Love

13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, [1] but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; [2] 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I Corinthians 13

Luther on Prayer - Large Catechism

The Last Petition

¹¹² “But deliver us from evil. Amen.”

¹¹³ In the Greek² this petition reads, “Deliver or keep us from the Evil One, or the Wicked One.” The petition seems to be speaking of the devil as the sum of all evil in order that the entire substance of our prayer may be directed against our arch-enemy. It is he who obstructs everything that we pray for: God’s name or glory, God’s kingdom and will, our daily bread, a good and cheerful conscience, etc.

¹¹⁴ Therefore we sum it all up by saying, “Dear Father, help us to get rid of all this misfortune.” ¹¹⁵ Nevertheless, this petition ^(tr-731) includes all the evil that may befall us under the devil’s kingdom: poverty, shame, death, and, in short, all the tragic misery and heartache of which there is so incalculably much on earth. Since the devil is not only a liar but also a murderer,³ he incessantly seeks our life and vents his anger by causing accidents and injury to our bodies. He breaks many a man’s neck and drives others to insanity; some he drowns, and many he hounds to suicide or other dreadful catastrophes. ¹¹⁶ Therefore there is nothing for us to do on earth but to pray constantly against this arch-enemy. For if God did not support us, we would not be safe from him for a single hour.

¹¹⁷ Thus you see how God wants us to pray to him for everything that affects our bodily welfare and directs us to seek and expect help from no one but him. ¹¹⁸ But this petition he has put last, for if we are to be protected and delivered from all evil, his name must first be hallowed in us, his kingdom come among us, and his will be done. Then he will preserve us from sin and shame and from everything else that harms or injures us.

¹¹⁹ Thus God has briefly set before us all the afflictions that may ever beset us in order that we may never have an excuse for failing to pray. But the efficacy of prayer consists in our learning also to say “Amen” to it — that is, not to doubt that our prayer is surely heard and will be granted. ¹²⁰ This word is nothing else than an unquestioning affirmation of faith on the part of one who does not pray as a matter of chance but knows that God does not lie since he has promised to grant his requests. Where such faith is wanting, there can be no true prayer.

¹²¹ It is therefore a pernicious delusion when people pray in such a way that they dare not whole-heartedly add “yes” and conclude with certainty that God hears their prayer but remain in doubt, saying, “Why should I be so bold as to boast that God hears my prayer? I am only a poor sinner,” etc. ¹²² That means they have their eye not on God’s promise but on their own works and worthiness, so that they despise God and accuse him of lying. ¹²³ Therefore they receive nothing, as St. James says, “If anyone prays, let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from God.”^{4 124} Behold, such is the importance that God attaches to our being certain that we do not pray in vain and that we must not in any way despise our prayers.^(t

Luther, Large Catechism

"Ground Speed" by Earl Scruggs

Forgive!

5 Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure—not to put it too severely—to all of you. 6 For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough, 7 so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow. 8 So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him. 9 For this is why I wrote, that I might test you and know whether you are obedient in everything. 10 Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, 11 so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.

II Corinthians 5

"Blessed are you!"

5:1 Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.

2 And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:

3 “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.

5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.

6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.

8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons [1] of God.

10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11 “Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Matthew 5

The Key to the Successes of the Missouri Synod

The longer you preach to your people in the way [Scripture describes above], the more they will praise God for giving them such a pastor. If you should comb through all of church history - trust me on this - you will see that, despite its weaknesses and its defects, there are few church bodies that have seen the successes that our synod has. That is not because of our cleverness. It is not because of our hard work. It is not because of our self-denial. No, the true reason is that we have preached the genuine Gospel to the people.

C.F.W. Walther

Law and Gospel p. 458

Walther on Reviving Congregations

If you want to revive your future congregations and cause the Spirit of peace, joy, faith, and confidence, a childlike spirit, and a restful Spirit to take up residence among the members of your congregation, do not, for God's sake, use the Law to bring that about. Even if you find your congregation to be in the worst condition imaginable, you must indeed preach the Law to them. But follow it up immediately with the Gospel. Do not give the Law to them today and then postpone preaching the Gospel to them until a later date. As soon as the Law has done its work the Gospel must take its place.

C.F.W. Walther

Law and Gospel, p. 434

"It’s time for the Missouri Synod to be missionally doctrinal and doctrinally missional."

Mission and Mercy: It’s Time!

“The Peacemaking meeting scheduled for today has been canceled due to a conflict.”

