Lead Story

“‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’ . . . And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.”

(Ephesians 4:8,11-13)

The day was Maundy Thursday. The location, an upper room in Jerusalem. Jesus was gathered with His disciples to celebrate the Passover. At the outset of the evening’s festivities, He stooped over, took a towel, poured water into a basin, and started washing the disciples’ feet. Peter tried to stop Him, thinking that this act of service was beneath his Master’s dignity. Jesus told Peter, “What you don’t understand now, you will later.” After completing the chore, He told His disciples, “I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.” (John 13:15, for the full account see vv. 1-17)

Jesus was teaching a spiritual lesson that He wants His believers of all times to take to heart: He calls us to serve Him in those around us by kindhearted deeds. This is to be a response to the work of love He performed for us all by washing us clean of our sin by His blood shed on the cross. We rejoice to know that He views the acts of loving service we do for others as having been done for Him (see Matthew 25:40).Read More »Called by Christ to Be Servants of His Servants

COVER STORY – PENTECOST

Pentecostalism has gained popularity in recent years. While it uses the name of one of the church festivals, Pentecostalism is not biblical. It is an idea that searches for proof of God’s power outside the means of grace. Adherents pray for gifts of speaking in tongues or divine healing based on the strength of their faith in God. While true Lutheranism is focused on the principle of Scripture alone, Pentecostalism looks for God outside of the Bible. It’s a completely misguided idea that appeals perfectly to our selfish sinful nature.

Let us instead consider Pentecost as it is revealed in Acts 2. 

Many people had gathered in Jerusalem for the Feast of Weeks (Leviticus 23:15-22). The twelve apostles (Matthias had replaced Judas Iscariot) were gathered together as they heard the sound of a rushing wind. They had tongues of fire rest upon them and were “filled with the Holy Spirit,” (Acts 2:4) Who enabled them to speak in foreign languages. Clearly the Holy Spirit was poured out on the apostles and other early New Testament Christians in a special way as they spoke in tongues, healed others (Acts 3), and even raised the dead (Acts 20:8-10).

The Spirit equipped them for the task at hand. Gathered at Pentecost were the same apostles who had deserted the Son of God as He was led to the cross. Yet now, less than two months later, they boldly proclaimed the name of Jesus, no longer afraid to speak on their Savior’s behalf. These men, some of them former fishermen, found their sea legs in their new role as fishers of men. The Holy Spirit filled them with much-needed courage.Read More »True Pentecostalism

Communication requires two things: a sender and a receiver. The most powerful transmitter in the world is worthless if no one turns on a radio, and all of the radios in the world are of little use if no one is broadcasting.

The same holds true with human interaction. Someone has to send, someone else has to receive. If either one is missing, communication fails. Wives tend to understand this, since husbands tend to have their “radios” turned off a lot. Kids too, for that matter. And yet wives and moms just keep transmitting . . . .

Why is this general topic so important? Because as Christians, you and I are in the communication business. That’s our job, that’s our calling, that’s our mission—and it ought to be our passion. When we listen to God’s Word, we are supposed to be the radios, receiving and actually hearing God’s message to us. But our life’s work is to be transmitters. In leaving us with His Great Commission, our Lord commanded us to center our lives upon the communication of the Gospel, which we all agree is the key to eternal life. The message we are to broadcast is very simple: Whoever believes that Jesus paid for the sins of the world through His sinless life and innocent death on the cross will be saved.

Understand that this is not part of our life’s work; this is our life. 

