Last Sunday I asked in the sermon; “Do you believe that God’s Word brings people into the church or our own efforts do?”

Reverend Doug Engelbrecht, in an article reprinted from Forward in Christ, deals with this subject in a very sound way. Below is his article “The Numbers Game”.

THE NUMBERS GAME
BY Douglas J. Engelbrecht

The doctor steps into the examining room and says to the young man, “I have bad news for you. You’re dying.”
 
“What did my tests show?” the patient asks.

“Well, your blood pressure is 120/80, and your heart rate is 55. Your cholesterol is 125; your triglycerides, your HDLs and your LDLs are excellent. Your lungs are clear, there’s no sign of diabetes, and there’s no sign of cancer.”

“So why do you think I’m dying, Doc?” asks the young man.

“Because you’re still 5’11.” You haven’t grown an inch since your last
examination.”

The young man leaves the doctor’s office with his chin on the ground, convinced that the doctor was right—he is dying.

Would any of us (adults) be convinced that we are dying simply because we haven’t grown an inch since our last check-up?  Hardly!

My blood pressure may be a matter of concern, and I may need to work on getting my cholesterol down, but the fact that I haven’t grown beyond 6’3” since I was a senior in high school doesn’t cause me to walk around with my chin on the ground, convinced that it’s only months before I’m pushing up daisies.

When I see people walking around with their chin on the ground, convinced that our church body is dying because we haven’t grown much numerically since our last “check-up” (read "Statistical Report") I get a little disturbed. A church body’s health is not measured by how fast or even if it grows numerically.

As a society, we have become too “growth” oriented. I just read that Home Depot is hanging its head because its third-quarter report shows that it is making a profit-but not as big a profit as they had projected. This age of “bigger is better” (60-inch screen TVs are inherently better than 27-inch ones, and a Hummer in the driveway is a true sign of success) has swamped our thinking, even when it comes to the success of the Gospel. It has led us to believe that the success of faithful preaching of law and gospel is measured by head counts and full parking lots.

God says in Isaiah 55:11: “My Word will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. “God said that to a prophet who powerfully and faithfully preached both law and gospel to the nation of Judah. I don’t recall seeing his success rate in the 586 B.C. Statistical Report. God’s Word achieves the purpose for which He sends it, even when it is rejected by those to whom it is preached.

Would I like to see the number of baptized souls in my church grow? Of course!

Do I believe that there may be better ways and methods to share the gospel with those who live without hope in this world? Indeed, I do!

But am I going to walk around with my chin on the ground because my church has the same membership as last year?

No -- no more than I am going to give up on life just because I’m still 6’3.” That’s not a measure of my health! I will die when my life breath leaves me.

Our church body will die, not when the numbers get smaller, but when our life breath, the preaching of the law and gospel, leaves us.

Let’s do everything we can to make sure that does not happen-and leave the numbers to God.

Think about it, contemplate it, believe it.

Pastor Ken Farnsworth

Reviews and Reading Recommendations
from the Pastors

The Church and Her Fellowship, Ministry, and Governance
Volume 9 of the Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics Series
By Rev. Kurt E. Marquart

This book is a must-read for those who want to understand the ramifications of the proposed restructuring of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. This dogmatic resource is based upon the outline and thought pattern of the Lutheran Confessions.

The series is strictly and consciously confessional in its presentation of doctrine and its assessment and analysis of modern theological trends throughout the Christian church.

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The Rev. Dr. Kurt E. Marquart, seventy-two years a baptized child of God, forty-seven years an under-shepherd of Christ's people, and thirty-one years Associate Professor of Systematic Theology at Concordia Theological Seminary, father, and grandfather, died September 19, 2006 from Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease."  You can read more about Rev. Marquart here.

Best Portals of Prayer
Rudolph F. Norden, Editor

From time to time readers have requested that selected devotions from Portals of Prayer be made available in permanent form to give the devotions a second life, as it were.

In 1957 Concordia Publishing House issued such a book titled "Meditations from Portals of Prayer.” It was stated in the introduction that the daily devotions had “proved a source of comfort and strength to countless individuals and families in this country and in the far corners of the world.”

Portals of Prayer has continued to bring comfort, strength, and guidance to estimated 3 million persons per issue.

With so many readings to choose from, many excellent devotions and writers had to be overlooked.

Those chosen are representative of an anthology, which in Greek means “a collection of flowers,” a variety yet each with its own beauty and fragrance. The readings selected for this book exemplify a great number of topics discussed in a devotional context, the differing approaches to the subjects, the varying writing styles and the personal gifts of the authors.

There is, however, one constant; the same Gospel of God’s love in Jesus Christ is proclaimed.

