All Sainits, 2022.

 

All Saints Sunday, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Player:

The Hymn #656     Behold a Host Arrayed in White          

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

O almighty God, who hast knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which Thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O almighty God, who hast knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living that we may come to those unspeakable joys which Thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual    

 Oh, fear the Lord, ye His saints: 

for there is no want to them that fear Him.

V. They that seek the Lord: 

shall not want any good thing. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden: 

and I will give you rest. Hallelujah!

 

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Sermon Hymn # 463            For All the Saints                   

Believers Are the Saints

The Communion Hymn #657            Beautiful Savior

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  #341          Crown Him with Many Crowns

 By Norma A. Boeckler

Today we remember - Walter Boeckler, who supported Luther's doctrine and independent congregations; Gary Meyer, who participated in our first Ustream services; Brenda Kielher, who with her parents Cliff and Cleo Kiehler, helped start Bethany in New Ulm, Minnesota; and Gladys Jackson Meyer, who supported Bethany from the beginning and enjoyed helping out. Carl Roper supported independent congregations from the beginning. Carol Olsen, Lori Howell's mother, who worshiped with us, passed into eternal life on October 8th. 2021. Christina Jackson met her Savior August 22nd. Besides these, we have many others we name in our hearts, beloved, deeply missed, children, relatives, friends. 

In Our Prayers

• Pastor Jim Shrader has been doing better. Randy Anderson is doing well with his therapy. Callie just had surgery to help with her seizures. 

 Epistle

KJV Revelation 7:2 And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, 3 Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. 4 And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundredand forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel. 5 Of the tribe of Juda were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Reuben were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Gad were sealed twelve thousand. 6 Of the tribe of Aser were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Nepthalim were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Manasses were sealed twelve thousand. 7 Of the tribe of Simeon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Levi were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Issachar were sealed twelve thousand. 8 Of the tribe of Zabulon were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Joseph were sealed twelve thousand. Of the tribe of Benjamin were sealed twelve thousand. 9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. 11 And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, 12 Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen. 13 And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? 14 And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple: and he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. 16 They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. 17 For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

Gospel

KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

Believers Are the Saints

Introduction

Whatever is true in the Bible, the so-called experts deny. They are the ones who love the fake documents (Sinaiticus and Vaticanus) while attacking the 5,000 items of evidence, which are called the Majority Text, the Apostolic witness. Sinaiticus is a forgery and Vaticanus is the Greek version of the Latin Vulgate, so it clearly much later than the New Testament era. Vaticanus was known and rejected in the creation of the first Greek New Testament (Erasmus). Sinaiticus did not see the light of day until Count Tischendorf claimed he rescued leather pages destined to be burnt to keep the library warm, an image or smell too powerful to overlook from the glory-seeking liar.

The fake New Testament in Greek is the basis for all modern translations - NIV, RSV, ESV, TEV, NRSV, Beck Bible. However, they do not agree with each other or even with the previous "scientific" text. Moreover, they change the English or German every few months.

This genius army of scholars considers the Sermon on the Mount to be patched together, a gathering of sayings. How do they know this? They simply declare it to be true. However, these three chapters are clearly the introduction and the substance of Jesus' entire ministry. 

KJV Matthew 5:1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

This is an actual event in His ministry where Jesus taught His established disciples and the crowd that was with Him. There are two ways to address a crowd. One is to be higher than the rest, for the voice to carry and people to hear accurately. The other is to use a watery pulpit, a fisherman's boat, near the shore, with people seated on the shore rising up, so they can see and hear. 

Verse 2 emphasizes the importance and solemnity of the occasion. We see many examples of this today. The main speaker may be talking to others or greeting them in some way. When he goes up to the podium, the audience settles down and begins to listen.

3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

There are many who practice the arts of bullying, menacing, undercutting others. Bookstores are full of advice about these people and their victims. The unbelieving world admires them until they fail - and they often do so in a spectacular way. 

This is not about management but how we respect and honor God. Blessings are not about having material things, power, privilege, and all those things that lead to haughtiness.

KJV 66:66 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?

2 For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the Lord: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.

