After listing the great heroes of the faith in chapter 11, Hebrews 12 begins with this grand encouragement:  1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.  2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 

Ah, yes, “the sin that so easily entangles.”  (All sin has that germinal propensity.)  The worst part about repeated sins, or even addictions, is the gnawing sense of unworthiness and guilt over failure.  We feel cast aside from God’s use and God’s love.  With a self-loathing that comes from our inability to meet the expectations of ourselves and others we get stuck in guilt.  Wallowing in shame we shrink from the healing and forgiveness that God freely offers.

Philip Yancy wrote of a prostitute’s shameful confession that she had wanted to rape her own sons.  She told of her rescue from that lifestyle and sexual addiction by those who loved her unconditionally and shared God’s love with her.  She later recounted that God’s grace can heal, but after a moment’s reflection added, “It isn’t easy to be healed.”

King David, who after his greatest failure became the public emblem of fallibility, wrote Psalm 32 to express his pain in being ‘unhealed’.  He also wrote these words after his repentance: 16 You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. (Psalm 51)  A thousand years later, the persecutor Saul – whom God rescued, reclaimed, and renamed Paul – says something similar to the church at Rome, summarizing our Christian hope in this simple, invitational truth: “Where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” Romans 5:20

Lent and Easter have powerful messages that herald that inspiring and invitational truth: “… where sin increased, grace increased all the more.”

Lent, the season of repentance, offers special opportunity for confession of our human depravity and fallibility.  Followed by the victory of Easter – with its death-conquering message of forgiveness, new life, new beginnings, and eternal life in Christ – there is the louder proclamation of another, God-ordained, quality:  redeemability.  Dallas Willard writes, “Nothing irredeemable has happened or can happen to us on our way to our destiny in God’s full world.”  The clear, beautiful, grace note of the Bible, because of Christ’s completed of salvation through the cross and Easter’s empty tomb – sounds the promise that no matter who I am and what I have done, the door to forgiveness and transformational power swings wide open before me – before all – because of Jesus.

All of us have the inherent quality of “fallibility” – the ability and propensity to sin, because of our fallen and corrupt nature.  We don’t like to discuss or admit that.  Many Christians today resist the fact that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23)  Paul, himself, battled those who said they had attained a higher plane of enlightenment (Gnostics), Pharisaic Christians who required strict adherence to religious laws, and other “righteous” who scorned categories of notorious sinners like prostitutes and homosexuals.  There are many corollaries today, and we surely still succumb to ranking sins.

Paul attacks these ranking tendencies beginning in the first chapters of Romans.  He creates a kind of ‘vice catalog’, a ‘sin collection’, beginning in Romans 1:18.  Flagrant sins are mentioned – perverts, murderers, god-haters – and mixed in are everyday sins of greed, envy, disobeying parents, gossip, arrogance, and more.  Apparently sin is sin.  Paul continues in Romans 2 by taking on those who, smug in their superiority, condemn such behavior, but have their own ‘secrets’:  You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things.  Certainly, Paul is following Jesus’ logic in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5 and following):  murder and adultery are tantamount to hatred and lust. 

Paul reserves his most scathing remarks, however, for those who are self-righteous:  Jews, especially Pharisees, who meticulously observe the law.  He should know; he was one:  “If anyone else thinks he has reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more:  5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for legalistic righteousness, faultless.” (Philippians 3:4-6) 

In Romans 3, Paul shifts to the first person.  He has referred to the wicked as “they” and the “good” judgmental folk as “you.”  But when self-righteousness is the topic, he uses the first person – “we.”  “What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin.” Romans 3:9  So that we don’t miss the clear confession of the Apostle here in Romans, he also writes the young pastor Timothy:  Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners – of whom I am the worst. (1 Timothy 1:15)  Please note:  the great Apostle – brilliant, a master of the language, inspired – writes, “I am the worst” not “I was the worst.” 

He understood sin, his fallibility, and his culpability.  We should too; daily … in the present tense.                

You see, there are three people sitting where you are sitting right now:  the person you hope you are; the person others think you are; and the person God knows you to be.  If we compare who we are to who we claim to be, we are all hypocrites.  The Church – proclaiming the crucified and risen Jesus – provides (at least it should) a place where we can openly and honestly confess our failures, fallibility, and false opinions of ourselves, receiving the cleansing power of grace.  C. S. Lewis writes, “The gospel means we can stop lying to ourselves. The sweet sound of amazing grace saves us from the necessity of self-deception. It keeps us from denying that though Christ was victorious, the battle with lust, greed, and pride still rages within us. As a sinner who has been redeemed, I can acknowledge that I am often unloving, irritable, angry and resentful with those closest to me. When I go to church I can leave my white hat at home and admit I have failed. God not only loves me as I am, but also knows me as I am. Because of this I don’t need to apply spiritual cosmetics to make myself presentable to Him. I can accept ownership of my poverty and powerlessness and neediness.”

In John 8 the woman caught in adultery (interestingly, no one accuses the male partner although she was caught “in the act”) you could omit the previous parenthetical statement if necessary is thrown before Jesus in the temple.  He then proceeds to dismantle and demolish the Pharisees’ artificial distinction between “good people” (like us religious leaders) and “bad people” (like that adulteress).  In reality, they have little concern for the woman, rather great interest in trapping Jesus.

  Jesus sees people differently – as should we.  They are not to be used or manipulated, but respected and loved.  They are either in need of God’s grace and deny it – like the teachers of the law and the Pharisees – or are people in need of God’s grace who receive it, crumpled at Jesus’ feet like this woman.  Cowering, awaiting the first sharp pain of a stone that hits its mark, she hears instead the thud of rocks hitting the ground and receives cleansing, forgiveness, and the prospect of being judged by her future in Christ not by her past without Him.

Grace wins. 

Won by grace ourselves, we should daily thank the crucified and risen Lord for this everlasting truth.

In light of what Christ has done for you and for the world, how do you view the people around you?  C. S. Lewis reminds us, “It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare.  All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or the other of these destinations.”

Friends, we are all trophies of God’s grace, some just more dramatically so than others.  And there are others yet to be.  Because of the Good Friday and Easter Sunday realities Paul reminds us in Ephesians 2:  4 But because of His great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions – it is by grace you have been saved.  6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages He might show (He might display) the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.

May we be blessed with the understanding that Jesus came for the sick and not the well, for the sinner and not the righteous.  He came to redeem and transform, to make all things new. 

Through God’s continuing mercy and strength may we indeed “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles …”  Fixing our eyes on Jesus and trusting the power of this Gospel message may we also determinedly share the Lent and Easter invitations to honesty, transparency, and true healing with everyone remembering … grace still wins!

Imagine with me, if you will, that you are in fact an Olympic caliber athlete. You are in training for 1,600 and 3,200 meter events at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, England. With just a little over two years left for training and tryouts, how many of you would begin the Twinkies diet between now and the Games?

As I write this, The North American International Auto Show is taking place in Detroit, Michigan (1.11). From what I’ve heard (I’ve never been there), it’s a glitzy display case for the newest in automobile design and technology. If you were fortunate enough to be able to buy one of the display vehicles, would you fill the fuel tank with water, or Gatorade, or your favorite beer?

The food we eat or the fuel we use will ultimately determine the performance and well being of our bodies and our vehicles. Everyone would agree with this. From Atkins Bars or wheatgrass shots to octane boosters and synthetic oils, companies which help us determine what to put into our bodies and into our cars are multi-billion dollar industries.

What could be more important than what we put into our bodies and into our cars? Unfortunately, it is an area that we rarely deliberately consider, or if we do, it is with a “whatever” nonchalance. What you “fuel” your bodies or cars with really pales in comparison with what you feed … your minds.

Paul is speaking to the regenerate child of God in Romans 12:2 about how to live in this world when he writes: “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” In Philippians 4:8 and 9 he is even more specific: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” Knowing how to live in this world and doing so with the peace and benediction of our Lord is something we ALL need.

I’d like to share three “laws” with you that I pray will help determine what we will put into our minds and be a huge encouragement to reading the Scriptures on a daily basis. They are: The Law of Cognition, The Law of Exposure, and The Law of Least Resistance.

The Law of Cognition

The Law of Cognition basically says that you are what you think. It is built around the truth that the way you think is the single most important shaper of who you are as a person. The way you think creates your attitudes … shapes your emotions … and affects your behavior. (Some would even say that it has a lot to do with your vulnerability to sickness and your immune system.) This basically describes the field of cognitive psychology, one of the most prominent schools in American psychology.

Quite frankly, here’s where the social sciences are just beginning to understand what the Holy Spirit made clear to the Scripture writers thousands of years earlier. Proverbs 23:7 says, “For as he thinks within himself, so he is.”  Jesus stated it in a more comprehensive way in Matthew 7:17-18, “Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.”

I think one of the things that Jesus is talking about is what goes on inside of us, our thought processes. When our thoughts are healthy, determined, and sound, they will produce a good life. When the thoughts are diseased, unhealthy, destructive, and sinful, they can’t bring forth a good life. You are what you think.

