I challenge you to read the Bible

This article written by the president of the LCMS, Matthew C. Harrison, was originally published on the LCMS blog website.

Friedrich Pfotenhauer was president of the LCMS from 1911 to 1935. In 1897, on the 50th anniversary of the Synod, he was president of the Minnesota and Dakota District. He said the following to the gathered district pastors and laypeople:

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Published: 21 April 2018 21 April 2018

Last Updated: 21 April 2018 21 April 2018

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They need us to be Lutheran

This article written by Matthew J. Garnett was originally published on the Lutheran Reporter website.

“For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor.1:18).   

I can’t imagine St. Paul’s words here being any truer than they are for the Lutheran church I attend each Sunday. Walk into that place during any given service, and you’ll see men dressed in what can only be described as togas with colorful sashes, waving their hands about in all kinds of strange ways, and making what seem to be hubristic statements like “I forgive you all your sins.” All this takes place while the people in the congregation bow and kneel and do weird things with their hands in response to the colorfully dressed men leading the service. 

To be sure, there was a time when I would have unequivocally labeled all of this as “folly.” But now, as someone who has tried everything from Christian Fundamentalism to witchcraft, I must say, I love it. Once it was foolish; now it is genuine, meaningful, and indeed, divinely powerful. 

Why I needed Lutherans

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Published: 18 April 2018 18 April 2018

Last Updated: 18 April 2018 18 April 2018

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Why Should We Sing?

This article by Monica Berndt was originally written on the Higher Things - Dare to Be Lutheran website.

Since the beginning of the Reformation, the Lutheran Church around the world has consistently allotted a portion of time during the Divine Service to the singing of hymns. Why? What is the reason for singing hymns as a congregation instead of letting a choir sing all the music, or why not just take hymns out altogether? After all, people can be self-conscience about singing in public, and, it takes time out of the service where we should be listening to a pastor speak the Word of God, right? Hymns do take up a large portion of our services, and we should understand why it is good for us to sing them.

When most of you were in grade school, you had to memorize the 50 U.S states and/or the names of all the U.S Presidents. To help you, your teachers probably had you memorize a song that included these names which you could sing with a CD, and have running through your head during the day. This helped you easily remember all the information the teacher wanted you to memorize by singing that song. Combining words with music helps our brains remember important facts and information better than just reciting them, which is why schools use music to teach us the presidents, and VBS and Sunday School use tunes to help us memorize Bible passages. But learning information this way is not just a tool for children, it is also one of the reasons we sing hymns.

Hymns are not just praise songs. Like the rest of the Divine Service, hymns remind us about Jesus, the redemption He won for us on the cross, and the gifts He continues to give us. Before church, look at the words to the hymns you will sing. Almost all of them will mention something about Jesus’ death, resurrection, and the gift of the Holy Spirit to create faith. Communion hymns tend to talk about the forgiveness of sins given to us in the Lord’s Supper. Hymns sung at during a baptism not only speak of the baptism taking place that day, but also remind all of us of our own baptisms and the assurance of forgiveness we received there. Hymns sung before the sermon have words that tie into the points your pastors want to emphasize during their sermons. Hymns always tie into what is said during the Divine Service and point us to Christ.

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Published: 09 April 2018 09 April 2018

Last Updated: 09 April 2018 09 April 2018

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Easter 2018 Photos

Photos from the Easter Sunday.  Photos of the altar, Easter breakfast and the children's Easter Egg Hunt .

Photos courtesy of Richard Thies

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Published: 04 April 2018 04 April 2018

Last Updated: 04 April 2018 04 April 2018

Easter and the Forgiveness of Sins

The following article was originally from Pastor Wolfmueller of Hope Lutheran Church

Jesus “was delivered up for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification.”  [Romans 4:25, KJV]

With these words St Paul declares the “why” of the resurrection, the purpose of Easter: Jesus was raised for our justification. But what does this mean?

“Justification” means to declare righteous and holy, or to be forgiven of all sin. St Paul, then, is saying that Jesus was raised to forgive our sin. Jesus, in His death and in His resurrection is taking our place, the place of all mankind. Just as Jesus' condemnation is our condemnation and His death is our death, so Jesus' coming out of the grave is our life and salvation, our forgiveness. 

