Septuagesima Sunday, 2022.

Septuagesima Sunday, 2021

 

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

 

Bethany Lutheran Worship, 

10 AM Central Time 

The Hymn #413        I Walk in Danger                                 

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution

The Introit p. 16

The sorrows of death compassed me: the sorrows of hell compassed me about.

In my distress I called upon the Lord: and He heard my voice out of His temple.

Psalm. I will love Thee, O Lord, my Strength: the Lord is my Rock and my Fortress.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation

The Collect p. 19

O Lord, we beseech Thee favorably to hear the prayers of Thy people that we, who are justly punished for our offenses, may be mercifully delivered by Thy goodness, for the glory of Thy name; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Savior, who liveth etc:

The Epistle

The Gradual

The Lord will be a Refuge for the oppressed, a Refuge in times of trouble: and they that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee; for Thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek Thee.

V. For the needy shall not alway be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish forever. Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail.

Tract. Out of the depths have I cried unto Thee, O Lord: Lord, hear my voice.

V. Let Thine ears be attentive: to the voice of my supplications.

V. If Thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities: O Lord, who shall stand?

V. But there is forgiveness with Thee: that Thou mayest be feared.

       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
Hymn # 479        Zion Rise                     

 

 

The Hymn # 652          I Lay My Sins on Jesus                              

The Preface p. 24
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 # 199            Jesus Christ Is Risen Today

 

Prayers and Announcements

• In treatment, Pastor Jim Shrader, Chris Shrader.
• Our country, our elected President, our military justice system.
• Those who spread the Gospel by Word, by art, by voice, by service.

Hans Brorson - "I Walk in Danger." He was a Danish Pietist known for this hymn and often associated with Thomas Kingo and Nicholai Grundtvig. He wrote the ethereal "Behold a Host Arrayed in White" and "Thy Little Ones, Dear Lord, Are We." Over 100 of his hymns are in the Danish hymnal.

 

 

1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.  25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.  26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:  27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway. 10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;  2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;  4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

 

KJV Matthew 20:1 For the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers into his vineyard. 2 And when he had agreed with the labourers for a penny a day, he sent them into his vineyard. 3 And he went out about the third hour, and saw others standing idle in the marketplace, 4 And said unto them; Go ye also into the vineyard, and whatsoever is right I will give you. And they went their way. 5 Again he went out about the sixth and ninth hour, and did likewise. 6 And about the eleventh hour he went out, and found others standing idle, and saith unto them, Why stand ye here all the day idle? 7 They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us. He saith unto them, Go ye also into the vineyard; and whatsoever is right, that shall ye receive. 8 So when even was come, the lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, Call the labourers, and give them their hire, beginning from the last unto the first. 9 And when they came that were hired about the eleventh hour, they received every man a penny. 10 But when the first came, they supposed that they should have received more; and they likewise received every man a penny. 11 And when they had received it, they murmured against the goodman of the house, 12 Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day. 13 But he answered one of them, and said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou agree with me for a penny? 14 Take that thine is, and go thy way: I will give unto this last, even as unto thee. 15 Is it not lawful for me to do what I will with mine own? Is thine eye evil, because I am good? 16 So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.

 

Septuagesima Sunday

Lord God, heavenly Father, who through Thy holy word hast called us into Thy vineyard: Send, we beseech Thee, Thy Holy Spirit into our hearts, that we may labor faithfully in Thy vineyard, shun sin and all offense, obediently keep Thy word and do Thy will, and put our whole and only trust in Thy grace, which Thou hast bestowed upon us so plenteously through Thy Son Jesus Christ, that we may obtain eternal salvation through Him, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Running to Obtain the Prize

1 Corinthians 9:24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. 

People wondered why I took Greek, so impractical, when I went to college. This lesson takes us back to ancient Greece, even before Alexander the Great, concerning games still sponsored - the Olympic Games.

The Greeks loved competitions so much that they stopped wars to engage in games, which were named after the location. There were Pythian games and Olympic Games. The marathon races of today come from the battle against the Persians, when a runner was sent to obtain help for the battle. Marathon was the location of one battle, so the long run became the Marathon and was re-created for the modern Olympics.

Paul is using allegory in this passage. The Christian life is like an athletic competition, not just random movement, but each person competing for that prize.

Today the Olympic Games are being staged in China and the other famous competition is at a football stadium. People are personally involved in both, with certain athletes representing them, one way or another.