The Law of Exposure

The Law of Exposure is this: Whatever your mind is most exposed to, it will think about most. What enters your mind repeatedly occupies your mind, shapes your thoughts, and ultimately expresses itself in what you do and who you become. That’s why Paul exhorts: “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things,” Colossians 3:2.

Here’s a law that no one is surprised about: the law of gravity. No one would be taken by surprise if I dropped a crystal wine goblet on our cement garage floor and it shattered. But there remains general surprise over the fact that what our minds are constantly exposed to and dwell upon eventually comes out in how we feel and what we do.

We are flooded by sexual images from screens, terminals, magazine covers, and multiplexes. Then we express astonishment when promiscuity goes up and fidelity goes down and marital stability goes out the door.

Our children are exposed to thousands of acts of violence, even graphic violence, on television, in movies, in video “games.” Some of these violent acts are even “glorified.” Then we express amazement when high school shootings devastate a community like Columbine, Colorado. 

Two things need to be remembered:

    (1) the mind will absorb and reflect whatever it is exposed to; and

    (2) you and I are NOT immune. (No matter how often your children say to you, “I can watch these shows, listen to these lyrics, play these violent games and they don’t affect me. I’m not really paying attention ...” they’re wrong. They are being affected.)

The events you attend, the materials that you read or don’t read, the music that you listen to, the images you watch, the conversations that you hold, the daydreams that you entertain, these are shaping your mind, and eventually your character, and ultimately your destiny.

The Law of the Path of Least Resistance

The Law of the Path of Least Resistance states that whatever’s easiest is probably the direction of flow. In other words, which is easier: to discipline yourself to exercise or read a book or to turn on the television so that you don’t have to take the initiative or be intentional about what is going to fill your mind? 

The truth is that many of us are subject to living in an ugly circle where we work continually, are constantly tired, and consequently fall prey to the Law of the Path of Least Resistance. We don’t take the time to be still and quiet and make a conscious, determined effort to think about, and put into our minds, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable … whatever is excellent or praiseworthy.

Thinking, the thinking that shapes our lives and behaviors, takes maturity and discipline. Throughout Scripture, God invites us to understand that His blessing in our life comes through time with Him, a relationship with Him, fostered through the reading of His Word. Psalm 1:1-3: Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.

Here, then, is where the Law of Exposure works positively in our behalf. If we really want to become a different kind of person – one that is true, noble, right, pure, lovely admirable, excellent and praiseworthy – it  really is possible through the forgiveness and strength that Christ offers; it’s possible as we meet Him in the reading and studying of His inspired, holy Word. There, in the study of His Word, is the best place to be confronted by, and to start thinking, different thoughts.

This will not happen automatically, but Scripture indicates a few things we can do:

First, monitor your mind. In fact the Apostle Paul says that we should “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ,” 2 Corinthians 10:5.

Second, we need to heed the Law of Exposure: that is, we need to expose our minds to those resources—books, tapes, people, conversations—that will incline our minds to embrace the right kinds of subjects and thoughts. This will help protect us from the wrong kinds of damaging influences, because every source will move our minds one way or another.

Third, begin by doing something radical like shutting the TV off for a week, limiting your iPod time, or even your computer time. Your mind may need that just to create space for other thoughts. What I especially want to encourage you to do is this: make a commitment to say, “I will increasingly expose my mind to God’s Word through a daily study of Scripture.” 

Friends, God has given us this Word for the transformation of our minds. He has given us this Word, in part, so that we can think about what’s true and honorable and pure and good and wholesome.  Please make the effort! Part of this involves a corporate activity where we come together on a weekly basis for worship and Bible Study or Small Group Bible Study.

But, then there’s a real personal, private part. The Bible talks a lot about the idea of meditating on Scripture. In the very first Psalm it says that the man of God meditates on Scripture day and night. It just becomes a habitual thing. 

Now the word “meditate,” I know, can be a little scary for some. So let me make it as simple as possible: How many of you know how to worry? If you know how to worry, you know how to meditate. Think of meditation as a positive form of worry. You take one thought, and you dwell on it and linger on it and absorb it until it becomes a part of you. You meditate on Scripture and, in this process, another beneficial choice would be to actually memorize Scripture.

The psalmist talks about memorization and its benefits: “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against You,” Psalm 119:11. It really doesn’t matter how many verses you stow away. It’s not a quantity deal; however, in the act of saying, rehearsing, reflecting on, and absorbing Scripture, your mind changes. That thought from God’s Word becomes a part of your mind. It becomes a kind of filter or screen. It becomes something that’s excellent and praiseworthy that’s in you and that becomes a part of you. You begin to live on the basis of that Word.

I pray that reading and studying the Word of God becomes a part of your daily life that you anticipate and cherish. Through the work of the Holy Spirit in the Word may our lives be continually transformed as our minds are filled with excellent, admirable, honorable, and praiseworthy thoughts. 

And as good and beneficial as that will be, remember: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him,” 1 Corinthians 2:9.

Rev. David P. E. Maier                                                       

Rev. Bryan Salminen, Ph.D.

Numerous Bible Reading Plans are available at www.michigandistrict.org; or go directly to numerous Bible Reading Plans offered on YouVersion.com by clicking on the link.

To kick-off this month long celebration, a benefit Christian Care Concert is being planned for Sunday, March 6 at Faith Lutheran Church, 37635 Dequindre, Troy, Michigan.  This concert features seven Metro-Detroit area choirs: Billy D. Brooks Memorial Lutheran Choir, Concordia University Ann Arbor Arborsong, the former Detroit Urban Lutheran School Choir, Lutheran City Ministries Girls and Boys Choir, Lutheran High School Association Combined Choirs, The Mosaic Singers (presented by the Ford Motor Company Fund), and St. John (Rochester) Choraliers.

The main goal of the concert is to increase awareness, prayer support, and service opportunities of the RSOs and the programs they provide.  Over 400 attendees at the 2010 event enjoyed coming together to experience God’s love in action and in song.  The event provided new ways to facilitate and encourage cross-regional fellowship.  Over $15,000 was raised and went to various human and Christian care ministries represented by the choirs and RSOs.

The March 6 concert will also be an opportunity for several human care agencies to benefit from an ingathering of items specific to the organization’s needs. These agencies include: Detroit Afro-American Mission, St. Paul Community Lutheran Church in Pontiac, Charity Music, Inc., Solid Ground Shelter, Detroit Rescue Mission Ministries Auxiliary, Heartbeat of Monroe, and Friendship House.  To see a brief video of last year's concert to encourage your attendance at this year's concert please go to this link:  http://www.michigandistrict.org/m3ccsunday2011.html

More information and publicity materials for Christian Care Month, the concert, and the ingathering agencies and items, can be found at www.michigandistrict.org/christiancaresunday.  Tickets can be purchased on line at http://events.michigandistrict.org/events/2011christiancareconcert and will be held at the door for you.

In the first stanza of a hymn recently penned by Rev. Steven P. Starke of Michigan, we read these words:

O sing of Christ, whose birth made known The kindness of the Lord,

Eternal Word made flesh and bone, So we could be restored. 

Upon our frail humanity God’s finger chose to trace

The fullness of His deity, The icon of His grace.¹  LSB, #362

Having come to know the Word made flesh by God’s grace through faith, we joyously sing, praising our God for His great kindness in giving us a Savior from sin.  We read the Christmas accounts in the Gospels, marveling at the angelic announcement to the shepherds and their response of wonder, joy, and proclamation. (Lk. 2:8-20)  We celebrate God’s leading of the Magi by star which enabled them to see God, worship the Word made flesh, and present Him with gifts. (Matt. 2:1-12)

The Sacramental and Sacrificial

The joy of the shepherds and the worship of the magi remind me of another incident, a remarkable three-day event detailed in Matthew 15:29-39.  In verses 30 and 31 we are told in brief, partial summary what transpired:  30 Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them.  31 The people were amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled made well, the lame walking and the blind seeing.  And they praised the God of Israel. 

Considering the fact that most of these people were Gentiles, how can it be said that “they glorified the God of Israel?”  They didn’t have a building in which to do this.  They didn’t have a published hymn book to pass out and use.  They didn’t have any set, inherited liturgical forms to follow.  Without using the word “worship”, that is what occurred.  For these healed people to glorify “the God of Israel” was to offer praise for, to be thankful for, to acknowledge the attributes of the God that they now knew, and to recognize the healings and other blessings they had received as prompted by and stemming from His attributes:  His love, mercy, care, kindness, compassion, omniscience, omnipotence, and the like.

If one looks closely at this passage, the two sides of biblically enjoined worship can be clearly seen:

(1) the “sacramental” – that is what God gives during worship to His people in His grace and love, because of the saving merits of Jesus, through His Word, and the Sacraments; and

(2) the “sacrificial” – that is our Holy Spirit induced (Cf. Phil. 2:13, 14) response to the received convicting, saving, strengthening, and equipping gifts of God.³ 

These people, having been served by Jesus, experienced His healing in their lives, undoubtedly listened to His words, and received what He gave, could not but respond in the joyful way in which they did:  “and they glorified the God of Israel.”