If we rely on God's Word and will, the necessary things come to be and show what God can do. As Ephesians 3 teaches us - He answers us before we even begin to ask. This is a faith passage - 

KJV Ephesians 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. 20 Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us,21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen.

4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

Lenski points out two categories of mourning. One is the pain we feel at the loss of a loved one. We experience that all our lives - parents, children, relatives, friends, people we loved and respected. This separation is profound and we experience that loss. But we have this from Ephesians to give us hope and confidence:

• We know the love of Christ, which is so great and undeserved that it remains beyond all knowledge - grace only through faith in Him, not because of our virtue but because of His death and resurrection. Ephesians 3:19
• According to the power [efficacy of the Word], through the Spirit, He gives more than we can ask or think. 3:20. This is literally through the faith of Him (3:12) which is more powerful - not our faith in Him, which is the result of the Gospel Promises. The KJV is precise, but most of the other translations change the actual wording of power from Him (the priority, also in Romans 3 and other places) the faith of Jesus.
• Thus eternal life comes to us from the Holy Trinity, the One God, and nothing can keep us from that singular blessing. Note that false teachers always end up talking about our works being the cause of salvation. 

The other sorrow is that which energizes our contrition. This is a mourning of our sinful nature, which makes us thirst for righteousness. 

2 Corinthians 7:10 For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.

This is an age of opposing and rejecting the Law. Often the lawless mourn only their suffering from the results of their hedonism and self-centeredness. There is much howling  and gnashing of teeth repentance in this world (either self-centered or showing off for others) but godly sorrow for sin is true repentance (his pun - without repentance). King David is our stellar example in his Psalms of repentance. 

5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Meek and lowly are two attributes of Jesus. See Matthew 11:29f. The public ministry of Jesus took place in a land where the Roman Empire ruled, charged taxes for being ruled, and would spend plenty of time destroying Jerusalem and the Temple only 40 years after His death and resurrection. We can safely say that the Christian religion which lost Jesus Christ, His Apostles, and so many leaders have inherited the world, especially in contrast to Rome, which was the empire of the world and is now a tourist spot.

Many church leaders are bullies who have power but little faith. They rule for a few years and are soon forgotten -- or else they are remembered for their destructive actions and dogmas. They serve to wake up the meek and lowly to honor, respect, and love the Word of God. Without the bad and faithless leaders (denominations, professors, famous pastors) we would lack the energy and the will to stay with the true Word of God.

6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

This is such a beautiful and comforting verse. Growing up in a bakery, after a side-gig at Dairy Queen, I learned that one can be surrounded by desserts and still be hungry. Working shifts where I could eat anything I wanted, we were happy to go out and enjoy a real meal, or buy sausage from a nearby grill. 

This righteousness is the righteousness of faith. The contrite long for forgiveness, and this reminds us of the great mercy and love of God, who pours out His love and grace on all those who believe in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, born of the Virgin Mary, dying for our sins and rising from death, ascending into heaven.

The parallel between the Feedings of the Multitudes and Holy Communion are impossible to ignore. Just as Jesus mulitplied the loaves and fish, so He gives us His body and blood miraculously with the elements, for forgiveness of sin, suporting our faith, and preparing us for eternal life. Just as food is received individually, so is this Means of Grace received one by one.

7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Mercy multiplies mercy, and evil multiplies evil. The only way to stop the bad cycle is our own contrition for sin. There is too much bullying, slander, and coldness in our society. 

Lenski, Matthew, p. 191

The first four beatitudes look toward God, the next three toward men. These treat of three virtues which mark the godly as blessed. “The merciful” are, of course, the same persons as those referred to in the previous beatitudes. Luther well says that in all the beatitudes faith is presupposed as the tree on which all the fruit of blessedness grows. This, then, is not mere natural mercy as it is occasionally found among men generally but the mercy growing out of our personal experience of the mercy of God.

8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

There are many Biblical references to this, which we might call "sincerity." The Latin of sincerity means "without wax" because broken clay pots were patched with wax and melted in the sun. They looked good on the outside but fell apart in the sun. The Greek word was "tested by the sun," which is another way of looking at the same deception. Some who pretends to care and then is the opposite - that person is not sincere and may fall into all kinds of trouble and godly wrath.

