Posts from 2018 (Page 3)
THE CONSOLATION OF BRETHREN
In one of our Lutheran Confessions, The Smalcald Articles, Martin Luther talks about the different ways in which the Gospel gives us counsel and help. Predictably he says, “Through the spoken Word…Secondly, through Baptism, Thirdly, through the holy Sacrament of the Altar, Fourthly through the power of the keys.” And then Luther adds this neat little phrase: “And also through the mutual conversation and consolation of brethren.” “The mutual conversation and consolation of brethren” is what happens when Christians…
GLEANINGS FROM GALATIANS
This week and next, our guest preacher, Pastor James Korthals, will focus on two texts from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. Like Paul’s letter to the Romans, Galatians deals with the chief article of the Christian faith – justification by faith in Christ alone. But the tone of Galatians is far different than that of Romans. The smoke of battle and the clatter of weaponry rise from the page. Unlike Paul’s calmer and more studied approach in his letter to…
“THE WAY PEOPLE TALK”
Some years ago, a U.S. Cellular commercial used a humorous catch phrase to promote their product: “The way people talk around here!” The way we talk reflects the way we think. Sometimes, with tongue in cheek, and sometimes with surprising seriousness, people change the way they talk – in order to change the way people think about things. Someone gave a new name to the common spade or shovel. They dubbed it “a terrain emplacement evacuator.” Short people smile and…
SIN, DEATH AND THE DEVIL
We hear it in church often enough…and the children in our school hear it plenty – this business about “sin, death and the devil.” The “sin” is easy enough to spot – in our homes, in our hearts, on the playground. And “death” forces us to admit its power as we carry loved ones to the cemetery. But when we teach the children to pray Luther’s morning and evening prayers – asking “that the wicked foe may have no power…
LEARNING TO LOVE
Dr. Jay Adams, an author of books on Christian counseling, describes a familiar scene. John and Mary have come to the pastor for counseling…but not really…for their minds are already made up. Repentance is not in the air. Both profess to be Christians. There has been no adultery or malicious desertion they can claim as Biblical grounds for the breaking of the marriage bond. Neither one has cheated on the other. Neither one has hopelessly abused or abandoned the other.…
TAKING AFTER JESUS
Following Israel’s idolatrous episode of the golden calf, Moses ascends Mount Sinai a second time. There on the windswept mountain, the Lord gives Moses a glimpse of His glory. When Moses comes down from the mountain, there is something different about him. His face is radiant. He unconsciously radiates the reflected glory He has seen In regard to the apostles, the book of Acts tells us that the Jewish leaders “took note that these men had been with Jesus.” …
BACK TO THE BEGINNING
In the next few months we will go back to the beginning, to the opening chapters of Genesis. The first eleven chapters of Genesis take us back to when the world was young. Dr. Martin Luther wrote a massive commentary on Genesis – 8 volumes when translated into English. He continued to polish that work until shortly before he died. He called Genesis “the most beautiful book in the world.” The last century or so has not been as kind…
HAPPY IN OUR FATHER’S HOUSE
Some years ago there was a gal the news media called “Garbage Mary.” When police picked her up at a shopping mall in Delray, Florida and took her to the hospital for evaluation, she was a filthy mess. So was her car. So was her two bedroom apartment. Neighbors told of her scrounging through garbage cans in search of food which she took back to her apartment. Police found the garbage everywhere – in the refrigerator, in the oven, in…
“SHIBBOLETHS”
The 12th chapter of Judges tells us how the men of Ephraim crossed to the east side of Jordan to fight against Jephthah and the men of Gilead. Jephthah and the Gileadites won. The survivors of Ephraim tried to retreat to their own territory on the west side of the Jordan. But whenever an Ephraimite requested safe passage across the Jordan River, the men of Gilead would ask: “Are you an Ephraimite?” When the frightened Ephraimite said, “No,” the men…
GROWTH
Some educators talk about child development as ratchet-based. A ratchet on a windup spring keeps the wheel from turning backward – it can only be turned forward. So children grow bigger, never smaller. Vocabulary increases, never decreases. Thinking becomes more complex, never more simple. This “truism” is, of course, not always true. The child who was enthused about learning in his early years may get “burned out” and wash out academically by the time he gets to junior high.…
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…
WHERE IS THIS WRITTEN?
In the second chapter of his second letter, Peter releases a blistering attack on false teachers. We know that false doctrine is poisonous. We know that true doctrine is the only antidote. In the Small Catechism Luther was accustomed to ask: “Where is this written?” He then set down the Bible passages where a given doctrine or teaching was found. By way of review and for your personal Bible study at home, here are some of the main teachings of…