Our fathers in the faith appreciated what they had because they realized what they might lose. Do we? Take me to task. Disagree. Come up with something better. Call me crazy, but I’m actually rather optimistic. The church will live on, hidden under the cross (tectum sub cruce), come what may. But let’s dare to try something different! It’s time for the Missouri Synod to be missionally doctrinal and doctrinally missional. And I think the vast majority—perhaps even a good 90%—of the Synod would agree. It’s time to come together and get to work.

Would that we were as concerned to keep the ship’s crew together as a man named Paul once was on a rough journey at sea. “And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, ‘Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved’” (Acts 27:30).

It’s time for us to be united in doctrine and mission, doctrine for mission in order “to seek and save the lost.” It’s time to be about mission and mercy. It is time to tend the fellowship (koinonia) we have been given in Christ, and to care for one another. Christ is with us, and the world is before us. It’s time to face the real problem and to address it once and for all. “Let’s go!” (Mark 1:38). It’s time!

“Hence it is up to you to dare something in this matter, since you see that time and the Word of God demand this.” Martin Luther

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time . . .” Ephesians 5:16

Matt Harrison

www.itistime.org

Salvation ONLY in the Lutheran Church?

Not according to C.F.W. -

May god keep you from becoming entangled with this false teaching regarding the Church, namely, that the Lutheran Church is the true visible Church of Jesus Christ in the sense that you can be saved only in this church! The Lutheran Church is indeed the true visible Church, however, only in the sense that it has the pure, untainted truth. As soon as you add the qualification "the only church that saves" to the Lutheran Church, you detract from the doctrine of justification by grace through faith in Jesus Christ and mingle Law and Gospel. May God keep you from this error for the sake of your own soul and those who will be entrusted to your care.

C.F.W. Walther

Law and Gospel p. 385

32nd Evening Lecture, June 19, 1885

Put on... kindness

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience...

Colossians 3:12

John Brown (1800-1859) and Race in the Missouri Synod

Sitting by the neighborhood pool today (Saturday) reading Andrew Schulze's classic on the long, hard struggle of blacks in the LCMS for the full recognition accorded by the very gospel. Really an amazing read. He shares the story below about one of his former parishes. The connections across time in the Missouri Synod never cease to amaze.

Matt Harrison

When I met Mrs. Bettie Washington in 1928 as I became the pastor of St. Philip's Church in St. Louis, she was about 80 years old. She told me that as a slave girl in Virginia, in the house of her master, she had on more than one occasion served John Brown, the great abolitionist, at table. If my memory serves me correctly, she told me her master cooperated with the Underground Railroad movement which had as its purpose smuggling slaves out of the South. It was in that capacity, according to Mrs. Washington, that her master had clandestinely acted as host to John Brown.

The husband, Mr. Washington, was probably several years older than his wife. He too had been a slave. When e was 14 years old he ran away from his master who apparently was also his father.

George Washington was the sexton at St. Philip's Church; and what a sexton he was! While he was in charge, the church premises and the church were kept immaculate. (It was a weekly ritual of his to dust even the steam pipes suspended from the ceiling in the basement assembly room.) Any offense against the church and the premises was considered a personal offense against him. In this matter he was altogether impartial; the boys from the parsonage next door were reprimanded like others when their turn came.

Although Mr. Washington had never attended school, he had learned to read simple materials. Very often, when I passed the boiler room, I would find him - his work for the time completed -sitting there with a primary Sunday school leaflet in hand, reading. When I greeted him, he would look up and refered to the Bible story before him; and if the text suggested it, would commend on the love of "our Savior." He was to me an outstanding example of a Christian gentleman.

It is one thing to be taught in the classroom how to recognize and respect people of integrity. It is another thing to learn through personal experience that people like Mr. and Mrs. George Washington are persons of exceptional Christian character and uprightness.

Andrew Schulze, Race Against Time, published by Lutheran Human Relations Association of America, 1972, pp. 143-4.

"Their consciences scold Christians for wrongdoing when they treat a brother impolitely." CFW Walther

Any true Christian will tell you: "Yes, I have experienced it myself. As soon as I had sinned, I felt uneasy. That continued until I asked God for forgiveness." The conscience of every true Christian immediately rings an alarm. A Christian merchant has no peace over five cents in his bookkeeping that do not belong to him.

