'Christian' Tagged Posts (Page 2)
“SO THAT NO ONE CAN BOAST…”
St. Paul sums up the chief article of the Christian faith in that oft-cited passage from Ephesians: “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works so that no one can boast.” When it comes to our right standing with God, our justification, all of this is a done deal. Our forgiveness is total, complete, free and undeserved. Yet Paul continues: “For…
THE BATTLE WITHIN
“I could just kick myself!” Ever said something like that? Sure you have. Me too. You spoke or acted before you thought. You lost your cool. You succumbed to the same old weakness. You made a fool of yourself. Sometimes it’s like you’re standing outside of yourself, watching yourself in slow motion, and you want to holler: “Stop!” But this person you’re shouting at just doesn’t listen. In Catechism class we learned to call this problem by a number of…
READY OR NOT?
There are two kinds of people in this world – those who are ready, and those who are not. For some folks, being ready is an obsession. Some have their Christmas shopping done in July, their Christmas cookies in the freezer by Thanksgiving, their supper menu planned out two weeks in advance. On the other end of the scale are those who do their Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve, pick up some cookies from the bakery on the way home…
A CORD OF THREE STRANDS
Before Woodrow Wilson became president of the United States, he was president of Princeton University. The anxious mother of a freshman cornered Wilson on registration day. Coming from a Harvard family, she had her doubts about Princeton. “We want our child to have the very best education, one that will mold him for great things. Can you assure me that he will do well here?” she demanded. “Madam,” said Wilson mildly, “we guarantee satisfaction, or we return the boy.” In…
REPENTANCE GETS PERSONAL
The subject of the end times, of the second coming of Christ, is intriguing. The sinful nature sometimes seizes on those parts of the Bible which deal with the last things in the same way conspiracy buffs get worked up over UFOs, aliens and who shot JFK. Christian book stores have made a mint on books entitled Left Behind, a series of novels filled with false teachings about the rapture, the millennium, and half-baked political views of Biblical prophecies. This…
“SURVIVORS OF THE FOG”
Years ago in Canada, a friend was celebrating 25 years in the pastoral ministry. On our way back from a conference on the East coast, one of the other preachers in the van asked with a wink: “So, Tom, after 25 years what was your greatest achievement in the ministry?” With his mustache curled upward in a comic snarl, Tom said: “I survived!” The older a Christian gets, the wiser that remark seems. We stumble and fall many times on…
“CAST YOUR BREAD UPON THE WATERS”
“Cast your bread upon the waters,” wrote King Solomon in Ecclesiastes 11. It has a beautiful ring to it. But what does it mean? Tossing a loaf of bread into the Mississippi would seem an odd and pointless thing to do! Solomon is actually talking about an act of commerce or trade, of shipping “bread,” that is, grain, over the waters to distant lands. The Bible tells us that Solomon “had a fleet of trading ships…Once every year it returned…
“JESUS LOVES ME, THIS I KNOW”
It’s a terrible thing not to know. When the doctor’s prognosis is not good, perhaps for the first time in his life, a Christian finds himself mugged by dark doubts. The devil casts up on the screen of his memory the sins of years gone by. He is suddenly seized with despair. He thinks God doesn’t want him anymore. He fails to remember that Jesus already knew about all those sins when he died for all. He reasons that Jesus…
ENCOUNTERING CHRIST
There is an old saying that when the word of God is preached, a person is either converted or he gets angry. When Jesus Christ spoke, He inspired either the deepest devotion or the hottest anger from those who listened. Many in the modern church these days think they can change this. They are embarrassed by what Paul called “the offense of the cross.” The spirit of the so-called “Church Growth Movement” has infected people across denominational lines – in…
Welcome!
Whether you are new to the teachings of Jesus, or a long-time veteran of the Christian faith, or coming home to the gospel you learned long ago, we pray that the Holy Spirit may bless you with new or renewed faith through the good news of our Savior who lived, died and rose again to bring us back to His Father. St. Paul’s Evangelical Lutheran Church of Bangor, Wisconsin is privileged to proclaim the pure gospel of authentic Lutheranism as…
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