Pulpit Review: Bibles

 

VanderPool, Charles, English Translator and Editor in Chief. Apostolic Bible Polyglot (The Apostolic Bible literal interlinear translation of the Greek Old and New Testaments, The Lexical Concordance of The Apostolic Bible, and The English-Greek Index of The Apostolic Bible) Apostolic Press, 2006. pdf downloads provided. CD-ROM and bound editions available. Prices vary. http://apostolicbible.com/ (P)   ESV Single Column Legacy Bible. Wheaton: Crossway, 2012. 1664 Pages. TruTone. $49.99. www.crossway.org (P)   ESV Student Study Bible. Wheaton: Crossway, 2011. 1856 Pages. Cloth. $37.99. www.crossway.org www.esvbible.org (LHP)   The Expanded Bible. Contributing Scholars: Tremper Longman III, Mark L. Strauss, Daniel Taylor. Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2011. 1910 Pages. Cloth. $34.99. www.thomasnelsonbibles.com (P)   Jackson, Donald, Artistic Director and Illuminator. The St. John's Bible: Letters and Revelation. Collegeville, Minnesota: St. John's College/Liturgical Press, 2012. 100 pages. Cloth. $54.95. http://www.sjbible.org/    http://www.litpress.org/Detail.aspx?ISBN=9780814690574 (LHP)     Choosing a good Bible for study is important. Luther declared that his conscience was captive to the Word of God. If a given Bible is to bind a Christian's conscience as God's Word, it had better be accurate. Five editions are before you in this review.     Apostolic Bible Polyglot is an impressive resource.  Since our review copy was digital, we regrettably lost track of it for a time (unlike the books pending review sitting in foot-high stacks). We apologize for the delay since we received our copy in late summer 2010.   APOSTOLIC BIBLE DESCRIPTION The Apostolic Bible Polyglot consists of three major works – The Apostolic Bible literal interlinear translation of the Greek Old and New Testaments, The Lexical Concordance of The Apostolic Bible, and The English-Greek Index of The Apostolic Bible. These three works are numerically coded with the AB-Strong numbering system. Future plans call for an Analytical Lexicon and a Grammar to the Analytical Lexicon. Updates can be found on the website apostolicbible.com (website). This is a massive undertaking. Even taking on editing an edition of the Greek New Testament would be a daunting task. This project includes the Greek edition of the Hebrew Scriptures, a concordance, and an index. The primary resources we have reviewed focus on Greek and English. The main page of the website indicates a Portugese website, forecasting a 21st century true polyglot resource!       The above is a sample of a page from The Apostolic Bible Polyglot Old (LXX) Testament.    The Apostolic Bible Polyglot is a numerically coded Greek-English interlinear Bible with auxilliary works. Each Greek word in the text has an AB-Strong number above it and an English word below...see example above. The AB-Strong number corresponds to the numbering system of the 1242 page Apostolic Bible Polyglot Old Testament (LXX) (which does not contain the Deutero-canonicals), the 372 page Apostolic Bible Polyglot New Testament, the 366 page Lexical Concordance of The Apostolic Bible Polyglot click here, the 88 page English-Greek Index of The Apostolic Bible Polyglot click here, and the 419 page Analytical Lexicon of The Apostolic Bible Polyglot (available via the CD-ROM and Full Download only) click here. All of the above are available in the full PDF version download below or on the CD-ROM available at the BOOKSTORE. The printed edition, available on the BOOKSTORE, does not contain The Analytical Lexicon of The Apostolic Bible Polyglot (website). One could print off all of the resources and use up a lot of paper and ink, or you could make use of the pdf files on your laptop, Kindle, iPad, or tablet device. There is a wealth of scholarship to explore. Personally, there is nothing like the smell of a leather-bound hardcopy printed Bible, also available in their bookstore. Multiple hardcopy editions are available. The only difference is the cover material. Watch this project for further developments!  Crossway's Single Column Legacy Bible is an ideal reading experience!     The ESV Single Column Legacy Bible is a new text-only edition with a fresh design. Based on the Renaissance ideal of a perfect page, it features a simple, clear layout that includes wide margins. With a concordance, full-color maps in the back, and the readable ESV text, this is a quality edition that can be read and enjoyed for a lifetime (Publisher's website). I prefer text-only editions because there are far fewer human interpretations and opinions to get in the way. Pages are crisp and clean-looking. Editor-provided headings are pushed to the outside margins. Textual notes and alternate translations appear at the inside bottom of a page. Nine point type is pleasant to read.   I can personally attest to the lifetime guarantee promised by the publisher.  When the ESV translation was new, I purchased an edition whose cover wore out in the first year. It was immediately replaced. Crossway's customer service is stellar. And I have never received better packaged books in shipment from ANYONE else. Later, at the 2004 LCMS Convention, I purchased a pocket ESV edition with the same TruTone Smyth-sewn binding. I've carried it with me for every national and district convention since in addition to its regular duties as my Bible for shut-in and hospital visits. After eight years of use, I am pleased to share that it still looks nearly new. This edition should wear as well for you. When the ESV Study Bible came out, we had concerns. (Since our pdf files are temporarily unavailable, we reproduce our ESV Study Bible review here from Liturgy, Hymnody, & Pulpit Quarterly Book Review Volume 3, Issue 3, Apostles' Tide, 2009.) LHP Review ESV Study Bible. Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2008. 2768 Pages. Hardback with dustcover and online access. $49.99. www.crossway.org(LHP) During the summers of 1993 and 1994, I worked full-time as Camp Staff at the Nebraska State 4-H Camp. My study Bible went along with me, of course. Over the course of three plus months, you can get to know people rather well, especially if you live in the same house all that time. One of my coworkers had a hard time accepting the Bible as God's Word, especially when "man's word" was needed to explain it at the bottom of each page. I've never forgotten that interaction. While I still use and see the value of study Bibles in general, I too have a mistrust of "man's word." The Concordia Self-Study Bible has served me well since then, but I desired a more literal Bible translation. I rejoiced to discover the New King James, New American Standard, and English Standard Version. The ESV is now used widely in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod thanks to Lutheran Service Book, our 2006 hymnal. The CSSB was a Lutheran revision of Zondervan's NIV Study Bible. The New International Version, as a translation, was not my preferred translation for a study Bible. I was optimistic when I heard that study Bibles were in preparation that used the ESV I was disappointed by The Reformation Study Bible, which was biased toward Geneva and often hostile to the Lutheran Reformation. That volume, while using the ESV, had notes that contradicted the clear words of the ESV. The Literary Study Bible, offered by Crossway, is very useful for what it is, but its thickness alone tells you it doesn't have the depth of notes most Christians want in a general study Bible. Amid much hard work, fanfare from the