Do you worry if your children will be wise when they go off to live in this corrupted world? Have you given them the foundation they need?  Jesus said our world is under attack by forces seeking to destroy you and your children. This battle is happening in Christian families as they allow the breach in their Christian practice. As families attend worship less, as parents and children pray and read the Bible less, and as families stay together as families less, the breach in our lives widens.

“Hear, O sons, a father’s instruction, and be attentive, that you may gain insight.” (Proverbs 4:1) Your spiritual path is the greatest factor of your child’s spiritual path. If a father goes regularly, regardless of the practice of the mother, between 2/3 and 3/4 of their children will become churchgoers (regular and irregular). But, if a father does not go to church — no matter how faithful his wife’s devotion — only one child in 50 (1/50) will become a regular worshipper.  

Part of the reason for this distinction is that children tend to take their cues about domestic life from Mom while their conceptions of the outside world come from Dad. If Dad takes faith in God seriously then the message to their children is that God should be taken seriously. My dad, Richard, who worked long hours as a foreman in a Chevrolet factory, made sure his kids knew the value of faith.

One of the key reasons for Christian families faltering under the attacks of Satan is that many Christian men have not been willing to “step into the breach” – to fill this gap that lies open and vulnerable to further attack. 

 “And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before Me for the land …” says the LORD. (Ezekiel 22:30) MEN … these are the times in which you and I live … this is the hand we have been dealt. Are we standing in the breach for our children? 

Do you think it is easier or more difficult to be a child growing up in these times?  How much have you taken for granted the spiritual grounding your elders gave you? Are you making sure your child has at least as much spiritual grounding in this more godless age? 

• What wisdom are you imparting to your children, even if they are grown up?
• Are you leading your sons and daughters in the path of wisdom? (Prov 4:2-13)
• Or do you let your progeny, your precious children, wander around to follow the ways of the world? (Proverbs 4:14-19)

 “Men do not hesitate to engage in the battle that is raging around you, the battle that is wounding our children and families, the battle that is distorting the dignity of both women and men. This battle is often hidden, but the battle is real. It is primarily spiritual, but it is progressively killing the remaining Christian ethos in our society and culture, and even in our own homes.” (Bishop Thomas Olmsted)

Men you are to love your wives as Christ loves the church, modeling the love of the Father in their most important earthly relationship. (Eph 5:25-30)  Men, as fathers, you are to care for your children as your heavenly Father cares for you. 

• How are you the spiritual protector of your wife and children? 
• How are you training your family for spiritual battle now and in the future?
• How are you leading your family through the spiritual attacks?

As the father you play a primary role in teaching your children the truth about reality. (Eph 6:2-4) Men, you are the one who should instruct your children to understand the world from a consciously and informed Christian worldview.  So, impart life-giving wisdom to your children as you send them into the world with a biblical view of reality and a faith in Jesus Christ that is rooted in solid example. 

Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in you that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. (Hebrews 13:20-21)

Your Servant in the Gospel, Pastor Douglas    

“What’s all this ‘Father’ stuff about in the Lord’s Prayer?  Why should we call God ‘Father,’ anyway?” she intoned petulantly, fixing me with a stare that clearly thought no reasonable answer was possible.  It was my first year in ministry.  I had converted to Christ but a year before and now found myself teaching Luther’s Small Catechism as part of my youth minister duties at a largish program-style Lutheran church.  From my undergraduate background in the arts and my wife’s current graduate school studies, I was utterly familiar with the post-structuralism that informed her question, but despite the self-consciously progressive, university-dominated atmosphere of the town I served, I was still shocked to hear the sentiment from the mouth of a seventh grader.

I would not be shocked today… not anywhere in the United States, let alone a college town.  “How do we know God is ‘Father?’” challenged the former PASTOR of one of my parishioners in an adult Sunday School forum.  Such pugnacious personalities litter the Christian landscape of the modern West, pseudo-intellectuals who, because they came across the concept of apophatic theology in seminary, now feel they can use it to undermine Scriptural authority and thence refashion the Christian faith in a manner more congenial to their modern WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, Democratic) presuppositions and biases. 

In my last article I made the case that a specific, seemingly innocuous use of inclusive language for human beings had unexpected but potentially devastating side effects in the realm of pastoral care and Christian self-understanding.  Tinkering with Christ’s chosen address of God may have similar side effects.  Progressives like Rosemary Radford Reuther and Sally McFague purport to give us reasons we need not address God as Father.  Conservatives like Dennis Prager give us reasons we must. Still, it may well be that the question “Why should we call God ‘Father?’” may be like Job addressing God on the question of suffering, to which God responds in a way that lets Job know that he has no possible idea of full import of what he is asking—that Job lacks the capacity for God to respond in a meaningful way to such a question.  “Stop clucking in such a self-important way. You cannot possibly understand what is at play here.  Consider yourself blessed to know Me at all,” might be an apt summary of God’s speech in Job 38-41.  To address God in any other way than that revealed by God may have ripples that redound to the harm or even damnation of others and should so be avoided.

