O Emmanuel

The seventh O Antiphon:

O Emmanuel, our King and our Lord, the anointed for the nations and their Savior: Come and save us, O Lord our God. Amen.

Emmanuel.  God is with us.  The promise is fulfilled.  The Seed of the woman is here to crush the head of the serpent.  Jesus is born to save His people from their sins.  Emmanuel.  God is with us so that we can be with Him.  Eden is restored.  Paradise is again occupied by humanity.  The Tree of Life is Christ.  Truly that is reason to rejoice with exceedingly great joy!

Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. [Isaiah 7:14]

O come, O come, Emmanuel, 

And ransom captive Israel, 

That mourns in lonely exile here 

Until the Son of God appear. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! 

Emmanuel shall come to thee, O Israel! 

[LSB 357, stanza 1]

O King of the Nations

The sixth O Antiphon:

O King of the nations, the Ruler they long for, the Cornerstone uniting all people: Come and save us all, whom You formed out of clay. Amen.

“The Stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord’s doing, and it is amazing in our eyes” (Mark 12:10-11). The Church begs God to come and save those whom He has made in His own image, but whose features sin has distorted. We await the coming of the Cornerstone, the foundation upon which the Church, the home of all peoples, is built.

He shall judge between the nations, and shall decide disputes for many peoples; and they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore. [Isaiah 2:4] 

For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. [Isaiah 9:6] 

O come, Desire of nations, bind 

In one the hearts of all mankind; 

Bid Thou our sad divisions cease, 

And be Thyself our King of Peace. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel! 

[LSB 357, stanza 7]

O Come All Ye Faithful

The Nativity of Our Lord

Congregational Christmas Letter

Dearest children of the Heavenly Father:

O come, all ye faithful, joyful and triumphant!  O come ye, O come ye to Bethlehem; come and behold Him born the King of angels!

For more than two centuries those beautiful words have beckoned God’s faithful to come—joyful and triumphant—to Bethlehem and behold Him who was born the King of angels. You are among those faithful, adopted by your heavenly Father in Holy Baptism to be His beloved children.

Christmas encapsulates one of the most profound mysteries of all—God taking on human flesh and blood to save us from our sins. God comes to us as one of us. A tiny infant. He who will one day walk on water cannot yet crawl. He who will one day feed 5000 cannot yet lift a spoon to His mouth. He who will one day heal the crippled and lame cannot yet stand. He who will one day speak words of forgiveness cannot yet talk. Christmas is the Word (who created all things) enfleshed and dwelling among us. John Wade’s Christmas hymn sums up this mystery as follows:

Highest, most holy, Light of Light eternal, born of a virgin, a mortal He comes; Son of the Father now in flesh appearing!

How does a heart cleansed by this King of angels respond?

Sing, choirs of angels, sing in exultation, sing, all ye citizens of heaven above! Glory to God in the highest.

That’s how. We join our voices with the angelic choirs. We give glory to God for fulfilling His promises and sending us His salvation. He rejoice that in Christ there is now peace between God and man, for the Father is now well pleased with us through the merits of His own dear Son.

Remember that as you come into God’s house this Christmas to celebrate the birth of His Son. Remember how He who first finds Himself in a smelly stable will one day free mankind from the stench of sin. How He who first finds Himself lying in the wood of a manger will one day be nailed to the wood of the cross. How He who first finds Himself wrapped in swaddling cloths will one day be wrapped in linens cloths following His death. What else can faith say but:

Yea, Lord, we greet Thee, born this happy morning; Jesus, to Thee be glory given! Word of the Father now in flesh appearing!

On behalf of Lori and our boys, I want to wish you a Merry Christmas. I am honored and humbled to serve as your pastor, deliver Christ’s good gifts to you, and rejoice in the same forgiveness, life, and salvation He has won for us all. Christ will always be at the heart and center of everything we are, say, and do.

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

O come, let us adore Him,

Christ the Lord!

O Dayspring

The fifth O Antiphon:

O Dayspring, Splendor of light everlasting: Come and enlighten those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death. Amen.

The picture here is that of Christ who will return at the end of time and whose radiant light will completely dispel the darkness of our hearts and souls. We also recall Zechariah’s prophecy concerning Christ: “Because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:78-79).

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined. [Isaiah 9:2]

O come, Thou Dayspring from on high, 

And cheer us by Thy drawing nigh; 

Disperse the gloomy clouds of night, 

And death’s dark shadows put to flight. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel! 

[LSB 357, stanza 6]

O Key of David

The fourth O Antiphon:

O Key of David and Scepter of the house of Israel, You open and no one can close, You close and no one can open: Come and rescue the prisoners who are in darkness and the shadow of death. Amen.

It is the Messiah’s privilege to open or shut the gate into the Kingdom of God. We cry to Him to come and rescue us who, because of our sins, are prisoners of death, darkness, and the devil.

Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will do this. [Isaiah 9:7]

And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. [Isaiah 22:22]

O come, Thou Key of David, come,

And open wide our heav’nly home;

Make safe the way that leads on high,

And close the path to misery.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

[LSB 357, stanza 5]

O Root of Jesse

The third O Antiphon:

O Root of Jesse, standing as an ensign before the peoples, before whom all kings are mute, to whom the nations will do homage: Come quickly to deliver us. Amen.

This antiphon draws its inspiration from Isaiah 11. The prophet there sees the Messiah coming “as a signal for the peoples.” We are also reminded of Jesus’ words: “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself.” He said this to show by what kind of death He was going to die (John 22:32-33).

There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. [Isaiah 11:1]

In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of Him shall the nations inquire, and His resting place shall be glorious. [Isaiah 11:10]

O come, Thou Branch of Jesse’s tree, 

Free them from Satan’s tyranny 

That trust Thy mighty pow’r to save, 

And give them vict’ry o’er the grave. 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel 

Shall come to thee, O Israel! 

[LSB 357, stanza 4]

O Adonai

The second O Antiphon:

O Adonai and ruler of the house of Israel, who appeared to Moses in the burning bush and gave him the Law on Sinai: Come with an outstretched arm and redeem us. Amen.

The Lord made Himself known to Moses by telling him His name (I AM). The holy name in this antiphon (Adonai) will always remind us of the great deeds God has done for the deliverance of Israel. And, more significantly, it puts us in the context of the paschal mystery, for the coming of the Son who dies on the cross is the ultimate manifestation of God’s redemptive work.

With righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall kill the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His waist, and faithfulness the belt of His loins. [Isaiah 11:4-5] 

For the LORD is our judge; the LORD is our lawgiver; the LORD is our king; He will save us. [Isaiah 33:22]

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,

Who to Thy tribes on Sinai's height

In ancient times didst give the Law

In cloud and majesty and awe.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

[LSB 357, stanza 3]

O Wisdom

The first O Antiphon:

O Wisdom, proceeding from the mouth of the Most High, pervading and permeating all creation, mightily ordering all things: Come and teach us the way of prudence. Amen.

A dominant theme of the Old Testament is that of “Wisdom” (especially in Proverbs). Wisdom proceeds from God, creates and establishes order, and leads His faithful people in righteousness and holiness. From its beginning, the Church identified Jesus, the Word of God, with the Wisdom of the Old Testament. In this antiphon, we call upon the Son to teach us and lead us in the way of justice and righteousness.

And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD. And His delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. [Isaiah 11:2-3a]

This also comes from the LORD of hosts; He is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom. [Isaiah 28:29]

O come, Thou Wisdom from on high

Who ord’rest all things mightily;

To us the path of knowledge show,

And teach us in her ways to go.

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel

Shall come to thee, O Israel!

[LSB 357, stanza 2]

The O Antiphons

Advent is one of my favorite seasons of the church year. The wreath with its four candles bears more and more light as Christmas is about to dawn. The purple paraments remind us to prepare the royal highway for the King of kings. The midweek services teach us more about “God with us” in the person of Jesus Christ. And the tranquil hymns remind us of the Christ who once came in Bethlehem, still comes in Word and Sacrament, and will come again on the Day of Resurrection.

Here at Divine Shepherd, the common thread that runs through the fabric of this season is the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” [LSB 357]. This hymn is based on the ancient O Antiphons (dating at least as far back as the fifth century) assigned to the seven days preceding the Church’s celebration of Christ’s birth:

• December 17: O Sapientia (O Wisdom)
• December 18: O Adonai (O Lord of Might)
• December 19: O Radix Jesse (O Root of Jesse)
• December 20: O Clavis David (O Key of David)
• December 21: O Oriens (O Dayspring)
• December 22: O Rex Gentium (O King of the Nations)
• December 23: O Emmanuel (O Emmanuel)

The first letters of the Latin titles taken backwards form the acrostic “ero cras,” which translates as “tomorrow, I will come.” As will be shown in the days ahead, each of the seven O Antiphons uses a prophetic Messianic title from the Old Testament Scriptures (specifically Isaiah).

I encourage you to pray these during the final week leading up to Christ’s birth!

Three Kinds of Love

God makes distinctions between the different kinds of love, and shows that the love of a man and woman is (or should be) the greatest and purest of all loves. For He says, “A man shall leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife” [Gen. 2:24]. ... Now there are three kinds of love: false love, natural love, and married love. False love is that which seeks its own, as a man loves money, possessions, honor, and women taken outside of marriage and against God’s command. Natural love is that between father and child, brother and sister, friend and relative, and similar relationships. But over and above all these is married love, that is, a bride’s love, which glows like a fire and desires nothing but the husband. ... All other kinds of love seek something other than the loved one: this kind wants only to have the beloved’s own self completely.

Martin Luther
“A Sermon on the Estate of Marriage”
Luther’s Works, vol. 44, pp. 8-9

The Protection of Marriage: A Shared Commitment

On Monday, 6 December 2010, the following letter was released by religious leaders to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. I am thankful that the President of my own church body, the LCMS, signed this letter. PDF versions for downloading and printing are available here.

Dear Friends,

Marriage is the permanent and faithful union of one man and one woman. As such, marriage is the natural basis of the family. Marriage is an institution fundamental to the well-being of all of society, not just religious communities.

As religious leaders across different faith communities, we join together and affirm our shared commitment to promote and protect marriage as the union of one man and one woman. We honor the unique love between husbands and wives; the indispensable place of fathers and mothers; and the corresponding rights and dignity of all children.

Marriage thus defined is a great good in itself, and it also serves the good of others and society in innumerable ways. The preservation of the unique meaning of marriage is not a special or limited interest but serves the good of all. Therefore, we invite and encourage all people, both within and beyond our faith communities, to stand with us in promoting and protecting marriage as the union of one man and one woman.

Sincerely yours,

Leith Anderson
President
National Association of Evangelicals

Dr. Thomas E. Armiger
Dr. Jo Anne Lyon
Dr. Jerry G. Pence
The Board of General Superintendents
The Wesleyan Church

Dr. Gary M. Benedict
President
The Christian and Missionary Alliance

Glenn C. Burris Jr.
President
The Foursquare Church

Bishop H. David Burton
Presiding Bishop
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Dr. Ronald W. Carpenter, Sr.
Presiding Bishop
International Pentecostal Holiness Church Ministries

Nathan Diament
Director, Institute for Public Affairs
Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America

Most Rev. Timothy M. Dolan
Archbishop of New York
President
United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

The Most Rev. Robert Duncan
Archbishop, Anglican Church in North America
Bishop, Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh

Rev. Jim Eschenbrenner
Executive Pastor
Christian Union

Rev. Dr. Stephen A. Gammon
Conference Minister
Conservative Congregational Conference

Rev. Matthew C. Harrison
President
The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod

John Hopler
Director
Great Commission Churches

Dr. Clyde M. Hughes
Bishop
International Pentecostal Church of Christ

Ken Hunn
Executive Director
The Brethren Church

Bishop Harry Jackson
Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Bishop, Fellowship of International Churches

The Most Blessed Jonah
Archbishop of Washington
Metropolitan of All America and Canada
Orthodox Church in America

Dr. Richard Land
President
Southern Baptist Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission

Rev. Frederick J. Moury Jr.
National Conference Chair
Evangelical Congregational Church

Dr. James Murray
Interim Executive Director
General Association of General Baptists

Rev. Samuel Rodriguez
President
National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference

Manmohan Singh
Secretary General
World Sikh Council – America Region

The Rev. Paull E. Spring
Bishop
North American Lutheran Church

Dr. Joseph Tkach
President
Grace Communion International

Rev. Phil Whipple
Bishop
Church of the United Brethren in Christ, USA

Dr. George O. Wood
General Superintendent
Assemblies of God

Man Has to Control Himself

The whole basis and essence of marriage is that each gives himself or herself to the other, and they promise to remain faithful to each other and not give themselves to any other. By binding themselves to each other, and surrendering themselves to each other, the way is barred to the body of anyone else, and they content themselves in the marriage bed with their one companion. In this way God sees to it that the flesh is subdued so as not to rage wherever and however it pleases, and, within this plighted troth, permits even more occasion than is necessary for the begetting of children. But, of course, a man has to control himself and not make a filthy sow’s sty of his marriage.