proud publisher, and critical acclaim from the Evangelical Christian community, I eagerly awaited the ESV Study Bible. For the purpose of this review, I examined the ESV Bible text itself only in passing. My focus was upon all that surrounded the ESV translation. Fonts are attractive and easy to read. Nine point type is not exactly large print, but larger than in some study Bibles. Notes are in a 7 point sans serif font. One could easily tell the difference between Bible and notes. Bible books and types of literature are introduced with explanations, maps, and timelines. Color illustrations are a great addition. Tan is used as a color to highlight more important notes and to aid in reading charts. Charts and maps are found in abundance throughout. Yet, charts sometimes add to the confusion of the reader, especially when multiple views are presented (e.g., The 70 Weeks of Daniel 9, 1608). When I first read the notes on Mark 1:4-5, I noted that the commentary contradicted the clear text of Scripture. Consider: 4 f John appeared, baptizing in g the wilderness and proclaiming h a baptism of i repentance j for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, k confessing their sins. And the notes: Mark 1:4 John prepares the way by calling people to repentance (see notes on Matt. 3:2; 3:5–6): turning away from sin and turning to God for forgiveness of sins. Repentance had to precede baptism, and thus baptism was not the means by which sins were forgiven but rather was a sign indicating that one had truly repented. John labors in the wilderness as a place of purification and fulfillment of prophecy (Isa. 40:3). « Less If the ESV notes were to acknowledge that John's baptism of repentance was for (for the purpose of giving and delivering) the forgiveness of sins, the Reformed authors of the notes would HAVE to acknowledge that Holy Baptism, instituted by Christ, ALSO delivers the forgiveness of sins today. (Compare Acts 2:38. I found it troubling that the notes explaining Matthew 16:8 say that understanding "this rock" as "Peter himself" has the strongest evidence. Further notes clarify this explanation, taking up nearly half of the page (1855), but this note may give a reader a false impression that Peter was actually the first Pope. Lutherans will note a reformed numbering of the Ten Commandments throughout. (See 2552 for "You shall not murder" as the sixth commandment." That there are three numbering systems for the Ten Commandments should be explained somewhere. Numerous helpful articles on understanding Christianity and the Bible are found between Revelation and the ESV Concordance. One article on reading the Bible of note to our readers is "Reading the Bible for Preaching and Public Worship." I would have wished that this article would note how some Christians (like Lutherans) make use of sung and prayed texts as part of long-used Christian liturgies in common with usages in the Synagogue and home (Seder meal). Lutherans (Luther, Gerhard, Quenstedt) are mentioned by name in an article on Evangelical Protestantism (2620). I am able to recommend many resources by Crossway because of what we as conservative, Evangelical Reformation Christians have in common. For some reason though, people are more likely to discount theological opinions in a general hardcover or paperback than they are in a study Bible. As a Lutheran pastor, I am therefore unable to recommend the ESV Study Bible to the laypeople I serve because of the solid and consistent Reformed bias of the notes and articles. The ESV Study Bible will likely serve well its intended audience, but Lutherans probably won't purchase it in great numbers for the reasons above (and others). Unfortunately, it simply won't help me keep my pastoral ordination and installation vow "that all [my] preaching and teaching and [my] administration of the sacraments will be in conformity with Holy Scripture and with these [Lutheran] Confessions." While the ESV Study Bible is a tremendous resource due to numerous useful charts, maps, and the online access (http://www.esvstudybible.org), it will remain a supplementary, rather than primary resource on my desk. The Rev. Paul J Cain is Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School, Wyoming District Worship Chairman,  and Editor of QBR Yes, when the ESV Study Bible came out, we had concerns. When Crossway edited that volume down to the ESV Student Study Bible, many of those earlier concerns fade away.   The ESV Student Study Bible is ideally suited for students who are serious about God's Word—who want to learn more about what the Bible teaches and how the Bible applies to all of life.  With 12,000 clear, concise study notes, the ESV Student Study Bible provides numerous new features—including nearly 900 "Did You Know?" facts, 120 new Bible character profiles, and 15 new topical articles. It also features a new glossary of key terms, more than 80 full-color maps and illustrations, an extensive concordance, and 80,000 cross-references. These and many other features make it the most comprehensive, colorful, and content-rich student Bible available today. Suited to high school and college students, the ESV Student Study Bible is also a versatile resource for anyone engaged in serious study of God's Word. Created by an outstanding team of more than 100 evangelical Christian scholars, teachers, and pastors, the ESV Student Study Bible is adapted from the highly acclaimed and best-selling ESV Study Bible. With numerous new features, the ESV Student Study Bible is an invaluable resource.  For high school and college students, but equally for all students of the Bible—for everyone who loves to read and learn more about God's Word. (Publisher's website) This is what I would consider a flagship resource for Crossway. I would rank it head and shoulders above all of the print study Bibles we reviewed last December (http://lhpqbr.blogspot.com/2011/12/pulpit-review-study-bibles.html).   How does this adapted edition fare? Let's revisit some points from before. Regarding Mark 1:4, note the abbreviated version of the note from before: John prepares the way by calling people to repentance, which means turning to God for forgiveness of sins. Baptism was not the means by which sins were forgiven but rather was a sign indicating that one had truly repented. See Isa. 40:3.  This is inadequate from a Lutheran view, denying what the text itself says. The notes explaining Matthew 16:8 still say that understanding "this rock" as "Peter himself" has the strongest evidence.  Further notes clarify this explanation (1269), doing a better job than before, but not clear enough for me. Lutherans will note a reformed numbering of the Ten Commandments throughout. This remains the same.  I repeat: that there are three numbering systems for the Ten Commandments should be explained somewhere. I like the resource overall, but cannot endorse it because of issues primarily with the teaching of the Sacraments of Christ (15:29, 1 Corinthians 11:24). A Study Bible's notes should be trustworthy and bold, teaching what the text says, rather than merely explaining what different groups think the words mean. The bottom line?  The ESV Student Bible is a more concise and more trustable resource for a Lutheran Christian than the ESV Study Bible, but my preference will remain The Lutheran Study Bible (ESV).  If you're looking for a new plain-text ESV Bible, go with The ESV Single Column Legacy Bible. Pair it, or The Lutheran Study Bible (CPH) with the ESV Bible Atlas (http://lhpqbr.blogspot.com/2010/08/pulpit-review-esv-bible-atlas.html).   