Photenhauer: The Church is a Preacheress!

It is true, the Gospel is, on the one hand, so easy that even Christians of stammering tongue readily and purely speak it. We see this daily in our Christian day schools, when our small school- children give fine and clear recountings of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, the preaching of the Gospel is so difficult that no child of the world, be he ever so learned, understands this art. In 1 Corinthians 2, the apostle Paul asserts that the Gospel is not a wisdom of this world, nor the wisdom of the big shots of this world. It is the hidden, secret wisdom of God, which God has ordained before the foundation of the world to our glory, and which none of the big shots of this world has acknowledged. Only the Holy Spirit can teach the preaching of the Gospel according to content and form. Now, since the Holy Spirit is only in the Church, only the Church is in a position to reveal to the world the great mystery of the Gospel. And so it is the case that when the Church does not preach the Gospel, the Gospel is generally not preached. Now, since the preaching of the Gospel is necessary for the salvation of people, and [since] without this preaching, Christ should have died in vain, so shall all members of the Church, young and old, great and small, rich and poor, dili- gently proclaim the Gospel. In this vocation, the Church shall thoroughly demonstrate that it rightly deserves the title “Preacheress.” “Zion, you preacheress [Predigerin], climb upon a high mountain! Jerusalem you preacheress [Predigerin], lift your voice with power; lift it up and do not be afraid! Say to the cities of Judah: Behold, there is your God!” The Church in the distress of the world may let go all sorts of praiseworthy work, but one thing it must never forget: the preaching of the grace of God in Christ Jesus. Woe to the Church if, as a con- sequence of so many tasks and activities, it forgets its proper business or merely neglects it!

Our Synod, dear brothers, has now been a “preacheress” for over sixty years. It was above all through the blessed work and service of Dr. Walther that God made her a “preacheress” [Predigerin]. The Lord grant that it remain so in her high and lower schools, in her congregations, and in her missions!

So let us now confidently go to our work! We place over the order of business of all the days of this Synod “The preaching of the Gospel”—that is the proper business of the Missouri Synod.

May You, O God, be thanked and praised By people in good works;

The earth brings forth fruit and improves itself, Your Word is flourishing.

May the Father and the Son bless us, May God, the Holy Spirit, bless us,

To whom all the world gives honor, And who is held in the greatest awe,

And let us heartily say: Amen.

Pfotenhauer 1911 Synod Address, in At Home in The House of My Fathers, p. 748

F.C.D. Wyneken on Preserving Unity

All this should firmly and constantly move our hearts to pay close attention to the powerful enemies of this unity, external as much as internal. For we have the devil against us, the world around us, and the flesh upon us. And the flesh is not only remiss in and unwilling to maintain such unity; it harbors in itself the very things that destroy it unless they are powerfully opposed: darkness, envy, mistrust, bitterness, anger, sarcasm, hatred. The self-seeking, the disregard for the well-being and woe of others, only looks to itself and seeks its own benefit. kindled by the devil and his minions in the world, the hellfire of suf- fering breaks out, and the bond of peace and of unity is sunk. We must deny, crucify, and sacrifice all of this through the love of Christ. We must attend to and oppose it with the noble fruit of the Spirit—true humility that happily gives honor and seeks nothing. When we must fight and wound, we are only the more humbled. Heartfelt love, which is accom- modating, peaceable, forgiving, gentle, patient, and longsuffering, keeps the little oil flask of mildness by its side at all times. Only by daily, serious renewal do we shed the old man and his works and put on the new man, who is created according to god in Christ Jesus. This is the only way one mind and true unity can be preserved among us. In daily repen- tance, the fire of divine love kindles anew in Christian hearts. Our fellowship of love is based upon and held together by this divine love. Through repentance, it is deepened and more firmly established, so that in matters of faith, no new, strange, and thus false view, explanation, and understanding of the truth of Scripture may be forced in. even under great pain and terrible suffering, our fellowship will not be torn.

