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One of the distinctions of Reformation and Lutheran Christian preaching that I have found life changing is the proper distinction of Law and Gospel. I don't have enough time or space here to do this proper justice, but this distinction has truly changed my view of life and given me hope rather than dread in my Christian life. The core of this doctrine is that God's Law (summarized in the Ten Commandments and expanded upon by Jesus) reveals our sin, it shows how we are desperately sinful people incapable of delivering ourselves through our own efforts at morality. A lot...

LCMS reacts to contraceptive mandate 'accommodation' Missouri Synod president says church remains ‘deeply concerned’ about health plan mandate despite White House statement ST. LOUIS—February 14, 2012—The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, issued a statement today in response to President Obama’s health plan “accommodation” for religious groups, which was announced last week: “In response to President Obama’s announcement Friday concerning an ‘accommodation’ to a previous mandate that health plans must cover all forms of birth control (even those that can kill the unborn), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) remains deeply concerned. We strongly object to...

As the saying goes, “Show me your friends, and I’ll tell you who you are.” Who are the bedfellows of the ELCA? In a past blog, Exposing the ELCA revealed the close ties and similar ideologies the ELCA has with the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations. Now we find that the ELCA is also very close with an organization called the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA).

“The Cleansing of Naaman: How Can Water Do Such Great Things?” (2 Kings 5:1-14)Our text is the Old Testament Reading for today, the story of the cleansing of Naaman. Short version: Naaman was a man who had leprosy. He was told, “Wash, and be clean.” And, after some objections, Naaman did wash, and he did become clean. But there’s more here than meets the eye, as we will see. For one thing, this story raises the question: How could simply washing in a river--and a pretty unimpressive river, at that--how could that cleanse a man of leprosy? And what does...

KIRKWOOD, Missouri, February 9, 2012 (LifeSiteNews.com) - The President of the Missouri Lutheran Synod added his voice to the growing chorus of religious leaders from across denominational lines who are objecting to the HHS mandate requiring employers to cover sterilization and abortion-inducing drugs in their healthcare plans. “The Lutheran Church – Missouri Synod objects to the use of drugs and procedures that are used to take the lives of unborn children, who are persons in the sight of God from the time of conception,” wrote Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, in a statement issued February 3rd. “Increasingly we are suffering overzealous...

The ELCA leadership loves ELCA Rev. Nadia Bolz-Weber. She is the face and voice of today’s ELCA. Bolz-Weber pastors a church whose website states it is “queer inclusive,” “social justice oriented” and “irreverent."

I just came across a recap of the happenings at the now famous ELCA and worshippers of Isis conference, officially called “The 5th Annual Faith and Feminism – Womanist – Mujerista Conference,” that was held at the ELCA’s Ebenezer Lutheran church (herchurch) in San Francisco. . .

“And He Healed Many” (Mark 1:29-39)Yesterday, on a pastors’ e-mail list that I’m a part of, one of the men, Pastor Jay Webber of Arizona, brought a prayer request to our group on behalf of his son Paul and daughter-in-law Ruth. He’s given me permission to share this with you, by the way. His daughter-in-law, Ruth Webber, is 23 years old, and she is six months into her first pregnancy. However, she has been diagnosed with advanced gastric cancer, stomach cancer. Her chances for survival, Pastor Webber reports, are not good. Right now she’s up at the Mayo Clinic in...

ELCA presiding bishop supports Syrian church leaders' call for peace 12-03-MRC CHICAGO (ELCA) - In letters to Christian church leaders in Syria, the Rev. Mark S. Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), offered his support of the churches' collective call for an end to violence and his prayers for the people in the region. "In these difficult days, I will continue to pray and encourage members of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America to pray for you and your efforts to sustain the courage and faith of your communities," wrote Hanson. In addition to prayers...