Thomas Nelson sent us a complimentary review copy of The Expanded Bible.    Explore the Depths of the Scriptures While You Read Expect understanding! Experience the full meaning of God's Word. The Expanded Bible has been developed by a respected team of skilled Bible translators to make God's Word easier to understand—and more relevant and real for today's Christian—with innovative expansions in the text itself that exhibit the complete meaning of each passage in its context—while you read. Perceive what God is saying in language that's easy to understand Discover the significance of each passage with helpful expansions in the text Comprehend full meaning with alternative, literal, and traditional wordings Understand the Bible's culture and setting with descriptive comments where needed Compare scripture with scripture using key cross-references Add your own expansions and observations in wide margins on every page Contributing scholars:  Tremper Longman III, Mark L. Strauss, Daniel Taylor  Also available for your eReader! (Publisher's Website)   I expected an updated version of The Amplified Bible, where the base text was the KJV descendant American Standard Version, the base text here is the New Century Version. The differences already can be predicted. The KJV, ASV, RSV, and ESV are essentially literal word-for-word translations. Since the NCV is "meaning-based," or functional-equivalent, similar to the NIV, I am already discouraged. This, I believe, is the primary weakness of The Expanded Bible. It would be a much stronger resource with a literal Bible translation as a base text.   Here's a sample: In the beginning [or In the beginning when] God created [this Hebrew verb is used only when God is the one creating] the sky [heavens] and the earth. Genesis 1:1 sounds predictably like we would expect it to. The note on "created" is helpful. Some might question how helpful "sky" is as a translation over the traditional "heavens." Reading Joshua 24:15 makes it clear that the "choice" is between to sets of pagan gods. Reading 1 Corinthians 11 on the Lord's Supper does little to clarify the Greek of the text in controverted places (diatheke, "body," et al). Understand what kind of tool this Bible is. It is not designed to be read aloud, necessarily. Unless one is skilled with leaving out all of the bracketed notes, it would sound choppy. This is a help for a Christian or pastor who doesn't know the Biblical languages and yet wishes to know the fuller range of meaning that the Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek provide.  It would serve as a reference Bible alongside another version. Instead of purchasing The Expanded Bible, I would urge a student wanting a similar tool to purchase instead a parallel column Bible with the KJV, ESV, and other translations as desired.     There is really no substitute for The Saint John's Bible. For the ESV translation, The Four Holy Gospels gives a reader a sample of what is possible in Biblical art (http://www.crossway.org/bibles/the-four-holy-gospels-1352-gltr/),  but there is no calligraphy and it only covers the four Gospel accounts. With this volume, The Saint John's Bible is now complete.   After more than twelve years, the creation of The Saint John's Bible has reached its remarkable conclusion. Renowned calligrapher and illuminator Donald Jackson has collaborated with scribes, artists, and theologians to hand-create, with stunning lettering and exquisite illustrations, the entire Bible. The complete project spans seven volumes in published form. Letters and Revelation is the final volume of the entire monumental project. It includes some of the most crucial works of all the Christian Scriptures: epistles traditionally attributed to Paul, John, Peter, James, and Jude, and the fascinating book of Revelation. Donald Jackson's artistic vision lends them a new life and vibrancy for modern readers. Letters and Revelation contains more than thirty illuminations and special text treatments. Among the stunning illuminations: And Every Tongue Should Confess (Philippians 2:5-11) includes the word "Lord" painted in gold in fourteen different languages: Armenian, Chinese, Coptic, Greek, English, French, Ge'ez (Ethiopian), German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, and Vietnamese Letter to the Seven Churches with the Heavenly Choir (Revelation 2:1-5:14), includes crosses representing several different Christian traditions and the words "Holy, Holy, Holy" written in Greek, Ge'ez (Ethiopian), and Latin The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (Revelation 6:1-8) depicts unsettling symbols of power, greed, and exploitation—military tanks, oil rigs, and nuclear power. Written and drawn entirely by hand using quills and paints hand-ground from precious minerals and stones—such as lapis lazuli, malachite, silver, and 24-karat gold— The Saint John's Bible celebrates the tradition of medieval manuscripts while embracing twenty-first-century technology to facilitate the design process and collaboration between Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, Minnesota, and Donald Jackson's scriptorium in Wales. Donald Jackson is one of the world's leading calligraphers and the artistic director and illuminator of The Saint John's Bible. He is a Senior Illuminator to the Queen of England's Crown Office. He is an elected Fellow and past Chairman of the prestigious Society of Scribes and Illuminators. His 30-year retrospective exhibition, Painting with Words, premiered at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in August 1988 and traveled to thirteen museums and galleries. A new exhibition, Illuminating the Word: The Saint John's Bible, premiered a national museum tour at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in April 2005. Exhibitions of The Saint John's Bible continue in museums around the United States and at Saint John's Abbey and University.  (Publisher's Website) I have loved the gold illumination throughout the seven volume set. Initial Capitals and Chapter Titles are stunningly beautiful in their complex simplicity.  As a Lutheran Christian, I rejoiced in the Romans 5 art treatment of "since we are justified by faith..." And I was a little surprised at what line needed to be creatively inserted from the bottom of the page, 1 Corinthians 11:25-26, "it, in remembrance of me." For as often as you eat..." Readers will observe 2 John, 3 John, and Jude viewable on a single two-page spread.  The Revelation to John is where the artists pull out all the stops. As Scripture's bookend to Genesis and the consummation and fulfillment of all things, artistic motifs first seen in the other six volumes return as parts of a greater whole. It was of great encouragement to see various crosses and tongues come together as the multitude sings "holy" (pages with Revelation 3-5). I would love to see The Saint John's Bible in person, particularly to view the reflected gold of the Revelation 21 Throne and Lamb scene. Save up if you must, but invest in the whole SJB set. God's Word is our great heritage as Christians. I take its meaning and consequences seriously, and try not to take myself too seriously. Consider the resources reviewed here as you dig deeper into the riches of Holy Scripture.     The Rev. Paul J Cain is Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School, Yellowstone Circuit Visitor (LCMS Wyoming District), a member of the Board of Directors of The Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education, Wyoming District Worship Chairman, and Editor of QBR.