God's will is that we believe in Jesus Christ and His Word, following in His steps. There is no loss in keeping His commandments and teaching, no matter what others say and do.

9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

Life is paradoxical, a seeming contradiction. Those who advance themselves with deception and guile are called good company men and women. Those who establish peace through sound (healthy) doctrine from God are called trouble-makers, disturbers of Zion, heretics, and suitable for expulsion. The Reformation began with pastors and laity cruelly imprisoned and killed for teaching the Scriptures. In England, it was against the law (Henry VIII) and men were executed for that time. 

The Bible seldom uses peace in relation to murder or warfare. The main reason to use peace is to express the result of forgiveness through Christ and fidelity to God's Word. People can use the Law all day long, and many do that with man-made laws, but the only true peace comes from access to the grace of Christ through faith in Him, knowing the good news is from the faith of Jesus first of all.

God's Word establishes and enlightens believers while hardening the unbelievers.

10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

I have often heard that questioning Church Growth is "slander" and worse. I never realized that the Eighth Commandment was intended to support and protect Calvinism, marketing, and lawlessness. That is always a shock, to realize that those who swore allegiance to the Scriptures were so hardened against the Scriptures and the Reformation. Mockery of the 500th anniversary of the Reformation was a clear sign that the leaders had no use for the historical watershed. Now they must endure the bitter taste of institutional failure, since they have set up this scenario in the last 50 years (or more).

I hear what the Fuller Lutherans are saying (so much like the other denominations, the most vocal, the Church of Rome -

1. Institutional success.
2. Good managers.
3. Borrowing business methods.
4. Looking for things that appeal to people.
5. Ancestor worship - the ultimate test (yes, even in Rome, where cousins, nephews, and other relatives are automatic leaders).

Reformation

 The Festival of the Reformation, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Vimeo Player:

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Daylight Savings Ends Next Sunday

Hymn # 262      A Mighty Fortress         

The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16
The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19
The Epistle and Gradual       

The Gospel              

Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed             p. 22

The Hymn #387     Dear Christians One and All            

The Turmoil Made Plain

The Communion Hymn #267   If God Had Not Been on Our Side                    

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 #259  Flung to the Heedless Winds 

Announcements and Prayers

• Randy Anderson in treatment, Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes, Pastor Jim Shrader - improving, Callie and her parents, C.  
• Lori Howell's mother, Carol Olsen, died October 8, last year.
• The I AM Sermons books (revised) will be sent out today or tomorrow.

Ministries of Bethany Lutheran Church 

1. The Christian Art of Norma Boeckler and Norma's print books.
2.  Martin Chemnitz Press - Kindle and print books, and free pdfs.
3.  Lutheran Library Publishing Ministry and Lutheran Librarian - low-cost print books - Alec Satin.

           

KJV Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people, 7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.

KJV Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

Romans 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.

Collect

O almighty, eternal God: We confess that we are poor sinners and cannot answer one of a thousand, when Thou contendest with us; but with all our hearts we thank Thee, that Thou hast taken all our guilt from us and laid it upon Thy dear Son Jesus Christ, and made Him to atone for it: We pray Thee graciously to sustain us in faith, and so to govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may live according to Thy will, in neighborly love, service, and helpfulness, and not give way to wrath or revenge, that we may not incur Thy wrath, but always find in Thee a gracious Father, through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

Background for the Sermon - Reformation Day

We are the Evangelicals and the Protestants. First, of all, Luther did not want his name used for those who disagreed with the Church of Rome. Instead, they were called the Evangelicals or the Evangelical party, which is now ironic, since the Lutherans are deprived of the term - Evangelical, for continuing the Creeds, the liturgy, and the Sacraments. 

Later, the Evangelicals used the term Protestant, which literally means "a positive witness," in countering Roman Catholic claims. Protest did not mean "against" but a testimony in favor of the truth. Rejecting the liturgy and sacraments came from Zwingli first and was followed by his equally prolific and rationalistic counterpart, Calvin.