“A New Teaching with Authority!” (Mark 1:21-28)Our text today is the Holy Gospel, the story of Jesus teaching in the synagogue and rebuking an unclean spirit, and the people’s reaction to what he was doing. They rightly saw that this was “A New Teaching with Authority!” “Jesus entered the synagogue and was teaching,” our text says. We sometimes forget that Jesus was a rabbi, a teacher. During his ministry, he would travel around to various places and teach. And one place where he regularly went was to the synagogue. Now the temple in Jerusalem was the place for the nation...

“Net Growth” (Mark 1:14-20)Where are the fish? Where have all the fish gone? This is the question on the mind of most every church in America these days. And no, I’m not talking about trout and catfish. I’m talking about people. Where are the fish, where are all the people? Why aren’t we seeing them in the church like we used to? Whose fault is it? Whom can we blame? Our numbers are down. Attendance, offerings--that’s what we’re fishing for, isn’t it? Maybe we need to try a different net. Why aren’t we seeing any (if you’ll pardon the pun)...

We recently made extensive revisions to this list. As of January 1, 2012 we show 616 congregations that have successfully taken the required two votes to leave the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Another 31 congregations have successfully taken one sucessful vote to date. The total members lost to the ELCA from these congregations stands at 313,799. PLEASE INFORM US OF ANY ADDITIONS OR CORRECTIONS THAT SHOULD BE MADE TO THIS LIST. ALASKA 1** ** St. Paul Lutheran Church, Kodiak NALC ARIZONA 10** [ . . . . ]

Let us first review the First Amendment as signed by those very Founding Fathers we so zealously quarrel about: "Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Naturally, various legal penumbras, as they say, have formed around each of these phrases, with freedom of speech bringing up one set of issues and freedom of religious expression another. The First Amendment is regarded by...

“Can Anything Good Come out of Nazareth?” (John 1:43-51)Can anything good come out of Bonne Terre? Can anything good come out of Potosi? Or let’s be more specific: Can anything good come out of St. Matthew’s? Can anything good come out of Redeemer? Those may be the kinds of questions in the minds of the people we meet and talk to. And the attitude behind the questions would be a rather dubious one. Believe it or not, some people may not think very much of those little podunk towns, Bonne Terre and Potosi, or of those little Lutheran churches, St....

Wednesday the United States Supreme Court delivered a knockout blow to the White House in the cause of religious liberty. Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for a unanimous court swatted away the government’s claim that the Lutheran Church did not have the right to fire a “minister of religion” who, after six years of Lutheran religious training had been commissioned as a minister, upon election by her congregation. The fired minister -- who also taught secular subjects -- claimed discrimination in employment. The Obama administration, always looking for opportunities to undermine the bedrock of First Amendment religious liberty, eagerly agreed....

In a landmark January 11 decision, the US Supreme Court ruled that religious bodies should set their own standards for hiring ministers, free from government interference. The unanimous decision in the case of Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC was described by Douglas Laycock, who successfully argued the case before the high court, as a “huge win for religious liberty.” The Hosanna-Tabor case was the result of a discrimination lawsuit, filed by a woman who claimed that she had been wrongly dismissed by the Michigan Lutheran congregation. The Supreme Court ruled the congregation was exempt from such an anti-discrimination suit....

Petitioner Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School is a member congregation of the Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod. The Synod classifies its school teachers into two categories: “called”and “lay.” “Called” teachers are regarded as having been called totheir vocation by God. To be eligible to be considered “called,” ateacher must complete certain academic requirements, including acourse of theological study. Once called, a teacher receives the formal title “Minister of Religion, Commissioned.” “Lay” teachers, by contrast, are not required to be trained by the Synod or even to be Lutheran. Although lay and called teachers at Hosanna-Tabor generally performed the same duties, lay...

Nicolas Steno, the Danish anatomist widely regarded as the father of geology, has been commemorated in a Google doodle marking his 374th birth anniversary on 11 January.The doodle illustrated the search engine's six letters in a geological style, with fossils in various bottom layers, with a green surface on top.Steno's work on the formation of rock layers and the fossils they contain was pivotal to the development of modern geology while his catholic piety has also been evaluated in recent decades with a view to his possible canonisation.Born as Niels Stensen, he left his native of Copenhagen in 1660 to...

