“Come and Rest”
Teacher Josh Ohlmann • reporting The 2013 CLC Teachers’ Conference was hosted by Immanuel Lutheran Church and School, Winter Haven, Florida, from Sunday through Tuesday, October 13-15. Each Christian Day School of the Church of…
“Come and Rest”
The Disinterested
(Sixth of a Series) A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give Me a drink.” For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman…
Yearning For Freedom
(Philemon vv. 8-16; a study of Philemon 1-7 appeared in our Nov. ’13 issue) THE EPISTLE OF PHILEMON Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our beloved friend and fellow…
Jesus is True Man
CATECHISM SERIES: Studies in The Apostles’ Creed THE APOSTLES’ CREED I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by…
A “Letter to the Editor”
BACKGROUND: What follows is a recent letter to the editor of the daily newspaper in Cheyenne, Wyoming. Our response is intended to give God-pleasing direction to others who, with us, do not appreciate shots taken…
Happy New Year!
Do you ever wonder what is so new about “New Year”?
Oh sure, we add another number to the counting of years. We will call it 2014 instead of 2013, but does that really make it new?
The world still has the same problems. Our flesh is still plagued with the same sins. A succession of broken resolutions reminds us that we haven’t really changed. We truly ought to have been consumed in God’s wrath long ago.
We remember that Achan was stoned to death because he coveted and took some of the plunder of Jericho for himself (Joshua 7). We think of the man who was stoned because he gathered sticks on the Sabbath Day to build a fire to cook the manna (Numbers 15). Remember how Ananias and Sapphira dropped dead because they lied to the Holy Spirit (Acts 5).
Are we any less sinful than they? Because of the many times we have sinned, shouldn’t we have been struck down with God’s righteous judgment? ABSOLUTELY!
Seeking the Christ
Many things in life seem to be unfair. Thus it is often asked: “By what measure of fairness will God condemn to everlasting punishment those who have never heard the gospel of salvation in Christ Jesus?” A rebuttal question might be,
“Did they ever seek out God and His Christ?”
Surely the evidence and cause for such seeking exist, for “the heavens declare the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1), and “His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead” (Romans 1:20).
The Reason for the Season
The word Epiphany means to show forth or make known.
The Epiphany season of the church year affords us an opportunity to see Jesus as He truly is: “our great God and Savior” (Titus 2:13), the One “in whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily” (Colossians 2:9).
We see Jesus’ glory as the only begotten Son of God. We see it in His miracles and His teaching. We see it even in His wondrous grace
in willingly coming into the world for the likes of us. Jesus came to make the complete payment for the sins of all who had lived or ever would live.
The Value of Life
One doesn’t have to search far to find examples of human life being devalued. The periodic acts of violence in our nation’s schools and streets are regular reminders. So too are the statistics of abuse—physical and chemical—whether self-inflicted or by others. Statistics tell a similar tale in the running record of suicides, assisted suicides, abortions, and what borders on euthanasia.
These sad and sobering realities cut a wide swath with many and varied contributing factors, but they can all be traced back to a fundamental devaluing of life.
Stilling the Storm (in our lives also)
“…The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me.” (John 10:25) On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other…