Then why, beloved brothers, do we stand by one another? Why can’t we leave one another? It is because we cannot let go of the one truth that we, in fellowship with all the saints, have acknowledged, believe, and confess as it is in the Confessions of the Lutheran Church. These Confessions bear witness to the truth clearly, plainly, and powerfully on the basis of the Holy Scriptures, against all the desires of Satan, to the whole world. And why do we hold so firmly to our Confession such that we happily endure the hatred of the world and also of the rest of Christianity, which is difficult to bear? Why, with god’s help and grace, would we suffer persecution and death before we would give up even a small part of that Confession? We do so because we have come to make the truth set forth in that Confession our own, not in times of good leisure and rest, like we might appropri- ate other natural or historical truths. The Holy Spirit has revealed this truth to us in the midst of the burdens of troubled consciences as our only salvation. Through the Word, the Spirit has borne witness to the truth in broken and troubled hearts. Our consciences are bound to the Word and therefore to the Confession of the Church. As poor, forlorn, and condemned men, we have learned to believe in Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. The peace of conscience, the peace of our souls, the hope of eternal blessedness, our very be- ing and life hang on this truth. to surrender it would be to surrender our salvation and ourselves for time and eternity. Therefore, neither can we let go of the most insignificant portion of the Confession because the entire series of the individual teachings of the faith are for us one chain. This chain not only binds our understanding in the truth, it binds our consciences and lives. The loss of an individual part of the same would break this chain, and we would be torn loose from Christ, tumbling again into the abyss of anxiety, doubt, and eternal death.

Therefore we hold fast to our Confession, as to our very life’s life.

F.C.D. Wyneken, in At Home in the House of My Fathers, p. 287

Concordia Seminary Faculty Row - 1930 U.S. Census

A Founding Father of the LCMS on "Witness, Mercy, Life Together"

It's always marvelous to stumble across an old book that I had no idea existed. Lewis Spitz wrote a biography of Wilhelm Sihler (1801-1885), the fascinating co-founder of the Missouri Synod (along with Walther and Wyneken). Sihler was Pastor at St. Paul's in Ft. Wayne from 1845 to 1885. He had a Doctorate from Jena, awarded for work he'd done in the stream of Schleiermacher (father of liberal Protestantism in many ways). In fact, Sihler had been a guest in Schleiermacher's home. S's name means literally "veil maker" and Sihler later make note of that fact, as he described his conversion to orthodox Lutheranism. In July 1873 Sihler set forth his "Theses for Church Fellowship" at the Missouri Synod's convention. Here's a taste of "Witness, Mercy, Life Together."

Pastor H.

Thesis 16

It is in direct relationship with the Confession that each Lutheran synod apply all diligence on its part in founding and helping to maintain orthodox educational institutions for the training of loyal and capable ministers and teachers for the preservation of the church.

Thesis 17

It is no less in accordance with the Confession that synods maintain supervision as to whether and how the individual congregations of their association show active love in the care of needy widows, orphans, sick people, etc.

Thesis 18

finally, it is consonant with the Confession that synods encourge the congregations of their assocation to do their part energetically in spreading Lutheran doctrine and the Lutheran Church and in promoting foreign and home missions.

(Spitz, "Life in Two Worlds: A Biography of William Sihler," CPH 1969, p. 148).

Courage!

Here's a little interview I did with Todd Wilken on Courage, and also the Litany!

Pastor H.

Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church

While the JELC is not an official partner church of the LCMS, we do have significant contacts. Naomichi Masaki, who teaches at the LCMS Ft. Wayne seminary, is a son of the JELC.

MH

Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church
Logo of the JELC
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Lutheran
Leader	Rev Masatoshi Yamanouchi
Associations	Lutheran World Federation, Asian Lutheran Communion, National Christian Council in Japan, Christian Conference of Asia, World Council of Churches
Geographical areas	Japan
Origin	1898 Kumamoto, Kumamoto, Japan
Congregations	137
Members	21,990 baptized

The Japan Evangelical Lutheran Church (日本福音ルーテル教会 Nihon Fukuin Rūteru Kyōkai^?) or JELC is a Lutheran church in Japan. It currently has approximately 21,990 baptized members^[1] in 137 congregations nationwide.^[2]

The current president of the JELC is the Rev Masatoshi Yamanouchi.

Contents [hide] 1 History 1.1 Early history 1.2 Second World War 1.3 Post war period 1.4 Current developments 2 Structure & organization 2.1 List of districts 3 Ministries 3.1 Education 3.2 Social welfare 4 Affiliations 4.1 Ecumenism 4.2 Relationship with other Lutheran churches 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

[edit]

The LCMS has a small partner church in Japan. I've pasted information from the JLK (NRK) below. There are congregations near the epicenter of the quake (note. 2.1 below).

Matt H.