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Published: 01 April 2018 01 April 2018

Last Updated: 04 April 2018 04 April 2018

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A Death On A Friday Afternoon

by Rev. Brent Kuhlman
There he is!  He’s just hanging there. He refused to come down. Stayed to the bitter end. Breathed his last and said: “It is finished” (John 19:30). The veil in the temple split in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked. The rocks split. Dead people came out of their tombs (Matthew 27:51-52). Do you see him? Jesus of Nazareth! Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven Jesus of Nazareth! Yes, that’s right, he’s hanging there. His body hangs limp. Dead. Graveyard dead on a Friday afternoon we now call “Good!”

Good for you that is! “Really? Doesn’t look that way! Looks rather gris-ly and horrible.” Indeed. But dead on the cross Jesus is work that he does for you and for your salvation.

Take another look at him. Hidden in this brutally beaten and nailed to the tree corpse is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Yes, he looks so foolish. But dead on the cross Jesus is God’s highest wis-dom. Yes, he looks so weak. But suspended lifeless on the cross Jesus is God’s most magnificent power. All for you!

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Published: 26 February 2015 26 February 2015

Last Updated: 01 April 2018 01 April 2018

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Palm Sunday 2018

Photos from the Palm Sunday processional at Zion Lutheran Church.  The children sang "In the Cross of Christ I Glory" (LSB 427)

Photos courtesy of Richard Thies

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Published: 26 March 2018 26 March 2018

Last Updated: 26 March 2018 26 March 2018

Hospitality at the Lord’s Table

Hospitality at the Lord’s Table by Rev. John T. Pless

We want others to share in Christ’s body and blood with us. We want them to be included at the altar rail – not as strangers and sojourners but as brothers and sisters, united with us in the true fellowship of Christ’s Church.

Some within our synod and many on the outside, view the practice of closed communion as the very opposite of hospitality. After all, they say, if you had guests in your home, you would be considered rude and inhospitable if you did not invite them to the table at mealtime. If the Lord’s Supper were just an ordinary meal, no doubt this criticism would bear weight. Indeed, churches that do not believe that Christ is bodily present in the Sacrament are often quick to proclaim that their tables are open to all – for why would they waste a moment’s anxiety over mere bread and wine? But Lutherans confess that the Lord’s Supper is no ordinary meal. Far from it. As Luther reminds us, “It is the Lord’s Supper, not the Christian’s Supper.” In this Sacrament, Jesus gives us His true body to eat and His true blood to drink under bread and wine. In light of this great and unique gift, all analogies to human meals fall short. The Lord’s Supper is a meal without parallel.

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Published: 17 March 2018 17 March 2018

Last Updated: 17 March 2018 17 March 2018

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The Sacrament of Holy Baptism

FIRST

What is Baptism?

Baptism is not just plain water, but it is the water included in God's command and combined with God's word.

Which is that word of God?

Christ our Lord says in the last chapter of Matthew: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." [Matt. 28:19]

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Published: 12 March 2018 12 March 2018

Last Updated: 12 March 2018 12 March 2018

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What to give up for Lent?

This article written by Pastor  David H. Petersen was featured on the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod Blog on 02/13/2018.

Giving up some small pleasure for Lent, like chocolate or coffee, can be a nice way to remind ourselves throughout Lent that it is Lent. When we reach out for those things we remember that we are denying ourselves in commemoration of Our Lord’s suffering.

This isn’t meant to please God or gain His favor. Nor can such a small denial make Lent more meaningful or increase faith. It is simply an attempt to keep ourselves mindful throughout the day that it is Lent. That is a valid Christian desire and discipline.

Curbing the flesh is always good. Cutting calories is probably appropriate for almost everyone reading this, and (though I hate to admit it) cutting caffeine would probably hurt few of us either.

But Lent isn’t ultimately about giving things up. Its purpose is not self-improvement in the conventional sense. Instead Lent is a season of preparation. We are preparing to celebrate Easter and the Church is always prepared in the same way: by repentance.

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Published: 03 March 2018 03 March 2018

Last Updated: 03 March 2018 03 March 2018

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