I was speaking to my sister-in-law last night, since Augustana alumni are excited about the Bengals becoming famous again. When Christina, Maria, and I were at the school Ken Anderson was the star quarterback who was drafted into the Bengals team. Maria saw Ken often at the college radio station, and I saw him play in the games, dressed in my band uniform.

Everyone identifies to some extent with the star athlete as the winner. I often saw Joe Montana play for Notre Dame. As someone said, "You HAVE to go to a game. There is nothing like it." Much later he spoke at a Walmart meeting and a friend from Ohio was there to gather some stories to take back home.

I used to tell college kids, enamored with their own sports, that athletics were basic to the New Testament. "Really?" Paul is saying there - if we understand the nature of physical competition, then we also understand the Christian life. 

25 And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.

We could also call this an argument from the lesser to the major. If something is true and obvious to most people, how much more is it true in the spiritual life? It is fascinating to see the athletic ideal expressed in a few words. No one is going to win a race after neglecting the basics, like those runners who drink a lot of water during a race but forget electrolytes drained away - so their legs collapsed from the imbalance in the blood.

So his example is for every man, because the prize can be won. The "corruptible crown" is made from the laurel leaves that signify the victory. (We still talk about laurels in competitions and academics. Oh why did I waste my time learning Greek?) The crown - it is thought - is a reference to Stephanos (Greek for crown), the first Christian martyr - a man utterly faithful to Christ, even as he was stoned to death.

In ordinary life, the crown is valued, but it is corruptible, like the drying leaves of the laurel crown. What Paul addresses is the incorruptible crown, enduring until the end.

Lenski, Corinthians, p. 354

The form of this amologia is exceedingly interesting. The Corinthians are far away, and Paul is in Ephesus. So Paul helps them. He himself conducts this judicial examination which he is pleased to undergo. The questions the Corinthians might put to him, and the doubts that may have prompted these questions with reference to the great principle itself or with reference to the way in which Paul applied this principle in his conduct, Paul formulates for the Corinthians and formulates in such a way that the answers themselves are clearly suggested.

26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: 

Paul's apostolic authority was questioned by the false teachers and trouble-makers. He always asserted his leadership as something from Christ Himself, and not his own declaration. In any era, the false teachers rest their claims on their own ideas, but Paul taught the truth revealed to him by Christ Himself.

Apostolic authority only came from those who saw the risen Christ and were trained by the risen Christ. The disciples could easily verify Paul's authority by comparing their knowledge with his.

Paul had a lifetime of Pharisaic Judaism, which meant he had knowledge of everything except the treasure of the Gospel, which was there all along. Jesus only had to teach him what he already knew.

I begin Old Testament class by quoting the ultimate authority on the content of the original Scriptures. Jesus, risen from the dead, appearing to the disciples, did this in Luke 24...

Luke 24:44 And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written 

• in the law of Moses, and 
• in the prophets, and 
• in the psalms, concerning Me. 

45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, 46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: 47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

That is the one-verse commentary on the entire Old Testament. The purpose of the Old Testament is not to teach history, or personalities, or battles, or covenants, but  to teach the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So Paul is writing to the Corinthians from Ephesus that he must do his work in a disciplined and sensible way. 

27 But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.

Paul did not hold himself above the others, but as Lenski said, was willing to put himself up for examination. This is all aimed at the soundness of the doctrine - how that is dominant and will always accomplish God's will.

10:1 Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;  2 And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;  4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.  5 But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.

 

Your Blood Pressure Medicine Can Be Found under...Groceries

 

I am not going to practice medicine, but I will show off some knowledge of groceries. I once moved veggies around at Walmart.

Study the content of the links for reasons why these groceries, regularly eaten, will lower blood pressure, a leading cause of stroke.

Almonds - are high in Vitamin E and help regulate blood sugar. The magnesium lowers blood pressure. Almonds lower bad cholesterol and provide potassium.

Blueberries improves the elasticity of the veins. Daily consumption of these treats lower blood pressure. They also help with weight loss.

Walnuts remove bad cholesterol and increase the elasticity of the veins. Omega 3! They help lower blood pressure and also help vein elasticity. Heart doctors say, "Eat them daily!"

Flaxseed reduces blood pressure and has other benefits as well.

SALT is a four-letter word. The entire fast-food, packaged food, snack food, and restaurant industries run on using too much salt. SALT has an immediate upward effect on blood pressure, so avoiding it will de jure reduce blood pressure. I tried a Schwan frozen pizza some months ago, and my head began feeling like the percussion section of the Boston Pops. The driver said to me, "Yeah, I felt that too."