“Christ’s Baptism and Ours” (Mark 1:4-11; Romans 6:1-11)Today the church celebrates the Baptism of Our Lord. On the First Sunday after the Epiphany, every year, we hear an account from one of the gospels of Christ’s baptism in the Jordan by John. “OK, so Jesus got baptized,” you say. “Big deal. Why should I care? What does this have to do with me?” A whole lot. As we shall see. Our reading from Mark and our reading from Romans will make the connection, as we consider the theme: “Christ’s Baptism and Ours.” First, Christ’s baptism. What’s going on here? What...

“Friday Night Lights” (Matthew 2:1-12; Isaiah 60:1-6; Ephesians 3:1-12)“Pastor, have you lost your mind? What are you doing, dragging us out here to church on a Friday night, for goodness’ sakes! And in January, no less!” And my answer to that would be: The reason I’ve asked you all here tonight has to do with the “Friday Night Lights.” Friday night lights. Let me explain. Today is the Epiphany of Our Lord, a major festival of the church year. Epiphany is always January 6--it’s what we call a “fixed-date festival,” determined by the date on the calendar, regardless of the...

“Circumcision and Name Both Say ‘Savior’” (Luke 2:21)Today is New Year’s Day, a day for looking forward to the year that lies ahead. It’s a day for plans and goals and New Year’s resolutions. “This is the year, finally, when I will get my weight under control, or when I will start exercising more regularly, or when I start being more faithful in my daily devotions.” All well and good. These can be good goals to have. January 1, 2012. This is also a day when we begin a new chapter in the life of our church. How is this...

“Christ’s Birthday Is Our Birthday, Too” (John 1:1-14)Whose birthday is it today? Well, that’s a good question. Of course, we’re celebrating the birth of Christ. It’s Christmas, after all. But at the same time, it is through Christmas, through the birth of Christ in the flesh, that other children are born, too--namely, the children of God. That’s us. And so today we’re celebrating the birth of Christ, first and foremost, but also with it, our own birth as God’s children. I can put our message today into one sentence: The Son of God became man, so that the sons of...

Newt Gingrich: What Kind of Catholic Is He? Melinda Henneberger December 23 The Newt Gingrich who talks about finding ways around the U.S. Supreme Court ban on school prayer and says public schools should be required to “teach the Creator” is not immediately recognizable to those who knew the former House speaker when he was not much of a church-goer. These days, Gingrich is running an overtly faith-based presidential campaign with echoes of televangelist Pat Robertson’s run in 1988. But on a quieter tour of Catholic America that began more than a year ago, the GOP candidate has been sounding...

“Home for the Holidays” (Luke 2:1-20)“Oh, there’s no place like home for the holidays.” So goes the familiar Christmas song. And it is good to be home, with family, at Christmas time. Renewed relations, good food, smiles on all the faces. There’s a fire in the fireplace, and you’re sitting in the living room, opening presents by the Christmas tree. Perry Como is singing in the background. Como, cocoa, cookies, and kids--a Christmas right out of Norman Rockwell. Very nice. But tonight I want to tell you about something even better than that. What it really means to be home...

“Good News Comes in Strange Packages” (Luke 1:26-38)How’d you like to have a really scary guy come up to you unexpectedly and tell you: “Hey, I’ve got good news for you! You’re about to have a life-changing experience that will cause the person closest to you to think you have betrayed him, an experience that will make you into something of a social outcast and that will rearrange your whole life and plans from anything you expected. Yeah, this is some really good news I have for you!” How would you feel, and what would you say to such a...

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all. Titus 2:11 Yes In this world where God creates with deep beauty and profound mystery. In this world where so many yearn for God’s healing and peace. In this world where some have thought God has forsaken us: Yes Here, in this world, the grace of God has appeared. Not just in this world but for you. Yes For you, weary from trying to meet the expectations of others. For you, worrying about an uncertain future. For you, wondering if you are worthy. Yes For you, the grace of...

