The Thunderstorm Was Late But Seems To Be Quite Effective

 

 Enchanted Peace is fast growing, fragrant, and about seven feet tall.
They seem to have lasted the fickle Arkansas winter.

Planting roses is always a bit tricky. I have used bare root roses shipped from various companies. They need to be soaked in water - rain water is best - for days or quite a few days. I kept some in water indoors when we had an early harsh cold spell. Digging them in would have bent my shovel and wrecked their new growth. This time I waited for rain and went to a gardening center for potted roses, not to be confused with potted bishops (purple shirt) and suffragen bishops (purple buttons).

They were featuring David Austen roses in full bloom, so I got them, the most beautiful roses I have seen. I already had some Queen of Sweden roses for chapel for Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday chapels. Tuesday and Thursday are seminary lectures. Wednesday is New Testament Greek lessons. All are at 11 AM and they are saved on this link, the latest one on top. The link for all YouTubes is here -

Click here for all previous YouTubes

The link is at the bottom of the masthead area on Ichabod.

Would Greek be left alone since it is shunned by seminaries everywhere? I already see 19 views, which may be curiosity but it is a good start. The new fad is "Summer Greek" which means a superficial start on Greek and splashing in the fountain after a few weeks (Concordia St. Louis). Wartburg Seminary, ELCA, demands $3,000 cash in advance for their summer Greek. When are people going to learn that Greek for pastors is necessary, not a short spell in Purgatory? It also opens up our knowledge of English, which is very close to the Koine Greek of the New Testament.

"The Romans had the drains, but the Greeks had the brains." Ancient Greek Epigram

Future Greek lessons will feature well known New Testament passages in Greek only. That makes it easier to connect the English with the Greek, because we can easily translate the Greek of - for instance - the Beatitudes or the Lord's Prayer or John 3:16. [Note to ELCA - you remember John 3:16, don't you?]

I think we can get reasonably priced Greek NTs from the KJV source - Trinitarian Bible Society.

The Stephanus Greek NT is already on Biblegateway.com - courtesy of the NIV chaps.

Paine NT textbooks can be found used by summer Greek NT students. Just kidding. I used the Paine in 1966, so it is a long liver. I ignore grammar as much as possible, but learning Greek grammar helps our English, don't it?

Behold! - Luther's Statement Silences Objective Faithless Justification!The Holy Spirit Is To Convict the World In Respect of Sin, of Righteousness, And of Judgment!

 

"These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: 

1. Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith;

2. the judgment is the holy cross. Therefore give heed and learn to consider everything that is without the Spirit as nothing and as condemned,

3. And afterwards be prepared for the holy cross that thou must suffer on account of it."

If every congregation would adhere to the three explanations above, they would become healthy, strong, and devoted to the Scriptures. The last 50 years take us back to what was happening in 1974 A.D.

All the denominations used to be infatuated with plans for new missions, new ideas, new Bibles, new hymnals. They knew the demographic shift, but lo! - they wanted the spin, the glory, the glamor of Fuller Seminary. World missions executives were first sent to Fuller, because seminaries were not preparing missionaries for anything except quinine for malaria. Their American missions executives trained the same way - completely wrong.

The last 50 years were a con job, the perfect example of -

“Whoever marries the spirit of this age will find himself a widower in the next. ”

William Ralph Inge

A Facebook poster linked me and others to his garage sale of electronics. He was apparently building on the multi-campus model, because he had a large pile of very expensive electronics and a big bill for renting an empty space. (People do not have buildings anymore - they have spaces.) In short, his space and his toys were bleeding him dry. 

His offerings disappeared, which reminds me of the motto - "A sucker is born every minute." - the iconic P.T. Barnum - because every one and every thing is iconic when it often should just be ironic. English is so degenerate now that media people say "very iconic" and "the most iconic." I'm so old I remember "unique." I could neve be a media expert now, because my vocabulary is bigger than 50 words.

"Build it and they will come" (Field of Dreams) said no one in the Bible. Tower of Babel - Build it and they will run.

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Easter 4 - "These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the judgment is the holy cross. Therefore give heed and learn to consider everything that is without the Spirit as nothing and as condemned, and afterwards be prepared for the holy cross that thou must suffer on account of it."

 

What book is hated and despised by the great, the wise, the conceited?

