Girl born with no hands wins national penmanship award.

Risen Savior, in the midst of Your called disciples You sent them to retain and forgive sins. Give to Your Church and her ministers and missionaries throughout the world joyful and fearless proclamation of Your bodily resurrection, the pledge of our resurrection to come.

Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.  Source.

Please enjoy this beautiful order of Matins, prayed at The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod’s International Center, with the Concordia Theological Seminary’s select choir, the Kantorei, lending their gifts to the service. You can hear them harmonizing during the singing of Matins.

Risen Savior, in the midst of Your fearful disciples You first spoke peace. Give Your abiding peace to all of Your baptized believers in this fearful world. Comfort our souls with confidence in our certain salvation through Your death and resurrection. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer. Source.

I am really excited to tell you about a new book from Concordia Publishing House titled Inside the Reformation. If you are familiar with the popular line of illustrated book, DK Books, you’ll immediately understand what this book is like. Here are a series of photos I took of it this morning, I’ll be sharing more information with you about it. For now however you can visit the book’s web site and read a bit more about it. This is NOT a “children’s book” — this is a book for all ages and gives you a fascinating visual overview of the people, places, and things of every day life during the Reformation era. The book is $16.99 and may be ordered here. As usual, click on the images below, and click again to get the largest versions.

Front Cover of "Inside the Reformation"

Pages on Music

Pages on Indulgences

Pages on Relics

This is from Rev. Ed Engelbrecht’s blog site, which I recommend you bookmark and follow.

My colleague, Mark Sengele, brought this prayer tool to my attention. A member of his family received it in the mail. Apparently, these are being sent around the country so you might get one too.

The instructions at the bottom of the “rug” (which is really sort of a paper place mat) say, “Look into Jesus’ Eyes you will see they are closed. But as you continue to look you will see His eyes opening and looking back into your eyes. Then go and be alone and kneel on this Rug of Faith or touch it to both knees. Then please check your needs on our letter to you. Please return this Prayer Rug. Do not keep it.”

The bit about Jesus’ eyes opening is based on an optical illusion where a drawing is designed to allow one’s focus to change from an obvious element of the drawing to one that is less obvious. Here is a site that does something similar.

The back of the “Prayer Rug” says, “This St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Prayer Rug is Soaked with the Power of Prayer for you. Use it immediately, then please return it with your Prayer Needs Checked on our letter to you.” It must be mailed to a second home that needs a blessing after you use it. Prayer Works. Expect God’s blessing.”

Here is what Matthew 18:19 KJV says:

“If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”

The passage is taken out of its context to teach some unhelpful things about prayer. In context, Matthew 18:19 is about forgiveness of sins and church discipline whereby members of the church call another member of the church to repentance. Jesus is emphasizing that He is present in His church to bind the sins of those who do not repent or to loose the sins of those who do repent (cf. John 20:23).

The “touching” mentioned in the KJV translation is just an older English expression and not a command to grab or kneel. Based on a misunderstanding of the translation, some groups teach that if two people touch something (like a prayer rug/place mat) and pray about it, they are guaranteed an answer to prayer. The words “as touching any thing” in Matthew 18:10 KJV mean the same as modern English “regarding something” as when we say, “Now regarding your recent letter and prayer rug . . .” A similar modern English expression is “to touch on a subject.”

As I look at this supposed prayer tool, I wonder about the piety that asks a fellow Christian to kneel on Jesus’ face. Is that any way to pray? The message of the mailing is intended to trick simple, pious souls into sending a check back with their “Prayer Rug.” Lord, have mercy.

My colleague, Ed Engelbrecht, pointed this out on his blog.

My colleague, Mark Sengele, brought this prayer tool to my attention. A member of his family received it in the mail. Apparently, these are being sent around the country so you might get one too.

The instructions at the bottom of the “rug” (which is really sort of a paper place mat) say, “Look into Jesus’ Eyes you will see they are closed. But as you continue to look you will see His eyes opening and looking back into your eyes. Then go and be alone and kneel on this Rug of Faith or touch it to both knees. Then please check your needs on our letter to you. Please return this Prayer Rug. Do not keep it.”