Their consciences scold Christians for wrongdoing when they treat a brother impolitely or in a loveless fashion. [Christians] apologize for the slightest offense that they have given by any sinful behavior. They do not rest until they have done so. Is that not remarkable? It shows that venial sins too, are something evil, a fire that can flare up and cast us into damnation. Small sins become great when they are regarded as small.

C.F.W. Walther

Law and Gospel p. 371

21st Evening Lecture

June 12, 1885

Walther: "Faith cannot be shut in."

Works are not necessary of themselves. In God's accounting they are not necessary at all for our salvation. But they are necessary for the sake of people, so that others would see Christians exercising their faith by works and so may praise the Father in heaven and accept Him as their God. Luther writes: 'Indeed, when there is faith, believers cannot help but do good works. Christians prove themselves, they break forth, in their good works. They confess their faith, teach people the Gospel, and risk their lives in the process.'

We should test our own faith by these remarks of Luther. Faith cannot be shut in. It is like a body of water that can be tapped. It rushes through any opening that is made for it. Believers are ready to serve anybody, wherever they can. They cannot help but profess the Gospel before other people; in fact, they bet their life on the Gospel.

Walther, Law and Gospel, p. 325

27th Evening Lecture, May 8th, 1885

Walther: "The Gospel is a message of Joy."

Luther says, "See, then, that you do not turn Christ into a new Moses or Christ's Gospel into a book of law or instruction." The Gospel is not a book of the Law - or even a book on instruction - but a message of joy. People cannot rejoice over it too soon, and whenever it enters their heart, their joy is a heavenly joy.

C.F.W. Walther

Law and Gospel, p. 323

27th Evening Lecture, May 8th, 1885

Pursue... gentleness.

Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who in his testimony before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, 14 to keep the commandment unstained and free from reproach until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ,15 which he will display at the proper time—he who is the blessed and only Sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, 16 who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. To him be honor and eternal dominion. Amen.

I Timothy 6

They didn't just sit down and weave together a system of doctrine!

Our theologians did not just sit themselves down and weave together a system of doctrine. They sat down to write our Lutheran Confessions as true Christians. They knew how a poor sinner is given rest and the comfort of salvation.

CFW Walther

Law and Gospel p. 267

22nd Evening Lecture

March 13, 1885

Rich and Poor - "The kind of huge miracles faith works in our hearts."

In James 2:1, the apostle says: "My brothers, SHOW NO PARTIALITY as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory." If you prefer the rich over the poor because of their wealth, this means you are focusing on the person and thus have no faith. That is an attitude that faith will not TOLERATE as James says quite correctly.

This means that where there is faith, this kind of attitude must disappear, because faith does not focus on the person but on the relationship that person has with God. Faith thinks: "This poor beggar has been redeemed by the blood of the Son of God. As far as I am concerned, this makes this man worth as much as a king or an emperor." These are the kind of huge miracles that faith works in our hearts.

C.F.W. Walther, Law and Gospel p. 233

Twentieth Evening Lecture, Feb. 27, 1885

Standing in the pulpit like lifeless statues?

While in our dogmatics lectures my goal is to ground you in every doctrine and make you certain of them, I have designed these Friday evening lectures to make you truly practical theologians. I wish to talk the Christian doctrine into your very heart, enabling you to come forward as living witnesses with a demonstration of the Spirit and of power. I do not want you to be standing in your pulpits like lifeless statues, but to speak with confidence and cheerful courage, offering help where help is needed.

C.F.W. Walther, Law and Gospel, p. 9; First Evening Lecture, Sept. 12, 1884.

"Father Luther" on how to preach.

Luther preaches Law and Gospel side by side - making the Law look even more terrible in order to emphasize the rich comfort of the Gospel. That is what you need to learn from our dear Father Luther. That will make people listen to you. That will pique their interest. They will understand that you want to lift them out of complete ruin at this very hour, so they can leave church rejoicing.

C.F.W. Walther, Law and Gospel, p. 61; Nov. 7, 1884.

"Patience wth Joy!"

May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.

Colossians 1:11

"The Biggest Problem with Modern Preaching" Walther

The biggest problem with modern preaching, my dear friends, is this: these sermons lack point and purpose. And this fault is particularly noticeable in the sermons of our contemporary preachers who are believers. While unbelieving and fanatical preachers have a definite goal - too bad that it is not the right one! - believing preachers, as a rule, imagine that they have fully discharged their office as long as they have preached the Word of God.