Complete sermon -> Cantate. Fourth Sunday After Easter. John 16:5-15. How the Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin, Righteousness, Judgment

21. The world, in its holiness, maintains that righteousness means to perform good works wherewith to do penance for sin and reconcile God. This has been taught in all the schools of learning. Such teachers think it is right and well done if only they can accomplish good works. But now comes the Holy Spirit and says: Not so. You err and are mistaken. Your judgment is wrong. Therefore there must be another judgment. You should judge thus: Everything that your reason concludes, is erroneous and false, and you are a fool and a simpleton.

22. Reason may do other things; for instance, know how to judge in worldly and human matters and affairs, how to build cities and houses, how to govern well, and the like. In such matters one may easily be able to judge and decide more wisely than another. Of this, however, we do not speak here, but of judgment in the significance of what is right or wrong before God. Here the Holy Spirit concludes thus: Every judgment of reason is false and worth nothing. Everything that is born of man and is not born from above, must be rooted out and crucified, so that no one may boast of it and depend upon it. Again, whatever the world considers as wisdom, that which it votes as wisely and intelligently devised and accomplished, is foolishness before God. In short, whatever the world does, is useless and cursed, unless it proceeds from Christ, the Lord, and is of his Word and Spirit, as he teaches us. If it does not proceed from him, it is surely mere blindness and there is no good in it.

23. Therefore everything that the world considers good is debased. Everything is evil because it does not proceed from the Word and the Spirit, but from the old Adam, who is nothing more than a blind fool and sinner. And why? Should not your wisdom and reason be foolishness and count for nothing, since the most exalted one, who has all the power and wisdom of this world in the highest degree, is condemned? For, without doubt, there is no one in the world so wise, shrewd and rational as the devil, and no one is able to make a more pious appearance. And all wisdom and holiness that do not proceed from God, as well as the most beautiful things in the world, are found in their highest degree in the devil. Since he is a prince and the ruler of the world, the wisdom and righteousness of the world must proceed from him; here he reigns with all his power. Therefore, Christ says: Since the same prince of the world is condemned, with all that he has and can do, the world is ever blind because it considers that to be good which has been condemned already, namely his wisdom and piety.

24. We must, therefore, pass a correct judgment, such as Christ passes, if we are to guard against everything that the world considers and declares precious in order that it may appear before God prudent, wise and pious. If people who have not the Word and Spirit of Christ, desire to teach and govern, everything is already condemned; for in this way one accomplishes no more than to make the old Adam stronger and to establish him in his opinion that his works, his piety and prudence are to avail before God. Thereby one must work himself deeper and deeper into the devil’s kingdom.

25. But now, since the prince of this world and the Holy Spirit, the kingdom of Christ and the kingdom of the devil, are directly opposed to one another, and the Holy Spirit is not willing that anyone should parade his own deeds and praise himself on account of them, the holy cross must soon follow. The world will not consent to be reprimanded for its blindness. Therefore one must willingly submit and suffer persecution. If we have the right kind of faith in our hearts, we must also open our mouths and confess righteousness and make known sin. Likewise we must condemn and punish the doings of this world and make it known that everything it undertakes, is damned. For this we must be considered heretics, and must pass through the fire. They say: This is against the holy councils and the canon of the holy father, the pope. Then you are to answer: How can I help it? Here it stands — the text does not say the Holy Spirit is to convict them and say their doctrine is error, blindness and the government of the devil. This, of course, they will not endure, but would have us call them gracious noblemen. Therefore, one must here risk his neck.

26. These are the three parts we have in this Gospel lesson: Sin is unbelief; righteousness is faith; the judgment is the holy cross. Therefore give heed and learn to consider everything that is without the Spirit as nothing and as condemned, and afterwards be prepared for the holy cross that thou must suffer on account of it. Now follows in the Gospel further: “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he shall guide you into all the truth.”

The Most Popular Beverage in the World - Tea.

 

I was tired of coffee, so I began dabbling in tea recently. Long ago I was introduced to Constant Comment tea in Moline. I enjoyed it while working all night in seminary. I took extra courses and needed to stay up to finish the papers. Tea was basic in Canada, so I got to enjoy tea at all the meals. 

I tried various flavors of tea, including chocolate mint. Flavored teas are difficult after the first surprise trial. I began wondering about green tea, black tea, and Earl Grey. My vegetable and tea consultant agreed that Earl Grey is the best since it adds bergamot (orange) to the tea. The scent of good Earl Grey tea is heavenly.