Which is why I believe that the answer that I gave the young lady mentioned above in my theological naivete is still the correct one; we call God “Father” because we are disciples—followers—of Christ, not His instructors.  If we think of Jesus as someone who merely cracked open a door on God that we can now wedge open a little wider by our own enlightened efforts, we misunderstand Him utterly as “the Word become flesh” who “dwelt” (in the Greek, skenoō or “tabernacled”) among us, who in my favorite modern translation “is in the bosom of the Father” and hence alone has the capacity to “make Him known.”

As time went on, I discovered that this young woman had good reason for negative associations with the word “father;” her own dad was an addict who had been emotionally and often physically absent until two years before when he had cleaned up and was endeavoring to “make good” in his role in her life, an effort she perceived as “pushy” and presumptuous.  What a privilege it was to teach her—as I hope I have taught my own daughter—that she has a Father in heaven who we earthly fathers can only hope to palely imitate as providers, nurturers, and self-sacrificing protectors. (Ephesians 3:14)

Had I let her indubitably real pain colonize—exercise a controlling influence—over my theology, she could never have found what I would later hear theologian Marva Dawn refer to as “the true liberation of being a woman who can without reservation call God ‘Father.’”

Grappling with Scripture as the revealed Word of God and the Apostolic faith that has informed that encounter has preserved such liberation—true liberation—for us all.

John 3:1-17

Script

Props: You will need three images for this children’s sermon, printed out on paper. The first is an image of Jesus, the second, an image of a dove, and the third, a burning bush. Put the image of Jesus on a cross in your church, the dove on the baptismal font, and the burning bush on the alter, stained glass Ten Commandments, or a Bible.

Pastor: Good morning boys and girls! Welcome! Let’s say good morning to our friend Sammy and see if she is there. Ready? One, two, three: Good morning, Sammy!

Sammy: Good morning, everyone! I have something really special for all of you to do this morning.

Pastor: What’s that, Sammy?

Sammy: Pastor, I would like you and all of the boys and girls to solve a mystery for me.

Pastor: A mystery?

Sammy: Yes! It’s about our faith. I hid pictures in the church.

Pastor: What do you think, boys and girls? Do you think we can help Sammy solve a mystery about faith?

Pastor: Can you give us some direction or a hint before we get started, Sammy?

Sammy: Yes! I will give you one hint at a time. Are you ready?

Pastor: We are ready.

Sammy: The first item you need to find is located on the place where Jesus died.

Pastor: What do you think boys and girls? [located on a cross in the church]

Sammy: Great work! The next item to see is a place where we can baptize a baby. [Located on a baptismal font] 

Pastor: We can baptize babies, children, and adults!

Sammy: Hooray for baptism! Did you find the clue?

Pastor: We found it!

Sammy: Your final clue is this: It’s the Law of Moses, written by the hand of the one who knows us. There’s ten of these commands—just like the ten fingers on your hands! [located on a Bible or on a stained glass window of the Ten Commandments]

Pastor: Great job with searching for these clues everyone! Let’s put them together and see what we see.

Sammy: What do you see everyone?

[Allow time for responses]

Pastor: We see Jesus, a dove, and a burning bush.

Sammy: Here’s the mystery we need to solve: What do these three things have in common?

[Allow time for responses]

Pastor: I think these three images represent the Holy Trinity, Sammy.

Sammy: Exactly!

Pastor: There is a mystery within your mystery, Sammy.

Sammy: There is?

Pastor: The Holy Trinity is here in front of us, and the Trinity itself is a mystery of faith to us. We understand that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are each a person of the Trinity, three in one, but no one completely understands the Trinity. It’s hard to explain and that’s why it’s a mystery of faith.

Sammy: That’s really cool, Pastor.

Pastor: Yes, it is, Sammy. Boys and girls, will you fold your hands and bow your heads in prayer with me please? Dear Jesus, We thank you for coming to earth to die for our sins. We thank you Father for your great love for us. We thank you Holy Spirit for always being with us. Amen.

Sammy: Bye, everyone!

Pastor: Bye, Sammy!

Several weeks ago there was considerable discussion in Lutheran CORE’s Facebook group in response to a person who questioned whether it is appropriate to call the Bible the Word of God. 