It is the sum and substance. Failure in every other secular pursuit is as nothing if we but succeed in our calling to “go and make disciples” for Jesus Christ. You and I are supposed to be the “senders” of the information—the transmitters. If Christians fail in this critical mission, Gospel communication fails. No one is saved by what they don’t hear. If Gospel communication fails, it must never be the transmitters who fail. Our communication can take many forms. Our actions often speak louder than our words. But while our actions might make those around us curious, it is always and only the Word of God that can convert and save, for through that Word alone the Holy Spirit works.Read More »Jesus, the Good Shepherd

While that’s probably not the way you would normally see that sentence spelled (“The eyes have it”), it might well be the way Pastor Juan José Olvera would spell it these days. Pastor Olvera is a foreign affiliate of the CLC currently working in the Juárez area south of El Paso, Texas. He, like the Apostle Paul, helps to support himself and his family by sewing—until recently. His ongoing struggle with diabetes left him with serious vision impairment in both eyes. His condition required immediate surgery to correct the problem and to prevent it from leaving him permanently disabled. Thanks to a small gift from the CLC Mission Development Fund and an advance on their modest subsidy, Pastor Olvera had two successful surgeries that have, by the grace of God, restored his vision and allowed him to carry on both his secular and pastoral duties.

Pastor Olvera writes,

Dear Brothers in the Lord,

I give thanks to our God for the blessings I have received. Last week I had surgery on my left eye. All went well with the blessing of the Lord. I received all the necessary care and am very well. Thank you very much for all your prayers and support, both spiritual and material. These blessings make me redouble my efforts to continue talking with everyone in Mexico about the true faith that the Lord has given us. Soon I’ll be sending news of the students in our seminary and the Evangelistic crusades to reach more people for the Lord. Greetings to our brethren in other countries that day by day fight the good fight of faith, as well as our mother church, the CLC. May the spirit of the Lord guide their ministries. I pray always for you, in Christ Jesus.

Your brother and fellow servant in the work of Jesus,

Pastor OlveraRead More »“The Eyes Have It”

“He’s coming! I’m so excited! It was three years ago that we were engaged, then he was sent overseas. I think about him every day. We text and e-mail, but I long to see him face to face and hold him in my arms. Now he’s coming home. We will be married and live happily ever after! I just can’t wait!”

If you can imagine the excited anticipation of that fiancée, then you can understand the joy, excitement, and preparation of Advent. Your Bridegroom is coming! You were betrothed to Jesus Christ when you were baptized and brought to faith in Him alone for your forgiveness and salvation. Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “I have betrothed you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Corinthians 11:2).

Ever since your engagement, you have been physically separated from your Bridegroom. You think about Him daily and communicate with Him by reading His letters and talking to Him in prayer. In the approaching Christmas season you fondly remember how He came to this world to rescue you from the misery of sin and the bondage to Satan, and to unite you with God forever. During Lent you remember with great pride how He heroically went to battle for you and came out victorious on Easter morning. Then you think about how He ascended to take up His throne in heaven to rule everything in the world for your benefit. Doesn’t it give you a thrill to hear Him say that He went to prepare a place for you in the mansions of heaven, so you can live with Him there forever?

Now we hear, “Behold, the Bridegroom is coming!” (Matthew 25:6). Do you feel the excitement in those words? Your long awaited bridegroom is coming! And He promises, “Behold, I am coming quickly!” We don’t know what day He will come, but it will be soon. When He comes, we will be part of the greatest marriage celebration ever, and truly live happily ever after with Him in Paradise. John sees ahead to that day and says, “Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints” (Revelation 19:7-8).Read More »“Behold, I Am Coming Quickly!”

“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened
in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints” 

(Ephesians 1:18, NIV).

As you read this article, there’s a festival fast approaching on the church year calendar. It’s a festival that doesn’t receive much attention these days. It is “All Saints’ Day.” It falls each year on the first day of November.

How and when did the Festival of All Saints originate, and what is its significance? In the days of the early church, when Christianity was an outlawed religion, followers of Jesus were subjected to bitter persecution. Many were killed for refusing to knuckle under to the authorities and renounce their religious beliefs. It was during this period of open hostility toward Christians that the church chose a day of the year on which to remember those who had been martyred, and to praise God for His mercy in preserving them in faith amidst the fiery trials they faced. The name they ascribed to the day was All Saints Day. Later, all who died while anchoring their hopes in Jesus were remembered on this day, with thanksgiving to God.Read More »All Saints’ Day A Minor Festival With Major Comfort