The German Luther Bible was created by Luther and his associates, using the Majority or Traditional Text. The King James Version uses the same Apostolic text, which has over 5,000 witnesses. The Church of Rome has its own text, and has many versions of this Latin Vulgate. They promote the Vaticanus Text, which is a Greek version of the (later) Latin Vulgate, which Erasmus refused to consider. Today, Lutheran apostates promote the corrupt Vaticanus "Greek" text. 

Playing around with the Scriptures - rejecting the original text and the good translations - comes from denying the efficacy of the Word of God. 

If that were not enough, they separate the Holy Spirit from the Word, which makes the Word "a dead letter" in their version or invents new, strange content (Enthusiasm) the basis for all false doctrine.

1. If people start with their human reason in dealing with the Bible, they are bound to distort the results, as Zwingli and Calvin did. 
2. If they consider their church the ultimate authority, as the Church of Rome always has, that will also distort the text and the translation.
3. Another type of corruption comes from the ecumenical wing, where the participants, in the name of unity, love every doctrine but their own. This is the majority attitude today.

The Turmoil Made Plain

KJV Matthew 11:12 And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. [GJ - the Kingdom is forceful, and the forceful seize it]

This lesson seems perplexing, which is often true with a few verses by themselves. However, the context teaches us a lot about its meaning. The issue is - John the Baptist. Many events built up before the appearance of Jesus preaching. 

• The Star of Bethlehem signaled a great change coming, and Herod saw it as a challenge to his throne.
• The Wise Men were equally disturbing because that meant the Star was known outside of their little kingdom, so that gave it even more meaning.
• The Age of Prophesy was over for centuries, but they looked for a new Elijah, a signal that a new age was upon them.
• John the Baptist fulfilled what was promised in Isaiah 40 - the Voice of one crying in the wilderness, Prepare the Way of the Lord.

There were two objections to this. One was that John was just a man, and it is easier to be awed by a promised man than by someone standing there and being so ordinary looking, maybe even dusty and sweaty. So the excuses start rolling out - he is just another man!

Secondly, Jesus was the least likely prophet of them all, because He was to be even greater than the Elijah - the Messiah, not just a great prophet. Because He did not display His divinity all the time, Jesus was the most difficult one to be promised by the wilderness prophet. Where was the glory? the power? the thunder and earthquakes?

This verse by itself is a puzzle, because of that word violence. Let's try - forceful. The Kingdom of God comes along forcefully - by God's will, not man's will. Go spoke through the prophets who risked their lives to speak the truth - they were forceful too and died for teaching through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The history of Christianity began with the slaughter of Christians for the entertainment of the pagans in Rome. The early martyrs accepted the violence because they knowingly went to eternal life by allowing the forcefulness.

How many of the apostles were killed for the Faith? Most of them. One telling fact is that we know little about them, only a fragment about Paul, most of it his writing. Luther assumed he was going to his death at the Diet of Worms, 1517, and in 1530 could not be present at the Augsburg Confession. 

13 For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. 

Jesus commended John for being more than a prophet, by teaching the truth, John the Baptist was jailed and beheaded. He might have confessed his sins or run away to escape violence, but he felt and knew the power of the Spirit, which would give him the strength to continue as long as God allowed. "Elijah" means John was the last prophet and the sure sign of Jesus being the promised Messiah.

14 And if ye will receive it, THIS is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

14 και ει θελετε δεξασθαι, αυτος εστιν ηλιας ο μελλων ερχεσθαι

Pronouns are very important, which is why people are trying to corrupt them and mix around he and she. The Greek pronoun here is for emphasis and is found used the same way in John 1. Who listens and accepts what is coming? The forceful receive the Kingdom of Christ and accept what comes with it.

The Cross Denied

Some of us have been discussing how the Christian Church in America became so riddled with false doctrine and false teachers - not the tiny details which people love to fuss about, but the basics of the Christian faith and the authority of the Bible.

I date the beginning with the hated failure, the 1881 Revision of the King James Version. Various power brokers allowed the worst people to take over the slight revision of the KJV and turn it into a freak of text and translation - unsellable after the first edition was exposed as horrible and false.

