is a new book published by Concordia Publishing House. It's been highly recommended to me, so I decided to get a copy for my Kindle. Several people have expressed an interest in looking at some of the distinctives of the Lutheran faith recently. I looked over it very briefly and think it might bear some fruit, at least provoking some good discussion. Anyone interested in participating in a discussion about it? Maybe someone who is technologically inclined can tell me how people do that online these days. I knew how we did it about ten years ago, but suspect it's different now.
One caveat - I'll not be able to do much with this instantly. But by the time people have had time to notice this post and comment on it showing interest or non-interest and maybe a good way of carrying on a discussion, we should be moved and I ought to be ready to spend some time with you all discussing this book.
So comment away!
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Psalm 119.97-104, Numbers 13.1-3, 17-33, Luke 18.1-17 - Lectionary for 6/4/11
Today's readings are Psalm 119.97-104, Numbers 13.1-3, 17-33, and Luke 18.1-17.
There's a striking parallel between our passage from Numbers and from Luke today. In Numbers the Israelites send twelve spies into the land of Canaan, where most are afraid of the inhabitants and suggest that Israel should not attempt an invasion. In Luke we see the parable of the persistent widow. How are these related? Consider Joshua's attitude. He, knowing that God had promised the land of Canaan to Israel, expected that an invasion would be successful. After all, God is far superior to any of the Anakim. The widow, knowing that God supports just causes, did not fear to approach the unjust judge.
How do we approach the challenges in our life? Do we let odds which look insurmountable stop us from believing God's promises and his character as shown in the person and work of Jesus? Do we not know that Jesus says in Luke 18.7-8 that God is the opposite of the unjust judge, for he meets the needs of his people against all odds? Whatever our Lord has proclaimed to be so is so. We should make no mistakes about it. Has he promised a substitute for sin? Then there is one. Has he promised to create faith in the hearts of people who are dead in sin? Then he will do so. Has he promised that he is actually present with his believers? Then he is there. We have no reason to doubt our Lord. He is just as true now as he always has been.
There's a striking parallel between our passage from Numbers and from Luke today. In Numbers the Israelites send twelve spies into the land of Canaan, where most are afraid of the inhabitants and suggest that Israel should not attempt an invasion. In Luke we see the parable of the persistent widow. How are these related? Consider Joshua's attitude. He, knowing that God had promised the land of Canaan to Israel, expected that an invasion would be successful. After all, God is far superior to any of the Anakim. The widow, knowing that God supports just causes, did not fear to approach the unjust judge.
How do we approach the challenges in our life? Do we let odds which look insurmountable stop us from believing God's promises and his character as shown in the person and work of Jesus? Do we not know that Jesus says in Luke 18.7-8 that God is the opposite of the unjust judge, for he meets the needs of his people against all odds? Whatever our Lord has proclaimed to be so is so. We should make no mistakes about it. Has he promised a substitute for sin? Then there is one. Has he promised to create faith in the hearts of people who are dead in sin? Then he will do so. Has he promised that he is actually present with his believers? Then he is there. We have no reason to doubt our Lord. He is just as true now as he always has been.
Friday, June 3, 2011
Received by UPS today . . .
a cardboard box! And what was in this cardboard box but a briefcase from Saddleback Leather Company. I'd been eyeing their products for some time and getting a kick out of some of their write-ups. For instance, they have a Bible cover that they point out has a large enough strap that you can both hold your Bible closed and tuck a cigar into the strap as well.
This hundred-year-warranty briefcase looks tough and manly. A significant portion of the profits from the country goes to providing safe water wells for impoverished villages in third world countries. I look forward to migrating my things from the pockets of my current well-worn briefcase that I've been using for the past twelve years into the pockets of this one. It's got just the right appointments for my portable communion set, bottle of oil for anointing the sick and praying for them, a pocket size Bible, migraine remedies, and lots of other stuff.
Since I'll probably never buy another from them I thought I'd give them a plug on my blog. One of the most interesting things in the package was a business card for the company. On the back, along with a picture of an incredible suitcase I could never afford, were two words printed in Greek characters. One word is in Greek, but the other is an English word. Χριστος ρυλες.
I wonder what the people over at Cranach would have to say about Christian vocation of making fine leather products and spending corporate profits to enable people to have safe water to drink? Seems pretty good to me.
This hundred-year-warranty briefcase looks tough and manly. A significant portion of the profits from the country goes to providing safe water wells for impoverished villages in third world countries. I look forward to migrating my things from the pockets of my current well-worn briefcase that I've been using for the past twelve years into the pockets of this one. It's got just the right appointments for my portable communion set, bottle of oil for anointing the sick and praying for them, a pocket size Bible, migraine remedies, and lots of other stuff.
