On the Ministry

Reflect with me for a moment on how the three-fold ministry of bishop, pastor and deacon points us to the person and work of Jesus as well as the blessed, holy Triune God in whom we live and more and have our being. Jesus is the Shepherd and Bishop (Greek = episkopon) of our souls (I Peter 2:25). He is our Priest who lives to make intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25-28). He came not to be served but to be our Deacon, to serve (Greek = diakonesai) and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). Just as God the Father is the source of unity in the Trinity, so the Bishop is also a priest and a deacon. Jesus is our great high priest who gives us His very body and blood to eat and drink, and the Holy Spirit is our deacon who serves us by calling, gathering, enlightening and keeping us in the one true faith. All work together in perfect harmony and cause the building up of the Body in love. I pray for all of us that we would be witnesses and partakers of the grace of God who is invading our grief with joy.

The Sower

(Peter Ditzel -- should be a Lutheran if he isn't already!) In Acts 16:14, we read of Lydia, "whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul." Here we see the difference. Lydia "attended unto" (prosechein—"gave full attention to," "held to," even "became addicted to") the Word of God spoken by Paul because God first opened her heart or mind. The difference between the good ground and the wayside, the stony ground, and the weedy patch is God's miraculous and sovereign act of opening a person's mind. This opening of the mind is similar to opening or tilling the ground. It softens and gives depth of earth, gives the gift of saving faith, and imparts the Holy Spirit so that the seed of the Word can take deep root and draw upon the "moisture" of the Holy Spirit to grow.

Independence Day

O, thus be it ever when freemen shall stand,
Between their loved home and the war's desolation!
Blest with victory and peace, may the heav'n-rescued land
Praise the Power that hath made and preserved us a nation!
Then conquer we must, when our cause it is just,
And this be our motto: "In God is our trust"
And the star-spangled banner in triumph shall wave
O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave!

Herman Sasse on Baptism

In Baptism the Holy Spirit is communicated; we are “all baptized into the one body” (1 Corinthians 12:13). Those who are baptized have been baptized into Christ’s death (Romans 6:3). These are all realities that take place, not alongside of Baptism, but in Baptism. In the New Testament, Baptism with water, inasmuch as it is a baptism into Christ, into the name of Christ, is Baptism with the Spirit, it is a being born anew and at the same time from above “of water and of the Spirit” (John 3:5). Certainly the New Testament knows of no regeneration without Baptism and independent of Baptism. Baptism, therefore, is not a sign but a means of regeneration. To take it only as a sign of a regeneration, that also takes place without it and independently of it, is unbiblical.

What our youth are learnign at Higher Things c. 2011

Breakaway Session A
Tuesday, July 12 08:00pm - 09:00pm
Available Sectionals:
•Answering Critics of the Scriptures with Rev. Jacob Ehrhard
•Christ-Types in the Old Testament with Rev. Stan Temme
•Consumed by Addictions with Rev. Dr. David Balla
•Finding Comfort in Difficult Times: The Hymns of Paul Gerhardt with Dr. Jon Eifert
•H2O: Ordinary and Extraordinary with Rev. Paul Mumme
•How Hollywood Views Christianity with Rev. Klemet Preus
•Is God Against Me? The Theology of the Cross with Rev. Kim Scharff
•Jesus and Genesis on Creation with Rev. Dr. Joel Heck
•Jesus through Middle Eastern Eyes with Rev. Jeff Pflug
•Me? Play the Organ? How Do I Even Get This Thing to Turn On? with Mr. Chris Loemker
•Mormonism Exposed! with Rev. Brent Kuhlman
•Taking the “Crisis” Out of Crisis Pregnancy with Mrs. Amy Beisel
•Talking about Homosexuality in a Tolerant World with Rev. Len Astrowski
•Talking to Your Non-Lutheran Friends about Jesus with Rev. Mark Buetow
•When Should I Get Married? Why Not Now? with Rev. William Foy

A Christian response to evil action

Bishop Nicholas Dimarzio (New York) drew a new line in sand. "In light of these disturbing developments..." he said, "I have asked all Catholic schools to refuse any distinction or honors bestowed upon them this year by the governor or any member of the legislature who voted to support this legislation. Furthermore, I have asked all pastors and principals to not invite any state legislator to speak or be present at any parish or school celebration... [T]he governor and state legislature have demonized people of faith, whether they be Muslims, Jews, or Christians, and identified them as bigots and prejudiced, and voted in favor of same-sex 'marriage.'" But, as the New York Bishops write, "We just as strongly affirm that marriage is the joining of one man and one woman in a lifelong, loving union... This definition cannot change."
We must fear God rather than man.

only a cup of cold water

+ 2nd Sunday after Pentecost +
June 26, 2011
Matthew 10:42 You can be sure that whoever gives even a drink of cold water to one of the least of these my followers because he is my follower, will certainly receive a reward.
What to do in the face of bad news. When we face times of discouragement, pain and loss, we realize that the depths of evil only serve to highlight the incomparably greater goodness of God.
1. Jeremiah truly was the prophet of doom and gloom
a. The exile to Babylon and its consequences cannot be reversed
b. The LORD has truly sent that prophet whose words come to pass

2. Paul brings homes the power of sin.
a. It was sin, producing death in me…so that sin through the commandment might become sinful beyond measure. (Romans 7:13)
b. You also have died to the law through the body of Christ so that you may belong to one another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we bay bear fruit for God. (Romans 7:4)


3. Jesus reveals the hard truths of entering the Kingdom of God.
a. Belonging to Christ comes with a cost – painful, but temporary.
b. Belonging to Christ comes with a reward.