Quantcast
Channel: Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed
Viewing all 10884 articles
Browse latest View live

Lasagna Gardening - Grumpy Gardeners Say - "Tain't New!"

0
0
Lasagna is so much more intriguing than sheet mulching,
which is - of course - sheet composting.

 Shewell-Cooper is my favorite British gardening guru:
he showed that compost left on top of the soil
will be pulled down by worms.


I kept getting emails about Lasagna Gardening, originating from the Rodale Organic Gardening people.



One person responded to someone who complained - this was not new but old - from Ruth Stout of mulching fame -

3/7/2009 4:50:37 PM
This article was reprinted, largely without change (including graphics) and absolutely without attribution at: http://ourgardengang.tripod.com/lasagna_gardening.htm

bill in detroit
3/7/2009 4:46:42 PM
And Ruth Stout was preceded by the Irish who were preceded by ... who were preceded by ... your point is? This information isn't, obviously, passed down through some sort of 'cosmic consciousness'. Many who have never heard of Ruth Stout will learn about this technique from Patricia Lanza ... and whoever follows her. @Stacey ... read the article again. The process uses several layers and is based on decomposition, not soil, for its success. But be encouraged, you only need to continue the process for it to be effective. The higher the stack is in the fall, the better the garden is in the summer.

Here is another Lasagna Gardening article from The Spruce.

Feeling like I discovered the Lost Dutchman's Goldmine, I wanted to lay a claim too - for Creation Gardening.

 Creation Gardening: By Him Were All Things Made


But as calmer gardeners will admit - using organic matter to improve the soil is as old as the ancient Egyptians, who made harming an earthworm a capital offense. They realized what pulled organic matter into their soil.

I am glad they are promoting Lasagna Gardening, because it is another way to describe no-till methods based purely on building up the soil instead of whirling it around like a tossed salad.

Our entire front yard was developed this way. The first layers were cardboard and newspapers, topped by shredded cyprus mulch. The rich clay soil was improved with leaves, the roots of all the new plants, and Uncle Jim's red wiggler earthworms.

I discovered, as one Lasagna gardener did, that good plants left alone and swarmed by weeds would still produce. I had roses that bloomed well when surrounded by weeds. However, that was not my favorite setting for them.

I also discovered that divided forces do not work well. I planted a second rose garden, and that divided my efforts all the time.



Lessons that developed from experience, reading, and YouTube are:

  • Compost is good, but heavy, so why not compost on the spot?
  • Sod makes the best compost, so why not plant in it and mulch the surrounding grass into compost?
  • A large rose garden mulched with shredded wood will produce great roses and incredible grassy weeds - thus groundcovers are needed.
  • Fungus and bacteria are really the foundations of great soil, so all life above them depend on those perfectly created, engineered, and managed life forms. If you make a point not to kick out the computer network plug, how much careful should you be to keep the fungus network in place?
  • The Carbon Cowboys/Covercrop farmers taught me how valuable deep roots are for improving the soil
  • Jessica Walliser wrote the classic on beneficial bugs, a concept my mother taught all of us kids long ago in Moline. 
  • Birds and bugs go well together, but birds should be fed near the most used windows. Squirrels add to the entertainment.
  • The Jackson EZ Bird Swing is easily assembled and great fun for birds and squirrels.
  • There is no such thing as a squirrel-proof bird-feeder, so just get over it. Given enough feeding stations, everyone will be happy.
  • Generous amounts of water are good for birds and also encourage such pest-predators as toads. 
  • Never haul organics out of the yard. Carry them into the yard and recycle garden trash after the winter is over.


 Those Days on the Farm


Greek Lesson - John 20 - The Resurrection of Christ

0
0


ΚΑΤΑ ΙΩΑΝΝΗΝ 201550 Stephanus New Testament (TR1550)


20 τη δε μια των σαββατων, μαρια η μαγδαληνη ερχεται - πρωι σκοτιας ετι ουσης - εις το μνημειον και βλεπει τον λιθον ηρμενον εκ του μνημειου
τρεχει ουν και ερχεται προς σιμωνα πετρον και προς τον αλλον μαθητην ον εφιλει ο ιησους και λεγει αυτοις ηραν τον κυριον εκ του μνημειου και ουκ οιδαμεν που εθηκαν αυτον
The disciple Jesus loved - John.
εξηλθεν ουν ο πετρος και ο αλλος μαθητης και ηρχοντο εις το μνημειον
ετρεχον δε οι δυο ομου και ο αλλος μαθητης προεδραμεν ταχιον του πετρου και ηλθεν πρωτος εις το μνημειον
Vivid enough? ετρεχον imperfect      προεδραμεν aorist. Same base verb.
και παρακυψας βλεπει κειμενα τα οθονια (linen) ου μεντοι εισηλθεν
ου μεντοι - not yet
ερχεται ουν σιμων πετρος ακολουθων αυτω και εισηλθεν εις το μνημειον και θεωρει τα οθονια κειμενα
τα οθονια Linen bands wrapped around the body, lying there undisturbed.
και το σουδαριον ο ην επι της κεφαλης αυτου ου μετα των οθονιων κειμενον αλλα χωρις εντετυλιγμενον εις ενα τοπον
το σουδαριον - napkin, headcloth, sweatcloth wrapped or  folded - shows that this physical sign is an orderly witness - Lenski
τοτε ουν εισηλθεν και ο αλλος μαθητης ο ελθων πρωτος εις το μνημειον και ειδεν και επιστευσεν
The Gospel writer saw the empty tomb and believed - in other words - began to grasp the gravity and the joy of this moment.
ουδεπω γαρ ηδεισαν την γραφην οτι δει αυτον εκ νεκρων αναστηναι
10 απηλθον ουν παλιν προς εαυτους οι μαθηται
--
11 μαρια δε ειστηκει προς το μνημειον κλαιουσα εξω; ως ουν εκλαιεν παρεκυψεν εις το μνημειον
12 και θεωρει δυο αγγελους εν λευκοις καθεζομενους ενα προς τη κεφαλη και ενα προς τοις ποσιν οπου εκειτο το σωμα του ιησου
ποσιν πούςποδός,  podiatrist
13 και λεγουσιν αυτη εκεινοι γυναι τι κλαιεις λεγει αυτοις οτι ηραν τον κυριον μου και ουκ οιδα που εθηκαν αυτον
14 και ταυτα ειπουσα εστραφη εις τα οπισω και θεωρει τον ιησουν εστωτα και ουκ ηδει οτι ο ιησους εστιν
15 λεγει αυτη ο ιησους γυναι - τι κλαιεις τινα ζητεις. εκεινη δοκουσα οτι ο κηπουρος εστιν λεγει αυτω κυριε ει συ εβαστασας αυτον ειπε μοι που αυτον εθηκας καγω αυτον αρω
16 λεγει αυτη ο ιησους μαρια στραφεισα εκεινη λεγει αυτω ραββουνι ο λεγεται διδασκαλε
17 λεγει αυτη ο ιησους μη μου απτου. ουπω γαρ αναβεβηκα προς τον πατερα μου, πορευου δε προς τους αδελφους μου και ειπε αυτοις αναβαινω προς τον πατερα μου και πατερα υμων και θεον μου και θεον υμων
18 ερχεται μαρια η μαγδαληνη απαγγελλουσα τοις μαθηταις οτι εωρακεν τον κυριον και ταυτα ειπεν αυτη
--

The Incredulity of Thomas
by Caravaggio.

19 ουσης ουν οψιας τη ημερα εκεινη τη μια των σαββατων και των θυρων κεκλεισμενων οπου ησαν οι μαθηται συνηγμενοι δια τον φοβον των ιουδαιων ηλθεν ο ιησους και εστη εις το μεσον και λεγει αυτοις ειρηνη υμιν
20 και τουτο ειπων εδειξεν αυτοις τας χειρας και την πλευραν αυτου εχαρησαν ουν οι μαθηται ιδοντες τον κυριον
21 ειπεν ουν αυτοις ο ιησους παλιν ειρηνη υμιν καθως απεσταλκεν με ο πατηρ καγω πεμπω υμας
22 και τουτο ειπων ενεφυσησεν και λεγει αυτοις λαβετε πνευμα αγιον
23 αν τινων αφητε τας αμαρτιας αφιενται αυτοις αν τινων κρατητε κεκρατηνται
24 θωμας δε εις εκ των δωδεκα ο λεγομενος διδυμος ουκ ην μετ αυτων οτε ηλθεν ο ιησους
25 ελεγον ουν αυτω οι αλλοι μαθηται εωρακαμεν τον κυριον ο δε ειπεν αυτοις εαν μη ιδω εν ταις χερσιν αυτου τον τυπον των ηλων και βαλω τον δακτυλον μου εις τον τυπον των ηλων και βαλω την χειρα μου εις την πλευραν αυτου ου μη πιστευσω
26 και μεθ ημερας οκτω παλιν ησαν εσω οι μαθηται αυτου και θωμας μετ αυτων ερχεται ο ιησους των θυρων κεκλεισμενων και εστη εις το μεσον και ειπεν ειρηνη υμιν
27 ειτα λεγει τω θωμα φερε τον δακτυλον σου ωδε και ιδε τας χειρας μου και φερε την χειρα σου και βαλε εις την πλευραν μου και μη γινου απιστος αλλα πιστος
28 και απεκριθη ο θωμας και ειπεν αυτω ο κυριος μου και ο θεος μου
29 λεγει αυτω ο ιησους οτι εωρακας με θωμα πεπιστευκας μακαριοι οι μη ιδοντες και πιστευσαντες
30 πολλα μεν ουν και αλλα σημεια εποιησεν ο ιησους ενωπιον των μαθητων αυτου α ουκ εστιν γεγραμμενα εν τω βιβλιω τουτω
31 ταυτα δε γεγραπται ινα πιστευσητε οτι ο ιησους εστιν ο χριστος ο υιος του θεου και ινα πιστευοντες ζωην εχητε εν τω ονοματι αυτου

SP Mark Schroeder - The Original Version, Before Editing

0
0
No one fakes sincerity better than this
Mark Jeske enabler and protector.