Martin Luther
“A Sermon on the Estate of Marriage”
Luther’s Works, vol. 44, pp. 10-11

A Season of Waiting

“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” (Psalm 27:14).

One of the words that best captures the season of Advent is waiting. Now granted, waiting is not something we do very well. No child enjoys waiting until Christmas to open his presents. No adult enjoys waiting in long lines at the store to purchase that last minute gift. No driver enjoys waiting in bumper-to-bumper traffic as the winter snow slows everything down. But when it comes to faith, waiting is an integral part of who we are as children of the heavenly Father.

God’s people of old waited in patience and hope for the coming of the Messiah. Adam and Eve waited. Noah waited. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob waited. Moses waited. King David waited. In fact, every Old Testament saint died waiting for the Messiah. Thus, they died in faith and are even now with Christ in heaven. The One for whom they waited—Jesus, the Christ—was finally welcomed into this world by Mary and Joseph, the shepherds, Simeon and Anna, and the wise men.

We, too, wait. But not for Christ’s first coming. That day has already come and gone. Instead we wait for His second coming. Although we know neither the day nor the hour of His return, we have His sure and certain promise that He is coming again (Matthew 25). Thus, we wait. We are watchful and ready. We wait in patience and hope for the Day when our Lord Jesus will come again in glory to take us bodily to our eternal home. Which is why the Apostle Paul writes:

“Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” (Philippians 3:20).

And as we wait, we rejoice that Jesus comes to us even here and now. Every time we gather together in His name, He is here in our midst (Matthew 18:20). Every time we hear His Word, He is here in our midst (Romans 10:17). Every time we receive His true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, He is here in our midst (John 6:56). In short, He is here in Word and Sacrament to forgive our sins, to strengthen our faith, and to enliven our hope in His second coming!

2000 years ago Jesus became our Emmanuel (“God with us”). Today He is still with us in Word and Sacrament. And someday, on the Last Day, we will bodily be with Him in heaven. Advent wraps up all of these mysteries and beckons us to wait, to anticipate, to prepare. Why? Because...

“Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:28).

Let that be your joy this Advent, this Christmas, and always!

America's Four Gods

Americans are fickle when it comes to God. In fact, there are countless views of who God is, what He thinks, and how He acts (or doesn’t act) in human history. A recent book by sociologists Paul Froese and Christopher Bader—America’s Four Gods: What We Say about God and What That Says about Us—boils down all these views and finds that Americans have four different assumptions about who God is:

1. The Authoritative God is engaged in history and hands out harsh punishment to those who do not follow him. This view of God is held by 28% of Americans.
2. The Benevolent God is engaged in our world and loves and supports us in caring for others. This view of God is held by 22% of Americans.
3. The Critical God keeps an eye on this world—the poor, the suffering, and the exploited—but delivers justice in the next. This view of God is held by 21% of Americans.
4. The Distant God booted up the universe, then left humanity alone. This view of God is held by 24% of Americans. [Note: The remaining 5% of Americans are atheists or agnostics.]

So, what do you think? Is God authoritative, benevolent, critical, or distant? The truth be told, the Triune God cannot be characterized by any of these categories in isolation. In fact, the Christian needs to define these words differently even to make sense of them. Consider the following. God is authoritative in that He is the author of life, governs all things, and everything happens according to His good and gracious will. God is benevolent in that He calls us to be stewards of His creation and to love and serve one another. He is critical in that He hates sin and punishes it with temporal punishments in this life and eternal punishment for those who do not repent and believe in Christ. And He is distant in that we cannot find Him on our own, but have to be called through the Gospel.

And yet, the biggest flaw in the four categories listed above is this: There is no category for The Incarnate God. We cannot know the true God apart from Jesus Christ, “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary” (Luther’s Small Catechism). “Whoever has seen Me,” says Jesus, “has seen the Father” (John 14:9). Jesus is made visible to us in His holy Word and blessed Sacraments, which reveal to us the heart of God, who loved the world in giving His only Son to die for us and win our salvation. Thus, through Christ, we see God as He truly is. Creator. Redeemer. Sanctifier. Gracious. Merciful. Forgiving. Loving.

Look closely. In Word and Sacrament you see Him, His heart, and His will for you. Isn’t it beautiful! The eyes of faith rejoice, for He “has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity” (Luther’s Small Catechism).

Simply put, apart from Christ no one can know who God is, what He thinks, and how He acts in human history.

One last word of advice. When it comes to politicians, pundits, and commentators, keep your guard up when they begin speaking about God. In almost every case, their view of God is characterized by one of the aforementioned categories and falls short of the Triune God in several ways. You, on the other hand, know that God has revealed Himself to you in His incarnate Son and now gives you His Word as the source of your life. He—and He alone—is the One True God!

What is man?

“A lawyer speaks of a man as an owner and master of property, and a physician speaks of a man as healthy or sick. But a theologian discusses man as a sinner.”

Martin Luther

AE 12:310

What Would Jesus Do?

Whenever a pastor is tempted to soft-peddle his preaching, he should ask, “What would Jesus do?” Jesus would insist on saying the unpopular thing if it were true. We need to insist that Jesus is the only way to heaven, that you get there only because God draws you, that faith in the flesh and blood is indispensable, that other religions don’t get you there. Jesus preached the theology of the cross, and He suffered for it. Thankfully, our Lord did not measure the effectiveness of His ministry by how many people stayed in His church or by how His messages were received. He was called to proclaim the truth. The result, for Him, was the cross. The result for us is the same.

Rev. Klemet Preus
The Fire and the Staff, p. 331

What "Eight" Teaches Us

It was the very first question asked by many of the children on Sunday morning: Why does the floor under the baptismal font have eight sides? The answer: Because the number eight has some very rich theological meaning and reminds us that Christ’s Easter victory becomes ours in Holy Baptism.

On the very first day of creation (Sunday), as the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters, God called light out of darkness. And it was good. God created for six days and then rested on the seventh day (Saturday). Sadly, God’s very good creation did not stay that way very long, for our first parents quickly brought sin and death into the world.

Then, thousands of years later, into this sinful world came our Lord Jesus Christ to re-create fallen man. After being baptized to fulfill all righteousness, after proclaiming the kingdom of God in sermon and parable, after healing the sick and raising the dead, Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the first day of the week (Palm Sunday) to begin His ultimate work of re-creation. He finished this work on day six (Good Friday) by being nailed to the cross, enduring the forsakenness of His Father, and redeeming mankind through His holy precious blood and His innocent suffering and death. Then He rested in the tomb on the seventh day (Saturday).