In Spirit and Truth

I am also reminded of Jesus’ encounter with another Gentile, the Samaritan woman, in John 4.  Jesus comments to this woman in vv. 23-24:  23 Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. 24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”

Jesus here explains to the adulterous woman what true worship will be, and what the parameters for all true worship will be, once Jewish ritualism disappears.  He describes how true worship centers in the worshipper’s own regenerate “spirit” (Rom. 1:9) propelled by God’s Holy Spirit (Rom. 8:14, 16, 26).  But this is not enough.  Many put all their heart and soul into a worship “experience” and yet many be worshipping what is false.  “Emotionally charged” worship cannot automatically be equated with right worship.  To the subjective feature of worship – “in spirit” – Jesus adds the important objective counter part – “in truth.”  “Truth” means reality; and there is no greater reality than God’s own revealed truth, the inspired Word. (John 17:17)

The worshipper’s own “spirit” and God’s own revealed “truth” together form the sphere in which all true worship necessarily takes place.⁴  These are the essentials.  R. C. H. Lenski gives a particularly succinct and excellent summary regarding Jesus’ words about worship to this woman:

“Omit the spirit, and though you have the truth, the worship becomes formalism, mere ritual observance.  Omit the truth, and though the whole soul is thrown into the worship, it becomes and abomination.  Thus “spirit and truth” form a unit, two halves that belong together in every act of worship.”⁵

For the Samaritan woman to worship “in spirit and truth” meant that she did not have to wait to go to the Temple in Jerusalem.  She didn’t have to offer a sacrifice or follow a prescribed order to worship rightly.  She could then and there perform the very highest act of worship, that is, to receive and accept by grace through faith the Father’s pardon – the forgiveness of her sins – and then return to Him her spirit’s thankful praise.  Instead of condemning ceremonies and ordered forms of worship Jesus demonstrates that it is not in ritualism or things done by rote (Cf. Is. 29:13) but “in spirit and truth” that the true worship, which the Father desires, is rendered.

Remembering Our Rich Heritage

The Formula of Concord says:  “… we believe, teach and confess unanimously that the ceremonies or church usages which are neither commanded nor forbidden in the Word of God, but which have been introduced solely for the sake of good order and the general welfare, are in and of themselves no divine worship or even a part of it.  ‘In vain do they worship me, teaching as a doctrines the precepts of men’ (Matt. 15:19).”⁶  Even Luther urged that “a preacher must watch and diligently instruct the people lest they take such uniform practices as divinely appointed and absolutely binding laws.”⁷

With the God-given directive of reaching the lost and discipling the saved (Matt. 28:18-20) in every generation’s contemporary context, worship orders and ceremonies, hymns and spiritual songs (Col. 3:16) will undoubtedly change.  The task is to preserve the indispensable “sacramental” (the gifts God gives) and the “sacrificial” (our faith-inspired response) aspects of worship, ever alongside the “in spirit and truth” principle.  Our task today is to remember our rich heritage that we have in liturgy and hymnody and to continue to build our worship and faith life with it and on it.

The Solid Declaration gives elucidating council when it states:  “We further believe, teach and confess that the community of God in every place and at every time has the right, authority and power to change, to reduce, or to increase ceremonies according to its circumstances, as long as it does so without frivolity and offense but in an orderly and appropriate way, as at any time may seem to be most profitable, beneficial, and salutary for good order, Christian discipline, evangelical decorum, and the edification of the church.”⁸

God Is Really Among You

As God’s people, we are to reach out to a dying world in love as did our gracious God at Christmas.  This is even to be true in our worship services.  In 1 Corinthians 14, where we are given a glimpse of an early Christian worship service, the Apostle Paul, in correcting the worship practices of the Corinthians, states the principle that their worship should be done so that when “an unbeliever or someone who does not understand” (a visitor; cf. 1 Cor. 14:16) come in, “he will fall down and worship God, exclaiming, ‘God is really among you!’” (1 Cor. 14:24, 25)  Here, then, is displayed the concepts of cultural sensitivity, relevancy, and love, especially for unbelievers and new Christians.

The Commission of Theology and Church Relations (CTCR) in its document entitled “Racism and the Church – Overcoming the Idolatry,” shares some insightful thoughts regarding cultural sensitivity, love, and change:

When a Christian congregation includes new members of differing backgrounds, it will do all in its power to make them feel that they are truly welcome as members of that family.  …  When a congregation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit genuinely welcomes new members, changes will take place.  These changes will reflect the full range of cultures represented in the Christian family.  Openness to change in such things as the order of worship, the hymnody, the expressions of love and friendship, as well as the recreational life of the congregation, will reveal the congregation’s eagerness to embrace all people in the love of Christ.  Changes grounded in the truth of God’s Word and motivated by love for His people will enhance every aspect of the life and work of the congregation.”⁹ (Emphasis mine.)

Theological Conferences on Worship

In light of the above, I want to share with you that in August of 2009 the District Presidents of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod received a letter of invitation to, and explanation for, a Model Theological Conference on Worship.  The letter was from Dr. Joel Lehenbauer, Executive Director for the Commission on Theology and Church Relations, and Dr. David Johnson, Executive Director on the Commission for Worship.  An excerpt from that letter follows:

 For some years, worship has been a topic of debate, dissension, and some ill will in our Synod.  We are all too familiar with “worship wars.”  While it may be tempting to resign ourselves to a polarized status quo, we all know that such division is not pleasing to the Lord whom we serve and that we sorely need – under God’s blessing – renewed unity in this vital area of our life of faith.

The 2007 convention resolved “that the Commission on Worship and the Commission on Theology and Church Relations organize a model theological conference … in order to ‘build greater understanding of our theology of worship and foster further discussion of worship practices that are consistent with that theology’” (2007 Res. 2-01). 

 That Model Theological Conference took place in early January of 2010.  Such conferences in our Synod have been called “Model” so that they can be ‘modeled’, that is, reduplicated in some fashion, within the Districts of our Synod. 

The Michigan District will be hosting Come, Let Us Worship the Lord our Maker – the title for our Theological Conferences on Worship.  These conferences will be held on three different Saturdays to facilitate attendance by church lay leaders as well as by professional church workers, at three different locations within Michigan.  The dates and locations are:

January 29, 2011            Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Jenison, MI

February 12, 2011          Our Shepherd Lutheran Church, Birmingham, MI

February 26, 2011          Holy Cross Lutheran Church, Saginaw, MI

Each Conference will begin at 9 am and end at 5 pm.  Each will have the same Agenda will the same keynote speakers (the title of their presentations are found in parentheses):

• Dr. David Johnson, former Executive Director of Synod’s Commission on Worship (Towards A Theology of Worship:  The State of Worship in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod). 

• Dr. James Waddell, one of our Michigan District pastors who spoke at Synod’s Model Theological Conference (Towards A Theology of Worship:  A Biblical and Confessional Understanding and Approach).

• Rev. Larry Vogel, Assistant Direct for the Commission Theology and Church Relations [CTCR]  (Towards A Theology of Worship:  Contextual Worship:  Glorifying God, Proclaiming Christ).

Each conference will also provide ample opportunity for meaningful dialog, questions and answers, table talk, fellowship, and of course … worship.

In closing, let us meditate together on the words of another Christmas hymn penned by Martin Luther, We Praise You, Jesus, at Your Birth (LSB, #382)

In poverty He came to earth

Showing mercy by His birth;

He make us rich in heav’nly ways

As we, like angles, sing His praise.

Alleluia!

All this for us our God has done

Granting love through His own son.

Therefore, all Christendom, rejoice

And sing His praise with endless voice.

Alleluia!¹⁰

Merry Christmas to you all!  In the Name of Jesus, may you have a most blessed New Year as well!  I look forward to seeing you at one of our Michigan District Come, Let Us Worship the Lord our Maker Theological Conferences on Worship.

Grateful for the opportunity of worship,

Rev. David P. E. Maier

Footnotes

¹   Lutheran Service Book [LSB], (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, © 2006)

²   Paul Z. Strodach, A Manual on Worship; (Philadelphia, PA: Muhlenbberg Press, © 1946), p. xix.

³   A wonderful example of this “sacramental” (what God gives), and “sacrificial” (our response) aspect of worship can be seen in Martin Luther’s great Christmas hymn(s) From Heaven Above to Earth I Come / Welcome to Earth, O Noble Guest.  In Lutheran Worship (LW, #37 and #38) the hymns are literally set up as Part I – The Angel’s Message and Part II – Our Response.  Lutheran Service Book (LSB, #358) combines the verses from both hymns into one with this annotation:  “The first five stanzas declare the joyful words of the angel proclaiming the wondrous news of Jesus’ birth.  The remaining stanzas declare the response of the shepherds and the meaning of the Savior’s birth for all the world.”

⁴   “… in spirit and truth” (e˙n pneu/mati kai« aÓlhqei÷aˆ), John 4:24, is one concept as the one preposition “in” (e˙n) governs both nouns.

⁵   R. C. H. Lenski, The Interpretation of St. John’s Gospel, (Minneapolis, MN:  Augsburg Publishing House, © 1943), p.323.

⁶   The Book of Concord, ed. and trans. by T. G. Tappert (Philadelphia, PA:  Muhlenberg Press, © 1959), Formula of Concord, Epitome, Art X, Church Usages, 3, p.493; Cf. Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Art. XXIV, The Mass, 33, pp. 255-256; The Augsburg Confession, Art. XXVII, 40-44, pp.69-70.

