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The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
O God, forasmuch as without Thee we are not able to please Thee, mercifully grant that Thy Holy Spirit may in all things direct and rule our hearts; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sanctus p. 26
The Lord's Prayer p. 27
The Words of Institution
The Agnus Dei p. 28
The Nunc Dimittis p. 29
The Benediction p. 31
The Hymn # 54 Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah
- Therapy, diagnosis - Kermit Way. Improvement, Pastor Jim Shrader. Callie and her parents. C.
- Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes.
- The I AM Sermons book will have a revision.
- We are working together to improve the audio - and learning a lot in the process.
- Thank you for the birthday greetings and blessings on or about my birthday.
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| Graphic by Norma A. Boeckler |
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| Graphic based on Norma Boeckler's Art |
Eighteenth Sunday After Trinity
Stumped by the Truth
KJV Matthew 22:34 But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. 35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, 36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law?
The practice of asking questions and being asked in a long-standing Jewish tradition. The rabbi asks the first three and then he is asked the final question.
Krister Standahl, the Dean of Harvard Divinity at the time, gave a lecture to Yale Divinity students. He said Christians should not try to convert Jews. Just after that, Yale's Professor Malherbe gave his class some examples of "To the Jew first and then the Gentiles." The Apostle Paul returned to his rabbinic clothing and customs to do the very thing Standahl did not approve. It might be added that the Risen Lord Jesus converted Paul, but the Harvard Dean also overlooked that.
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
One of the interesting facts is that the second has been standard in our culture and it has parallels in all religions. The rationalists think Christianity is borrowed, so that explains it. But that would mean the Lord of Creation had to be taught by religions which deny Him.
When people are afraid to ask or answer honestly about the truth, they become stumped.
So this is the fourth question, with Jesus asking the religious teachers.
This is the opening of the trap.
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 Saying, What think ye of Christ? whose son is he? They say unto him, The Son of David.
This is the opening of the trap.
I have used it many times about minor matters. "Do you expect me to pay?" The vendor says "Yes!" So I add. "You expect me to honor my word?" They say, with some emotion, "Yes we do!"
We were so created that our brains work based on truth and the consequences of truth. That is our gyroscope. Due to our fallen nature, we often skirt the issue, play verbal games, and fail to deal with the truth. But the gyroscope of God's own Creation through the Word (Logos) Jesus works to correct us.
So I ask the ultimate question, "So shouldn't I expect to honor your word?" Silence always follows as they hurry to honor their word.
The Closing of the Trinitarian Trap
43 He saith unto them, How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, 44 The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool? 45 If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
If you are like the rest of the world, including me, this question seems tricky and confusing. Jesus warned that He could phrase things so the hardened would be even more hardened. This is ideal for the college religion class, where the professor makes a joke out of the puzzle. My future wife followed the professor around, knowing he was a Harvard apostate and asked, "How can you teach these things and give Holy Communion at Salem?" (Salem in Moline is where we worshiped. He assisted in Holy Communion there.) He was embarrassed and silent.
This professor declared in class that there was no Trinity in the Bible. When I cited the Great Commission, he said, "That was put on the lips of Jesus by a later editor." (What a grasp of history! He could go back 2,000 years and separate Christ from His teaching!) That exchange made me very interested in the "problems of the Trinity in the Bible."
But wait. The Trinity is in this passage, once we look again, using a faithful translation (KJV).
The Old Testament is given to us by the Holy Spirit, and the passage Jesus quoted from David's Psalm is
KJV Psalm 110:1 The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.
God has given us the Scriptures, Old and New Testaments, through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Bible is - by far - the oldest ancient manuscript in existence. The Bible is also the most copied and translated work in the world. In fact, there is no comparison with anything else, whether Homer's Iliad or Shakespeare (Oxford).
I am not an expert in this, but the KJV uses LORD to name the godhead, and Lord in reference to Jesus. So is this not saying?...
Through the Holy Spirit, God the Father said to God the Son, Sit down at My right hand in glory until (the final consumation) I turn Your enemies into Your footstool. (paraphrased)
Someone has said, the Jewish teachers knew the Trinity, and that is entirely possible since it was taught repeatedly in their own Scriptures. What is almost comical is the denial of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in the rapidly decaying mainline (apostate) denominations.
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