The Lutheran Study Bible

Engage in devotional, Christ-centered Bible reading and study with the distinctive, comprehensive notes and practical application of The Lutheran Study Bible.

This new Bible is the first in English to be developed from the ground-up with notes that are distinctively Lutheran, prepared by Lutheran theologians and pastors from over twenty Lutheran church bodies. Current Lutheran scholarship, insights from the Church Fathers, and rich devotional commentary provides meaningful perspective for both young and mature Christians.

The Lutheran Study Bible features:

• 26,500-plus uniquely Lutheran study notes.

• Over 2,000 application notes and prayers for every part of the Bible.

• 80,000 center column cross-references.

• Over 900 cross-references to 120 full or half-page maps, charts, and diagrams.

• 220-plus articles and introductions to biblical books and topics.

• Insights from early church, medieval and Reformation era church fathers.

• Uses the English Standard Version translation, one of the most precise English translations available.

• Durable Smyth-sewn binding.

For more information visit cph.org/lutheranbible

God At Work
by Gene Edward Veith, Jr.

When you understand it properly, the doctrine of vocation -- "doing everything for God's glory" -- is not a platitude or an outdated notion.  This principle that we vaguely apply to our lives and our work is actually the key to Christian ethics, to influencing our culture for Christ, and to infusing our ordinary, everyday lives with the presence of God.  For when we realize that the "mundane" activities that consume our time are "God's hiding places," our perspective changes.

Culture expert Gene Veith unpacks the Biblical, Reformation teaching about the doctrine of vocation, emphasizing not what we should specifically do with our time or what careers we are called to, but what God does in and through or callings -- even within the home.  In each task He has given us -- in our workplaces and families, our churches and society -- God Himself is at work.  Veith guides you to discover God's purpose and calling in these seemingly ordinary areas by providing you with a spiritual framework for thinking about such issues and for acting upon them with a changed perspective.  
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Gene Edward Veith, Jr., is Professor of English at Concordia University-Wisconsin. He has written numerous books and is the general editor of Crossway’s Focal Point series, to which he has contributed two volumes: Christians in a .com World and God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life. His book Postmodern Times: A Christian Guide to Contemporary Thought and Culture received a Christiaity Today Book Award.

Luther’s Small Catechism
With Confirmation and 8th grade graduation being the focus of May, two books are suggested for your reading.

The first is Luther’s Small Catechism, which can be a regular devotional book for the family coffee table. If you believe you know all that already, come to confirmation questioning on May 15th and see if you know the Apostolic Teaching included there.

The LSC is also great for family devotions. Christian questions and answers is good preparation for worship on Saturday evening.
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Worshipping with Angels & Archangels:
 An Introduction to the Divine Service
by Scot Kinnaman

This book (published by Concordia) helps us understand worship and can be an additional book in the home to understand why we do what we do in the Divine Service.

This book would be a good confirmation gift.

A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times
by Kim Riddlebarger

Amillennialism, dispensational premillennialism, historic premillennialism, postmillennialism, preterism. These are difficult words to pronounce and even harder concepts to understand.

A Case for Amillennialism presents an accessible look at the crucial theological question of the millennium in the context of contemporary evangelicalism. This study defends amillennialism as the historic Protestant understanding of the millennial age. Amillennarians believe that the millennium of Christ's heavenly reign is a present reality, not a future hope to come after his return.

Recognizing that eschatology, the study of future things, is a complicated and controversial subject, Riddlebarger provides definitions of key terms and a helpful overview of various viewpoints. He examines related biblical topics as a backdrop to understanding the subject and discusses important passages of Scripture that bear upon the millennial age, including Daniel 9, Matthew 24, Romans 11, and Revelation 20.

Regardless of their stance, readers will find helpful insight as Riddlebarger evaluates the main problems facing each of the major millennial positions and cautions readers to be aware of the spiraling consequences of each view.
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Dr. Kim Riddlebarger is pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California, and a visiting professor of systematic theology at Westminster Theological Seminary. He is cohost of the popular White Horse Inn weekly radio program sponsored by the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals. He has a Ph.D. from Fuller Seminary.

A Daily Prayer Catechism

Grow each day through this timeless collection of heartfelt requests and the Lord’s faithful answers presented in one-page, easy-to-use devotions.

A Daily Prayer Catechism includes:
• Questions people want the Lord to answer about faith, life and eternal life.
• Answers drawn from God’s Holy Word
• Prayers of the Bible.
• Prayers and meditations from great Christian teachers

The devotions are arranged by the seasons of the Christian calendar and Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, classic models of devotion. The prayers and topics are carefully indexed so that you can find the right words for your prayers and the answers you need.

 Please visit the Resource Room for past selections.