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LHP Review: Repentance

 

Selvaggio, Anthony. 7 Toxic Ideas Polluting Your Mind. Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company, 2011. 127 Pages. Paper. $11.99. www.prpbooks.com (LHP)   Sabella, Casey. Titanic Warning: Could this disaster have been prevented? Green Forest, AR: New Leaf Press, 1994, 1998. 175 Pages. Paper. $9.99. www.nlpg.com (LHP)     Two titles recently crossed our desk providing us (and our readers) with multiple reasons to repent.     Two conflicting worldviews, Christian and non-Christian, are in constant friction. Unfortunately, Christians are often unaware when they adopt non-Christian ideas. This book examines seven non-Christian ideas that cripple the Christian mind. (Publisher's website) What are the seven toxic ideas? Ideas to Idolatry: Ideas Have Consequences Technopoly: The iPod Nation Neophilia: "History Is Bunk" Egalitarianism: "We're All in Charge" Individualism: "Every Man Is an Island" Materialism: All That Matters Is Matter Consumerism: "Shop Till You Drop" Relativism: "What Is Truth?" I appreciate Selvaggio's approach to begin with the individual. Individuals can then positively impact families, congregations, communities, and nations. And it is never a bad idea for individual Christians to repent. Then we can see clearly to take the log out of the eye of another. Yes, given the positive aspects of technopoly, 7 Toxic Ideas is available on Kindle.  Given the temptations of neophilia, materialism, and consumerism, I still recommend that our readers read and prayerfully consider the consequences of these seven toxic ideas.  The book, however, is non-toxic. :) (Smile) In the year of the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic, New Leaf Press brought the following book to our attention.     Near midnight, the heralded and huge White Star liner Titanic, her invincibility never before in question, is a tiny speck on a vast ocean. Four days out on a much-anticipated maiden voyage, the luxury vessel has been fatally grazed by an iceberg. Labeled unsinkable by an adoring public, Titanic will plunge beneath the cold waters of the North Atlantic in under three hours. In Titanic Warning, author Casey Sabella blends a vivid re-telling of the disaster with commentary on the state of the modern-day Church and the lack of commitment to discipling the masses. How did three ships in the vicinity, called upon to rescue the 2500 stranded souls, reflect real personalities in the modern age? Are we prideful like the Titanic? Are we indifferent to the cries of humanity, like the Californian, or do we launch a rescue like the Carpathia? Does the burden to help urge us to escape from it all, like the Samson? The questions are personal, the answers, crucial. Will we heed the warning to put salvation before gleaming monuments? May God help us board the right ship! STUDY AND DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AT THE END OF EACH CHAPTER. (Publisher's website) Casey Sabella interprets the story of Titanic, Californian, Carpathia, and the previously-unknown-to-me-ship-on-the-scene Samson like a parable. I could imagine using brief portions of chapters of this book as sermon illustrations.   The author's theological language was like reading another dialect at some moments, but this Lutheran reader tracked along with what he meant. I particularly liked his use of Matthew 18 for restoring relationships in the Church. Titanic has an appeal that may get some readers to pick up this book of warning when they wouldn't normally read much Christian theology.     Titanic Warning and 7 Toxic Ideas Polluting Your Mind turned my thoughts to the Lord's work in Holy Baptism, especially as the topic is taught by Dr. Luther in his Small Catechism: Fourth What does such baptizing with water indicate? It indicates that the Old Adam in us should by daily contrition and repentance be drowned and die with all sins and evil desires, and that a new man should daily emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever. Where is this written? St. Paul writes in Romans, chapter six: "We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life." Romans 6:4      The Rev. Paul J Cain is Pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church, Sheridan, Wyoming, Headmaster of Martin Luther Grammar School, Yellowstone Circuit Visitor (LCMS Wyoming District), a member of the Board of Directors of The Consortium for Classical and Lutheran Education, Wyoming District Worship Chairman, and Editor of QBR.

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FW: What is decision theology?

 

Clarity…   Feed: Steadfast Lutherans Posted on: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 9:11 AM Author: Pastor Shawn Stafford Subject: What is decision theology?   What is decision theology? Decision theology is the teaching that a person is saved and born-again when he makes a decision to accept Jesus Christ. To come to faith, a moment of decision must be made by the individual sinner. In this way, they are contributing to their own salvation. You may hear invitations such as: "If you would like to begin to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ right now, right where you are, you need only ask Him…" "Jesus is knocking at the door of your heart. You need only to let Him in." "Inviting Jesus into your life is the most important decision you will ever make." What are the problems with decision theology? By teaching that someone comes to faith by making their own decision, decision theology denies the effects of original sin. The fall of Adam and Eve into sin has left our minds so clouded that we don't know what God's will is or desire to do what is pleasing to God. The effects of original sin are so severe that Paul says, "you were dead in your transgressions and sin" (Eph 2:1). Not only are we unable to do anything pleasing to God, but we are enemies of God. "The sinful mind is hostile to God" (Rom. 8:7). How, then, could we make a decision for Christ? Another problem with decision theology is that it gives human beings part of the credit for their conversion. God does His part, and we do ours, by deciding to accept His gift of salvation. The Bible tells us that we are saved by grace alone. Even faith is a gift from God. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). How, then, are we brought to faith? We are not brought to faith by our own free will. Instead, we are "born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). God chooses us, not the other way around. As Jesus says, "You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you" (John 15:16). Conversion is God's work. "No one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit" (1Corinthians 12:3). How are we born again? Jesus tells us that this rebirth occurs through the Holy Spirit's work in Holy Baptism. "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God" (John 3:5). In Holy Baptism, we are brought to faith and God's gifts of forgiveness, eternal life, and salvation become ours. All of this is ours by God's grace! We are saved, "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5). Lutherans joyfully confess the truth that although we are unable to make a decision for Jesus because of our sinful nature, God has chosen us and brought us to faith through the work of the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacrament. In the words of Luther's explanation to the Apostles' Creed, "I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength, believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; But the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith." View article...

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FW: Theology Of Glory Vs.Theology Of The Cross

 

