do not blame God for the evil that is done by men.

Doctor of Ministry Project

My Doctor of Ministry Project is finally off and running! It's been a long time in the making and I hope that it will all fall together.

The project is titled: Concordia: Discovering the Book of Concord

The official project site is: www.pastorq.com

Please go there and click on the link to take my Initial Project Survey!

Thanks

Today Hilary of Poitiers, church father, is commemorated

This is Hilary of Poitiers day. He is a church father who was born in the late third century and served in the fourth century. He is renouwned for his defense of the historic Christian faith against the attack of Arianism. You may read more about in Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

January Lutheran Witness available

The January Lutheran Witness is available for download as a PDF file. It is about 10 pages shorter than the print version but there are some very good articles this month including:

THE SPLENDOR OF EPIPHANY
by Charles Knippel
This wonderful season still 'epiphanizes' christians to be the light of the world, sharing Christ with people who cry out for the "Light of light.'

THE STEM 'SELL'
by James Lamb
Despite what its proponents say, the fact remains that human cloning for any reason cannot be justified.

PRAYERS FOR BABY TERRI
by Marvin Platten
A determined church staff goes to its knees to save an unborn child.

TWO KINGDOMS VS. 'ONE ME'
by Uwe Siemon-Netto
The Lutheran doctrine of two kingdoms explains how God works in His spiritual kingdom and His earthly kingdom. Unfortunately, man's selfish nature is to trump both with 'me.'

GODPARENTING FOR DUMMIES: A PRACTICAL GUIDE
by Gerry Draper
What does it mean to be a godparent? It means traveling a lifelong faith journey with your godchild.

These are all good articles. If you are a godparent or sponsor, please read GODPARENTING FOR DUMMIES.

A Lutheran Response to the 'Left Behind' Series"

The "Left Behind" people want you to believe that their's is the majority or only opinion regarding the proper understanding of the end times. Here are a couple of documents that correct many of their faulty notions:

"A Lutheran Response to the 'Left Behind' Series."

"A Bible Study Companion to A Lutheran Response to the 'Left Behind' Series"

(These are both pdf files.)

Mission Service Opportunity: Latvia

Mission Service Opportunity: Latvia

I've been asked by a number of people to update my blog more frequently. Ok, I'll try to put things up here that I find interesting. If you are young and energetic or at least energetic, you might be interested in this or some other mission opportunity.

January 9, 2007



LCMS World Mission

Your Link to Mission Action.

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God knows us, what we need and what we long for. He sent his Son: Emmanuel, God with us. Through faith in Jesus' death and resurrection, our relationship with God is restored and we have life. LCMS World Mission's long-term missionary program focuses on relationship ministry. As a long-term missionary, you build relationships with people who need and long for the same thing we all do: true life in Christ.



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From the LCMS World Mission Opportunity Database.



Right now you have the opportunity to meet an urgent need as an Ablaze! Outreach Worker in Latvia.



"Long-term missionaries are needed for service in both Lithuania and Latvia. These individuals will work with existing local congregations of LCMS partner churches to reach out to the community through relationship building and English-as-a-Foreign-Language classes. Most work will be focused on youth and children's ministries. Professional church workers (DCE, DCO, Deaconess, Lay Minister) are especially encouraged to apply."



For more information, go to: www.lcmsworldmission.org/searchopps.

Contact an LCMS World Mission placement counselor at 1-800-433-3954 or mission.recruitment@lcms.org.



_________________________________________________

LCMS WORLD MISSION

1333 South Kirkwood Road

St. Louis, Missouri, 63122-7295, US

Telephone: 1-800-433-3954

E-mail: mission.recruitment@lcms.org

Web site: www.lcmsworldmission.org

Ablaze! Movement: www.lcms.org/ablaze

'Church of the Ark' found on West Bank

Here is an interesting article about a very early church that has been discovered. I think the mosaic is beautiful.

