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Marquart Argues Using the Mormons' Method - and Gets Hosannas from the LCMS.

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When conflicting teachings compete for the loyalty of Christians in the name of Scripture, one cannot simply "stick with the Bible itself" and ignore all these pesky "interpretations." The whole point is to recognize what is the correct understanding of the Bible, and to assert it against counter-claims. Failure to do so gives equal rights to all views and effectively robs Scripture of any and all sense of meaning. --- from the excellent new first volume of the Collected Works of Kurt Marquart--- http://www.icontact-archive.com/uHblR2dI7Fi7_HXIWX0D74OfvAz…

When this was quoted on Facebook, I countered -

Marquart does not agree with Luther or Chemnitz, and he rejected justification by faith. Check out this Luther quotation. The Marquart quotation is actually parallel to what the Mormon missionaries say, that there must be a second source, theirs, to nail down the Word of God.

 http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2012/05/blog-post.html

The Marquart quotation sounded exactly like the Mormon missionaries, who have this script. "I nailed down a piece of wood, but it still moved around. That is the Bible. So I put another nail in and that kept it in place. That is the Book of Mormon."

Luther, on the other hand, makes the opposite argument - that the Word of God is above and and better than all books.

"The Holy Spirit teaches man better than all the books; He teaches him to understand the Scriptures better than he can understand them from the teaching of any other; and of his own accord he does everything God wills he should, so the Law dare make no demands upon him."

Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 280. Pentecost Sunday John 14:23-31.     

Here is the problem - the Synodical Confererence has made Walther, not the Word of God, the last word on doctrine. Therefore, anyone who might be a teacher in the LCMS dare not criticize CFW Walther, BA, or his disciple Francis Pieper.

Marquart declares something and the Walther disciples say "Amen!" when Brother Kurt is dead wrong. The Bible itself has the clarity and power to settle all arguments.

Chemnitz made the point in Examination, which nobody reads, that the early church conferences paraded the Scriptures before the beginning to show that those Scriptures were the source to settle all disputes. This took me all of two minutes to find, searching the PDF with the word ancient.

 J-017 

"And Cusanus writes that the custom of the ancient ecumenical synods was to place the holy Gospels in their midst." Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 154. 

 J-018 
"For the book of the evangelist and apostles and the oracles of the ancient prophets plainly teach us what we are to think concerning divine matters. Therefore let us cease our hostile discord and take the solutions of the questions out of the divinely inspired sayings." [Constantine at Nicea] 
 Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 154. 

J-019
"If anything is said without Scripture, the thinking of the hearers limps. But where the testimony proceeds from the divinely given Scripture, it confirms both the speech of the preacher and the soul of the hearer." [Chrysostom, commenting on Psalm 95] 
 Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 156. 

J-020 
"Whatever is required for salvation is already completely fulfilled in the Scriptures." [Chrysostom, commenting on Matthew 22] 
 Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 157. 

 J-021 
"There is a short way for pious minds both to dethrone error and to find and bring out the truth. For when we return to the source and origin of the divine tradition, human error ceases." [Cyprian, Ad Pompejum] 
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1971, I, p. 158. 




Speaking of Chemnitz versus Marquart - Another Great Quotation from the Senior Editor of the Book of Concord

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"Beautiful is the statement of Cyprian, which Augustine declares to be the best without any doubt, showing what ought to be done when examples and customs are held up to us which do not have the authority of the canonical Scripture. 'If,' says he, 'we return to the head and origin of the divine tradition, human error will cease. For if the channel of water, which before flowed copiously and purely, either fails or brings muddy water, then certainly one goes to the source in order to find out whether there is something wrong in the veins or in the source, or whether something got in midway.' So also it is rightly, necessarily, and indeed safely done when things that happened in later times in matters of religion must be examined."
Martin Chemnitz, Examination of the Council of Trent, trans., Fred Kramer, St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1986, III, p. 237.

***
GJ - The source is not the Synodical Conference but the Scriptures.



Which One Does Not Belong? Hint: He Wrote a Hymn We All Sing

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J-027 
Don't let the world paint us into a corner of antiquarianism on subjects like a six-day creation or verbal inspiration." 55
Rev. Paul Kelm, WELS, "How to Make Sound Doctrine Sound Good to Mission Prospects," p. 13.72



 J-028 
"We resent unnecessary distractions; we resist unbiblical diversions. Can anyone believe that all other activities should be suspended until all evangelicals agree on precise doctrinal statements? We certainly cannot."
David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary.



 J-029 
"Where inerrancy refers to what the Holy Spirit is saying to the churches through the biblical writers, we support its use. Where the focus switches to an undue emphasis on matters like chronological details, the precise sequence of events, and numerical allusions, we would consider the term misleading and inappropriate. Its dangers, when improperly defined, are: 1) that it implies a precision alien to the minds of the Bible writers and their own use of Scriptures; 2) that it diverts attention from the message of salvation and the instruction in righteousness which are the Bible's key themes;... 5) that too often it has undermined our confidence in the Bible we have... 6)that it prompts us to an inordinate defensiveness of Scripture which seems out of keeping with the bold confidence with which the prophets, the apostles and our Lord proclaimed it."
David Allan Hubbard, "What We Believe and Teach," Pasadena, California: Fuller Theological Seminary, 1-800-235-2222.

 J-030 
"The New Testament is the inerrant record of the revelation of Jesus Christ in word and deed, and of the truths and principles proceeding, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, from that revelation. The Old Testament is in like manner an inerrant record, having the express and often repeated testimony and authority of Christ, of the preparatory and partial revelations made concerning Him before His coming. Hebrews 1:1."
Henry Eyster Jacobs, A Summary of the Christian Faith, Philadelphia: General Council Publication House, 1913, p. 3. Hebrews 1:1.


Luther's Two Sermons for the Sunday after the Ascension - Exaudi

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http://ichabodthegloryhasdeparted.blogspot.com/2013/04/norma-boecklers-new-book-treasury-of.html


SUNDAY AFTER CHRIST’S ASCENSION. John 15:26-16:4 . (EXAUDI).

The following sermon, which is not found in edition c., appeared in seven pamphlet editions in 1522, 1523 and 1525. The first bears the title: “A sermon on the Sunday after the Ascension of the Lord Jesus, the Gospel of John 15. “When the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you’ etc.

Preached by Dr. Martin Luther, Wittenberg.” (1522).

German text: Erlangen Edition, 12:238; Walch Edition, 11:1343; St. Louis Walch, 11:992.

Text: John 15:26-16:4. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me: and ye shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be caused to stumble. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God. And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I spoken unto you, that when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how that I told you. And these things I said not unto you from the beginning, because I was with you.

CONTENTS:

A SERMON OF COMFORT AND OF ADMONITION.
* Faith, Confession And The Cross.

1. Confession must accompany faith

2. The Cross follows confession 2-5.

3. If faith does not persevere to the end of life it is in vain 6.

I. THE SERMON OF COMFORT.

1. How Christ promises the Holy Spirit to his disciples in this sermon of consolation. a. Why Christ calls the Holy Spirit here the Comforter 7. b. Why Christ says here he will send the Holy Spirit from the Father

8. c. Why Christ calls the Holy Spirit here the Spirit of truth 9ff.

* The preaching of the Gospel and of faith brings upon itself the world’s wrath 10-12.

2. How Christ promises his disciples in this sermon that they shall be his disciples

* The power the Holy Spirit shows in the heart through faith 13-14.

II. THE SERMON OF ADMONITION.

1. The connection of this sermon with the one above 15-16.

2. The sense and understanding of this sermon of admonition 17.

3. The conclusion of this sermon of admonition 18ff.

* The false and true knowledge of God and Christ. a. The false knowledge of God and of Christ 18-19. b. The true knowledge 20-21. c. Whether work-righteous persons have the knowledge of God and of Christ 21.

SUMMARY OF THIS GOSPEL:

1. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth, because he makes us true, upright men, without whom all men are liars. <19B611>Psalm 116:11.

What is now the free will of man, and what can human teachings accomplish? The prophets and apostles spoke under the influence of the Spirit of God, as St. Peter says: “Knowing this, first that no prophecy of Scripture is of private interpretation, for no prophecy ever came by the will of man; but men spoke from God, being moved by the Spirit.” 2 Peter 1:20-21.

2. The same Spirit of truth, says Christ, shall bear witness of me: and ye also bear witness. The Spirit within, but you outwardly in your words. St.

Paul also says the same to the Romans: “For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God.” Romans 8:15-16.

3. The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians treats of the offense of the cross and the foolishness of Christians.

1. Beloved, you have heretofore heard much about faith. Today you hear also of the witness of faith and of the cross that follows. Paul says to the Romans, “With the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Romans 10:10. If one be pious, he must begin in his heart and believe. That serves only unto godliness; it is not enough for salvation. Therefore, one must also do what the Christian life requires, and continually abide in that life.

Hence, Paul adds: “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth Jesus as Lord, thou shalt be saved,” It is these two things that constitute our salvation, faith and the confession of faith. Faith rescues from sin, hell, Satan, death and all misfortunes. Now, when we have this we have enough. We then let God live here that we may reach a hand to our neighbor and help him.

Besides, God desires to have his name praised and his kingdom developed and extended. Therefore, we must praise his name, confess our faith and win others to do the same, so that God’s kingdom may be extended and his name praised.

2. Thus, faith must be exercised, worked and polished; be purified by fire, like gold. Faith, the great gift and treasure from God, must express itself and triumph in the certainty that it is right before God and man, and before angels, devils and the whole world. Just as a jewel is not to be concealed, but to be worn in sight, so also, will and must faith be worn and exhibited, as it is written in 1 Peter 1:7: “That the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold that perisheth though it is proved by fire,” etc.

3. Now, by confession I must take upon myself the load of Satan, hell, death and the whole world — kings and princes, pope and bishops, priests and monks. By faith, everything falls that reason can or ever has devised for the salvation of the soul. It must chastise the apish tricks of the whole world, and its jewel alone must be praised. The world cannot endure this, therefore it rushes in, destroys, kills, and says: “It is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish not,” as Caiaphas says in John 11:50. Thus, the confession must break forth, that God alone is the Savior; and the same confession brings us into danger of losing our lives. As the Lord says later to the disciples: “They shall put you out of the synagogues.”

4. One cannot paint the cross differently than it is here painted; that is its true color. But the cross of illness — to lie in bed at home ill — is nothing compared with the cross of persecution. The first is indeed suffering: but the suffering is golden when we are persecuted and put to death with ignominy; when our persecutors have the praise; when right and honor apparently are on their side, while shame, disgrace and injustice are on our side, compared with the world that wishes them thereby to have God’s honor defended, so that all the world says we are served right and that God, the Scriptures and all the angels witness against us. There can be no right in our cause, and without trial we must be banished and isolated in shame and disgrace. So it also was the lot of Christ — they put him to death in the most scornful and disgraceful way, and crucified him between two thieves or murderers; he was regarded as chief of sinners, and they said, with blasphemous words: Aye, he called himself God’s Son; let God help him now, if he wills it differently. Since he does not, God and all the angels must be against him. So Christ says in our Gospel, “They will kill you,” and not in an ordinary way, but in an infamous manner, and all the world will say that they thereby offer God a service. It is, indeed, hard to hold and confess that God is gracious to us and that we have a Savior who opposes all the world, all its glitter and shine. But, let the struggle be as hard and sharp as it will, faith must express itself, even though we would like to have it otherwise.

5. Faith must expect all this, and nothing follows its confession more surely than the cross. For it is certain to come to us, either in life or at death, that all our doings will appear to be opposed to God and the Scriptures. It is better that it be learned during life, from the people, than from the devil at death; for the people cannot force it further than into the ears, but Satan has a pointed tongue that pierces the heart and makes the heart tremble.

Satan torments you until you conclude that you are lost and ruined, that heaven and earth, God and all the angels, are your enemies. This is what the prophet means in Psalm 6:7-8, when he says: “I am weary with my groaning; every night make I my bed to swim; I water my couch with my tears. Mine eye wasteth away because of grief; it waxeth old because of all mine adversaries.” It is hard to endure this. Now you see how weak you are who are permitted to bear witness of this faith. One fears his wife, another his children and riches, and a third fears himself.

6. Faith is in vain where it does not continue steadfast to the end. Christ says in Matthew 10:22, and 24:13: “But he that endureth to the end, the same shall be saved. Hence it is better to experience persecution here than punishment at the end. If one flees persecution, there is no faith in his heart — only a dead knowledge or erroneous belief, without sap and strength, marrow and bone; but where there is a true, living faith, it presses forward through sword and fire. Let us now notice how the Lord comforts his disciples. He says: “But when the Comforter is come.”

I. CHRIST’S SERMON OF COMFORT.

7. That we may, under no circumstances, despair, Christ says, I will send you a Comforter, even one who is almighty. And he calls the Holy Spirit here a Comforter; for although both my sins and the fear of death make me weak and timid, he comes and stirs up the courage in my heart, and says:

He, cheer up! Thus he trumpets courage into us; he encourages us in a friendly and comforting manner not to despair before death but’ to cheerfully go forward, even though we had ten necks for the executioner, and says: Aye, although I have sinned, yet I am rid of my sins; and if I had still more, so that they overwhelmed me, I would hope, that they should do me no harm. Not that one should not feel his sins, for the flesh must experience them; but the Spirit overcomes and suppresses diffidence and timidity, and conducts us through them. He is powerful enough to do that.

Therefore. Christ says further: “Whom I will send unto you from the Father.”

8. For he, the Father, is the person that takes the initiative: I am the Son; and from us the Holy Spirit proceeds. And the three persons are one, and one essence, with equal power and authority, as he better expresses it when he says: “The Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father.”

9. That is as much as to say: He who will comfort you is almighty and Lord over all things. How can the creatures now harm us, if the Creator stands by us? Notice how great the comfort of the Holy Spirit is. Now let all the Turks attack us. As long as he is our guard and rearguard, there is no danger. John also says in his first Epistle,1 John 3:19-20: “Hereby shall we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our heart before him; because if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.” Likewise, in the following chapter, verse 4, he says: “Ye are of God, my little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world.” So the Lord now says, Him will I send unto you, so that nothing can harm you. Is not that liberal comfort? Who would not be fearless and cheerful in view of this?

And Christ calls him “The Spirit of truth;” that is, where he is and comes there is a rock foundation through and through, the real truth. Neither falsehood nor hypocrisy is there, for the Spirit is not hypocritical. But wherever he is not, there is nothing but hypocrisy and falsehood.

Therefore, we fall when the test comes, because the Spirit of truth is not present. Christ now further says: “He shall bear witness of me.”

10. That is, if he is in the heart he speaks through you, and assures and confirms you in the belief that the Gospel is true. Then, as a result, the confession of the Gospel springs forth. What, then, is the Gospel? It is a witness concerning Christ, that he is God’s Son, the Savior, and beside him there is none other. This is what Peter means when he says: “Ye are a royal priesthood, that we are elected thereto, that we preach and show forth the excellencies of Christ.” 1 Peter 2:9: Hence, there must always be witnessing. Witnessing loads upon itself the wrath of the whole world.

Then the cross follows, then rebellions rise, then the lords and princes and all who are great become angry; for the world cannot hear, nor will it tolerate, this kind of preaching. Therefore, the Gospel is hated and spoken against.

11. Reason thinks: Aye, one can, nevertheless, easily preach the Gospel in a beautifully simple and plain way, without a revolution in the world, and then it will be heartily welcomed. This is the utterance of Satan; for if I believe and say that faith in Christ alone does and accomplishes all, I overthrow the monkey play of the whole world; and that they cannot allow. Therefore, Christ’s teachings and man’s teachings cannot stand together; one must fall. Priests and monks, as they are at present, are dependent in name, character and works upon human institutions, which the Gospel thrusts to the ground. Hence, they dare not accept the Gospel, and they continue as they are.

