Preachrblog

Advent 4 December 24, 2006 Micah 5:2-5a “Oh Bethlehem” Oh little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie… Bethlehem, in the region of Ephratha. From you will come forth a ruler over all Israel, with ancient origins. A strong and good shepherd who will bring security and peace. You, the little town of Bethlehem. You, oh Bethlehem, whose name means, “House of Bread”. From you will come the One who will feed his people with everlasting spiritual bread – mana from Heaven. He, who will also give his own body in the bread of a Holy Sacrament. You, Oh Bethlehem, the little town where David was born. Little David the shepherd boy, who became great King David, ruler of Israel in its heyday. From you, Oh Bethlehem, will come the Son of David, the shoot from the stump of Jesse. And David’s Son will be David’s Lord. They will welcome him with shouts and palm branches and fanfare as a king, when he comes to Jerusalem. They will cry out, “Hosanna to the Son of David”. But then they will shout, ...

Christmas Eve 2006 Luke 2:1-20 “Christmas Light” Tonight we celebrate Christmas Eve with a “service of light”. We light candles, especially that white Christ candle in the center of the advent wreath. Later in the service, we will all hold a lighted candle and sing “Silent Night”, which includes the line, “Son of God, love’s pure light”. So many of our other Christmas hymns mention light somehow too. “In thy dark streets shineth the everlasting light”, “Break forth O Beauteous Heavenly Light”, “Light and Life to all he brings”, etc. etc… Most of our homes have some sort of Christmas lights up for decoration. Sometimes we even drive through certain neighborhoods known for elaborate Christmas light displays. Christmas and light seem to go together. Light is one of the foundational symbols of the Christian faith. Scripture begins and ends with light. God’s first recorded words, “Let there be light” open up the creation account, just as Revelation closes with the promise that there will be...

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Born this morning, Morgan Faith Chryst 7 lbs, 10 oz. 19" long. Mother and baby are both doing fine! Thank God for his many blessings.

Sermon – Advent 3 December 17th, 2006 Phillipians 4:4-7 “Advent Anxiety?” As we have said many times, Advent means “coming”. And so Advent is a season of expectation, and watching, and waiting. Waiting. And more waiting. Waiting isn’t always easy. We wait in line at the post office to mail our cards and packages. We wait in line at the grocery store behind the person with too many items in the express lane. We wait for the traffic light to turn green, and hope that the car ahead of us will hurry up so we can make it too. We wait. We wait for our loved ones to call or write or visit. We wait in the doctor’s office and then we wait for the test results. We wait for God to answer our prayers and give us what we think we need, want, or even deserve. We wait for Christmas to come. And sometimes we want it to come quick, sometimes we want to get it over with, and sometimes we would just as soon not have it at all. But we can only wait, and watch, and wait some more. One of the si...

The finals of "Lutheran Survivor: Politicians" have been quite interesting. Two remaining players, Muhlenberg and Preus are locked in a duel to the death. Ok, they're both already dead. But you know what I mean. It's going to be a photo-finish! As of this blog posting, the votes are tied at 50% each! If you haven't already voted, get over to Lutheran Survivor! DO IT NOW!

I am a firm believer in the aphorism, "Know Thine Enemy". I believe Christians need to be informed about those whose teachings oppose the truth. Especially those with a wide following and deep influence. It is important to understand these falsehoods so that we can better combat them with the truth. In that vein, I have been viewing some interesting videos online. The very popular work, "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, is a recent bestseller. But there is also a free full-length PBS version of Dawkins' presentation, available here . Particularly fun is his confrontation with recently disgraced Evangelical leader Ted Haggard. The second part of the series is found here. If you have about 90 minutes and are interested in what the "other side" has to say, this could be a good use of your time. Caution: There are some real howlers in here. Like, "Religious upbringing is child abuse" and "religion is a virus" and such. ...

A grand posada: Church brings Mexican holiday tradition to Racine Our local (Racine) LCMS Hispanic congregation, Primera Iglesia Luterana , made the local paper today with this story. Check it out.

I had to bring my notebook computer into Best Buy for repairs, and the "Geek Squad" tells me it will be 3 weeks or so before I get it back. The good news is, it's under warranty. The bad news is, I may not be blogging or online as much for a while. Well, maybe that's not so bad. Everyone needs to take a break sometime, eh?

I've heard, and so have you, the warning against trying to put "God in a box". It's a fair enough warning, though used by many people to dispute someone else's conception of who God is, what he says and does and expects. To be sure, we can't put God in a box. He is above and beyond us. And we do have a tendency to want to limit him. We think God thinks like we do, rather than acknowledging his ways are higher than ours, and his thoughts are greater than ours. If God isn't answering my prayer the way I want it, then God must be wrong, not me, we think. If there's suffering in the world, or more importanly, in MY world, then God must either not care or not know what to do. We shrink God down to be someone who should take orders from the likes of us. We make ourselves "bigger" than him. We "put God in a box". But the great irony of God is that he, himself, puts limitations on himself. "God in a box" might make us think of th...