That is about as correct a view as when a hunter imagines he has discharged his office simply by sallying forth with his loaded gun and blasting aimlessly into the forest, or as when an artilleryman thinks he has done his duty by taking up his position in the line of battle and merely firing his cannon into the blue. Just as the latter are poor hunters and soldiers, the former are poor and useless preachers because they have no plan in mind and do not take aim when preaching. While their sermons may contain beautiful thoughts, they do not have any impact. They may occasionally make the thunder of the Law roll in their sermons, yet there is no lightning that strikes. Again, they may water the garden assigned to them with the fruitful waters of the Gospel, but they pour water on the flower beds and the paths of the garden indiscriminately - and their effort is lost.

Neither Christ nor the holy apostles preached in that fashion. When they had finished preaching, every hearer knew: he meant ME...

Walther, Law and Gospel, p. 110.

He is no fake Savior! Christ is a REAL Savior for REAL sinners!

Get used to believing that Christ is a real Savior and that you are a real sinner. For God is neither joking nor is He dealing in imaginary affairs, but He was deadly serious when He sent His own Son into the world and sacrificed Him for our sake, etc. (Romans 8:32; John 3:16). Satan - who is alive and well - has snatched these and similar reflections, which come from soothing Bible passages, from you memory. Therefore, you are not able to recall them in your present great anguish and depression. For God's sake, then, turn your ears my way, brother, and hear me cheerfully sing. I am your brother. At this time I am not afflicted with the desperation and depression that is oppressing you. Therefore, I am strong in my faith. The reason I am strong in the faith - while you are weak and harried and harassed by the devil - is that you may lean on me for support until you regain your old strength.

Luther to Spalatin in Walther's Law and Gospel, CPH 2010, p. 120.

'With all humility and gentleness..."

4:1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism,6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.

St. Paul's Letter to the Ephesians

All must experience the bitterness of repentance, now or later.

Of course, we cannot prescribe to sinners the degree of their repentance, for an examination of the Holy Scriptures on this point will reveal that every person whose conversion is recorded there has a different degree of repentance. But every one of them must experience something of the bitterness of repentance, or he would never begin to enjoy the sweetness of the Gospel. When God leads such people to faith and salvation - without letting them experience a lot of fear and terror - He always compensates for that later. So even though God in his mercy sometimes "fast-tracks" people to faith and joy in their Savior, He sometimes by that same mercy, at a later point, drowns them in genuine sorrow over their sins, so they do not fall away from the faith.

C.F.W. Walther

Law and Gospel, CPH 2010, p. 132.

Preach so hearers think: "He means ME!"

Preach in such a way that people in the congregation would think: 'He means ME. Sure enough, he had described me - a hypocrite - exactly as I am.' On the other hand, you, the preacher, would have to describe a person afflicted with temptation so plainly that this victim of tribulation would have to admit: 'That is my condition, without a doubt.' Conversely, when listening to the preacher, a penitent person would think: 'That comfort is meant for ME; I need to embrace it.' At the same time, an alarmed soul must be led to think: 'Oh, what a joyous message. He means me!' Yes, the impenitent, too, must be made to acknowledge: 'That pastor has me down to a T."

C.F.W. Walther

Law and Gospel, CPH 2010, p. 61 (Seventh Evening Lecture, delivered November 7, 1884).

Strength is Feminine

Strength is Feminine

By Theodore Brohm

This brief speech is found in handwritten form in the T. J. Brohm Family Collection at Concordia Historical Institute.

Its occasion is unknown. —M. H.

Purity, love, trust, prudence, wisdom, devoutness, sympathy—these are woman’s signant [sic] qualities. Take them from woman, and you have unsexed the sex. But if this is true, it is equally true that power makes these virtues greater. Power makes purity more lustrous. Power makes love stronger. Power gives energy to prudence, gives largess to wisdom, gives firmness to devoutness, and takes nothing from sympathy. When there is poverty at the root of the vine, few are the tendrils by which it can cling; but give depth of soil and richness of substance to the vine, and power makes it not less of a vine, but more: it will spread it and lift it up, it will give not leaf alone but cluster as well. The frailty of the fair will cease to be a theme of deriding poets when the truth is acknowledged, that strength is feminine. There is no need of changing the province of woman. There is no necessity of undoing creation. Let the power of women be the power of womanly virtue, though it be no other than the power of the tender vine clinging to the massive oak.

At Home in the House of My Fathers.