Tchividjian…   Feed: Tullian Tchividjian Posted on: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 8:32 AM Author: Tullian Tchividjian Subject: Theology Of Glory Vs.Theology Of The Cross   Below is an excerpt from my forthcoming book Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free It is not exactly breaking news to say that our culture has an aversion to suffering, regardless of how inescapable it may be. This is because we—you and me—have an aversion to suffering. Who wants to suffer? But the conscious avoidance of pain is one thing; the complete intolerance, or outright denial of it, is another. Why do we run so hard from something so inexorable, so much so that we often make the painful situation even worse? Setbacks fly in the face of our dearly held beliefs about progress. They rub against the grain of our collective obsession with personal control, that is, our sin. Celebrated American novelist Jonathan Franzen put it this way: We have this notion in this country, not only of endless economic growth but of endless personal growth. I have a certain characterological antipathy to the notion of we're all getting better and better all the time. And it's so clearly belied by our experience. You may get better in certain ways for 10 years, but one day you wake up and although things are a little bit different, they're not a lot different. It's true. Despite the inevitability of suffering, everything in our culture points toward progress, progress, progress. And I'm not just talking about classic rock anthems like The Beatles' "Getting Better," or Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop." Unfortunately, our churches often espouse a Christianized version of this gospel of progress, framing the life of belief as primarily about personal improvement. What may start out as a faithful by-product of Christian belief soon becomes its focal point, inadvertently serving as the foothold for Original Sin, aka the innate God complex hiding within us all. Such is the default curved-in-on-itself position of the human heart, or what Augustine termed incurvatus in se. Perhaps you've heard this tendency expressed as a legalistic formula: "The reason for suffering and the lack of abundant life among Christians is due to lack of faith. Or, if you fall ill or come upon hard times financially, maybe it's because there's a hidden skeleton in your closet that needs to be confessed and exposed." Sadly, such thinking has also seeped into our evangelism: "Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and all your dreams will come true"—despite the fact that the general tenor of the New Testament suggests increased suffering for believers, not decreased. Which isn't to say that Christians never experience victory over areas of compulsive sin and brokenness. They certainly do! But as beautiful and miraculous as these thanksgivings may be, they are not the gospel. In fact, the thinking that ties suffering to faithlessness actually is in the Bible—but it's not affirmed, it's condemned! What is affirmed, however, is God working through our afflictions. This is where Martin Luther, the great leader of the Protestant Reformation, comes in. One of his most important and lasting contributions to the faith involves the distinction between the "theology of glory" and the "theology of the cross." These two divergent views did not originate with Luther. They are as old as the hills; he simply gave them names. It may sound like an esoteric distinction, but it is just as essential today as it was in the sixteenth century. "Theologies of glory" are approaches to Christianity (and to life) that try in various ways to minimize difficult and painful things, or to move past them rather than looking them square in the face and accepting them. Theologies of glory acknowledge the cross, but view it primarily as a means to an end—an unpleasant but necessary step on the way to personal improvement, the transformation of human potential. As Luther puts it, the theologian of glory "does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and, in general, good to evil." The theology of glory is the natural default setting for human beings addicted to control and measurement. This perspective puts us squarely in the driver's seat, after all. One way to understand this dynamic is to look at the ways people talk about painful experiences. If someone has just undergone an ugly, protracted divorce, for example, he or she might say something like, "Well, it was never a good marriage anyway," or "But I've really learned a lot from this whole experience." This kind of rationalization tries to make something bad sound like it is good. It is a strategy to avoid looking pain and grief directly in the face, to avoid acknowledging that we wish life were different but are powerless to change it. In the church, one hallmark of a theology of glory is the unwillingness to acknowledge the reality of ongoing sin and lack of transformation in Christians. A sign that you are operating with a theology of glory is when your faith feels like a fight against these realities instead of a resource for accepting them. The English poet W. H. Auden captured it beautifully when he wrote, We would rather die in dread / Than climb the cross of the moment / And let our illusions die. A theology of the cross, in contrast, understands the cross to be the ultimate statement of God's involvement in the world on this side of heaven. A theology of the cross accepts the difficult thing rather than immediately trying to change it or use it. It looks directly into pain, and "calls a thing what it is" instead of calling evil good and good evil. It identifies God as "hidden in [the] suffering." Luther actually took things one key step further. He said that God was not only hidden in suffering, but He was at work in our anxiety and doubt. When you are at the end of your rope—when you no longer have hope within yourself—that is when you run to God for mercy. It's admittedly difficult to accept the claim that God is somehow hidden amid all of the wreckage of our lives. But those who are willing to struggle and despair may in actuality be those among us who best understand the realities of the Christian life. A theology of the cross defines life in terms of giving rather than taking, self-sacrifice rather than self-protection, dying rather than killing. It reorients us away from our natural inclination toward a theology of glory by showing that we win by losing, we triumph through defeat, and we become rich by giving ourselves away. Of course, our inner theologian of glory can be counted on to try to hijack the theology of the cross and make it a new, more reliable scheme for self-improvement. But the theology of the cross happens to us and in spite of us. For the suffering person, this is a word of profound hope. To avoid confusion, a quick word about the term glory. It is indeed a biblical word that has its appropriate use. I am aiming to untangle the myriad ways we fuse God's glory with our own glory. So the "glory" in the theology of glory is human glory focusing on human effort intended to earn God's favor or exalt human achievement. The late great Lutheran theologian Gerhard Forde put it like this: A theology of glory … operates on the assumption that what we need is optimistic encouragement, some flattery, some positive thinking, some support to build our self-esteem. Theologically speaking it operates on the assumption that we are not seriously addicted to sin, and that our improvement is both necessary and possible. We need a little boost in our desire to do good works…. But the hallmark of a theology of glory is that it will always consider grace as something of a supplement to whatever is left of human will and power. In the theology of glory, life becomes a ladder. Each little victory or improvement brings us one rung closer to the top—which is always just out of sight. At death, if all goes according to plan, we will enter the heavenly courts with a nicely wrapped gift for God that includes an equitable balance of our good versus bad actions, our moral scorecard, if you will. This image may seem ridiculous, but if we're honest, it characterizes more of our religious life and mentality than we would care to admit. As we tell ourselves this story, we communicate that God exists for our benefit, happiness, self-fulfillment, and personal transformation. Those aren't necessarily bad things, and God isn't necessarily opposed to them, but God in Christ cannot be reduced to a means to our selfish ends. He is the end Himself! The house of religious cards "that glory built" collapses when we inevitably encounter unforeseen pain and suffering. When the economy tanks and you lose your job of thirty years, or when, God forbid, your child gets into a car accident (or is exposed to something damaging). When you simply can't keep your mouth shut about your in-laws even though you promised you would. When the waters rise and the levee breaks. Suddenly, the mask comes off, and the glory road reaches a dead end. We come to the end of ourselves, in other words, to our ruin, to our knees, to the place where if we are to find any help or comfort, it must come from somewhere outside of us. Much to our surprise, this is the precise place where the good news of the gospel—that God did for you what you couldn't do for yourself—finally makes sense. It finally sounds good! Yet the message hasn't changed, and neither have the facts. They were there all along. Indeed, He was there all along. It might even be that He is communicating the same thing He communicated once for all on Calvary, what Fyodor Dostoyevsky paraphrased so beautifully in the fourth chapter of The Brothers Karamazov: "You will burn and you will burn out; you will be healed and come back again." View article...

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FW: But is is true?

 