Videos on making and serving tea are numerous on the streaming platforms. One showed how all the teas around the world were grown. One tea was featured at the factory in England where about 40% of the tea in England is gathered and blended for use. The idea is to maintain the flavor while blending the teas.

Almost all the tea in the world is hand-picked. I saw only one example of harvesting with machinery.

Craving foods and beverages has come up in a number of books I am reading. Doctors point out that we develop a taste for something over time, making people avoid the taste of something new. My parents made me try all those farm vegetables they loved, and it took me a long time to see why. OK, it took about 60 years.

I do not think twice now about building up my supply of frozen kale, spinach, collards, lima beans, peas, mushrooms, tomato paste, fresh walnuts and blueberries. No colas, no juices, no frozen pizza, no ice cream. The transition is slow. 

The best part is getting the nutrition not found at all in processed food, which promotes fat, salt, and sugars. The daily walnut cure for cholesterol got me to look into the nutritional effects of greens, vegetables, fresh fruit, nuts, and seeds. 

I still read Dr. Joel Fuhrman, and I find enormous free sources from Dr. Michael Greger. I will post both below.

This is Greger's link - where I am going to look for more nutritional facts.

Antioxidents - https://nutritionfacts.org/video/flashback-friday-antioxidants-in-a-pinch/

Reformation Seminar - The Synoptic Gospels - Matthew, Mark, Luke, 11 AM Central

 

Synoptics - or Synoptics Gospels - Matthew, Mark, and Luke are "seen together" because they share the same-but-different content.

It is always best to see two versions of the same material. Mark can be very short but also more detailed and lengthy.

Each Gospel has its own character as books and also harmony with the other two.

The apostates (academics who no longer believe the Scriptures) are known to invent new theories that reject the divinity of Christ, the Trinity, faith in Christ, and anything that irritates their very sensitive thoughts. Most universities, even community colleges have religion departments where only atheists can teach - even part-time. Those with tenure are quite outspoken. Seminaries and denominational colleges are rife with rationalism and a "higher level of understanding." 

John's Gospel is quite different and was clearly written to share the perspective of the "disciple Jesus loved." Yes, the apostates deny that too - and place John's Gospel at 300 years later.

Faith and Fear Are Opposites. Ye Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic). "Being faithless makes us fearful; being faithful makes us fearless."

 

I never expected much of a response from blogging. I knew the clergy would be afraid to say anything, especially under the glaring light of Circuit Popes, District Popes, and Synod Popes. I had a few sources who wanted me to write what they would not say for fear of the popes. The only way the popes can stay in office, eat fancy food, and make the pastors afraid is to freeze them out, hate them out, or send them far away.

I had a phone call from a pastor who learned that my facts came from his fellow clergy. He screamed and slammed down his church phone. That was before the omnipresence of cell phones, iPhones, and big phone bills. A lot of disguised emails came through, and some said, "You can't quote me!" 

Christina thought the hate messages were horrible, so how could I laugh? I pointed out that the anger was simply the second stage of denial. "What comes next?" I said, "Silence." I knew that some, especially WELS, would polish their synodical merit badges and brag that they had shut me down. Unfortunately, two things worked against them. Others could identify their style, and response emails - though anonymous with funny names - were copied by me onto permanent posts, not the erasable kind. Jack Kilcrease (Jesuit PhD) was so quick to erase his own responses that I had to stop and permanently upgrade them. Someone coined the term "kilcreasing," which means posting a negative response and erasing it.

The third stage is silence. That may be the only skill of WELS clergy and laity. They do not just push the shun button. They smash it down with both hands. WELS and the Missouri Synod consider shunning to be a sacrament, their only sacrament, because it reduces Holy Communion and Holy Baptism as ordinances, something that should be done but could be ignored. I am not exaggerating. WELS/ELS reject the efficacy of the Word in favor of neat tricks and gimmicks from the Church Growth ninnies. The ELS and CLC (sic) may be their equals but they are on a fast train to oblivion, so that does not matter.

Attend some LCMS clergy gathering. They will hardy-har-har their fellow pastors, especially those from one seminary, not the other. (Gettysburg and Philadelphia pastors used to do the same thing in the LCA, but now they are united under the leadership of an Osage Indian and his husband.) The LCMS clergy wear the same suit with a clergy collar - both seminaries. I have never seen clergy so precisely uniformed outside of the Missouri Synod. What they teach - everyone knows, anything goes.

The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) have become so faithless that they live in constant fear. They must continue their obedience to their Father Below or be struck down. They have no spiritual values so they rely on material success.