Time for Greens and Beans - Or Pills and Chills?

I combine food shopping with looking up nutrition for various items. Fuhrman convinced me that our choices by default are the worst ones, encouraged by more of the same at restaurants. 

The basic American diet is sugar, white flour and rice, and fat. The Basic Four have something in common - they add fat almost directly.

Sugar and its relatives (corn syrup, maple syrup, fructose, maltose, dextrose) go almost directly into the blood stream. That gives an instant lift that does not last long, except for creating more craving. The beauty of the sweets industry is the addictive quality and the increased need for more sweets, often disguised as sugar-coated sugar.

A diabetes expert said most of her patients come into the office with double-digit A1Cs (blood sugar tests). That is the equivalent of going 60 mph in a school zone. Crashes will happen.

So - we give up the sugar family of fine desserts, gourmet candies, and soft drinks (and bottled coffee) with real or fake sugar. What threat looms next?  - White flour and rice.

White flour and white rice take a little longer to convert to fat, but they are little better than another form of sugar. No longer adding sugar to the cinnamon toast is a step, but not far from "I will make it cinnamon sugar today only." I speak from experience. 

The Solution - The Fat Group!

The beauty of vegetable and animal fat is its ability to go straight from the stomach to the belly. No, it really works well. If the body does not need those fat calories, the butter, margarine, shortening, and olive oil go right to the safe harbor around the waist.

Milk, cream, butter, eggs, fish, and meat are highly promoted, but they are seldom described as being fat bombs. 

The nutrition and protein we need can be inexpensively obtained from greens, beans, fruit, and nuts. But wait there's more.

The Yo-Yo Diet: 

Half Our Gross National Product

Economists seldom admit that the Yo-Yo Diet provides 50% of all spending in the USA. First the victim builds up weight to a certain level. The doctor shakes his head and hands over a sure-fire plan to lose enormous amounts of weight. Once achieved, the achiever goes back to the old habits, but with much smaller portions. In Arkansas, that means eating fewer biscuits-and-gravy daily, with smaller amounts of sweetened tea consumed all day long. 

Fuhrman: Greens, Beans, Fruit, Nuts 

First of all, the greedy stomach can be satisfied with an enormous bowl (or two) of greens. A quart of salad dressing is not needed. Various beneficial foods can be added, such as cooked mushrooms, nuts, milled flaxseed, and blueberries.

A stomach full of greens does not lure us into more food, because it is very satisfying and does not stuff us. Those extras added above reduce blood pressure and blood sugar in various ways. Nuts have oil, and walnuts replace bad cholesterol with good cholesterol. (Avoid salt, of course, a key factor in blood sugar.)

I used to think, "Four fruits a day? How?" After a lunch of greens, an apple or orange is the best dessert ever. The typical day includes apples or oranges or both, plus prunes and blueberries.

Supper is sometimes conventional but with portions smaller by 50%. A bean supper is a can of beans, which supplies protein and satisfies hunger. Almonds are a great addition - so are mushrooms. I sprinkle flaxseed with one or both meals. I also add frozen onions/green pepper, or frozen vegetables, or another plant from the freezer - peas, corn, etc.

Results - I lost 16 pounds and blood pressure lowered to normal without a prescription (3 cuffs a day, just to be sure). I am eager to get the next 90 day A1C test. That will show my average blood sugar down to the last Girl Scout cookie.

 Here is the dependable, always new, always better book on dieting.

Fear Is Not the Lack of Courage But the Lack of Faith in God

There are many styles of KJV, and their price is not inflated by employing "translators."

Luther's sermon on the storm-tossed boat is exceptional, because it touches on our basic fears coming from lack of faith. 

We think of soldiers as being fearless, but they are not likely to say so. They are afraid of bad consequences and guard against those results. When they teach a newbie to toss a grenade, they use an area where they can protect themselves against a badly thrown grenade about to explode. They have a pit to crouch in, but sometimes the bouncy, poorly tossed grenade rolls right into the pit. Then they scramble out as fast as possible. 

When our emotions strike us, faith goes out the window. Fear builds up and dominates. That has been the history of Lutherdom for more than 50 years. The leaders are ashamed of faith in Christ, so they bitterly cling to marketing gimmicks, which clearly "work" for some. 