The bit about Jesus’ eyes opening is based on an optical illusion where a drawing is designed to allow one’s focus to change from an obvious element of the drawing to one that is less obvious. Here is a site that does something similar:

http://www.moillusions.com/category/disappearing-effect-optical-illusions/page/2

The back of the “Prayer Rug” says, “This St. Matthew 18:19 Bible Prayer Rug is Soaked with the Power of Prayer for you. Use it immediately, then please return it with your Prayer Needs Checked on our letter to you.” It must be mailed to a second home that needs a blessing after you use it. Prayer Works. Expect God’s blessing.”

Here is what Matthew 18:19 KJV says:

“If two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.”

The passage is taken out of its context to teach some unhelpful things about prayer. In context, Matthew 18:19 is about forgiveness of sins and church discipline whereby members of the church call another member of the church to repentance. Jesus is emphasizing that He is present in His church to bind the sins of those who do not repent or to loose the sins of those who do repent (cf. John 20:23).

The “touching” mentioned in the KJV translation is just an older English expression and not a command to grab or kneel. Based on a misunderstanding of the translation, some groups teach that if two people touch something (like a prayer rug/place mat) and pray about it, they are guaranteed an answer to prayer. The words “as touching any thing” in Matthew 18:10 KJV mean the same as modern English “regarding something” as when we say, “Now regarding your recent letter and prayer rug . . .” A similar modern English expression is “to touch on a subject.”

As I look at this supposed prayer tool, I wonder about the piety that asks a fellow Christian to kneel on Jesus’ face. Is that any way to pray? The message of the mailing is intended to trick simple, pious souls into sending a check back with their “Prayer Rug.” Lord, have mercy.

On Monday, 2 April 2012, KFUO Radio (AM 850 in the St. Louis area or kfuo.org around the worldwide web) will begin airing a new Morning Show. And it will be hosted by Pastor Randy Asburry.

The Morning Show will include such features as:

• Daily Prayer – praying with the Church & using the Church’s prayers (Matins, Morning Prayer),
• Feeding the Faith – some early morning Catechism discussion,
• Daily Devotion – such as Higher Things Reflections,
• On This Day – a look at our Christian history each day,

Start your day off right. Listen to the Morning Show, Monday – Friday, 7:00 – 9:00 a.m. (Central Time) on LCMS owned and operated KFUO Radio. AM 850 (St. Louis area) or kfuo.org (around the world)!

I’m a gun collector and shooter, an advocate of Second Amendment rights, a Endowment Member of the National Rifle Association and a life member of Gun Owners of America. Therefore, most people assume I probably come down on the side of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch guy who killed a 17 year old teenager, claiming self-defense. Actually, I do not. But I will say this, the rush to judgment by those looking to play the race card and make political hay of this situation, on either side of the “aisle” is deeply disgusting to me.

We do not know precisely what happened that night, but we do know that Zimmerman was a man who felt a responsibility to protect his gated community in light of burglaries and crime. A commendable position to take. No argument there. And he saw an unknown person walking around at night. And here is where it gets dice, because he was armed. When you armed your level of accountability and responsibility sky rockets. Zimmerman totally failed in this regard, and this is the reason why Martin is dead.

Zimmerman violated the key and most critical common sense rule armed citizens are taught: the use of a firearm in self-defense is only the truly last resort. Now, you may say, “But Zimmerman was being physically attacked by Martin, he had no choice.” Perhaps not, at that point, but…his, literally, fatal error was choosing to ignore the police department’s instruction to NOT pursue, to NOT follow, to let the police handle it. Zimmerman’s own duty was to observe and report, not follow, track down and stalk a person whom he had concerns about.

This was no emergency.

Nobody’s life was in danger. Martin was not physically attacking somebody. He was not committing a crime. His only “crime” was walking around at night in a hoodie, to get a bottle of tea and skittles during a baseketball game half-time break.

Zimmerman made the foolish and ultimately deadly decision to disregard police instructions and as a result, Martin is dead. Zimmerman had no reason to pursue and follow Martin, precipitating the events that led to Martin’s killing. Period. End of story.