“Blameless at the Coming of Our Lord” (1 Thessalonians 5:16-24)In this three-part Advent series, we have been looking at, and looking forward to, the coming of our Lord. And by that, I mean his Second Coming, the Last Day, the day when our Lord Jesus Christ returns on clouds of glory to render judgment on the earth. Accordingly, we have been speaking of the need to be “Awake until, Waiting for, and Blameless at the Coming of our Lord.” This has been our series theme. We began two weeks ago by hearing Jesus’ parable from Mark 13, about the servants...

Dear Catholic Bishops of Minnesota, I am writing in response to an open letter addressed to you by Bishop Herbert Chilstrom, a former bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), in which he expressed his support for the homosexual lifestyle and for same-sex marriage, and in which he challenged your stand against the same. As a Lutheran pastor I want to make clear Bishop Chilstrom’s opinions regarding these matters do not reflect the beliefs of Bible-believing Lutherans, nor does the counsel he gave you reflect the clear teachings of God’s Word. Most of all, I express my profound...

SANTA ANA – An appeals court has upheld the decision of a Tustin church to fire its preschool director for continuing to live while unmarried with her boyfriend with whom she had a child. Sara Henry, who also taught preschoolers at the Red Hill Lutheran Church in Tustin, filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against the church following her dismissal in May 2009 for her living arrangements contrary to the religious beliefs of the church and its school.

“The Messiah’s Job Description” (Isaiah 61:1-4, 8-11)As we just heard in the Gospel reading and sang in the hymn, St. John the Baptist came, proclaiming the arrival of the Savior and preparing the way before him. In doing this, John fulfilled the job description set forth for him in the prophet Isaiah, chapter 40, as John himself says, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” John came to proclaim the coming of the one coming after him. But what about that one coming after...

Lutheranism is dead, or at least soon will be and it wants to take the Catholic Church with it. Herbert W. Chilstrom is former presiding bishop of Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Chilstrom has written an open letter to the Bishops of Minnesota asking them to accept gay 'marriage' becuase gays are like blacks or something. May I share a word with all of you who now lead the Roman Catholic community of faith in Minnesota?First, I would go to the wall to defend your right to work for the adoption of the so-called marriage protection amendment. Having said that,...

“Waiting for the Coming of Our Lord” (2 Peter 3:8-14)Today we continue our three-part series, “Awake until, Waiting for, and Blameless at the Coming of Our Lord.” Last week we spoke of the need to stay awake until his coming again. Our focus now is on “Waiting for the Coming of Our Lord,” based on the text from 2 Peter 3. In this section of his epistle, Peter is talking about the Second Coming of Christ. At the time that Peter is writing this, it’s been several decades since Christ ascended into heaven, and Peter himself had heard the promise...

“A Trip out to the Wilderness” (Mark 1:1-8; Isaiah 40:1-11)Today and throughout the season of Advent, the church takes “A Trip out to the Wilderness.” We go out there and we meet John the Baptist, our wilderness guide. What John is doing out there is leading God’s people in two things, penitential preparation and hopeful expectation, as we await the coming of the Lord. Penitential preparation, hopeful expectation--these are the distinctive accents of Advent that we will hear in our trip out to the wilderness today. God does some of his best work out in the wilderness. In that desolate...

“Awake until the Coming of Our Lord” (Mark 13:24-37)It is customary for midweek services in Advent or Lent for the preacher to come up with a theme, some connecting thread that ties together the services and sermons for that season. Last year, for instance, our Advent series, for both the Sundays and Wednesdays, was on the seven “O Antiphons” of the hymn, “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel.” It made for a nifty, handy-dandy series theme. But this year for Advent, I wasn’t sure what to do with these midweek services, what sort of a theme to come up with. Then...

