On “Hallowed Eve” in the year 1517, the evening before All Saints Day, a Roman Catholic monk named Martin Luther nailed 95 theses (sentences or propositions for debate) onto the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany.
According to God’s eternal plan, that event set in motion what we today know as the Reformation. God accomplished mighty things through His servant Martin Luther.
“Treasuring Our Heritage of Truth” – Third of Three…
The divinely inspired letter to the Ephesians is all about the Church of Jesus Christ – of which we are members by the grace of God, redeemed and forgiven by the blood of Christ, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Jesus Christ as the Head and chief Cornerstone. In Ephesians chapter 4 we are given the marvelous Master-plan for the edification (building up) of His Church.
“Treasuring Our Heritage of Truth” – Second of Three…
“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up….” Deuteronomy 6:4-7
Our theme for this worship service is Treasuring Our Heritage of Truth. In order to keep a heritage, there really needs to be someone to whom it is passed down. That is where the role of Christian education comes into play. Through His Word may God teach us how we might pass down this heritage of truth, even as it has been passed down to us!
“Treasuring Our Heritage of Truth” -First of Three…
“Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct.” Hebrews 13:7
In our service today we are trying to do what God is telling us to do in this text. We are trying to remember those individuals who have spoken the Word of God to us. Since we are celebrating both the Lutheran Reformation and the anniversary of the Church of the Lutheran Confession, we are trying to remember particularly those from the sixteenth century who spoke the Word of God to us, and those in the middle of the 20th century who spoke the Word of God to us in connection with the founding of our church body.
How many of us recognize the words of the title?.
I have often wondered what it must have been like for those who heard Jesus preach directly to them. Their hearts must have burned within them as the Holy Spirit used the Savior’s own words to create and sustain faith.
As the risen Savior joined them on a walk to Emmaus, Cleopas and a friend had this amazing opportunity. Jesus asked them what made them sad. They told Him that “He who was to redeem Israel” had been crucified.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
(Acts 1:8)
In the first chapter of Acts we read the account of how Jesus, in the weeks leading up to His ascension, appeared to His disciples on various occasions and confirmed for them His great Easter victory. At this time He also informed them that He would soon bless them with power from on high that would enable them to serve as His gospel witnesses. After His departure to heaven He would use them as His instruments to broadcast far and wide in the world the news of His death-destroying, life-restoring work as mankind’s Savior.
When you read the following Bible words, you can be certain they are talking specifically about your heart—that it “is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked...” (Jeremiah 17:5).
At first you might feel insulted. It’s normal—just your sinful flesh acting up. The original Hebrew words are frightening (the English is bad enough!). The situation is serious; you may have forgotten how and why.
In your heart there are two religions. Both come from superior beings. Both give revelations. Both have doctrines and writings. Both claim rulership over you. Both talk of sinfulness and forgiveness. Both have a doctrine of justification. Both have commandments. Both of them promise advantages (good) and to ward off disadvantages (evil). Both use the idea of fear, promise to provide knowledge, and promise to give eternal life. And both encourage worship and praise to be directed to them.
You are a Christian, and you believe that things in the previous paragraph pertain to Christianity. And so they do.
Dear family and friends of the bride and groom, and especially today, dear Jackie and Mac:
The text you’ve chosen is a most appropriate one for your wedding day. The setting is Old Testament Israel, where the people had recently conquered the Canaanites under the leadership of Joshua. The Lord, going before them, had won the battles. He had kept all of His promises to His people, to the last word.
Then the aging Joshua, after all the military campaigns, was about to retire from his post as commander in chief. They had reached a milestone, and they faced a fork in the road for their future. Joshua presented them with a choice—one of two options. They could choose to blend in with unbelieving world around them, OR they could resolve to remain faithful to the true LORD, their Deliverer.
Christian education is, first and foremost, an activity for the home. God has called parents to train their children in the fear and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4) and make them wise for salvation (2 Timothy 3:15).
A Christian fellowship is able to support the home by providing Sunday School, Christian Day school, Vacation Bible School, and other opportunities. Of these, a school is probably the most recognizable “face” of Christian education; if this is the case, then graduation becomes a visible “sign of success.”
Just exactly what is “Scriptural fellowship”?
Fellowship may be companionship or an exercise of friendliness toward one another. It expresses what the dictionary defines as a “community of interest.” The exercise of such fellowship serves society. But fellowship as society defines it is quite shallow—certainly a far cry from the scriptural concept.
“Fellowship” in the scriptural sense does not revolve around coffee but around the Word of God. A God-pleasing exercise of fellowship is based upon a common understanding of God’s Word and a Spirit-wrought acceptance and agreement in all that Scripture teaches.