As part of that process, we posted our Statement on Scripture, which was written in 2007.

Because that statement was responding specifically to comments made by former ELCA presiding bishop Mark Hansen and to the ELCA’s Book of Faith initiative, we felt that the document should be updated to reflect our current situation and without reference to that initiative.

We are very grateful to NALC pastor Ken Kimball, who, along with Bishop Paull Spring, wrote the original statement.  Pastor Kimball graciously accepted our request to update the statement.  We are also very grateful to Dr. Mark Mattes of Grand View University for reviewing the statement. 

At its most recent meeting the board of Lutheran CORE unanimously voted to approve the statement.  You can find the full text of that document here. 

As we said in the July 2021 issue of CORE Voice, the real issue behind the issue is more often than not the authority of Scripture.  Refusing to call God Father, rejecting evangelism as part of the mission of the church, seeing faith in Christ as only one out of many ways to God, and embracing the full, radical LGBTQIA+ agenda all result from rejecting the inspiration, reliability, and authority of the Bible.  Therefore, we are glad to be able to share with you this newly updated Statement on Scripture.    

In the words of a hymn that has been set to the tune of “A Mighty Fortress” –

“God’s Word is our great heritage and shall be ours forever.

To spread its light from age to age shall be our chief endeavor.

Through life it guides our way; in death it is our stay.

Lord, grant while time shall last your Church may hold it fast

Throughout all generations.”

When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent word
by his disciples and said to him, “Are you the one who is to come, or are we to
wait for another?” Jesus answered them, “Go and tell
John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight,
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and
the poor have good news brought to them. And blessed is
anyone who takes no offense at me.” (Matthew 11:2-6 NRSV)

There goes the Son …

Evangelical Lutheran Worship

These days, there are many who are offended by the God revealed in Jesus Christ and in the Holy Scriptures.  The primary offense is caused by the name Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  Others take offense at the masculine pronouns that the Bible uses for God.  As a result, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, in its hymnal Evangelical Lutheran Worship, worked diligently to reduce the use of masculine pronouns to refer to God. This was particularly true in the translation of the Psalms. In addition, they provided an alternate invocation for the beginning of the liturgy that enabled congregations to avoid saying Father and Son.  Many of the Prayers of the Day and all of the Proper Prefaces, were changed so that prayer was addressed to God in general rather than to the Father.  Over the years, Sundays and Seasons, the electronic worship resource from Augsburg Fortress, has offered a variety of alternatives for those who are so offended. Finally, at the 2019 Churchwide Assembly, a social statement was passed calling for an even greater use of “gender-inclusive and expansive language for God.”

The Trinity

The Augsburg Confession, on the other hand, affirms the doctrine of the Trinity in the strongest terms, saying:

We
unanimously hold and teach, in accordance with the decree of the Council of
Nicaea,’ that there is one divine essence, which is called and which is truly
God, and that there are three persons in this one divine essence, equal in
power and alike eternal: God the Father,
God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.[1][emphasis mine]

What’s at Stake?

So what is
at stake?  Is this just quibbling over
words?  Are we as Lutherans bound to the
language used in the Augsburg Confession? 
Will it really make a difference if we use expansive language for God?

The answer
is, “Yes!”  What was at stake at the
Council of Nicaea was far more than a quibble over words.  The Council was not engaged in an esoteric
debate about a doctrine that few lay people would ever understand.  What was at stake was the Incarnation
itself.  Is the Son divine, or only the
Father?  Was God truly incarnate in Jesus
of Nazareth, or did it only appear to be the case?  It was the position of the orthodox that the
Gospel and salvation itself were on the line. 
Rejection of the Incarnation was a rejection of the Gospel. The Lutheran
reformers would have agreed. 

The Gospel

Why is the Gospel at stake?  To explain this, let me introduce a couple of terms with which you may not be familiar.  The terms are general revelation and particular revelation.[2]  General revelation refers to the knowledge of God that is available to all people.  Romans 1:20 says:

Ever since the creation of the world his eternal
power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and
seen through the things he has made. (NRSV)

Some knowledge of God is available to all people.  For instance, through the use of reason we can come to know that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent.  If we look at nature, at the beauty and precision that it contains, we can catch a glimpse of the Creator.  If we pay attention to the moral law that is written in our hearts, we know that God is holy and righteous.  Some of us have even felt God’s presence in our lives.  Reason, nature, the moral law, and our feelings can give us some idea of what God is like.