⁷   “A Christian Exhortation to the Livonians Concerning Public Worship and Concord, 1525,” Luther’s Works, Vol. LIII: Liturgy and Hymns, ed. By Ulrich S. Leupold (Philadelphia, PA, Fortress Press, © 1965), p. 48.

⁸   Tappert, Formula of Concord, Solid Declaration, Art. X, Church Usages, 9, p.612.

⁹    "Racism and the Church – Overcoming the Idolatry", A Report of The Commission on Theology and Church Relations of The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (February, 1994), pp. 53-54.

¹⁰   Lutheran Service Book [LSB]

Dear Family and Friends,     

Merry Christmas!

As we marvel at the great gift of God in our Savior Jesus Christ, we want you to know that you are in our thoughts and prayers.  We thank our gracious God for the gift of YOU, the gift of each opportunity to share or be with you (or at least exchange Christmas greetings each year!), and we wish you God’s most awesome and excellent blessings this Christmas season and throughout the New Year.

This past year held lots of changes for our family, not the least of which was our move from Lansing, which had been our home for 20 years, to the Ann Arbor area in southeastern Michigan. (Please note the new address!)  Dave is now 15 minutes from the District Office – and he does not miss the 2 ½ hour commute at all!  Spring was busy with Joel’s graduation, helping move Leah, Joel, and James from apartments/dorm rooms to new apartments/back home, attending call services at the seminaries in St. Louis and Ft. Wayne, and looking for a house.

In June, Dave and I shopped for a new home and purchased it the day before we left to attend the Synodical Convention in early July.  We moved Joel to Nashville later in July and then spent a week with family at Camp Arcadia, took Hannah to Montana (for her senior pics … see photo), went to Ohio for Leah’s graduation (Master’s in Speech Path), sorted, cleaned, had a garage sale, and began packing the house - all in August – and then moved over Labor Day weekend.  It was a challenge, but God is good (all the time!) and we are thankful.  Here’s an update on the members of our family:

David ~ completed his first full year of being District President October 1.  He loves his ministry which provides numerous and various opportunities to serve including … working with the Board of Regents at Concordia University, Ann Arbor, for a stronger college (our alma mater); visiting numerous congregations and winkels; attending and speaking at various pastors’ conferences around the state; and working with ALL of the District’s staff, Circuit Counselors, and Board of Directors.  He was awarded the Alumnus of the Year from Concordia University, Ann Arbor, where he was also the commencement speaker for Joel’s graduation.

Pat ~ enjoys traveling with David when possible ~ looks forward to meeting the larger family of God at churches around the state ~ encourages the pastors’ wives who meet with her at area conferences ~ found joy in helping Leah plan, prepare, and decorate for her wedding ~ continues to unpack and decorate our home … now for the Christmas celebration.

Leah ~ received her master’s degree in Speech Pathology from Kent State and is working as a Speech – Language Pathologist for the Manistee Intermediate School District.  She also changed her name to Leah DeWees.  Kyle & Leah were married at Camp Arcadia on October 2^nd and honeymooned in St. Thomas (scuba dived, swam with sea turtles, and explored the local culture). They are now living in “downtown” Arcadia with our ‘granddog’, Ellie.  Kyle, the new fulltime Program Director for Camp Arcadia, is dearly loved by our family! 

Joel ~ graduated from Concordia University, Ann Arbor, with a Child Life Specialist Degree. He then worked as temporary program staff at Camp Arcadia in June ~ volunteered at Camp Victory Junction in North Carolina (one of Paul Newman’s Hole In the Wall Gang Camps for seriously ill children) and Camp Quality in Fenton, MI (a local camp for children with cancer). Since August he has interned as a Child Life Specialist (CLS) at Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital in Nashville, TN, where he gave the three singers of Rascal Flatts a tour of the hospital (and works with a CLS who had Carrie Underwood in her wedding and who is married to the lead singer of Thousand Foot Krutch, a popular Christian Contemporary band!)

James ~ worked on Program Staff at Camp Arcadia all summer ~ transferred from Hope College to Michigan State (School of Engineering) ~ survived finding his way around a new school, coaching “The Pull” back at Hope, and the activities of Leah’s wedding…all while having mono! He is living with a friend’s sweet mom since his parents moved away from Lansing ~ loved his weekend with Joel in Nashville in October, especially the “techno sushi bar” ~ loves snow having taken up snowboarding.

Hannah ~ still loves her parents even though they decided to move 2 months before her senior year of high school ~ flew to Montana with her parents (Christmas/B-day gift) for “homemade” senior pictures ~ worked as end-of-season staff at Camp Arcadia and returned home to help pack and move FIVE days before her first day of school as a new student at Dexter High School (which she LOVES - PTL)! She worked hard to remain calm and be herself in a new house, a new town, a new school, with new friends, finding her way to a new mall (you get the picture!) and is blessed with a positive attitude, a never-ending smile, and has parents and siblings that are very proud of her!

Some pictures ...

Hannah, David, Pat, Gramma Kemmerling, Kyle, Joel, and James

Leah, Kyle, and Grandpa and Grandma Maier

Joel’s Graduation

Joel and James (with godson Drew) at Leah's wedding

Two of Hannah’s Senior pictures from Montana (Pat and I took them ...)

A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to ALL in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

David, Pat, Joel, James, and Hannah Maier

Even those who “believe” in miracles have romantic notions of how and where they take place.  Too often we suppose that supernatural miracles only happen in special or splendid circumstances.  But part of the great Good News at Christmas is that God clothes Himself in the ordinary – and does amazing things!

The Scriptures themselves help us shake off some of these romantic notions even as we contemplate the Christmas story.  Later in Jesus’ life Nathaniel is quoted as saying in John 1:46:  Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?  This comment tells us what a "non-special" place Nazareth was.  It was below common!  It was a place of low expectations or even "no expectations"!  It was, if you will, the Lansing, Michigan of Galilee.

But the incarnation – God taking on human flesh and nature – has to do with God interrupting common people and interjecting into their lives expectations, hope, and miracles.

• It is a living realization that God introduced a new era in divine history with "Emmanuel" – “God with us.”

• It is the fact that from this time on God would be “with us" as ordinary people in our daily lives, teaching us to be ready, to be aware of His desire of personal, divine intervention.

• It is people being open to more than they ever dreamed and much more than they ever could realize by themselves.

I think it is important that we remember today the reality that God seemingly chose the most unlikely town and the most common, ordinary people to introduce the greatest miracle of all time.  Luke, in the first chapter of his Gospel, gives us much to contemplate and learn regarding the incarnation.  But three important truths about the miracles of God found there are worth remembering and contemplating.  I would invite particular attention to Luke 1:26-38.

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,  27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.  28 The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  29   Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,  33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”  34   “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”  35   The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.  36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.  37 For nothing is impossible with God.”  38  “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.”  Then the angel left her. 

Truth #1:  God doesn't need a special setting.

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, 27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin's name was Mary.

Do you ever wonder what Mary was doing?  What was the weather like in Nazareth that day?  Too easily we move to romantic, unreal scenes due to the influence of pageants, movies and TV.

But this is no fairy tale!  God refused to give His Son a silver spooned entrance into the world.  He simply sends His word of promise to ordinary people living in the most ordinary circumstances.

One author posits some unanswerable questions!

• Was Mary at prayer when the annunciation occurred, or perhaps washing dishes or scrubbing clothes?

• Was there a shaft of light upon her countenance or just a streak of perspiration?

• Was she approached during a quiet or convenient time during her day or was this encounter an interruption?

• Was she “poised” … as though having read a scripture in advance or was she just plain frightened by the angel’s appearance?

• Was her family financially fixed or was her engagement to Joseph an economic relief for her parents.

• Was she beautiful, socially adept, and personally desirable or was she just possibly a plain girl with simple faith, raised in an ordinary home, scheduled for an arranged marriage and headed for a predictable future married to the town carpenter.

These questions do, however, help us come to terms with this first truth.  Truly, nothing in salvation’s story (history) requires elegance in this part of the account.  In fact, the Scriptures argue for Mary's situation to have been among the lowliest!

Mary herself highlights this truth as she breaks forth in song after the angel leaves and sings (Luke 1:46-48 & 52-53):  46 "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.  48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; ... 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.  53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.

These words are from an ordinary, if not poor girl, who has suddenly had the simplicity of her world invaded by divine revelation and promise.

You and I need to understand that God is always waiting in the wings to come on to the stage of our lives, where flies fill the air, where unpleasant smells annoy the senses, and where circumstances declare that there is “no possibility” OR "no hope"!

God doesn't need a special setting in which to perform a miracle!  He does need an open, believing  heart that embraces a loving and great God in faith!

Hannah is an example of this in the Old Testament.  We read in 1 Samuel 1:13-17,19:  13 Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk 14 and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine."

15 "Not so, my lord," Hannah replied, "I am a woman who is deeply troubled. I have not been drinking wine or beer; I was pouring out my soul to the LORD. 16 Do not take your servant for a wicked woman; I have been praying here out of my great anguish and grief."  17 Eli answered, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."  …  19 Early the next morning they arose and worshiped before the LORD and then went back to their home at Ramah ... and the LORD remembered her.