12. Thus, I say that the Christian faith is founded upon Christ alone, without anything additional. The priests will not permit their affairs and institutions to fall; in consequence, seditions and rebellions follow.

Therefore, there must be dissension where the Gospel and the confession of Christ are; for the Gospel opposes everything that is not of its own spirit. If the teachings of Christ and the priests were not antagonistic, they could easily stand together. They are now pitted against one another. As impossible as it is for Christ not to be Christ, so impossible is it for a monk or priest to be a Christian. Therefore, a fire must be kindled. The Lord himself, in Matthew 10:34 and Luke 12:51 says: “I came not to send peace, but a sword.” Then follows in our text: “And ye also bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

13. Yes; then, first, when you become certain of your faith through the Holy Spirit, who is your witness, you must also bear witness of me, for to that end I chose you to be apostles. You have heard my words and teachings and have seen my works and life and all things that you are to preach. But the Holy Spirit must first be present; otherwise you can do nothing, for the conscience is too weak. Yes, there is no sin so small that the conscience could vanquish it, even if it were so trifling a one as laughing in church, Again, in the presence of death the conscience is far too weak to offer resistance. Therefore another must come and give to the timid, despairing conscience, courage to go through everything, although all sins be upon it. And it must, at the same time, be an almighty courage, like he alone can give who ministers strength in such a way that the courage, which before a rustling leaf could cause to fear, is now not afraid of all the devils, and the conscience that before could not restrain laughing, now restrains all sins.

14. The benefit and fruit of the Holy Spirit is, that sin will be changed to the highest and best use. Thus Paul boasts to Timothy, when he was converted, that whereas he had lived such a wicked life before, he now held his sin to be so contemptible that he composed a hymn and sang about it thus, in 1 Timothy 1:12-17: “I thank him that enabled me, even Christ Jesus our Lord, for that he counted me faithful, appointing me to his service; though I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: howbeit I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief; and the grace of our Lord abounded exceedingly with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. Faithful is the saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief: howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me as chief might Jesus Christ show forth all his long-suffering, for an example of them that should thereafter believe on him unto eternal life. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever.

Amen.”

II. CHRIST’S SERMON OF WARNING.

“These things have I spoken unto you that ye should not be caused to stumble.”

15. Now that Christ had comforted and strengthened his disciples, he warns them of their future sufferings, in order that they might be able to bear them valiantly. He is an especially good friend who warns one; and the evil visitation is much easier borne when one is prepared beforehand for it.

Christ says: “They shall put you out of the synagogues; yea, the hour cometh that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.”

16. You will certainly experience this; therefore, arm yourself and be prepared. The most of all will be that, when they have treated you in the most shameless manner, they will think they did a good work in doing so, and it will appear to them as if your God had taken stand against you, and they will sing over it a Te Deum laudamus (Lord God, we praise thee), as if they had done God’s will and offered unto him a service. Hence, he arms them here, that they may be of good courage when it comes to pass; and he concludes with the thought that they shall have God’s favor, although at the time there shall be no signs of it; for God does stand on the side of his disciples. He adds: “And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me.”

17. Therefore, be patient, be prepared, be firm. See to it that ye, by no means, take offense at me. Remember that I told you before that they have known neither the Father nor me; and therefore they will heap upon you dishonor, shame and persecution. You should never forget this, for it will give you great comfort and make you bold, cheerful and undismayed.

Therefore, Christ concludes the admonition by saying: “But these things have I spoken unto you, that when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how that I told you. And these things I said not unto you from the beginning, because I was with you.”

18. Who, now, has been considered to be worse than he who told the pope that he knew not the Father? The pope would, of course, declare the contrary and say: Aye, Satan has commissioned you to speak that. Now, they all say that they know the Father. The Turk also says that he does. In like manner, they declare they believe God and the Scriptures. But there are two kinds of knowledge. The first for example, such knowledge as one might have of the Turk from his noise and reputation; the other the knowledge one would have of the Turk through his deeds were he to capture and occupy Rome. In this latter sense we do not know the Turk.

19. It is this first kind of knowledge that some people have of God. They know very well how to say of him: I believe in God the Father, and in his only begotten Son. But it is only upon the tongue, like the foam on the water; it does not enter the heart. Figuratively a big tumor still remains there in the heart; that is, they cling somewhat to their own deeds and think they must do works in order to be saved — that Christ’s person and merit are not sufficient. Thy work is nothing, thy wisdom is foolishness, thy counsel is nothing, thy truth also amounts to nothing, neither does the mass avail anything before God. Then they reply: Aye, the devil has prompted you to speak thus. They say, Christ has truly died for us, but in a way that we, also, must accomplish something by our deeds. Notice how deeply wickedness and unbelief are rooted in the heart. The puffed-up pride of the heart is the reason why man can know neither Christ nor the Father.

20. But to know Christ in the other and true sense is to know that he died for me and transferred the load of my sin upon himself; to so know this that I realize that all my doings amount to nothing. To let go all that is mine, and value only this, that Christ is given to me as a present; his sufferings, his righteousness and all his virtues are at once mine. When I become conscious of this, I must in return love him; my affections must go out to such a being. After this I climb upon the Son higher, to the Father, and see that Christ is God, and that he placed himself in my death, in my sin, in my misery, and bestows upon me his grace. Then I know also his gracious will and the highest love of the Father, which no heart of itself can discover or experience. Thus I lay hold of God at the point where he is the tenderest, and think: Aye, that is God; that is God’s will and pleasure, that Christ did this for me. And with this experience I perceive the high, inexpressible mercy and the love in him because of which he offered his beloved child for me in ignominy, shame and death. That friendly look and lovely sight then sustain me. Thus must God become known, only in Christ. Therefore, Christ himself says to his disciples: “No one knoweth the Son, save the Father; neither doth any know the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son willeth to reveal him.” Matthew 11:27.

21. On the other hand, those who parade their own works, do not know Christ. Neither do they know what the Father has done through Christ.

Nor do they know that God is not interested in their good works, but in his Son alone. Thus, they do not know the Father, neither do they know what they have received from the Father, through Christ. Therefore, they must fall and perish, and behold God in his severest aspect — as a judge. They try to silence the judgment with their good works, but they find no good work that is sufficient to do this, and then they must finally despair. When people see that they, themselves, are nothing, and establish the foundation of their hearts upon Christ, esteem him as the highest good, and know God as a Father in death and life — this is to “know God.” Enough has been said on this Gospel. We will pray to God, to give us grace to know him and his Christ aright. Amen.


---


Benvenuto Tisi da Garofalo (1481-1559) - Ascension of Christ


SUNDAY AFTER CHRIST’S ASCENSION.


SECOND SERMON. JOHN 15:26-16:4.


Text: John 15:26-16:4. But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, who proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me: and ye shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.

These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be caused to stumble. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God. And these things will they do, because they have not known the Father, nor me. But these things have I spoken unto you, that when their hour is come, ye may remember them, how that I told you. And these things I said not unto you from the beginning, because I was with you.


In place of the preceding sermon edition c. gives the following.

German text: Erlangen Edition, 12:251; Walch Edition, 11:1354; St. Louis Walch, 11:1001.

CONTENTS:

A CONSOLATION AND A PROPHECY CHRIST GIVES HIS DISCIPLES.
* That the Holy Spirit proceeds from Christ is a proof that Christ is true God 1.

I. THE CONSOLATION CHRIST GIVES TO HIS DISCIPLES.

1. What moved Christ to give this Consolation 1-4.

2. The nature of this consolation 5-6.

3. The necessity and benefit of this consolation 6.

4. How Christ confirms by this consolation the teaching of the apostles 7-8.

II. THE PROPHECY OF THE WORLD’ S HATRED AND PERSECUTION OF BELIEVERS,IN WHICH APPEARS:

A. The Hatred and Persecution 1. In General. a. This hatred and persecution is a great offense in the way of the Gospel

9. b. How and why we must marvel because of this hatred 10-11. c. How even the papists exercised this hatred 12-14.

2. In Particular. a. The first kind of hatred and persecution 15-16. b. The second kind 17.

B. What Moved Christ to Foretell This Hatred And Persecution 18-20.

* The comfort of Christians in the midst of the fury and rage of the world 21-23.

C. The Reason of This Hatred And Persecution.

1. The reason 24-26.

2. How the difference between the true and the false Church is seen in this reason 27ff.

* In what the papists boast in opposing the protestants and how we should meet them 28-33.

* The knowledge of God in Christ. a . In what it does and does not consist 34-35. b. This knowledge alone makes us Christians

36. c. Neither the Jews nor the papists have this knowledge 37-39. d. How the separation of the true from the false Church was started by this knowledge 40-41. e. How believers should act when persecuted by the papists because of this knowledge 42-43.

1. The first part of this Gospel, referring to the Holy Spirit, we will reserve for consideration on Pentecost, at which time it is appropriate to state why Christ calls the Holy Spirit the Comforter and the Spirit of truth; also, how he distinguishes him from the Father and the Son, namely: He is the person who proceeds from, or is sent by, the Father and the Son; therefore, the Holy Spirit is called, at the same time, the Spirit of the Father and of the Son, that is, of Christ, as St. Paul and St. Peter respectively call him in Galatians 4:6, and 1 Peter 1:11. It is here also testified that Christ is truly eternal God with the Father when he states that he and the Father send forth the Holy Spirit and bestow the same upon the Christian Church.

This is stated more fully in the explanation of chapters 15 to 17 of the Gospel of St. John.

I. THE COMFORT CHRIST IMPARTS TO HIS DISCIPLES.

2. But the Lord Jesus Christ speaks these words, and all of the discourse of these three chapters, before his departure and ascension, in order to comfort his beloved disciples, and not only the disciples but all Christians to the end of time, concerning all that shall happen to them in the world after he shall have left the world and gone to the Father; to comfort them when he is no longer visibly present with them, and when he rules, not temporally but spiritually. He says these things that we may be strengthened and comforted through faith in his Word, to withstand the great and serious trials which confront Christians on earth, as we shall further hear.

3. He often announced to them how the world would array itself against them because of their office. He plainly told them, in order to forewarn them, that the world would not agree with them nor accept their doctrines.

They had hitherto hoped that all the world, and more especially his own people, would gladly accept him. Now he tells them that the world will not only despise their teaching and regard their words as vain assertions of foolish men who preach about simply a crucified man, but will, for the sake of himself, hate and persecute them. In a word, he told them that they should not expect friendship and kindness of the world; he wished them to learn that his kingdom is in no respect a temporal one.

4. But Christ would not have them be dismayed by his words and think:

What shall be the outcome of this? Shall we preach if no one will hear us — if even our own people are to become our enemies if we open our mouths to speak, not to think of what others will do? Let us be silent and let the world go its own way; let it believe and live as it chooses, rather than that we should speak only to be compelled, with shame and amid mockery, to remain silent. We should not be able to accomplish anything, for what are we and what can we poor, despised few do against so many, against the wisdom, power and might of the world? He would not discourage them; therefore he comforts and strengthens them beforehand with these words: “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall bear witness of me.”

5. Be it so, he says, even though they hate and persecute you for my name’s sake, and though the devil, who is responsible for such hatred, aims thereby to prevent you from speaking; nevertheless they shall not be able to stifle and nullify your preaching, for after my departure, when they think that I am forever dead, another shall come whose mouth they shall not be able to shut. He will publicly testify of me and will speak before all the world, whether the world smile or be angry. This one, he says, shall be the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and is sent by me. If I now go to the Father, through suffering and death, and begin to reign in divine power and majesty, then I shall speak through him; not, as now, personally and with my weak human will, in this small corner of the world, but publicly and before all the world. For I will send him in such form that he shall be in you, and he shall be your Comforter, since you will obtain no comfort from the world. He shall give you courage and strength to withstand the enmity of the world and the fear of the devil, enabling you to confidently and publicly testify of me. This testimony of yours shall be called and be the testimony of the Holy Spirit, given by you in your official capacity. He shall be sent to you by the Father and by me, and you may know, and the world will be compelled to see, that what the Holy Spirit shall say through you is by my power and authority, and according to the will and command of the Father.

6. This is the consolation which Christ gives the disciples to strengthen their faith. They would have need of it in their coming work for him. This promise is a promise to his whole Church that, after his resurrection and ascension, the word and teaching of the Holy Spirit shall at all times, so long as Christ sits at the right hand of the Father, testify through the apostles and their successors, and that this testimony shall remain in the world, no matter who hears it or hears it not. For the disciples were not to be concerned as to who did or did not hear and receive their testimony, but they should know, because it is the testimony of the Holy Spirit, that he would be present and working with them, to the end that some might believe. Nor should the world be able to hinder or prevent this, though it should rage against it with its hatred and persecution. Yea, even if no person on earth received their teaching, nevertheless the world should be reproved through the preaching of his Word. He says: The Holy Spirit will reprove the world, which will thus receive the judgment of its condemnation because it heard the preaching but nevertheless would not believe it and therefore has no excuse; as he said afterwards: “If I had not come and spoken unto them,” and “had not done among them the works which none other did, they had not had sin.”

7. Now, when he says: “Ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning,” he thus presents the apostles as special examples for all preachers and confirms their preaching so that all the world is bound to their word, to believe the same without contradiction, and is assured that everything the apostles teach and preach is the true doctrine and the preaching of the Holy Spirit, heard and received from himself; as 1 John 1:1-2 testifies, saying, “That which we have heard, that which we have seen with our eyes, that which we have beheld and our hands have handled concerning the Word of life…declare we unto you.”

No other preachers on earth have testimony like that of the apostles; all others are commanded to follow in the footsteps of the apostles, to remain in the same doctrine, and to teach none other.

8. In addition, the true criterion is given by which the preaching of the Holy Spirit may be tested, when he says, “The Holy Spirit shall testify of me;” that is, he will preach nothing except concerning this Christ, not concerning Moses, Mohammed, or our own works. St. Peter says, in Acts 4:12, “and in none other is there salvation, for neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved,” except through this crucified Christ. “These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues, yea, the hour cometh, that whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service unto God.”

II. THE PROPHECY OF THE WORLD’S HATRED AND PERSECUTION OF BELIEVERS.

A. HATRED AND PERSECUTION ANALYZED.

9. He pointed out clearly enough what should happen to them in the world as a result of their preaching. He mentions two sources of opposition to the Gospel, than which none could be stronger: One, that the preachers should be excommunicated and put to death; the other, that the persecutors would regard this as rendering a service to God. Who can withstand such persecution? or who will or can preach if those who testify of Christ shall be thus abusively treated and slain? Nevertheless, he has said that the Holy Spirit should testify of him and that they also should bear witness; and he assures them that their testimony shall not be effaced by this rage and persecution of the world. He gives them this assurance beforehand for the very purpose that they may know and be prepared against these same abuses.

10. Now, it is a strange and almost incredible thing to hear that not only the world shall oppose, with its bitter hatred and rage, Christ, the Son of God and its Savior, but that also the apostles themselves must be offended at such judgment of the world, Who could ever conceive that Christ and his Gospel should be received in this manner among his own people, to whom he had been promised by God, and from whom they were to expect nothing but that which is good, as indeed they have received from him?

But here you are told that the Gospel is a teaching which, according to human judgment, gives nothing but offense; that is, men regard it, not only as a great error or folly and justly mocked and despised of the world, but as a thing unworthy to be heard or tolerated — to be condemned as if it were the very devil’s most dangerous gift from hell.