On the very next day—a Sunday, the first day of a new week—Jesus rose from the dead, never to die again. That Easter Sunday is, in a very unique sense, the eighth day of creation. Like the first day of the original creation, it is the day light was called out of darkness—the Light of the world out of the darkness of the tomb. It is the day Jesus re-created us through His resurrection victory. It is the day—coupled with Pentecost (another Sunday)—the Spirit began hovering over the face of the waters of Holy Baptism to deliver Christ’s resurrection victory to those baptized “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 28:19).

From the earliest of times, the one holy Christian and apostolic Church equated Sunday with the eighth day, the day of resurrection, the unending day of Christ’s victory over sin, death, and the devil. The earliest baptismal fonts had eight sides as a reminder that we are incorporated into Christ’s death and resurrection in Holy Baptism (cf. Romans 6). We die to sin in that water (Good Friday) and then are reborn into the eternal life of Jesus Christ (Easter Sunday). Which is to say, we and all the baptized find ourselves living in the eighth day of creation, a day that will never end. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation” (2 Corinthians 5:17). That ancient light spoken into existence on the first day of creation foreshadowed the Light of the resurrection that dawned on the eighth day. This new and better light is “the bright morning Star” (Revelation 22:16) that never sets, “the Light of the world” (John 8:12) who has forever scattered the darkness of sin. Through Holy Baptism, we live in this eighth day with Christ!

There are other reasons eight is significant as well, and each of them is related to Christ’s resurrection and our baptism into Him. Eight people were saved on the ark during the flood, which corresponds to Holy Baptism (1 Peter 3:20-21). Eight day old boys were circumcised under the old covenant, which prefigured Holy Baptism (Colossians 2:11-12). And there are a total of eight resurrections recorded in Holy Scripture.

And so, every time you see the baptismal font, every time you witness a baptism, every time you hear the invocation, every time you walk over the octagonal marble floor on your way up to receive Christ’s true body and blood, remember that the eighth day—Christ’s resurrection—is where you live and move and have your being as the Father’s beloved child, robed in Christ’s perfect righteousness, templing His Spirit in your body.

What, then, does “eight” teach us? Simply this:

Christ’s resurrection victory is ours in Holy Baptism!

How to Read the Bible

Every word of the Bible is to be read as if it were printed with ink that is the very blood of Jesus.

Johann Gerhard (1582-1637)

An Open Letter to Christian Parents

Below is an excellent article written by a brother pastor...

An Open Letter to

Christian Parents

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Dear Parents, I know you love your children. I can see by the clothes they wear, the iPods and phones they have, and how much time you give to them. They go from school to band to football to soccer. You take them everywhere and give them everything they need. Sometimes it seems that you have given up your lives for them, doesn't it?

Christ. He literally gave up his life for you, me, our children, for all. He died for our sins and was raised so that we would stand before God, forever forgiven. That is the Christian Faith into which you and your children were baptized.

Holy Baptism. You were baptized into the faith of Jesus. Your whole life was washed, made clean, and forgiven by the Blood of Christ. Your children too.

Yet studies show that these days more young people are falling out of the faith than ever before. Only fifty percent of adults who attended church weekly as a child still attend church weekly as an adult. Only thirty-five percent of adults are currently attending church weekly who attended church two to three times a month as children.

It's more telling when you consider teenagers: of those teenagers who attended church weekly as teenagers, only fifty-eight percent attend church weekly as adults. And if they attended church less than two to three times a month? The number of weekly attendance for those teenagers when they become adults drops to a staggering thirty percent.

The answer isn't simply take them every week to church. It isn't even to take them to Sunday School, Weekday School, Youth Group, and Bible Class. You already know that you should be doing these things!

I'm asking -- I'm pleading with you -- to take the time to teach your children this Faith. Pray with them. Read the Word with them. Sing hymns with them. Practice their Confirmation memory work with them. Discuss with what you believe and why Jesus is your Savior.

Receive Jesus in the Word at church, washed down your forehead in baptism, and put into your mouth at His Supper. Receive Him for their salvation too -- modeling the Faith to them, living it out right there with them.

When they sin, forgive them in Christ. When you sin, ask them to forgive you in Christ. Live your lives as the baptized -- forgiven, washed, made holy by Jesus.

I know you love your children, dear Parents. I can see you do. I'm writing to remind you to love them in Christ.

In the name of Jesus. Amen.

Rev. George Borghardt

August 17, 2010

The Need for God's Word

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 ... 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].

Martin Luther
The Large Catechism I:100-101

From Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, copyright 2005, 2006 by Concordia Publishing House. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scriptural Duties of an Evangelical Lutheran Congregation

C.F.W. Walther, the first president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, describes the following Scriptural duties of a congregation in his treatise on The Proper Form of an Evangelical Lutheran Congregation:

1. To see to it that the Word of God may richly dwell and have full and free scope in its midst.
2. To care for the purity of doctrine and life in its midst and to exercise church discipline in these matters.
3. To concern itself also with the temporal welfare of all its members that they may not suffer want of the necessaries of life nor be forsaken in any need.
4. To see that in its midst “all things be done decently and in order” and to “provide for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men.”
5. To be diligent “to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” also with all parts of the orthodox Church.
6. To do its part in building up and promoting the welfare of the Church at large.

In the near future we will take a closer look at each of these Scriptural duties.

Does God Have a Sense of Humor?

Recently I was asked if God has a sense of humor. That’s a no brainer, I thought. After all, He placed me (a Vikings fan) in the midst of you (a bunch of Bears fans). That irony is funny!

Bad pastoral jokes aside, I think it is fair to say that God does have a sense of humor. But not necessarily in the way most people think of humor. After all, most people look at a certain situation in their life that is full of humor or wit or irony (like the football situation pointed out above) and conclude that God, with His sense of humor, arranged for things to happen this way. The problem with this type of reasoning, however, is that we have no way to verify such a hypothesis. If God hasn’t revealed something explicitly, who are we to put words and ideas in His mouth?

That being said, there are two reasons why I believe God does have a sense of humor. First, Holy Scripture speaks of God’s laughter in some places and alludes to what must be divine humor in other places. Three times the psalmist tells of God’s laughter and each instance connects God’s laughter with the folly of unbelievers:

“He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.” [Psalm 2:2]

“But the Lord laughs at the wicked, for He sees that his day is coming.” [Psalm 37:13]

“But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You hold all the nations in derision.” [Psalm 59:8]

God is indeed merciful. He “desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” (1 Timothy 2:4). But when unbelievers mock Him as if He doesn’t exist (atheism) or as if He is not the one and only true God (false religion), He laughs at their folly. This is undoubtedly wrapped up in His divine justice.