Since I'll probably never buy another from them I thought I'd give them a plug on my blog. One of the most interesting things in the package was a business card for the company. On the back, along with a picture of an incredible suitcase I could never afford, were two words printed in Greek characters. One word is in Greek, but the other is an English word. Χριστος ρυλες.
I wonder what the people over at Cranach would have to say about Christian vocation of making fine leather products and spending corporate profits to enable people to have safe water to drink? Seems pretty good to me.
Shifting Blame - a long overdue post
Okay, it's time to lay some blame at the feet of several people. Brace yourselves!
Early in my Christian walk, as a high schooler and in my early collegiate years, I ran into a pastor by the name of Gary Denbow. He taught me always, always, to trust what the Bible says. It doesn't matter what we think about it, what does the Bible say about it? Great question.
Some years later I ended up teaching in a Christian school where the headmaster, Don Post, reminded us all that in God's providence there are no bad days. There are difficult days, but there are not bad days.
About the same time we were involved in a church with another pastor who was highly influential. Dr. Robert D. Jones, now a seminary professor, taught me a great deal about a biblical view of eldership in the local church, how counseling is pastoral and biblical, and many other invaluable pastoral formation lessons. During the years I spent laboring alongside Bob my desire for pastoral ministry grew again, after several years of disappointment.
When we were abandoned by Bob, who somehow thought it would be a good idea to go teach seminary students the same things he had been teaching in the local church, my fellow elders stepped up to the plate and assigned me more duties within the local church during the year it took to locate and call another full-time pastor. Without Fred, Gerald, and Danny encouraging me I'm sure my overall journey would have been quite different.
Now it's time to lay some real blame. My good friend Terry Roush started talking about the Law and Gospel distinctives in Lutheran theology. He got me turned on to the Issues, Etc. radio show (see the widget in the side bar). I had long been dissatisfied with the Arminian theology from my early Christian years. I had never been able to swallow some of the Calvinist theology among those I had been involved with since graduate school. Yet it always seemed the Calvinists were the sound thinkers. As I started looking into Lutheran theology I saw point after point where this historic faith approached the Scriptures clearly and answered the weaknesses I was finding in Calvinism. It seemed to be well balanced. So my friend Terry and the people at Issues, Etc. are receiving the blame for my eventual departure from the Calvinistic church where I had served as an elder, nurturing people in God's Word. All this because I became convinced of a truly effectual sacramental view of baptism and communion - yet I could not stay as a representative of a view which I could no longer embrace. Terry remains a great friend, despite his rearranging my life. I still try to listen to all the segments of Issues, Etc. as part of my continuing education. They always provoke me to thought - sometimes to annoyance, often to prayer, always to thought about God's mercy in Christ.
About two and a half years ago, then, with firmly Lutheran convictions and twenty plus years of experience on various levels of part-time ministry, along with innumerable hours spent in reading and discussion of biblical matters, I joined a Lutheran congregation. I'll lay some blame now on another pastor, Mark Kloha, who treated me and my background with considerable respect. He gave me a chance to watch and learn, to ask questions, and to explore some of the implications of Lutheranism "on the ground" as opposed to in theory.
About a year ago I was looking seriously at biting the bullet and getting myself through that seminary education toward the goal I'd had for so many years - serving a local congregation in Word and Sacraments. I ran across The American Association of Lutheran Churches and pastor Rich Shields, who serves as the head of their seminary and distance learning program. Again, he took me seriously and investigated my background. He told me that it would be possible for me to serve in a local congregation while completing my academic training, provided I was under adequate oversight and was deemed adequately prepared by an evaluating board. At his urging I took the hardest test I've ever taken, went through the most difficult interview I've ever had, and was brought into their ministry program which will allow me to serve in a local congregation in Word and Sacrament while I complete coursework and pastoral formation opportunities leading to full and permanent ordination.
With the encouragement of Rich Shields and pastor Frank Hays, presiding pastor of The American Association of Lutheran Churches, I've accepted a call to serve Faith Lutheran Church in Watseka, Illinois, which call I take up in about two weeks. So maybe they are also to blame for my disturbed sleep, sore muscles, and the smell of cardboard boxes which is currently permeating my life.
So there you have it. I'm shifting blame. Would I trade those opportunities? Not on your life. All these events are adding up to yet another step in this amazing journey called life in God's grace.
Psalm 77.11-15, Numbers 11.24-29; 12.1-16, Luke 17.20-37 - Lectionary for 6/3/11
Today's readings are Psalm 77.11-15, Numbers 11.24-29; 12.1-16, and Luke 17.20-37.