On Private Confession and Absolution Confession has not been abolished in our churches. For it is not customary to administer the body of Christ except to those who have been previously examined and absolved. The people are also most diligently taught concerning faith in the word of absolution, about which there was a great silence before now….Nevertheless, confession is retained among us both because of the great benefits of absolution and because of other advantages for consciences. (Augsburg Confession XXV [Kolb/Wengert 73:1-2; 75:13]) As a consequence of the vows I took to uphold the Scriptures and the proper interpretation of...

“Advent Is Worth the Wait” (Isaiah 64:1-9; 1 Corinthians 1:3-9; Mark 11:1-10)We don’t like to wait, do we? I mean, we Americans. And especially when it comes to Christmas. Wait till the night of December 24 to start celebrating Christmas? No way! So the Christmas catalogues started coming--when, the day after Labor Day? Then came the Christmas movies: “A Very Harold & Kumar 3D Christmas” came out November 4. The Christmas radio stations: “Santa Baby” was “Rockin’ around the Christmas Tree” already a couple of weeks ago. And the TV specials: “Christmas in Rockefeller Center” is this Tuesday. Apparently, Rockefeller...

“Unexpected Thanksgiving” (Luke 17:11-19)It was an unexpected thanksgiving. I mean the thanksgiving recorded in today’s reading from Luke 17, the story of Jesus healing the ten lepers. The thanksgiving that we find there was quite unexpected. And that may give us some guidance and inspiration for the rest of our day today, that we too may do some “Unexpected Thanksgiving.” Oh, now you would expect people to give thanks to the person who healed them, when they had just been healed of a dreaded disease like leprosy. It was a kind of a walking death, in a way. It ostracized...

Useful idiot is a derogatory adage, describing a person either too naïve or ignorant to understand that their advocacy of malevolent organizations only allows those organizations to conduct their business with impunity. Confused and misguided, the “occupy” movement is used by the labor unions and left wing radicals to conduct their bidding, disrupting the very business activity they need to support them. Gay rights advocates lobby to legitimize behavior that is contrary to God’s will, rather than loving their neighbor enough to lead them back to the Lord. Prior to the fall of the Soviet Union, soviet sympathizers used their...

“Then Comes the End” (1 Corinthians 15:20-28; Matthew 25:31-46)Today is the Last Sunday of the Church Year. The church year mirrors the life of Christ and the course of history, and so, naturally enough, as we come to the end of the church year, the lessons and themes of the last few Sundays concern the last things, the end times, and the return of Christ the King. So it is today. The Propers of the Day, the Introit, Collect, and Gradual; the Readings, the Old Testament, Epistle, and Holy Gospel; the hymns, “The Clouds of Judgment Gather” and the rest--all...

It is a reckless analyst who risks reopening sixteenth-century disputes between Roman Catholics and the Protestant Reformers. I do so in the interest of a greater good, but my purpose is not to say who was right or who was wrong. I would simply like to explore why the Protestant churches maintained unity with the Catholic Church on the contraception question for four centuries, only to abandon this unity during the first half of the twentieth century. I write as a historian, not an advocate. (I am a “cradle Lutheran.”) Orders & Disorders To understand the change in Protestant thought...

“But What Kind of Day Will It Be?” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)Perhaps you’ve heard of a radio preacher named Harold Camping. He was in the news, this Harold Camping was, earlier this year, when he made a prediction of when Christ would return. He even got it down to the day. After doing all his calculations, Harold Camping predicted that May 21 would be the day of Jesus’ return. Well, May 21 came and went, and Harold and his followers were not all beamed up in the Rapture. So then he revised his prediction. May 21, you see, was the spiritual...

The Apocrypha and Change within the Lutheran and Roman Churches Lesson 4 By Pr. Rich Futrell Jan 23, 2011 Recap Last week, we learned how the early Church responded to three traditions on the Apocrypha and affirmed the Anagignoskomena and Deuterocanonical views as legitimate. The Church rejected the view that allowed someone to reject the Apocrypha. The Apocrypha in the Lutheran Confessions Our Lutheran Confessions do not affirm or deny the Apocrypha, nor do our Confessions even list the books of the Bible! This shows that what constituted the Bible for Lutherans during the Reformation was not in dispute. This...