God doesn't need a special setting in which to perform a miracle!  He does need an open, faith filled heart and a willing person … that is, a life simplified, disciplined enough … to include, a humble walk of repentance, prayer, and a trusting relationship with God engendered by His Word!

Our loving God is as interested in transferring His hope and promises to where you live right now as He was when He sent the promise to a woman in Nazareth twenty centuries ago.  God doesn't need a special setting.

Truth #2:  God didn’t need sinless people!

28 The angel went to her and said, "Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."  29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.

I want you to know that this girl from Nazareth was just like you and me -- she wasn't sinless either.

I respect the sincerity of those whose reverence for Mary is rooted in the proposition of her "immaculate conception".  Those two words frame a tradition that suggests that Mary was somehow born miraculously herself, somehow kept forever sinless from birth, in a way that prevented her having inherited sin in her own nature or person.

Interestingly, Luke 3:21-38 traces the linage of Mary back to Adam and begins it with Heli, who was the father, not of Joseph, but of the virgin Mary.  Mary had a father and a mother and she was a normal girl.  Not sinless … but just like you and me.

She also had children after Jesus.  It is recorded for us in Mark 6:3:  Isn't this the carpenter?  Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?  Aren't his sisters here with us?"  And they took offense at him.

To deny the sinlessness of Mary is not to adopt an unkind spirit toward her or to attack sensitive souls.  I have the highest regard for Mary.  She was highly favored and every generation will call her blessed (Luke 1:48) because she was the mother of Jesus.  But the fact is Mary didn't need to be a sinless human to bring forth a sinless Savior.  In fact Mary's humanness is really essential to us fully appreciating her miracle.  Only then can we see how determined God was to become incarnate.  Mary's humanness means that Jesus was human as well as divine.  God and Man.  Luke, quoting the angel, reminds us from an earlier verse in this chapter (35):  The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.  So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.

Why are the two natures of Christ – the human and the divine – so important to our salvation?  I will let the Holy Scriptures give the perfect commentary:

Hebrews 2:17-18:  17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.  18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Hebrews 4:15-16:  15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -- yet was without sin.  16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

2 Corinthians 5:21:  God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Friends, I know that there will be times that the enemy comes to YOU, as he has to me, and says, “Why should you expect anything from God?  You are a sinner.”  Well, folks, sinning does not stop the door from opening to God's “favor” and “grace” in your life.  God dealt with sin FOREVER in Jesus Christ so that He could be Emmanuel – God With Us!

This miracle first happened to an ordinary sinner in an ordinary town to set forth this lesson to all of us … God does not show favoritism. (Romans 2:11)  If that is true, then God is in the miracle business in our lives as well.

Nothing is impossible where you live either - no matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done.

• God doesn't need a special setting.
• We don't have to be sinless!

Truth #3:  God desires us to be open to – and believers in – His special, supernatural, unlimited possibilities!

37 For nothing is impossible with God."  38 "I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said.”  Then the angel left her.

Mary was, or became, open to God's divine possibilities.  Without that humble, Holy Spirit wrought acceptance, there would have been no miracle. (Cf. Philippians 2:12, 13)  God wants us to be – indeed, we need to be – open to His miracles, grace, and power.  The Holy Spirit wants to stretch the boundaries of our horizons of faith that have been so molded – LIMITED – by human thinking and experience.

Those difficult, tough or problematic things that invade our homes, work, family, minds and cause bad habits and addictions … have a way of taking over, of dictating “limitations”.  We submit to them too easily.  We think, "I guess this is the way it’s going to be."  Things CAN”T change.  Too many people have shut out the possibility of God intervening in a miraculous way in their lives at any time in their journey of life

But the Holy Spirit is ready to bring us beyond those controlling, limiting circumstances!  Through the Word of God, He wants to talk to you about things you have been afraid to ask for or imagine ... because God “is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us …” (Ephesians 3:20)  Maybe its that …

• You've settled for what others have said about you!  In fact you believe now that they are accurate and you have quit believing that you could ever be different.

• You have believed that things are hopeless and there is no way out!  But God wants you to listen again to HIM.

• You have said that there is too much wrong in your life and God could never love you … much less desire a relationship with you.  Not true!

• You have believed the report of the doctor and have settled in to die or live with that diagnosis for the rest of your life!

• You believe that God’s grace and power in Jesus can forgive your sin but that it cannot help you overcome sin.  Wrong!

The God of miracles is still with us today!

 The question is “What do you believe?” … and “Who do you believe in?”  I am merely asking you to remember the historical account of Jarius’ daughter in Mark 5:  33 Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth.  34 He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering."  35 While Jesus was still speaking, some men came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. "Your daughter is dead," they said. "Why bother the teacher any more?"  36 Ignoring what they said, Jesus told the synagogue ruler, "Don't be afraid; just believe." 

 And you know the rest of the story!!

You say that only happened in biblical times. NO!  That's not true!  It happened in my life and family! … and I am forever thankful to a great, gracious, and generous God!

God is still a God of miracles!   He is the same yesterday, today and forever! (Hebrews 13:8)

Are you ready for a miracle today?  Are you open?  Are you believing?  Don’t miss them already taking place in your life.  May God open your eyes of faith to more fully believe and see the …

• Miracle of forgiveness!  He wants to come to you again today!
• Miracle of Healing!
• Miracle of temptations resisted and sin overcome and mastered … in union with Jesus Christ!
• The miracle of HOPE …

Don’t forget:

• God doesn't need a special setting.
• You don't have to be sinless!
• That the gift of saving faith embraces a God of unlimited possibilities!

We are in a season of Miracles!  God has already done so much for us and through the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 8:32 that He who did not spare his own Son, but gave Him up for us all – how will he not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?  

We live in Michigan and, yes, times are tough.  Here, however, is the encouragement:  During this Christmas and in the New Year ahead may you be blessed by believing that our God of Grace – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – is a God of great giving and awesome generosity!

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

In Christ … the best is yet to come!

-- pm

I’ve heard some excuse this as just the normal turn of events for a city.  Others have recognized the horrible economic plight of our entire state and how it has ravaged Detroit.  Still more have said that “Lutheranism” can no longer impact Detroit like it once did because of Detroit's multi-nationalism and multi-culturalism.

What does that mean?  (There’s a good Lutheran question.)  I don't know what that comment was meant to infer.  I do know that we must not write off attempts at Gospel ministry in Detroit, and Flint, and Saginaw, and Benton Harbor, and … …

Paul’s Letter to the Philippians was addressed to urban Christians.  A review of Philippi’s history shows the close connection between early Christianity and the urban setting.  It also affirms that the Church of today dare not neglect the city.

The New Testament Greek word for church (ekklesia) literally means “called out.”  It refers to a group of people whom God has called to faith and in so doing has separated from the world.  It is significant that the term refers not to a building but to people.  Rather than thinking of going to church, Christian are to think in terms of being the church!  The place, then, is less important than the people, who are God’s temple. (1Cor.3:16)  … 

The Modern City Since the advent of the modern world, the majority of people around the earth have lived in cities, where industries and employment are.  That is also where some of society’s biggest problems are.  Urban ministry is more important than ever before.

    It is tempting for churches to give up on city ministries, where the work can be frustrating and even dangerous.  The rewards can seem minimal, especially in terms of financial income from inner-city churches.

    We need to remember, with Paul, that the Good News about Jesus is for everyone.  “God so love the world …”  And Jesus Himself has commissioned us to make disciples of all nations and all people.  No one is left out.  To close our eyes to any class or group of people is to forget that God, in His mercy, has included us as recipients of His love in Christ.

    Paul and the early Christians did not avoid the cities. [emphasis mine]  That is where they established most of the earliest congregations.  Even Corinth, which had a terrible reputation, became the location of a thriving church.  Today’s churches need to meet the challenges of city work.  With God’s help, the obstacles can be overcome.  Perhaps as never before, amid the concrete, bricks, and steel of urban life, we are faced with a wide-open field ripe for the harvest!

    The great cities of the world—as much as the suburbs, small towns, and rural communities—are crying out for the Gospel.  Jesus wept over His beloved Jerusalem (Lk.19:41),  and Paul longed to bring the Gospel to the people of Rome:  “[I pray that] by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you” (Rom.1:10).

I found it interesting when part of the A2E Ministry was shared with the Circuit Counselors at their Conference in May (19, 20) that three different brothers, at three different times talked to me about how encouraged they were to here about the A2E Ministry possibilities.  None of them were from ‘urban areas’.  All of them have different stories, different churches, and different contexts.  But each of them somewhere in the conversation made almost the same comment.  They said something like, “It saddened me to see very little happening in Detroit.  One wonders if Lutheranism has anything to offer the city, or even if the Gospel has lost its power there.  I don’t mean exactly that, of course; but, it doesn’t take too long before you begin to think of what is happening in Detroit as encroaching further into the state.  How long before what’s happening there comes to me?  A2E seems to be a bold, simple approach that trusts the Gospel as well as proclaims it.  If the Gospel will work there, it can work anywhere.”

