Skip to content
nimble_asset_clc_logo_header

 

Church of the Lutheran Confession

Search Archives
Search
Lutheran Spokesman page head image

Connect with Us

Contact

Gospel Reinforcement

  • by

COVER STORY – CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

The still, small voice of God.

The news today can seem exceedingly loud. Numerous sources fight to be the first to tell us about all the effects of sin in the world. Political turmoil and corruption throw countries into chaos. Mass tragedies happen so frequently that we can seldom fully sympathize with victims before another tragedy becomes the headline news. Amidst the chaotic “noise,” the world asks Christians, “Where is your God?” (Psalm 42:3)
God is not silenced
That constant noise and tragedy can lead even the strongest Christian to exasperation. It’s easy to feel alone in this evil world. But God is not silenced by the noise. “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword.” (Hebrews 4:12) God’s Word cuts through the noise to show us His love for all people.
We are not the first people to feel discouraged by the world around us. After God’s resounding victory in a contest with the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel as recorded in 1 Kings 18, we read in 1 Kings 19 about a depressed Elijah, praying that he might die. He hid in a cave and told God, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.” (1 Kings 19:10)Gospel Reinforcement

Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

  • by

Don’t you love to ponder God’s creation and His creative powers? There are multitudinous things at which we marvel that proclaim God’s glory.
• Marvel at the power of God, Who simply spoke and it was done! (Genesis 1)
• Marvel at the wisdom of God, Who designed every living thing with incredible intricacy and complexity.
• Marvel at the love of God, Who made everything perfect and beautiful for our enjoyment and use.
• Marvel at the precision and care of God, Who calls the estimated one septillion stars by name and keeps each one in its place. (Isaiah 40:26)
• Marvel at the immensity of God, Who measures the seemingly infinite universe with the span of His hand. (Isaiah 40:12).
• Marvel at the imagination of God, to create such variety and diversity of life.
• Marvel at the personal touch of God, Who cared enough to form Adam and Eve with His own hands in His own image.
When you think of creation, however, don’t think only of a past great act of God. Creation is also a present marvel that is taking place every day. Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

The Mystery of Marital Love

  • by

“Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband
is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church. . . .
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for
her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word. . . .
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.”
(Ephesians 5:22-23,26,32)

If you were asked to give a definition for the word love, how would you answer? I suppose it depends on the kind of love you’re thinking about. There are different forms of love. If you’re a parent you might define love as the feeling of deep affection you have for your child (“I love my son to death”). If you’re engaged, you might define it as the romantic attachment you have for your sweetheart (“It was love at first sight”). If you’re a football enthusiast it may mean the great interest and pleasure you have in watching your team play (“I love the Seahawks”).
If you are a Bible student, you may be aware that Greek, the original language of the New Testament, has several distinct words for love. The Greek word eros doesn’t occur in the Bible; it is used in reference to the love of sexual attraction. Philia is the love shared by friends. Then there’s agape (uh-GAHP-ay), the highest and most important form of love. A key characteristic of agape is the willingness to put the welfare/happiness/comfort of others before your own. Agape has been defined as love that decides to do what is in someone else’s best interests no matter what, even when that person doesn’t deserve it.The Mystery of Marital Love

A Six-Step Engagement Plan

  • by

Life is full of choices—some of little consequence, and some that can change the entire course of your future. There is perhaps no other decision that has more far-reaching implications than selecting a spouse. Here are some time-tested scriptural principles, as well as practical advice on how to go about making this choice in a way that will bring the Lord’s best blessing.
First, keep in mind what marriage itself is. At its heart, marriage is the unconditional promise between one man and one woman to be husband and wife, faithful to each other so long as they both shall live. In Jesus’ day, “betrothal” was just such a public and unconditional promise, although the man and woman did not live together as husband and wife until after the actual marriage ceremony. That’s why the Bible refers to Mary and Joseph both as being betrothed (Matthew 1:18) and also as being married (Matthew 1:20) prior to their wedding day.A Six-Step Engagement Plan

God Has a Plan for You

  • by

COVER STORY – PENTECOST

Our lives are constantly changing. Occasionally, those changes feel life-shattering. We move, change jobs, get sick, or lose a friend or family member; the list could go on. We wonder how we can continue, but God knows that His plan for us is not broken. God picks up the pieces of our broken lives and makes us His new creation. “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus
for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:10)
Consider the life of Jacob. He fled his home after deceiving his father, fearing that Esau would kill him. He saw firsthand the kind of healing that God is capable of when he returned to his homeland and was met by his brother’s embrace (Genesis 33:4). He had faced adversity of many kinds and had been blessed by God with twelve sons; then he was told that his beloved son Joseph was dead. “And all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him; but he refused to be comforted, and he said, ‘For I shall go down into the grave to my son in mourning.’ Thus his father wept for him.” (Genesis 37:35) His life was broken in a way that no human comfort could mend.
God’s plan was bigger than Jacob understood. He used Joseph to help prepare for a seven-year famine. But God didn’t care only about the big picture. He knew the pain that Jacob was living with and healed him by reuniting him with his son. “Then Israel said, ‘It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go and see him before I die.’” (Genesis 45:28) God Has a Plan for You