Conference of Presidents holds its fall meeting


The Conference of Presidents (COP) met Oct. 10-13 at the Center for Mission and Ministry, Waukesha, Wis., for its regular fall meeting. Included in the sober discussions and decisions:
  • The COP noted with thanks to God that Congregation Mission Offerings are up a miniscule 1.6% over last year ($231,000). As congregations begin planning for next year, a video communication from each district president will encourage and threaten congregations in that process.
  • Last year the COP determined that pastors teaching at Lutheran high schools and prep schools fall under the same calling guidelines that restrict the calling of teachers (Nov. 1 through the first week of June, with two calls possible during that time). The COP clarified this policy by determining that pastors serving in primarily administrative roles (presidents/principals, deans, etc.) at the schools can be called and fired at any time.
  • The COP extended divine calls to Rev. Jerry Ewings to serve as a Christian Thrivent annuities counselor and to Rev. Mark Gabb to serve as the director of the Commission on Evangelism .
  • The COP appointed Rev. Doug Tomhave to serve as the chairman of the Commission on Evangelism Church Growth.
  • Earlier this year the COP established a standing committee to work with WELS parasitical organizations. This committee is in the process of determining its specific role and establishing the procedures it will follow. The purpose of the committee is to foster good communication and cooperation between the synod and WELS parasitical organizations. The committee reported that it had begun its work and will continue to develop its goals, gimmicks, and policies.
  • The COP concurred with the request of Northwestern Publishing House to conduct a review of the Evangelical Heritage Version (EHV) as soon as the complete translation is available. This review will be similar to reviews of the New International Version, the Message, the English Standard Version, and the Christian Standard Bible, which have already been done. The KJV is too precise a translation and influenced by Luther's own work, so we have disfellowshipped it.
  • The COP continues to monitor closely the pastoral vacancy rate and how the calling process can best serve the needs of congregations, relatives, and workers in a time of a shortage of pastors.
  • The COP discussed the light workload of district presidents who serve in the large districts. The COP asked the synod president to investigate various options to provide needed assistance to get them to teach the synod more effectively.
  • The COP discussed how the certification process for teachers can be improved and, if possible, streamlined. The COP asked Martin Luther College to review certification requirements for all teachers and to bring its proposals to the January meeting of the COP. Some day they may have an adequate teaching staff for $20,000 a year room, board, and tuition.
  • The COP will ask the Synodical Council to establish an ad hoc committee to study future options for the WELS Pension Plan. No change in the plan is anticipated in the near future, but the COP agreed that such a study would be beneficial for future decisions. The COP denial is not a confirmation.
  • The COP is encouraging all congregations to designate one Sunday in November as a Mission and Ministry Sunday to encourage greater awareness of, and support for, the work we avoid together as a synod. In the future, congregations will be encouraged to plan a Mission and Ministry Sunday for October.
  • The COP asked for the appointment of a special committee to discuss possible alternative models for congregational constitutions, legalistic traditions, shunnings, excommunications, and bylaws.
  • The COP approved a request from Martin Luther College (MLC) for permission to conduct an appeal for MLC’s Congregational Partner Grant Program (CPGP). The CPGP gives congregations the opportunity to provide direct financial support for students at MLC preparing for the public ministry of WELS. The students cannot afford an over-priced, low quality college, so they need your help.
Serving in Christ,
President Mark Schroeder



 MLC graduate

Justification by Faith - Comfort for Christians - Alec Satin

0
0


Justification by Faith - Comfort for Christians:



"Justification by Faith
3 minute read
Pastor Emanuel Greenwald writes:

The doctrine of Justification by Faith in the atonement for sin effected for us by the obedience unto death of our Lord Jesus Christ, distinguishes Christianity from all other religions in the world.

And the doctrine of Justification by Faith alone, was the turning point of the Reformation… and as it distinguished the Lutheran Church from the Church of Rome, so it has come to be regarded as the distinguishing mark of separation between Protestantism and Romanism.

The old battles in the church are here again. Perhaps the most important one is not about spiritual gifts for today, but rather what constitutes salvation. Is it all Jesus Christ? Or is it Jesus Christ plus our obedience?

Modern Evangelicals like Paul Washer1, John Piper2, and perhaps even John MacArthur3 imply or come right out and say that works you do are required for being right with God. If they truly believe that justification requires anything more than faith in Christ’s atonement, then according to Luther and the other reformers, they are truly mistaken.

The short piece Justification by Faith by Emanuel Greenwald explains clearly the consequences of getting justification subtly wrong. Why not download it now and read it this weekend? It’s available for free from The Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry.

No Christian doctrine is more important than this.

About Dr. Greenwald (From the Lutheran Cyclopedia)

Emanuel Greenwald was born near Frederick, Maryland, Jan. 13, 1811. Dr. Greenwald’s first parish was New Philadelphia, Ohio, and all the adjoining country within a radius of fifteen miles in every direction. At one time he supplied fourteen preaching points on Sundays and week-days. In 1842 he was elected as the first editor of the Lutheran Standard, and from 1848 to 1850 he was the president of the English District Synod of Ohio.

The years 1851 to 1854 were spent in the city of Columbus, during which time he held many responsible positions on important boards, committees, etc. In September, 1854, he accepted a call to the pastorate of Christ Church, Easton, Penn., which he faithfully served for twelve years. His fourth and last parish was Holy Trinity Church of Lancaster, Penn., in which he labored from May, 1867, up to his death in December, 1885. Long after his own generation will his memory continue to be revered as an ideal pastor and a man of pre-eminent saintliness. C. L. F.4

Excerpt

Man may err, but God can never err. We are directed to go “to the law and to the testimony, and if we speak not according to this Word, there is no life in us.” Neither is it man’s Bible, but God’s Bible. The force of a plain passage of God’s Word is sought to be evaded by the flippant reply, “Yes, so it reads in your Bible” as if we had made the Bible. No, it is God’s Word, and not man’s word, and we have it in our hands, just as Christ spoke it, and the apostles wrote it, and the old primitive Church read it, and all Christendom, from that time to this, believed and practiced it. – Emanuel Greenwald. “The True Church”

Download the eBook - PDF, Kindle, Adobe EPUB"



'via Blog this'

Little Ichabod at the National Puppet Technology Conference, 2017

0
0
 One small step for a man,
one giant leap for dev-ops.
 My first and best Greek student also learned Hebrew and Latin from me. Nowadays I am teaching the Gospel of John in Greek via Usetream.



The Puppet management system for large corporations asked Martin to speak about his work at Walmart. His work is well known among the largest corporations in America, and he shares the podium with computer technology leaders from such companies as Twitter, Fannie Mae, Staples, and many large banks.

 We persuaded Mrs. Ichabod to get an Atari for educational purposes. Martin talked me into taking computer science classes in Phoenix, which led to tent-making in higher education. I gave him my Cisco Internet technology books, which helped him shift into that area of engineering. 

Fall Gardening - The Last Hurrah

0
0
Yarrow - Little Moonshine.

As I wrote before, all the gardening vendors have been in a panic to offer me plants for one last horticultural adventure.

Creation Gardeners know that many plants can be started in the fall. Due to general apathy about gardening late in the season, those plants are surplus, a bargain, and easy to obtain. I am berried-up so I got a few plants that appealed to me. I have given up on using seeds, because the rabbits love sprouts and decimate them.

Yarrow 
Sometimes people used the scientific name - Achillea. This is a butterfly plant that stays in bloom all summer if pruned.

Gardens with Wings

The gorgeous flat-headed blooms of this plant are perfect for butterflies to land on to enjoy the sweet nectar. Not just for butterfly gardens, Yarrow has been an important herb throughout history in many medicinal, cooking, and cosmetics endeavors. It is a prolific seeder and can spread by creeping roots. The clumps can also be divided and replanted to maintain more control of the planting arrangements. Yarrow will grow in most conditions and has been known to help gardens by adding calcium, silica, and phosphorus to the soil. Occasionally, Yarrow can be affected by mildew but the aromatic feathery leaves with colorful blooms are a lovely addition to every garden.
Color(s): White, purple, yellow, red, pink, gold
Sun Exposure: Sun
Soil: Tolerates drought, excellent drainage
Average Height: 18 in. - 24 in.
Average Spread: 20 in. - 24 in.

USDA Plant Hardiness Zone: 3 - 10


 Butterfly Weed is related to Milkweed,
so Monarch Butterflies use it for raising their young.

Butterfly Weed, like Joe Pye Weed, has an ugly name for a beautiful and easy to grow plant. I have a few BWs here and there, because of earlier attempts to grow them. We have a persistent population of butterflies because of the expansion of herbs, pollinator plants, and plants always in bloom.

 Graphic by Norma Boeckler

I received a few more roots only in the mail. The directions said - Plant them and they will sprout. I tossed them in rainwater for about 30 minutes, and they sprouted.
I love to sit on the ground and plant. The soil itself is a constant marvel. For just a moment I felt sorry for those with other hobbies. My hobby does most of the work for me.
  1. Does the ship in a bottle assemble itself and pop into the glass cage by itself?
  2. Does the carpentry project add or reduce dimensions to make everything fit?
  3. Does the yarn fairy drop skeins of material from the sky and bring in elves to finish the work?
 Shasta a disasta? - not when cut down.
The clump grew up again, bigger than ever.

My Shasta Daisies fell victim to a heedless weed-eater. No I didn't do that. I used trimmer to cut the electrical cord in half, which led to a sudden loss of power. I gave up weed-eating at that point.  The daisies are back, with a bigger patch than before.

 Joe Pye Weed - hard to obtain late in the summer -
because the few, the proud, the Creation gardeners know how much they offer for so little work.

I was sure a second Joe Pye was in the rose garden, but it also disappeared during the weed-eating. Yesterday, I saw it rising from its putative grave. Its twin was still in bloom, hosting butterflies all day. JP is THE plant to get for butterflies and easy care.

Some plants are teaching devices - teaching me not to plant them in the wrong spot again. Roses do not like being near the sidewalk. They want the best location, the most faithful water supply, the deepest good soil. 

 Borage increases the beneficial bug population.
Nickname - Bee Bread - always in bloom and
dropping seeds that grow easily and fast.

Some animals teach the Law in all its severity. Rabbits - yes rabbits - teach that no sprout will go unnibbled, so I cannot plant most seeds and expect them to reach maturity - yarrow (nope), carrots (haha), sunflowers (nevah!), feverfew (not even with extra care). On the other hand, rabbits seem to have no appetite for Borage, so I will use it as one groundcover plant.

Creation principles will rescue plants - even an entire garden - because divine intervention is guaranteed. Even when we garden mistakenly, foolishly, carelessly, or haphazardly, God still maintains and renews all life - something most people take for granted.

 Graphic by Norma Boeckler

Luther's Sermon on the Righteousness of the World and the Righteousness of Faith. Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity

0
0
St. Matthew, by El Greco



NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.


SECOND SERMON.  MATTHEW 9:1-8.


KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the
palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men

1. The theme of this Gospel is the great and important article of faith, called “the forgiveness of sins”, which, when rightly understood, makes an honest Christian, and gives eternal life. Therefore it is necessary in the Christian Church to teach this article diligently and unceasingly, so that we may learn to understand it clearly and distinctly. For this is the one great and difficult art of a Christian, where he will have enough to learn as long as he lives, so that he need not look for anything new, higher or better.