I have officially dumped Firefox. I am sick of losing all my preferences every time it updates. Plus, now Explorer does tabs anyway...

Advent 2 December 10, 2006 Luke 3:1-20 “A Fire and Brimstone Preacher” One of the Bible personalities we expect to see this time of year is John the Baptist, who prepared the way for Jesus. John was an odd character to say the least. His unusual fashion sense (camel skins), his different diet (locusts and wild honey), his solitary lifestyle in the wilderness. If John the Baptist were to walk into our church today, you’d probably hope he didn’t sit in your pew. John is kind of a scary guy. When I lived in Detroit for a year the church I served as a vicar had an annual drama, presenting the life of Jesus. It was very elaborate, with church members all in character and costume. The man chosen to play John the Baptist was a police officer with a commanding voice. And I will never forget when he appeared at the back of the room, bellowing out, “REPENT! REPENT!”. His deep, loud, voice startled the adults and actually made one little girl cry. He was a good John. He was scary. But what is mos...

"Hm. Updates." I've taken the plunge, as it was finally offered today, and switched over my blogs to the new Blogger Beta. So far, so good.

Advent 1 December 3, 2006 Luke 19:28-40 “Palm Sunday in December” Now that the holiday season is upon us, and American consumerism is in full swing, the stores have trotted out their decorations and touted their Christmas bargains. Yet some stores and specialties businesses (I can think of two here in Wisconsin) are open year-round with a specific Christmas theme. I don’t know how they stay in business. Who wants to buy ornaments for the tree in the middle of the summer? Likewise, I’ve never understood the point of having “Christmas in July” sales. But yet it seems during the hottest days of the year some car salesman is dressed in a Santa suit to sell some cars. Today we have another somewhat strange combined occasion. For here we are on the first Sunday of Advent, the beginning of the Church Calendar, with our eyes on December 25th just a few weeks away – and suddenly – our reading from Luke takes us to Palm Sunday. Jesus, riding on a colt, makes his triumphal entry into Jer...

The Pope, on his visit to Turkey, wrapped things up by praying in the direction of Mecca, like Muslims do. I can't tell you how disturbing this is. This action of the pope is disturbing, disgusting, cowardly, and drags the First Commandment right through the mud. And to think that the pope had a golden opportunity to proclaim Christ on his visit to Turkey in a way that no one else would have been allowed to do. And he chooses instead to do this. Terrible. This is just as bad as when John Paul II kissed the Koran. Seems the pontiffs have become universalist sell-outs. HT: Texas Hold'em Blogger

I found the most amazing site which lists the best free software utilities on the net: The 46 Best-ever Freeware Utilities Links to tons of things you will find useful: Anti-virus Photoshop knockoffs Get your webmail with a client like outlook (what I have been wanting for a while!) Free versions of many programs you would otherwise pay for I can't recommend this collection highly enough. Check it out! NOW!

The following is my recent email correspondance with Jenny, a member of our congregation. First her question, then my reply: Q: I have SO got myself in a pickle. I am in a discussion about baptism with 2 people that think only people who accept Jesus should be baptized. That when you are baptized it is just an outwardly display, a public aknowledgment of accepting Christ as your Saviour. They also say that the Holy Spirit does not enter your heart at the time of Baptism. That when John the Baptist was baptizing he referanced Jesus when saying that one comes to baptize you with the Holy Spirit, and because of Jesus we no longer "need" baptism. It is good to do, once you are at the "age of consent" (which they are looking up now) but if a baby dies b4 being baptized they will go to heaven. Likewise if a man confesses to God and becomes a believer then dies b4 being baptized they can "quarantee" that they will go to heaven. Can you help?????? I have been on...

The latest listing to the Lutheran Blog Directory looks like it could be lots of fun. Those of you who watch the show, "House" will appreciate this Lutheran pastor who writes in the Dr. House persona. It seems particularly fitting, too, because that character reminds me of Dr. Luther -crabby, ridden by infirmity, and yet very good at what he does. Anyway here's the new blog's info: http://housemdiv.blogspot.com/ Law, Gospel, and no B.S. You might not like it, but you can not like it all the way into an eternity with your Savior. If you want your theology watered down and relevant to your Soccer Mom needs, go to Rev. Cudd(l)y in the ELCA. (S)he probably has plenty of what you want, but be sure you're wearing asbestos.