How thought provoking and ENCOURAGING is that!  … because the Gospel is still the greatest power on earth, able to break the hardest substance known to man:  the sin encrusted heart.

Romans 1:  16 I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.  17 For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”

Ephesians 3:  20  Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

PS   If you wondering what A2E stands for … well, it stands for Acts 2 Enterprise.  “Acts 2” refers to the vitality and growth of the Early Christian Church in urban areas, in particular Jerusalem, during and after Pentecost as recorded in Acts 2.  “Enterprise” is a reference to the Starship Enterprise (for all you Star Trek fans – I’m dating myself, I know).  For us it means having one large ‘mothership’ with many other satellite locations and ministries. More later about the A2E Urban Ministry Initiative.

--pm

I’d like to ask this question:  Whose job is spiritual growth?  (This really deals with what is known as the doctrine of sanctification.)  For many Christians there is confusion about the division of labor as it relates to spiritual growth or sanctification.  "Is it God's job, or is it mine?"

Some Christians have taken the position that sanctification is solely God's job, and they say, "I can't do anything at all." (Romans 7:18)

Other Christians take a somewhat more militant approach to spiritual life, evaluating spiritual growth as a product of one's commitment level. (Leviticus 11:44)

“Whose job is sanctification and spiritual growth anyway?”  The Biblical answer is:  Sanctification is a joint project between God and us.  The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 2:12-13:  Therefore, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed me, not only in my presence but much more now in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

First, please note, Paul says work out your own salvation, which means your role is important.  Then, please note, he goes on to say, "For it is God who is at work in you."  You're not doing this project on your own.  Sanctification is empowered by God.  In fact, it's impossible without Him.

Let me explain: 

1. Some things we can control.  We can make phone calls, drive a car, run an errand.  But ...
2. some things we can do nothing about.  Like the weather -- only God can change the weather.
3. But there is a third category.  In a motor boat I'm in control.  I start the engine, control the speed, and go wherever I want.  Sailing is different.  When I'm sailing, I'm not passive, I have a role to play -- I hoist the sails and steer with the rudder -- but I am utterly dependent on the wind.  If the wind doesn't blow, I'm dead in the water. When the wind blows, on the other hand, amazing things can happen.
   

In John 3:8 Jesus says, "The wind blows where it chooses. You hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit."  (The word for ‘wind’ is the same as the word for ‘spirit’ both in Hebrew and in Greek.)

Like the wind, the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit found in the Word and the Sacraments --  Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper -- is powerful and mysterious.  We can't control or manufacture it.  It's not about us coming up with a program with predictable results we control.  On the other hand, we're not passive. Our job is be where the Spirit works, to have the sails of our life filled, and in faith and by the guidance of the Word to discern how the Spirit is leading us in our everyday context (obedience).

Let me share four crucial truths the Bible teaches about sanctification.

1.   Sanctification is normative, not optional.

In Philippians 3: 12, Paul speaks about the sanctification to which he's called, saying, "Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me."

His identity is already secure, but not because of how well he does things. In verses 13 and 14 he claims, "I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:  Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”  Hold on to this hope that Paul shares in 1 Thessalonians 4:3, “It is God's will that you should be sanctified."  It is God working and what God wills He empowers.

2.   Sanctification is a process (disciplined, painstaking, God-honoring, joyful, etc.)

Think of a time when you took a long vacation with kids. What's the first question they ask?  "Are we there yet?"

We're an instant gratification society.

Sanctification does not happen that way. Paul asks, “Am I there yet?”  Nope!  Not yet.  Not today.  Not tomorrow.  But this one thing I do.  I don't give up.  I keep after it.

In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 Paul shares a different and helpful  metaphor:  Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?  Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air.  No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

In the pursuit of sanctification we will always be dealing with our sinful nature (flesh) and we will fail.

What do you do if we're serious about pursuing sanctification and you fail and slip into bad behavior?  Run to the cross and in repentant faith ask for forgiveness.

In Philippians 3:13, Paul employs an additional strategy for dealing with yesterday's sins and the resultant regrets.  It can be expressed in a single word: forgetfulness!  He says, Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead …  We tend to think of forgetting as a bad thing, as something we shouldn't do.  I believe ‘forgetting’ is indispensable to sanctification.

We can't be shackled to yesterday's regrets because sanctification is a journey, not an event.  Don’t be discouraged!

3.   Sanctification is empowered by God, not by man.

When talking about transformation, Paul has a strong tendency to use a certain grammatical form. He uses an imperative, which is used when giving somebody a command.  For instance, "Stop!" is an imperative.

There's another form called the passive voice.  That is when something happens to you.  You get hit by a truck.  You get struck by an illness.  That's passive. 

When talking about transformation, Paul often uses a passive imperative.  Look at Romans 12:2 ... Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.  Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is …

It is an imperative, but he does not say, "Transform yourself."  Instead he says, "Be transformed."  God is the one working!

Where are the winds of the Spirit blowing in your life?  Where and how is God at work in you?  What sin is He seeking to free you from?   Allow the winds of the Spirit to blow in your life.

4.   Sanctification should be pursued for the sake of others … not just for our own fulfillment and blessing.

The scribes and Pharisees in Jesus' day thought of themselves as very holy, but they couldn't love anybody. They were too absorbed with themselves. The New Testament never defines spirituality or sanctification in individualistic terms.  It's defined in terms of community.

Matthew 5:16:  In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.

In Philippians 2:14, Paul writes, Do everything without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you shine like stars in the universe as you hold on to the word of life.  In other words, as the community matures this is what you'll find:  no grumbling and no arguing, just grateful hearts.  Bitterness and resentment will be replaced by a community of servanthood.

In conclusion, I believe that the goal of sanctification, in a single word, is love:  a faith filled life lived in love for God, and a faith filled life lived in love for our fellowman.

1 John 3:1-3:   How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!  And that is what we are!  The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known.  But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Friends, as we live by the Spirit, may we also walk by the Spirit! (Galatians 5:25)  This summer, don’t miss out on worship.  God never takes a vacation from you, His precious children.

In fact, why not try spending a half hour a day reading the Bible, and another half hour in prayer.  I’m very confident that God’s Spirit will guide you, bless you, develop your faith, draw you closer to the Trinity, and transform your life.

It will not be lost time, but time multiplied, well spent, blessed, and a time of spiritual growth to remember.

Again, blessings on your summer!

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Of course it depends on what we’re talking about.  I want to emphatically state, however, that there is no correlation between being average athletically, academically, and socially, and being average spiritually.  In fact, if anything, we have an advantage.  One of the most important elements of being a healthy, holy, useful Christian is knowing how much sin has corrupted you, how much you need the Lord Jesus Christ, how inadequate you are of yourself, and how only by God’s grace can you be sufficient for anything.

A wise man once said, “It is not great gifts God uses, but great likeness to Christ.”  Timothy was a young pastor in the Bible, undoubtedly someone who was ‘average’.  He didn’t enjoy the best of health, may not have had a father growing up, didn’t have a strong personality, and didn’t feel qualified for what he was called to do.  But his fellow Christians spoke well of him and the great Apostle Paul assured him that God would use him:  “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Timothy 1:7)

I’m not exactly sure of all that went into Timothy’s personal spiritual formation but I’m quite confident that it would have included these 4 “P’s”:

Priorities.  Recommendation:  have them!  Make time to read, meditate upon and memorize the Word of God every day!  Know what you believe … and have it formulate your convictions (your non-negotiables).  Your convictions will govern what you think, what you think will govern your actions, and your actions will define your life.  The battle is for the mind!  Please have it full of God’s Word.

Prayer:  set aside time for it.  As Paul says in Ephesians 3(20), God is able to do “immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, …”  We need to be about asking God, and imagining what God can to through us for the kingdom.  (Maybe this summer you could read the Bible for a half hour each day, and pray for a half hour each day.)

Power; that is, God’s power in your life.  Ponder and be thankful for God’s saving power directed towards your life:

·      you’ve not only been saved from sin’s guilt;

·      you’ve also been set free from sin’s power so that it can no longer be your master.  In other words, through the grace given you, learn to crucify, put to death the desires and deeds of your sinful nature – your flesh.  (Clearly identified, by the way, in the Word of God).

Finally:  Passion!   Have it in your life for Christ and for His cause! Maybe you’ve read the Dylan Thomas poem that protests old age and death?  “Do not go gentle into that good night … Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”  We shouldn’t spend our lives raging against our mortality.   But, we should want to “rage, rage” against mediocrity.  Quit making excuses for not trying hard, for not pursuing excellence.

Thomas Edison said, “Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration.”

Character is more important than intellect.

Guts is more important than ability. Every gift that God has given you should be passionately pursued and used as one way “to let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Nelson Mandela in his inauguration address, quoting Marianne Williamson from her A Return To Love: Reflections on the Principles of A Course in Miracles, said:  “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.  Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.  It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us.  We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?

Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you.  We are all meant to shine, as children do.  We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.  It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone.  And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.  As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”

You may not be the fastest person on the team, but you can run as hard as you can all the way to first base every time you get the bat on the ball.  You may not be able to buy your clothes at the finest stores, but you can take pride in your appearance.  You may not be able to make all A’s but don’t let anybody out-work you.  There is nothing wrong with being average, but there’s everything wrong with being a lazy, “don’t care” under achiever.