What none of them can do, however, is enable us to know that God is a gracious God.  Knowing that God is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent doesn’t tell me whether God cares about me.  What nature reveals about God is too ambiguous to tell me whether he is good.  For every beautiful sunset, perfect snowflake and cuddly puppy, there is a hurricane, earthquake or an incurable disease.  The moral law tells me that God is holy, but it doesn’t tell me whether God is merciful to sinners like me.  My feelings about God are ambiguous as well.  One minute I may have a sense of God’s love and peace, but another moment I feel abandoned or condemned by God.  General revelation can take us no further.  Luther says:

I
answer that there are two ways of knowing God. One is general, the other
particular. Everyone has a general knowledge—that is, that there is a God that
created heaven and earth, that He is righteous, and that He punishes the
wicked. However, regarding what God thinks about us (His will toward us), what
He will give or do to deliver us from sin and death, and how to be saved (for
certain, this is the true knowledge of God), they don’t know any of this. In
the same way, I may know someone by sight but not thoroughly because I don’t
fully understand that person’s feelings toward me; that is how people by nature
know there is a God. But what is His will and what is not His will, they have
no idea![3]

The God We Meet in Jesus Christ

Particular
revelation, on the other hand, which refers to God incarnate, Jesus Christ,
does.  When we encounter God in the baby
in the manger and the man on the Cross, then we do know that we have a gracious
God.  It is the God we meet in Jesus Christ
who enables us to have faith, to trust that we are loved and forgiven.  Again, Luther says:

Christ
is the only means, and as you might say, the mirror in which we can see God and
by whom we can also know His will, for in Christ, we see that God is no cruel
and demanding judge but a Father of extremely goodwill, loving and merciful. In
order to bless us—that is, to deliver us from the law, sin, death, all evil,
and to grant us grace, righteousness, and eternal life—He “did not spare his
own Son, but gave him up for us all.” This is the true knowledge of God, the
divine persuasion that does not deceive us but paints us a trustworthy picture
of God, other than this there is no God.[4]

Offended by the Incarnation

This is
why traditional Lutherans are alarmed by the call for more “gender-inclusive
and expansive language for God.”  It is
not because we oppose inclusive language in general, as is often alleged, or
that we want to subordinate women to men. 
Something more is at stake.  When
we are offended by the very words that Jesus used to name God, when we are
offended by his masculinity, as in the past some were offended by his
Jewishness, when we are offended by the claim that Jesus is the way, the truth
and the life, we are offended by the Incarnation itself.  In that case, we are offended by the only
thing that makes it possible for us to know and trust that we have a gracious
God.  The Gospel, justification by faith,
and salvation itself, are at stake.  Instead
of being offended, we give thanks, as we do in the proper preface for
Christmas:

In the wonder and mystery of the Word made flesh you have opened the eyes of faith to a new and radiant vision of your glory: that beholding the God made visible, we may be drawn to love the God whom we cannot see.[5]

[1] Theodore G. Tappert. Augsburg
Confession (Kindle Locations 58-59). Kindle Edition.  

[2] Luther,
Martin. Martin Luther’s Commentary on St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians
(1535): Lecture Notes Transcribed by Students and Presented in Today’s English
(p. 350). 1517 Publishing. Kindle Edition.

[3] Ibid., p. 350.

[4] Ibid., pp. 346-347.

[5]
Lutheran Book of Worship: Ministers Desk Edition.  1978 Augsburg Fortress, p. 209.

THE PRAYERS, 

6^th Sunday after Pentecost, Proper 8, Cycle B (July 1, 2018)

Let us pray to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ on behalf of the Church, the world, and one another.

A brief silence

Most gracious Lord, have compassion on your Church throughout the world. Heal it from every false teaching, unkind act, and unfaithful witness. Raise it up from sloth and sin; provide so generously for its needs that it may be generous in sharing your gifts with others; and by its winsome and lovely righteousness, draw all people into your Son’s life-giving presence.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

 Incline your ear to your persecuted Church, so that they may never despair of your goodness but rather give thanks to you forever for your great mercy. Shield and defend your missionaries, especially when they are met with hostility and rejection.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Fill the people of this congregation with the spirit of gentleness, generosity, and compassion, so that we reflect Jesus’ goodness to everyone we meet, and our church becomes a byword among our neighbors for your strong saving love.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer

For many, this is a week of holiday and travel. Keep us in safety and concord, that all may enjoy the blessings of freedom, leisure, friendship, and family.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

You have given us this good land as our heritage. Make us always remember your generosity and constantly do your will. Save us from violence, discord, confusion, and every evil course of action. Give us what outward prosperity may be your will; but above all things, give us faith in you, that our nation may glorify your name and be a blessing to all peoples.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

