Etz's View of the World

The Lutheran Carnival XXXVIII is now being sponsored by Matt Boarts (AKA, Boats), a classmate of mine who is a military chaplain in Japan. I’ve just now learned about his blog called LivingSermons. Take a look at it sometime. And tell him hello for me!

LivingSermons

Saturday, December 02, 2006

Lutheran Carnival XXXVIII

This Carnival hails from (now) snowy Northern Japan. An interesting local legend holds that Jesus actually escaped Crucifixion and took up residence near here. We don’t yet have pictures. We actually tried to go when the fall colors were in bloom and road construction kept us from our destination. (Normally not being able to read Kanji isn’t a problem because most signs are annotated in English. But, in this case, the detour signs didn’t have any English and we got a bit lost. Thankfully GPS got us back home!)
I’m a little early, but Sunday is a work day for me and Monday is quite busy. (Especially with singing in a choir that will be presenting The Messiah next Saturday!)
We leap into the carnival with two excellent entries by Kelly Klages. The first, at Kelly’s Blog, shows two pages of Lutheran and Reformation themed Stamps. (Make sure to click on the images as they open into very high resolution photos showing great detail!) Kelly especially points out "the illuminated cover page from Luther’s German Bible, an Olaus Petri stamp from Sweden, and some Papua New Guinea stamps."
Kelly’s second entry, at Confessional Lutheran Ecclesiastical Art Resources (CLEAR), contains an engaging discussion on the devotional use of prayer beads. Perhaps tactile, physical devotional aids would enrich your devotional life!
Next, Charles Lehman sent in a recommendation to take a look at House, M. Div. (Interestingly, I just took a look at the blog and "House, MD" is on TV (Armed Forces Network, speaking of AFN, I need to post a description of our "commercials" Look for it in the near future!). Back to House, M. Div! House includes several intriguing posts focusing on the Seelsorge aspect of pastoral care.
Orycteropus Afer invites us for a stroll along Aardvark Alley. Clement of Rome "is remembered for establishing the pattern of apostolic authority that governed the Christian Church during the first and second centuries." Check out his biography to learn more about how the Apostolic era found expression in later church history.
Recalling more recent history, the Aardvark looks back at Thanksgiving 2006 looking at godless thankfulness and noting an inconsistency between celebrating family and holding pro-Abortion views.
Enquiring spirits want to know! And Ask The Pastor supplies the knowlede. A dedicated Christian who regularly tithes based on salary wants to know if a Christian should tithe from profits gained from selling a house and business. Read the answer for an insightful response!
A second question at Ask The Pastor continues an engaging look at Who Speaks Christ’s Forgiveness?
Finally, Random Intolerance has a couple of entries. The first deals with a topic on everyone’s mind: Winter Weather. Why is it that meteorologists have such a hard time with the white fluffy stuff?
And the last entry for this edition of the Lutheran Carnival: Elle showcases the diversity of Thanksgiving meals partaken at a zoo.
Peace!

Posted by Matt at 12/02/2006 08:13:00 PM

Source: Lutheran Carnival XXXVIII

I’m a big fan of the TV show House. I have the DVR record it faithfully every Tuesday night at 8 PM. That way I don’t have to wait for commercials!

I came across this new blog called Greg House, M Div. If you haven’t read it yet, it’s another one to add to your reader.

House, M.Div.

Law, Gospel, and no B.S. You might not like it, but you can not like it all the way into an eternity with your Savior. If you want your theology watered down and relevant to your Soccer Mom needs, go to Rev. Cudd(l)y in the ELCA. (S)he probably has plenty of what you want, but be sure you’re wearing asbestos.