God’s actions sometimes allude to a divine sense of humor. Consider the example of the Children of Israel taking the Ark of the Covenant into battle against the Philistines as a good luck charm (cf. 1 Samuel 4—5). Because of their rebellion, the Israelites were defeated and the Ark was captured and carried off and placed into the Philistines’ temple beside the golden idol of their false god Dagon. When they came into their temple the next morning, they found Dagon lying face downward before the Ark (i.e. prostrating before the Ark in acknowledgement that the LORD is the one and only true God). So the Philistines took Dagon and put him back in his place. When they came into their temple the next morning, they once again found Dagon lying face downward before the Ark, with Dagon’s head and hands lying cut off on the threshold (i.e. a god with no head is no god at all, and a god with no hands cannot give anything to his people). I find these events humorous, for they show us in no uncertain terms that God does not tolerate false gods before His face. That is, after all, the First Commandment!

The second reason centers on the good gift of laughter, which, with joy and gladness, God gives His people. The psalmist speaks about the laughter the LORD will give His people following the restoration of Zion—His Church (Psalm 126:1-3). One of Job’s friends comforted him, saying: “He will yet fill your mouth with laughter” (Job 8:21). Wise King Solomon writes: “There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh” (Ecclesiastes 3:4). Jesus Himself gave us this beatitude: “Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh” (Luke 6:21).

Laughter—godly laughter—is a good gift from God. The problem with so much of our laughter, however, is that it centers on sinful things. For example, we have a tendency to laugh at crass or crude jokes or at the expense of others. That type of laughter is not godly. It is sinful. May our gracious Lord keep us from this type of laughter and humor.

So, yes, God does have a sense of humor. But don’t take it upon yourself to define what that sense of humor is. We are only given glimpses of it in His Word. Do rejoice that God has instilled in human beings the virtue of godly humor and laughter. It is indeed a wonderful gift from our Creator!

This article appears in my congregation’s July 2010 newsletter.

The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

June 24 is the day the one holy Christian and apostolic Church commemorates The Nativity of Saint John the Baptist.

St. John the Baptizer, the son of Zechariah and Elizabeth, was born into a priestly family. His birth was miraculously announced to his father by an angel of the Lord (Luke 1:5-23), and on the occasion of his birth, his aged father proclaimed a hymn of praise (Luke 1:67-79). This hymn is entitled the Benedictus and serves as the traditional Gospel Canticle in the Church’s Service of Morning Prayer. Events of John’s life and his teaching are known from accounts in all four of the Gospels. In the wilderness of Judea, near the Jordan River, John began to preach a call to repentance and baptismal washing, and he told the crowds, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). John denounced the immoral life of the Herodian rulers, with the result that Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, had him arrested and imprisoned in the huge fortress of Machaerus near the Dead Sea. There Herod had him beheaded (Mark 6:17-29). John is remembered and honored as the one who with his preaching pointed to “the Lamb of God” and “prepared the way” for the coming of the Messiah. [Source: Treasury of Daily Prayer]

Prayer of the Day:
Almighty God, through John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, You once proclaimed salvation. Now grant that we may know this salvation and serve You in holiness and righteousness all the days of our life; through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Hymn:
We praise You for the Baptist,
     Forerunner of the Word,
Our true Elijah, making
     A highway for the Lord.
The last and greatest prophet,
     He saw the dawning ray
Of light that grows in splendor
     Until the perfect day. [LSB 518, stanza 18]

The Sin Against the Holy Spirit

How should the Christian understand the following words?

For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. [Hebrews 6:4-6]

What follows is an explanation of these words, drawn from Holy Scripture and enlightened by much more learned theologians than myself!

For starters, this passage reminds us that believers can fall away from the faith. “Once saved, always saved” is false doctrine. Jesus Himself teaches this in the parable of the Sower and the Seed (cf. Luke 8:13).

This passage speaks about believers—those who have once been enlightened, tasted the heavenly gift, shared in the Holy Spirit, and tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come—who have fallen away. The Greek word parapipto, translated here as “fallen away,” is used only here in the New Testament. It means to fall to the side, to fall completely away. This is not Joseph’s brothers’ jealous actions, King David’s adulterous affair, or Peter’s threefold denial. It is a complete, absolute, and final rejection of Jesus Christ.

According to the author of Hebrews, it is impossible to restore such believers who have fallen away again to repentance. Such words place this type of falling away into the category of the sin against the Holy Spirit. Jesus teaches:

“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” [Matthew 12:31]

“But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” [Mark 3:29]

Saint John the Apostle also speaks of this sin against the Holy Spirit:

If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. [1 John 5:16-17]

The author of Hebrews later writes:

For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the law of Moses dies without mercy on the evidence of two or three witnesses. How much worse punishment, do you think, will be deserved by the one who has spurned the Son of God, and has profaned the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has outraged the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “Vengeance is mine; I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. [Hebrews 10:26-31]

The sin against the Holy Spirit is the complete, absolute, and final rejection of Jesus Christ. In this life, we are not to judge if a person has committed this sin. Only God, who knows the heart, can judge this. We are to call sinners—all sinners—to repentance.

Simply put, the Church’s mission is always to make disciples, to baptize, to teach, to call to repentance, to pray, to encourage, to admonish, and so forth. In any and every situation, in one form or another, the Church is continually calling sinners to repentance. This is true of unbelievers who have never known Christ, Christians who confess Christ, and former Christians who no longer believe in Christ. Repentance and faith in Christ is the sinner’s only hope!

If anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. [1 John 2:1-2]

The Lutheran Study Bible contains an excellent article entitled “Sin That Leads to Death” that is worth reading. It is found on page 2181.