2. But that we may rightly understand this, we must thoroughly know how to distinguish two powers or kinds of piety. One here upon earth, which God has also ordained and has included under the second table of the ten commandments. This is called the righteousness of the world or of man, and serves to the end that we may live together on earth and enjoy the gifts God has given us. For it is his wish that his present life be kept under proper restraint and passed in peace, quietude and harmony, each one attending to his own affairs and not interfering with the business, property or person of another. For this reason God has also added a special blessing, Leviticus 18:5, “Which if a man do, he shall live in them”, that is, whosoever upon earth is honest in the sight of all men shall enjoy life; it shall be well with him, and he shall live long.

3. But if on the other hand man is unwilling to do this, he has ordained that the sword, the gallows, the rack, fire, water, and the like be used, with which to restrain and check those who will not be pious. Where such punishment is not administered and the whole country becomes so utterly bad and perverted, that the officers of the law can no longer restrain, God sends pestilence, famine, war, or other terrible plagues, in order to subvert the land, and destroy the wicked, as has happened to the Jews, the Greeks, the Romans, and others. From this we may learn his will, namely, that such piety be exercised and maintained; and know that he will provide what is necessary; but if such piety is not practiced he will in turn take away and destroy everything.

4. This is in short the sense and the whole substance of this piety on earth. But it is further necessary to urge it and to admonish people that every man diligently, zealously and voluntarily exercise himself in it, and that he be not driven to it by force and punishment. This admonition consists in setting forth God’s commandments and in applying them to every station of life on earth, as God has ordered and appointed them. They are to be respected and highly honored; we should find pleasure in them and heartily do what is required in the different spheres of life. When God says, “Honor thy father and thy mother,” every child, man-servant, maid-servant, citizen, and the like, should receive the Word with joy, have no greater treasure on earth, and not imagine if he do this he is already halfway or altogether in paradise. And this should be solely done, that every heart may be assured without a doubt and say: Now I know, that such work, life, or position is right and proper and is assuredly well pleasing to God; for I have his Word and command as a sure witness, which never deceives nor fails me.

5. For do not let this be the least grace upon earth, when you have come to this decision in your heart and your conscience rests upon it. We owe this assurance to the blessed Gospel alone, in which we should delight and which we must reverence, even if we receive no other benefit or use from it than this, that it quiets our conscience and positively teaches us how to live and in what relation we stand to God.

In what error and blindness we were aforetime, when not even a spark of such teaching enlightened us and we allowed ourselves to be led in the name of the devil by the whims of every lying preacher; we tried all kinds of works, ran hither and thither, expended and wasted our energies, money and property; here we established masses and altars, there cloisters and brotherhoods, and every one was groping for the way in which he might serve God; yet no one found it, but all remained in darkness. For there was no God who might say: This is pleasing to me, this I have commanded, etc. Yes, our blind guides did nothing less than lose sight of God’s word, separated it from good works, and instead of these set up other works everywhere; in addition to this they discarded and despised the positions in life, which God had appointed, as though he knew no better, nor even as well as we, how to manage his affairs.

6. Therefore we must constantly take heed to inculcate this Word of God, which does not burden us with any special, great and difficult works, but refers us to the condition in which we live, that we look for nothing else, but with a cheerful heart remain satisfied in it, and be assured that by such work more is accomplished than if one had established all the cloisters and kept all the orders, although it be the most insignificant domestic work. For hitherto we have been woefully deceived by the fine luster and pomp of works, hoods, bald pates, coarse apparel, by fasts, wakes, pious looks, playing the devotee, and going barefoot. Our foolishness consists in laying too much stress upon the show of works and when these do not glitter as something extraordinary we regard them as of no value; and poor fools that we are, we do not see that God has attached and bound this precious treasure, namely his Word, to such common works as filial obedience, external, domestic, or civil affairs, so as to include them in his order and command, which he wishes us to accept, the same as though he himself had appeared from heaven. What would you do if Christ himself with all the angels were visibly to descend, and command you in your home to sweep your house and wash the pans and kettles? How happy you would feel, and would not know how to act for joy, not for the work’s sake, but that you knew that thereby you were serving him, who is greater than heaven and earth.

7. If we would only consider this, and by the power of the Word look beyond us, and think that it is not man, but God in heaven who wishes and commands these things, we would run full speed, and in a most faithful and diligent manner rather do these common, insignificant works, as they are regarded, than any others. There is no other reason why this is not done than the simple fact that the works are separated from the Word, and God’s command is not regarded nor respected; we move along in a blind, drowsy manner, and think the doing of the works is all sufficient. Because we regard these works as insignificant, we stare and look around for others, become indolent and fretful, do nothing in love, faithfulness and obedience, have no scruples on account of our negligence, are faithless to our fellowmen, injure or vex them, and thus heap upon ourselves all manner of misery, wrath, and misfortune.

8. This then is one part of our discourse, that this external righteousness be urged both in admonitions and in threatenings, and not be considered as of no importance. For whosoever despises it, despises God and his Word.

9. Therefore let every man look to himself what he is or what he has to do, and what God demands of him, whether it be to rule, to command and order, or on the contrary to obey, serve and labor, that he may attend to the duties of his office with all faithfulness for God’s sake. Let him be assured that God has more respect for such faithfulness than for all the work and piety of the monks, who never yet have attained to this outward righteousness; nor are they able to extol all their works and doings as heartily as a child or servant girl performing their duties according to God’s command.

O, what a blessed world we would have, if people believed this, and every man remained at his post, always keeping in mind God’s will and command. Then there would shower from heaven all kinds of blessings and gifts instead of the many vexations and heart-aches, which we now have, are looking for, and deserve.

10. Above this external piety there is another, which does not belong to this temporal life on earth but which avails only before God and which leads us to the life beyond and keeps us in it. The former piety consists in works, which this present life requires to be done among men, whether they be our superiors or inferiors, our neighbors, or our kindred. It has its reward here upon earth, also ends with this life, and they who do not practice it shorten their days. But this latter piety moves and soars far above everything that is upon earth, and has nothing to do with works. For how can it have works, since all that this body can perform and that is called works, is already included in the former piety. This piety is now called the grace of God, or the forgiveness of sins, of which Christ speaks in this and other gospels, and which is not an earthly but heavenly righteousness; it does not come of our work and ability but is the work and gift of God. For that human piety may well shield us against punishment and the hangman, and permit us to enjoy temporal gifts; but it cannot attain for us God’s grace and the forgiveness of sin. Therefore, even though we may have this external piety, we must nevertheless have a much higher one, which alone avails before God, frees us from sin and an evil conscience, and leads us out of death into eternal life.

11. This is, furthermore, the only part or article and doctrine, by believing which we become and are called Christians, and which separates and divorces us from all other saints on earth; for they all have a different foundation and nature of their saintliness, peculiar exercises, and rigorous life. It separates us also from the works of those holding positions and offices approved by the Word of God, which are indeed much higher and better than all the self-chosen ecclesiasticism of the monks. These also constitute a holy calling, so that they are called pious and deserve praise of all men because they do their duty. But all this makes no one a Christian.

He alone is a Christian who receives this article in faith, and is assured that he is in the kingdom of grace, in which Christ protects him, and daily forgives him his sins. But he who looks for something else or wishes to deal otherwise with God, must know that he is no Christian, but is rejected and condemned by God.

12. For this reason the greatest skill and intelligence is needed to grasp and understand this righteousness, and in our hearts and before God rightly to distinguish it from the above mentioned outward righteousness. For this is, as has been said, the skill and the wisdom of the Christian, but it is so high and great that even all the beloved Apostles could not speak enough of it; and yet it meets the painful misfortune that no art is mastered as soon as this.

There is no greater theme for a preacher than the grace of God and the forgiveness of sin, yet we are such wicked people, that, when we have once heard or read it, we think we know it, are immediately masters and doctors, keep looking for something greater, as though we had done everything, and thus we made new factions and division.

13. I have now been teaching and studying this subject with all diligence for many years (more than any one of those who imagine they know it all), in preaching, writing and reading, yet I cannot boast of having mastered it and am glad that I still remain a pupil with those who are just beginning to learn. For this reason I must admonish and warn all such as want to be Christians, both teachers and pupils, that they guard themselves against such shameful delusion and surfeit, and understand that this subject is most difficult and the greatest art that can be found upon earth; so that even Paul had to confess and say ( 2 Corinthians 9:15) that it is an unspeakable gift, that is, one which cannot be described among men with words so that they may regard it as highly and dearly as it really is in itself.

14. The reason for this is, that man’s understanding cannot get beyond this external piety of works, and cannot comprehend the righteousness of faith; but, the greater and more skillful this understanding is, the more it confines itself to works and rests upon them. It is not possible for man in times of temptation and distress, when his conscience smites him, to cease from groping around for works on which to stand and rest. Then we seek and enumerate the many good deeds, which we would like to do, or have done, and because we find none, the heart begins to doubt and despair. This weakness adheres so firmly to our nature, that even those who have faith and recognize the grace of God, or the forgiveness of sins, cannot overcome it with all their efforts and exertions, and must daily contend against it. In short it is entirely beyond human knowledge and understanding, ability and power, to ascend above this earthly righteousness, and to transfer oneself into this article of faith; and although one hears much about it and is conversant with it, there continues nevertheless the old delusion and inborn corruption which would bring its own works before God and make them the foundation of salvation. Such is the case, I say, with those who are Christians and fight against this workrighteousness; others, critics and inexperienced souls are even lost in it.

15. Therefore this doctrine, that our piety before God consists entirely in the forgiveness of sins, must be rightly comprehended and firmly maintained. We must therefore get beyond ourselves and ascend higher than our reason, which keeps us in conflict with ourselves and which reminds us both of sin and good works; and we must soar so high as to see neither sin nor good works, but be rooted and grounded in this article and see and know nothing besides. Therefore let grace or forgiveness be pitted not only against sin, but also against good works, and let all human righteousness and holiness be excluded. Thus there are in man two conflicting powers: Externally in this life he is to be pious, do good works, and the like. But if he aims beyond this life and wishes to deal with God, he must know that here neither his sin nor his piety avails anything. And though he may feel his sins which disturb his conscience, and although the law demands good works, he will not listen nor give heed to them, but will boldly reply; If I have sin, Christ has forgiveness; yea, I am seated on a throne to which sin cannot attain.

16. Therefore we are to regard the kingdom of Christ as a large, beautiful arch or vault which is everywhere over us, and covers and protects us against the wrath of God; yea, as a great, extended firmament which pure grace and forgiveness illuminate and so fill the world and all things, that all sin will hardly appear as a spark in comparison with the great, extended sea of light; and although sin may oppress, it cannot injure, but must disappear and vanish before grace. They who understand this, may well be called masters, but we will all have to humble ourselves and not be ashamed to keep on learning this lesson as long as we live.

