JUST ASK
MEDITATIONS ON JESUS’ SERMON ON THE MOUNT: MATTHEW’S GOSPEL, CHAPTERS FIVE THROUGH SEVEN “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone…
JUST ASK
The Eighth Commandment: Not a big problem?
“As the head of the family should teach them in a simple way to those of his household.” (Martin Luther) The Eighth Commandment Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour What does this mean?…
GOD’S OBSCURE SAINTS
(Fourth in a Series) This edifying series of chapel talks comes from the archives of our Spokesman Assistant Editor, Prof. Em. Paul R. Koch • Eau Claire, Wis. At Joppa there was a certain disciple…
How Can Christians Help Those Struggling with Addiction?
Editor’s Note: After hearing Dr. Sumey’s presentation at our District Delegate Conference, we invited him to share a condensed version with our readers. We thank him for doing so. We would encourage (as Dr. Sumey does…
“The Fellowship of Kindred Minds”
An essay titled “What place does the church (small “c”) have in a Christian’s faith-life?” was presented to a CLC Pastoral Conference at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Cheyenne, Wyoming, in September, 2013. This is the second of…
God’s Gift Giving
Years ago in my hometown an elderly woman crafted new pairs of mittens for my brother, my sister, and me every Christmas. It wasn’t that this lady had forgotten what she had given us the year before. But she knew that the mittens she had made the previous year would likely wear out over the winter. She also knew that we children were still growing and would need larger sizes. So out of the goodness of her heart she dedicated her time and effort to keep our hands warm.
But our family friend isn’t the only one who has given us the same Christmas gift every year. Our heavenly Father has too—for countless years! “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…”
(John 3:16).
Of course, we know that Jesus is not born as a Bethlehem Baby each and every year. Our annual Christmas celebration is a remembering of the first time God’s Gift was given, when Jesus was “born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons” (Galatians 4:4-5).
That one-time, God-given Gift should remind each of us every year of what changes…and of what doesn’t change!
The Voice
The voice of one crying in the wilderness: “Prepare the way of the Lord; Make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted and every mountain and hill brought low; the crooked places shall be made straight and the rough places smooth; the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, And all flesh shall see it together; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
(Isaiah 40:3-5)
In a current television talent show celebrity judges are facing away from the stage when the contestant begins to sing. When they are impressed by the voice they hear, the judges hit the button that turns them around to face the other direction.
Christmas reminds us that…THINGS ARE NOT AS THEY SEEM
Pastor Paul Naumann • Tacoma, Washington
“Appearances can be deceiving.”
No one knows the truth of that statement more fully than does a Christian.
Most people understand the principle. They keep it in mind as a salutary warning against the false and deceptive product advertising that floods the media in our day. They use it to bolster their defenses against the subtle tricks of con men on the street and scam artists on the internet.
Jesus is True God
PART ONE OF A SERIES ON THE SECOND ARTICLE
“This is most certainly true!”
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 the Holy Ghost, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead, and buried; He descended into hell; the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven and sitteth on the right hand of God, the Father Almighty; from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Ghost; the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen. (TLH, p. 12)
A forward-thinking person has the unique ability to head off a problem before it occurs. By thinking outside the box and casting a discerning eye to the future, such a person is able to take steps to ward off disaster.
The Five SECOND ARTICLE Installments:
1) Jesus is true God
2) Jesus is true Man
3) Jesus has redeemed me
4) Jesus has made me His own
5) Jesus calls me to serve Him
Our sovereign God had forethought unimaginably greater than any human has ever achieved. Not only did He know the
The Shocked
Those shocked by love (Fifth of a Series) And when they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, commanding the jailer to keep them securely. Having received such a charge, he…