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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...

In yet another stunning attack on freedom of religion, President Barack Obama's Justice Department asked the Supreme Court last week to give the federal government the power to tell a church who its ministers will be. The case involves a former teacher at Lutheran school, who along with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission is pushing a claim that a Lutheran congregation should be forced to restore her ministry position. Americans United for Separation of Church and State and American Atheists, Inc. have filed briefs siding with the Obama administration against the church. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Church...

“The Battle for the Mind” (Philippians 4:4-13)There’s a battle going on, a fierce battle, although the battlefield is relatively small. It’s only about six inches wide, that battleground. It’s the space between your ears. Yes, your mind, a Christian’s mind, is the place where the warfare is waging, and you are not exempt. There are various forces at work, seeking to take control of your mind, whether you like it or not. The devil, the world, and your own sinful flesh are conspiring to take your mind captive. Will you let them? Are you going to surrender those six inches...

In argument before the Supreme Court on an anti-discrimination case, the solicitor general—representing the Obama administration—said that the government would uphold the right of the Catholic Church to preserve an all-male priesthood, but only “because the balance of relative public and private interests is different in each case.” The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case of Hosanna-Tabor v. EEOC, in which a woman charged that she was wrongfully dismissed from a teaching position at a Lutheran school. School officials countered that the teacher had been dismissed because she did not accept the teachings of the church. The case turned...

Washington D.C., Oct 7, 2011 / 04:53 am (CNA/EWTN News).- A Lutheran teacher's lawsuit led to a provocative question being asked in the Supreme Court on Oct. 5: could government efforts to end job discrimination jeopardize the all-male Catholic priesthood? The case pitting the commission against Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School does not directly concern the issue of women and the priesthood. But justices were quick to connect the matter at hand – involving the Lutheran group's right to hire and fire ministers at their discretion – with the issue of Catholics' and other groups' right to determine...

JUDEA CHRISTIAN INSPIRATION   Steve Jobs was certainly inspired by Judea-Christianity, his most famous line [in 2005, which was the force behind his greatness, what, as he said, 'changed his life'] 'living every day as your last,' is derived of course from Judaism's Talmud in the 'Ethic of the Fathers' 'AVOT'] as quoted here: http://nhbz.org/sermons_detail.asp?sermonid=193 http://thecityofdavid.blogspot.com   ---   PRACTICING FAITHS: CHRISTIANITY, BUDDHISM   Steve Jobs died as a Buddhist, raised Lutheranhttp://m.christianpost.com/news/steve-jobs-died-buddhist-raised-lutheran-57506/   ---   WAS GIVEN UP BY BIOLOGICAL PARENTS   Son of Polish Catholic mother   Steve Jobs :: Catholic News Agency (CNA)Jobs' birth (as his life) was...

Everyone knows the Pope is Catholic. But is his job? The Department of Justice doesn’t seem to think so. This week, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church v. EEOC, which many have called the most important religious liberty case in decades. The key issue is the scope of the “ministerial exception,” which bars most employment-related lawsuits brought against religious organizations by employees performing religious functions. Until recently, nearly everyone—including both sides in Hosanna-Tabor and four decades of lower-court precedent—had assumed that the question was not whether the ministerial exception existed, but how far it reached. In August, however, the...

The first Anglican church in Western Canada, St. John's Anglican Cathedral is poised to make history again with the appointment of a Lutheran pastor as priest of the cathedral and dean of the diocese. Rev. Paul N. Johnson, an ordained minister in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, takes over as incumbent priest of the cathedral and dean of the diocese of Rupert's Land in January 2012, becoming the first Lutheran minister to hold those offices in Canada and perhaps the world. "This is the first time, as far as we know, that a Lutheran will be serving an Anglican...

“Counting Your Gain as Loss” (Philippians 3:4b-14)I was trying to think the other day of something where, if you gained, it was actually a loss. What would it be? You have a gain, but really it should be counted as a loss. The first thing that comes to mind is if you’re trying to lose weight. You step on the scale, you see that you’ve gained three pounds--well, you would probably think of that as a loss. You had lost ground in reaching your goal. That’s an example of counting your gain as loss. But there’s another area in which...

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“Have This Mind among Yourselves” (Philippians 2:1-18)In last week’s Epistle reading, from Philippians 1, St. Paul told the church at Philippi that he wants to hear they are “standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by (their) opponents.” Standing firm in one spirit, striving with one mind for the defense and advance of the gospel, unafraid. And we emphasized that this matter of having one spirit, having one mind--that this transforming of our mind comes about as we dwell upon the Word of God...

ELCA Bishop Extends Support For Lutherans In Jordan, Holy Land 11-124-MG CHICAGO (ELCA) - The presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), Mark S. Hanson, sent a letter on Sept. 22 to Bishop Munib Younan and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan and the Holy Land (ELCJHL), expressing the support of this church for a two-state solution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Hanson drafted the letter in response to growing tensions in the Middle East as Palestine submitted a formal proposal for full membership in the United Nations. The United Nations Security Council is expected to consider the...

During his State Visit to Germany, the Holy Father gave this address at Erfurt during an ecumenical gathering at the Lutheran church. Erfurt is, of course, where Martin Luther’s Augustinian convent was. A highlight: Faced with a new form of Christianity, which is spreading with overpowering missionary dynamism, sometimes in frightening ways, the mainstream Christian denominations often seem at a loss. This is a form of Christianity with little institutional depth, little rationality and even less dogmatic content, and with little stability. My emphases and comments. Ladies and Gentlemen,As I begin to speak, I would like first of all to...

The new bishop of a breakaway Lutheran denomination says there will be "no compromise" on the issue of gay pastors with its liberal counterpart, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.Bishop John Bradosky, 59, a native of Greensburg, said while he is open to dialogue between the North American Lutheran Church and the ELCA, there is a limit to what can be agreed to. Closing the breach between the two would "require some really major changes" on the part of the ELCA, Bradosky said. "I'm not sure there is an openness to those kinds of changes," he added. "We're certainly open...

“Standing Firm in One Spirit” (Philippians 1:12-14, 19-30)Today we are observing what we call “St. Matthew’s Sunday.” Our congregation is named in honor of St. Matthew, the great apostle and evangelist, and his festival comes up on the church year calendar this week. So we’ve taken to using one of the Sundays closest to St. Matthew’s Day, September 21, as a time to call special attention to the life and ministry of our congregation. We thank God for this little church we have here in Bonne Terre. It is an outpost of the gospel where can come and be refreshed...

“Sour Grapes in the Vineyard” (Matthew 20:1-16)When someone expresses negativity about a situation after the fact, only after they’ve been disappointed about the outcome--we call that kind of a reaction “sour grapes.” A candidate loses an election, and then afterward he says some nasty stuff about those dumb voters who chose the other guy. That’s “sour grapes.” A man loses out on a job, and then he speaks behind the back of the employer he was just flattering to his face. Again, sour grapes. It’s not a very becoming or noble characteristic, this sour-grapes attitude after a disappointment. But it...

“Jesus Raises the Debt Ceiling” (Matthew 18:21-35)We’ve heard a lot lately about “the debt ceiling” and “raising the debt ceiling.” Now when our government does this, raising the debt ceiling way beyond our ability to repay--and the bill will come due--many people think this is not such a good thing to do. But in the government of God, that is, in the kingdom of God, raising the debt ceiling is the only way that you and I will ever live. And that same principle applies, then, to how we treat our brothers and sisters within the kingdom. We’re all here...

I am a sinful human being that continually falls short of the glory of our Savior. Without my Lord and Savior, I can accomplish nothing. John 15:5-8, Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in...