Martin Luther writes:

Some think that these words are spoken by the apostle about those who in any way have fallen into sin. … That repentance remains for those who have fallen is clear, in the first place, from what the apostle Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:21-22: “Lest perhaps … God should humiliate me … and I should mourn over many of you who have not repented of the … fornication.” … In like manner he instructs Timothy and Titus to use the Word of God with gentleness (cf. 1 Tim 3:5; 2 Tim 2:25; Titus 1:7f; Titus 3:10), in hope that in some way the godless and heretics may be converted. Indeed, if there were no repentance, the entire Epistle to the Galatians would amount to nothing, since it is not the so-called actual sins that are censured in this epistle but the greatest sin, namely, the sin of unbelief, because of which they had fallen away from Christ to the Law. Thus we read in the Old Testament that the very saintly David fell three times and rose again just as often. In like manner the brothers of Joseph, although they were fratricides, were restored through repentance. And lest the heretics reason captiously that their opinions are in accord with the New Testament, behold, Peter, along with all the apostles, fell from faith; and they all fled. Yet they were restored. Therefore one must understand that in this passage the apostle is speaking about the falling of faith into unbelief. … Accordingly, it was the need of the primitive church that compelled the apostle to speak so severely against those who had fallen. Here there was danger not only with regard to the changing of morals after faith had taken root but more so with regard to the newly planted faith itself. [Luther’s Works, AE 29:181-183]

Another commentary notes:

In the earliest tradition, especially in the Latin West, and among rigorists like the later Tertullian, the sense of Hebrews 6:4 that it is possible to repent from sins after baptism was taken literally. Gradually, however, the tradition interpreted this text to mean that baptism, with its symbols of crucifixion, death and life, was a once-and-for-all event that was unrepeatable. Thus, according to Ephrem, while baptism cannot be repeated, the door of repentance is always open to the penitents. Repentance is always possible, however, because what is impossible with humans is possible with God. There is always hope of forgiveness (Ambrose). Origen compares those who need to repent after apostasy to Lazarus in the tomb, who needs to hear the voice of Jesus to live again. Chrysostom is most concerned that this passage not become an occasion for Christians to become judgmental, and he defines what it is to be a saint: Every believer is a saint in that he is a believer. Faith makes saintship. In fact, Chrysostom argues that everyone in affliction needs help; we are not to become judgmental and overly curious about the state of a person in need. The person in need is God’s, whether he is heather or Jew; even an unbeliever in need still needs our aid. Repentance, like baptism, signifies rising from spiritual death to new life (Origen, Chrysostom). [Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture: Hebrews, NT X:83]

Finally, this passage does not deny Christ’s objective justification of the entire world. He died for all people. Thus, there is salvation for all people in His name!

The Athanasian Creed

Early in the fourth century, a north African pastor named Arius began teaching that Jesus Christ was not truly God. The Church responded decisively in AD 325 with a statement of faith (The Nicene Creed), which confessed that Jesus is, in fact, true God. Toward the end of the fifth century, another creed was written that delved further into the mystery of the Trinity. Though attributed to Athanasius, a fourth-century opponent of Arius, this anonymous creed clearly came at a later stage in the debate.

The Athanasian Creed declares that its teachings concerning the Holy Trinity and our Lord’s incarnation are “the catholic faith.” In other words, this is what the true Church of all times and all places has confessed. More than fifteen centuries later, the Church continues to confess this truth, confident that the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, has given Himself for our salvation.

Whoever desires to be saved

     must, above all, hold the catholic faith.

Whoever does not keep it whole and undefiled

     will without doubt perish eternally.

And the catholic faith is this,
     that we worship one God in Trinity and Trinity in Unity,
     neither confusing the persons nor dividing the substance.

For the Father is one person,
     the Son is another,
     and the Holy Spirit is another.

But the Godhead of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit
     is one:
          the glory equal, the majesty coeternal.

Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Spirit:
     the Father uncreated,
     the Son uncreated,
     the Holy Spirit uncreated;
          the Father infinite,
          the Son infinite,
          the Holy Spirit infinite;
               the Father eternal,
               the Son eternal,
               the Holy Spirit eternal.

And yet there are not three Eternals, but one Eternal,
     just as there are not three Uncreated or three Infinites,
     but one Uncreated and one Infinite.

In the same way, the Father is almighty,

     the Son almighty,

     the Holy Spirit almighty;
          and yet there are not three Almighties,

          but one Almighty.

So the Father is God,

     the Son is God,

     the Holy Spirit is God;
          and yet there are not three Gods,

          but one God.

So the Father is Lord,

     the Son is Lord,

     the Holy Spirit is Lord;
          and yet there are not three Lords,

          but one Lord.

Just as we are compelled by the Christian truth

     to acknowledge each distinct person as God and Lord,
     so also are we prohibited by the catholic religion

     to say that there are three Gods or Lords.

The Father is not made nor created nor begotten by anyone.

The Son is neither made nor created,
     but begotten of the Father alone.

The Holy Spirit is of the Father and of the Son,
     neither made nor created nor begotten,

     but proceeding.

Thus, there is one Father, not three Fathers;
     one Son, not three Sons;
     one Holy Spirit, not three Holy Spirits.

And in this Trinity none is before or after another;
     none is greater or less than another;
     but the whole three persons
          are coeternal with each other and coequal,
     so that in all things, as has been stated above,
     the Trinity in Unity and Unity in Trinity is to be worshiped.

Therefore, whoever desires to be saved
     must think thus about the Trinity.

But it is also necessary for everlasting salvation

     that one faithfully believe the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, it is the right faith that we believe and confess
     that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

     is at the same time both God and man.

He is God, begotten from the substance of the Father before all ages;
     and He is man, born from the substance of His mother in this age:
     perfect God and perfect man,
     composed of a rational soul and human flesh;
     equal to the Father with respect to His divinity,
     less than the Father with respect to His humanity.

Although He is God and man, He is not two, but one Christ:
     one, however, not by the conversion of the divinity into flesh,
     but by the assumption of the humanity into God;
     one altogether,
          not by confusion of substance, but by unity of person.

For as the rational soul and flesh is one man,

     so God and man is one Christ,
     who suffered for our salvation,
     descended into hell,
     rose again the third day from the dead,
     ascended into heaven,
     and is seated at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty,
     from whence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

At His coming all people will rise again with their bodies

     and give an account concerning their own deeds.

And those who have done good will enter into eternal life,
     and those who have done evil into eternal fire.

This is the catholic faith;

     whoever does not believe it faithfully and firmly cannot be saved.

Source: Lutheran Service Book

Dating 101

Dating. Love. Marriage. Sex. Every teenager begins, as some point or another, to think about these things. And dating is usually the first to be pondered seriously. So, how’s a Christian to approach dating?

First, a disclaimer. I am not a dating expert or a relationship authority. Nor do I play one on TV. However, I am a Lutheran pastor. And God’s Word does offer some wonderful parameters within which the Christian can approach dating. The same is true of love, marriage, and sex. As I was recently asked to tackle this subject, what follows is my pastoral advice on dating. It is directed primarily to Lutheran teenagers, but may, by God’s grace, benefit others as well.