The rest? I honestly at this point don’t think anyone should be trying to jump to conclusions beyond these facts. But, none of this would have happened had Zimmerman followed the police department’s instructions and simply leave well enough alone. He had no legitimate reason or just cause to do more than report and observe.

A wonderful Holy Week meditation from Pastor Matthew Harrison, President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod:

Pastor Paul Beisel had a good post on his blog the other day, and I’m passing it along to you.

There is a Third Article to the Creed

Martin Luther brilliantly lays out in the Large Catechism the relationship between the 2nd and the 3rd articles of the Apostles’ Creed. The Second Article teaches us about Christ’s redemption for our sins, and all that goes along with that. But, says Luther, we would never know anything about this if it were not declared to us by the Holy Spirit in the Word. The second article describes what the essence of our faith is, and what had to be done to redeem us poor sinners from death and the devil. But the third article describes the means by which all of this becomes ours.

I think that there is, in modern Christianity, a tendency to want to do an “end-run” around the third article. In other words, many Christians, many Lutherans even, have the opinion that what Christ did for me to forgive my sins comes to me directly, without the use of the Word and the Sacraments, even through my prayer. One pastor yesterday at our Winkel described it as a “Christology without Ecclesiology.” Christ without His Church, or at least, Christ without his Word and Sacraments.

The concern is a valid one: if I am stuck out in a desert somewhere for many months, having no access to a Church, to a pastor, to the means of grace, or even a Bible for that matter, can I still receive the forgiveness of my sins? Granted, this is an extraordinary situation, but many men and women of the armed forces find themselves in these circumstances during times of war. What am I to do if I have sinned against God, but have no pastor, or a fellow Christian, around to comfort me with the promises of the Gospel? Or, perhaps a better question is, how might I refresh and sustain my faith in the Gospel?

First, I would say to that person that he has his baptism. One who is baptized is a child of God. His sins have been forgiven, and he lives daily in that baptism “through daily contrition and repentance.” Of course he also has prayer, but prayer is not, in and of itself, a means of grace. God has promised to hear our prayers, and to answer them. But he has not attached his promise of forgiveness to prayer like he has to Baptism, Absolution, and the Eucharist.

Here is also where one can comfort himself with the divine promises of Scripture that he has learned by heart. “Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved.” “God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son…” “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” A Christian can, for a time, sustain his faith through the remembrance of such promises, and through the remembrance of his baptism, but once he does have access again to a Church and the means of grace, he should be all means make use of them as soon as possible.

Surely wherever there is true faith, faith that clings to the divine promises, there is also Christ, the forgiveness of sins, and the good favor of God. But consider this analogy: one might eat a meal, and it could sustain him for a time, several days even, but eventually he needs to eat again. So also as Christians, our faith might be sustained for a time by our “last meal,” but eventually we will need to “eat” again.

Luther understood this better than us all–our salvation is through Christ, but what Christ did for us (2nd Article) is not given or made available to us except through the Word (3rd Article). “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ.” This is precisely why the Lord instituted the preaching Office: “In order that we may obtain this faith…” (Augsburg Confession, Article V). The second article of the Creed teaches us how God won our salvation; the third article teaches us how it is given and received, namely, through the Word and the Sacraments.

If we can experience God’s grace directly, immediately, without means, without the Word and Sacraments, then there is no need for the Ministry. There is, essentially, no need for the Church. Christ without the Church. Access to the Head without the Body. That is what a person is ultimately saying when he says: “I can go directly to God for forgiveness. I don’t need to go through a man.”

“See, therefore, that those who are spiritually poor, who are hungering and thirsting after righteousness, who are sorrowing, downtrodden and upset over their sins, who are concerned for their salvation, who are fleeing the world and all its temptations, who are daily struggling and wrestling with God, who groan after God’s grace, wherever they go, who fear for themselves before God’s disfavor, hell and damnation: those are the ones referred to when it says: “The miserable shall eat that they be satisfied.”  They are the rightful guests at the LORD’s table.”

C.F.W. Walther “Confessional Address on Psalm 22.27 (Maundy Thursday 1848),” Occasional Sermons and Addresses By C.F.W. Walther, Joel Basely, 278.

HT: We are all beggars.