“Blessed Are the Hungry and Thirsty” (Matthew 5:1-12)Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Yes? Good. That’s a good place to be. Blessed, in fact. That’s what Jesus says in our Gospel for today: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” And so our theme this morning: “Blessed Are the Hungry and Thirsty.” Now it may sound strange to hear Jesus say that the hungry and thirsty are actually “blessed.” It doesn’t sound like any kind of a blessing to be suffering from hunger or thirst. But strangely enough it is. Because Jesus says...

Sola Scriptura or Prima Luther? What Did Martin Luther Really Believe About the Bible? By COGwriter Most people realize that the Living Church of God (or any of the true Churches of God) cannot be part of the Roman Catholic Church. However, some do not realize that the Living Church of God is not part of the Protestant reformation movement led by Martin Luther (our history predates Luther, and the actual Roman Catholic Church for that matter, please see the History of Early Christianity). Regarding the Bible, the Living Church of God believes that "All Scripture is given by inspiration...

When I was ein younger man I studied canon law; though Erfurt was a challenge it was just to please my pa. Then came the storm, the lightning struck; I called upon Saint Anne: I shaved my head, I took my vows – an Augustinian. Refrain: Papal bulls, indulgences and transubstantiation: speak your mind against them and face excommunication. Nail your theses to the door, let’s start a reformation, papal bulls, indulgences and transubstantiation. When Tetzel came near Wittenberg, St Peter’s profits soared, so I wrote a little message for the All Saints’ bulletin board; ‘you cannot purchase merit for...

“Fear God and Give Him the Glory!”: The Slogan of the Lutheran Church ReformationReformation Festival Sermon on Revelation 14:6-7 by C. F. W. Walther (1881) Translated by Joel Baseley. Abridged by Charles Henrickson.“Holy, holy, holy, Lord of Sabaoth, all the earth is full of your glory.” This we cry out today, O Lord our God, along with the cherubim and seraphim. For today we remember the glorious work of the Reformation of the church, which you began and gloriously brought to completion in the sixteenth century. Your glory had been taken from the very midst of your church, the glory...

Almost 100 ELCA pastors and leaders have endorsed a declaration entitled, “Religious Declaration on Sexual Morality, Justice, and Healing.” In this document, the ELCA leaders call for marriage equality for homosexuals, and they voice their commitment to abortion, among other things. Concerning marriage equality and abortion, the declaration says, “We call for:” - “Full inclusion of women and LGBT persons in congregational life, including their ordination and marriage equality.” - “A faith-based commitment to sexual and reproductive rights, including access to voluntary contraception, abortion, and HIV/STI prevention and treatment.” (read here) Here is the list of ELCA pastors and leaders...

It is amazing how easily we as human beings can lose our objectivity. We become lost in our own little world. It is like looking in a mirror which reflects an inaccurate image of reality. What we see in the mirror is not a true reflection of our condition before God. It is almost like someone has cast a spell over us. We need to look in a different mirror in order to break the spell. We need a mirror that will help us to see ourselves correctly and in a new light. This is what can happen for a...

“A Faith Worth Imitating: C. F. W. Walther” (Hebrews 13:7)Reading from Hebrews 13: 7: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith.” This is our text. Fifty years ago, “Walther” was a household name in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. After all, the synodical youth group was called the Walther League. Today, however, the league is long gone, and for many so is the man for whom it was named, Carl Ferdinand Wilhelm Walther. In fact, there are probably some here today who are wondering...

“Your Work of Faith and Labor of Love and Steadfastness of Hope” (1 Thessalonians 1:1-10)Pastor Henrickson, to the church of the Bonne Terrians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. And as long as I’m imitating the opening of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians, I’ll continue by saying to you what he said to them: “We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus...