It’s Ain’t About The Recipe

Here’s my random thought of the day: If you think that the recipe used to prepare the bread for the Lord’s Supper is what makes it valid, you are really missing the point.

If you tell someone who can’t eat wheat that it's "better safe than sorry" that they consume something that makes them sick in order that we follow the right recipe, you do damage to this member and only cause them doubt what it is that they receive at the Sacrament of the Altar.

So, stop it. You are receiving the Body of Christ even if your "bread" recipe doesn’t match a gold star selected recipe from a nonexistent Palestinian cookbook from two thousand years ago!

The sacrament is not made valid because we follow a recipe from Betty Crocker but rather it is the very Word of God joined to the element of simple bread and simple wine for the cup. It is the Lord who is running the verbs and not your cup and three quarters of genetically modified wheat, (which Monsanto hadn’t yet got around to modifying when the Eucharist was first instituted) which makes this Sacrament a sacrament.

Just saying…

And for fun, here is what Lutherans teach in the Small Catechism concerning the Lord’s Supper:

The Sacrament of the Altar

As the head of the family should teach it in a simple way to his household.

What is the Sacrament of the Altar?

It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, under the bread and wine, for us Christians to eat and to drink, instituted by Christ Himself.

Where is this written?

The holy Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul, write thus:

Our Lord Jesus Christ, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread: and when He had given thanks, He brake it, and gave it to His disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.

After the same manner also He took the cup, when He had supped, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Take, drink ye all of it. This cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the remission of sins. This do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of Me.

What is the benefit of such eating and drinking?

That is shown us in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins; namely, that in the Sacrament forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation are given us through these words. For where there is forgiveness of sins, there is also life and salvation.

How can bodily eating and drinking do such great things?

It is not the eating and drinking, indeed, that does them, but the words which stand here, namely: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins. Which words are, beside the bodily eating and drinking, as the chief thing in the Sacrament; and he that believes these words has what they say and express, namely, the forgiveness of sins.

Who, then, receives such Sacrament worthily?

Fasting and bodily preparation is, indeed, a fine outward training; but he is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given, and shed for you, for the remission of sins.

But he that does not believe these words, or doubts, is unworthy and unfit; for the words For you require altogether believing hearts.

Bunnies, Blenders, And Babies

What a fantastic commercial! Who doesn’t love commercials with cute bunnies? There’s really nothing more to say is there?

A Wonderful Definition Of Pietism

Today’s quote of the day comes from a friend of mine over at Facebook:


___________ Pietism: making people feel guilty for doing things that God has not forbidden, and making them feel guilty for not doing things that God has not commanded.

There is nothing more I could add to this brilliant and succinct description of pietism except to say amen!

So, Is It Finished Or Not?

For the past few weeks I’ve been working on remodeling my master bedroom. This is no small task and is the reason for my lack of posting over the last month or so. How big of a job was this? well, the missus and I tore the walls down to the studs to replace the aluminum wiring (which isn’t the best stuff to running in your walls!) and to insulate the walls for the first time since the house was built back in 1938.

As I finish up with installing all the electrical outlets, light fixtures, and painting I’m taking the opportunity to catch up on all the podcasts that had been accumulating on my iPod. Last night as I was shimming doors and painting the shelving that is going into the closets I listened to a bunch of Table Talk Radio episodes and heard this week’s quote of the day.

Today’s quote of the day is from Pr. Bryan Wolfmueller commenting on the ridiculousness of thinking that humans can make a decision for Jesus as expressed on a bumper sticker that said “Give Jesus A Chance, He Died For The Opportunity”:

“this is the whole Arminian sorta unless you do something you’re not going to be saved, Jesus makes salvation a possibility but now you have to make it a reality; the devil cast a vote for you, God cast a vote for you, now you got to tie the vote, this is, I mean, when Jesus says “it is finished”, He should have cried out on the cross: “it’s almost finished!, because now you’ve got to finish it!”

Pr. Wolfmueller is one of my absolute favorite preachers and would be one of my favorite bloggers but unlike many of our Calvinist brothers, he only has one blog: World Wide Wolfmueller and not the ten blogs as required by the Institutes (That’s an inside joke. If you want hear the setup, you’ll need to listen to Table Talk Radio) Pr. Wolfmueller does a wonderful job in refuting this misguided notion that Jesus just needs our decision to finish up His glorious and salvific work on the cross.

Table Talk Radio is always entertaining and could easily be described as a whole series of soundbites or quotes of the day just strung together, one right after another. The show is a hoot and I encourage everyone to listen and give it a shot. If you really feel that you have to or want to make a decision, then make a decision to listen to Table Talk Radio! Who knows, you might even earn a few Table Talk Radio points in the process.

When Peaceful Sikkhs Bring A Knife To A Nerf-Gun Fight…

It’s just plain weird that in our western society couples are prevented from getting on an airplane because their child a doll with a three inch plastic gun and deemed a safety threat and Nerf- Guns are banned as if they were weapons used by SEALs teams as part of a zero tolerance policy but bringing a knife to school as long as it is done by certain religious groups is just hunky-dory.

From the news story over at Fox:

The decision by the Plymouth-Canton Community Schools reverses a ban put in place in December after a fourth-grader at a Canton Township elementary school was found with a dull, 3- to 5-inch kirpan. The kirpan represents a commitment to fight evil in the Sikh tradition. The dagger is a religious symbol that baptized Sikh males are expected to carry. The principal initially let the boy keep the kirpan, but the school board instituted a ban because of parental concerns and conflicts with the district's rules against bringing weapons to school.

So, as long as you belong to a minority religious sect it is OK to bring a knife to school. Wonderful.

Who Says I’m Not Open To Contemporary Worship?

My missus and I will try out a new church tomorrow.

I always like to call ahead (OK, my favorite niece was on Facebook and IM’d the pastor for me, she was more than happy to help her uncle out!) and announce that I’m going to visit someplace new so that the pastor’s job is made easy and he doesn’t have to wonder if the person he is communing shares the same confession of faith that all Lutherans are supposed to. I certainly don’t want him to wonder if I’m some Jack Mormon who just wandered off the street and thinks that the Holy Supper is only a representation of the body and blood of our Lord and to be consumed as part of an ordinance (hey, that’s just like my evangelical and reformed friends... that’s kinda weird ain’t it?) and not the true Body and Blood that offers life, salvation, and the remission of sins by the power of the Word attached to the elements of bread and wine. So, I’m considerate like that and all.

Anyhoo, I was warned by the pastor (once again through social media instant messaging) that tomorrow being the fifth Sunday of the month it is normal for the congregation to experiment with contemporary worship: Divine Service 1! When I asked if the service was going to be conducted in Latin or even Greek I was informed that the language of choice for this particular congregation was but the vernacular!

So, there you have it; tomorrow I will knowingly go to a church that practices contemporary worship, Divine Service 1 out of the Lutheran Service Book, and conducts the entire service in English. Who says I’m not open to contemporary worship?

Footprints In The Sand

Since this picture was such a big hit on my Facebook page…

So what does it mean when you look back and only see one set of footprints in the sand during times of trial and hardship? It means you’ve had a Sandpeople problem and they were probably sent to teach you what it means to be a theologian of the cross as opposed to a theologian of glory.

Now, to steal a phrase from Paul Harvey, you know the rest of the story as well as the alternate ending of that little poem hanging in your dentist’s lobby since 1977.

HT: Pr. Christopher Gillespie who found the image first over at Saint and Sinner

Time Out Episode 100!

Dan over at Necessary Roughness has the newest Time Out: Time Out, Episode 100 posted. Episode 100? w00t!

The Scripture reading for this episode is the entire book of Philemon with commentary from the Kretzmann Commentary Series. The hymn this time is “Jesus, Once with Sinners Numbered” found on page 404 in the Lutheran Service Book.

From Dan:

Paul appeals, rather than orders, Philemon to take Onesimus back as his brother in Christ. This gives Philemon a chance to truly forgive Onesimus for what he did. Very cool on Paul’s part, and an interesting way to act as a Christian when one is a superior.

404 is quite contemporary in age, only 12 years old, and yet the lyrics discuss baptism and Jesus’s duty on Earth. I especially like the last verse, where the cross is traced over us in baptism, counting us as righteous. Great gospel there.

After the Kretzmann commentary there is an overtime segment where we get hear submissions from listeners of this awesome podcast ministry.

So, be sure to stop by, say howdy, and thank Dan for doing such a great job not only on Time Out, Episode 100 but all the episodes that so beautifully give witness to Christ Jesus through Scripture, hymnody, and commentary!

Thank you Dan for all the hard work and I hope there many more Time Out episodes to come!

Previous Time Out episodes:

Time Out Episode 99
Time Out Episode 98
Time Out Episode 97
Time Out Episode 96
Time Out Episode 95
Time Out Episode 94
Time Out Episode 93
Time Out Episode 92
Time Out Episode 91

Evidentiary And Philosophical Apologetics Will Always Be Necessary

Today’s quote of the day is from Joe Carter writing for First Things about the anger atheists feel toward a God they don’t believe exists. From the article:

A new set of studies in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology finds that atheists and agnostics report anger toward God either in the past or anger focused on a hypothetical image of what they imagine God must be like. Julie Exline, a psychologist at Case Western Reserve University and the lead author of this recent study, has examined other data on this subject with identical results. Exline explains that her interest was first piqued when an early study of anger toward God revealed a counterintuitive finding: Those who reported no belief in God reported more grudges toward him than believers.

At first glance, this finding seemed to reflect an error. How could people be angry with God if they did not believe in God? Reanalyses of a second dataset revealed similar patterns: Those who endorsed their religious beliefs as “atheist/agnostic” or “none/unsure” reported more anger toward God than those who reported a religious affiliation.

Mr. Carter later writes “Many atheists do, of course, proceed to their denial of God based solely on rational justifications. That is why evidentialist and philosophical approaches to apologetics will always be necessary. But I'm beginning to suspect that emotional atheism is far more common than many realize. We need a new apologetic approach that takes into account that the ordinary pain and sufferings of life leads more people away from God than a library full of anti-theist books. Focusing solely on the irate sputterings of the imperfectly intellectual New Atheists may blind us to the anger and suffering that is adding new nonbelievers to their ranks.”

And right there is today’s quote of the day: “Many atheists do, of course, proceed to their denial of God based solely on rational justifications. That is why evidentialist and philosophical approaches to apologetics will always be necessary”

Sadly, I’m finding myself using evidentiary and philosophical apologetics more and more, not with angry atheists but rather with my reformed Christian friends and neighbors who think the Bible is just a group of stories given to us by men as a guidebook to holy living and not having any real ties to a historical crucified Jesus who continues bless us with His gifts in the sacraments of the Lord’s Supper and Holy Baptism right now, today.

Yep, I’m doing way too much of evidentiary and philosophical apologetics lately.

The question I find myself wondering is this, how many of my Christian friends who physically exhibit signs of repulsion when I say we go to church to receive gifts from God and not to do something for God are angry not at me for taking the Bible literally but instead are angry at God for not coming to them in more rational or sensible terms than simple bread, wine, or water with the spoken Word.

No matter what the case may be, evidentiary and philosophical apologetics will always be necessary for both those inside and outside the walls of Christ's Church.

iPad And iPhone Apps As A Means Of Grace, It's Only A Matter of Time

I stumbled across a story last week that highlighted an iPhone / iPad app that allows Jews to now “visit” the Western Wall. The reason that visit is in quotation marks is that the visit (allowed at any time except the Sabbath or on religious holidays when electronic gizmos are said to be forbidden) is only visit in a virtual sense and the notes left in pixilated Western Wall are really only emails.

It’s really only a matter of time before such things hit the Americanized Christian church scene. Already there are pastors who encourage their members to utilize Twitter during the Sunday worship services in order to "make it not suck". How much longer before some enterprising pastor tells his people to just stay home and attend the weekly gathering in only a virtual sense. Who wants to bet that the local media will be on hand when this little stunt is perpetrated?

In a country that for the most part has no ties to the historic Church which confesses a Jesus who comes to us in a real, actual presence in the Holy Supper and instead looks to a crucified Lord who can only be with us poor humans in a spiritual sense, it won’t take that much of leap for someone to suggest a virtual spirituality in, with, and under the iPad. Mark my words, it’s gonna happen. The only question is which purpose driven or soul winning congregation does it first.

When spirituality is divorced from Christ’s presence in the Word and in the Sacraments, iPhone or iPad apps as a means of grace is just a minuscule step away. Mark my words…

Uncle Frank's Favorite Gift Of The Year Award 2010

It’s time once again to award the annual and highly, highly coveted Uncle Frank's Favorite Gift Of The Year Award for Christmas presents.

The prestigious award for the bestest present goes to once again, drum roll please….. my favorite niece Valerie for giving her Uncle Frank a hug on Christmas day. Valerie being saddled with huge student loan debts after completing the deaconess program through Concordia University Chicago (with very little in the way of prospects of actually serving as a deaconess due to a variety of factors that plague our beloved synod) knew that all her uncle has ever wanted or needed was a hug from his favoritest niece to make Christmas merry.

As I stated last year, Valerie is always the favorite for Uncle Frank's Favorite Gift Of The Year Award since she is my favorite niece. Thank you Valerie for the hug which I loved almost as I do you.

The Neatest Latin Phrase You’ll Ever Learn Concerning St. Stephan

So, ya want to hear one of the neatest Latin phases ever concerning Saint Stephan who was the first Christian martyr? Heri natus est Christus in mundo, ut hodie Stephanus nasceretur in coelo which means “Yesterday Christ was born in the world so that today Stephan would be born in heaven.” What a wondrous Latin phase that we should all keep in mind as untold numbers of our brothers are today being martyred for confessing Christ as Lord just as Stephan was nearly two thousand years ago as recorded by Luke in the book of Acts.

Where did I find this Latin gem? From today’s writing in the Treasury of Daily Prayer:

Reverent hearts, it is an old, laudable custom to commemorate St. Stephan on the second day of Christmas. For just as the innocent children were the first martyrs after Christ’s birth, so also St Stephan was the first after Christ’s ascension to praise our glorious King Jesus with his blood. Our predecessors used to say Heri natus est Christus in mundo, ut hodie Stephanus nasceretur in coelo. “Yesterday Christ was born in the world so that today Stephan would be born in heaven.” This is speaking rightly and truly of the fruit of Jesus Christ’s birth. If the Christ child had not been born, the entire world would be lost. Thus Stephan’s sleep in death and entrance through the open heaven to the glory of God in eternal life will show us well what great usefulness and goodness we have from the incarnation and the birth of the Child Jesus.

Stephan means a “garland” or a “crown.” Think here of our beautiful Christmas consolation. Whoever believes in the name of Jesus is righteous before God and can expect a glorious crown. Devout Christians are ‘virgins” before God (Matthew 25:1; Revelation 14:4) and have four different virgin garlands. The first is the garland of righteousness gifted. Second is the garland of righteousness begun. The third is the garland of all kinds of cross and thorns. The forth is the glorious garland of perfect righteousness.

The ancient teachers of the Church say that the Lord Jesus loved Stephan in life, in death, and after death. First in life, for He filled him with His Spirit, with heavenly wisdom, and faith unfeigned. Second, in death, for he offered him heaven opened and waited for his soul. Third, after death, for He gave him the garland of glory and set up for him a famous commemoration until the Last Day. These are the beautiful flowers of Christmas. Those who truly love our glorious King Jesus Christ shall be certain of God’s grace in life, in death, and after death. They shall not die, but live, and proclaim the work of the Lord.

- Valerius Herberger

The Word Became Flesh

From the Gospel of Saint John:

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’”

And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son,[f who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

Merry Christmas everybody!

Lack Of Posting…

Sorry for the lack of posts lately folks but the real world has simply had me running ragged. My vocation as a metrologist has been keeping me a busier than expected and I’ve been battling Maytag over a brand new stove that hasn’t had a working oven since I got it. What makes the stove situation even more ironic is that model I picked out has TWO ovens and neither of the have worked more than once. Four weeks, two service companies and three service calls later I’m still without an oven right before Christmas. Sheesh!

I’ll try to put something up soon that is less whiny and more in line with what the readers of POTF expect. Sorry for the interruption… I just thought ya’ll might want to know what’s been monopolizing my time.

Another Man Made Holiday…

Today makes the end of Hanukkah also known as the Festival of Lights. Hanukkah marks when the Maccabees back in the second century B.C. rededicated the Holy Temple and its altar, which had been desecrated and defiled by the pagans. Here's a snippet from Wikipedia:

According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication following the victory of the Maccabees over the Seleucid Empire, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

So, I’d like to wish everybody happy Hanukkah, which is of course another man made holiday not commanded by Scripture... just like Christmas.