I have established, through exploring the materials and "spoiling the Egyptians" that The Big Five have ignored the gold and silver of the Bible. Instead, they fight over the entrails of people slaughtered by such genius theologians as C. Peter Wagner (faith healer), Donald McGavran (Columbia sociologist), and Robert Schuller (He started Church Growth, lost everything.)

"Being faithless makes us fearful; being faithful makes us fearless."

The remedy for fearfulness is to dwell on Psalm 1, the introduction to all the Psalms.

Psalm 1

KJV Psalm 1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.

2 But his delight is in the law [Torah means teaching] of the Lord; and in his law [teaching] doth he meditate day and night.

3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

4 The ungodly are not so: but are like the chaff which the wind driveth away.

5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6 For the Lord knoweth the way of the righteous: but the way of the ungodly shall perish.

The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) Major in Blasphemy, And Hate the King James Version.

Dear Pastor Jackson,

I have been pondering what you said on your podcast about the blasphemy against God the Holy Ghost.  You said that it is making fun of the Word of God, Holy Baptism, and Holy Communion, and miracles. 

That reminds me of a LCMS pastor making fun of the words in the King James Bible such as "thee", "ye", and "thou". But God knows we need these precious little Words to understand the Bible.

The cut up Bible, verses, phrases, even the Resurrection in Mark 16:9-20 - thanks to the work of Tischendorf, Westcott and Hort, and the Bible business - RSV, NRSV, ESV, NIV, and Beck. In the past, the Church governed the Bible. Now the Scriptures are a business to see who can print the most outlandish perversions in the name of Dynamic Equivalence. 

Christ our Lord rose from the dead and stood in the midst of the apostles and said,:

"Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained." John 20:21-23

Notice that Christ said, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost;" which is plural. That means Christ gives the Holy Ghost to all Christians especially pastors. So God the Holy Ghost abundantly forgives our sins when a pastor or laymen says, "I forgive you all your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost". 

Some LCMS pastors do not believe in these clear Words of Christ our Lord. They do not believe in the Office of the Keys so they change what Christ said.  Instead of saying, "I forgive you" they say, "I assure you". Saying, "I assure you" does not forgive sins."

Pastor Jackson, I remember you said that the Holy Spirit is never without the Word and the Word is never without the Holy Spirit.

The King James Bible is never without God the Holy Ghost, and God the Holy Ghost is never without the King James Bible. This is true for all Bibles translated from the Greek TEXTUS RECEPTUS into many other languages. God the Holy Ghost has attached Himself to these Bibles for more than 500 years. 

Christ our Lord said:

"Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away." Luke 21:33

O Lord, look down from heav'n, behold 

And let Thy pity waken;

How few are we within Thy fold,

Thy saints by men forsaken!

True faith seems quenched on every hand,

Men suffer not Thy Word to stand;

Dark times have us o'ertaken.

With fraud which they themselves invent

Thy truth they have confounded;

Their hearts are not with one consent 

On Thy pure doctrine grounded.

While they parade with outward show

They lead the people to and fro,

In error's maze astounded.

May God root out all heresy

And of false teachers rid us

Who proudly say: Now where is he

That shall our speech forbid us?

By right or might we shall prevail;

What we determine cannot fail;

We own no Lord or master.

Therefore saith God, I must arise,

The poor my help are needing

To me ascend my people's cries,

And I have heard their pleading.

For them my saving Word shall fight

And fearlessly and sharply smite,

The poor with might defending.

As silver tried by fire is pure

From all adulteration.

So thro God's Word shall men endure.

Each trial and temptation 

It's light beams brighter thro' the cross,

And purified from human dross,

It shines through every nation.

Defend Thy truth, O God, and stay.

This evil generation;

And from the error of it's way

Keep Thine own congregation.

The wicked everywhere around

And would Thy little flock confound;

But Thou art our Salvation. (Martin Luther; O LORD, Look Down From Heaven, Behold; The Lutheran Hymnal; CPH; Hymn 260)

In Christ,

Tom Fisher 

 

Daily Luther Sermon Quote - Easter 4 - "Such a faith makes me acceptable unto God; Christ gives me the Holy Spirit into my heart, who makes me willing and happy in the doing of every good work."