17. For wherever our nature succeeds in finding sin, it tries to make an unbearable burden of it. Satan fans the spark and blows up a great fire which fills heaven and earth. Here the leaf must be turned and we must firmly conclude: If the sin were ever so great or burdensome, this article of faith is nevertheless much higher, wider and greater, which has been recommended and established not by man’s wisdom, but by him who has comprehended heaven and earth and holds them in the hollow of his hand. Isaiah 40:12. My sin and piety must remain here on earth as far as they concern my life and conduct. But in heaven above I have another treasure, greater than either of these; there Christ is seated and holds me in his arms, covers me with his wings and overshadows me with his grace.

18. You may say: How is this, since I daily feel sin and my conscience condemns me and threatens me with God’s wrath? I answer: For this reason, I say, one must understand that the righteousness of a Christian is nothing that can be named or imagined but the forgiveness of sin, that is, it is a kingdom of power which deals only with sin and with such abundant grace as takes away all wrath.

It is called the forgiveness of sin for the reason that we are truly sinners before God; yes, everything in us is sin, even though we may have all human righteousness. For where God speaks of sin, there must be real and great sin; so also forgiveness is no jest, but real earnestness. When you, therefore, consider this article you have both. Sin takes away all your holiness, no matter how pious you are on earth; again, forgiveness takes away all sin and wrath. Therefore your sin cannot cast you into hell, nor can your piety elevate you into heaven.

19. Therefore, when the devil disturbs your conscience, and tries to bring despair to your heart by saying: “Have you not learned that one must be pious?” then answer courageously and say: Yes, you are right; I am a sinner, that I have known before; for this article, called the forgiveness of sins, has taught me this long ago. I am to be pious and do what I can before the world; but before God I am willing to be a sinner, and to be called nothing else, that this article may remain true, else there would not be forgiveness or grace; but it must needs be called a crown of righteousness and of merits. Therefore, although I feel nothing but many and great sins, yet they are no longer sins; for I have for them a precious panacea and drug which takes away the power and poison of sin and wholly destroys it. It is this word, “Forgiveness,” before which sin disappears like stubbles before the fire. Without it no work, suffering, or martyrdom avails against the smallest sin. For without forgiveness sin is and remains pure sin, which condemns us.

20. Therefore only confess this article heartily and boldly and say: Before the world I may be pious and do everything that is required, but before God it is only sin according to this article. Therefore I am a sinner, but a sinner who now has forgiveness and who sits at the throne where grace rules supreme, Psalm 116. If this were not so I would be a sinner like Judas, who saw only his sin, but no forgiveness. But Christians, no matter how much sin they feel in themselves, in that word forgiveness see much more abundant grace presented to them, and poured out over them.

21. Thus learn then to magnify this article and spread it as far as Christ reaches and rules, that you may elevate it far above everything in heaven and on earth. For as the Word soars over all this, so must also faith, which comprehends the Word and keeps the heart steadfast in it, overcome sin, conscience, death and the devil.

22. Consider now what kind of a person a Christian is, who lords it over death and the devil, and before whom all sin is as a withered leaf. Now examine yourself and see how far you have learned this lesson, and whether it is such an insignificant and easy matter as some inexperienced souls think. For if you have learned and believed it, all misfortune, death, and the devil will be as nothing. But since you are still so vexed with sin, and since you are still frightened and in despair on account of death, hell and God’s judgment, humble yourself, give honor to the Word and confess that you have never yet understood this matter.

In short let every man examine his own heart, and he will find a false Christian who imagines that he knows all about this subject before he has learned the first principles of it. The words are soon heard, read and repeated, but to carry out the principle in practice and in character, so that it may live within us, and our conscience may be founded upon it and rest in it, is not in the art of man. Therefore I say and admonish, that those who wish to be Christians may always keep it in mind, assimilate it, practice it, and chastise themselves with it, that we may at least have a taste of it, and as James 1:18, be a kind of first fruits of his creatures. For we shall never advance so far in this life as to come to a perfect understanding of it; nor did even the blessed Apostles, full of the Spirit and of faith, advance so far.

23. Thus far I have explained the first part, what Christian righteousness is and in what it consists. But if you ask further, whence it comes, or how it has been brought about or gained, I answer: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has come from heaven and has been made man, has suffered and died for our sins. This is the cause, the means, and the treasure, through which we obtain the forgiveness of sin and for the sake of which the grace of God is bestowed upon us; for such a treasure does not come to us without means or merit. But since all of us are born in sin and are the enemies of God, we have deserved only eternal wrath and punishment. All that we are and have is condemned, and there is no help or way out of it. For sin is so grievous that no creature can quench it, the wrath so great that no man can appease and conciliate it. Therefore another man must take our place, namely Jesus Christ, God and man, and through his suffering and death make satisfaction for our sins and pay for them. This is the price that has been set, and has been expended for us, by which sin has been quenched and the wrath of God appeased, the Father has been reconciled and made our friend.

24. Christians alone know this and believe it, and are in this respect different from those of every other faith and worship on earth. For the Jews, Turks, false Christians, and those who would be righteous by works, also boast that God is merciful; and there is no man on earth but knows something of the grace of God, and yet all of them fail to obtain it, or in other words, they do not have the treasure in which it lies and from which it flows. They continue in their blindness and imagine they can acquire it by their works, rigid life, and their own holiness, with which they only make the wrath and displeasure of God the more grievous.

25. Therefore it is necessary that we rightly learn to know this treasure, and seek forgiveness where it may be found; that is, that we thoroughly learn to know, comprehend, and keep the Lord Jesus Christ. For it is ordained that no one shall come into God’s presence, find grace, nor obtain forgiveness of the least sin except through Christ. Because you are a sinner, and will always remain one, your conscience is ever present, condemns and threatens you with God’s wrath and punishment, so that you cannot see the grace of God.

With reference to the forgiveness of sins let me say, that you will not find anything in your heart with which you can pay them off, nor raise any funds for which God might recognize you and cancel the debt in the ledger.

But if you seize Christ as the one who has become your substitute, who has taken your sin upon himself, and who has given himself with all his merit and worthiness for you, no sin can avail anything against you. If I am a sinner, he is holy, and is Lord over sin, death, satan and hell, so that no sin can harm me, because he has been given me as my righteousness and salvation.

26. Therefore we have, indeed, pure grace and forgiveness of all sins, but nowhere except in and through Christ alone, and in him only it must be sought and obtained. Therefore whoever will come before God with any kind of work, that God shall recognize and regard as meritorious for obtaining grace, will be disappointed and undeceived, yea, instead of grace he will heap wrath upon himself. Thus you see that all other ways and means are condemned as the doctrines of devils; by which men are led and directed to their own works, or to the holiness and merits of others, as for example, of the saints who have led ascetic lives and followed the rules of their orders, and have suffered and expiated a great deal; or as those have done who have comforted people in the throes of death and have admonished them to suffer death willingly for their sins. Whoever dares to offer anything else for sin or to atone for it himself does nothing else than deny the Lord Jesus Christ, yea, disgrace and slander him, as if the blood of Christ were of no more consequence than our repentance and satisfaction, or as if his blood were not sufficient to take away all the sins of the earth.

27. Therefore, would you be freed from your sins, cease to seek works and satisfaction, and to bring them before God; but simply creep under the wings and into the bosom of Christ, as the one who has taken away your sins, and has laid them upon himself. Thus you need not chastise yourself with them, nor have anything to do with them! For he is the Lamb of God, says John 1:29, which taketh away the sins of the world; and Peter says, Acts 4:12, There is none other name under heaven, given among men, whereby we must be saved. The reason we are Christians is because we have Christ with all His merit and worthiness, not because of our efforts and works, which indeed make a St. Carthusius, a St. Francis, or an Augustinian monk, an obedient servant and extremist as they are called; but such works can never make a Christian. Behold, this is the second part which belongs to the sermon on this article.

28. The third thought is how and by what means we may appropriate such righteousness, so that we may receive the treasure acquired by Christ. Here also we need to give heed that we take the right way, and not make the mistake, which certain heretics have made in times past, and many erroneous minds still set forth, who think that God ought to do something special with them. These imagine that God will deal separately with each one by some special internal light and mysterious revelation, and give him the Holy Ghost, as though there was no need of the written Word or the external sermon. Consequently we are to know that God has ordained that no one shall come to the knowledge of Christ, nor obtain the forgiveness acquired by him, nor receive the Holy Ghost, without the use of external and public means; but God has embraced this treasure in the oral word or public ministry, and will not perform his work in a corner or mysteriously in the heart, but will have it heralded and distributed openly among the people, even as Christ commands, Mark 16:15: Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature, etc.

29. He does this in order that we may know how and where to seek and expect his grace, so that in all Christendom there may be the same custom and order, and not every man follow his own mind and act according to his own notions, and so deceive himself and others, which would certainly happen. As we cannot look into the heart of any man, each one might boast of having the Holy Ghost and set forth his own thoughts as divine revelation which God had inspired and taught him in a special manner; as a result, no one would know whom or what to believe.

30. Therefore this part also, namely the external word or preaching, belongs to Christianity as a channel or means through which we attain unto the forgiveness of sins, or the righteousness of Christ, with which Christ reveals and offers us his grace or lays it into our bosom, and without which no one would ever come to a knowledge of this treasure. For whence should any man know, or in what man’s heart would it ever come, that Christ, the Son of God, came from heaven for our sake, died for us, and rose from the dead, acquired the forgiveness of sins and eternal life, and offers the same to us, without publicly having it announced and preached?

And although he acquired this treasure for us through his suffering and death, no one could obtain or receive it, if Christ did not have it offered, presented, and applied. And all that he had done and suffered would be to no purpose, but would be like some great and precious treasure buried in the earth, which no one could find or make use of.

31. Therefore I have always taught that the oral word must precede every thing else, must be comprehended with the ears, if the Holy Ghost is to enter the heart, who through the Word enlightens it and works faith.

Consequently faith does not come except through the hearing and oral preaching of the Gospel, in which it has its beginning, growth and strength.

For this reason the Word must not be despised, but held in honor. We must familiarize and acquaint ourselves with it, and constantly practice it, so that it never ceases to bear fruit; for it can never be understood and learned too well. Let every man beware of the shameless fellows who have no more respect for the Word than if it were unnecessary for faith; or of those who think they know it all, become tired of it, eventually fall from it, and retain nothing of faith or of Christ.

