A blog of the Evangelical Lutheran Liturgy
To be sure, the Creator and creature are different, but – especially at this time of year! – we can rejoice in the fact that we shouldn’t draw such a sharp distinction between God and man that the rest of the Scriptures are at odds with a crude understanding of that bare statement.
Read MoreThe purpose of this essay is to strive for the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace, so that we might together humbly accept the Word of God on this matter, submit to it, and encourage each other to apply it to our congregations and synod, speaking the truth in love, lest the devil divide us by seducing us from the clear word of God.
Read MoreIf the leaders will not lead with the truth, why should the people take a stand on the truth?
Read MoreThere is no peace in a state church - only what is outward, false, and forced, a conformity that knows no peace, only sheer compliance.
Read MoreNo one wants to hear about enduring hardship until hardship comes. Now we face hardship all the more boldly because we are being rooted and renewed in Christ in ways we did not imagine three years ago.
Read More“Since the spiritual life is produced by the Holy Spirit for people with bodies, Christian spirituality is embodied piety. We human beings are not just spirits, like the angels, nor animated bodies, like the animals, but are embodied spirits, or, if you will, spiritual bodies. We do not just have bodies; we are bodies. They are not just what we are as people but an essential part of who we are. That is why the body is so important. It has been designed to be a temple of the Holy Spirit rather than an amusement park. Like the human mind, it is meant to live in harmony with God and His Holy Spirit. It was created for eternal life with God, not merely temporal life on earth. No matter how damaged it may actually be, every human body is designed for perfection in eternity" (John Kleinig, Wonderfully Made, p. 4).
Read MoreThe dethronement of theology in the church is the attempted dethronement of God in the church. The church speaks definitely because it understands God’s revelation in Holy Scripture to be definitive in its source and in its relevance.
Read More“It is a very rare blessing for godly priests to have a safe and quiet place where they may teach. It is an extraordinary gift, which the devil, the most malevolent enemy of God and the salvation of man, often obstructs and disturbs. But where there is such harmony that the princes of a land honor, protect, and support ministers for spreading abroad spiritual things, one may truly say that a paradise of the world is there. But if ministers are despised, ridiculed, and treated with contempt, as happened to Isaiah and other Prophets, although they were most excellent and faithful teachers, it is the surest evidence of God’s wrath and of impending disasters; for contempt of so great a blessing as is tendered to men by godly ministers has never gone unpunished.”
Read More“If we were able to believe firmly that God will keep His promises and that the oath with which He has pledged His Deity and has given His Son as a sign will be sure, then we would regard death, want, shame, and hell as if they were life, riches, glory, and heaven, just as they differ in no wise before God. But because this does not happen, it is a sure proof of our unbelief and mistrust. . . . But this serves to glorify the marvelous patience and mercy of God, who forgives not only past but also present sins and with great tenderness of heart puts up with this common indifference toward His grace.”
Read More“In other words, “since by divine authority the grades of bishop and pastor are not diverse,” but comprise one apostolic office, “ordination administered by a pastor in his own church is valid by divine law.” When and where this is done—even according to Rome’s contemporary theologians, and contrary to her popular polemicists and apologists—“what we have is apostolic succession.” — Rev. Dr. Korey D. Maas
Read MoreWhen error is admitted into the Church, it will be found that the stages of its progress are always three.
Read MoreThe medieval hymn "When righteous Joseph wedded was," contains in the fourth verse a clue as to what may have been the original meaning of the Immaculate Conception: "God's angel in a dream His mind did undertake: Fear not, just Joseph; This thy wife Is still a spotless maid . . .
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