Ascension Lutheran Church Tacoma, Washington
A SLICE OF LIFE IN THE CLC SNAPSHOTS OF CONGREGATIONS FROM AROUND THE CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION When you think about Washington State, what is the first city that comes to mind? It’s Seattle,…
Our Mission Strategy: Static or Sweeping?
NOTES FROM THE FIELD In this series, thoseinvolved with CLC foreign missions profile one aspect of our overseas endeavors. “We have a problem. Twelve disciples we could handle, but seventy? How can we keep tabs…
ILC’s New Dorm Parent
ILC Newsletter Every other month we get an update on what’s been happening recently at our Immanuel Lutheran High School, College and Seminary in Eau Claire, Wisconsin. Up until the 1980-81 school year at ILC,…
“BREAD OF LIFE” READINGS June 2018
TLH = The Lutheran Hymnal, 1941; WS = Worship Supplement 2000; LSB = Lutheran Service Book, 2006
Date Verse Reading Comments
Jun 2 TLH 393 Jeremiah 51:42-50 Babylon would conquer Judah, but the victory would not last. God would rescue and restore His people.
Jun 3 TLH 396 Luke 8:40-56 Jairus and the the afflicted woman both found that those who depend on Christ are not left disappointed.
Jun 4 TLH 370 Galatians 3:1-11 We do not gain peace with God by human effort such as observing commandments, customs, or traditions, but through faith—just like Abraham.
Jun 5 TLH 42/LSB 721; Exodus 40:34-38 When the tabernacle and its furnishings were finished, the Lord made His presence known and demonstrated that He would lead His people.
Tribulations and the Trinity
COVER STORY – DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY
The life of Job is worth our consideration whenever we feel discouraged. After being substantially blessed by God, he lost his possessions, his children, and finally even his health. All of that tribulation eventually led him to this question: “Is it not destruction for the wicked, And disaster for the workers of iniquity?” (Job 31:3) Thousands of years later, many people, even Christians, continue to ask, “Why is this happening to me?”
After a rebuke of his supposed self-righteousness from Job’s friend Elihu, God answers Job with a series of His own questions in Job 38-41. He demands Job answer these questions that are unanswerable to all except God Himself. This confrontation led Job to realize that the wisdom of man is nothing compared to the wisdom of God.
The doctrine of the Trinity (that three Persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—are together one God) is not able to be explained in a way that agrees with human logic. It has no true earthly parallel. Many of the most brilliant minds on earth would, no doubt, call it foolishness. Yet it is Biblical truth, passed down to us from the Almighty Himself. Like God’s response to Job, it is a reminder to us that there is much we will not and cannot understand on our earthly pilgrimage. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:9)
However, the Trinity is not only a reminder of our own lack of understanding, but also divine truth. God tells us in Romans 8:28 that He works all things for our good. We realize when considering the Trinity and other mysteries of God that we cannot see the full picture. Our plans are based on our incomplete view, but God’s plans are perfect.
A Positive Outlook for the Convention
CONVENTION PREVIEW
At the conclusion of the Apostle Paul’s missionary journeys, he was in the habit of having a series of conventions of sorts. There were several positive points as to why Paul conducted himself in this manner. Perhaps we may see the same positives in attending our own synodical gatherings.
Typically, when Paul would conclude a mission trip, he would head to a gathering of believers in Antioch, Syria. Here the faithful would be treated to reports of the Holy Spirit’s work, performing miracles and adding to the Church of Christ. Paul and his fellow workers would then usually travel down the coastline, stopping to give reports along the way, until they could meet with the church in Jerusalem.
TLH Hymn 240 “Father Most Holy, Merciful, and Tender”
A HYMN OF GLORY LET US SING (THIRTY-second IN A SERIES)
The doctrine of the Trinity has been called “The supreme mystery which theology is to proclaim.”1 The Bible clearly teaches that there is one and only one God, and that this one true God exists as three separate persons—yet each person individually is fully God, not one third of God. Martin Luther wrote and preached much on the subject, but always with the understanding that the nature of God is, ultimately, beyond human understanding. So, for example, he said with regard to this doctrine, “Here reason, corrupted by original sin, must be taken captive in the obedience of faith, nay, must be extinguished together with its light and wisdom.”
Sacrificing Love on the Altar of Misunderstanding
GEMS FROM THE OLD TESTAMENT (Please read Joshua chapter 22.) The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh fought alongside the rest of Israel to take possession of the land west of the Jordan.…
God’s Discipline Demonstrates His Love for Us!
STUDIES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT “Consider [Jesus] who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to…
“I don’t need to repent.”
READY TO GIVE AN ANSWER (IMPENITENCE) Passages that will help you respond when people say… Our conversations around God’s Word vary. Sometimes witnessing to the truth of God’s Word is new instruction. Sometimes it is…