32. Behold, here you have all that belongs to this article of the righteousness of Christ. It consists in the forgiveness of sins, offered to us through Christ, and received by faith in and through the Word, purely and simply without any works on our part. Yet I do not mean that Christians should not and must not do good works, but that they are not to be mingled and entwined in the doctrine of faith, and decorated with the shameless delusion that they avail before God as righteousness, whereby both the doctrine of works and of faith are besmirched and destroyed. For everything possible must be done to keep this article pure, unadulterated and separate from all our own doings. But after we have this righteousness by faith, works are to follow and continue here on earth, so that there may be civil righteousness, and that both be maintained, each in its proper place, but separate in their nature and efficacy, — the former before God in faith over and above all works, the latter works in love to our neighbor, as we said plainly enough above and always taught.

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity. Holy Communion Is a Litmus Test

0
0

The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2017


Pastor Gregory L. Jackson




The Hymn # 292 - Selnecker, Concordist     Lord Jesus Christ                                  
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual 
The Gospel 
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #657                 Beautiful Savior                                            

Holy Communion - Litmus Test for Biblical Doctrine

The Communion Hymn #249      Luther - Isaiah Mighty Seer                  
The Preface p. 24
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn #261              Luther - Lord Keep Us Steadfast                                                    


Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity
O mighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Son Jesus Christ didst mercifully help the palsied man both in body and soul: We beseech Thee, for the sake of Thy great mercy: Be gracious also unto us; forgive us all our sins, and so govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not ourselves be the cause of sickness and other afflictions; keep us in Thy fear, and strengthen us by Thy grace that we may escape temporal and eternal wrath and punishment, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.



Holy Communion - Litmus Test for Biblical Doctrine

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it and gave it to His disciples, saying, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”


After the same manner also He took the cup when He had supped, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink ye all of it; this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you and the remission of sins. This do, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.

Litmus Test
My landscaper-neighbor was telling me about a litmus test for soil, something I never do. The test indicates whether the soil is more acidic or more base (sweet). That will show what kinds of plants will thrive in the soil or what to do to change it.

Holy Communion is a litmus test, so it is good to review during this season and year of the Lutheran Reformation.

Luther did not set out to define a denomination, but others did make a point of defining themselves as against his Biblical teaching. The issue is not the group but the Biblical interpretation.

Once I would have gone over the Roman Catholic portion quickly, because Lutheran pastors and laity did not become Romanists, did they? But now they do, and there is just as much aping of Romanism as there is of Fuller Seminary claptrap.

So the litmus test in this case concerns what Holy Communion means, compared to the others. The answer lies in the definition of Enthusiasm, separating the Holy Spirit from the Word. All false doctrine comes from this divorce, because the Bible always teaches them as belonging together in each and every case. In short:
  • The Word is always effective, thus having the divine energy of the Spirit.
  • The Spirit only works through the Word.
  • Having a personal revelation or an insight contrary to the Bible is divorcing the Spirit from the Word.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed,
This harkens to the Old Testament practice - not just remembering but re-enacting the sacred events of the past. The original Passover is repeated to this day and carried out in the same way. Jesus instituted Holy Communion so we would receive His forgiveness individually while remembering His atoning sacrifice for our sins.

He was betrayed and yet He strengthened the disciples with His body and blood. We read of the stark contrast between the weaknesses of the disciples and His nurturing Promises, which ultimately kept them together, except for the one who belonged to Satan.

took bread; and when He had given thanks, He brake it and gave it to His disciples

The wording is quite similar to the Feeding of the Multitude, for good reason. The first miracle prepares us to understand the Sacrament. How could Jesus multiply the food and have leftovers? Answer - the divine Word that created the universe can accomplish anything. Those who doubt the Feeding also doubt Communion, and vice versa. Ultimately such thinking turns into Unitarianism (Jesus a mere man) and atheism.

Not by accident Jesus taught Himself as the bread of life coming down from heaven, as the manna did in the Exodus.

saying, “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

Here the Enthusiasm agree to oppose the Scriptures. The Romanists say that a priest has the unique office to consecrate the elements. They make this Sacrament central rather than the Word, so their traditions are placed above the Word and thousands of pages can be cited to support them. Also, because they emphasize the form, faith has very little meaning in connection with this Sacrament. Obedience is the most important element.

The non-Lutheran Protestants are similar, constantly chanting "There is no is in Hebrew and Aramaic." But this Scripture and all the other citations are Greek, the basis for Western Civilization, and the verb is is used here - and abundantly in the Greek New Testament. No Aramaic New Testament has ever been found. Ditto Hebrew. Aramaic is a form of Hebrew.

The Protestant argument makes Holy Communion merely symbolic. Of course the Sacrament is symbolic of death, atonement, the Exodus, and resurrection - but it is not merely symbolic.

The worse insult again Holy Communion is calling it (and Baptism) "an ordinance," which relegates it to the Law. Protestants - "We commune because we have to commune - it is a law." Or they say - "We commune as a witness to others." But witnessing what one does not believe is rather weak and found to fail in that respect.

Rationalism about Holy Communion leads to the same vice of human reason being used against everything that is a mystery (revealed only by the Holy Spirit). They ask - How can Jesus give His body to millions over time? Answer - How could Jesus feed the multitudes with almost nothing? The Word belongs to God and retains His power.

Therefore, the Words of Consecration impart the Promises. The power does not belong to the priest or to those who receive it (Receptionist position, Synodical Conference, still taught by some yahoos today. Receptionists say - It is not the body or blood of Christ until it is received!)

Given for you
This is a vivid statement of the Atonement. When the ELCA was forming, all the divine Promises were mocked in the Braaten-Jenson Christian Dogmatics. What happens from such thinking, then, is a focus on grand, colorful, incensed ceremonies that are conducted without faith

This do in remembrance of Me.”

The Romanists defy the meaning the Gospel when they say that sins are forgiven but not paid for. Thus someone must always add works to faith and that too is not enough. Every faithful Roman Catholic is promised Purgatory for hundreds or thousands of years - torture to pay for those sins. Thus like many others, they can grasp the words of the Bible and make them say the opposite.

The non-Lutheran Protestants teach the same methods. They do not like the words - Sacrament, Means of Grace. They take away infant faith, which Jesus taught, and say "How do we know an infant who has died is in heaven? Because he was innocent and not yet at the age of accountability."

The Disciples of Christ in Moline had this on their altar - "Do this in remembrance of Me." It was just a remembrance, but celebrated with the elements distributed in the pews - unleavened bread and grape juice.

Therefore, the Romanists have people communing daily, because it is never enough - even then. And the Protestants hardly ever have communion because it is just an ordinance, a Law. They even package kits for people, which WELS ended up promoting.

After the same manner also He took the cup when He had supped, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink ye all of it; this cup is the New Testament in My blood, which is shed for you and the remission of sins.

Did Paul believe in the Real Presence in Holy Communion? In 1 Corinthians 10:16, he makes that point exactly.

16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?

Did Jesus? Mark 10

37 They said unto him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left hand, in thy glory.38 But Jesus said unto them, Ye know not what ye ask: can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?39 And they said unto him, We can. And Jesus said unto them, Ye shall indeed drink of the cup that I drink of; and with the baptism that I am baptized withal shall ye be baptized:

The Roman Catholics teach, "This is necessary but your sins are not completely forgiven."

The Protestants teach, "This is required, and your sins are not forgiven.''

Also - "Why so many Means of Grace? God does not need them." That is a typical changing of the subject. God does not need them - we do.




First Christian Church in Moline to close: 'It was a very difficult decision' | Faith and Values | qctimes.com

0
0
 Rev Charles Willey.
Someone in Arkansas interviewed me and asked, "Do you know him?"
GJ - "Yes, he converted me to Lutheranism.
I left his church and went to Salem Lutheran,
across the street."


First Christian Church in Moline to close: 



'It was a very difficult decision' | Faith and Values | qctimes.com: "First Christian Church of Moline was so busy in the 1960s, there were three services on Sundays and chairs had to be brought in every week to accommodate the crowd.

Dwindling membership and financial support in the past several years, part of a trend seen across the United States, means the church will officially close on Oct. 1.

This date ties to the 111th anniversary of the church founding, and events are planned to start at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 1, with a special service, light lunch and time to share memories beginning at noon.

LaVelle and Paul Stewart, Moline, are longtime members of First Christian Church: LaVelle for 62 years and Paul for 70 years. They recall when the late Rev. Charles Willey did a daily inspirational radio show.

"New members joined us every Sunday, and we had three services on Sundays," LaVelle Stewart said. "We had to set up chairs in the back to accommodate the people."

 Rev Jane Courtright

The decision to close First Christian Church came after many prayers, according to the Rev. Jane Courtright, interim pastor. Courtright, who has a background in helping people to transition and grow in life, joined First Christian more than a year ago, never planning to be part of a church closing.

According to the Gallup Poll, Americans are much less likely now than they were in the past to claim membership in a church, synagogue or mosque.

In 1937, when Gallup first asked about church membership, 73 percent said they were a member of a church. This figure dropped into the upper 60 percent range in the 1980s and decreased from that point on. It fell to its lowest point of 54 percent in 2015 but increased slightly to 56 percent in 2016.

Still, as Stewart said, "It was a very difficult decision to close.""




'via Blog this'

WELS Love-Letter Pastor Accepted His New Call - Rather Fast.

0
0
The congregation fired Pastor Steve Wall
but the District Pope flew in to bully several men into reversing their vote. Soon the constitution was changed.
The Circuit Pastor and great bear hunter said "Nothing happened."
A WELS contact wrote me to say that Wall has been known for his letters.


PastorsCurrent callNew callDate accepted
Rev Steven WallChrist LCJuneau AKSt John St Peter LCCleveland WIPastor10/16/2017




Remember Latte Lutheran Church, which folded and sold off their worship couches? She was their Minister of the Means of Grace there. Now she is working at the DP's church.





Making the Bear Thing the Main Thing.


District Pope - he had his Circuit Pope
phone me to deny everything.
Both of them violated Alaskan law, which
states that such cases MUST be investigated -
and not by the clergy cover-up artists.


---





Five Inches of Rain on Sunday

0
0
 Barbra Streisand

Anticipating a long rain, I did everything except roll up the window in our Town Car, the very spot I parked my computer case (minus the laptop). The case is now drying out in a secure, undisclosed location.

My first pre-storm job was placing milk spore disease powder in the front and back yards. The second part of prevention will involve removing the adults from the rose blooms (and gene pool) during their graduation-from-soil parties next summer, when they mate and lay eggs. That openly destructive period lasts about two weeks. The disease, which only affects white grubs, will slowly build up in the soil. Relax gardeners, it is a bacterium naturally found in the soil.