I was inoculated against Church Growth by the year-around-tan Disciples of Christ minister my parents admired. Rev. Chuck Willey was a forerunner of Paul Kelm and Mark Jeske, Floyd Luther Stolzenburg and protectors.

The simple phrase is - faith in Jesus Christ gives us access to His grace. That is so clear and plain.

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.

We all have anxieties, and they build on their own. The last few months for me have been - "Not another technology challenge!" although the actual problems were not catastrophic. I have found that a few words from friends are a big help in shrinking the looming size of the problem to almost nothing. You will chuckle when some results become clear.

By the way, I ordered four KJVs in case someone wanted one or more. I will send them free with the KJV book that I already have at home (8 of them, almost for free).  Just send a note to greg.jackson.edlp@gmail.com.

Two things I want to work on - besides more teaching via Bethany:

1. Free book distribution of the KJV and related books;
2. A conference this year, perhaps via technology or even a combo of some here and everyone else online.

A School for Cowards

 

 Is he ready to pope yet?

The truckers are showing us that they have the guts to stand against tyranny, and the locations are growing. I am encouraged, because I have mostly seen people taking care of themselves, backing down, backstabbing to get ahead, and kissing up until they can extend their own massy episcopal ring. 

This crisis will determine whether America supports its US Constitution and Bill of Rights. No other country has kept its constitution, and many politicians here clearly want to turn ours into fishwrap. 

Every four years I have to explain that there is no popular vote for President, that the electoral college is beneficial for sharing influence across the land. Without that, a mere five counties would elect every president. 

The same is true of the Four Freedoms. If we give up and give in, we are a Police State, not a democratic Republic. Token, corrupt elections are the crown jewel of Police States.

Often, one bit of truth will destroy a false claim. I was forced to go to a Paul Kelm Church Growth Re-Education Camp. At the end of the debacle, Kelm asked the group, "When you consider what we have to offer and what people need, can you name a single person who would not join WELS?"

The room went silent, so I said, "Herb Chilstrom?" He was the ELCA bishop du jour. The room rocked with laughter, and waves of laughter started over and over again. Kelm was irritated but could not stop laughing either. His marketing strategy blew up in his face, which should have predicted the failures for the next 30 years - not to mention the wasted missions of dollars and doctrinal apostasy.

 "No Church Growth in WELS. Ask Wayne Mueller. But if you criticize our Church Growth, we will knee-cap you."

Calvinist News Finally Got a Little Interesting - But Too Late

 

 No fish hat? How deluxe is that gown?

No one I know reads the tabloid called Christian News - originally named Lutheran News. The name change was to make more money. Otten was a man of principle - and interest. 

There is a cause! The LCMS education system is adopting the new radicalism, and one particular foul-mouthed lady pastor is their star of the show. This would be shocking if no one noticed the changes for the last few decades. 

Everyone has been goose-stepping to the drumbeat of various LCMS Synod Presidents. The ALC-LCA-ELCA Bishops are their leaders. The game is over.

 There is some hope for bar ministries. That keeps the alcoholic pastors busy and eases their personal budgets. Ask the Appleton suds and duds leaders.

Denying Creation and Rewriting the Rules

 Elderflowers become elder berries.

Forty years ago, a newly-wed theology major left his wife to marry a married woman on the faculty. Unusual for the time, he co-wrote essays with the ethics prof. He finished by writing his dissertation on marriage. I searched his name decades later - and there he was, working with the former faculty lady.

I remembered him saying in the break room, "The Christian Church has really messed up the institution of marriage." He might not have realized it, but he was introducing the new era into American life, where everyone knows, anything goes. Unlike the dawning of the Age of Aquarius, this innovation has brought darkness and chaos.

The traditional must seem terribly dull, because we have restaurants that sell rubberized corn on the cob to recreate an approximation of the actual food, not frozen, not soaked in vegetable oil.

That reminds me of the doctoral student who left his wife and children to run off with a nun he met in the program. I wondered, "Are these the best and the brightest?"

There was a definite departure, which continues to this day. The Yale Divinity faculty of 1973 was traditional in marriage and family. The next generation was not. The zaniness of today was germinating 50 years ago. Now that we have tried out every repudiation of the good, perhaps our society will find the value in what was always good, in spite of our flaws.

That is why the KJV remains the standard, in spite of hysterical attacks from the illiterate and poorly educated synodical drones. Their "translations" last only a few months before being redone and promoted again as the best.

 Silver Queen is for the discerning.