Paredwka: Dropping the Ball
Rev. Benjamin Harju
The death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ establishes, fills, defines, and vivifies what we usually think of as simply salvation. It should be no surprise, then, that the Holy Eucharist stands at the center of the existence and experience of salvation in this world, for there does one find the Word-made-Flesh. Therein is encapsulated and presented the totality of salvation, the sum and substance of the Gospel.
Cyberbrethren A Lutheran Blog
Pastor Paul McCain quoting Dr. Holger Sonntag
But in the church of the Crucified,truth is not found in generalizations and abstractions many can agree on "by their own reason or strength". It is found in offensive details, in agreeing on what God's word actually means.
AC 24
Rt. Rev. Jack Bauer
While vestments are certainly neither commanded nor forbidden in the New Testament they are not inconsequential. Vestments serve important purposes:
1. to cover the man officiating so that we focus not on him
2. a visual reminder in the officiant of the baptismal righteousness of Christ that covers all believers (just as we find the same meaning in the baptismal gown or even the funeral pall)
3. to indicate an office as well as liturgical duties in the Divine Service or other prayer offices
4. to emphasize catechetically the the themes and changes of the liturgical calendar
5. in the use of the chasuble to set apart the special reverence and joy that is to be given in the celebration of the Lord's Supper
6. to adorn the Divine Service with reverence, prayerful setting, and joy
Confessional Gadfly
Rev. Eric J. Brown
One of the things that I hold to as a theologian, perhaps more doggedly than some, is that where the Word is silent, we must be silent, and where the Word is clear, we must be clear. Theology is simple - it is simply what God has declared to us. Now, things may be derived, some logical conclusions followed - but again, simple things.
Kyrie Eleison
Rev. Joel A. Brondos quoting from Henry P. Hamann’s book On Being A Christian.
The marks of the church determine the mission of the Lutheran Church in the world. It is in the world to bear clear, genuine, unambiguous witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and to the sacraments he instituted: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. It is there to make this witness both to those who are Lutherans and to those who are not, both to Christians and to non-Christians, for it is entrusted with the very Word of God, the Word of salvation. . . .
Alisa R.
From a comment on The Wittenberg Trail
I am not abandoned, because Christ was abandoned for me.
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
Pastor Rick Sawyer
I had the joy of baptizing this woman's first grandchild Sunday. Little Elizabeth Annrose was buried and raised again in Christ, wrapped in the Name that is above every name, dressed up in Jesus, acceptable and pleasing to the Father.
Pastor Kurt Herring
From a comment on The Wittenberg Trail
Does the worship and music connect us with Christ by His enduring Word, work, and promise for us; or does it seek to connect us with God by our words, work, and devotion to Him? The former is certain and sure. The latter is but shifting sand -- not to mention the essence of idolatry.
Weedon’s Blog
Pastor Wil Weedon
Because rather than destroying the Office of the Holy Ministry by violating the Word of God with ordaining the fair sex, we are already well on the way to destroying it with the notion that those who have not been called and publicly set into the Office of the Ministry may preach and administer the Sacraments. It's as though AC XIV is an embarrassment and doesn't really norm our practice anymore!
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
Pastor Bill Cwirla, commenting on the influence Dr. Kenneth Corby had on his life as a preacher and a presider.
That’s the image I take from the memory of Kenneth Korby as preacher and the presider - a workman hard at his craft. A workman, free in Christ, expertly handling the Word of God in the bold confidence of one who has been ordained to speak and act in the Savior’s stead. I have learned through hard lessons and experience that the Church doesn’t always want such pastors, as the expectations of the holy Office have become increasingly feminized, psychologized, and soft-edged. People seem to seek a nurturing mother more than a strong, loving, and wise father, perhaps due to the breakdown of our families and the absence of strong fathers in our society.
Humorous
Four and Twenty Blackbirds
Again, Pastor Bill Cwirla, commenting on Dr. Kenneth Corby.
Liturgically, Korby was a man who had no patience with high-church chancel prancing or low-church pietism. He wore his pastoral robes like work clothes, including the black cowboy boots. He was known to scold congregations, my own included, who did not respond to a prayer or blessing with a vigorous priestly “Amen.” He would come out of the chancel to put hymnals into the hands of non-participants with an admonition to “open your mouth and sing.” He even called audibles in the chancel like Tom Brady at the line of scrimmage, suddenly deciding by some strange movement of the Spirit to “sing another psalm or hymn,” much to the consternation of organists and liturgical assistants. His wife Jeanne tells of Kenneth’s “lining” of unfamiliar hymns in the old American-Shaker tradition. He would speak a line and the congregation would then sing the line alternately through the verses. She also testifies that Kenneth would, for no apparent reason, momentarily leave the confines of the pulpit during a sermon to wander into the chancel or the nave. The Word could not be bound but had to have free course and be preached when Kenneth was the preacher.
AC 24
Rt. Rev. Jack Bauer
The headline for his post on Pastors Bill Cwirla and Craig Donofrio’s new radio show The God Whisperers:
Catechetical Mythbusters or the Catechetical Version of "Cartalk" - "The God Whisperers"
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