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The Psalmody Psalm 14 p. 124
The Lection
Sermon Hymn # 410 Jesus Lead Thou On
The Lection
Sermon Hymn # 410 Jesus Lead Thou On
The Prayers and Lord’s Prayer p. 44
The Collect for Peace p. 45
The Benediction p. 45
Announcements and Prayers
- In treatment - Kermit Way ; Pastor Jim Shrader and Chris; Sarah Buck; the son of Dr. and Mrs. Lito Cruz.
- The new computer is going back to Best Buy in favor of something that works well.
- Those suffering from emotional and metabolic stress.
Isaiah 7:10 Moreover the Lord spake again unto Ahaz, saying, 11 Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. 12 But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord. 13 And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? 14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.
Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this.
Gospel Teaching - Both Testaments
I was reading Luther and stumbled over one of his great insights. The simple - but profound statement - Jesus is most of His work through teaching. He performed many great miracles among the crowds and alone - and He displayed additional miracles before His disciples.
However, creating even more miracles would not have been practical. The Gospel of Mark is filled with miracles, and that was a great help for those who wanted to experience God's work firsthand. And that was exhausting for Jesus who rested and prayed. The disciples were impatient to get Him back to work.
The greatest amount of reach came from Jesus teaching individuals, smaller groups, and great masses of individuals hungry for God's grace - even to the point of going out and hungering for the Word rather than the good food.
I began to think about the fake solutions today - which explain the lack of teaching.
Funny, sad, or dismaying, many denominations:
- Gourmet coffee, the pastor as a barista. (Yes Lutheran).
- Snacks during the service.
- Repairing cars - Midland Michigan.
- Expensive invited pastors, to increase the numbers who attend.
- Parking the car ministry (WELS).
- Must have a better or bigger building.
- Comparing with other congregations.
Jesus taught his disciples, small groups, and the masses. The rationalists dismiss the miracles and then find themselves fashioning their own religions based on human reason and imagination.
Our best source of teaching is the Word of God itself, preserved for all time, no matter how much people bend, twist, oppose, and ignore it. Prayer is very good and effective, and it is based on teaching from the Bible. The Holy Spirit in the Word of God is always effective in teaching us how to pray. Nothing is too small to dwell on from the Bible.
Teaching the Christian Faith comes from all points of the compass. Luther said the family is a school for character as the children grow up and learn from their parents. Christian friends are likely to teach one another in various ways. Bruce Wenger, MD PhD, wanted to know about teaching at Yale Divinity, and he gave me many Biblical insights that never left me. The same is true of four professors, during the golden age there.
The faithful are likely to have barnacles to scrape off. We may not think so until it is obvious. So we are in a constant process and learning what God teaches us through the spoken and written Word.
The only benefits come from faith in Jesus Christ. Gather all your knowledge, histories, rulers, leaders, and much more - but the Savior is the one who teaches us about Himself - the Father - and the Spirit. He is God in the Flesh - Incarnate - and serves to help us understand Him, not from guesswork or quirky theories but just the truth itself. I AM the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