11. The kingdom of Christ on earth shall so come that it must be apparent to all that it is not an earthly kingdom, after the manner of men. But the world shall refuse to recognize its nature. It shall not be called the kingdom of Christ or of God, but a destruction and subversion of all good government, both spiritual and temporal. It is well nigh inconceivable that the Son of God should be so received by those who are called the people of God and who are regarded as the most irreproachable in the world; for he speaks here not of open, malicious, wicked knaves and godless men, but of those who are regarded as the most eminent, the wisest, the most holy, and, as he here says, the servants of God.

12. Hitherto no one has understood these words, nor can any one among the papists interpret the expression, “They shall excommunicate you” etc.

They can say nothing else of this passage than that it is now an old and, in fact, a dead thing, referring to the Jews, who were a wicked and hardened people, that would not endure Christ and his apostles. It is hard to believe that even now there can be such wicked people on earth among Christians or in the Church as those who would excommunicate their brethren. But it cannot be Jews nor Turks who are meant; they have nothing to do with the Church. Nor has it ever been known that among the papists any one of them was excommunicated or persecuted or killed for the sake of the Gospel or the knowledge of Christ. Then, of course, this sermon does not concern them, and gives them neither instruction nor comfort.

13. But we, thank God, have been compelled, by our experience as preachers of the Gospel, to learn something of Christ’s meaning here and why he has spoken these things. We discover, in connection with the controversy concerning doctrine which we carry on with our adversary, that the papacy with its numerous adherents has been and still is composed of the tender, pious, holy people of whom Christ here speaks, who excommunicate his Christians for the Gospel’s sake and think that thereby they are rendering service to God. They certainly did this when by force they suppressed the Gospel and compelled submission, the Church accepting and obeying their mandates, and when, if anyone dared a single opposing word, he was promptly burned at the stake.

14. To exterminate the accursed heretics and enemies of God was called doing a holy work for God. In our time, also, they have shown this spirit in many examples and still show it in their treatment of numerous pious people whom they foully put to death, solely on account of their confession of faith in Christ and God, and will not consent to spare their lives even were they willing to recant. Therefore this passage does not need many annotations other than that we learn from it the difference between the true and the false Church, and thereby receive strength and comfort in our hour of a similar persecution. In view of this, let us briefly examine the words of the Gospel.

15. The words, “they shall excommunicate you,” are to be understood, as the Greek text clearly sets forth, in the sense of banishment and exclusion from the synagogue or the assembly of God’s people and virtual separation from all fellowship of the Church, the offender being committed to the devil, to be cast into the abyss of hell, never to have any part in the kingdom of God, of grace and of everlasting salvation. This is, indeed, a severe and terrible word, at which every pious heart must be greatly affrighted.

16. It is an incontrovertible truth that God has given such authority and power to the Church that whoever is excommunicated by it is truly excommunicated by God; that is, is placed under the wrath and curse of God and deprived of all fellowship with the saints, as Christ says in Matthew 18:17-18: “What things soever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,” and again, “If he refuse to hear the church let him be unto thee as the gentile and the publican.” What fate more terrible could happen to a man than to have the curse and imprecation of God and of all men pronounced upon him, and to be forever deprived of all comfort and salvation?

17. When, therefore, this ban and curse are pronounced, these other words of Christ must follow: “Whosoever killeth you shall think that he offereth service to God.” This is the punishment and execution which the world thinks it must carry into effect upon those who are publicly excommunicated — -that they should, without any mercy, be exterminated from the earth. This penalty is to apply especially to such as oppose God’s people with a new teaching and faith; just as the apostles were accused of preaching against the Law, the temple, and the people of God. Indeed, God specifically commanded in the Law that those who are guilty in these matters should not be permitted to live, but should be condemned without mercy, and that no one should favor his nearest friend nor brother, his son nor daughter, if an offender. Deuteronomy 13:8. This, Christ says, shall also happen to you — you will be not only excommunicated by your own people and be put under the curse of God, but they will also carry out the sentence of punishment upon you as the enemies of God, and think that they can render no service more praiseworthy than to exterminate such accursed people, to the praise and glory of God. Thus, the disciples of Christ shall fare even as their Head and Lord himself fared; they shall be regarded as such evil, dangerous, corrupting, accursed people that everyone is in duty bound to assist in exterminating them from the earth; he who does this has performed a good work, one acceptable to God in heaven, and can render him no better obedience.

B. WHAT MOVED CHRIST TO PROPHESY OF THIS HATRED AND PERSECUTION.

18. Behold, should not this persecution prove too heavy to be borne by the disciples? Christ tells them later that it shall be their lot to personally see and suffer such treatment, not only with reference to their Lord, in whom they believe, but also for themselves; that they, for Christ’s sake, must be shamefully cursed and put to death by those who are called the people of God, and who possess the authority of the Church and command the honor and respect of men for not only doing right, but for serving God most zealously, as pious and holy people, ardently promoting the honor of God.

What great tribulation must be in store for the rest of the little flock of Christ’s Church, if these things happened in its beginning and first planting, when the Holy Spirit so powerfully manifested himself in miracles before the whole world! What better things could they later expect from idolatrous heathen, if they are to suffer these at the hands of their own brethren and friends, the Jewish people?

19. Christ’s words, then, mean that the Church is to be established in a most wonderful manner, beyond and inconsistent with all human understanding. Who has ever heard that this is to be the way in which God will introduce Christ’s kingdom upon earth, establish his Word in all places, and gather his Church, if it is to begin in such an inconsistent manner and to meet with such opposition that the dear apostles must, in shame and disgrace, yield up their lives and not they, with their few followers, but their adversaries, bear the name of God’s people and God’s Church? This ought to be sufficient to drive out of the hearts of the disciples the erroneous delusion they had held concerning the temporal kingdom of Christ, and to teach them not to expect from it worldly and temporal good and honor and power and peace, but to perceive that he meant to give them something else, since he permitted them to suffer shame and death.

20. With this word of consolation, Christ prepares his disciples, and future Christians, assuring them that the Holy Spirit will testify of him in the face of so much discouragement, as was greatly needed. That the disciples could understand his words, must be due to the revelation of the Holy Spirit. How otherwise could they believe that this crucified, accursed and condemned Jesus, represented by his disciples and pupils, could be the true Son of God, the Lord of life and of eternal glory?

21. There is presented to us in this text a picture of the reception accorded this kingdom of Christ in the perverse, opposing kingdom of the world, concerning which prophesied in the earliest promise of his Word — the promise in which the Church had its first beginnings — where God said to the serpent, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; he shall bruise (crush) thy head, but thou shalt bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15. This enmity, then, must continue in the world, an unending enmity and contest; as soon as Christ comes, teaching the Word, he meets the serpent, which immediately becomes venomous and at every opportunity attacks and bites with its poisonous fangs, for it fears the loss of its head. But in spite of all efforts, it has not yet gained anything and is still under the feet of the Seed of the woman, who tramples on its head, until its venom and wrath against him shall have been spent in vain and its power utterly destroyed.

22. We have the comfort of this victory of Christ — that he maintains his Church against the wrath and power of the devil; but in the meantime we must endure such stabs and cruel wounds from the devil as are necessarily painful to our flesh and blood. The hardest part is that we must see and suffer all these things from those who call themselves the people of God and the Christian Church. We must learn to accept these things calmly, for neither Christ nor the saints have fared better.

23. It was also a bitter and hard thing for our first parent, Adam, to learn to understand the fulfillment in his own children of this same truth, “I will put enmity between thee” etc., when his first born and God-given son murdered his own brother because of his offering to God and his obedience to him. The patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, and others who, for the time being, were the true Church, had to pass through the same experience when brothers who had learned from the same father one and the same faith, Word and worship of God, became enemies and one received persecution at the hands of the other. We ought not to be surprised, then, if a similar experience must be ours, not alone at the hands of the papists, from whom we have already received condemnation and whose disposition toward us is plainly apparent; but also at the hands of those who are still among us as evangelical Christians, and who yet are not upright.

C. THE CAUSE OF THIS HATRED AND PERSECUTION.

24. This is the first part of this Gospel and prophecy of Christ. The second part now follows, explaining how it is that such worthy people, the best, the wisest and most holy among God’s children, who earnestly seek to serve and honor God, should so bitterly and mercilessly persecute Christ and his people. “These things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father nor me.”

25. There you have the reason. Christ tells what moves them to such hatred and persecution of Christians. It is, he says, because you preach concerning me, whom they do not know; for they jealously regard their own office of teaching and preaching in the capacity of chief-priest and scribe (and in this day of pope, bishop, etc.) repudiating all doctrine that differs from that of Moses and the Law. They rigidly follow the command of Moses in Deuteronomy 13:6ff. How, then, shall the apostles be permitted to promulgate this utterly new doctrine concerning an unknown Messiah, one, too, whom they reject as a false prophet, yea, whom they have crucified as a deceiver and blasphemer? Who, in opposition to all recognized authority and intelligence, would acknowledge as Christ this executed victim? These so-called people of God boast to the apostles of their authority, saying, in Acts 5:28: “Did we not straitly charge you not to teach in this name?”

26. That they do not know this Christ is true without a doubt. Their own confession and deeds prove it. It is plainly evident in what high esteem they hold themselves as being the people of God, who possess the Law, and the promise, the priesthood and worship of God (even as our people possess the Scriptures, baptism, the sacrament and the name of Christ); yet they are blind and without the true knowledge of God and of Christ, and consequently have become hardened, opposing God and his Son with their acts of ban and murder, under the very appearance and with the boast of thereby serving God. But Christ strengthens and comforts his own people that they may not fear harsh judgment, nor be intimidated by jealous authority from preaching and confession, but may say to their adversaries as the apostles answered the chief-priests and the council at Jerusalem, in Acts 5:29: “We must obey God rather than men.”

27. In this connection Christ fixes the standard of judgment and points out the difference between the true and the false Church. The Church is not to be judged by name and external appearance; but insight must be had and the identifying mark be forthcoming, by which the holy Church and the true people and servants of God may be recognized. Reason and human wisdom cannot furnish the necessary qualifications for the true Church.

The actual test is in ascertaining who have the real knowledge of Christ and who have it not. Judgment cannot be passed in this case according to mere external appearance and name, according to the office and authority and power of the Church; in all these externals the Jews excelled the apostles and the papacy excels us by far.

28. Accordingly, we concede to the papacy that they sit in the true Church, possessing the office instituted by Christ and inherited from the apostles, to teach, baptize, administer the sacrament, absolve, ordain, etc., just as the Jews sat in their synagogues or assemblies and were the regularly established priesthood and authority of the Church. We admit all this and do not attack the office, although they are not willing to admit as much for us; yea, we confess that we have received these things from them, even as Christ by birth descended from the Jews and the apostles obtained the Scriptures from them.

29. In view of these prerogatives, they make their perverse boast against us and censure and curse us as obstinate and recreant apostates and enemies of the Church. It is unpleasant to suffer such reproach, and for this reason the devil easily terrifies the hearts of some of the ignorant and overwhelms men with the thought: Alas! the Church has pronounced the ban and it really possesses the office; this is certainly a thing not to be made light of, for Christ says in Matthew 18:18: “What things soever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven.” Therefore whom the Church excommunicates is undoubtedly also condemned by God. Most assuredly they do not excommunicate in the name of the devil, nor of the pope, but in the name of God the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, by the authority of Christ etc., embellishing the ceremony with appropriate and high-sounding and solemn words.

30. It is necessary to a thorough understanding of the matter that we understand what Christ here says concerning the two Churches: One is the Church which is not recognized by the world, but is robbed of its name and exiled; the other, the Church that has the name and honor but persecutes the small flock of believers. Thus we have the opposing situations: The Church which is denied the name is the true Church, whilst the other is not the reality, though it may occupy the seat of authority and power, and possess and perform all the offices conceded to be offices and marks of the holy Church and yet we are obliged to suffer its ban and judgment.

31. The reason for the difference in the two Churches is contained in Christ’s saying: “Because they have not known the Father nor me;” that is, the false Church regards itself as superior to the teachings of Christ, when a knowledge of Christ is the very basis of distinction between the true and false Church. It is not enough merely to have the name and the office of the Church since these could be unlawfully assumed and abused; the second commandment and the second petition of the Lord’s Prayer indicate that the name of God is often abused, not hallowed but blasphemed and dishonored. Hence, we must not be too ready to endorse the declaration: I say or do this in the name of God or of Christ, and at the command and by the authority of the Church. But we should reply thus: I accept the name of God and of the Church as they are dear and precious to me; but I do not concede to you that in this name you should prescribe and sell whatever you please.

32. Thus we say to the papists: We grant you, indeed, the name and office, and regard these as holy and precious, for the office is not yours, but has been established by Christ and given to the Church without regard for and distinction of the persons who occupy it. Therefore, whatever is exercised through this office as the institution of Christ, and in his name and that of the Church, is at all times right and proper, even though ungodly and unbelieving men may participate. We must distinguish between the office and the person exercising it, between rightful use and abuse. The name of God and of Christ is always holy in itself; but it may be abused and blasphemed. So also, the office of the Church is holy and precious, but the person occupying it may be accursed and belong to the devil. Therefore, we cannot decide according to the office who are true or false Christians, and which is the true or false Church.

33. But the basis of distinction shall be: to know Christ or not to know Christ; that is, to know the doctrine and faith of Christ and to confess him.

It is evident, as supported by Christ’s own statement, that some know neither him nor the Father; it is determined by him that they are not the Church of Christ, rather that those constitute the Church who bear the name of Christ and have his truth, yet are persecuted by the others. Under authority of this conclusion, Christians are to be undaunted; they are not to be concerned even though they may be denounced as heretics and be cursed, but are to regard it as a comforting sign that they are the few who belong to Christ, when they are excommunicated by the majority in power.

For excommunication certainly is not exercised among members of the false Church for the sake of the knowledge of Christ and of faith; their policy is to stand approved and unchastized, yea, they dare even to denounce crowned authority to the extent of curse and ban, protected as they are by the name and sanctity of the Church.

34. Now, what does it mean to know Christ and the Father? The papists, forsooth, boast of such a knowledge, even as the Jews boasted of being able to recognize the Messiah when he should come, Indeed, who should so well know the Messiah as the same Jews who possessed his Law and promises, his temple, priesthood etc., and who worshiped the true God, creator of heaven and earth and promisor of the Messiah? But here you learn that an intellectual knowledge of God is not sufficient — the Law and temple service cannot avail; he who wishes to know God truly, must know him in this Christ, that is, in the Word, in the promises which the Scriptures and the prophets have spoken concerning him. The teaching and preaching of the Gospel is nothing else than that Christ is the Son of God, sent by the Father as a sacrifice and ransom for the sin of the world, by his own blood, that he might appease the wrath of God and effect reconciliation for us, redeeming us from sin and death and securing for us righteousness and everlasting life. It must follow, then, that no one, by his own work and holiness can atone for his sins or appease the wrath of God, and that there is no other way to attain the grace of God and eternal life than by the faith which thus apprehends Christ.

35. This teaching points out the true Christ and the real knowledge of him.

He who thus knows Christ, knows the Father also; for the knowledge of Christ teaches him that, for the sake of his Son, God will be gracious to us and will save us, that no one shall come to God except through him. who is the bearer of our sins and is our mercy-seat, and that all this and nothing else is the eternal counsel, desire and will of God the Father.

