“It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” The first mother to say, “Just wait until your dad gets home!” was a genius. Living in dread of punishment may be an even more effective punishment than any penalty that might be meted out once the waiting is over. In fact, even waiting for something that we do want to receive can be a painful experience, one leading to doubt,
The Religion of “Do” Versus The Religion of “Done” Essentially all religion in the world falls into one of two camps. The first is a religion of the law, of doing. For its adherents there are lists of things for one to do and not do in order to live in a right relationship with God, be saved and live eternally. Human reason then suggests if you do well you will get rewarded. Don’t do
If you had to choose one thing that Lutherans have traditionally not been very good at doing, what would it be? It certainly isn’t anything to do with fellowship and food. I’ve never attended a Lutheran gathering that involved food where there weren’t enough leftovers to feed a army. What about what we do on Sunday morning for Divine Service? No, it couldn’t be what we do there, as historically we’ve been very good about
Psalm 98 begins “Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!” The Lutheran church has long recognized that her hymns are one of her greatest teachers, second only to the Holy Scriptures. Martin Luther got the ball rolling in that direction by writing a large number of exceptionally powerful and deeply theological hymns. These powerful hymns and others like them
“Shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” 1 Peter 5:2-4 Dear members of Trinity, Before heading to the seminary, my pastor said to me, “Noah, when I think of what