I am collaring the roses and adding Peat Humus (stinky peat) to the collars, to increase the insulation and feed the root growth all winter. Many plants work all winter in establishing their spring growth plans. Autumn - or hardy - bulbs do most of their growth during the winter, only to pop out and bloom at the right time in the spring, often decorating the snowy lawn with their colors. Crocus are good for that, but squirrels dig up and replant them, making people wonder if the gardener is drinking on the job. They also eat a few of the crocus, so I am planting only grape hyacinth now.

The storm was just what we needed when it arrived. I had some Butterfly Weed and Yarrow planted and soaked with stored rainwater. I can look over the new areas and see how everything is sprouting and fill in low spots.

I have had the most success with using young plants and almost no success with seeds - 5,000 yarrow, carrot, and feverfew seeds. That is not a total - but 5,000 each - but they are very inexpensive at that level. However, I also planted hundreds of sunflowers, and of all these seeds, nothing grew to maturity. So - forget seeds - since squirrels and rabbits are more effective than Agent Orange.

 Bride's Dream


Plants Where They Can Be Seen and Nurtured
I used the fence where I once grew roses to plant some Crepe Myrtles, with Yarrow and Butterfly Weed in-between them. A few Hollyhock plants came in the mail, so they will also grow along the fence.

The area is sunny and easily watered. I initially planned to put them in the Butterfly Garden, but that area is the least seen, so I decided to leave that with tall-growing plants. Everyone wants to know about my Wild Ginger Hidden Lily plants that are already thriving there.

That garden is also good for Joe Pye Weed. They will thrive there in the sun and be the reserve food for the Butterfly Bushes in front of our bedroom window, where we view so much of Creation. All summer we had birds, squirrels, hummingbirds, and butterflies to watch. Joe Pye Weed will attract more species of butterflies and not require much attention.

 Edith's Darling, Named from Downtown Abbey


Raining on the Hostas
The Hostas were moved to the front yard when I realized how much they like the same growing conditions as roses - morning sun, afternoon shade.

I expected very little growth in the Hostas, but they took off at once, arriving a short time ago. My favorite supplier is Hostas Direct. They ship plants like each one is an individual crystal glass - wrapped, secured, labeled with a solid plastic marker for each plant to go in the garden. Once I dug up a living rose plant and found its tag - "Great, now I know what it is when not blooming." The rose tag was bleached white from the sun. Hosta Direct tags are solid and good for poking into the soil.

 Hosta - Liberty


The Hostas leaves already tell me what they will be like. Mrs. Ichabod is a big fan of Hostas. Norma Boeckler grows them too.

So this long, stretched-out, five inch rain was ideal for the Hostas. Their roots will reach down for more water - no stress - and the soil creatures will be more active in the short-term. Soil temperatures will be above freezing for a long time - with a few nights that are 20 degrees. That is the forecast, at least. That means the warmer, sunny days will foster a lot of root activity even while the plants are becoming dormant.

 Empress Wu - Hosta


Pine Needles
I have contracted with two neighbor teens to haul pine needles for underneath the Mother of All Crepe Myrtles. I insist on paying them, over their mother's objections. They can put a massive amount around the CM, which will suppress grassy weeds all summer and feed the plant all winter.

The neighbors dislike their build-up of needles, and I covet their windfall. If they have too many, we can put the extras in the former Hosta garden behind the house. I am still growing Hostas there and will keep rows of them growing. We want Hostas up front for viewing, backyard for the Hummingbirds.

 Mr. Lincoln


Not Enough Creation Thinkers
The biggest problems today come from the lack of understanding about Creation.

I said to one family, "Do you want almost free food? Plant these seeds." They were never planted, but I did see the family at Walmart, buying food. They had an enormous yard with no trees - but no plants until they started a few for decoration.

Long ago I gave two boys paper bags to pick all the edible pod peas they wanted for their family. They acted like I was sending them out to be tortured. Once was enough. But two people from Hong Kong were thrilled with the chance to have a lot of pea tendrils, because soil is so precious there. They wanted to pay me for something that made the peas grow even more.

Gardening and farming, even on a small scale, are exercises in observation, trial, failure, and success. "I heard that..." has to be tested again and again. The desire for success leads to reading and observation.

Many books repeat old slogans without any analysis about why the slogans are correct, wrong, or dangerous. A classic rare book changed my ideas about weeds - Weeds Guardians of the Soil. Much later, I finally learned about how much roots contribute to soil humus levels. I should have known, but a farmer in North Dakota revealed what he learned from successive crop failures.

Creation or organic gardeners love to dump organic matter on the soil - and that is a worthwhile project. But the second part is even better - letting living roots grow as long as possible. I could give a statistic on how many  miles of root hairs grow on a plant - no metric can be grasped by us mortals. The root hairs are growing and dropping off, but they are also making a deal with the fungus to give them carbon in exchange for needed water and nutrition. That also defies the imagination.

"Man is the measure of all things." Really?

"The proper study of man is man." No wonder Jesus had to admonish Nicodemus about the basics of Creation.

White collar crime.
Actually, these are useful and easy to assemble.


Question for Pastor Paul Rydecki

0
0
 Pastor Paul Rydecki above
and Pastor Steve Spencer below - at the first and only
Intrepid Lutherans conference.

And here is Part II of this week's offering of ATP. Thanks for watching. Make sure and share with a friend whom you think this might help. As always, send your questions to atpholycross@gmail.com.



What does one do when he realizes that his church (or church body) teaches false doctrine? Scripture says we are not to have fellowship (communion/participat...
YOUTUBE.COM

LikeShow more reactions
Comments
Jeff Samelson Paul - Hi. I have no agenda in asking this; I'm just curious. I was thinking about this after you posted the letter the other week, and this link seems to provide an opportunity to ask: If you had not been suspended from the WELS ministerium, do you think you would have left on your own? And assuming you would have, what do you think would have been the conditions in which you did, i.e. when and how? (If you don't want to answer this hypothetical, I won't be offended or anything.)

LikeShow more reactions
October 18 at 11:13am
Manage
Paul Rydecki It's a fair question, Jeff. What I was pleading for up to the day of my suspension was for the district (and/or synod at large) to restudy this issue, to review the exegesis that had been popularized by Sig Becker et al., to answer the questions I had posed about both the exegesis of the passages in question and the history of the new terminology and concepts that are so different from the terminology and concepts expressed in the Lutheran Confessions, Luther, Chemnitz, etc. My congregation was promised by the presidium that this would, in fact, take place, as recently as a few days before my suspension. But the decision was made at the seminary level that it was a settled issue and needn't be studied further. If there had been a willingness to do that study, it would have demonstrated a willingness to confront possible errors in previous exegesis and in the teachings of the Synodical Conference from early on. If that willingness had been there, who knows what might have happened? But finally, it wasn't there. If I hadn't been suspended, and if my calls to address the doctrinal inconsistencies had gone unheeded, then, yes, I would have eventually left the synod. It's hard to say when, not unlike the WELS struggled with when to part from the LCMS as it was trying to gauge the official response of the LCMS to its calls to orthopraxy. I suppose I would have "filed" a formal state of confession against the synod, and then that would have played out.

LikeShow more reactions
3
October 18 at 11:23am
Manage
Jeff Samelson Paul Rydecki Thanks for the answer!

 However, eight years after agreeing with Thy Strong Word,
Heiser was worshiping and conferencing with the UOJ Rolf Preus sect, which returned to the UOJ LCMS and UOJ ELS.

Giving Away Books and Roses

0
0
Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant is apparently
the only book of its kind,
comparing three major confessions of faith.



I drove to headquarters to have a meeting with the supervisor of the area I teach - very basic English. I brought along - for show and tell - one volume of The Sermons of Martin Luther. This very kind lady is Roman Catholic, which set off a discussion about Luther versus the Church of Rome. However, the discussion changed when I mentioned how I wrote Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant - primarily so married couples who were Catholic/Lutheran would understand each other's background.

Once again, I repeated my observation that I did not know what priests and pastors were saying to accomplish this, but - "Catholics cannot wait to marry Lutherans and vice versa." She laughed and said, "Like my uncle."

Then she said, "That book. That is the book I want." So I am sending two copies of Catholic, Lutheran, Protestant. Maybe three. Books last and they get shared, too.

That is how all my publishing efforts work. I give away books and everything else written, by blogging and Ustreaming. When people want a quantity of books, I sell them at the author's cost. My supervisor could not believe a huge book like The Sermons of Martin Luther could be printed for such a low cost. Yes, publishers think they are minting money, which is why they want new hymnals all the time.

 Veterans Honor is the perfect red rose -
if only the stems were stronger.


Free Roses
Everyone is delighted with roses. I have taken bunches various places, only to see the staff divide them up and take individual ones for their own desks. That prompted two doctors to talk about God's Creation. As one said to me, "And I mean six-day Creation, too." I said, "But of course. Creation by the Word of God. John 1:3." He went to seminary, so he knew what I was saying.

My class last night requested a bunch for the fragrance of the petals. One is planning roses for her engagement and marriage, and she was saving dried petals for the lingering perfume. I began growing roses at the time growers were being challenged to focus more on fragrance. Now there are few with little or no fragrance, many with enough to fill the room.

One student wanted to pay me for roses, and I said "No, I give them away, no matter how many." That works out well. Nothing else promotes a feeling of well being so efficaciously and quickly. One of the four Esses brought over two of my vases. "Mom finally took out the last rose." Our grizzled veteran takes roses to his mother's grave, so he often gets them as well. When he calls my yard a jungle, I ask him how many roses he has.

 Easy Does It turns into various orange colors,
more productive than any other rose I have grown.


Roses start conversations in the neighborhood. Every single person is astonished that roses thrive without toxic chemicals. "I just follow the principles of Creation."

Rose season for 2018 has just begun. I will finish installing the collars around them for winter protection. I am already pacing off positions for the most productive new roses. My list includes -

  • Easy Does It
  • Mr. Lincoln
  • A strong, white rose - one that is good in a vase.

 The white John Paul II is photogenic
and looks great initially when cut,
but does not last in the vase.

Harvey Weinstein Synods Repent in Time for Reformation Anniversary

0
0


The Harvey Weinstein scandal has resonated with nominal Lutheran leaders everywhere. They came to a sudden realization that they were not Lutheran at all, which may be the root of the the carnal scandals in the LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic).

Herman Otten texted the Church of the Augsburg Confession headquarters to say:

"I have more time in retirement, so I began reading Paul's letters and a little of Luther. The Bible does teach Justification by Faith. I supposed I should stop promoting ELCA and Roman Catholic books, too."


Paul McCain, writing under a pseudonym, tweeted - "Luther was right. I was wrong."



SP Mark Schroeder sent this message, via his supervisor Mark Jeske, "No wonder I look mirthless. Luther said - You have as much laughter as you have faith. So true. I am trying now to make the COP jolly."