Last Sunday in the Church Year - Sunday of the Fulfillment November 29, 2006 Jude 20-25 "Us, Them, & Jesus" Jude warns us to keep the faith, to be concerned with the faith of others, and to give all glory to God in Jesus Christ, who keeps us from falling! It’s almost here. It’s coming soon. The signs are all around us, all we have to do is look out there and see. You know what I mean? Did you think I was talking about Christmas? Well that’s coming soon too. But here in the church we are focused on another day that is coming soon – and it goes by many names: the day of the Lord’s second coming – the judgment day – the last day – the day of fulfillment – the end. We know it’s coming soon because the signs are all around us. We have been warned. We’ve been put on notice. Even though we don’t know and will never know the exact time or day or hour, as Jesus says, the signs are still there for us to see. We could almost keep a checklist: Wars – check Rumors of Wars – check Fami...

Grace Ev. Lutheran Church, Racine, Wisconsin Thanksgiving (Eve) Day- 2006 Deuteronomy 8:1-10 “Giving Thanks for Pomegranates” A Happy and Blessed Thanksgiving to you all. Every year we observe this national holiday. The 4th Thursday of November is set aside by longstanding presidential order as a day of national thanksgiving. Your history books might tell you that the first day of thanksgiving was December 4th of 1619, when the Pilgrims in the Virginia Colony first celebrated the day. Or you might think of the Massachusetts Bay Colony marking their first thanksgiving in 1630. But the truth is, harvest festivals have a longstanding history in many nations and cultures. And we find something similar even in ancient Israel. Here in Deuteronomy, Moses gives some words of encouragement to his people as they were just about to enter the promised land. He warns them to be careful in following God’s commands. He reminds them of what God had already done for them. These 40 years of desert wande...

Per Foxnews : "Almost 40% of Children Born in the U.S. in 2005 Were Out of Wedlock, an All-Time High" More evidence of what has been called "culture rot", or what I call, "flagrant foul on the 6th commandment". Or maybe just... sin? Signs of the times.

An excellent article on tithing has been posted at "Ask the Pastor". I completely concur with this solid, biblical, Lutheran answer: How Should I Tithe?

I've been out of town for a few days (in the North Woods of Wisconsin) and incommunicado. Anyway here's some notes and tidbits on what's new in the world of Luthrean blogging: BBOV has been recently put forth a major update. Get the most recent version here . The All-New Blogging Lutherans BlogRing is open for enrollment, and has a snazzy new graphic box designed by yours truly. Lutheran Survivor has also been updated - check in to see who has checked out. That's all for now.

Just a fun quiz to while away the weekend: Just copy and paste the questions and answer inbetween. 1. If you could name a church that you would attend any name at all, what would it be? "Transfiguration Lutheran Church" 2. What is your favorite Advent hymn? "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel" 3. What branch of Lutheranism are you affiliated with? LCMS 4. Which is your favorite vestment color? Black 5. Why do you remain a Lutheran? Because we teach what the Scriptures teach. 6. If you could change one thing about Martin Luther, what might it be? The whole tirade against the Jews 7. What do you believe is the single largest misunderstanding about Lutherans or Lutheranism? (Held by many Lutherans as well) "The differences don't matter" 8. If your branch of Lutheranism could change in one way, how would you have it change? More unity in practice. 9. Were you born Lutheran? No, but I was baptized Luthrean as an infant. 10. Have you ever invited a non-Lutheran to att...

Third-Last Sunday in the Church Year November 12, 2006 Hebrews 12:26-29 “A Whole Lotta Shakin’ “ When Christ returns, the shaky things of this world will be removed, and his unshakable kingdom will remain. Therefore we stand in reverence and awe, and receive his promise with unshakable faith. I like living in Wisconsin. The cheese, the football, the sub-tropical climate (actually it’s not all that bad). But one of the other things that’s nice about our state is there aren’t too many natural disasters. Every once in a while we get a small tornado. But we’re too far inland to have to worry about tornados. I don’t recall any mudslides or major forest fires around here lately. And we’re not like those people in California – who have to worry about a major earthquake. In fact, I bet most of us have never experienced an earthquake. So we’ll have to use our imagination today. Because that sort of violent quaking and shaking of the earth is part of the backdrop for today’s reading from Hebrews...

Just ran across a nice website- MyChurch.org Congregations can set up a page for networking with other members, posting bulletins, etc. Grace's MyChurch page is: http://www.mychurch.org/gracelutheranracine Check it out for your own congregation, or if you are a member of our congregation in Racine, click on the link to join.

Stewardship Series 2006 All Saints’ Day Revelation 21:9-11; Revelation 21:22-27; Revelation 22:1-5 "The Riches of Heaven" [Though fascinated by earthly treasures, we get a glimpse of the greater treasures to come in the Heavenly Jerusalem. There, the greatest treasure is to dwell with God in Christ. Even now, we have that treasure! ] John’s many visions that compose the book of Revelation drive the imagination wild. We can picture the heavenly throne room, the great sea of glass, the angels upon angels singing his praises. We can see the four horsemen and their plagues, or the Dragon being chained and cast into the Abyss. What Jesus revealed to John must have been quite a collection of sights. But perhaps the most spectacular vision John saw is recorded in our reading from Revelation 21 and 22. It is the picture of the church in glory – the holy city of Jerusalem – the bride of Christ – decked out for the great celebration at the bridegroom’s return. Adorned with precious jew...