36. This knowledge is the article of faith by which we become Christians, and it is the foundation of our salvation. Whenever, therefore, we have the knowledge of Christ, we must cease trusting and boasting in selfrighteousness, in works and in worship of the God of the Jews merely performed according to the Law, and we must place no confidence in all the trumpery of the papal self-ordained juggling and baubles; for if Christ alone shall bear my sins, I cannot at the same time atone for them by my own works and my own pretended worthiness.

37. The former Jewish saints would not, nor will our present papists, accept nor believe this preaching of Christ; they testify, then, by their own deeds that they do not know Christ nor the Father who sent him. The Jews meanwhile set up their own God, who has regard for their holiness — a holiness consisting in the Law, the priesthood and temple-service — and they set up a Christ who, when he comes, will be highly pleased with such holiness and, because of it, promote them to positions of great honor and glory before the whole world. If they hear the apostles preach that no one can be justified before God by the works of the Law, and that no other name is given whereby we can be saved than that of this crucified Christ, they will not suffer the doctrine, but must bitterly persecute its advocates, pronouncing the ban and condemning and slaying the apostles and the Christians.

38. Even so do the papists; they will not endure the teaching that we, for Christ’s sake and not by our own works, may be accounted righteous before God and be saved. Even though they retain the name of Christ and of faith, yet they rob Christ of his work and power, justify the erroneous doctrine of human merit, and admit only that faith and Christ are indeed of some help if love and good works be present. This means simply that Christ does not count so much as our own works; but whatever merit he confers is because of our works, as they teach in the schools: Propter unum quodque tale etc., and as they publicly say: Faith, which must always believe in Christ, is useless, void, yea, dead, does not avail, if it is not clothed and made alive by love, which is the soul and life of faith. They say that therefore Christ and faith may be found even in a person who is impenitent and lives openly in mortal sin. This is nothing else than to make Christ a mere empty husk or container and to make out of works the grain and the gold; to regard Christ as a dead body but our works as the soul.

When works are added to faith, they say, faith becomes a living body, a full container. This is a shameful and blasphemous interpretation of Christ, that his merit and power must be dependent upon our works, that he must receive his ability from them, and become a beggar of us for that which he should give us.

39. From these two convictions — that they do not know him and that they persecute and slay his advocates — Christ now passes the judgment that the so-called Church is not the Church. He then concludes that with their false doctrines and persecutions they are both liars and murderers of God and of Christ and of all his saints.

40. From the analysis given, you may decide for yourself in which group you are to be found; for you must be on one side or the other, and it is useless to wait for human council in this matter. It has already been unalterably determined that the two divisions can never agree. The larger body, which has the recognized authority, will always persecute the minority, even to the extent of excommunication and murder, as practiced from the beginning. Those who know Christ — the true Christians — will accept Christ’s classification and be numbered with the minority, who have the Word and the knowledge of Christ, and they will suffer persecution for the faith rather than, for the sake of the friendship and honor of this world, to belong to those who, condemned by Christ, are the bitterest foes of God and of the Church, and who cannot see the kingdom of God, nor be saved.

41. In this article of faith, distinction must be made between the true Church and the false; for it is the command of God and of Christ that one shall not be confused with the other. Therefore, we must separate ourselves from the papal Church, regardless of the fact that they trust in their Church authority and condemn us as apostates.

42. If they excommunicate and persecute us because of our evangelical preaching and our knowledge of Christ, we already have the decision of Christ that they are not the true Church, and their office and all the authority of which they boast cannot avail against us; that rather our teaching and judgments against them shall avail before God in heaven. We are certain, by reason of the test which Christ here applies, that the true Church is with the few who know Christ and are united in doctrine, faith and confession of him. And where the true Church is and abides, there remain, also, the offices of the Church, the sacraments, the keys and all things given to it by Christ; it needs neither to ask nor to receive them from pope or council. In the true Church, not only is the office pure in itself, but those who exercise it use it lawfully.

43. We admit that the papists also exercise the appointed offices of the Church, baptize, administer the sacrament etc., when they observe these things as the institution of Christ, in the name of Christ and by virtue of his command (just as in the Church we must regard as right and efficacious the offices of the Church and baptism administered by heretics), yet if they attempt to pervert the right use of these offices by exercising them against us, we may, by virtue of the judgment of Christ, declare their action void and regard themselves as apostates of the Church of Christ.

Heaven's Trail - Ireland.
This phenomenon occurs every two years,
the stars lining up with the wooden walkway.

Exaudi, 2016. Mother's Day

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Exaudi, The Sunday after the Ascension, 2016
The melodies are linked in the hymn name. 
The lyrics are linked in the hymn number.
The Hymn # 9            O Day of Rest                      
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

Blessed Home, Foundation of Faith
            
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                    Lord Keep Us Steadfast                  



KJV 1 Peter 4:7 But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober, and watch unto prayer. 8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. 9 Use hospi```tality one to another without grudging. 10 As every man hath received the gift, even sominister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God. 11 If any man speak,let him speak as the oracles of God; if any man minister, let him do it as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.

John 15:26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:  27 And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning. 16:1 These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.  2 They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service.  3 And these things will they do unto you, because they have not known the Father, nor me.  4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Prayer
Lord God, heavenly Father, we give thanks unto Thee, that through Thy Holy Spirit Thou hast appointed us to bear witness of Thy dear Son, our Lord Jesus Christ: We beseech Thee, inasmuch as the world cannot endure such testimony, and persecutes us in every way, grant us courage and comfort, that we may not be offended because of the cross, but continue steadfastly in Thy testimony, and be found always among those who know Thee and Thy Son, until we obtain eternal salvation through the same, Thy Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.


Blessed Home, Foundation of Faith

Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She maketh herself coverings of tapestry; her clothing is silk and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates, when he sitteth among the elders of the land.
24 She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
25 Strength and honour are her clothing; and she shall rejoice in time to come.
26 She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness.
27 She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.

The liturgical purists do not like Mother's Day to be recognized but I see that one can find a major section of the Scriptures devoted to that topic.
This section of Proverbs is proof that no one reads this book of the Old Testament anymore. If they did, our country would be blessed by the everyday and spiritual wisdom of Proverbs. People would turn away from the advice columnists because of the disparity between the newsprint and the Bible.
Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies.
No one can argue this statement, because of all the unhappiness in America. The problem is not so much with women, in my opinion, but with the lack of support from men. We have endless numbers of males who procreate but relatively few who care to be fathers and husbands. 
We were talking to a delightful young woman, and my wife asked her about marriage. She began to avoid the topic, and I said, "The men are still boys at your age." (about 23) And she said, "Yes, that is the problem."
And so many miss out on the delights of marriage while pursuing the delusion of endless youth and limited responsibility, as if living for another person is a horrible burden.
Virtuous is an interesting word in English. The word is based on the Latin word for man, so it meant manliness in the best sense. In general it means a collection of good habits and attitudes, a complex of fine things that yield good results. So this verse is more of a headline or theme for the passage that follows.
11 The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil.
We cannot depend on good from many people. We can go to work and find that foolish and deceptive actions have damaged the lives of many people at once. One of my schools (UOP) just fired 500 people at once. Having a partner at home who is on the same side is an enormous benefit. Dealing with the difficulties of life is a terrible challenge alone. Sharing them is makes them so much easier to bear, and those challenges end up being fun, exhilarating, and even funny at times - often much later.
12 She will do him good and not evil all the days of her life.
A true partnership means always pulling in the same direction. That often means seeing the same situation from two perspectives and working out a good solution. As various tests have shown, we almost always marry our opposites in personality, even down to filling ice cube trays and arriving on time or late. We marry a different birth order most of the time:
First born perfectionists marry normal middle children or lovable babies. And then those parents identify with their children of the same birth order - first-borns back their first-born children. Middle the middle children, etc. 
And if the couple thinks they are on the same wave-length, the cultural differences open up the gap with two sets of parents and the male-female differences.
Once I pointed out in an article that companion plants are also opposites. Grass is the opposite of dandelions in every possible way, so they grow well together. So the differences in partners is God's way of developing strengths rather than bumping up against annoying similarities. In business that is always true of successful partnerships, and those partnerships often end up splitting rather than realizing the strength of the differences. Rolls was a salesman and Royce was an engineer. Neither one could do the other's work, so together they built a great car.
My wife recognized the rose farmer in me, and she had two significant ideas about getting that going. She found a great bargain on TV, and that began the rose garden with 8 bargain roses. Chris insisted on those roses growing right outside the front door instead of where I wanted them, in the sunny garden. I agreed with her idea, and that was easily the best way, because we smell rose fragrance entering and leaving our home, every time we open the door. In addition, it became a soothing place for our dying neighbor who loved the roses and sat on the porch with Chris enjoying them.
Chris went along with 10 bargain roses, but wanted them around the maple tree. As my Moline friend said, "What? Under a maple tree? The roots!" Nor was he wrong in thinking about those tangled tough roots. It was not fun to dig those holes, and I normally enjoy that part. Every single excavation was a battle. And the roses struggled to get a good foothold while competing with maple tree needs during a summer of deluge and drought. This year, the maple tree rose garden merged with the main garden, and the effect is great. When we moved in, the maple tree area was an eyesore. Now it is a delight to see the whole area, and it delights our whole street. The neighbor ladies are getting roses for Mother's Day.
More significantly we have agreed about dealing with apostasy, which has been exciting, scary, costly, and rewarding all at the same time. No one had a script or a plan and yet the end result, which seemed like wasted years, is very worthwhile. Only the false teachers could have taught me to value Luther and the Book of Concord as much as I do. Every so often someone says, "Thank you for pointing me to Luther and the Confessions."
13 She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands.
14 She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar.
15 She riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.
16 She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard.
17 She girdeth her loins with strength, and strengtheneth her arms.
18 She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night.
19 She layeth her hands to the spindle, and her hands hold the distaff.
A family is a business. There are many ways it is organized, but people have to work, gather food, clean up, and earn money. God organized the entire world population to consist of families. They always fall into male-female partnerships, even if degenerate cultures (like ours) try to rewrite the rules, which are there for our good.
Wives and mothers work hard every day of the week, and they do it while worrying about the welfare of the family. Sometimes the wife has to be the wage-earner, though it works out better when she can fulfill more of the household responsibilities. Proverbs certainly sees the ideal woman as one who runs the family estate and agricultural business like a modern manager. 
My wife said, "There is no money in sewing." She is an expert, the granddaughter of a tailor. I said, "Look at what you do not spend by doing your own mending and amending of clothes." She said, "True." Once when leg-warmers were the rage for little girls, she made them for all the girls in the church, and they were delighted. When my wife decided to learn jewelry making, it was slow going at first. But after gaining the skills and materials, she found people buying the jewelry off her when she went to dinner theater or even to the community college to teach the subject.
And another area is teaching. Mothers endlessly teach their children, lacking a receptive at times, but never ceasing. What seems so common and trivial is quite valuable later, as all my friends say, now that their mothers have passed away. My wife was trained as a German teacher, which was not a money-maker but something shared with our son in languages, which ended up mainly in computer languages after learning Latin, Greek, German, Spanish, and Hebrew. How does one measure this teaching mothers do? 
Although the men are supposed to be spiritual leaders of their families, the wives and mothers often do their part when the men back away. It is too bad that the willingness of women has allowed men to back away. Children are so impressed when their fathers help with church, including teaching and helping with doctrinal matters.
20 She stretcheth out her hand to the poor; yea, she reacheth forth her hands to the needy.
This is another important virtue among wives and mothers, having compassion for those in need. My mother had passed away before I learned that she helped my best friend in 4th grade when his family had very little money from a layoff. A few people quietly gathered clothes and food for the family. No one at school knew, which would have been so embarrassing. That was an important stage in his life, because a gift started him on a career which he still has today. He finally told us all so we would think about how important those hand-me-downs and food items were for him and his family.
Providing help for others is also training for the children, so we have generations that care about others rather than letting the government do it for us at 10x the price. 
The passage ends with these great verses:
28 Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her.
29 Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all.
30 Favour is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised.
31 Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.
This ending is both describing and encouraging. The results of living as a wife and mother, faithful to the Word is praise from her husband and children as well. In fact, mothers and wives get their own passage of the Bible praising them, so it is not a thankless job. It just seems like it at times.
This is another example of God loving what the world despises, and God despising what the world loves. The more useless and wasted a woman is, the more she is praised and envied and copied by the world.
But that kind of fame is a lie. It is over so quickly that no one remembers the most famous ones in a few years. And we know that most of the beauty of the world consists of makeup and lighting. 
God-fearing means God praises. The final judgment is not whether the unbelievers approve but whether the believing family upholds and strengthens this vital role with thanks as praise, as it ought to.

Everyone on Our Street Gets a Rose Bouquet on Mother's Day

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I watered the Jackson Rose Farm last week so most roses would be peaking on Mother's Day. I got up extra early today, took Sassy for her walk, and got out my equipment:

  1. Nine vases and cups.
  2. Rose shears.
  3. A gallon of water.


I refreshed the altar flowers left from Ascension Day on Thursday, then began harvesting roses for the nine vases. We have nine homes on this cul-de-sac, besides ours, and each one has a mother or someone with a mother, so each one got a bouquet.

Several got premium bouquets -

  • Mrs. Gardener next door adores roses but her husband does not have a knack to grow them.
  • Our friend with daughters galore - the four S sisters - got a special bunch. Each daughter's name begins with S, so we just call them the four S's.
  • Our landscaper Army Ranger vet lost his mother not long ago, so he and his brother living there and their step-father all mourn her.
One neighbor, who loves our roses and other flowers, caught me in the act. She and her daughter followed me back to the yard and thanked me over and over for the roses. She had a packed vase of pink KnockOuts with some other roses for contrast.

The Army Ranger's brother came during church to return their vase and thank my wife. She said, "He would come out but he is broadcasting a worship service right now." They were very happy to have roses to take to their mother's grave today.

Our Laotian neighbor across the street came over with a bag of cooked rice, to talk to Chris and get a tour of the rose garden. They talked about Janice, who used to sit on the patio to enjoy the roses. Our Laotian neighbor wants to do the same.

Later, our helper came by to help plant Elephant Ears, some mountain mint, and spirea. We finally have the putative tomato (sunny) garden covered with cardboard and some of the mulch. He took home a giant Pope John Paul II and a big red KnockOut for his wife.

One KnockOut Bush provided most of the red flowers, but a few lucky people got the fragrant Mr. Lincoln rose.


Most  of the White Roses Under Attack by Aphids
Our helper asked about Sevin (a pesticide) and tomatoes. I got a chance to describe what I do with aphids. My speech follows.

"Aphids are attacking the white Pope John Paul II roses. Look at how rotten they are. I do not consider aphids bad, because they are food for pest eaters. I am leaving the aphids alone so the beneficial bugs have food and settle in here. Then they will wipe out the second aphid invasion by eating them or letting their children eat them."

He said, "So using Sevin just keeps a cycle going?"

I said, "Yes. You kill the aphids or tomato worms or another pest. All the pest-eaters are without food and you kill the vast majority of beneficial bugs and spiders. I let God's creatures eat them for nothing instead of buying pesticide. Call me cheap, but it works."


I Always Wanted To Have Elephant Ears
Elephant Ears are a tropical bulb, and we still had one great place for them in the front yard, plenty of sun and run off from water. Precious little water runs down toward the sidewalk without being used by an ornamental plant.

I am looking forward to posing our grandson under or behind one of these leaves. I can tell if children will like a plant or flower. If I love it, so will they.

Grandson Alex pruned my roses the first year we had them. I taught him to flick the flower with his fingers to see if the petals were loose. Those were spent flowers to cut. In fact, any flower or bud cut will direct more energy to production in the plant. Exhibitioners will prune good buds and flowers to make the others even better. So he learned - prunes are good for bushes too.

