2022 Pre-Easter Giving Appeal Letter

April 2022

Dear Friends –

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, “I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received, that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures.” (1 Corinthians 15: 3-4)

He also wrote to his young friend Timothy, “And what you have heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will be able to teach others as well.” (2 Timothy 2: 2)

The writer of the Gospel of John penned these words.  “These are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through believing you may have life in His name.” (John 20: 31)

The witness of Scripture is clear and strong.  It does matter whether the message of the Bible is preserved, shared, heard, and believed. 

The most sacred and precious time of the year for those who love Jesus is Holy Week.  It is then that we hear and read once again of His triumphal entry, last supper, agony in the garden, betrayal, arrest, crucifixion, and resurrection.  The accounts of this one week form the major part of each of the four Gospels, and we are fortunate to have four Gospel accounts.  We know more about what Jesus did for our salvation because we have all four.

And yet what do we see going on now?  A movement to “cancel” the passion narrative in the Gospel of John and remove it from the lectionary readings for Holy Week.  The reason given is that the two chapters of John 18 and 19 are being accused of fostering antisemitism.

There is no doubt but that antisemitism is wrong, just as there is no doubt but that any form of racism is wrong.  Historically, according to the Gospels, it was the Jews who cried for Jesus to be crucified.  It was the Romans who carried out the crucifixion.  But it was my sins that nailed Jesus to the cross, just as much as anyone else’s.

This movement to “cancel” John is “gaining steam” within the U. S. Episcopal Church.  I am alarmed when I read comments also from ELCA pastors who would like to see the Gospel of John removed from the list of Scripture readings for Holy Week.

In my April letter from the director, which will be published in mid-April, I will tell more about this movement and how it is gaining ground within the ELCA.  Here we see just one more way in which the authority of the Scriptures first is questioned and then is rejected.  Anything difficult in the Bible is thrown out, rather than wrestled with and learned from.  Any time when the voice of the Bible is in conflict with the voice of our culture, the voice of our culture prevails.

If the passion readings in the Gospel of John are thrown out, what will it be next?  That is a question we continually ask regarding the ELCA.  What will it be next?  We already know of ELCA pastors who believe that the message of the cross is not that Jesus died for our sins.  Instead it is a challenge to join God in the work of dismantling oppressive, political power structures.  There are others who say that the main message and mission of the church is to support environmental causes and concerns.  What will it be next?  As everyone who has observed trends and events in the last decade knows only too well, it will not stop here.  The departure from and rejection of traditional, Biblical beliefs and values will only accelerate. 

What is at stake is the very heart of our faith – the message of the cross, the hope of the resurrection, the privilege and joy of knowing God as Father, Christ’s command to His church to fulfill the Great Commission, and God’s call to His people to holy living. 

We of Lutheran CORE have been working hard to show you how the orthodox Christian faith and Biblical moral values are first being compromised and then rejected by such things as the embrace of critical race theory by many Christian leaders, the choice of keynote speakers for national youth gatherings, the ELCA’s full embrace of the LGBTQ+ agenda and values, and the way in which many in the ELCA twist the message of the Bible in order to support that agenda.  Through our being one of the sponsors of the NEXUS Institute at Grand View University, our support system for orthodox seminarians, and our support group for younger persons, many of whom are planning on attending seminary, we are also working hard so that there will be Biblically faithful and Great Commission-minded pastors in the future.  Thank you for your interest in and support of these efforts and your generous gifts to our Pastoral Formation Fund. 

It is your ongoing prayers and gifts to Lutheran CORE that enable us to continue our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Thank you for your prayers for us.  Click here for a form that you can use to let us know how we can be praying for you. 

Giving thanks for the cross and the empty tomb,

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

Visit our website www.lutherancore.org

Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/LutheranCORE

Like us on Facebook www.facebook.com/LutheranCORE

Join us on MeWe https://mewe.com/p-front/lutherancore

Watch us on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtoknmLRxWxGeLkpBeRjRVA

Follow us on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/lutherancore/




Devotion for Sunday, December 10, 2017

Sunday, December 10, 2017 Devotion

“Have not You Yourself, O God, rejected us?  And will You not go forth with our armies, O God?  O give us help against the adversary, for deliverance by man is in vain.  Through God we shall do valiantly, and it is He who will tread down our adversaries.”  (Psalm 60:10-12)

The nations of this world toil against one another.  Men dream dreams of unity through conquest, forcing peoples to join where there can be no unity.  You have established the peace that surpasses all understanding.  You have come to eternally deliver all who turn to You from wickedness to walk in the ways that have always been.  You alone can save, and have saved, the people from their self-destruction.

Lord, I know these words and they are soothing, but in times of trouble it seems little comfort.  Lead my mind to begin to grasp the significance that it is You who is working through all things for Your glory.  Guide me away from the way the world thinks to begin to see Your hand in all things.  Lead me, O Lord, in Your ways that I may be delivered from the vanity of this world.

Lord Jesus, You have come to liberate all the captives from sin, death and the devil.  Guide me this day, O Lord, in the way You would have me go.  Help me overcome the obstacles that will get in the way and lift me up from the pit of despair.  Only through You can we walk in the way of salvation which You have established and which shall last forever.  Help me this day, my Savior.  Amen.




Devotion for Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Wednesday, December 6, 2017 Devotion

“O God, You have rejected us. You have broken us; You have been angry; O, restore us.  You have made the land quake, You have split it open; heal its breaches, for it totters.”  (Psalm 60:1-2)

Woe to those who say there is no God.  The Lord knows the land that honors Him.  The Lord knows those who look to Him as the source of their being.  Turn to the Lord and do not remain broken, but healed and restored.  Come to the Lord and you will find rest.  Know that the Lord is good and that He binds up broken hearts and lifts up the lowly.  Turn to the Lord and live.

Lord, all around are those who jeer and mock You, yet You remain faithful to those who believe in You.  Guide me in the way of goodness that I would simply stand fast in the truth You have revealed for the ages.  Lead me in Your righteousness that I would not walk through the wide gate of those who reject You and mock You.

Lord Jesus, You came despite all those who mocked You and would not receive the grace and mercy You brought.  Lead me to be faithful in the midst of this troubled and mixed up world.  Help me always look to Your grace first and know that in You is life and hope.  Help me to see my way clearly through the faith You have given me that I would stand fast and be a witness of Your grace and mercy in the world.  Amen.