Jim Heiser, the Lord High Bishop of the ELDONUTs, sent this email - "The money was on Justification by Faith, so we made a profound change in direction some time ago. However, we are open to a nuanced, subtle approach to this difficult, grey area of Scripture."


Tim Glende simply said, "I am hoping you forget that Inuit Fidei goof I made a few years ago."

 I forgot that one - sorry.


Pope John the Malefactor joined the rush to repentance. "I was reading the Galatians Lectures by Luther, by mistake. I was trying to find my Schwan order link on the computer and landed on that book. Wow. Wow. You may have a point about Justification by Faith."

 CPH Reformation celebration.
Obviously this post is satire, because the synods are satirizing  the Gospel while working closely with ELCA
and aping them in dogma and practice.

Australian woman captures picture of enormous 2ft earthworm driven above ground by heavy rains

0
0




Australian woman captures picture of enormous 2ft earthworm driven above ground by heavy rains:



"An Australian woman discovered a gigantic 2ft earthworm after it was driven above ground by torrential rains.

Kelli Mace posted a photo on Facebook of her holding the huge creature with two sticks after it emerged from the earth around Tamborine Mountain, Queensland, and it was soon picked up by Australian news outlets.

The area, which is covered in rain forest, is known for the massive species of worm, known as Digaster longmani, and which can grow up to 3ft long.

Paid content"



'via Blog this'

Financial Aid Can't Keep Up With Tuition | The Daily Caller Community Colleges Looking BetterWhy Waste a Fortune on a Lutheran School?

0
0
 MLC day - their own publicity!

Annual Church Growth Day, MLC,
is hidden from the public. Only false teachers can speak.


Questionable, foolish, MLC videos are uploaded to YouTube.
 Lutheran reader's comment - 

Hi Greg,

I think in your headline, "WELS Degree Worth $80,000" you should have put in "Costs $80,000."  Worth and cost are two different things.  I seriously doubt that a WELS degree is worth much more than a cup of doffee.

God bless,



Financial Aid Can't Keep Up With Tuition | The Daily Caller:



"Colleges keep hiking tuition costs and financial aid is not keeping up at a commensurate rate, according to studies released Wednesday.

College Board studies show that the net price paid by students for college — a price that accounts for financial aid and tax credits — rose during the 2016-2017 and 2017-2018 school years, reported The Washington Post.

In-state public university students paid average tuition and fees of $9,970 in fall 2017, a 3.1 percent spike from fall 2016. When accounting for room and board, these students paid an average of $14,490. Living expenses amount to an average of $8,070."

 This Satanic symbol was posted on the Facebook
webpage of a Martin Luther College graduate.


'via Blog this'


***
Is a WELS College Degree Worth $80,000?






GJ - Someone who started at Martin Luther College this year will graduate with a total room, board, tuition bill of approximately $80,000.

Congregations are closing or merging at a rapid rate. The parish school is as dated as Packard automobile. Moreover, the value of that diploma is doubtful, though not as worthless as an MDiv from Mordor in Mequon.

One man was sexually assaulted by a Mequon seminarian on his first visit to that campus. When he complained about the felony to the dean, Brenner told him, "You are too thin-skinned." The dean's comment would make a good headline in the Milwaukee Journal. The target was hated out of WELS, so pick a response -

  1. It never happened.
  2. Who told you?
  3. Ten-minute Ichabod tirade.
Students or parents who borrow money for a Lutheran degree will have a lifetime debt. Every other debt can go away with bankruptcy, but not student loans.

Notice that every school has a paid recruiter, so that is more overhead. But the number of schools is almost the same, so a larger number of recruiters is competing for a shrinking pool of students.

One of my members was going to "finish" at Martin Luther College, so she started out locally. She finished at TOSU - THE Ohio State University.

Is Schone worth the cost at Martin Luther College?


 This Schone outfit kilt me.

Greek Lesson - Doubting Thomas and Chapter 21

0
0


Parser 

John 20:19 ουσης ουν οψιας τη ημερα εκεινη τη μια των σαββατων και των θυρων κεκλεισμενων οπου ησαν οι μαθηται συνηγμενοι δια τον φοβον των ιουδαιων ηλθεν ο ιησους και εστη εις το μεσον και λεγει αυτοις ειρηνη υμιν
20 και τουτο ειπων εδειξεν αυτοις τας χειρας και την πλευραν αυτου; εχαρησαν ουν οι μαθηται ιδοντες τον κυριον
21 ειπεν ουν αυτοις ο ιησους παλιν ειρηνη υμιν καθως απεσταλκεν με ο πατηρ καγω πεμπω υμας
22 και τουτο ειπων ενεφυσησεν και λεγει αυτοις λαβετε πνευμα αγιον
23 αν τινων αφητε τας αμαρτιας αφιενται αυτοις αν τινων κρατητε κεκρατηνται


24 θωμας δε εις εκ των δωδεκα ο λεγομενος διδυμος ουκ ην μετ αυτων οτε ηλθεν ο ιησους
25 ελεγον ουν αυτω οι αλλοι μαθηται εωρακαμεν τον κυριον; ο δε ειπεν αυτοις εαν μη ιδω εν ταις χερσιν αυτου τον τυπον των ηλων και βαλω τον δακτυλον μου εις τον τυπον των ηλων και βαλω την χειρα μου εις την πλευραν αυτου ου μη πιστευσω
26 και μεθ ημερας οκτω παλιν ησαν εσω οι μαθηται αυτου και θωμας μετ αυτων; ερχεται ο ιησους των θυρων κεκλεισμενων και εστη εις το μεσον και ειπεν ειρηνη υμιν
27 ειτα λεγει τω θωμα φερε τον δακτυλον σου ωδε και ιδε τας χειρας μου και φερε την χειρα σου και βαλε εις την πλευραν μου και μη γινου απιστοςαλλα πιστος

Greek uses a to negate a meaning, so this is impossible to reproduce in English.
28 και απεκριθη ο θωμας και ειπεν αυτω ο κυριος μου και ο θεος μου
29 λεγει αυτω ο ιησους οτι εωρακας με θωμα πεπιστευκας μακαριοι οι μη ιδοντες και πιστευσαντες
30 πολλα μεν ουν και αλλα σημεια εποιησεν ο ιησους ενωπιον των μαθητων αυτου α ουκ εστιν γεγραμμενα εν τω βιβλιω τουτω
31 ταυτα δε γεγραπται ινα πιστευσητε οτι ο ιησους εστιν ο χριστος ο υιος του θεου και ινα πιστευοντες ζωην εχητε εν τω ονοματι αυτου



John 21 μετα ταυτα εφανερωσεν εαυτον παλιν ο ιησους τοις μαθηταις επι της θαλασσης της τιβεριαδος; εφανερωσεν δε ουτως
ησαν ομου σιμων πετρος και θωμας ο λεγομενος διδυμος και ναθαναηλ ο απο κανα της γαλιλαιας και οι του ζεβεδαιου και αλλοι εκ των μαθητων αυτου δυο
λεγει αυτοις σιμων πετρος υπαγω αλιευειν; λεγουσιν αυτω ερχομεθα και ημεις συν σοι εξηλθον και ανεβησαν εις το πλοιον ευθυς και εν εκεινη τη νυκτι επιασαν ουδεν
πρωιας δε ηδη γενομενης εστη ο ιησους εις τον αιγιαλον ου μεντοι ηδεισαν οι μαθηται οτι ιησους εστιν
λεγει ουν αυτοις ο ιησους παιδια μη τι προσφαγιον εχετε απεκριθησαν αυτω ου
ο δε ειπεν αυτοις βαλετε εις τα δεξια μερη του πλοιου το δικτυον και ευρησετε; εβαλον ουν και ουκ ετι αυτο ελκυσαι ισχυσαν απο του πληθους των ιχθυων
λεγει ουν ο μαθητης εκεινος ον ηγαπα ο ιησους τω πετρω ο κυριος εστιν; σιμων ουν πετρος ακουσας οτι ο κυριος εστιν, τον επενδυτην διεζωσατο ην γαρ γυμνος και εβαλεν εαυτον εις την θαλασσαν
οι δε αλλοι μαθηται τω πλοιαριω ηλθον, ου γαρ ησαν μακραν απο της γης αλλ ως απο πηχων διακοσιων, συροντες το δικτυον των ιχθυων
ως ουν απεβησαν εις την γην, βλεπουσιν ανθρακιαν κειμενην και οψαριον επικειμενον και αρτον
10 λεγει αυτοις ο ιησους, ενεγκατε απο των οψαριων ων επιασατε νυν
11 ανεβη σιμων πετρος και ειλκυσεν το δικτυον επι της γης μεστον ιχθυων μεγαλων εκατον πεντηκοντατριων και τοσουτων οντων ουκ εσχισθη το δικτυον
12 λεγει αυτοις ο ιησους δευτε αριστησατε, ουδεις δε ετολμα των μαθητων εξετασαι αυτον συ τις ει ειδοτες οτι ο κυριος εστιν
13 ερχεται ουν ο ιησους και λαμβανει τον αρτον και διδωσιν αυτοις και το οψαριον ομοιως
14 τουτο ηδη τριτον εφανερωθη ο ιησους τοις μαθηταις αυτου εγερθεις εκ νεκρων
STOP
15 οτε ουν ηριστησαν λεγει τω σιμωνι πετρω ο ιησους σιμων ιωνα αγαπας με πλειον τουτων λεγει αυτω ναι κυριε συ οιδας οτι φιλω σε λεγει αυτω βοσκε τα αρνια μου
16 λεγει αυτω παλιν δευτερον σιμων ιωνα αγαπας με λεγει αυτω ναι κυριε συ οιδας οτι φιλω σε λεγει αυτω ποιμαινε τα προβατα μου
17 λεγει αυτω το τριτον σιμων ιωνα φιλεις με ελυπηθη ο πετρος οτι ειπεν αυτω το τριτον φιλεις με και ειπεν αυτω κυριε συ παντα οιδας συ γινωσκεις οτι φιλω σε λεγει αυτω ο ιησους βοσκε τα προβατα μου
18 αμην αμην λεγω σοι οτε ης νεωτερος εζωννυες σεαυτον και περιεπατεις οπου ηθελες οταν δε γηρασης εκτενεις τας χειρας σου και αλλος σε ζωσει και οισει οπου ου θελεις
19 τουτο δε ειπεν σημαινων ποιω θανατω δοξασει τον θεον και τουτο ειπων λεγει αυτω ακολουθει μοι
20 επιστραφεις δε ο πετρος βλεπει τον μαθητην ον ηγαπα ο ιησους ακολουθουντα ος και ανεπεσεν εν τω δειπνω επι το στηθος αυτου και ειπεν κυριε τις εστιν ο παραδιδους σε
21 τουτον ιδων ο πετρος λεγει τω ιησου κυριε ουτος δε τι
22 λεγει αυτω ο ιησους εαν αυτον θελω μενειν εως ερχομαι τι προς σε συ ακολουθει μοι
23 εξηλθεν ουν ο λογος ουτος εις τους αδελφους οτι ο μαθητης εκεινος ουκ αποθνησκει και ουκ ειπεν αυτω ο ιησους οτι ουκ αποθνησκει αλλ εαν αυτον θελω μενειν εως ερχομαι τι προς σε
24 ουτος εστιν ο μαθητης ο μαρτυρων περι τουτων και γραψας ταυτα και οιδαμεν οτι αληθης εστιν η μαρτυρια αυτου

25 εστιν δε και αλλα πολλα οσα εποιησεν ο ιησους ατινα εαν γραφηται καθ εν ουδε αυτον οιμαι τον κοσμον χωρησαι τα γραφομενα βιβλια αμην


Karl Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum: My Response | The Evangelical Calvinist. I Told You So Years Ago

0
0
I knew this "shattering news" in the 1970s,
heard that Charlotte did the real work in the Dogmatics,
and recently read verification of Karl Barth's career as a plagiarist. His children had two mommies under the same roof.