 

Complete sermon -> Cantate. Fourth Sunday After Easter. John 16:5-15. How the Holy Spirit Convicts the World of Sin, Righteousness, Judgment

16. Wherever Christ is now preached and acknowledged, there he reigns in us, from the right hand of his Father, and is himself here below in the hearts of men. There he reigns with might, power and dominion over you and all your enemies, and guards you from sin, death, devil and hell. Thus is his resurrection and ascension our comfort, life, blessing, righteousness and everything in one. This is what the Lord means when he speaks of righteousness, that the people thereby should become pious and righteous, that he ascends to heaven to the Father and we see him no more. This the world does not know, therefore the Holy Spirit must come and convict the world of it.

17. How does this come to pass? Just as we have heard. Am I to become pious, it will not be enough for me to perform outwardly good works, but I must do them from the bottom of my heart, gladly and willingly, so that I may be free from the fear of sin, death and the devil; be joyous, and with a good conscience, and all confidence stand before him and know how I stand with him. This no work, no creature can give unto me, but Christ alone, who has ascended into heaven — there, where one cannot see him, but must believe that he sits yonder and wishes to help one. Such a faith makes me acceptable unto God; Christ gives me the Holy Spirit into my heart, who makes me willing and happy in the doing of every good work. In this manner I become righteous, and in no other; for the works themselves make me more and more unwilling, the longer I occupy myself with them.

18. But the longer one is engaged in this work, the more willing it makes one’s heart; for wherever there is such knowledge, there the Holy Spirit cannot be wanting. When he comes, he makes the heart willing, joyful and happy, so that one may be free and willingly do what is pleasing to God, with joyous courage, and suffer whatever there is to suffer, yea, and even die willingly. And in proportion as this knowledge is clear and great, in that proportion the willingness and joy will also be great. Thus the commandment of God is fulfilled and everything done that one is to do, and thus thou art righteous. Who would ever have thought that this would be righteousness and that thus it should be. This question we have hitherto often heard about and considered, and although the words here be different, yet the sense and meaning are the same.

19. In the third place, the Holy Spirit is to convict the world in respect of judgment , that is that the world does not know what right is. For who has ever heard the definition of this right to be, because the prince of this world hath been judged? The prince of the world, to be sure is the devil, which one may readily see in his government.

20. If now I have learned to know what sin is and am free from it, and have obtained righteousness, so that now I stand in a new character and life and have become another man — have now the Lord Christ and know that something else than our works is required to get rid of sin — if these have come to pass in me, it then follows that I may have a correct judgment, having learned to judge differently before God. For, according to such understanding, I know how to discuss, conclude and judge of all things in heaven and upon earth, and to pass correct judgment; and when I have passed such a judgment, I can live accordingly. This no one else can do.

Tom Fisher - "I Live by the Faith of the Son of God, Who Loved Me And Gave Himself For Me."

 

Dear Pastor Jackson,

A verse I memorized in eighth grade came to me as soon as I woke up at 6 AM this morning:

"I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me: and the life I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." Galatians 2:20,21

Pastor Jackson, I remember you explaining on your podcast how the Greek definitely says we are justified by the faith of Jesus Christ. The Greek plainly says Jesus had faith and the faith of Jesus Christ justifies us. 

The phrase, "I live by the faith of the Son of God" really stood out for me this morning. I was so relieved "I live by the faith of the Son of God" and not by some invented work of reasoning that I had to do such as "making a decision to accept OJ / SJ lie, or "asking Jesus into my heart", or "dedicating my life to God", or "keeping God first", or "accepting Jesus as my personal Savior", or Oh my the list is endless.

Christ is risen from the dead and ascended into heaven for us to make His Father our Father and His God our God. 

"I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God." John 20:17

Jesus Christ took all our sins on Himself and was crucified, dead, buried, risen from the dead the third day, ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father for us. He will send us the promise of the Father, even the gift of the Holy Ghost, the gift we need the most!

"Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord!

Be all Thy graces now out poured

On each believers mind and heart;

Thy fervent love to them impart.

Lord, by the brightness of Thy light

Thou in faith do men unite

Of every land and every tongue;

This to Thy praise, O LORD, our God, be sung.

Hallelujah! Hallelujah!" (Martin Luther, Come Holy Ghost, God and Lord; The Lutheran Hymnal; CPH; Hymn 224)

In Christ,

Tom Fisher

The Missing Elements in The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic)

The ones who ignore the Means of Grace are the same ones who like to talk about grace apart from the efficacious Word.

The missing elements in The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - are easy to discuss from the correct sources.