"...only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or recognized as a marriage in this state and that a legal status identical or substantially similar to that of marriage for unmarried individuals shall not be valid or recognized in this state ?" The gay lobby seems to suggest that this second half of the proposed amendment goes too far, in actually jeopardizing benefits/rights already afforded to cohabitating heterosexual couples. I read it differently. The wording here doesn't suggest that a private company would be prohibited from granting benefits to anyone. It simply states that such individuals will have no "legal status" similar to marriage. So if S.C. Johnson wants to offer health benefits to gay domestic partners, or heterosexual live-in boyfriends/girlfriends, it would be up to SCJ. But the amendment would seem to mean that the state government can't mandate such benefits. They don't mandate them right now, do they? Likewise...

I knew Elmo was into it, but not the great reformer too! (Thanks to Charles Lehmann for pointing out this gem)

The latest carnie is a busy one. Thanks to Ryan at The Markel Family for doing the dirty work.

For my local readers especially: "Why We Hurt" A Retreat on Suffering and the Cross in the Life of Christ and in the Lives of Christians With Rev. Scott Stiegemeyer Director of Admission Concordia Theological Seminary , Fort Wayne, Indiana From time immemorial, human beings have questioned why they suffer. One popular book put it recently, Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People? This seminar will examine the biblical approach to this question. It will also explore whether God has a plan for us when we suffer? Does suffering have a purpose? What are the causes or sources of human suffering? And perhaps most importantly, where can we find help, safety and comfort when we undergo hard experiences? We will discover the significance of our sorrows specifically in the light of the God who suffers on the cross. Co-sponsored by Lamb of God Lutheran Church Messiah Lutheran Church Christ Lutheran Academy Saturday, November 18, 2006 12:30-6:00 p.m. at Lamb of God Lutheran Church...

Fellow LCMS'ers... Our congregation just received our nomination forms for the offices of Synodical President and Vice-Presidents. I am assuming many of you received yours too, or will shortly. I would like to suggest a nominee for your consideration: Rev. Paul T. McCain . Now that Paul's time as Interim President of Concordia Publishing House has come to a close, I honestly don't know what he is doing next. What I do know about his service there at CPH was that I was personally impressed with the work he did. Under his watch, there was a marked improvement of overall quality resources, especially noting the publication of the "Concordia: Reader's edition." It was also under Paul's guidance that CPH was able to not only run in the black, but earn such great profits that seven figure checks were cut, returning funds to the work of the synod as a whole. This type of leadership could be a real boon for the synod as a whole during times of tight budgets and...

A WELS member and candidate for public office in Minnesota has fallen under criticism for the Lutheran understanding of the papacy as "antichrist". Check out the article here.

A happy and blessed Reformation Day to all. Sorry... nothing fancier than that right now as I am running late to get to our pastors' conference. More on that later....

An excellent article by Kevin McCullough

Just in time for Reformation Day, my latest blog endeavor: LUTHERAN SURVIVOR! Add your vote and comments to the mix. Just for fun. Check it out.

Interesting article: "Clergy warned on partisan preaching"

A local ELCA pastor is on record in our local paper , speaking against both the "Gay Marriage" ban and the proposal to reinstate the death penalty. (For the record, I take no public position on either of these particular measures. My comments are on what the Bible says about these moral issues, not whether the particular legislation is God's will or not. See here for more of my take on all that. ) Rev. Hermans seems to think God is just fine with homosexuality and that those of us who have a problem with it are somehow choosing "fear" over "love". Sadly, it is he who is choosing a false love over the clear word of God on the matter. Love and truth go hand in hand, even when love is tough because the truth hurts. Ironically, one of the clearest New Testament passages which condemns homosexuality is Romans 1 , where we read that these "perversions" and "unnatural passions" are the result of God handing men over to their sin after...

The recent issue of the "Day-Star Journal" is out. For those who don't know about this group, they are a forum of voices from the "left wing" of the Missouri Synod. I don't often find much to agree with in their articles, but I do like to read what they say anyway. This month's "Reformation" issue had little to do with the Reformation, but contains three articles relating to Christian citizenship. One of my pet areas of theology too, if you haven't noticed. ( See my recent post on the "Gay Marriage Amendment" ) I was surprised to find myself agreeing (in principle) with Art Simon's article, "Thoughts for Pastors regarding the Elections" (click for the entire article) . Simon articulates three different approaches to the intersection of faith and politics, and advocates the third: 1. "Faith is a private affair and has nothing to do with political matters." 2. "Politics should be based on God’s wil...