Author Archives: Pastor Jim Driskell, Lutheran Church

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About Pastor Jim Driskell, Lutheran Church

I am the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Chestertown, Md. I pray that you will come and worship with us, worship is 10 am Sundays. We are a renewal church and we are lifting God up in classical worship, and being faithful disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ. 101 Greenwood Av, Chestertown. Plenty of parking behind the church.

God isn’t going to push, He will encourage

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Rev Ken Klaus – Lutheran Hour Ministries: “Years ago I called on a man, a member of my church, who was a good man, at least in the eyes of the community. By that I mean the fellow was honest in his dealings with others; he took good care of his family, didn’t drink, gamble, or swear. He was always faithful and conscientious in paying his bills and taking care of his other debts. During our visit I asked, ‘Tell me, you pay all your other debts, but I never see you in church; I never see you at Communion, and the church offering plate never sees a dollar from your account. Why are you faithful in paying your debts to others, but not to the Lord?” He thought for a minute and then, without being flip, he replied, “Well, pastor, I don’t pay so much attention to God, because He doesn’t push as hard as everybody else.”

Listeners, that guy had it right. The Lord is not going to push; He is not going to beg; He is not going to twist your arm. What He is going to do is say, “Look at My Son who gave His life to save your soul. With faith in Him You will be in heaven; without faith, you are headed for hell. Jesus is the best thing which has ever happened to you and for you. Don’t turn your back on Jesus. Be ready for the day when He will say to this world, ‘enough is enough.’ When that day arrives, I want everyone to be glad to see Me.”

Pastor Klaus is one of my favorites, you have to check out  wwwlhm.org to hear the audio versions of these sermons from Pastor Klaus and also Pastor Greg Seltz.

Have to consider his point. No God’s not going to get up in your face, not normally. To those who don’t know Jesus, yes the Holy Spirit is going to keep tugging at you, getting in your head sometime, continuously pointing to God. But, wow, we really give the world carte blanche, “entre” into our head, never thinking an hour ahead of time. Then we have the arrogance to decide, when we really have to, “well God’s just going to have to take me as I am, I’m good enough.” No you’re not, I’m not, no one is, God accepts us under very simple conditions. We follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, we are baptized in the Name of God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. We receive the true Body and Blood of Jesus, what was sacrificed as payment for our sins and we hear His Word preached. No heavy lifting, all for your benefit, yet too often, because God doesn’t push, we think the nonsense around us is more important.

True life is in God the Father, His Son Jesus, guided by the Holy Spirit. It is a life of meaning, “life, life more abundant”, of joy, promise and hope. Do you get that in the world? Ya, no, just more grind, more gimmee, gimmee, and in the end, we all know death, hopelessness, complete loss and eternal condemnation. I have yet to have anyone give me any other possible outcome. True life in Jesus and then we die, we go to be in His presence, but then true, eternal, perfect, abundant challenging life in Jesus in the resurrection. Gotta tell you, seems logical, it is God who leads you into salvation, but you can resist and refuse, and for what?

Real Sciencetists who were also very real Christians

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Great Scientists (left to right): Kirby, Pasteur, Newton, Carver, Maxwell, Kepler, Boyle, Bell
The greatest scientists—the ones most responsible for great discoveries—were creationists.
These include Kepler, Newton, Boyle, Bell, Kirby, Maxwell, Pasteur and Carver, among many others. Their numerous discoveries include physical astronomy, calculus, chemistry, electrodynamics, vaccination, and immunization.

They believed that, as scientists, they were “thinking God’s thoughts after Him,” learning to understand and control the laws and processes of nature for God’s glory and man’s good. They believed and practiced science in the same way that modern creationist scientists do.

Johann Kepler
Isaac Newton

Robert Boyle
Charles Bell

William Kirby
James Clerk Maxwell

Louis Pasteur
George Washington Carver

These men believed in the inspiration and authority of the Bible, as well as in the deity and saving work of Jesus Christ. They believed that God had supernaturally created all things, each with its own complex structure for its own unique purpose. More…

Free Creation News Publication Interested in more information about creation, evolution, and intelligent design? Want to know the latest take on scientific discoveries and how they affect our understanding of the Bible? Does science help us interpret the Bible or should the Bible remain the interpreter of science?

