How Far Is It to Bethlehem?
“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In… Read More »How Far Is It to Bethlehem?
“Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me. In… Read More »How Far Is It to Bethlehem?
(Please read Judges 9 for the setting, people, and events to which this devotion refers.) Sunday school students are fascinated by the characters in the… Read More »Your Enemy May Be Closer than You Think
Fraternal insurance is not provided by an insurance company, but rather by a fraternal benefit society. Fraternals were developed in the 1800’s as a way… Read More »What’s Wrong with Fraternal Insurance?
Surprises. They make up a big part of Christmas anticipation, don’t they? Packages of all shapes and sizes begin to appear under the tree, and… Read More »Surprise!… Again!
If William Walsham How, the author of this hymn, saw it in The Lutheran Hymnal, I think he might not entirely approve. The words in our hymnal are his, but the order is not; and three of the original stanzas have been left out.
In this long hymn, How develops the theme of the Church Militant1 looking to the Church Triumphant2 as an example and encouragement to us in our daily battles, finally culminating in the glorious return of Christ on Judgment Day. That’s a multi-part theme, which How developed in a logical and chronologically progressive manner. Unfortunately, that careful development has been somewhat weakened in our version due to the omission of three verses and a change in the placement of one verse.Read More »Hymn 463 “For All the Saints, Who from Their Labors Rest”
“Therefore it was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better… Read More »The Real Thing
(Numbers 13:25-14:10; Joshua 1:1-11) Should it be surprising to us that as Christians we are in the minority in this world (see Matthew 20:16b)? Is… Read More »Joshua A Minority Voice Who Served as a Leader for a Major Power
Pastors Answer Frequently-Asked Questions No. Yes. “Conservative” means different things to different people. For some, a conservative church is one that uses a traditional liturgy… Read More »“Are We So Different from Other ‘Conservative’ Lutheran Churches?”
Thousands would die that day in Lűtzen, Saxony. Everyone on both sides knew it. November 6, 1632. The Thirty Years’ War between the Roman Catholic Imperial forces and the Protestants had been raging for fourteen years. Camped in the fields of Lűtzen, the Protestant army of Sweden was awakened and assembled. They would attack the formidable Roman Catholic Imperial forces of Duke Albrecht von Wallenstein. Wallenstein was prepared for them with well-sited and well-defended positions.Read More »Hymn 263 “O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe”
“Politics is the art of compromise.” Thus politicians and pundits advise that the way things get done is through compromise. No one gets everything they… Read More »The Great Uncompromiser