The efficacious Word is central for all of this talk about Christian theology. Another way of saying it is The Word never without the Spirit; the Spirit never without the Word (A. Hoenecke).

If the efficacious Word is dismissed, then so are the Instruments (or Means) of Grace. Those means are:

• The Word when preached, taught, and remembered.
• Holy Communion.

God's grace comes to us only though faith in Jesus Christ. So many clergy are aping Rome that they overlook both. In fact, one self-appointed bishop was in close contact with Missouri's Higher Things, which centered on Objective Faithless Justification. These two verses are worth remembering when people talk about grace but do not believe the Scriptures -

KJV Romans 5:5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;

4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:

5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Faith in Jesus Christ - The Center of All Teaching and Worship

If people are really interested in teaching and living God's grace, then they must be taught faith in Jesus Christ. Lutheran pastors today seem to be aping the Church of Rome or the MBA denizens of Fuller Seminary.

The twin fallacies are so poisonous among the management bullies that pastors and congregations need to escape from the two traps - Rome and Fuller - and return to Luther's sermons and Biblical teaching. 

If the congregation is promoting everything except faith in Jesus Christ, its purpose vacated, erased, forgotten. That has come about through the efforts of 

• incompetent and unbelieving college/seminary professors, 
• political synod managers - all the way down to synod president - 
• and lost, bewildered parish pastors. 

The matters should be addressed by the pastor and congregation. These would be typical changes:

1. Sermons are always about the Savior, the meaning of His Gospel, His sermons and miracles. He is the most important part of both Testaments, which are really one. 
2. Adult classes are about the Bible and how people understand and appreciate the Gospel.
3. Children are trained at various levels in their knowledge of the Gospel.
4. The Sacraments are observed without becoming a show - either through silliness or Romanism.
5. The pastor visits members who are sick and shut-in and in various other ways. The Internet connects everyone on websites, blogs, and Zoom. Blogs are free and Zoom is around $15-20 a month. Cello phones cost more than Zoom so get over it.
6. Because of Zoom, the worship services and classes can be broadcast around the world, converted into YouTube videos quickly and easily. 

Pastors - Read these quotations carefully. 

Download them and share them.

The Word is always efficacious and God knows before we even begin to ask.

Pastoral training can include being denied food, driven out, chased by dogs, and pelted with manure.

There can be a lot of sorrow in life. The bottom half of this graphic is from the tornado, in Joplin, Missouri. We heard the storm howl all night, 50 miles away. The Christian Faith is a great comfort to those who are taught it.

Why Are The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - Remarkably Alike? Affinity Is More Powerful Than Divinity to Them.

 

Slick dark roads, take me home, to the Hell where I belong!
Church Growth Movement, nursing mother,
Take me home, Church Growth song.

I was drinking some Earl Grey tea and pondering the hypocrisy of the Little Three -WELS-ELS-CLC (sic). They live on being shocked by how loose Missouri and ELCA are. That is so hilarious. They were silent when Marvin Schwan gave so much "orthodox Lutheran" money to the Missouri Synod. I was writing about Marvin when several news organizations asked me about Schwan's investments in gambling. I knew nothing about that, but the news people were hot on that trail. 

Kids putting make-up on men who all wore dresses? That's so ELCA!
No, that is so WELS, from the cross-dressing "pope" in their hazing week
to the Party in the Fire Island Pines plagiarized video (but worse).

We all know how family oriented the Little Three are. Marvin dumped his wife and married the wife of one of his executives. Schwan was featured in Forbes magazine laughing uproariously about giving up $1 million and a Cadillac to leave his wife and marry his employee's wife. The Little Three did not make a peep, chickens as they are. I sent the story to Herman Otten and he reproduced it. Pastor Jay Webber (of Objective Faithless Justification fame) denounced me on the phone for doing that. I said, "It is a national publication, not a secret." He responded, "Nobody reads Forbes." The Little Three are not used to reading more than CN and their synodical publications.

Two out of three gained weight, andThrivent builds.

Earlier, Otten invited us to the dedication of the St. Louis seminary church. He had some Russian visitors along. Christina also went in our Aerostar van. I never overlook possible evidence, so I checked out bulletin boards and saw - gasp - Marvin Schwan being a major donor to their new cathedral. If anyone has heard a WELSian roar about the apostasy of the Missouri Synod, the silence was telling. The previous pastor at Shepherd of Peace (WELS) said he left the table during his LCMS brother saying the prayer. How many souls were saved by that gesture of purity? One should read his books and study his "ministry" in WELS.