Wednesday, November 29, 2006

The Medicine of Immortality

Ambrose wrote, "Because I always sin, I always need medicine." Talk about your hypochondriacs! Always sin? Damnable exaggeration, surely. Except for the one thing. He really was sick. Remember, folks: Saint Ambrose was an expert physician of the soul. He diagnosed himself perfectly.
Ambrose was terminally ill, just like all of you are–just like I am. He needed the medicine. His body was constantly wracked by death, and he needed forgiveness of sins. He needed Life. So he got it… the Medicine of Immortality. He took it faithfully.
But, even so, the Bishop of Milan knew how it was all going to go. He would grow old, weaken, and before too long he’d be dead, dead, dead… but only if he lived that long.
Martyrdom was still fairly common in those days. Life wasn’t cushy for Christians. Even though Constantine had legalized the faith, dying for it was a real possibility in an Empire surrounded by you barbaric Germans.
So, then… if Ambrose was doomed, what was the point of receiving the Medicine? Seems fairly pointless to receive medicine all along, especially medicine that claims to give immortality, when you see people die all the time–people who have faithfully received the medicine their whole life.
Ambrose seems like quite the idiot. What kinda lousy schlep is going to bother with medicine that doesn’t deliver on its promises. You don’t take pain reliever if it doesn’t help the pain. Why should Ambrose take the Medicine of Immortality and then die anyway?
You ask because you’re blind. You ask because you believe the life you’re living in your frail, mortal body is life as it’s meant to be. You ask because you’re already dead.
Ambrose was dead too. Dead in trespasses and sins in which Old Adam walked. Ambrose, in faith, knew better than to turn aside from the Lord’s Supper. He knew that life was there. He knew it would nourish the faith that received all the gifts of the Lord. He listened to John, "Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:54).
It’s a matter of looking at the long game. New Adam is a child, begotten of the Father in Holy Baptism. Children need food, especially weak little kids that are being beaten up by their older brother all the time. Old Adam won’t let New Adam have a minute’s rest.
Ambrose saw himself for the sickly little brat he was. So he sought the good stuff. Not stale bread and sour Welch’s for him. Nope… He wanted the good stuff, the imperishable stuff. The food of everlasting life.
Ambrose fed on Jesus flesh and blood, and the Lord will raise him up at the last day.
So what are you waiting for? You’re sick too. You’re just as dead as Ambrose was, and you’re just as in need of forgiveness. Jesus died on the cross, shedding His blood and giving His body. Eat. Drink. Live forever.

Posted by Gregory House at 5:08 PM

Source: The Medicine of Immortality

My sister had a post about a Christmas festival in Chicago. You’ve probably already heard the news. Chicago won’t let the producers of "The Nativity Story" advertise in their Christmas festival due to the possibility of offending someone.

She goes on to talk about "Not in my town." You might take a look at it. Oh, and I’ve put a comment on the post. Let me know what your think.

I’ve always believed this and known it to be true. Nicely done!

Working Out My Salvation

Following Philippians 2:12 to the best of my ability

Monday, November 27, 2006

Weekly Communion

Though Luther merely states that we should partake of communion "frequently" (Kolb/Wengert 471.40), I think there is good reason for Lutherans to be concerned when congregations within the LCMS fail to observe the Lord’s Supper weekly. Last night I had a conversation with someone who attends an LCMS church that is experimenting with American Evangelical worship. When I voiced my concern he pointed out that worship depends largely on how people perceive its relevance; that non-Christians, and even young Lutherans, need to have something to which they can identify for worship to be of real benefit.
I pointed out that the purpose of the service is to prepare us for the Eucharist; that the sermon, music, and responsive readings are designed to put us in the right frame of mind to receive from Christ the life he promises through the eating and drinking of his body and blood (John 6:52-59). His response was telling:
"Well what do you do on weeks you don’t take communion?"
For the first time the importance of weekly communion hit me. When we aren’t allowing Christ to nourish us, we must feed ourselves. Is it any wonder that so many churches that deny the centrality of the Eucharist would thereby move toward contemporary services? Without the Lord’s Supper there really is very little received over the course of a service that offers any real benefit. Services simply become exercises in human ingenuity. After all, what’s one to do when the sacrament in which God has promised to give life is denied the believer?
I suppose the believer will try to create life within himself

posted by Adam Roe at 11:14 PM

Source: Weekly Communion

One of the things that I have tried to instill in my children is the great blessings that they have as Americans. I try to remember to fly our flag on the "big" holidays (we don’t have a light to shine on our flag, so I can only display it for three days at a time). I also encourage them to read about our founding fathers, great leaders and presidents of our country. I try to show them to have a great respect for "those in authority" including, but not limited to, the police, volunteer firemen, governor, congressmen, president, and those who fight for our freedoms by thanking them whenever I see them.

This article by Walt Snyder is an excellent one that talks about how the Bible relates to our founding documents. Read it, it’s worth the time. And don’t forget to read the comments as well!

…is a blog that is written by Adam Roe, a laymen who is now an Air National Guardsman. I believe he spent some time in the Iraq war.

Anyway, he does a good job of explaining the faith. It’s a good blog to keep an eye on. You can find it here.

I’m not one that usually writes much about politics. I have my own opinons on most things, but rarely do I write about them on this blog. I also tend to keep my political views to myself at Shepherd of the Hills.

But this was a bit different. I don’t believe this is something that we can simply let pass without at least talking about it at some point. Last Sunday, after the worship service, I read the letter that President Kieschnick sent to all LCMS pastors, as well as what the CTCR has stated regarding this issue. You can find that information here. I thought that it was important to explain the theological issues involved.

You might also want to read the letter that was written to Pastor Snyder from a retired pastor who has Parkinson.