CLICK HERE to see the Mosaic

National Association of Evangelicals Leader Ted Haggard

LeadershipJournal.net - Leader's Insight: When Leaders Implode

So many people have mentioned to me that I haven't updated my blog in a while that I decided I'll get at it again. Here is a good article on Ted Haggard and the his recent scandal.

James Ossuary Update

"The ossuary inscribed "James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus" has recently been studied by Professor Wolfgang E. Krumbein, a world-renowned authority. He has reached startling conclusions that will change the debate over this highly controversial artifact."

Biblical Archaeology Review

The Da Vinci Code Fizzle

Click here for a list of Da Vinci Code reviews

Click here to read Dr. Paul L. Maier's article "The Da Vinci Code Distortion" from the April 2006 Lutheran Witness.
(This is a pdf file.)

Here's a sample: "...readers who are used to factual backgrounds will assume the same for The Da Vinci Code and will be deceived."

More on the Gospel of Judas

Concordia Seminary held a convocation on April 10 titled
Gospel of Judas: Professors Respond

Click here to download an mp3 of the convocation

Here are a couple of quotes from the web post, click here to read the entire post:

Concordia Seminary professors James Voelz and Jeffrey Kloha provided a response to the gospel of Judas for members of the Seminary community in a convocation on Monday, April 10. Voelz and Kloha serve in the Seminary’s department of exegetical theology and specialize in New Testament studies.


“There is nothing of the historical Jesus, the Jesus that walked the earth, in this document,” commented Kloha. “It is important that we know about this document since people are watching and reading media reports about it and being influenced by them.”

The gospel of Judas was featured in a National Geographic Society television documentary the previous evening and is receiving a great deal of media attention. It is dramatically different from the four gospels that are contained within the New Testament and purports to provide a secret account of a revelation that Jesus spoke with the disciple Judas Iscariot.

“Jesus is never described as ‘the Christ’ in this manuscript,” commented Kloha. “Instead, an individual named Seth is referenced as the Christ.”

In describing the media’s portrayal of the document, Voelz stated, “They are conveniently omitting a lot of information that would put the manuscript in a bad light. It is important for people to know how odd this document is.”

The Gospel of Judas

There has been lot's of smoke regarding the Gospel of Judas but not much light or heat. Here is an excellent article on the topic. The Gospel of Judas Here is an excerpt:

The existence of the Gospel of Judas has been known for centuries, and thus is no “new” discovery (only the discovery of the Coptic manuscript is “new”). In writing against ancient heresies, the church father Irenaeus (130-200 A. D.) said that the Gospel of Judas originated in a Gnostic sect called the Cainites. He wrote: “They produce a fictitious history of this kind, which they label the Gospel of Judas.” Ancient gnostics, whose teachings were rejected by early Christians as heretical, generally taught that material creation is evil, entrapping what belongs to the divine or spiritual realm. Souls (spirit) are imprisoned in human bodies and are released (thus “saved”) and ascend to the spiritual realm through knowledge (gnosis)

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - NBC cancels 'Book of Daniel'; Commentary from Veith

The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod - NBC cancels 'Book of Daniel'; Commentary from Veith

December 6 - St. Nicholas Day.

Happy St. Nicholas Day: "In Holland, everyone celebrates the Feast of Sinterklaas, or St. Nicholas, on the eve of December 6. After dinner, Dutch families hunt for their presents, following clues in funny, anonymous poems. They also eat candies and cookies, especially spicy crispy ginger-cookie figures formed in a traditional wooden mold. " From The Old Farmer's Almanac. Read the rest of the article here: December 6 - St. Nicholas Day.

Interesting Facts about C.S. Lewis

On the Christian History and Biography site you will find this article about C.S. Lewis Interesting and Unusual Facts about C. S. Lewis. Hope that you enjoy it.

A quote about the Chronicles of Narnia: Lewis explained that Aslan is not meant simply to "represent" Jesus: "Let us suppose that there were a land like Narnia and that the Son of God, as He became a Man in our world, became a Lion there, and then imagine what would happen."