Friends, Jesus is the One who left His throne in heaven as God, became man, not only to befriend you, but that He might live an exemplary life and make a perfect payment for your sin.  He did that so that you could have life now, an abundant life, and an eternal life hereafter.  All this by grace as a gift, through faith in Him.

Garrison Keillor, author of the nostalgic Lake Wobegon books, recalls his childhood Thanksgiving dinners, as the family gathered around the table and remembered the blessings of the past year. Uncle John usually gave the prayer, which caused everyone to squirm.  As Keillor said, "Everybody in the family knew that Uncle John couldn't pray without talking about the cross and crying.  …  Sure enough, Uncle John prayed, talked about the cross, and cried.  Meanwhile, the rest of us shifted nervously from one foot to the other and longed for the prayer to end."

Then Garrison Keillor adds this powerful observation:  "All of us knew that Jesus died on the cross for us, but Uncle John had never gotten over it."

Never get over the cross!

We do well to remember these words of direction and encouragement from the Apostle Paul as he bids farewell in 2 Corinthians 13:11:   Finally, brothers, good-by.  Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you.

Indeed He will be!

Blessings on your summer!

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Many of us, including myself, have heard, numerous times, the historical account of Jesus last few days before His crucifixion.   Even so, there is still for me the twitch of conscience, on Maundy Thursday, when one by one the disciples ask, “Is it I?”  Their query is a response to Jesus’ announcement that one of them will betray him. (Mark 14:19)  In contemplating their question -- my question -- it is easy for me to reflect upon my own culpability in Jesus’ suffering and death.  “My sin, Lord Jesus, caused your crucifixion.”

• The question:  “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” (“My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”) speaks of an abandonment, a horror, far greater than death.  It was endured for all by Jesus, because all humanity, even collectively, would never be able to endure it.

• The exclamatory declaration, “It is finished!” trumpets a higher truth almost impossible to comprehend.  Almost.  It surely declares finality but it echoes the possibility of hope, of difference; of forgiveness, of peace.

Calvary’s cross -- an altar in time for eternity -- was only two pieces of wood and to most it appeared merely an angry instrument of torturous death.  And when Good Friday’s tragedy was over and the nail and spear pierced body was removed and laid in a new tomb, it looked for all the world like the death of a defeated martyr.   

But in reality (and especially for the eyes of faith) those two pieces of wood have arisen as a universal monument for eternity.   They point to truth proven and freed and inexorably, even to the triumph of heaven’s Bright and Morning Star (Revelations 22:16) in the early dawn of Easter.  No defeated martyr here!

Nevertheless, this quiet day of fear, of wondering, of hiding (Saturday) before Easter morning, allows the examining of one’s own life and intent.  Death was clearly seen on Friday. It was real. It was ugly.   

It is inevitable.  

And so the question, “Is it nothing to you?” (Lamentations 1:12) needs to be asked.  It also needs to be answered -- by each, individually -- as Jesus’ life, suffering, death, burial and resurrection are contemplated.  Are we ALL – young and old, male and female, rich and poor, alike passing by the “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53:3) without ever looking, contemplating, shivering with complicity?  Are we that indifferent to all that has transpired?  Are we so intoxicated with the world, its places and ways, a world which does sneer at the blood stained cross, “It IS nothing to us!” … that we have become castrated cross followers, cut off from its power?  

How close I am, if not for grace -- blessed grace -- to similarly looking with disdain at the dying Messiah, and Calvary’s holy healing.  

Before the Easter lighting of the new fire, and the explosion of light, and the jubilant awaking of triumphant music announcing Christ’s resurrection Victory, may God give us the grace to kneel in spirit at the spot where the Savior’s life-blood was shed and declare, “In the Cross of Christ I glory.”  

By the mercy of God, the cross has become, and for all time will be, the anchor of saving faith, the lighthouse beacon of living hope, and the guarantee of my final redemption.  

It is EVERYTHING, this cross and its Crucified, now risen Savior!  

Everything to me, a sinner.            

(The underlined title/subtitle are dynamic links that will take you directly to the order page at Concordia Publishing House [CPH].)

This We Believe is a outstanding resource that I've already referenced many times.  Whether sharing information and suggestions with pastors questioning how to respond to challenging questions and situations or discussing some of the LC-MS's doctrinal stances with laity, it is a most useful reference tool.

The following are a few excerpts from the Preface of This We Believe explaining its purpose and content:  "What is the position of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod on ...?"  This is

one of the most frequently asked questions received by the President and other leaders of the Synod.  This question is asked not only by those outside the Synod but it also frequently comes from members of the synod itself, from lay and clergy alike.  After discussion with numerous individuals throughout the Synod about the need for such a resource as this, President Kieschnick commissioned his staff to work together with him in putting together a brief summary of the official position of the Synod on important matters of doctrine and practice.

...  In addressing the topics included here, the LCMS has expressed its collective understanding of what God's Word, the Holy Scriptures, clearly teaches.  In some cases, the Synod has given Christian counsel, recognizing that where Scripture itself has not spoken directly, guidance must be given in a spirit of Christian liberty and with encouragement to exercise responsible judgments in specific contexts and circumstances.  The task of applying Scriptural principles to contemporary problems must always be done in the humble realization that some questions must be lift "open," which A Brief Statement (included in an appendix to this volume) defines as "those questions in the domain of Christian doctrine ... which Scripture answers either not at all or not clearly" (paragraph 44).

...  It is our prayer that this volume will serve as a handy and informative reference for congregations, professional church workers, and other church leaders in and beyond the LCMS.  We have sought to present this material in such a way as to make available information not always readily accessible.  We pray that greater awareness regarding our church's voice on these topics will be a blessing to our Synod in matters of faith and practice.

The cost for This We Believe is $8.99 or $6.99 for 6 or more copies from Concordia Publishing House.  It would also prove to be a catalyst for an Adult Class seeking to learn more about our Biblical, Lutheran response to such contemporary issues as Abortion, Assisted Suicide, Birth Control, Care for the Dying, Cloning, Cremation, Euthanasia, Gambling, Homosexual Behavior, Immigration, In Vitro Fertilization, Admission to the Lord's Supper, Ordination of Women, Organ Donation, Pornography, Stem Cell Research, Tithing, Unity Within Synod, Service of Women in the Church, etc.

May our Lord richly bless your use of this wonderful resource.

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The King James Translation of Psalm 51:2, if read correctly, is surely awkward, accurate, and anything but ambivalent.  As the reader studies King David’s sincere prayer of repentance, with the Holy Spirit’s help and the sure voice of other Scriptures, the awkward rendering of the King James, once understood, is pregnant with meaning.

The King James Version of Psalm 51:2 reads, “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”  “Throughly” not “thoroughly”.  Other Bible versions make it easier to understand:  “Wash away all my iniquity,” (NIV); “Wash me thoroughly from all my iniquity,” (ESV); “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,” (NASB, NRSV).

At first you have to wonder if “thoroughly” is a typo, word processing error, or type set error from long ago.  If you look into it a bit, however, you discover that it is an Elizabethan English way of saying “through and through.”  Simply put, then, you could translate Psalm 51:2:  “Wash me through and through from my iniquity.”

I have to tell you that the King James Version is not my preferred version for reading, although a number of the Scriptures that I have memorized, especially from my earliest years, are from this version.  But uniquely, for this passage, I truly love and appreciate the King James rendering:  “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”

When we turn to God in sincere repentance truly sorry for our sin, recognizing our sinful nature and its complete corruptness, and looking to God alone in Christ Jesus for forgiveness, healing, strength, victory, etc., I don’t want God to merely scrub me good on the outside.  I need Him desperately to wash me clean, clear through – or “through and through”. 

The word “throughly” really isn’t used and doesn’t really doesn’t exist anymore in our use of the English language.  In fact, everywhere I’ve written it above is highlighted in red by my automatic spell check.  In each case it wants to change it to “thoroughly.”  In this particular case, though, I’ve stopped to meditate on and appreciate the KJV interpretation.  With King David in this great penitential psalm I don’t want God to do a surface cleaning on my character; I want – NEED – Him to get rid of every vestige of deep-down, death-bringing, life-destroying, sin.

1Thessalonians 5:23  reads, “May God Himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through.  May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (NIV)

“Through and through,” or “throughly”.

May this Lenten season be for you a time of humble, godly, sincere repentance where, because of God’s perfect, amazing love seen in the death of the sin-bearing Christ for you and me – indeed, for the world! – our lives are truly transformed into the forgiven wonders that God intends for them to be. 

From what sin, hidden and secret, can you ask God to wash from you “through and through”? 

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• Billy D. Brooks Memorial Lutheran Choir
• Detroit Urban Lutheran School Choir
• Lutheran City Ministries Choir
• Lutheran High School North Concert Choir
• Arbor Song Concordia University Ann Arbor

Tickets:

$20 Adult

$10 (student rate ages 6-23)

Children under 5 free

Call 888.225.2111 ext. 249 to reserve tickets ... OR ... purchase tickets at the door!  For more information please click on this link!