Fever Few is tested as good for migraines,but also a great host for beneficial bugs.


Beneficial Bug Plants
I planted all our mountain mint plants, which are good for beneficial buds. One is in the front yard. Two are in the back yard.

The spirea bushes in the front and back yards will attract butterflies and pollinators. 

When the promised rain comes, I will sow Fever Few and Comfrey in the Wild garden

Comfrey is a bigger, uglier version of Borage.
Everything mentioned here today is an herb, including roses.

Teachers' Day - Part III - My Wife the Teacher. Mother's Day

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Our son is in this photo with my father,
but he looks exactly like his son at that age.
See Batman below.

My wife Christina was trained to be a German teacher at Augustana College, and she lived in Germany to learn more and become especially fluent. Later she earned a master's degree in German literature at the University of Waterloo, a tough program where all the reading was in German - and  so were most of the lectures.

I was one of her first students. She thought I should learn German, and I took plenty of courses at Augustana in German, and she took Greek - based on my suggestion. I was not a natural in languages, but I thought they were important to learn, so I took Greek and more Latin.

Every mother is a teacher, and Chris devoted herself to teaching our children all the time. She gave her language abilities to our son, and gave our daughters a special love for conversation and laughter. Bethany and Erin Joy could not talk, but they spoke with their eyes, laughter, smiles, and tears. Story time was so important we even phoned up story time from a special number.

All three children heard stories, listened to books read, and enjoyed group lovey time. There are many ways to teach.


My wife Chris decided that learning itself was good, not something received at a school, even though she substitute taught at various schools. Learning happened all the time, which is how we talked her into an Atari game computer - for education. "They have all kinds of programs to teach math and everything else."

That little game computer turned into a career. Today, we had the best time talking about the latest advances.

I remember Chris driving Little Ichabod to the community college for classes, very early, as I mentioned before. We home-schooled, which was a great experience. I got to tutor him in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and he tutored his classmates in Latin and Greek.

My wife and I love literature, so we had a home full of literature, classical music, and hymns. When I read stories, I insisted on junior editions of literature or classic children's stories, like Wind in the Willows. We read Tolkien and Lewis too.

The wonderful thing about a wife and mother working at home is the astonishing amount of education that comes from that experience. During Fiddler on the Roof being played on the record player, the young groom sang "Miracle of miracles, God gave you to me." At that point our toddler ran over and kissed his mother. During the "Fifteen Birds in Five Fir Trees," song from The Hobbit record, he danced. I was in my office downstairs and heard the song and the feet thumping - so much fun.


Chris was always looking for ways to get the best education for LI. Various opportunities worked out, and we found ways to work around the drones and drudges in education.

I had to say at one school, "It is better to deserve honors than receive them." That was where the school secretary controlled the principal and decided on giving awards to the dumbest - truly a practical education in how the world works, even in putative Christian schools.

WELS had some excellent teachers in Shakespeare (Oxford), math, and science. Chris was 100% for that, since we thought an education was valuable in itself, not a way to earn a ton of money. A great liberal arts education is now The Thing in careers, because people with a broad education are better at thinking through problems and solving them. And they can articulate ideas in good English, a real bonus today.


Teaching mothers become teaching grandmothers, which means enrollment in a mutual admiration society.

Introduction to the Christian Faith: Jesus Priceless Treasure. Serial Installments. #1

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A reader suggesting posting this book in installments. Later I will move it over to Create Space-Amazon-Kindle. I am inserting some graphics for now, but it is likely the new edition will feature Norma Boeckler's own selections. I am turning the title into the sub-title, the major change.

Typo finders are welcome to send their finds to bethanylutheranworship@gmail.com. Try not to gloat, as my feelings are easily hurt.

Introduction



 For years people have asked for a basic introduction to the Christian faith. I thought it would be good to offer an outline of the public ministry of Jesus as the primary focus of the book. In addition, some of the basic doctrines of the Christian faith are presented in the ministry of Christ and expanded somewhat in the second section of the book. The central message of the Bible is forgiveness through faith in Jesus. His atoning death on the cross is the priceless treasure of the Christian Church. All the teachings of Christianity are related to the salvation won for us by the death and resurrection of our Savior, Christ Jesus, the Son of God. Every Christian book should have as its goal the conclusion of the Gospel of John:

John 20:31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.

The orthodox Christian faith has existed from the beginning and will continue until history comes to an end with the return of Christ. When Martin Luther and the authors of the Book of Concord witnessed to their faith during the Reformation, they argued that they were teaching what the early Church taught until her doctrines were corrupted by various factors. This argument is still true today. Everything in the Christian faith can be established through the Scriptures alone. Mormon missionaries told me that there are “One hundred interpretations for every verse of the Bible.” I agreed, saying, “Ninety-nine wrong ones and one correct one.” When they sputtered and tried to recover, I asked, “Do you really think that God became man, died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, and then left a record so vague and contradictory that no one could understand it?”
No one should be alienated by the long history of conflict over what the Bible teaches. The Scriptures are extremely clear, teaching us all we need to know about our salvation and eternal life. The Word of God moves us to believe in Christ and to please God in our lives.
       
Philippians 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

The best way to learn the truths of the Bible is to study the Scriptures patiently, using a few books as study aids. It is a blessing to have a congregation and pastor where the orthodox Christian faith is taught and practiced. Those who do not live near a faithful congregation can correspond and learn through the Internet.
 The most important way to begin a study is with a reliable Bible. The King James Version is still the most reliable and precise. It is ideal for public reading and memorization. Some people find the older forms of English in the KJV to be difficult. There are many updated versions of the KJV available. The most promising is the Third Millennium KJV. The New KJV has been used extensively, but I hope that updated translations more faithful to the original will displace the more creative versions.
 The authority, inspiration, and inerrancy of the Bible should be accepted without debate today. Unfortunately, clever attacks against the Scriptures have left many people with an odd stew of ideas about the Bible. The best way to test what a minister teaches about the Bible is to ask a simple question. “Are there any errors or contradictions in the Bible?” If he answers “Yes,” he has departed from the historic position of the Christian Church. He may be in the majority today, but he is still wrong, a blind guide. It is better to trust what Jesus says about the Bible:
John 10:35   …the scripture cannot be broken.




Or the apostle Paul:

2 Timothy 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: 17 That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.

Or King David:

Psalm 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

The Word of God creates a new man who loves God and seeks to serve his neighbor.

1 Peter 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently: 23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

 Many people have helped in the creation of this book. The Gospel of forgiveness through Christ is eternal-life-giving. I hope that this little book will be another stone thrown in the pond.




The Stone in the Pond


“The preaching of this message may be likened to a stone thrown into the water, producing ripples which circle outward from it, the waves rolling always on and on, one driving the other, till they come to the shore. Although the center becomes quiet, the waves do not rest, but move forward. So it is with the preaching of the Word. It was begun by the apostles, and it constantly goes forward, is pushed on farther and farther by the preachers, driven hither and thither into the world, yet always being made known to those who never heard it before, although it be arrested in the midst of its course and is condemned as heresy.” [1]



[1] Sermons of Martin Luther, 8 vols., ed., John Nicholas Lenker, Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983, III, p. 202. Ascension Day. Mark 16:14-20. 


Dedication


Jesus, Priceless Treasure is dedicated to

Norman W. Woehrle
World War II Navy Veteran,

All those who have served 
in our Armed Forces,

And their families. 

From 2009 - Featured Comments on the Ichabod Posts - Laughter Is the Best Medicine

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I appreciate the research being done by various readers. Waking up to dozens of comments is fun, for me. Apparently it is agony for those trying to slip all this past the unwary. A layman from St. Peter, Freedom, is unhappy that they are famous on Google for pictures of their pastors and stories about their work. Who posed with the floozies? Who published the photos to Facebook and kept them there?

Learn from Kudu Don Patterson, the next DP in South Central Texas. When his publicly displayed pictures were posted, he locked down his account pronto. And he stole my zebra photo, using it in his own directory - imitation is the highest form of flattery.

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WELS Pastor Tim Glende featured this photo with Katy Perry
("Ur So Gay" and "I Kissed a Girl")
on his main Facebook page. Try finding it now!
The winsome lass was once a Gospel singer.

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Seattle's Mark Driscoll":

Imagine you googled WELS and St Peter and up pops Ichabod.

Can you understand what someone must think when they start reading and seeing pictures of their pastors plastered all over the screen?

Anger, frustration, denial, defensivness...(sic)

Give them a break-- encourage them to critque (sic) the sermons (give them tools to test a good sermon), gently explain the problems.

Love your fellow believer/brother/christian and pray for them.

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Freddy Finkelstein has left a new comment on your post "Just As I Warned - WELS Has Women's Ordination Wit...":

Doing a little more browsing in the Resources section of Staff Ministry website, I see two linked resources listed under the "Worship" heading. One of the links is to a "Worship Planning" service: http://www.planningcenteronline.com/

It's got everything a Lutheran Church needs for the arduous task of planning the Divine Service each week. Who needs a hymnal when you've got all these groovy features:

Integrated Stage Layouts
Tracking of Volunteer Availability
Transposition of Chord Charts
Visual Media of various kinds, including integration with Worship House Media
CCM Usage Tracking for CCLI Reporting

And who do you suppose is using this service? Emblazoned on the front page is the full endorsement of North Point Ministries, Granger Community Church, and Saddleback Church. These guys are all reading from the same notebook.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Compare These Ancient Quotations with What Is Happ...":

If the C&C thespians are anything like the LCMS thespians performing skits and dramas, let me tell you it is like that old advertisement, "I laughed, I cried, it was better than Cats"! LOL

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Finkelstein on the Notorious WELS Document Support...":

The whole lay ministry program comes across as a new mandate from synod. Have churches been asking for such a program? Will churches be expected to shell out for a lay ministry program whether they want it or not? Is this more mischief from synod personnel who have nothing better to do? I am afraid this is another poorly, thought-through initiative that will get sold with a lot of hype and misleading remarks, including reference to a passage or two. Synod is good at making excuses after having made up their minds.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Finkelstein on the Notorious WELS Document Support...":

http://cumsanctospiritu.blogspot.com/2009/12/mlcs-charlie-chaplain.html 

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Finkelstein on the Notorious WELS Document Support...":

From the WELS Women's Ministry Website:

Our History and the Original Brainstorm
The WELS Women's Ministry Committee was spawned from an event that took place in June, 2002. The event, a brainstorming retreat, was a pilot project of the WELS Board for Parish Services. The "think tank" objectives were:

1) to review and reaffirm the Biblical principles of the universal priesthood of all believers and of the role of men and women in the Church,

2) to brainstorm, clarify, and prioritize ideas regarding vehicles and approaches which will foster, encourage, and enhance the personal and corporate ministry of WELS women and,

3) to craft the outline for a document that will present our recommendations to the WELS Board for Parish Services for appropriate action.

Ten WELS women from various walks of life participated in the June task force. Some of these women had full-time ministry positions or had had them at one time. Several women were working professionals, several were retired volunteers. Six WELS pastors representing the Board for Parish Services, Wisconsin Lutheran College, and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary, and Martin Luther College also participated. The Friday, Saturday, and Sunday retreat generated a set of "Action Plans". One of the programs that resulted as a key idea from the brainstorming retreat was a Commission or Committee on Women's Ministry in the WELS.

It took a year to get the committee going; nevertheless, the think tank weekend essentially generated the committee. Initially, four women who attended the think tank were appointed to this committee. There were three men on the committee who represented the Board for Parish Services and the seminary.

In October 2008, the committee expanded and now includes an Executive Committee, formed with the initial committee plus two new members, and several Sub Committees totaling 23 gifted women from across the nation and the two pastoral advisors.

http://www.welswomen.net/site/cpage.asp?cpage_id=180006131&sec_id=180002756&nc=1262231422796

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Brett Meyer has left a new comment on your post "Finkelstein on the Notorious WELS Document Support...":

WELS Directory of Staff Ministers.

http://staffministry.net/directory.php 

[GJ - The list linked for Staph Ministry is useless because it includes ordained pastors with MDiv degrees - Bruce Becker - and is outdated. Another grant is needed. Doubtless the WELS directory has an actual list. The linked list seem to be - "Everyone who supports us, one way or another."]


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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "WELS Mentor Under Water":

Rev. Jackson,
I just finished reading all your posts for the week and just thank God for you and your work on this blog exposing these WELS pastors who are NOT Lutheran! I am especially sad about the pastor who left St. Peter. I can feel his pain. Pres. Schroeder where are you?? The DP is obviously useless.

signed,
a confessional WELS lutheran pastor's wife


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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Finkelstein on the Notorious WELS Document Support...":

Freddy would like to see the financials for the staff ministry program. I would like to see Larry "O" out -- along with the staff minister program. The WELS convention cut a lot of things that needed cutting. The staff minister program should have been on the top of the list with Parish Assistance second on the list. These are the two programs that most directly influence the WELS ministry and WELS congregations in a negative way. Now with parish assistance on the way out, WELS can now point to Larry "O" and say, "You are the weakest link!"


***


GJ - Someone would like the SP to take care of Fox Valley and the weak DP. Most of the DPs are weak, unless someone questions them. Only then is the wrath of God revealed  in all its terror. Sorry folks, the DPs are elected and re-elected.  They are key to local conditions. If Randy Hunter is rewarded with a vicar and gets a female pastor, that is only because the elected DP allowed it. If Dom Perignon Patterson gets a free vicar for his affluent church, the DP gave that congregation priority.

I see the problem as circuit/district tolerance, apathy, and ignorance. A few of us are working on the ignorance part. If people remain apathetic, the apostates will more of the same. They have been romping without restraint for 30 years and still occupy many positions of influence. Undoing their harm will take patience, courage, and the efficacious Word.

The Columbus apostates taught me the Book of Concord - not that they knew the contents of that book. They forced me into study as they tried to justify their love affair with Deformed doctrine.

The pan-Lutheran sound of shrieking comes from those who are being found out, on the Roman side and the Fuller/Willow Crick side. They are all Enthusiasts, but some prefer one brand over another.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Featured Comments on Recent Posts":

As suggested by a commenter above, I googled: WELS and St Peter. The first Ichabod result was on the 3rd page--result 22.

***

GJ - I will work on getting the rank higher. Thanks.



Introduction to the Christian Faith - Jesus Priceless Treasure. The Virgin Birth

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Paintings by Norma Boeckler



One: The Virgin Birth



 Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary. Few sentences have had such an impact upon human history as this one statement – that God became man and was born of a virgin. History changed at that moment, fulfilling what was promised at the beginning of time. When Adam and Eve were driven out of the Garden of Eden for violating the Word of God, at the depth of their shame and sorrow, God promised them a Savior. In cursing Satan, God gave mankind the First Gospel:

Genesis 3:15

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

The prophesy meant that the Savior (her seed) would crush Satan (thy seed), that Satan would injure Him. When Satan led his forces in crucifying Christ, the innocent Lamb of God, the Savior Jesus crushed sin, death, and Satan.
 Because Adam and Eve sinned against God’s Word, their children inherited and passed on what we call original sin. The term original sin means that all our actions, words, and thoughts are tainted by selfishness, self-centeredness, greed, and lust. Mankind has recorded many noble thoughts and wise advice, but human history is a vast record of shame, murder, and folly. We can hardly deny original sin when we realize how often we fail to keep our promises, violate our own principles, and rebel against God’s commands, even when we know that God commands what is good for us.
 The Virgin Mary had a baby. That had to be the greatest miracle in God’s Creation. God became man. That does not mean that God turned into an ordinary human being. Nor does it mean that someone decided that an ordinary person was God. The baby Jesus was both God and man. He is still both God and man. Once He took on our human nature, He never gave it up. When we study the Gospels, we can see that Jesus is one Person with two natures united in Him. The two natures are divine and human. 
 God decided the time and place for the birth of the Messiah. He sent the angel Gabriel to tell a young maiden that she would give birth to the Savior of the world.

