Preachrblog

St. James the Hoosier (having nothing to do in the week before classes start at Sem) was a little hungry this week, and got into a bit of trouble. Read about it here .

This story ran on my local TV news station tonight . You can also watch the video here . I pasted it here so as to add my own commentary. It's a little sarcastic at times, but I think you will get the point. ____________________________________________________________ Perform a wedding... bury the dead... or exorcise evil spirits -- legally. With the click of your computer mouse you can become ordained - even if you're a convicted felon. [You need legal clearance to do exorcisms? Uh-oh.] Religious freedom advocates applaud online ordinations. [No, people who disrespect organized religions applaud] Local ministers are appalled. [Yes we are.] As far as the state of Wisconsin is concerned, you can be ordained online or at the Vatican. Both ordinations are treated the same way. [Isn't this just another case of the law not being able to keep up with technology?] Richard Antolovich and his girlfriend Sage Skye say they are called to serve. They both went on line and with a few...

While studying this week's scripture readings, a theme occurred: Proverbs 9:1-6 includes "Come, eat my food and drink the wine I have mixed" Ephesians 5:15-20 has, " Do not get drunk on wine... be filled with teh Spirit" and John 6:51-58 has, "For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink " (and yes I am one of those that connects John 6 to the Sacrament of Holy Communion). BUT ANYWAY.... I ran across the new blog, " Alcoholics Anonymous...spiritual compromise " (Whose URL says "AA is a cult"). Some rather long posts here, but they are very interesting (and very persuasive) in their criticism of AA from a Christian perspective. Now, I know several people - Christians - who have found help in their struggles with alcohol through AA. And so I suppose, for some, it works to some degree. What I have seen, though, is that those Christians around here have become less involved with AA and more involved with their church (and I th...

Lutheran Carnival 31 is up at "What Did Jesus Do?"

A new (non-Lutheran) blog I stumbled across has a nice post about the importance of a Christian Church's confessional statement(s). The Neo-Puritan writes, "No Creed But Christ - Confessional and Confessional Christianity" In fact, as I commented there, I think I can agree 100% with this post.

An interesting FoxNews story about a Baptist minister (also a local alderman) and how his teachings in the right hand kingdom are affecting his role in the left. I would echo the comments of Uwe Siemon-Netto in the recent Issues, Etc. Journal, in which he makes the case that we Lutherans need to point all Christians to the doctrine of the two kingdoms...

No, this is not a post from Hornswoggled , but it could very well be. Kudos to the Bishop for enforcing church policy (uh, gee, and being faithful to Scripture). Un-kudos to the gay pastor for his selfish and arrogant refusal to resign, "I feel called".

A concise refutation of the most common arguments (from Baptists) against the use of alcohol.

One of the most concise and thorough answers to the question of infant baptism I have seen in a while. Check out former fundie and future pastor (hopefully) St. Charles' recent post here .

Or, at least, new to me.... Check out: This Side of the Pulpit Written by a one-time seminary classmate of mine, Rev. Christopher Hall, now of Oklahoma.

An interesting article by a speaker at a recent ELCA conference on communication. The author is a VP at Feedburner. While I don't necessarily endorse everything here, and in the linked pages, it was fascinating to poke around a little and see what's being said about the importance of blogging, MySpace, YouTube and other such internet animals - and what it has to do with the church. I personally have a MySpace page, and do participate in some of the groups there. Still, it is mostly just to point people to this blog. I am unsure about whether and how to utilize MySpace for "official church business". But this ELCA pastor seems to have his own ideas :

You probably don't remember me posting this sermon , which I recorded for the "Lutheran Radio Service" some time ago. It will be aired this Sunday on Milwaukee's AM station 620, WTMJ at 6:00 A.M. (Much too early for me to get up and listen!) If you miss it, you can come to Grace Lutheran Church in Racine this week and here it live, instead.

Lutheran Carnival XXX is up at the main site.

We had our draft online yesterday, and I must say I am pleased with my team. Of course having the 2 spot helps. I am also impressed with the team of Dan @ Necessary Roughness. Anyway, here is my team: Starters: QB J. Delhomme WR R. Moss WR D. Driver WR L. Coles RB L. Tomlinson RB R. Bush TE A. Gates K D. Akers DEF Arizona Bench: WR M. Jones WR E. Kennison RB C. Taylor RB L. Maroney TE Da. Clark

I have been thinking about this for some time. Every congregation should have a website. 1) It is very inexpensive. Depending on HOW you do it, a basic website can be had for free. If you use a blog format, there is even minimal (or no) advertisement to contend with. Even getting your own "domain name" (website address) is possible for less than $10 a year. Quite reasonable. 2) It is not difficult. Most people who have some time on thier hands and use the internet somewhat frequently could probably "figure out" how to make a basic church website for free. Most pastors who have learned Greek and Hebrew will find that this task is nowhere near as challenging. Consider getting a young person from the congregation involved, as they often know the technology better than the older folks. Train the church secretary to make updates. You could even use a team of people with different responsibilities vis-a-vis the website. One caveat: While it is important to involve ...