We thank you for patriots, past and present, who have served God and nation with honor. Shield and guide all who currently serve and protect our nation, here and abroad. Keep them strong; make them wise; heal their wounds of body, mind and soul; and use them to establish safety, justice and freedom. Grant comfort, patience and hope to their families and friends; and let their communities and country show them respect and use their gifts when they return.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Clothe all who wear the sackcloth of suffering with the clean linen of your salvation and joy. We lift before you the needs of: {List}. Give them such confidence in you that they constantly turn to you for help. And grant to all who love and care for them, such tenderness and skill that suffering and loneliness are eased and hope and faith are strengthened among us all

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

There is no profit if we go down to the pit; nor shall dust praise your faithfulness. Therefore, we praise you for your Son’s triumph over sin, evil and death; and for the eternal life that you promise to all who call upon his name. Give us the full measure of your Spirit, so that we may trust you even when we are surrounded by our ancient enemies; may encourage and console one another along our common pilgrimage; and may cling to the Cross of Jesus until it unbars the gates of your Kingdom, and you welcome us home.

Lord, in your mercy, hear our prayer.

Hear and graciously answer our prayers, dear Lord, as it is best for us and most glorifies your holy name. Amen.

“A father of the fatherless and a judge for the widows, is God in His holy habitation.  God makes a home for the lonely; he leads out the prisoners into prosperity, only the rebellious dwell in a parched land.”  (Psalm 68:5-6)

This world makes much ado about nothing.  Do not be politically correct, but be corrected by the One who knows all things and walk in the way of His prosperity.  Do not gain things in this world, but build up the eternal ways of the Lord in your heart that you may know the bounty of the Lord which is available to all.  Come then into His presence and do not be thirsty, but filled with His goodness.

Lord, I get caught up in wanting to be like this world.  Help me shed such desires that I may walk humbly before You,my God and Savior.  Lead me through the desert paths of this world and their false mirages to see clearly the goodness that is right before me.  Lead me in the way of eternal prosperity that I may abide in the richness of Your love.

Lord Jesus, You have come to lead us in the narrow way of true wealth, which is abiding in You now and forever.  Humble my heart that I may see the goodness that comes by Your  grace and live into the everlasting life You have made possible for all who believe.  Lead me, O Lord, and give me a heart that will follow You alone through all that will come until we meet face to face.  Amen.

Thursday, December 21, 2017 Devotion

“O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and Your glory.”  (Psalm 63:1-2)

As a dry land in which there is no water, so is the soul’s thirst for the Lord.  Far from His ways are we at birth, but our souls long to be eternally connected to the One who made us.  We are not to settle for other gods, but come to the One through whom life is given.  Be refreshed and restored to the Lord, the Maker of all things and know the goodness of His grace and mercy.

Lord, I do thirst, for I yearn all the day long after things I cannot even begin to imagine.  Help me see in You the hope of glory and learn to walk in Your ways.  Guide me according to Your purposes that I may live in Your will.  Give me a heart that seeks after You above all things and learns the eternal ways that You have established.  Guide me, O Lord, that I may live.

Lord Jesus, You have come to give life and to give it abundantly.  Help me now and always to see You and seek You above all the ways set before me in this world.  Lead me in the will of the Father that I may walk in a way that is pleasing to Him.  Help me now and always to have a clear mind, a willing hand and an upright heart, seeking after You and the Way You have established.  Amen.

“Teacher, tell my brother to divide the family inheritance with me.” (Luke 12:13)

It’s as though the United States Congress just put its entire military at your command, and you respond by saying, “Could they mow my lawn maybe?”  There our Lord Jesus sat, preaching the kingdom of God in all its cruciform power, and this young man wants him to settle a property dispute.  Our Lord’s response was surely just: “Who made me arbitrator over you?”  He’s no arbitrator; he’s the Son of Man and Prince of Peace!

As you come to our nation’s Day of Thanksgiving, remember this great power of the One whom you thank, and His greater, joyful intention for you.  The moisture of the clouds and the grains of the earth are but a foretaste of the “kingdom come,” already pressing its way into earth through the water of Baptism and the Bread of Heaven.  He would give you more than your father’s cash; He’d give you the Father’s kingdom.

How much reason, then, to give thanks!  As you come before Him over the next several days, give thanks not only for the food on the table, but for the Food that ever lasts, His Son, Jesus Christ, and ask Him to share that Holy Feast abundantly, through you and all His Church.

LET US PRAY: O living Bread, my Lord Jesus Christ: thank You!  For what greater reason do I have to give thanks but You?  Unite my gratitude, as poor as it may be, with Your own ceaseless petitions at the Father’s right hand, and make known to all the world the glory of Your cross.  Amen

Pastor Steven K. Gjerde

Zion, Wausau