Luke 1:30-33

1:30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. 31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. 32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: 33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.

Mary wondered how this could be, since she was a virgin. The angel told her that the Holy Spirit would overshadow her and conceive the Savior. The Christian Church calls the Virgin Mary the Mother of God because the Son of God took on human flesh in her womb, uniting His divinity with her humanity. 
           Mary was betrothed to Joseph but they were not yet living together. The Jewish custom was just the opposite of ours today. At that time couples were betrothed in a religious ceremony but waited for a period of time before they began living together in the same household. Now couples move into the same household and wait several years—and often several children—before getting married. 
 Mary’s condition caused severe embarrassment for Joseph. He knew that he could not be the father of her child. He resolved to divorce Mary quietly. Anyone can imagine how both of them must have felt. However, an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and revealed to him that the child would be the promised Savior.

Matthew 1:20-22

1:20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. 21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Matthew revealed that this was taking place to fulfill the Old Testament promises.

22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, 23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.

The unity of God’s plan and purpose becomes clearer when we consider that the First Gospel of Genesis 3:15, the Virgin Birth prophecy of Isaiah 7:14, and the birth of Jesus are all in harmony, in spite of various human authors, enormous stretches of time, and different languages. 
           The prediction of the Virgin Birth of Jesus came about in a strange way. God used an evil Jewish king to proclaim the certainty of His greatest miracle. King Ahaz promoted idol worship, so he did not deserve to hear such good news. But God offered him the chance to request a miracle, either in heaven or on earth. Ahaz could have asked to be delivered from his enemies, but he trusted in his own schemes and refused a direct command from God: “Ask for a sign.” When Ahaz proudly refused a miracle, the prophet said, “You will receive a miracle anyway.” The miracle was:



Isaiah 7:14

Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

We can see that God revealed His will in separate predictions. 
1.        The Savior will be born of a woman (Genesis 3:15), “the seed of a woman.”
2.        The woman will be a virgin (Isaiah 7:14) and the child will be “God with us,” Emmanuel.
3.        The woman will be Mary (Matthew, Luke) and the child will be named Jesus –”Salvation.”

 The promise of a Savior being born should have earned Joseph and Mary many favors and blessings, but first they experienced great difficulties. The Roman government ordered a census, so Joseph and Mary had to travel uphill from Galilee to reach Bethlehem. Many Christmas cards show Mary sitting gracefully on a donkey, but the Bible does not have any record of an animal carrying her. Most likely Mary trudged uphill on foot for that long journey. She was about to give birth, hoping for some relief when she and Joseph reached Bethlehem.
 Every mother wants to have the best for her newborn baby, especially the first child. Joseph and Mary might have expected to stay with relatives, or barring that, at an inn. But the crowd was so great that they were forced to stay with the animals in the stable near the inn. The Gospel of Luke describes this touching scene in a few words:

Luke 2:7

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

A manger seems so pleasant, dry, and clean, because people recreate the scene with a wooden box and some dry straw every Christmas. However, no parents today would put their newborn baby in a feeding trough, the actual meaning of manger. 
Princes, scholars, and noblemen should have come to the stable to see the newborn Savior. A new pizza parlor enjoys more publicity today than the newborn Savior received. However, God chose to tell shepherds about the birth.

Luke 2:8-15

2:8 And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. 10 And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. 11 For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. 12 And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, 14 Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. 15 And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another, Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known unto us.

The wisdom of God unfolds when we consider how tenderly the Savior comes to us. Born into poverty in the humblest circumstances, Jesus does not intimidate anyone. Instead, people are drawn to Him, especially when they hear about the circumstances of His birth. Although the angels might have directed the scholars and the rulers to see Jesus, the messengers of God revealed His grace and glory to working men, who rejoiced to see their promised Messiah on his earthy throne, surrounded by animals rather than nobles.
 The hardships did not stop when Jesus was born. Wisemen from the East came looking for the Savior, after following the Star of Bethlehem. Pretending to love the Savior, Herod asked the wisemen questions because he feared this newborn king. The wisemen presented gifts to Jesus but did not return to Herod. Nevertheless, Herod sought to eliminate his rival by killing all the boys less than two years of age. God warned Joseph to leave, so the family went into exile in Egypt, returning later to Galilee.
Silent Night! Holy Night!

Silent night! Holy night!
All is calm, all is bright,
Round yon Virgin Mother and Child,
Holy Infant, so tender and mild,
Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.

Silent night! Holy night!
Son of God, love’s pure light
Radiant beams from Thy holy face,
With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth,
Jesus, Lord, at Thy birth.[1]



[1] Joseph Mohr, “Silent Night! Holy Night!” The Lutheran Hymnal, #646. 


Now I Have Elephant Ears, Just Like....Never Mind. Pre-Storm Work in the Garden This Morning

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I knew it would rain today, so I got busy. How did I know? Not from the weather websites, Accu-weather, or Weather.com. We were supposed to have rain yesterday, according to those experts. But one key sign was missing. Mr. Gardener always mows the lawn just before a storm. Today he was mowing early, and I dug out my seeds. Weather websites said - big storm at 4 PM. Ha! But the big storm should arrive tonight.

Yesterday I combined pruning with gathering roses for each lady on our cul-de-sac. The number of baby roses needing extra care had declined, but I noticed some canes with dried out canes on the end. Pruning that off helps the rose jump into leaf production.

Name this plant - too easy.


Later, we dug out two holes for Elephant Ears, planting them, and placed cardboard over the sunny garden, where raspberry canes were not yet growing.

I have been gathering seeds for the Wild Garden, so I planted those all over the back yard. The chief selections were:


  1. Feverfew
  2. Comfrey
  3. Beneficial plants packet - for plants that host beneficial insects.
Comfrey is also called Knitbone,
but experts caution against using it as a tea.

Comfrey's small cousin, Borage (Bee Bread), has similar flowers and foliage.
Both plants can look a bit weathered and bug eaten,
but they grow well.
Forget-Me-Nots are in the same borage family.


Nothing beats planting just before a long storm. Now we are past 4 PM and hardly any rain has fallen. The big storm was going to hit this afternoon, and it felt like it. Sassy and I were almost blown sideways by the gust at 4 PM, a sure sign of a storm, but it blew by. Mr. Gardener is never wrong, so I suspect we will have the promised storm this evening.

The Feverfew should take over the low growing flowers easily, especially in the Wild Garden.

The Comfrey seeds were planted with Feverfew, to get some starts going. It is another herb, often grown for copious compost high-nitrogen greens.

My idea is to have plants naturalize, take over the growing spaces so they fill the growing spaces instead of the worst weeds (ragweed). Good plants will reduce the opportunity for noxious weeds. We also have plants to reduce the last areas of tall grass with cardboard and autumn leaves.

Naturalizing flowers takes some adjustments in thinking. I was sorry about planting Feverfew in Midland, because those little white flowers soon appeared everywhere. I did not know about plants loved by beneficial insects or I would have welcomed their omnipresence, which began with one gift from an herbalist.

Feverfew leaf.


Feverfew
Tanacetum parthenium feverfew SYNONYMS Chrysanthemum parthenium, Matricaria parthenium, Pyrethrum parthenium FAMILY Asteraceae (aster) perennial in USDA zones 5–9; grown as an annual below zone 5 • native of Eurasia • blooms late spring to early summer • 1–2 feet (0.3–0.6 m) high and as wide Feverfew is tough as nails. Thriving in lousy soils and full to partial sun, feverfew grows like a weed, and thus the caution I give in the next paragraph. Each small daisylike inflorescence comprises hundreds of tiny yellow disk flowers surrounded by a row of white rays. The ferny foliage is heavily fragranced (I don’t like the scent, but others do) and medium green. On any given day in my garden, the flowers of feverfew are crawling with tachinid flies, lacewing larvae, ladybug larvae, minute pirate bugs, syrphid flies, damsel bugs, assassin bugs, spiders, and lots of other natural enemies.

That said, be aware that this plant likes to make babies—a whole lot of babies. So much so that my stand of feverfew starts every year as a carpet of fuzzy green seedlings. I have to pull the vast majority of them out so that my other plants have room to grow. If you plan to incorporate feverfew into your own garden, be prepared to religiously deadhead it before it goes to seed. Even then you’ll find yourself yanking some out.


Walliser, Jessica (2014-02-26). Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden: A Natural Approach to Pest Control (Kindle Locations 2752-2766). Timber Press. Kindle Edition.

As Walliser warned, naturalized can mean run-amok. The Star of Bethlehem bulb is known for that - and given away as a bonus by Michigan bulb retailers.

Currently I have all my white and Peace roses under attack by aphids and some other pests. I am counting on Feverfew to welcome the beneficial insects that will fight back in the second round of blooming. For now I will let the white and Peace roses get juiced, because they are providing food for the pest eaters.

Birds are also essential in the battle against pests. They need fresh meat for their nestlings, so they are on the prowl for anything that moves. Helping birds is the same as eliminating pests.

Dill and the entire carrot family will
attract beneficial insects.

The Blog No One Reads - 4.5 Million Views

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Pageviews today
2,618
Pageviews yesterday
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Pageviews all time history
4,512,243



I have fun looking for old posts that are being read at the moment, especially when they have multiple views in a short time.

Unfortunately I am one of the few dealing with actual doctrinal issues. Some hype each other and grant awards to one another, but they dance around the real doctrinal issues.

Maybe I missed the responses, but when I answered the Facebook post about Marquart, no one answered.


We sing Jacobs' communion hymn, but how many Lutheran leaders believe this Biblical concept? So the WELS-LCMS Lutherans are just like ELCA - they all ignore Jacobs.


The Sin of Procrastination. Someone - Please Take Away This Illiterate's Computer

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"This is the perplexing thing
about procrastination: although it
seems to involve avoiding unpleasant
tasks, indulging in it generally
doesn't make people happy."
That quote is by American journalist
James Surowiecki. His
statement is true, isn't it?

Procrastination is a pain. A student
sits down to finally write that
term paper but finds himself surfing
the internet instead. A person
wants to exercise regularly, but it's
much easier to start that plan
tomorrow. A Christian sees the
need to talk to a loved one who is
caught in a sin, to try to lead the
person to repentance, but delaying
the difficult talk is easier.

There is no delay in Jesus.
"Now the Son of Man is glorified,"
he says. "God will glory the Son in
himself, and will glorify him at
once." Why now? Why at once? It
helps to know the background.
Our reading begins with the
words "When he was gone." That
refers to Judas. Jesus told Judas
that what he was about to do, he
better do quickly. So Judas left.

The sound of the door shutting
behind the betrayer was like the
sound of a clock, chiming the
hour for Christ to fulfill his purpose,
a purpose that had been
given to him before the world
began. His purpose was to suffer,
excruciatingly, for humankind.
Yet he didn't flinch. He was willing
now that his time had come.
Why now? Why at once? The
answer is love. As Judas left to
sell Jesus, Jesus knew that he
was about to buy us with his own
blood. Procrastination can be a
sin, when we put off the good
things we know we should be
doing. If it shocks you that procrastination
can be sin, let it be a
happy shock to you that this is
just another sin of yours that has
been blotted out by the urgent
love of God the Father and the
Son. The Father marched his Son
toward Calvary, at once. Christ
seized the day. Good Friday, to
make us his own.

Why do we procrastinate? To
put off a difficult thing. Thankfully,
the one thing truly worth
dreading has been taken out of
our lives. No punishment from
God. No wrath of God. Not now or
ever for us, thanks to Jesus.

Lord, forgive us for the good things we've put off doing. With the same
urgent love by which you saved us, work in us to seize each day to your
glory. Amen.

Bible reading: Joshua 18:11-20:9 • Psalm 46

Wikipedia:
Seize the day is the translation of the Latin saying Carpe diem.
Seize the Day may further refer to:

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A Reader Wrote This:
"The other is from WELS's Meditations, March-May 2014, for Monday, 17 March 2014.  The howler is in the second column which reads:  "No matter what you did yesterday -- or failed to do -- and no matter what you will do tomorrow, God has forgiven you."

Now, try saying that and putting in a sin from the second table of the Law.  Were I to say, for example, that I committed adultery yesterday and I'm going to do it tomorrow, God has forgiven me.  Somehow, that doesn't make sense.  Nor would it were I to say "murder" or theft" or anything other sin, "big" or "little."  I'm not sure if this is an example of UOJ or just the inability to think or perhaps a combination of both -- a "bifecta"?  This is the pap that is peddled in Meditations -- and remember, this is the stuff that goes unfiltered into the homes of the unsuspecting.

Introduction to the Christian Faith - Jesus Priceless Treasure. The Pre-Existence of the Son of God

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Two: Pre-Existence of the Son of God



 The Virgin Birth of Jesus draws us to the Savior because of His humble circumstances, but the miraculous arrival of the promised Messiah points to His divinity as well. No person in history was both God and man, born of a woman and yet conceived by the Holy Spirit. The pagans often wrote about god-like men and women, but no one thought of them as real, historical persons. Jesus lived and walked among us. God became man. Jesus is still both God and man.
           The Bible teaches us that the Son of God has always existed. The Gospel of John starts with the same words as Genesis—In the beginning—reminding us that the Son of God has always existed and was the creating Word in Genesis.

John 1:1-2

1:1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 

Think of a great church bell calling people to worship. The three-fold tolling of the bell—
The Word—reminds us that the Son of God is a member of the Holy
Trinity:
In the beginning was The Word And The Word was with God, And The Word was God.
The Word, the Word, the Word. The majestic opening of John’s Gospel teaches us that the Son of God existed from the beginning, that He was with God the Father, and that He was God. 
 The divinity and the pre-existence of Christ are under attack from many sides. Anti-Christian cults like the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses deny the Trinity and the divinity of Christ. Liberal religious leaders deny the Virgin Birth of Christ. The Bible is perfectly clear about Jesus being the eternal Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary. 
 The opening of John’s Gospel directs us to Genesis and to Creation by the Word:

John 1:3

1:3 All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made.

One little girl understood this better than most adults. She pointed at the stars in the sky at night and said, “See Mommy, Jesus made all the stars!” There is nothing in this universe we can see or touch that is not from Jesus, the creating Word.
The eternal Son of God is the creating Word in Genesis, when God commanded, And God said:

Genesis 1:3-26


First Day
1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.

Second Day
1:6 And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst
of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.

Third Day
1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. 10 And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good. 11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Fourth Day
1:14 And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years:

Fifth Day
1:20 And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.

Sixth Day
1:24 And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so. 25 And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. 26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

People seldom think about the meaning of this passage – Jesus created everything we enjoy, from the plants and animals of this beautiful planet to the milky expanse of stars in the sky. The little girl who pointed at the evening sky and said, “Look, Mommy. Jesus made the stars” helps explain why those who believe in Creation have such a great appreciation for all forms of life: the unborn child, the birds flocking to the feeder during a winter blizzard, the flowers blooming in a well kept garden.

O Word of God Incarnate

O Word of God Incarnate,
O Wisdom from on high,
O Truth unchanged, unchanging,
O Light of our dark sky – We praise Thee for the radiance
That from the hallowed page, A lantern to our footsteps, Shines on from age to age.

The Church from her dear Master
Received the gift divine, And still that light she lifteth O’er all the earth to shine.
It is the golden casket
Where gems of truth are stored;
It is the heaven drawn picture 
Of Christ the living Word.[1]













[1] William W. How, “O Word of God Incarnate,” The Lutheran Hymnal, #294. 

