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From The Pastor's Desk
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for March |
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
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Reviews and Reading Recommendations
from the Pastors
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March Reading Pick - A
Repeat |
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.
__________________
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.
__________________
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.
__________________
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.
__________________
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.
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