"The proof is in the pudding." We often hear that results are what prove whether our actions are appropriate. While that may hold true in cooking it is not a biblical way of looking at ministry. In our readings from Numbers and Luke today we find people involved in controversy. Who are the prophets? What sets Moses apart? When is the kingdom of God coming? How will we see it? In both Old and New Testament we find that looking at results is not going to be adequate until the final day, when we will see the entirety of God's salvation clearly. In this age God distributes his gifts to his servants as he will, appropriate to the situation they are in. We don't follow prophets, we don't follow miraculous signs, we don't look for people to work wonders as a means of proving their spirituality. Rather we look to the true Lord Jesus Christ, revealed in Scripture, knowing that he will work through this age until his coming. It is not ours to manipulate things and usher in the kingdom of God. It is his business, and his entirely.
"The proof is in the pudding." We often hear that results are what prove whether our actions are appropriate. While that may hold true in cooking it is not a biblical way of looking at ministry. In our readings from Numbers and Luke today we find people involved in controversy. Who are the prophets? What sets Moses apart? When is the kingdom of God coming? How will we see it? In both Old and New Testament we find that looking at results is not going to be adequate until the final day, when we will see the entirety of God's salvation clearly. In this age God distributes his gifts to his servants as he will, appropriate to the situation they are in. We don't follow prophets, we don't follow miraculous signs, we don't look for people to work wonders as a means of proving their spirituality. Rather we look to the true Lord Jesus Christ, revealed in Scripture, knowing that he will work through this age until his coming. It is not ours to manipulate things and usher in the kingdom of God. It is his business, and his entirely.
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Psalm 130, Numbers 11.1-23, 31-35, Luke 17.1-19 - Lectionary for 6/2/11 - The Day of Ascension
Today is the day of the ascension of the Lord.
Today's readings are Psalm 130, Numbers 11.1-23, 31-35, and Luke 17.1-19.
God's mercy shows itself in unusual ways. We aren't altogether prepared for the way our Lord cares for us. We complain and God shows his blessing, rather than censuring us. We are hungry so the Lord gives us an over-abundance of food, as he did with the Israelites. At the same time, like they did, we may see that satisfying our greed also brings a curse upon us. As Jesus says in our reading from Luke, we are often tempted in many ways, including the temptation to trust in what we see, what we can do, and what we know from our experience.
On the day of ascension we realize that all our power, all our claims to authority, everything that fits into our experience of normalcy falls apart. Jesus, the Lord who has risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples now promises to be with them always. He follows that promise by ascending to heaven and being received out of sight of the disciples. God is showing himself to be supernatural. He doesn't work according to our logic and our plans. He works according to his own plan. May he give us mercy and grace to understand, or at least to follow in his footsteps.
Today's readings are Psalm 130, Numbers 11.1-23, 31-35, and Luke 17.1-19.
God's mercy shows itself in unusual ways. We aren't altogether prepared for the way our Lord cares for us. We complain and God shows his blessing, rather than censuring us. We are hungry so the Lord gives us an over-abundance of food, as he did with the Israelites. At the same time, like they did, we may see that satisfying our greed also brings a curse upon us. As Jesus says in our reading from Luke, we are often tempted in many ways, including the temptation to trust in what we see, what we can do, and what we know from our experience.
On the day of ascension we realize that all our power, all our claims to authority, everything that fits into our experience of normalcy falls apart. Jesus, the Lord who has risen from the dead and appeared to his disciples now promises to be with them always. He follows that promise by ascending to heaven and being received out of sight of the disciples. God is showing himself to be supernatural. He doesn't work according to our logic and our plans. He works according to his own plan. May he give us mercy and grace to understand, or at least to follow in his footsteps.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Psalm 62.5-10, Numbers 10.11-36, Luke 16.19-31 - Lectionary for 6/1/11 - Justin, Martyr
Today is the commemoration of Justin, Martyr.
Today's readings are Psalm 62.5-10, Numbers 10.11-36, and Luke 16.19-31.
Our readings today are full of journeys. We walk along with the Israelites as they set out from Sinai toward the land of promise. We walk with the rich man and Lazarus through death. In both Numbers and Luke we see that God is going with his people as they leave what they know, entering into what is unknown. His hand of protection is on his chosen people and he opposes those who are not his people. Yet regardless, God is there. The Psalmist reminds us to look for God, in whom we find salvation, glory, and protection. All the situations we find so attractive and comfortable are of brief duration. It is the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who lasts forever.
Today's readings are Psalm 62.5-10, Numbers 10.11-36, and Luke 16.19-31.
Our readings today are full of journeys. We walk along with the Israelites as they set out from Sinai toward the land of promise. We walk with the rich man and Lazarus through death. In both Numbers and Luke we see that God is going with his people as they leave what they know, entering into what is unknown. His hand of protection is on his chosen people and he opposes those who are not his people. Yet regardless, God is there. The Psalmist reminds us to look for God, in whom we find salvation, glory, and protection. All the situations we find so attractive and comfortable are of brief duration. It is the triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who lasts forever.
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