The minority in England and America chose to work on their minority view and began showing their oats by 1930 or so. Since then, it has been a race to the bottom of the barrel - silly translations, false texts, thick books filled with denying all the articles of the Christian Faith.

And one dare not respond to this debacle. Whether one denomination or another, Lutheran or Methodist, the apostates and unbelievers were in control and perfect at dramatizing the evil of the faithful.

My wife and I exposed how the insurance companies (united as Thrivent) were working with ELCA, WELS, and the LCMS in the same programs. I let ELCA know that their friends were lying about working with them. The answer was - no more stories about them all working together.

The best we can do is teach the basics to the next generation. The Boomers have failed and their children are already abandoning what is left in favor of what is Left. 

Trinity 19 2022

 The Nineteenth Sunday after Trinity, 2022

Pastor Gregory L. Jackson

Vimeo Player:

The Hymn # 377:1-5       Speratus - Salvation Unto Us
The Confession of Sins
The Absolution
The Introit p. 16

Introit

Say unto my soul, I am thy Salvation: The righteous cry, and the Lord heareth.

He delivereth them out of their troubles: He is their God forever and ever.

Psalm. Give ear, O My people, to My Law: 

incline your ears to the words of My mouth.

The Gloria Patri
The Kyrie p. 17
The Gloria in Excelsis
The Salutation and Collect p. 19

Collect

O almighty and most merciful God, of Thy bountiful goodness keep us, we beseech Thee, from all things that may hurt us, that we, being ready, both in body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish those things that Thou wouldst have done; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth, etc.

The Epistle and Gradual 

Gradual

Let my prayer be set forth before Thee as incense: 

and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice. Hallelujah! Hallelujah!

V. Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song: for He hath done marvelous things. Hallelujah!

The Gospel 
Glory be to Thee, O Lord!
Praise be to Thee, O Christ!
The Nicene Creed p. 22
The Sermon Hymn #377, 6-10     Salvation Unto Us                               

Put on the New Man

The Communion Hymn #376                Rock of Ages
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 #261       Luther - Lord Keep Us Steadfast  

Our Prayers and Announcements

• Ongoing medical - Kermit Way, Pastor Jim Shrader, Randy Anderson.
• Pastor K and Doc Lito Cruz - dealing with diabetes.
• Seizure treatment: Gavin; Callie. Therapy - C.
• Michael Oak and Amanda Meyer were married last year on October 16th. Congratulations and God's continued blessings.
• October 25th is John Popp's birthday - John is Diane's husband.
• The I AM Sermons revision should be sent out this week.

Nineteenth Sunday After Trinity

O mighty and everlasting God, who by Thy Son Jesus Christ didst mercifully help the palsied man both in body and soul: We beseech Thee, for the sake of Thy great mercy: Be gracious also unto us; forgive us all our sins, and so govern us by Thy Holy Spirit, that we may not ourselves be the cause of sickness and other afflictions; keep us in Thy fear, and strengthen us by Thy grace that we may escape temporal and eternal wrath and punishment, through Thy Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one true God, world without end. Amen.

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; 23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

KJV Matthew 9:1 And he entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into his own city. 2 And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. 3 And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. 4 And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? 5 For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? 6 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith he to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. 7 And he arose, and departed to his house. 8 But when the multitudes saw it, they marvelled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.

 Books by Norma A. Boeckler

 Put on the New Man

KJV Ephesians 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;

Ephesus was the Mother Church of a vast area where Christians flourished for a time. But they lost their first love (Revelation 2), much like Laodicea - which became lukewarm, neither cold nor hot.

In this letter before his death, Paul wanted to remind all the churches about the truth he offered them as a witness to the risen Christ. We often list in our histories the witnesses to successes and catastrophic failures. They are named and carefully described to show that they had important things to say about those events. 

The Apostle Paul had a triple score in this area. 