Proceeds will benefit the choirs, Lutheran Child & Family Service of Michigan, Lutheran Homes of Michigan, Project Compassion Ministries, Inc., the Michigan District Lutheran Women's Missionary League, and the portion that would have gone to the District will be directed to relief efforts in Haiti.

The authors of The Manhattan Declaration (Robert George - Professor, McCormick Professor of Jurisprudence, Princeton University; Timothy George - Professor, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University; and Chuck Colson - Founder, the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview (Lansdowne, VA)) have labeled the Declaration ‘A Call of Christian Conscience’.   It seems to be born out of two recognitions:

1. A historical recognition … that is, throughout history, Christians who have maintained and lived “the highest ideals of their faith, have defended the weak and vulnerable and worked tirelessly to protect and strengthen vital institutions of civil society, beginning with the family.
2. A present recognition … that is, that the above mentioned social institutions and civil values are under assault.
   

The authors invitation is, first, for all Orthodox, Catholic, and evangelical Christians to unite in signing this Declaration to reaffirm fundamental truths about justice and the common good.  Secondly, they are asking all fellow citizens, believers and non-believers alike, to join them in defending these three fundamental truths:

1. the sanctity of human life
2. the dignity of marriage as the conjugal union of husband and wife
3. the rights of conscience and religious liberty.

The authors share this introductory paragraph to the The Declaration:  “Inasmuch as these truths are foundational to human dignity and the well-being of society, they are inviolable and non-negotiable. Because they are increasingly under assault from powerful forces in our culture, we are compelled today to speak out forcefully in their defense, and to commit ourselves to honoring them fully no matter what pressures are brought upon us and our institutions to abandon or compromise them. We make this commitment not as partisans of any political group but as followers of Jesus Christ, the crucified and risen Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”

You can find, read, (and sign) The Manhattan Declaration at http://www.manhattandeclaration.org/the-declaration.  

Most of the inquiries that I have received revolve around the appropriateness of signing the Declaration.  After consulting with the CTCR office in St. Louis, I would pass on the following:  

1. The CTCR has limited resources that doesn’t always allow the opportunity to do the requisite research needed before an official decision to participate can be made.  (They were not approached to play a part in The Manhattan Declaration.)  No official particular position has been taken on it.
2. However, since it appears that our church body’s positions on such issues as life, marriage, and religious liberty are aligned with those stated in the The Manhattan Declaration, they did not see a problem with any of our pastors signing the declaration, with the following understanding:   
   

        a.     The signing was done after the brother pastor had thoroughly read the Declaration;

        b.     That pastors understand that their personal signing of the Declaration in no way conveys that the members of their congregation agree with the Declaration.  (It would seem, however, that The Manhattan Declaration might be well worth the read and brief study in a staff or congregational forum and or by the officers of the church.);

        c.      That if the pastors in a Circuit decided to sign it, they should have studied it together, and what is said above in ‘b.’, the signing by the pastor not being representative of his congregation, would still apply.

There are already more than 400,000 signatories with seemingly hundred’s more being added every day.  A number of the signers are Missouri Synod pastors.  I personally believe that The Manhattan Declaration is very well written, does uphold our Synod’s stance on the issues addressed, and is something that believers in Christ and good citizens of this country (and world) who have it's best in mind, could support and sign.

• Protecting Traditional Marriage
• Sanctity of Life
• Life Library Resources
  
• Civil Obedience and Disobedience (1967)
  
• Guidelines for Crucial Issues in Christian Citizenship (1968)
• Human Sexuality (1981)
  
• Abortion in Perspective (1984)
  
• Christian Care at Life’s End (1993)
  
• Render Unto Caesar … and Unto God:  A Lutheran View of Church and State (1995)
  
• Christian Faith and Human Beginnings:  Christian Care and Pre-Implantation Human Life (2005)  
  

I am grateful for the opportunity of passing on to you a resource written by one of our very gifted pastors in the Michigan District.  It is entitled, "A STUDY GUIDE for The Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience," and can be found at http://www.fflinchrist.org/Resources.htm.  It is a downloadable pdf file and is free. (Once you get to this site of excellent resources, just scroll down the page until you get to Study Guide.)

I will look forward to your comments after you’ve read The Manhattan Declaration.

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They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, pleasing God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” (Acts 2:42-47)

The first thing we discover about this early church is a commitment to the teaching of the apostles. These early believers heard the apostles firsthand; however, we have this very same teaching in our Bibles. Therefore, a good church is a Bible-centered church. Nothing is as important as this -- not a large congregation, a witty pastor, or tangible experiences of the Holy Spirit. These first believers never made personal experience the touchstone of their faith, which is a common error today, because the Bible is God’s supreme instrument for renewing his people in the image of Jesus. If you take time to read through the entire Book of Acts, you will discover it is full of the centrality of preaching.

Unfortunately, preachers who distort God’s Word are all too common today. Sometimes this springs from a sincere desire to soften hard hearts, but hearts aren’t changed by compromise. A preacher may be tempted to water down the truth about sin and the need for repentance, or the difficult parts about the incarnation and atonement, and replace them with misguided promises of personal prosperity or a focus on political issues. Or he may adopt the technique of an anecdotal preacher, departing from Scripture and telling a series of amusing stories. So, then, the first thing to seek in a church is a commitment to sound doctrine.

The Bible introduces us to two sacraments given to us by the Lord Jesus himself. These sacraments -- baptism and the Lord’s Supper -- will be found in every faithful church, i.e., they are not optional because they are commanded by Christ and give Christ to His people.

To be sure, many Christian denomination argue and debate about what is actually offered in these sacraments.  Are they mere symbols? Or do they actually give Christ in the water and the word, a visible word?  And is the Lord’s supper a symbol for something that is not present, namely the body and blood of Jesus?  Or is the Lord’s supper the very body and blood of Christ given for the forgiveness of sins?

The Lutheran church confesses that Christ is given in holy baptism and adopts a person into the family of God. We also confess that along with the bread and wine in the Lord’s supper, the body and blood of Christ are truly present as Jesus says, “this is my body…..this is my blood.”    A faithful church will provide a clear explanation of the sacraments and how to participate. In addition to the sacraments, prayer, too, is a vital element of a healthy church. A good church will include prayer in the worship service and will emphasize both corporate and personal prayer.

“Everyone was filled with awe…”

Joy, reverence, and a sense of awe characterized the worship of the believers in the New Testament church. They had a grasp of how high and holy God is -- his transcendence -- as well as the fact that he indwells his people -- his immanence. A good church, therefore, is one that is concerned about reverent worship.

However, reverence does not mean that we are restricted to a particular style of music or liturgical structure. In fact, every worship service should be a joyful celebration of the mighty acts of God through the Lord Jesus Christ. Although worship services ought to be dignified, it is not right for worship services to be dull.

Now it is possible for dignity to be dull and for expressions of joy to be irreverent, but the pattern in the early church does not set dignity and joy in opposition to one another, which is an all too common practice in contemporary evangelical circles. In the early church everyone was filled with awe because the Lord Jesus was present; there was reverence and rejoicing, formality and informality, structure and absence of structure. Trumpets sounded and cymbals clanged and other instruments joined in this great cacophony of sound and they raised their voices in praise to the Lord and they sang. These believers weren’t on some emotional trip, but were instead declaring theology. In a good church, the worship will focus on truth and engage the minds of those who come. It may also be emotional in as much as such emotion is a reflection of hearts caught up in wonder and praise.

“They devoted themselves…to the fellowship…. All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts.”

When we think of the word “fellowship,” we tend to think in terms of spending fun times with like-minded people, but biblical fellowship is much more than socializing. Believers share a common life because we share faith in one Savior and have been reconciled to God the Father through him. Fellowship within the church operates much like a family, which also means there are times where confrontation is necessary. In the church, this takes the form of church discipline, and a good church will practice it for the good of the whole congregation and most especially for the spiritual welfare of the erring believer.

Inherent in true fellowship is a call to generosity. In Acts we see that money was collected and given to those in genuine need. A good church, therefore, is one that seeks to distribute its resources to those in need at all times and in every circumstance with sacrificial generosity.

“And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.”

While these early believers were learning, worshiping, and sharing, they were not doing so at the expense of evangelism. We learn here in Acts that this early church grew in number daily. Yet who did the adding? It was Christ. He is the head of the church; therefore, he is the one who adds to the church, and he typically does so through the preaching of the Word, worship, and the voice of believers spreading the good news of the gospel.

Today, however, we find many man-centered endeavors to win converts. Such churches rely on slick methods, programs, packets, ideas and schemes rather than on presenting sound doctrine. I do not wish to diminish the right use of well-intentioned programs; however, a good church is one whose members seek to live as ambassadors of the Lord Jesus Christ.

If you are seeking a church, seek one where the Word is proclaimed, where the sacraments and prayer are honored, and where worship is reverent. Seek a church where the fellowship is characterized by joy and generosity, and where the gospel is boldly proclaimed. It’s that simple.

The Rev. Bryan R. Salminen, Ph.D.

Senior Pastor, Emmanuel Lutheran Church, Cadillac, Michigan