Martin Chemnitz Press - Progress - Several Books in the Line-Up

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Thy Strong Word is in the hands of the finishing editor, who is formatting it for Create Space-Amazon-Kindle. She just moved to Texas, so that has delayed her work a bit.

Catholic Lutheran Protestant is being proof-read for Amazon-Kindle. That will get some additional graphics attention and then go to the finishing editor. Liberalism will probably follow.

Creation Gardening; All Things Were Made by Him is being written and photographed.

Introduction to the Christian Faith: Jesus Priceless Treasure is being published as a serial in this blog. That is how Dickens published his novels. One magazine he used was called Household Words.

The Lost Dutchman's Goldmine: Luther's Doctrine of the Word is planned, following Creation Gardening.



Amazon-Create Space-Kindle Books and Conversions

  1. The Faith of Jesus: Against the Faithless Lutherans
  2. Making Disciples: The Error of Modern Pietism
  3. Thy Strong Word: The Efficacy of the Word in the Scriptures and Lutheran Confessions
  4. The Story of Jesus in Pictures - Full Color
  5. Catholic Lutheran Protestant
  6. Liberalism: Its Cause and Cure
  7. Introduction to the Christian Faith: Jesus Priceless Treasure 
  8.  - Writing Creation Gardening: All Things Were Made by Him
  9.  - Writing The Lost Dutchman's Goldmine: Luther's Doctrine of the Word


Potential Conversions

  1. Angel Joy
  2. Coloring Book - The Story of Jesus 
  3. The Wormhaven Gardening Book
  4. Jesus Lord of Creation
  5. Brenda Sue Kiehler

God willing, I will be writing shorter booklets in 2017, like Making Disciples, because they can be written faster and can be astonishingly inexpensive in black and white. Booklets are ideal for multiple copies sent to the same address, about $2 at the author's cost.



Two Methods in Broadcasting the Word

  • One is providing author's cost copies in larger numbers - often 10 per individual.
  • The other is publishing with Kindle. Reference style books like Thy Strong Word and Catholic Lutheran Protestant can be obtained for low price, easily searched and quoted. For instance, I keep Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden in print for reading, the same title on Kindle for quoting on the blog.



Walking Through Almost Eden - Meeting Opie - and Back to Eden

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Sassy's morning walk is non-negotiable. When the sun is up, she looks at me expectantly, always assuming the best, as Luther says, observing his dog's behavior. Luther said we should ask God in the same way, always assuming the best from Him.

Sassy led me down Joye Street, which is west of our street and goes down to the fire station. She sometimes finds firemen outside tending to the trucks. This time she explored the grounds a bit and headed toward Almost Eden, our marvelous nursery so close to our home.

Almost Eden is the so-called park at the end of our cul-de-sac, and it was formerly a dairy farm. We like to walk through the plants, the displays, the grape vines, and new fruit trees. We have permission. Today we saw Almost Eden himself and their new dog Opie. Last summer, Little AE loved Sassy up, and the parents said, "We might get a dog for Little AE." They did and Sassy played  tag, and little dog games.with Opie,


Almost Eden put in permanent beds for no-till gardening (also my style - mulch the weeds or pull them). When it was done, his mother said, "Did you remember the soaker hoses?" No.

We talked about various strategies, neighborhood kids and such.

Sassy and I completed our walk by going across the park, which is planted with many fruit trees now, all small but promising. The vast areas of grass are kept mowed.

She played guard dog while I watered the baby roses. No, it did not rain last night, more than a sprinkle. Most of the babies are leafed out, but I had a few more needing extra attention.

I have had a number of roses that seemed beyond all hope. I even dug one up and saw it was alive. So I suggest watering and pruning all deadwood with patience and hope, when a new or old rose does not seem to be leafing out in the spring.

We call the Jackson Rose Farm - Eden. So Almost Eden laughs at our borrowed name.

Directions to Eden - Walk through Almost Eden and you are right there at Eden. Can't miss it. Just look for the roses.


People Are Reading about St. Marvin Schwan and Gambling Losses.

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"You lost how much money from the Foundation?
You must be WELS. They have the magic touch.
Ask the MilCraft widow, who took WELS to court."


Marvin M. Schwan Foundation and Michael Ryan mystery



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http://www.ieyenews.com/wordpress/marvin-m-schwan-foundation-and-michael-ryan-mystery/#comments


Marvin Schwan
If RC Cayman Holdings sells the Ritz-Carlton Cayman Development for less than the amount owing, which is in excess of $250M the biggest loser could be The Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation.
Developer of the Ritz-Carlton, Michael Ryan, formed a company IRR Limited that was incorporated in the Cayman Islands on 21st April, 1998, to develop the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman project.
According to a 2009 US tax return The Marvin M. Schwan Charitable Foundation loaned IRR Limited $210,828,153 with an owing balance of $202,218,186. The Return says that IRR Limited were not in default.
The Foundation has a written agreement with IRR and the loan was approved by the Foundation Board.

Lawrence & Sue Burgdorf
The Executive Director of the Foundation is retired Lutheran priest Rev. Lawrence A. Burgdorf and his son, Erik Burgdorf is Associate Director.
Rev. Burgdorf attended Lutheran High School and College earning an associate in arts degree in 1950.
This is where Burgdorf met Marvin M. Schwan.
Marvin Schwan worked his way through Bethany Lutheran College in an ice cream factory. A factory he founded as part of Schwan’s Sales Enterprises, Inc. (SSE)
in Marshall, Minnesota, in 1948 that was first a milk processing operation.
SSE subsequently expanded, first to become a cafe and an ice cream manufacturer, and eventually into a profitable provider of both home and retail delivery of selected frozen foods.   By the early 1990s, SSE had become a sizable producer, wholesaler, and retailer of food products employing about 16,500 people.
SSE operates an estimated 2,300 computerized vans that deliver frozen food, including meat, vegetables and juices, to customers’ homes. The yellow vehicles, bearing a swan logo, have been described as traveling 7-Elevens.
The company also expanded into the nation’s leading supplier of frozen pizza to school cafeterias and grocery stores under the Tony’s, Better Baked and Red Baron brands. It also owns the Ram Center robotics company in Red Wing, Minn.
70th Richest American
Forbes magazine in the early 1990’s rated Mr. Schwan among America’s richest people. He ranked No. 70 on their 1992 year’s list, with an estimated worth exceeding $1 billion. Corporate Report magazine estimated the company’s annual revenues at $1.8 billion at about the same time.
Mr. Schwan’s personal life was reclusive and his company highly secretive.
Marvin died unexpectedly on May 9, 1993, at the age of sixty-four, leaving SSE without its founder and President. He left the bulk of his estate to church-related organizations principally to his foundation that bears his name. The foundation and his company was (sic) both managed by his brother, Alfred Paul G Schwan who has also died. Alfred Schwan was only listed as a Trustee in the 2009 Tax return.
SSE would fund the foundation by buying back the shares. Marvin’s children objected, but it was known that Marvin did not think much of his adult children. Obviously he did not think much of their mother, either.
Marvin’s children sued the trustees, one of which was Uncle Alfred, alleging that they had not followed Marvin’s wishes. The trustees indicated that they had done exactly what Marvin wanted and were bewildered that his children had filed a lawsuit.
Some settlement was reached, however, and the children stopped suing for more monies.
Marvin’s first wife committed suicide soon after they were divorced!
It was known that Schwan had a weakness for women and Cadillacs and this was borne out by the settlement. $1 million and a Cadillac! A pittance. All four of his children were from his first marriage and that might be the reason for his dislike of them.
He was having an affair with his manager, whom he married after the divorce, and gave lots of money to the Lutheran Church as part of its Church Growth Movement.
One of Marvin’s close friends, Herman Ottwen, said, “Wealthy adulterers love the Church Growth Movement, and the Church Growth Movement loves them.”
Schwan, in contrast of giving his divorced wife only $1M gave the Thoughts of Faith, a Lutheran Church Charity, given to bringing the message of the Gospel to European Communist Countries,  $15M!
So where is the connection with Ryan and Rev. Lawrence Burgdorf? Burgdorf is  an Advisory member of the Board of Regents Bethany Lutheran College. Is Ryan a Lutheran?
The 2009 Tax Return lists Marvin M. Schwan Foundation having investments in the Cayman Islands of:-
The Kings Foundation Investment Cayman Ltd.  Cost     $15,366,382
The Kings Funds Holding Company, LLC                           $19,199,929
Grand Cayman Condominium Units                                   $11,500,000
Real Estate Grand Caymans                                                 $     408,300
The Lutheran Church in the Cayman Islands is called Safe Harbour and meets at the Ritz-Carlton Conference Centre every Sunday at 10am.
That is the very least the Ritz-Carlton can do to host the Safe Harbour Lutheran Church there. But is this the only connection to Michael Ryan?
Why did Rev. Lawrence Burgdorf agree to it and how did Ryan and Burgdorf meet? Our calls to Burgdorf and Ryan have met with no success to solving the mystery.
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Speak Your Mind

"What a Hoot!" - As the Latin Professor Would Say. Jar Jar Webber on the Ministry, Endorsed by Jon-Boy Buchholz

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Jar Jar Webber has won the Most Annoying MDiv Award,
because the STM from an online ELCA seminary does not count.
Buchholz endorsed the booklet.

http://www.angelfire.com/ny4/djw/spiritualfathers.html

Publisher: Phoenix, Arizona : Klotsche-Little Publishing2015.

A better title for his self-publishing effort would be Little-Faith.

Jay Webber and Jon Buchholz have no grasp of justification, so it is appropriate for them to join claws and produce something as pretentious as this. But let's quote Rolf Preus on the subject, from that barrel of laughs Skunk Patch called LutherQuest (sic).

Rolf Preus:


Pastor Rolf David Preus (Rolf)
Senior Member
Username: Rolf

Post Number: 8878
Registered: 5-2001
Posted on Thursday, May 05, 2016 - 10:05 am:   Edit Post Delete Post Print Post


Why wouldn't you consider it to be a good thing that those WELSians in the ELS allowed themselves to be instructed, and elevated in their theology, by a better document?
Such arrogance! I remember talking to Schmeling about your offices within the office silliness during the ELS ministry debate and he opined that you wrote that sort of stuff to get the Missourians to accept the WELS position. He was right. But you still don't know it. That's sad! The ELS document is pure WELS. But you pretend that somehow Kurt Marquart had an influence on it because you were successful in tacking onto it some terminology that Marquart had used.

After the leadership of the ELS suggested in 2005 that those in the synod who were "teachable" wouldn't be disciplined if they didn't immediately accept the newly adopted document, a number of us guys bought T shirts with "The Unteachables" on the front. I can't remember whose idea it was, but I thought it was a clever idea at the time.

In retrospect, Jay, it is you who is unteachable on this subject. Everyone but you knows that in 2005 the ELS bought the WELS position and made it her own. You can pretend that the ELS has "instructed" the WELS and "elevated" the WELS position, but nobody in the WELS cares about what the ELS document says as long as it stays in conformity with the official WELS doctrine which, by virtue of the WELS/ELS fellowship, is normative for the ELS.

I have a theory about this. It really has nothing to do with theology and everything to do with culture. The WELS is about as Midwestern as you'll find, while you're from out east. So you like pretty stuff whereas they eat cannibal sandwiches. They'll tolerate you because they know that when you strip away the high church silliness, the intellectual posing, and other features of east coast American Lutheranism, WELS is WELS no matter what clothes it's wearing. So you serve a useful purpose as an advocate of the W/ELS doctrine among folks who like pretenses to catholicity. Not that the WELS guys give a rip about that sort of thing, but they know that others do and you just might con a stray and uninformed Missourian now and then.

Your position and the position of Thomas Nass are identical. The only difference is that he is much more straightforward in how he presents it. And Jay, the notion that you can instruct and elevate him is really too much!
Pastor Rolf David Preus

***
GJ -

We can follow the hoofprints of Jar Jar Webber and Jon-Boy Buchholz from now on, mostly out of curiosity.

Justification by faith is the Chief Article of Christianity and judges all other articles. Since Webber and Buchholz do not even make an effort to get the Master and Prince right, whatever oozes from their laptops is irrelevant - except to Rolf Preus, who is equally joked to them via UOJ.

Like I said before, all the UOJists loathe each other. The tree of unbelief cannot bear useful fruit, as Luther taught about Matthew 7:15ff.




Luther Days Conference Stinks Like Limburger Cheese.Organizer Natalie Pratt Has Serious Legal and Financial Problems. Conference Devoted to Anti-Luther Dogma, UOJ, Church and Change

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Natalie Pratt - Event Coordinator - Facebook Photo

WELS.net is promoting Luther Days, reminding me of the time when the same website promoted the Church and Change conference. The differences are slight.

This is called a non-profit LLC,
but it is not registered in Wisconsin and there is no such thing as
a "non-profit LLC" in that state.


Funny how two women are organizing it:

Event Coordinator

Marketing Manager

Demonstrator at Safeway: related to ELS Pastor Tony Pittenger

Karalena Pittenger


Social Media
www.facebook.com/lutherdays
www.twitter.com/lutherdays

Speakers:
Luther Days Festival - a Distinctly Anti-Lutheran event for all ages!

Speakers Include: Mr. James Aderman (Church and Change Founder), Rev Michael Berg, Mr. Mark Bergemann, Rev Luke Boehringer, Rev Daniel Bondow, Rev John Braun, Dr John Brug, Mrs. Laura Bublitz, Dr Rebekah Carey, Rev Aaron Christie, Prof James Danell, Prof Mark DeGarmeaux, Mrs Rebecca DeGarmeaux, Rev Daniel Deutschlander (UOJ), Mrs. Sallie Draper, Rev Nathan Ericson, Mrs Karen Fischer, Rev Robert Fleischmann , Rev Don Frelitz, Rev Joel Gaertner, Ms Rachel Greiner, Rev Brock Groth, Rev Nick Haasch, Rev Mike Hartman, Rev Robert Hein, Ms Angela Hohenstein, Rev Kevin Hudley, Mr Rick Kneser, Rev Dan Koelpin, Rev Rik Krahn, Mrs Melissa Kreuser, Rev Daniel Kroll, Mr Brian Arthur Lampe (self-appointed minister, Church and Change Board), Mrs Marinda Ledermann, Mrs Linda Liesener, Dr Gary Locklair, Prof Thomas Nass, Mr Carl Nolte, Rev Michael Otterstatter, Rev Adam Pilarski, Rev Tony Pittenger, Mrs Melissa Pittenger, Dr Joel Pless, Rev Paul Prange, Mrs Sarah Reik, Mrs Amanda Rose, Ms Pat Schlosser, Mrs Naomi Schmidt, Rev John Schuetze, Rev Michael Schultz, Rev Roger Schultz, Rev Curt Seefeldt, Rev Nathan Seiltz, Rev David Sellnow, Mr Martin Spriggs (Church and Change), Rev Richard Starr (Scott Barefoot's partner in Gay Ministry), Rev Paul Stratman, Mr Jeremy Thiesfeldt, Rev Benjamin Tomczak, Mrs Bethany Warnke, Rev David Jay Webber (UOJ), Rev Paul Webber, Rev Kenneth Wenzel, Mr Patrick Winkler, P.E., Rev Brad Wordell, Rev Mark Zarling (UOJ - does not know what the Chief Article is), & Rev. Paul Ziemer.

Read the article linked here about Brian Arthur Lampe.
Webber will share the spotlight with him -
but cannot see the UOJ Church Growth Babtist connection.