Food for though…   Feed: Pastoral Meanderings Posted on: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 5:00 AM Author: noreply@blogger.com (Pastor Peters) Subject: But is is true?   It has become fashionable to say that the "traditional" church (liturgical, confessional, etc.) cannot reach people at risk in our world today, would not welcome the kind of people Jesus came for, and is not able to lead the Church in this "post-Christian" age.  I have heard this repeatedly from a whole variety of sources, in District and Synod, in print and person, in public and private.  To be honest, I am getting a little sick of the whole darn thing.  It is not true.  I am not saying that the "traditional" (hate that word) church or mission starts WILL reach the marginalized but I am saying it is a falsehood, indeed, a lie, to say they CANNOT. My congregation is hopelessly traditional with nary a drum set or praise band around.  We have a weekly sung Eucharist with smells and bells and all the trappings.  We also have men with pony tails, men and women with tattoos, and people with checkered pasts who have said and done enough to curl your nose hairs.  But the come.  They come with the folks in suits and dresses, with squeaky clean (at least on the outside) and ordinary lives.  They into this liturgical and confessional congregation and to many, many others like mine.  The marginalized are not only served by the "non-traditional" churches touted for their creative, effective, and successful face of the future (vs the face of the past in those "traditional" churches). The issue is not "trad vs non-trad" but our confidence in the Word of God.  Will God do what He has promised through the means He has ordained?  I know of congregations that are on the "traditional", liturgical, dare I say, high church, side of the divide and they regularly and effectively reach the disillusioned youth, the disaffected poor, the tattooed and pierced with their anti-establishment rebellion.  They key is not methodology but confidence in the Word and courage to speak boldly that Word of rescue and hope in Christ. My fear is that we have talked ourselves into believing the lie that only those on the fringes of the Church can reach those on the fringes of society.  Baloney.  Praise bands and light beards and singing divas and screens and warehouse buildings are hardly radical anymore.  They are normal.  They have become the face (the most public face) of Christianity from mainline to non-denominational.  The rad Christian identity is more the face of liturgy, chanting, kneeling, incense, etc.    My fear is that we are so enamored with the methodology that we no longer even think in terms of the means of grace, so confident of what we can do that we no longer are dependent upon that which God has promised to do. If there is any success in the work of the Kingdom, it is God's work in His Word.  If there is anything hindering us from that success, it is not our setting (churchly) nor our worship (liturgical) nor our confession (Lutheran) but our lack of confidence in the means of grace and our substitution of wisdom of men for the Wisdom of God. Finally, another note...  I would remind us that not everyone who is unchurched is a rebel with tats and piercings and strange hair and anti-establishment.  Not everyone outside the Church is a former or current addict, prostitute, satan worshiper, or biker.  Many if not most of the folks not yet of the Kingdom of God (at least here in the USA) look a great deal like the folks already there in the pews -- thoroughly average and ordinary.  That does not mean we pick and choose whom we will seek and what folks are more attentive to our mission.  It means that we scatter the Word and sleep and rise and God does all the rest.  We receive those in whom He has planted faith and we nurture that faith with the only tools we have to grow faith -- the Word and the Sacraments.  And God makes it grow... brings forth its fruit... and raises up the harvest...  really, He does!! The mission of the Church is not to create an "island of misfit toys" for those who do not fit in elsewhere.  The Church is by definition THE "island of misfit toys" wherein God's grace heals, restores, redeems, and directs to eternity those for whom Christ has died. View article...

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FW: Theology Of Glory Vs.Theology Of The Cross

Tchividjian…

 

Feed: Tullian Tchividjian
Posted on: Tuesday, July 10, 2012 8:32 AM
Author: Tullian Tchividjian
Subject: Theology Of Glory Vs.Theology Of The Cross

 

Below is an excerpt from my forthcoming book Glorious Ruin: How Suffering Sets You Free It is not exactly breaking news to say that our culture has an aversion to suffering, regardless of how inescapable it may be. This is because we—you and me—have an aversion to suffering. Who wants to suffer? But the conscious avoidance of pain is one thing; the complete intolerance, or outright denial of it, is another. Why do we run so hard from something so inexorable, so much so that we often make the painful situation even worse? Setbacks fly in the face of our dearly held beliefs about progress. They rub against the grain of our collective obsession with personal control, that is, our sin. Celebrated American novelist Jonathan Franzen put it this way: We have this notion in this country, not only of endless economic growth but of endless personal growth. I have a certain characterological antipathy to the notion of we're all getting better and better all the time. And it's so clearly belied by our experience. You may get better in certain ways for 10 years, but one day you wake up and although things are a little bit different, they're not a lot different. It's true. Despite the inevitability of suffering, everything in our culture points toward progress, progress, progress. And I'm not just talking about classic rock anthems like The Beatles' "Getting Better," or Fleetwood Mac's "Don't Stop." Unfortunately, our churches often espouse a Christianized version of this gospel of progress, framing the life of belief as primarily about personal improvement. What may start out as a faithful by-product of Christian belief soon becomes its focal point, inadvertently serving as the foothold for Original Sin, aka the innate God complex hiding within us all. Such is the default curved-in-on-itself position of the human heart, or what Augustine termed incurvatus in se. Perhaps you've heard this tendency expressed as a legalistic formula: "The reason for suffering and the lack of abundant life among Christians is due to lack of faith. Or, if you fall ill or come upon hard times financially, maybe it's because there's a hidden skeleton in your closet that needs to be confessed and exposed." Sadly, such thinking has also seeped into our evangelism: "Accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior, and all your dreams will come true"—despite the fact that the general tenor of the New Testament suggests increased suffering for believers, not decreased. Which isn't to say that Christians never experience victory over areas of compulsive sin and brokenness. They certainly do! But as beautiful and miraculous as these thanksgivings may be, they are not the gospel. In fact, the thinking that ties suffering to faithlessness actually is in the Bible—but it's not affirmed, it's condemned! What is affirmed, however, is God working through our afflictions. This is where Martin Luther, the great leader of the Protestant Reformation, comes in. One of his most important and lasting contributions to the faith involves the distinction between the "theology of glory" and the "theology of the cross." These two divergent views did not originate with Luther. They are as old as the hills; he simply gave them names. It may sound like an esoteric distinction, but it is just as essential today as it was in the sixteenth century. "Theologies of glory" are approaches to Christianity (and to life) that try in various ways to minimize difficult and painful things, or to move past them rather than looking them square in the face and accepting them. Theologies of glory acknowledge the cross, but view it primarily as a means to an end—an unpleasant but necessary step on the way to personal improvement, the transformation of human potential. As Luther puts it, the theologian of glory "does not know God hidden in suffering. Therefore he prefers works to suffering, glory to the cross, strength to weakness, wisdom to folly, and, in general, good to evil." The theology of glory is the natural default setting for human beings addicted to control and measurement. This perspective puts us squarely in the driver's seat, after all. One way to understand this dynamic is to look at the ways people talk about painful experiences. If someone has just undergone an ugly, protracted divorce, for example, he or she might say something like, "Well, it was never a good marriage anyway," or "But I've really learned a lot from this whole experience." This kind of rationalization tries to make something bad sound like it is good. It is a strategy to avoid looking pain and grief directly in the face, to avoid acknowledging that we wish life were different but are powerless to change it. In the church, one hallmark of a theology of glory is the unwillingness to acknowledge the reality of ongoing sin and lack of transformation in Christians. A sign that you are operating with a theology of glory is when your faith feels like a fight against these realities instead of a resource for accepting them. The English poet W. H. Auden captured it beautifully when he wrote, We would rather die in dread / Than climb the cross of the moment / And let our illusions die. A theology of the cross, in contrast, understands the cross to be the ultimate statement of God's involvement in the world on this side of heaven. A theology of the cross accepts the difficult thing rather than immediately trying to change it or use it. It looks directly into pain, and "calls a thing what it is" instead of calling evil good and good evil. It identifies God as "hidden in [the] suffering." Luther actually took things one key step further. He said that God was not only hidden in suffering, but He was at work in our anxiety and doubt. When you are at the end of your rope—when you no longer have hope within yourself—that is when you run to God for mercy. It's admittedly difficult to accept the claim that God is somehow hidden amid all of the wreckage of our lives. But those who are willing to struggle and despair may in actuality be those among us who best understand the realities of the Christian life. A theology of the cross defines life in terms of giving rather than taking, self-sacrifice rather than self-protection, dying rather than killing. It reorients us away from our natural inclination toward a theology of glory by showing that we win by losing, we triumph through defeat, and we become rich by giving ourselves away. Of course, our inner theologian of glory can be counted on to try to hijack the theology of the cross and make it a new, more reliable scheme for self-improvement. But the theology of the cross happens to us and in spite of us. For the suffering person, this is a word of profound hope. To avoid confusion, a quick word about the term glory. It is indeed a biblical word that has its appropriate use. I am aiming to untangle the myriad ways we fuse God's glory with our own glory. So the "glory" in the theology of glory is human glory focusing on human effort intended to earn God's favor or exalt human achievement. The late great Lutheran theologian Gerhard Forde put it like this: A theology of glory … operates on the assumption that what we need is optimistic encouragement, some flattery, some positive thinking, some support to build our self-esteem. Theologically speaking it operates on the assumption that we are not seriously addicted to sin, and that our improvement is both necessary and possible. We need a little boost in our desire to do good works…. But the hallmark of a theology of glory is that it will always consider grace as something of a supplement to whatever is left of human will and power. In the theology of glory, life becomes a ladder. Each little victory or improvement brings us one rung closer to the top—which is always just out of sight. At death, if all goes according to plan, we will enter the heavenly courts with a nicely wrapped gift for God that includes an equitable balance of our good versus bad actions, our moral scorecard, if you will. This image may seem ridiculous, but if we're honest, it characterizes more of our religious life and mentality than we would care to admit. As we tell ourselves this story, we communicate that God exists for our benefit, happiness, self-fulfillment, and personal transformation. Those aren't necessarily bad things, and God isn't necessarily opposed to them, but God in Christ cannot be reduced to a means to our selfish ends. He is the end Himself! The house of religious cards "that glory built" collapses when we inevitably encounter unforeseen pain and suffering. When the economy tanks and you lose your job of thirty years, or when, God forbid, your child gets into a car accident (or is exposed to something damaging). When you simply can't keep your mouth shut about your in-laws even though you promised you would. When the waters rise and the levee breaks. Suddenly, the mask comes off, and the glory road reaches a dead end. We come to the end of ourselves, in other words, to our ruin, to our knees, to the place where if we are to find any help or comfort, it must come from somewhere outside of us. Much to our surprise, this is the precise place where the good news of the gospel—that God did for you what you couldn't do for yourself—finally makes sense. It finally sounds good! Yet the message hasn't changed, and neither have the facts. They were there all along. Indeed, He was there all along. It might even be that He is communicating the same thing He communicated once for all on Calvary, what Fyodor Dostoyevsky paraphrased so beautifully in the fourth chapter of The Brothers Karamazov: "You will burn and you will burn out; you will be healed and come back again."