The Big Five - ELCA-LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - did this, not just WELS.
Hartman gave the dates.

Nobody had any problem with Marvin's shenanigans in WELS or the ELS. I think the CLC (sic) focused on the evil of using the wrong insurance company, because they had no other distinct object of their stink-a-thons. And yet there is more on that topic.

Marvin spread his money around for the ELS, LCMS, and WELS. As those buildings age and accumulate the costs for shrinking populations, some will admit they spent a lot on nothing and now must pay. And yet, the WELS and ELS are building spectacular gyms for their colleges, somewhere around $15 million each, 35 miles across. That is no farther than Bella Vista to Fayetteville in Arkansas, 36.5 miles. 

The strangest addiction of the Walther Four - LCMS-WELS-ELS-CLC (sic) - has been their intoxicated, dreamy devotion to the Church Growth Movement. Who among the Lutherans are more caustic and sanctimonious about the Calvinists than the Walther Four? Yes, you got that on the first try - Walther and his idolaters! The best anyone can say about them - is Peter Drucker remains their idol. I was hearing his nonsense already in the LCA, when they used his snore-a-thons for clergy meetings. At least the Walther Four kept God out of their reveries. It was and still is a perfume of money, buildings, praise bands, and empty sermons. 

Oh! Oh! Oh! Let's hear it from the LCMS Purple Palace - another white elephant.

I knew the Church Growth lingo before I left the Lutheran Church in America. Their evangelism meetings were besot with Fuller dogma. I found WELS even more intoxicated. The ELS and CLC (sic) were anxious to do the same and deny it, because they were so pure. Instead of confessing their doctrinal sins, they hushed up anyone who dared to mention the sacred words of Pasadena, McGavran, and Wagner. They welcomed anyone who hated Luther's Biblical doctrine and gloried in their apostasy.  As Wayne Mueller (WELS CG star) said at a youth meeting, "Evangelism is easy. All you have to do is say, You are already forgiven." 

No one wants to admit now that they wrecked their synods in the name of GROWTH!

1. They chose rah-rah language over the Means of Grace.
2. They made fun of Luther but never looked in the mirror about their fantasies.
3. They wasted money and pursued the elderly to give even more with irrevocable charitable trusts.
4. They never examined their motives and lusts.
5. They loved to kick out those who even suggested their fallibility.
6. They drove the youth out of the churches.
7. They hated the KJV and promoted the NIV-RSV-NRSV-ESV-Beck bogus Bibles.

Reformation Seminary - New Testament Greek Second Lesson - 11 AM Central

 

The Gospel of John in Greek, Traditional/Stephanus

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+1&version=TR1550

The Gospel of John, KJV

https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%201&version=KJV

John 1

1 εν αρχη ην ο λογος και ο λογος ην προς τον θεον και θεος ην ο λογος

2 ουτος ην εν αρχη προς τον θεον

3 παντα δι αυτου εγενετο και χωρις αυτου εγενετο ουδε εν ο γεγονεν

4 εν αυτω ζωη ην και η ζωη ην το φως των ανθρωπων

5 και το φως εν τη σκοτια φαινει και η σκοτια αυτο ου κατελαβεν

John 3:16f

3:16 ουτως γαρ ηγαπησεν ο θεος τον κοσμον ωστε τον υιον αυτου τον μονογενη εδωκεν ινα πας ο πιστευων εις αυτον μη αποληται αλλ εχη ζωην αιωνιον

17 ου γαρ απεστειλεν ο θεος τον υιον αυτου εις τον κοσμον ινα κρινη τον κοσμον αλλ ινα σωθη ο κοσμος δι αυτου

18 ο πιστευων εις αυτον ου κρινεται ο δε μη πιστευων ηδη κεκριται οτι μη πεπιστευκεν εις το ονομα του μονογενους υιου του θεου

All Videos - Link at the Bottom of the Masthead Area

 

This is how I felt about Zoom.

One of our members created the link to include all our videos. They are in reverse order - the newest ones at the bottom of the masthead area.

The link is - Click here for all previous YouTubes.

I was shocked to find out how easy it is to convert the Zoom file into a YouTube video. Therefore, it was easy to post the video with the worship services and with the lectures. That takes about 10 minutes after the event is over.

The posts in the left column are one way to find essays.

"Control f" is useful for finding topics.