• First of all, he was converted by Christ Himself on the road to Damascus. This was so dramatic and factual that the other apostles accepted him as an apostle. Peter, who was with Jesus from the beginning, had to accept Paul's admonition to be sincere about the issue of kosher foods.
• Secondly, Paul was imprisoned and put to death for being a Christian leader. The martyrs (witnesses) were a special class of believers in the earliest days, accepting death as a reflection of Christ dying for their sins. 
• Thirdly, then as now, a dying person's final address was considered especially powerful and truthful, because that person had no more successes or failures.

So Paul was urging the Ephesians and all Christians to keep off the way they used to live, being driven by earthly desires, very much like today. Similar to pagan Rome, our country seems to be chasing after the worst behavior and its destructive power. People passively go along with the radicalism, though there are signs that too many groups have been angered by what is happening to them and their children, their businesses and their future. 

Following our basic instincts is the Old Adam, doing whatever we want instead of acting on our faith in Jesus the Good Shepherd. Paul in various ways contrasted Adam - or the unbeliever - and the New Creation, born of the Gospel Word (not a decision, or we would be called New Decisions and not New Creations).

Luther graduated with a Doctor of Philosophy, PhD, from a Catholic university. He not only studied the Scriptures with a concentration on the Bible, but also taught it to his students. Besides that, he was guided in the Gospel by his advisor, which helped to wean him away from the Medieval slavery of salvation by works.

23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; 24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. 

Unfortunately for Rome, Luther's concentration on the Scriptures revealed the contrast between Middle Ages' focus on salvation by works and the Scriptures' emphasis upon grace through faith in Jesus Christ (aka Justification by Faith).

Salvation by works is so popular today among Lutherans and Calvinists that one can scarcely find the Gospel among both groups. 

Luther was carefully taught that works earned him a place in Purgatory, possibly Heaven. The more he physically tortured himself, the more holy (saintly) he was supposed to be. However, he found that no matter what he did, the more he punished himself, the more burdened he felt as a result.

Worse, when he visited Rome, the "center of the One True Church" (he thought), the lack of faith and the corruption were deeply disturbing. Rome was not the best but the worst. Where is the righteousness and the holiness of Ephesians 4:23-24?

Simply put - righteousness throughout of the Bible is the "righteousness of faith." And Jesus Christ gives us holiness through faith. We can see that as forgiveness through faith first (John 15) and the fruit of forgiveness (also John 15).

Grace is the favorite word in the Christian Church. The 100 year celebration of the LCMS is One Hundred Years of Grace.

English dukes are called "Your Grace" and hundreds of churches are named Grace.

An LCA leader said on the Word and Witness tape that the Evangelicals "have no grace," spoken with anger and bitterness. Paul wrote in Romans -

KJV Romans 4:16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham [in Jesus]; who is the father of us all,

KJV Romans 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.

This brings us to -

KJV Romans 3:22 Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference:

Without the faith of Jesus leading Him forward, there is no righteous of faith, forgiveness of sin, and holiness. Our faith begins with the faith of Jesus, and we have access to grace only through faith in Him. 

Just as love is the result of faith in Jesus, so are all the fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5). Luther had to unwind the decades of forgiveness through works in order to enjoy and teach forgiveness through faith in Jesus Christ (rather than the tortured agonies of the man Luther).

25 Wherefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour: for we are members one of another. 26 Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: 27 Neither give place to the devil. 28 Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

After teaching the true grace of faith in the Savior, Paul wrote a list of actions to avoid. 

It is curious that the modern Lutherans (the heretics: ELCA, WELS, LCMS, ELS, CLC, ELDONUTs) of today constantly lie about what they teach. 

1. They do not follow Luther or the Book of Concord and mock the Reformation with doggy t-shirts and Here I Stand socks.
2. They despise the best, Traditional or Majority New Testament with 5,000+ witnesses and love the worst two frauds - Sinaiticus and Vaticanus.
3. They love their modern, money-making Bibles with so many verses erased and words mangled, and even added (all are justified?, the whole world?)
4. They bristle at mention of the King James Version and loathe the fact that the Cinderella Bible is better and so much more loved than their wicked step-sisters - Beck, NIV, ESV, RSV, NRSV, Jerusalem, TEV, Goodspeed.