Pfotie on the Blessed Task of the Church on Earth

The blessed Dr. Walther [1811–1887], whose 100th anniversary of birth we celebrate this year, thus expressed himself in his synodical address of 1874:

We must . . . never forget the importance that our higher institutions of learning for the preparation of teachers in church and school have. This importance compares with no other ecclesiastical institution. The future of our Church in this country; its well-being; its continued blessed influence or its unfruitfulness; its further expansion or its stagnancy; its liveliness or its gradual coagulation; in short, its bloom or its demise depends in great- est measure on these institutions. As dear to us as is the well-being of our Church and its advance [Wachstum], so earnestly should we altogether see to it and be concerned about it that this end is achieved. We can omit nothing in our higher institutions of learning for the promotion of the highest possible and most thorough preparation of the youth in the most correct and most adequate way. In no way, perhaps for fleshly reasons, can the spirit of the darkness of knowledge be produced and nursed. In all our institutions, God’s Word shall be and remain the book of all books. The Spirit of the Gospel, the fear of God, simplicity and humility inseparably bound with the Word shall enliven every teacher and student, just as it pervades all teaching and learning. Finally, we should not avoid any sacrifice, no matter how great, not only necessary to maintain these institutions, but also in every way to elevate them year by year. We do this in the living conviction that as we contribute to this end, these are the most necessary, absolutely necessary, first and most important sacrifices. They are by God’s grace the most blessed and promising sacrifices, which we as baptized Christians and Lutherans place on the altar of our love and faithfulness, that is, for the blessed kingdom of our Savior. For we are His companions, co-workers placed by God. So may this spirit per- vade us all in the days ahead. May this spirit encompass our decisions. May this spirit seize and fill all our dear congregations and every member of the same! (Brosamen, 551)

What is the vocation of the Church on earth? The Lord did not establish the Church for this reason, that it be involved in politics [Politik treibe] and be concerned with local and national government. He has established the governing authorities for that. Neither is the vocation of the Church to bring art and learning to various peoples. Art and learning flourished at length in Greece and Rome before the founding of the Christian Church. Furthermore, neither has the Church, through culture and civilization and all sorts of other means, the task to remove the physical misery from the world and to lead people to earthly prosperity [Glueckseligkeit]. The Lord Jesus says: “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me” [Mark 8:34]. And Paul writes: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” [Acts 14:22]. Finally, neither is the Church established in order to make people honorable citizens. That is a matter for Moses and reason. The vocation of the Church is to make out of lost and condemned people children of God, who have received grace and are saved, with the liv- ing hope of eternal life enflamed in dark, dead hearts. Our Savior said this very clearly at the conversion of St. Paul: “[I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a servant and witness to the things in which you have seen Me and to those in which I will appear to you, delivering you from your people and from the Gentiles—to whom] I am sending you to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me’” [Acts 26:16–18].

Now, what is the means through which the Church accomplishes this? These means are not all sorts of self-chosen methods and regulations. Christ said, “In vain do they wor- ship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” [Matthew 15:9]. Neither is the divine Law the means. To be sure, the Church shall preach the Law, but not in order in doing so to fulfill its proper task, but in order to show people the forlorn, condemned condition in which they find themselves, and that they with their sins have merited God’s wrath and displeasure, temporal death, and eternal damnation. The only means through which people will be saved and redeemed is the sweet Gospel, the amazing teaching that God so loved the world that He gave his only-begotten Son, and that Christ, through suf- fering and death, already has found an eternal redemption for all, and every sinner now should lay hold of it in confidence. This is why the Resurrected One said in the circle of His disciples: “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in His name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem” [Luke 24:46–47].

F. Pfotenhauer, Synod Address 1911 in "At Home in the House of My Fathers."

Bach Cantata for Council Elections

According to Alfred Duerr (The Cantatas of J.S. Bach, Oxford 2005) BWV 71 was written for the council elections in the city of Muehlhausen. This performance is in St. Mary's of that city. Marvelous. "God is my king."

"The Gospel issues no orders." C.F.W. Walther

"The Gospel issues no orders. Rather, it changes people. It plants love into their heart and makes them capable of all good works. It demands nothing, but gives all. Should not this fact make us leap for joy?"

C.F.W. Walther

Law and Gospel: How to Read and Apply the Bible, CPH 2010, p. 20

The Gospel is the Proper Business of the Church

“I lift up my eyes to the hills, From where does my help come?” Amen.