“It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him” (Genesis 2:18). God created man and woman for each other and placed within each a desire for the other. A desire for companionship (beyond that of friendship). A desire to be one flesh (within the God-given ordinance of marriage). And a desire to bring forth children (as God so blesses). Because the Christian lives within this God-given design, dating should always be done with marriage in mind.

That being said, we live in a sinful and broken world. The devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh tempt us to push aside the aforementioned God-given desire and find contentment in covetousness and lust and all sorts of sexual immorality. Add to this raging hormones, and the ability to live within God’s good design seems impossible. Is it any wonder that God calls us daily to die to sin and rise to new life in Christ’s forgiveness?

“Put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.” [Romans 13:14]

“Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.” [1 Corinthians 6:18-20]

“Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.” [Galatians 5:24]

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness.” [Colossians 3:5]

So, whom should you date? The natural place to begin looking for that special person of the opposite sex is within your circle of good friends. With whom do you enjoy spending time? With whom do you share common interests, values, and pursuits? What kind of personality best gels with yours? Whom do you believe to be morally upright, outwardly kind and generous in word and deed, and inwardly grounded via faith to Christ? Whom do you find physically attractive? (Notice that I put this one last, for while physical looks are important, inner beauty is far more important. Don’t forget that the person you marry, as good as he or she looks on your wedding day, will one day grow old, get wrinkles, and may even turn grey, go bald, or need dentures!)

For the teenager who desires to date, the counsel and advice of father and mother are vitally important. God gave you your parents to love and nurture you, to guide and protect you, to lead you from childhood into adulthood. Besides, who knows you better? Who loves and cares about you more than Dad and Mom? God has seen fit to place you under their care and even commands you: “Honor your father and your mother” (Exodus 20:12). So seek their counsel and listen to their advice every step of the way.

But the most important thing to look for in a future spouse (and, thus, in dating as well), is a mutual faith in the one true God and a united confession of that faith. As a fellow pastor has stated, “it is best to find someone with whom you can call upon the Lord Jesus Christ with one heart and one voice.” In other words, look for someone who recognizes his/her sinfulness and looks to Christ for forgiveness and strength to live the Christian life. Look for someone who shares the same baptism, hears the same absolution, confesses the same faith, believes the same Gospel, looks to the same Christ, receives the same Supper, and walks daily in the same hope. Look for someone who understands that marriage is a reflection of the relationship of Christ and His Church. For these and other reasons, I advise Lutheran teenagers (and single Lutheran adults) to date a fellow Lutheran with the same confession of faith.

So, you’ve found someone you really like (who likes you as well). You even have your parents’ blessing. Now the exciting stuff of dating begins. Movies. Sporting events. Dances. Walks around the mall. Talks on the phone. Rejoicing in each other’s company. Learning each other’s strengths and weaknesses. Sharing in each other’s joys and sorrows. What next? Pastor Rick Stuckwisch offers the following advice:

“The thrill of dating should not be perpetuated for its own sake, nor allowed to go on and on without any guidance or direction. This stage in a relationship is really a testing of whether these two friends may become husband and wife. If it becomes clear that marriage would be unwise or out of the question, then romantic dating ought to stop, and perhaps a normal friendship in the company of other friends may be resumed. But if the relationship continues in a positive and healthy direction, with the blessing and approval of parents and other authorities, then the couple ought to be thinking and planning toward marriage. … The bottom line is to honor the Word of God and obey the Fourth Commandment, that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.” [Higher Things]

Through it all, keep yourself sexually pure in thought, word, and deed. Save yourself for marriage. Too many couples think that shacking up and engaging in premarital sex is necessary to determine if they are compatible or not. Don’t believe that lie. Those who cohabitate before marriage are more likely to divorce than couples who do not cohabitate. But even more importantly, God designed intimacy and sex to be enjoyed exclusively within marriage. As you learned from Luther’s Small Catechism: “We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.”

And when God joins you to the one whom He has designated for you, live within God’s blessing. Be faithful to your spouse and to your mutual vows and commitment. Husbands, love your wife as Christ loves the Church. Wives, love your husband as the Church loves Christ. Put the needs of your spouse above your own. Forgive as you have been forgiven. Worship and pray together. And bring up your children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. In summary, “let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled” (Hebrews 13:4).

Still have questions? I’m sure you do, for there are too many components of dating to tackle in one article. Plus, I don’t have all the answer anyway. It is my hope and prayer that you will speak with your parents and seek their counsel and advice regularly. I also invite you to ask me any questions you have as you enter the wonderful world of dating and courtship, and eventually engagement and marriage. God has much to say on these subjects, and I am happy to tell you more about His will for you!

This article appears in my congregation’s June 2010 newsletter.

Prayer: A Daily Thing!

Today (the first Thursday in May) is the National Day of Prayer. The law formalizing this annual observance was enacted by the U.S. Congress in 1952 to encourage citizens “to turn to God in prayer and meditation.”

I personally do not observe the National Day of Prayer. Never have. Never will. I do believe such an observance is constitutional. But I have no need for government to tell me when or where or how I should pray.

For the Christian every day is a time for prayer. Faith in Christ lives from His Word and Sacrament and involves a daily drowning of the Old Adam (our sinful nature) and renewing of the New Man (Christ in us) through remembrance of one’s baptism into Christ’s death and resurrection. Such faith leads the Christian back to God’s house regularly first and foremost to be renewed and strengthened and then to add his Amen to “the prayers” of the Church (Acts 2:42). Then he returns home and, by God’s grace, brings his prayers daily to the Triune God. The Lord’s Prayer. The Psalms. The Kyrie. Luther’s morning, evening, and meals prayers. On and on this list goes.

Prayer is the Christian’s calling. “Be constant in prayer” (Romans 12:12). “Devote yourselves to prayer” (1 Corinthians 7:5). “Continue steadfastly in prayer” (Colossians 4:2). “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6). “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

That is why I do not observe the National Day of Prayer. Prayer is not a once a year observance. It is a daily thing for the Christian.

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time. [1 Timothy 2:1-6]

So call upon God in every trouble. Pray, praise, and give thanks. And then trust that He will answer your prayers according to His good and gracious will!

Illogical Logic

The congregational nonimations for President of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod (LCMS) have been counted and posted. And the numbers overwhelmingly reveal that the congregations want a change in leadership.

Rev. Matthew Harrison, executive director of LCMS World Relief and Human Care, received 1,332 nominations. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick, incumbent LCMS president, received 755 nominations. To put those numbers in perspective, consider the following facts:

• Harrison’s 1,332 nominations is the most ever for a non-incumbent.
• Kieschnick’s 755 nominations is the least ever for an incumbent.
• Kieschnick’s 755 nominations is 28% fewer than the 1,055 he received in 2007.