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FW: Steadfast in Song — Introduction

 

Mark Preus…   Feed: Steadfast Lutherans Posted on: Sunday, July 08, 2012 4:09 PM Author: Pastor Mark Preus Subject: Steadfast in Song — Introduction   There are lots of reasons to sing.  Our culture has become so degenerate that there are very few places where people sing together anymore.  I've heard it said that the only time men sing today is if they're trying to impress a girl or if they're drunk at a Karaoke bar. It's been like that before.  Paul says in Ephesians 5, "And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God." Paul's culture moved towards Christianity.  Ours is moving away from it.  We see Christian churches emulating the music of a culture which knows hardly anything of singing together.  But the reason we Christians sing what we sing in Church is twofold, and the song of the Christmas angels teaches us this.  "Glory be to God on high, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men."  What gives God glory gives sinners peace."  We sing to God, and we sing for our neighbor.  Now we ourselves obviously benefit from our singing, but this doesn't mean that we sing for ourselves primarily.  It is a joy to praise God and serve our neighbor. The praise of God is a sacrifice (Hebrews 13:15).  The sacrifices God commanded in the Old Testament never benefited God.  They benefited people.  The priests would get food from the sacrifice, friends would eat of the sacrifice, and the faithful were taught about the coming Christ from the sacrifice. Our sacrifices of praise teach our neighbor.  This is how Paul views singing.  He says in Colossians 3 words similar to what he says in Ephesians 5, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord." We teach when we sing!  Our sacrifices are full of doctrine, instruction, teaching!  Our singing isn't an elated experience to conjure up out of people.  Our songs aren't sung to evince some euphoric ecstasy from those who hear them.  Our hymns are teaching and they are a sacrifice given to God, for our neighbor.  They are an act of love.  God desires mercy, not sacrifice, and so he doesn't need to hear our praises.  He loves to hear our praises when they benefit our neighbor, and when we, as Christ's holy people, are comforted and drawn closer together. Paul Gerhardt I remember once walking to the communion rail at St. John Lutheran Church in Topeka, KS.  I was fretting over some individual sin and getting really confused about it as I approached the altar.  But as I was standing in line I heard the congregation sing with clarity and beauty these stanzas from Paul Gerhardt's wonderful baptism hymn, You were before your day of birth, Indeed, from your conception, Condemned and lost with all the earth, None good, without exception. For like your parents' flesh and blood, Turned inward from the highest good, You constantly denied Him.   What a depressing verse!  But it was an admonishment I needed.  I needed to know that I was a sinner by nature, and that everybody else was here for the same reason as I was.  It wasn't about me trying to get rid of one individual sin.  It was about me being a sinner in need of a Savior of sinners.  Then I remembered the words of the catechism, "He is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words, 'Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.'"  And I went and received the sacrament worthily, believing that it was for me. Never underestimate the power of song.  We don't despair of God's blessings.  Our culture despises children, but does that stop us from thanking God for them?  So even though our culture despises the blessings of hymnody God gave to his church, God doesn't.  He knows how precious it is.  He gave it to help us, and it does.  God grant that our sacrifices might be pleasing to God through faith working in love for our neighbor. I like to encourage hymn-writing, and I enjoy it myself. If you're interested, here is a link to my most recent one: http://revivelutheranhymns.blogspot.com/2012/07/dont-worry-be-happy-trinity-5-luke-51.html Associate Editor's Note:  With this posting we welcome Pastor Mark Preus to the regular crew of contributors here at BJS.  Pastor Preus is the son of Pastor Rolf Preus and Dort Preus and also the brother of Andrew who all write here as well.  Pastor Preus will be writing in a category of "Steadfast in Song" and will contribute to our articles on worship, hymnody and all things liturgical.  Here is some more about Pastor Mark Preus: Mark Preus is pastor at Faith Lutheran Church in Wylie, TX.  He is a 2008 graduate of CTS in Ft. Wayne.  He and his wife Becky have five children with another on the way.  He learned to love hymns singing them with his mom and dad around the dinner table and before going to bed.  He has been writing and translating hymns since his college days at University Lutheran Chapel at the University of MN.  He sporadically maintains a blog called Lutheran Hymn Revival. View article...