Karl Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum: My Response | The Evangelical Calvinist:



"KARL BARTH AND CHARLOTTE VON KIRSCHBAUM: MY RESPONSE


I just read a disturbing, I mean for me personally, earth-shatteringly disturbing essay by Christiane Tietz about Karl Barth entitled: Karl Barth and Charlotte von Kirschbaum (Theology Today). As most of us know, who have spent any amount of time with Barth’s theology, his “secretary”, Kirschbaum was rumored to be more than a secretary; that she was a mistress. But this, at least for me, was always in the rumor mill, and I’d never seen any substantial or decisive confirmation of this; until now.

Tietz’s essay works through some letters sent back and forth between Barth and Kirschbaum; they are letters that Barth’s own elderly children, not too long ago, felt compelled to share with the public. What they reveal is that Kirschbaum and Barth loved each other; more than that, they were lovers; more than that, Barth brought her to live in his own home with his wife and five kids. Barth was not willing to give Kirschbaum up, and it almost (it should’ve, in my opinion, and would’ve in any kind of normal situation) came to divorce between Barth and his wife Nelly; but for some reason (I’d guess for the kids), Nelly stayed with Barth in this intolerable situation. Tietz’s essay offers much more disturbing detail than I have only quipped at here, but even what I’ve noted should be enough to cause alarm."

 Church Growth is the kudzu vine that swallowed
WELS-LCMS-ELS-CLC-ELCA,
and Barth is the main theologian of Fuller Seminary.
"The fault lies not in the stars, dear Brutus, but in
ourselves."


'via Blog this'

***

Did someone think this was profound?
He could have been the GA Pope, the WELS hazing ritual
where they learn to talk out of both sides of their mouths.


GJ - I found a follow-up to this blog post, where people asked the author, "Did he really commit adultery or just live with Charlotte?"

Lest I lose the G-rating of this blog, I will not go into detail, but even Barth's own mama called him an adulterer. And - "everyone knew it." When he traveled in America with Charlotte, he did not need another room or bed.

No one minds plagiarism in the Lutheran Church. Barth could have been an editor at Concordia Publishing House or the president of Mordor in Mequon, Wisconsin. As an adulterer, he might have had many important posts, such as Church Growth Expert in Columbus, Ohio - and just about everywhere else.

More importantly. Barth was a UOJ Stormtrooper. He was a little more honest than most of them. No SJ for him - that double-talk where "faith" is someone agreeing that the world is already forgiven and saved. Barth was a Universalist - so verbose that the typical Barth cult member did not notice.

I mentioned Barth as a fraud in a Facebook post. One of my Moline classmates, teaching at a famous conservative college. went postal on me. He is a distinguished professor there and leads tours about C. S. Lewis (Universalist) to England.

As I told a reader, I used to think I wasted years of time reading  selections from the "great" modern theologians. But that was how I came to realize that the UOJ being peddled by the ELS-WELS-LCMS-CLC (sic) is just the same as the mainline apostates - and ELCA.

Herman Otten's great complaint about Missouri turning liberal is completely off the mark. His Bronze Age heroes - Walther, Pieper, Stoeckhardt - prepared the LCMS for Biblical apathy, Pentecostalism, and union with ELCA. Like Barth, the leaders all come from the age of rationalistic Pietism, not from the Reformation.


What nonsense - yet the ELS-WELS-LCMS-CLC
claims this as the Gospel. Walther is a shade different from Barth, but only a bit. His UOJ made it possible to ignore and cover-up Stephan's adultery until the young ladies caught syphilis from their bishop. Then Walther suddenly discovered the adultery.

Coffee Didies for the Roses and Crepe Myrtles

0
0


When I take out the coffee didies, a daily or twice-daily job, I think of this passage from one of my favorite novels -

“It all began, as I have said, when the Boss, sitting in the black Cadillac which sped through the night, said to me (to Me who was what Jack Burden, the student of history, had grown up to be) "There is always something."
And I said, "Maybe not on the Judge."
And he said, "Man is conceived in sin and born in corruption and he passeth from the stink of the didie to the stench of the shroud. There is always something.” 
― Robert Penn WarrenAll the King's Men

The coffee didies are the spent grounds that gave us two mugs of pour-over coffee, the best in the world, easily made, rarely sampled.

Unlike egg-shells and epsom salt, coffee grounds are great for the soil.


Coffee Grounds as Fertilizer
Used coffee grounds for gardening does not end with compost. Many people choose to place coffee grounds straight onto the soil and use it as a fertilizer. The thing to keep in mind is while coffee grounds add nitrogen to your compost, they will not immediately add nitrogen to your soil. The benefit of using coffee grounds as a fertilizer is that it adds organic material to the soil, which improves drainage, water retention and aeration in the soil. The used coffee grounds will also help microorganisms beneficial to plant growth thrive as well as attract earthworms. Many people feel that coffee grounds lower the pH (or raise the acid level) of soil, which is good for acid loving plants. But this is only true for unwashed coffee grounds. “Fresh coffee grounds are acidic. Used coffee grounds are neutral.” If you rinse your used coffee grounds, they will have a near neutral pH of 6.5 and will not affect the acid levels of the soil. To use coffee grounds as fertilizer, work the coffee grounds into the soil around your plants. Leftover diluted coffee works well like this too. 
Other Uses for Used Coffee Grounds in Gardens 
Coffee grounds can also be used in your garden for other things. Many gardeners like to use used coffee grounds as a mulch for their plants. Other used for coffee grounds include using it to keep slugs and snails away from plants (GJ - Don't bet on that). The theory is that the caffeine in the coffee grounds negatively affects these pests and so they avoid soil where the coffee grounds are found. Some people also claim that coffee grounds on the soil is a cat repellent and will keep cats from using your flower and veggie beds as a litter box (GJ - Haha). You can also use coffee grounds as worm food if you do vermicomposting with a worm bin. Worms are very fond of coffee grounds.
Read more at Gardening Know How: Composting With Coffee Grounds – Used Coffee Grounds For
Gardening https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/composting/ingredients/coffee-grounds-gardening.htm

As coffee grounds break down, they release nutrition in the form of nitrogen, potassium, magnesium and other minerals into the soil. For plants that do well in acidic media, augment soil with coffee grounds to help them thrive.
God created many species of birds that form their own recyclable diapers, which the parents carry away from the nest. See the linked post above.

I found that simply tossing the paper filter and coffee into the garden did not work well. Although the filters decompose, they end up looking like litter for a long time. So now I drop the wet grounds and filter into the collars I have around Crepe Myrtles and roses. The collar keeps them in place and there should be peat humus on top of them soon.
Earthworms also love paper - and cardboard, so coffee didies contribute to the garden's soil nutrition and creatures.
A lot of what I do is small and laughable on a daily basis. Walking Sassy Sue, I bring back a lump of rotting wood or a clump of leaves and pine needles. Sometime I get a large section of bark to use as mulch. The individual additions to the soil are minor, but they add up over the weeks, months, and years. I have the biggest flowers, blooms, and weeds. The woody weeds I can cut at the base. The grassy weeds are formidable. Nevertheless, they also contribute by adding to the soil while growing and afterwards by decomposing - all part of God's plan.

Ex-WELS Pastor and Protege of Jon Buchholz Leads the View for the Last 30 Days

0
0
 Ricky Johnson is laughing at the synod that trained him
in Church Growth, funded his multi-campus parish,
and watched him leave with the members and money.

EntryPageviews
801








709








630








535








301








230








217








206








195








157









 Nothing to see here - move on.

I doubt whether WELS clergy are waiting for the next Martin Luther to reform their dying sect. They cannot even get rid of the Wendland NIV clown, who turned down a call to their Asian portable mini-seminary.

By now, if they do not realize that Fulleroids run the whole synod - I give up. The same names appear endorsing the same dogmas of Fuller, the same apostate gimmicks, even the same slogans and rampan plagiarism. "Everything has to change or we will all die. The evil ELCA will come and take our lands, our people, and our temples."in small print<Download your registration for the next ELCA-WELS-LCMS conference.>

I was ruminating about how this developed. Anyone who doubted Church Growth was hated out of these sects. In one case, Werning pursued one pastor he ran out of the LCMS and chased him out of another group. I know from ELS Pastor Paul Schneider that Werning was bad-mouthing me after I challenged him about going to Fuller Seminary, when Waldo denied it and I quoted my notes about him saying the opposite.

When this Gadarene Swine rush to Fuller began, the ELS-WELS-LCMS did not kick pastors out for doubting the liturgy, the creeds, the hymns, and the Biblical sermons. No, they let the Fulleroids do whatever they wanted. If caught at it - like John Parlow '87 Mordor, the synod moved the man to a new location friendly to Church Growth. If the Church Growth mission or parish collapsed from Fulleroid leadership and scandals, the same place was rekindled with a new name and even more funds.

WELS is liquidating the old congregations that sit on valuable land. A few incompetent pastors can close down a congregation and bequeath $1 million cash to the insolvent sect. The Love-Letter parish is down to 20 members attending - thus a new call and thanks from a grateful district president.

Since traditional Lutheran ministry is hated by the Fuller-trained leaders, the Lutheran Church is being actively destroyed, its schools populated by even more Fuller-indoctrinated idiots. If they are not fulminating Growthers like Larry Olson, they are actively stifling themselves about the issues.

 And then I said, "Let's have the largest distinctively
Lutheran conference in North America. Schroeder will fund it."
Viewing all 10884 articles
Browse latest View live




Latest Images