Japan Lutheran Church

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Jump to: navigation, search

Japan Lutheran Church
Logo of the JLC
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Confessional Lutheran
Polity	Congregationalist
Leader	Rev Yutaka Kumei
Associations	International Lutheran Council, Lutheran World Federation
Geographical areas	Japan
Origin	September 19, 1948 Tokyo, Japan
Branched from	Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
Congregations	35
Members	2,645 baptized

The Japan Lutheran Church (日本ルーテル教団 Nihon Ruteru Kyoudan^?) or NRK (based on its Romajiinitials) is a Confessional Lutheran denomination in Japan. It currently has approximately 2,645 baptized members^[1]in 35 congregations nationwide.^[2]

The current president of the NRK is the Rev. Yutaka Kumei.

Contents 1 History 2 Structure & organization 2.1 Congregations by geographical regions 3 Ministries 4 Affiliations & cooperation 4.1 Ecumenism 4.2 Relationship with other Lutheran churches 5 See also 6 External links 7 References

Lord have mercy, Christ have mercy, Lord have mercy.

"Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and merciful."

The Day of the Lord

2:1 Blow a trumpet in Zion;
sound an alarm on my holy mountain!
Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
2 a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and thick darkness!
Like blackness there is spread upon the mountains
a great and powerful people;
their like has never been before,
nor will be again after them
through the years of all generations.

3 Fire devours before them,
and behind them a flame burns.
The land is like the garden of Eden before them,
but behind them a desolate wilderness,
and nothing escapes them.

4 Their appearance is like the appearance of horses,
and like war horses they run.
5 As with the rumbling of chariots,
they leap on the tops of the mountains,
like the crackling of a flame of fire
devouring the stubble,
like a powerful army
drawn up for battle.

6 Before them peoples are in anguish;
all faces grow pale.
7 Like warriors they charge;
like soldiers they scale the wall.
They march each on his way;
they do not swerve from their paths.
8 They do not jostle one another;
each marches in his path;
they burst through the weapons
and are not halted.
9 They leap upon the city,
they run upon the walls,
they climb up into the houses,
they enter through the windows like a thief.

10 The earth quakes before them;
the heavens tremble.
The sun and the moon are darkened,
and the stars withdraw their shining.
11 The Lord utters his voice
before his army,
for his camp is exceedingly great;
he who executes his word is powerful.
For the day of the Lord is great and very awesome;
who can endure it?

Return to the Lord

12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
“return to me with all your heart,
with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
for he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
and he relents over disaster.
14 Who knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and leave a blessing behind him,
a grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?

15 Blow the trumpet in Zion;
consecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather the people.
Consecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
gather the children,
even nursing infants.
Let the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.

17 Between the vestibule and the altar
let the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.
Why should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”

The Lord Had Pity

18 Then the Lord became jealous for his land
and had pity on his people.
19 The Lord answered and said to his people,
“Behold, I am sending to you
grain, wine, and oil,
and you will be satisfied;
and I will no more make you
a reproach among the nations.

20 “I will remove the northerner far from you,
and drive him into a parched and desolate land,
his vanguard into the eastern sea,
and his rear guard into the western sea;
the stench and foul smell of him will rise,
for he has done great things.

21 “Fear not, O land;
be glad and rejoice,
for the Lord has done great things!
22 Fear not, you beasts of the field,
for the pastures of the wilderness are green;
the tree bears its fruit;
the fig tree and vine give their full yield.

23 “Be glad, O children of Zion,
and rejoice in the Lord your God,
for he has given the early rain for your vindication;
he has poured down for you abundant rain,
the early and the latter rain, as before.

24 “The threshing floors shall be full of grain;
the vats shall overflow with wine and oil.
25 I will restore to you the years
that the swarming locust has eaten,
the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter,
my great army, which I sent among you.

26 “You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied,
and praise the name of the Lord your God,
who has dealt wondrously with you.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.
27 You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel,
and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else.
And my people shall never again be put to shame.

Joel 2 (ESV)

Thanks Paul McCain for this Litany User's Guide!

How to Pray the Litany: Text and User’s Guide

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As I mentioned a few days ago, President Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, has invited us all to join him in praying the Litany every day during Lent. You can read his remarks here. I’m posting the Litany here for you to use. I would also like to highly recommend that if you do not already have it, you purchase a copy of The Treasury of Daily Prayer, which contains the Litany and an entire year’s worth of wonderful prayer resources. Also, if you would like to sing the Litany it is part of the recording for daily prayer titled Evening and Morning. The last track on the recording is the Litany, chanted by the Kantorei of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. By the way, the image above is from a web page that provides the text of the Litany as printed in the Book of Common prayer from 1544.

