The Vicar Program
ILC Newsletter Every other month we get an update on what’s been happening at our Immanuel Lutheran High School, College and Seminary in Eau Claire,… Read More »The Vicar Program
Lutheran Spokesman
“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS October 2017
Date Verse Reading Comments
Oct 2 TLH 278 Matthew 5:21-26 The Law reveals our inward sins as well as our outward ones, sins such as anger in the heart.
Oct 3 TLH 623/LSB 860; Matthew 5:27-32 The marriage relationship is to be guarded and protected at all costs.
Oct 4 TLH 279 Matthew 5:33-37 Needless swearing is a misuse of God’s holy name.
Oct 5 TLH 402 Matthew 5:38-42 When someone hurts us, our sinful nature wants revenge, but the Spirit leads us to show love “above and beyond”—even for our enemies.Read More »“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS October 2017
Faith Alone: No Asterisks
COVER STORY
SOLA fide
Every year a debate rages in the baseball world: who should be admitted into the Hall of Fame? In the last few years, the debate has been particularly centered around players from the so-called “Steroid Era.” Should those who broke the rules and enhanced their performances with drugs be let in? Some voters and writers have proposed a solution: let those players into the Hall of Fame on the basis of their accomplishments, but add an asterisk to the record books to show that those accomplishments were marred by the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
As detailed in a recent issue of the Spokesman (July 2017, page 7), Hebrews 11 gives us God’s Hall of Faith. It is not meant to be a comprehensive list of the members, but a small sampling of both faithful people and actions from the Old Testament. However, Hebrews 11 seems to omit much of the important information we know about these Old Testament people. Instead of painting portraits as these people were, God presents us with His glorified saints as He now sees them.Read More »Faith Alone: No Asterisks
TLH 377, LSB 555 “Salvation unto Us Has Come”
A HYMN OF GLORY LET US SING (TWENTY-Third IN A SERIES)
SOLA Gratia
Although there was some congregational singing before Martin Luther’s time, there is no disagreement that during the Reformation in Germany, the laity were transformed into the “singing church.” New hymnals were published as fast as printers could set up their Gutenberg presses. New hymn texts were written at a rapid pace as the treasure of the Gospel, God’s grace in Christ Jesus, was revealed to those who had long been in darkness.Read More »TLH 377, LSB 555 “Salvation unto Us Has Come”
“What do Roman Catholics mean when they say that salvation is by grace?”
“I’M GLAD YOU ASKED!” (THIRTY-SECOND IN A SERIES) Pastors Answer Frequently-Asked Questions Grace is a word that one will hear in almost any church that… Read More »“What do Roman Catholics mean when they say that salvation is by grace?”
Life of Luther—1517 “Just leave me alone!”
The ROAD TO REFORMATION In preparing for the 500th anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation, we have presented a brief survey of the life of Martin… Read More »Life of Luther—1517 “Just leave me alone!”
St. Stephen Lutheran Church of the San Francisco Peninsula—Mountain View, California
A SLICE OF LIFE IN THE CLC SNAPSHOTS OF CONGREGATIONS FROM AROUND THE CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION This month’s unique “Slice of Life in… Read More »St. Stephen Lutheran Church of the San Francisco Peninsula—Mountain View, California
“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS September 2017
TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006
Date Verse Reading Comments
Sept 1 TLH 483, LSB 749; Jeremiah 23:33-40 If prophets or preachers speak words that contradict what the Lord has already said, you know them to be false.
Sept 2 WS 758 Ezekiel 34:1-10 The shepherds of Israel failed to take care of the flock, but the Lord would not abandon His people. He would step in Himself to rescue His flock.
Sept 4 TLH 648, LSB 558 ; Ezekiel 34:11-16 The Lord Himself shepherds His people. He calls them, gathers them, tends them, and brings back the lost. What a Shepherd you have in Jesus!
Sept 5 TLH 485 Ezekiel 34:17-24 God’s people were being “trampled” by the strong, but they find peace and hope in David’s greater Son, Jesus Christ, Who shepherds them to life eternal!Read More »“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS September 2017
“Back to School”
COVER STORY – CHRISTIAN EDUCATION
It’s just a loaded, emotive phrase, isn’t it? “Back to school.” Individual reactions vary wildly, depending on your station in life and how you are wired. Kids who love school get excited, those that don’t, not so much. Some parents tend to hear the phrase with relief, others with a sense of regret, even guilt—“Where did the summer go? We should have carved out more family time.” Teachers get that old familiar knot in their stomachs and, like pretty much every other occasion in life, retailers hear cash registers.
“Back to school” also means something else.
To go “back” means that you first had to step away. Have you ever wondered how or why our current custom of summer vacation started? The standard answer is that it was agrarian-based; school went into recess for three months in the summer because children were needed on the farm. Anyone with any association to farming knows that obviously wasn’t the reason. The busiest times on the farm are planting and harvest (spring and fall) when kids are back in school.
Christian Education—Hymn 630 “ Ye Parents, Hear What Jesus Taught”
A HYMN OF GLORY LET US SING (TWENTY-SECOND IN A SERIES)
Contrary to the oft-repeated cant1 of collectivists, it does not “take a village” to raise a child; it takes parents. God entrusts parents—not society in general, not educational or governmental institutions, and not villages—with the responsibility of the proper upbringing of children. This responsibility is frequently enjoined upon parents throughout both Old and New Testaments. For example, “You shall teach them [God’s Words] to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19) and “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4)Read More »Christian Education—Hymn 630 “ Ye Parents, Hear What Jesus Taught”