Echoing something I often remind our congregation, Pastor Alms has a nice post: "We are Israel."

Pentecost 9 – (August 6th 2006) Ephesians 2:13-22 “Fighting, Foreigners, Foundation” Leave it to St. Paul to keep the preacher busy. Today’s reading from Ephesians uses three main word-pictures to describe what Jesus does for us, his people. Each one is something we can relate to. Each one shows a little more how those who were near and those who were far have been brought to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 3 Pictures of Christ our Savior, and his great work for us. The first word-picture is one frequently used in scripture. It is a contrast between hostility and peace. We live in a world that knows hostility, but seldom sees lasting peace. Just as Jesus promised, it seems wars and rumors of wars are always somewhere. We read the paper, see the news. “The War on Terror”. “The War in Iraq”. Hezbollah attacks Israel, Israel bombs Hezbollah. Another roadside explosion in Iraq kills soldiers and civilians alike. North Korea and Iran, Kosovo and Rwanda… and this just in recent years. Eve...

I think as the owner/webmaster of the Lutheran Blog Directory, I have been more than gracious and fair by including Lutheran Blogs from whatever denomination/designation people claim. Though it happens that there are many more LCMS blogs out there, I don't discriminate against ELCA blogs. This month, "The Lutheran", a publication of the ELCA, ran an article on Lutheran Blogs. You can read it here. I have several criticisms of this article, quite apart from the fact that the Lutheran Blog Directory was not mentioned. Here is the short article: _________ The buzz about Lutheran blogs An estimated 32 million Americans read blogs, semi-anonymous online journals. Enter bloggers who write about life in the ELCA. There’s a Wisconsin pastor, a lectionary-loving laywoman in Michigan, and a missionary in the United Kingdom. Sociologist Lorne Dawson of the University of Waterloo (Ontario) said blogs also represent a haven for dissent within denominations. A blog by “Shrimp” rep...

Not the Seattle Seahawks QB Matt Hasselbeck, but his sister-in-law, Elisabeth Hasselbeck. As co-host of ABC's "The View", she found herself out surrounded and outnumbered in a recent on-air debate about the "Plan B" abortion pill. Kudos to a rare media personality standing up for the unborn. Foxnews story here: http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,206873,00.html EDIT: OK, I found a link to the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QI6QhyW_9g Barbara Walters and her pedantic "oh, we just have to learn how to discuss". I thought Elisabeth handled herself very well, and showed passion yet restraint. And while I do think that human life should not be trumped because it began with rape or incest, I still commend her for her stand.

Dear Blog Readers, I received a phone call and email some time ago from a Rev. Dave Krueckeberg, an LCMS pastor in the Chicago area. Rev. Krueckeberg has been serving a unique community as part of his congregation, namely the horse "caretakers" at two Chicago area thoroughbred racetracks. Because this pastor pressured the owners of the racetracks to provide better working/living conditions for their employees, he has been banned from the sites. Since then, he has started a petition drive to regain access to the stables, where the people he serves not only work but also live. Rev. Krueckeberg has the support of many prominent LCMS leaders in his struggle, including: The Rev. William Ameiss, President, Northern Illinois District, LCMS The Rev. Matthew Harrison, LCMS World Relief & Human Care The Rev. Daniel May, President, Indiana District, LCMS The Rev. Robert Kuhn, Chairman, LCMS Board of Directors The Rev. Gerald Kieschnick, President, LCMS If you are interested in readi...

Your results: You are Green Lantern Green Lantern 65% Spider-Man 60% Superman 60% Hulk 45% Iron Man 40% Robin 38% Supergirl 38% Batman 35% Catwoman 30% The Flash 25% Wonder Woman 23% Hot-headed. You have strong will power and a good imagination. Click here to take the Superhero Personality Quiz HT: Bloghardt's Reflector (AKA Superman!)

St. James in Overlea, Maryland, is where I went to Pre-K and Elementary School, as well as where I was confirmed . Though it wasn't the only church I attended while living in Baltimore, I still consider it the church where I grew up. It is also where I prefer to worship when I visit the area. Anyway, my mom forwarded me this heartening story about a nice thing the church has done: _________________________________________________________ Giving a blessing of books Overlea church ships library to Louisiana By Nia-Malika Henderson sun reporter July 31, 2006 He preached yesterday about God's harvest and the faithful journeys for which people must prepare. This morning, the Rev. J. Thomas Foelber of St. James Evangelical Lutheran Church in Overlea will live that message when he begins a 1,100-mile journey to New Orleans - taking with him a bountiful harvest of books for a Lutheran school that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina. He blessed the gift of books from the c...