Honorable and beloved fathers and brothers in the Lord! We are gathered together in these days here in St. Louis in order to conduct a delegate assembly of the German Evangelical Lutheran Synod of Missouri, Ohio and Other States. Such a gathering is a great and impressive body. It is great and impres- sive, first of all, when we consider the number of delegates. Not less that 600 brothers have been seated here and have a voice. Furthermore, it is a great and impressive body in view of the area that the gathered delegates represent. Our Synod presently has, in round numbers, 2,200 pastors and professors, 1,000 teachers, 3,800 congregations and preaching stations, 2,130 day schools and 880,000 souls. They live scattered across the Western Hemisphere: in the United States, in Canada, in Brazil, and Argentina. Indeed, also our compatriots in the faith in Europe, Asia, and Australia are represented here via commissions, so that children of God in nearly all parts of the earth are taking a keen interest in our proceedings. Finally, our delegate synod is great and impressive when one considers the gifts that are here given. We have in our midst men who, through their God-given learnedness, are widely known and, in the battles of the Lord, have proven themselves tested watchmen and leaders. Christians by the thousands have read their writings. Many have become gray in the service of Church and school, and they have filled great cities and regions with the preaching of the Word of God.

But we must not think that because our Synod is a great and impressive body that now everything that we decide here must be great and valuable. The history of the Church teach- es that precisely great and impressive councils have erred grossly and through their dealings and decisions have robbed entire generations and great countries of important parts of the saving doctrine of the divine life. Therefore we all have high cause in these days to be on our guard, to forsake all of our own wisdom and fervently implore God the Holy Spirit to be our leader and director. If we ask what above all things is necessary for us to know if our synodical dealings are to be a blessing and useful to the Church, the answer comes loud and clear: All of us gathered here for this common task must clearly and livingly acknowledge that the preaching of the Gospel is the proper business of the Church.

Pfotenhauer Synod Address 1911

"At Home in the House of My Fathers

The Apostolic Teaching on Love

13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

I Corinthians 13

LCMS Churches, Families Hit By Storms

To: Minnesota North District

Subject: Storm Damage

I ask that you include in your prayers this weekend those impacted by the

adverse weather that hit various parts of our District and State yesterday

and those who are ministering to them.

St. John in Wadena received substantial damage to its roof on the Sanctuary,

the Fellowship Hall, and the kitchen. They are currently assessing the

situation. Some members homes were damaged and at least one destroyed. The

Wadena community has been hit hard in a portion of the town.

One member of Immanuel in Parkers Prairie was killed in the storm and her

husband is hospitalized in intensive care. Several homes were also damaged

in this area including those of families that belong to Immanuel.

A member of Zion-North Effington, had her garage and car destroyed and her

house damaged. The home of another member of Zion is uninhabitable.

This is all the information we have received thus far. If we are notified of

ways you can help we will let you know. We uphold Pastor Steve Meltzer (St.

John - Wadena), Pastor Kirk Lee (Immanuel - Parkers Prairie), Pastor Dane

Compton (Zion - North Effington) and any others who are sharing the love of

Christ with those who need of the peace of Him who calms our storms.

In His service with you,

Rev. Don Fondow

President

The Minnesota North District

P.S.: I just received a phone call from Rev. Kurtis Schultz, President of

the Southern District (New Orleans), who wanted us to know that we are in

their prayers and offered their assistance to us. The Body of Christ

reaching out with mercy!

Memories of Jimani and the Haiti Quake

Enjoyed New England, Especially Mystic CT

Compassion, Kindness, Humility, Meekness, Patience

3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry.6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

One Clear And Simple RULE

We have therefore for our synodical work a clear and simple rule: Everything that does not serve the course of the Gospel, indeed, very much hinders it, does not belong in the circle of our considerations. On the other hand, whatever advances the course of the Gospel is worth our deliberation and consideration. And the more and the better a matter advances the preaching of the Gospel, the more important and more necessary it shall appear to us. Now, since our Savior demonstrates care for the preaching of the Gospel in such a way that He gives to His Church shepherds and teachers, so will we in these days direct our most diligent attention to our “schools of the prophets” and to our missions.

Friedrich Pfotenhauer, Synod Address 1911, in "At Home in the House of My Fathers."

An Apostolic Word on Kindness Midst All Challenges

6:1 Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain. 2 For he says,

“In a favorable time I listened to you,
and in a day of salvation I have helped you.”

Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. 3 We put no obstacle in anyone's way, so that no fault may be found with our ministry, 4 but as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything.

11 We have spoken freely to you, [1] Corinthians; our heart is wide open.

II Corinthians 6