---
WISCONSIN DEPARTMENT OF REGULATION & LICENSING 

Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Licensing 
Access to the Public Records of the Reports of Decisions 
This Reports of Decisions document was retrieved from the Wisconsin Department of Regulation & Licensing website. These records are open to public view under Wisconsin’s Open Records law, sections 19.31-19.39 Wisconsin Statutes. 

Please read this agreement prior to viewing the Decision: 

  • The Reports of Decisions is designed to contain copies of all orders issued by credentialing authorities within the Department of Regulation and Licensing from November, 1998 to the present. In addition, many but not all orders for the time period between 1977 and November, 1998 are posted. Not all orders issued by a credentialing authority constitute a formal disciplinary action. 
  • Reports of Decisions contains information as it exists at a specific point in time in the Department of Regulation and Licensing data base. Because this data base changes constantly, the Department is not responsible for subsequent entries that update, correct or delete data. The Department is not responsible for notifying prior requesters of updates, modifications, corrections or deletions. All users have the responsibility to determine whether information obtained from this site is still accurate, current and complete. 
  • There may be discrepancies between the online copies and the original document. Original documents should be consulted as the definitive representation of the order's content. Copies of original orders may be obtained by mailing requests to the Department of Regulation and Licensing, PO Box 8935, Madison, WI 53708-8935. The Department charges copying fees. All requests must cite the case number, the date of the order, and respondent's name as it appears on the order. 
  • Reported decisions may have an appeal pending, and discipline may be stayed during the appeal. Information about the current status of a credential issued by the Department of Regulation and Licensing is shown on the Department's Web Site under “License Lookup.” The status of an appeal may be found on court access websites at: http://ccap.courts.state.wi.us/InternetCourtAccess and http://www.courts.state.wi.us/wscca . 
  • Records not open to public inspection by statute are not contained on this website. 
  • By viewing this document, you have read the above and agree to the use of the Reports of Decisions subject to the above terms, and that you understand the limitations of this on-line database. 
  • Correcting information on the DRL website: An individual who believes that information on the website is inaccurate may contact the webmaster at: web@drl.state.wi.gov 



    STATE OF WISCONSIN 

    BEFORE THE DEPARTMENT OF REGULATION AND LICENSING

    IN THE MATTER OF THE DISCIPLINARY :
    PROCEEDINGS AGAINST : :
    FINAL DECISION AND ORDER
    NATALIE R. PRATT, TECRIME, AND : TECRIME INTERNATIONAL, INC., :


    RESPONDENTS. : LS0512094RAL
    ______________________________________________________________________________


    Division of Enforcement Case Nos. 02 RAL 010 and 04 RAL 012
    The parties to this action for the purpose of Wis. Stat. §227.53 are: Natalie R. Pratt 1107 North Sawyer Street Oshkosh, WI 54902
    TeCrime 683 N. Main Street Suite E Oshkosh, WI 54901
    TeCrime International, Inc. 683 N. Main Street Suite E Oshkosh, WI 54901


    Department of Regulation and Licensing P.O. Box 8935 Madison, WI 53708-8935 Department of Regulation and Licensing Division of Enforcement P.O. Box 8935 Madison, WI 53708-8935
    PROCEDURAL HISTORY


    The parties in this matter agree to the terms and conditions of the attached Stipulation as the final disposition of this matter, subject to the approval of the Department of Regulation and Licensing (Department). The Department has reviewed this Stipulation and considers it acceptable. Accordingly, the Department in this matter adopts the attached Stipulation and makes the following: 

  • FINDINGS OF FACT 1. Natalie R. Pratt, date of birth 01/04/1966, was issued a Private Detective license in the State of Wisconsin, license number 63-10327, on 01/20/2000. That license expired on 09/01/2004.
    Ms. Pratt’s last reported address on file with the Department of Regulation and Licensing is 1107 N. Sawyer Street, Oshkosh, WI 54902.
    2. TeCrime was issued a Private Detective Agency license in the State of Wisconsin, license number 62-16037, on 01/20/2000. TeCrime is a sole proprietorship owned by Natalie R. Pratt. TeCrime’s last reported address on file with the Department of Regulation and Licensing is 683 N. Main Street, Suite E, Oshkosh, WI 54901. The insurance coverage for TeCrime expired on 11/09/2003, and the status of the agency license was changed from “Active” to “Hold” in the Department’s records on 05/13/2004. On 07/21/2004, Ms. Pratt requested that the license be discontinued. The status of the agency license was changed from “Hold” to “Expired” in the Department’s records on April 20, 2005.
    3. TeCrime International, Inc. was issued a Private Detective Agency license in the State of Wisconsin, license number 62-16289, on 04/24/2003. TeCrime International, Inc. is a corporation owned by Natalie R. Pratt. TeCrime International, Inc.’s last reported address on file with the Department of Regulation and Licensing is 683 N. Main Street, Suite E, Oshkosh, WI 54901. Once TeCrime International, Inc. was issued a Private Detective Agency license on 04/24/2003, that agency effectively replaced TeCrime. On 07/21/2004, Ms. Pratt requested inactivity on the agency license, and the status of the agency license was changed from “Active” to “Nonworking: No Automatic Renewal” in the Department’s records.
    4. Natalie R. Pratt stopped practicing as a private detective and shut down TeCrime International, Inc., her private detective agency, due to her own serious health problems and the serious health problems of her daughter that have required ongoing treatment at the Mayo Clinic. Ms. Pratt had the phones disconnected for TeCrime International, Inc. and had all advertising and websites taken down for the Agency. Ms. Pratt has cleaned out her office for TeCrime International, Inc., has returned or is in the process of returning all client materials, and is waiting for the lease to expire on her office space.
    5. In light of her medical problems and those of her daughter, Ms. Pratt wishes to resolve these two cases by voluntarily surrendering her personal Private Detective License (#63-10327) and the Private Detective Agency licenses issued to TeCrime (#62-16037) and TeCrime International, Inc. (#62-16289), including the right to renew these licenses or seek relicensure in the future.
    CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
    1. The State of Wisconsin Department of Regulation and Licensing has jurisdiction to act in this matter pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 440.26(6), and is authorized to enter into the attached Stipulation pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 227.44(5). ORDER NOW, THEREFORE, IT IS HEREBY ORDERED that:
    1. The VOLUNTARY SURRENDER of the Private Detective license of Respondent Natalie R. Pratt (license #63-10327), the Private Detective Agency license of TeCrime (license #62-16037), and the Private Detective Agency license of TeCrime International, Inc. (license #62-16289), be, and hereby are ACCEPTED. IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that:
    2. All rights and privileges granted to Respondent Natalie R. Pratt pursuant to Private Detective license #63- 10327 are forever terminated, effective at 11:59 p.m. on the date of this order.
    3. Respondent Natalie R. Pratt shall not seek to renew her Private Detective license or apply for licensure as a Private Detective with the State of Wisconsin, Department of Regulation and Licensing, in the future.
    4. All rights and privileges granted to Respondent TeCrime pursuant to Private Detective Agency license #62- 16037 are forever terminated, effective at 11:59 p.m. on the date of this order.
    5. Respondent TeCrime shall not seek to renew its Private Detective Agency license or apply for licensure as a Private Detective Agency with the State of Wisconsin, Department of Regulation and Licensing, in the future.
    6. All rights and privileges granted to Respondent TeCrime International, Inc. pursuant to Private Detective Agency license #62-16289 are forever terminated, effective at 11:59 p.m. on the date of this order.
    7. Respondent TeCrime International, Inc. shall not seek to renew its Private Detective Agency license or apply for licensure as a Private Detective Agency with the State of Wisconsin, Department of Regulation and Licensing, in the future.
    8. Violation of any of the terms of this Order may be construed as conduct imperiling public health, safety and welfare and may result in a summary suspension of Respondents’ licenses. In its discretion the Department may, in the alternative, impose additional conditions and limitations or other additional discipline for a violation of any of the terms of this Order.
    9. This Order is effective on the date of its signing. Dated at Madison, Wisconsin this 9th day of December, 2005. Celia M. Jackson Secretary Department of Regulation and Licensing

---

TeCrime International natalie.pratt at tecrime.com 
Thu Jan 30 09:03:10 CST 2003


This is what we do on a daily basis..tracking hackers...plus every other
imaginable computer or Internet crime. Therefore, I work with law
enforcement agencies and prosecutors throughout the US. The discussion up to
this point is true in theory. However, we always work back and trace to the
originating hacker. It is very common for the hacker to use a third party
computer to shield his activity. They may think that they are getting away
with it, but in reality...we can still track them down just as quickly. They
can run, but they can't hide! In fact, I'm working a case very similar to
this right now for a nonprofit agency here in WI. The stalker is hacking
into a 3rd party's computer, and sending viruses and Trojans in an effort to
destroy the computer system at the non-profit agency. I spent an hour on the
phone with the police yesterday, and they have no interest in the third
party's role, they want us to pin it on the originating stalker. And, we
have. The third party has been cleared and is out of the picture. And, if
that should ever happen to anyone on this list, where your computer system
is being accused of being a party to the attack, give me a call, I'll
personally help you prove your innocence.

I'm not trying to discourage any one from having a risk assessment done, or
on file for future situations, it is a good idea especially if you are a
large corporation. However, as a church, if you are on budget restraints, I
would not go out of your way to try and find the funds to put that in place.
Our office has done many risk assessments for businesses, and if anyone does
have a concern or wants to run something past me, please feel free to either
email (natalie.pratt at tecrime.com) or call (920-424-9960) me. (No, this isn't
a sales pitch...I won't charge anything). But, I have worked on the
computers of many many WELS pastors and churches, and I am pretty familiar
with what is out there in a lot of churches, and I'll be able to give you a
good idea on what to do. And, what kind of plan you should have in place or
preventative measures that you can take now, based on your particular
system.

Please feel free to contact me if you have any questions or concerns about
this.

Natalie
___________________________
Natalie Pratt - WI License #10327
Director of Investigations
WI Agency License #16037
TeCrime International, Inc.
683 N Main St. Suite E
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Phone: (920) 424-9960 - Fax: (920) 424-9970
www.tecrime.com - natalie.pratt at tecrime.com

Watch WELS and the ELS Blow Up Over Luther Days. As Innocent as Serpents, As Clever as Doves

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Breaking News - Aderman Is Back in His Parish and Doing a Ten-Article Series in Forward in Christ

Jim Aderman is another Church and Changer speaking
at Luther Days. 
If you kiss enough frogs, they sometimes kiss back.

"When was the last time you kissed a frog?...'Lifestyle Evangelism and Follow-up,' a Navigator video seminar for the church, makes a solid case for Christian frog kissing as a way of life."
James A. Aderman, The Evangelism Life Line (WELS), Summer, 1986 p. 2.

Guess who is speaking at Luther Days?

News flash 

Church Shrinker Jim Aderman, recently "retired" after shrinking Fairview in half, has just announced his "unretirement" (even though the DP had announced publicly before the whole district last month that Aderman had retired). He was able to bring in enough supporters for another congregational meeting which asked him to come back. After "much prayerful deliberation" on his "call" he immediately accepted. And immediately after that Fairvew shrunk by another half dozen or so families, with no doubt more to follow.

So if we thought we were done with Aderman, we were fooled. Not only that. I just opened the August issue of FIC to see that it features the first article of a ten-article series by Aderman on the Ten Commandments. And once again a major Shrinker gets major billing in the FIC.

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Leadership (Past and Present)
Pastor, Trinity Lutheran, Englewood, FL
Member, Board for Parish Services, South Atlantic District
Director of Development, Wisconsin Lutheran College, Milwaukee
Chairman, WELS Lutherans for Life-metro-Milwaukee
Pastor, Siloah Lutheran Church, Milwaukee
Member and chairman, Board of Directors, Wisconsin Lutheran High School
Pastor, Fairview Lutheran Church, Milwaukee
Founding member and vice chairman, Board of Directors, Calvary Academy, Milwaukee
Coordinator, WELS Southeastern Wisconsin District, Adult Discipleship Commission
Member and vice chairman, Church and Change
Chairman, Urban Pastors' Conference, Milwaukee
Circuit Pastor, Barnabas Circuit, Milwaukee

Author
Face the Facts, Northwestern Publishing House
Elijah, Northwestern Publishing House
Esther, Northwestern Publishing House
Editor, YouTHINK
Founding editor-in-chief, LivingBold (LivingBold.net)
Contributing editor, Forward in Christ magazine
Author for Partners magazine, WELS Leadership magazine, Forward in Christ magazine

Education
Bachelor of Arts, Northwestern College
Master of Divinity, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary
Master of Journalism, Marquette University
Certificate of Website Design, University of Wisconsin-School of Continuing Education
Master of Practical Theology, Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary (in progress)

***

GJ - Dost thou doubt FIC being the Xerox room for Church and Chicanery? I knew it when Latte LutheranChurch (Randy Hunter) was featured in a glowing article.

If I were getting a subscription to the magazine, group or single, I would mail every copy back, addressed to the Synod President, giving reasons why. Canceled subscriptions would be a good message too.

Readers have been paying money to support Chicanery leaders, and the publication gives credence to Chicanery views copied from Fuller, Willow Creek, Granger, Drive, Exponential, and that space cadet Leonard Sweet (Kelm's guy).

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Breaking News - Aderman Is Back in His Parish and ...":

Once again the pastor is not held accountable for his actions. I wonder what guilt trip was laid on the congregation to take back Jim Aderman as pastor. Almost certainly it was rationalized as a face saving measure for WELS while Fairview members needed to be humbled. The pastor must reign supreme even if useless and remiss in his duties.

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Do You Really Think Your Recycled Slime Is Dauntin...":

>>If anything good will come out of this though, perhaps now more and more people can see just how wretched and dangerous the Church & Changers are--stopping at nothing to destroy anyone who would dare oppose their demonic teachings.<<

Actually the C&Cers are control freaks who get off on subjugating others.

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Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Breaking News - Aderman Is Back in His Parish and ...":

Mark my words. Fairview will lose half of the remaining members due to taking Jim Aderman back as pastor.

---

DK, with fervor has left a new comment on your post "Breaking News - Aderman Is Back in His Parish and ...":

What, besides promoting Enthusiasm broadly as possible in the WELS, has Aderman done?, specific to Fairview?

Maybe I'm unaware of where to look, but after having searched Ichabod I was unable to find any information. (besides promoting Enthusiasm broadly as possible throught the WELS.)

Fairview has been a smoldering bed of Enthusiastic coals for 10 years at least. I went there in 1999, a period when I was being led down that path; Fairview was one of the 'hip' places.

So what has happened? Have the members at Fairview had an awakening of their consciences? Has someone been actively fighting Enthusiasm in Fairview? What Catalyst for the shift from pro-Aderman to anti-Aderman?

I for one would appreciate it if an anonymous poster (Fairview member?)would give Ichabodians the scoop.

I hope Pastor Jackson doesn't mind if I speak for all Ichabodians when I say that all conservative Lutherans here on Ichabod would like to extend warm and hearty encouragement to individuals who may be standing up to false teachers and errorists--take heart that though your plans may seem frustrated, God promises persecution to the faithful, and that through persecution you will be purified.

I encourage all Ichabodians to pray for those--at Fairview and many other places--who in spite of risk of being shunned, excommunicated, lynched, and otherwise defamed, continue to fight the good fight, bearing true witness to the truth, purity and Efficacy of the Holy Word of God.

God's Blessings!

---

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "Breaking News - Aderman Is Back in His Parish and ...":

As a failed kamikaze pastor, Jim Aderman gets another chance to finish off Fairview. WELS leaders must feel like they are wonderfully forgiving. 

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