Pastor Harrison recorded a wonderful little video at the start of this season of Lent, in which he again invites us to join him praying the Litany, every day, during this blessed Lenten season. Following the video, there is a brief “user’s guide” for praying the Litany, and the complete Litany, including wonderful prayers at the end.

Blessed Lent from VimeoLCMS on Vimeo.

How to pray the Litany:

(1) Set aside a time and a place for quiet meditation and prayer.

(2) Calm yourself and prepare yourself to pray in silence before you begin.

(3) If you are with others, choose one person to say the “L” parts and then all join in on the “C” parts. If you are alone say/sing each part.

(4) Kneeling is a helpful posture to assume when praying. If this is not possible, use whatever posture is most helpful to you.

(5) Use any, or all, of the concluding prayers, in the same manner as the Litany.

THE LITANY

L: O Lord,
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: have mercy.
L: O Lord,
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: hear us.
L: God the Father in heaven.
C: have mercy.
L: God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: God the Holy Spirit,
C: have mercy.
L: Be gracious to us.
C: Spare us, good Lord.
L: Be gracious to us.
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: From all sin, from all error, from all evil;
From the crafts and assaults of the devil; from sudden and evil death;
From pestilence and famine; from war and bloodshed; from sedition and from rebellion;
From lightning and tempest; from all calamity by fire and water, and from everlasting death:
C: Good Lord, deliver us.
L: In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment:
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: By the mystery of Your holy incarnation; by Your holy nativity; By Your baptism, fasting and temptation; by Your agony and bloody sweat; by Your cross and passion; by Your precious death and burial; By your glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter:
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment:
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: We poor sinners implore You
C: to hear us, O Lord.
L: To rule and govern Your holy Christian Church; to preserve all pastors and ministers of Your Church in the true knowledge and understanding of Your wholesome Word and to sustain them in holy living;
To put an end to all schisms and causes of offense; to bring into the way of truth all who have erred and are deceived;
To beat down Satan under our feet; to send faithful laborers into Your harvest; and to accompany Your Word with Your grace and Spirit:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To raise those who fall and to strengthen those who stand; and to comfort and help the weakhearted and the distressed:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To give to all peoples concord and peace; to preserve our land from discord and strife; to give our country Your protection in every time of need;
To direct and defend our president and all in authority; to bless and protect our magistrates and all our people;
To watch over and help all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation; to protect and guide all who travel;
To grant all women with child, and all mothers with infant children, increasing happiness in their blessings; to defend all orphans and widows and provide for them;
To strengthen and keep all sick persons and young children; to free those in bondage; and to have mercy on us all;
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers and to turn their hearts; to give and preserve for our use the kindly fruits of the earth; and graciously to hear our prayers:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
C: we implore You to hear us.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: grant us Your peace.
L: O Christ,
C: hear us.
L: O Lord,
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: have mercy.
L: O Lord
C: have mercy. Amen.

THE OUR FATHER
C: Our Father, who art in Heaven….

One or more of the following Litany collects may be spoken or chanted. You may use as few or as many, as your devotion suggests.
L: O Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
C: Do not reward us according to our iniquities.
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, You desire not the death of a sinner, but rather tha we turn from our evil ways and live. Graciously spare us those punishments which we by our sins have deserved, and grant us always to serve You in holiness and pureness of living; through Jesus, Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
OR
L: Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of Your name.
C: Deliver us and pure away our sins for Your name’s sake.
Almighty and everlasting God, since you govern and sanctify the whole Christian Church by Your Holy Spirit, hear our prayers for all its members. Mercifully grant that, by Your grace, we may serve You in true faith; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one god, now and forever.
C: Amen.
OR
L: O Lord, do not deal with us according to our sins.
C: Do not reward us according to our iniquities.
L: O God, merciful Father, You have promised to hear the prayers of all who in repentance call out to You. Graciously hear us so that all evils which beset us may be of no avail, that we, Your servants, may evermore give thanks to You in Your holy Church; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.
OR
L: O Lord, enter not into judgment with Your servant.
C: For in Your sight shall no man living be justified.
L: Almighty God, You know we live in the midst of so many dangers that in our frailty we can not stand upright. Grant strength and protection to support us in all dangers ad carry us through all temptations; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.

OR
L: Call on Me in the day of trouble.
C: I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me.
L: Spare us, O Lord, and mercifully forgive us our sins. Though by our continual transgressions we have merited Your chastisements, be gracious to us. Grant that all these punishments which we have deserved may not come upon us, but that all things may work to our everlasting good; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
C: Amen.

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Categories:Prayer and Devotional Life