And yet, despite the facts, President Kieschnick offered this explanation in a recent newspaper article:

“I’ve been a part of this church long enough to know that if someone in office is doing a very poor job, we’d have more than 30 percent of them weighing in. ... Call it apathy or satisfaction, but they see no need to make a change.” [St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 4/24/2010]

This was quickly followed up by a group of Kieschnick supporters, who made the same claim:

The main news from the nominations result is that only about one third of the eligible 6,000 congregations participated in the process. One interpretation is that by far most congregations are satisfied with the present leadership and thus did not participate. Their non-participation says nothing about how their delegates will cast their vote. Along that same line of reasoning, congregations that took the effort to make nominations are more likely to want change. There is website evidence this year that groups of dissatisfied pastors made a strong effort to organize to have their candidate(s) nominated. Thus one could conclude that a nomination total of 1,300 for a non-incumbent means only a quarter of the congregations are dissatisfied and want to change leadership. [Jesus First, Issue 62, April 2010: Putting Convention Nominations into Perspective]

Low numbers = high approval. How’s that for illogical logic!

LCMS, if you want to continue with this type of illogical leadership, your decision flies in the face of the majority of the congregations who cared enough to send in their nominations. There is a better leader in Rev. Matthew Harrison. May our gracious Lord bless the LCMS through the faithful leadership of President Harrison beginning this summer!

Spirituality without Religion

It seems young adults are spiritual, but increasingly not very religious. Admittedly, those terms are ambiguous. Especially when asked by pollsters in carefully crafted questions. But an August 2009 survey done by LifeWay Research is still worth our time and attention in getting a pulse of the culture around us. Here are a few of the findings with regard to millennials (those born between 1980 and 1991):

• 65% rarely or never pray with others.
• 38% almost never pray by themselves.
• 65% rarely or never attend worship services.
• 67% do not read the Bible or sacred texts.
• 50% do not believe Jesus is the only path to heaven.

The study found that 65 percent of millennials identify themselves as Christian, while 14 percent say they are atheist or agnostic, 14 percent list no religious preference, and 8 percent claim other religions. It also found:

I believe this survey is accurate. Not only have young adults forsaken religion, so have their parents. Why? Because their god is a combination of themselves and this world. That is who man is by nature. Self-centered. Self-seeking. Self-indulged.

To make matters worse, Christianity has become so dumbed down in our culture that it has little to offer anymore. Sin is no longer sin. Christ is no longer the only way to heaven. God is whomever you want him to be. In order to be relevant to a very fickle culture, most Christian churches have minimized (if not totally removed) the Scriptural truths of sin and grace, law and gospel, repentance and forgiveness. Why do I need a Savior when I am no longer a sinner condemned to hell? Why do I need the Triune God when I am a god unto myself? Why do I need to repent and believe in Christ when I am content relying on my own seeming goodness to get to my own conception of heaven?

Simply put, spirituality without religion (i.e. the one holy Christian and apostolic Church) is like Christianity without Christ. It is an oxymoron. Christians devote themselves “to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers” (Acts 2:38). It’s what they do because it is only in Word and Sacrament that Christ’s forgiveness, life, and salvation become our own.

Reader, you are a sinner. God says so. And sin leads to death, eternal death. But Jesus Christ, the Son of God, became man to rescue you from sin and death. He took your sin upon Himself and paid its penalty on the cross. Then He rose again on the third day to declare you righteous. Now He brings you the benefits of His death and resurrection in His Word and Sacraments that you might live in His forgiveness. Know that I am happy to tell you more about this new life in Christ!

See LifeWay Research and USA Today for more details on the aforementioned survey.

Renewed!

You live a wearied life. You work long hours. Then you come home and have to deal with dinner and dishes, the kids’ homework and activities, mowing the lawn, a trip to the store for groceries, fixing the kitchen faucet, sorting through the mail, and paying the bills.

And if the pressures of work and home aren’t enough, you also have to deal with your sinful flesh. The unkind word you spoke. The grudge you are holding. The covetous desire for more and better and bigger things. The lust, envy, greed, and pride that are never far from your heart. As you well know, the battle wages on day in and day out. The devil does not grow weary in tempting you. The world does not grow weary in enticing you. Their troops are always fresh and their weapons always find their mark. But you, on the other hand, do grow weary. Your sinful flesh wants to waive the white flag of surrender and indulge in the temptation of the moment. But in your struggle against the Old Adam, in your weariness during the battle, do you think that God has forgotten you, that your way is hidden from Him?

Isaiah has some good news for you: “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). You’ve been renewed before! In fact, you received “the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5) in Holy Baptism. It should come as no surprise, then, that by returning to your baptism daily in the drowning of your Old Adam you will also find a renewal of your spirit, faith, and strength as the New Man—Christ in you—emerges.

The Hebrew word “cha-lif” (translated above as “renew”) actually means to “exchange.” Remember the wonderful exchange Christ has made with you? He has taken your filthy rags of unrighteousness and given you the white robe of His perfect righteousness. He has taken your weariness and given you His strength.

“Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden,” says Jesus, “and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Christ is the answer to your weariness. Therefore, weary one, renew your strength in Christ’s words of absolution, in the proclamation of His Word, and in His body and blood. For in these and these alone will you find the rest, forgiveness, and strength your weary soul so desperately needs.

And while you are at it, reach out in love to those around you. Those weary from busy lives or full schedules. Those weary from long work days or endless searching for employment. Those weary from troubled marriages or quarreling families. Those weary from medical problems or tight finances. Reach out to them in their need. Listen to their plight. Offer a helping hand. And don’t be afraid to pray with them and for them.

And then look a little closer at those whom God places in your path, for you might just see something more. Those weary from the weight of their own sinful nature. Those weary from guilt and shame over some past sin. Those weary from trying to do the impossible by pleasing God with their own works. Reach out to them in their need as well. Listen to their plight. Remind them of the rest, forgiveness, and strength you have in Jesus Christ as a free gift by grace. And then invite them to come to church and hear God’s Word with you.

The Apostle Paul writes: “Let us not grow weary in doing good” (Galatians 6:9). You need never grow weary in doing good, for Jesus Christ continues to renew you through baptism, absolution, gospel, and supper for that very purpose. Day in and day out He bears you up with wings like eagles so that you can run to your neighbor in need and not be weary, so that you can walk in the way of the Lord and not faint. In Christ, you now face work and home and even your own sinful flesh with the rest, forgiveness, and strength He so abundantly provides. All because He has renewed you!