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FW: Christian Freedom for Sale!! Wait, that didn’t come out right.

 

Recently Reviewed…   Feed: Cyberbrethren Lutheran Blog Feed Posted on: Thursday, July 05, 2012 8:07 AM Author: Paul T. McCain Subject: Christian Freedom for Sale!! Wait, that didn't come out right.   Let me rephrase, "The book by Martin Luther, titled, Christian Freedom, is being offered right now by Concordia Publishing House for a very good price, only $6.99 and if you or a congregation or group you know buy at least ten copies, you will get it for only $5.99 a copy." This is a new translation of Luther's classic work The Freedom of a Christian Man. This little book really epitomizes Luther's great Reformation breakthrough in which he rediscovered the Gospel and brought it back, front and center, into the Church's life.  Click on the text below, in red, to go to the web page to place your order. Discounts only good from July 1st to August 1st. Use Promotional code LFM on the checkout screen. 1-9 copies only $6.99 each! 10+ only $5.99 each! In Luther's day, the precious message of Christian freedom was readily misunderstood by those whose focus was on the things of this world rather than Christ and the cross. Luther was not a politician; he was a pastor who found real freedom in the Gospel. Christian Freedom: Faith Working through Love is the most comprehensive, well-rounded version of this classic writing. A new translation using the longer official version. Includes a nine paragraph "addition" on ceremonies, the Latin version only runs 73 paragraphs in the Weimar edition. Offers an understanding of Christian freedom based on the Bible, as Luther intended. Connects the challenges of Christian life with Scripture, with salvation in Christ, with freedom in the Gospel, and with the way a Christian can make God-pleasing choices in life. Melanchthon's summary on freedom. A forty-day reading plan that will guide the reader through Luther's teaching on Christian freedom. This schedule may be followed at any time or during the forty days of Lent, beginning on Ash Wednesday, which makes an excellent plan for congregational reflection. Introductory notes, illustrations, and glossaries help these classic writings become meaningful in today's world.   View article...

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FW: Checklists in the Ministry

 

Helpful…   Feed: Gottesdienst Online Posted on: Thursday, July 05, 2012 9:12 AM Author: Jason Braaten Subject: Checklists in the Ministry   Earlier this year, I read this book review of The Checklist Manifesto. "Checklists seem able to defend everyone, even the experienced, against failure in many more tasks than we realized. They provide a kind of cognitive net. They catch mental flaws." And this is really the major point. Checklists help people get done what needs to get done without as many mistakes. Consider for example packing lists, grocery lists, recipes. These are just checklists. Now I could do all of these things without, but when I do I usually forget something. And that's what we're trying to avoid. We're trying to avoid missing something. We don't want to have to reinvent the wheel every time. So we make lists of what needs to be done. There are some things that we do as pastors that can benefit from a checklist. This is one of the points behind Fr. Curtis's post on Concerning Pulpit Supply. Another of these things is funerals. Funerals require a lot of components. And this can be difficult to remember because you can't always plan for when they are coming. A well-made checklist can relieve you of the stress that comes with the  thought: I hope I'm not forgetting anything. So here is a checklist that Fr. Christopher Seifferlein has made for funerals. Part of his checklist includes what readings to use with the family at different stages and what to focus on. Having prefabbed sermon outlines like this can be very helpful for when you are on your way to visit the grieving family and you're thinking to yourself: "Um, what do I say? What am I going to talk about?" The LSB Agenda and the Pastoral Care Companion help a lot, but they don't do it all. You still have times when you're expected to say something that isn't from the book. So spend a few minutes now going through a few of the suggested texts for "At the Visitation," "For Those In Grief," etc, and put together a short outline of what you say when you visit them. (I have done this for hospital visits. I have something I do for my first visit, second, and then returning home, something for pre-surgery and post-surgery, etc. I don't always stick to it because I also use the propers for the week. But having it there takes the pressure off in case I get a midnight call or something.) Anyway here is the list: Funeral Checklist Before Funeral Home Pray for the deceased and for the family Pull File and/or Church Records Determine age of deceased:  ____ Arrange the ringing of the church bell Call church organist to determine availability Determine time and date of funeral home meeting: ________________ At Funeral Home Readings & Prayer-Discuss the theological purpose of the funeral Widow at Nain-Remembrance, Grief, Burial, Words of Christ (Why are we here, what are we here for, my role) Determine the time and date of service:____________ Determine organist arrangements Discuss placement of casket during visitation (narthex or at the front of the nave) Determine how many pews to reserve on each side of church. Explain Funeral Pall its use symbolism, request assistance from pall bearers if so desired Determine cemetery where burial will take place Discuss the families wishes regarding the desire to stay by the cemetery until the casket is lowered. Request Favorite Hymn & Reading Selections from Family Determine meal and menu arrangements.  Give name/# of individual to call for luncheon to funeral director Determine the number of people expected for the service: ____ Determine the number of people expected for the luncheon: ____ After Funeral Home Call Elders/arrange Elder(s) to assist with funeral Call Head of Luncheon Committee (Carol Navis) Call Cemetery Sexton (Bob Navis) Call janitor and arrange for church to be cleaned before and after the service In Preparation for Service Determine Readings Determine Hymns Call and relate service information to organist Complete Bulletin Liturgy Preparation Sermon Preparation Prepare Wake Readings/Prayer-Theme: "Jesus In Remembrance of Me," or "Upper Room." Prepare Pre-Service Readings/Prayer-Mary/Martha-Sustained by Jesus Words On the day of the funeral Meet with elder to go through the service: ringing of the bell at the beginning of the service, ringing of the bell at the end of the service   Meet with organist to go through the service including the execution of the prelude/postlude Meet with Funeral Director to go through the service including placement of the casket, funeral pall Get out the funeral pall After Funeral Service Put Death Date in Computer Put dates on computer to call the deceased Fold up funeral pall Put Funeral on Official Acts of the next Council Meeting Use this as a starting point. Not every place is the same, so you will have to adjust it for your circumstances. But it's a great start. And the likely hood of you forgetting something, will be smaller. View article...

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