Keep up with these and other issues in ICR’s [Institute for Creation Research] monthly Acts & Facts magazine, a free, full-color periodical that deals with science from a biblical perspective. Included with your subscription is the devotional Days of Praise.
Johann Kepler
Physical Astronomy and Celestrial Mechanics
Johann Kepler is best known for discovering the three mathematical laws of planetary motion, dubbed “Kepler’s Laws,” that established the discipline of celestial mechanics. He revolutionized scientific thought by applying physics (then considered a branch of natural philosophy) to astronomy (then seen as a branch of mathematics).

Kepler defended Nicolaus Copernicus’ theory of heliocentrism and sought to reconcile it with Scripture. His Protestant beliefs won him little favor with the Catholic church, and the Lutheran church shunned him for his Calvinist sympathies. He was forced to relocate more than once to avoid persecution, as well as to escape political dangers from ongoing wars.

But Kepler stayed true to his faith, and his scientific discoveries earned him acclaim, legitimized the discoveries of his contemporary Galileo, and influenced generations of scientists that followed him.

“…and thou my soul, praise the Lord thy Creator, as long as I shall be: for out of Him and through Him and in Him are all things….To Him be praise, honour, and glory, world without end. Amen.”—J. Kepler, Harmonies of the World, 137.

These men believed in the inspiration and authority of the Bible, as well as in the deity and saving work of Jesus Christ. They believed that God had supernaturally created all things, each with its own complex structure for its own unique purpose. More…

Free Creation News Publication Interested in more information about creation, evolution, and intelligent design? Want to know the latest take on scientific discoveries and how they affect our understanding of the Bible? Does science help us interpret the Bible or should the Bible remain the interpreter of science?

Isaac Newton
Calculus and Dynamics
As a young scientist and mathematician, Sir Isaac Newton invented the generalized binomial theorem and began developing the mathematical theory that would later become calculus.

While working as a Cambridge professor, Newton’s work in optics earned him recognition by the Royal Society. And his 1687 work, The Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, is considered today the single greatest work in the history of science. In it he described universal gravitation and the three laws of motion, derived from Kepler’s Laws.

His work at the Royal Mint earned him knighthood in 1705, and he was elected to the French Académie des Sciences, as well as serving as President of the Royal Society in 1703. But he was also a serious student of the Bible and published several theological works. After he died in 1727, he was interred in Westminster Abbey.

“Gravity explains the motions of the planets, but it cannot explain who set the planets in motion. God governs all things and knows all that is or can be done.”—I. Newton

Robert Boyle
Chemistry and Gas Dynamics
Robert Boyle conducted scientific research into air pressure, mechanics, and chemistry—which he believed should no longer be a subordinate study of alchemy and medicine. He criticized traditional alchemists and laid the foundation for the atomic theory of matter in The Sceptical Chymist, the cornerstone work for modern chemistry. During his travels, he visited Florence, Italy, and studied with the aging Galileo Galilei. He co-founded the prestigious Royal Society in 1663.

He was also a serious student of the Bible, learning the languages of Hebrew, Cyriac, and Chaldee so that he could read the text firsthand. He promoted Christianity in the East by financially supporting missionaries and Bible translation. Upon his death in 1691, he endowed a series of lectures in his will designed to defend Christianity. The “Boyle Lectures” are held annually to this day in London, a legacy of this remarkable man of God.

“The last service that, I hope…is to induce men to pay their admiration, their praises, and their thanks, directly to God himself; who is the true and only creator of the sun, moon, earth, and those other creatures, that men call the works of nature.”—R. Boyle, 1725, The Philosophical Works of the Honourable Robert Boyle Esq: Abridged, Methodized, and Disposed Under the General Heads of Physics, Statics, Pneumatics, Natural History, Chymistry, and Medicine, 149.

Charles Bell
Anatomy and Surgery
Charles Bell had particular interest in the nervous system, and he published Idea of a New Anatomy of the Brain in 1811, now considered the “Magna Carta of neurology.” Several discoveries are named for him, including Bell’s Nerve, Bell’s Palsy/Paralysis, Bell’s Phenomenon, and Bell’s Spasm.

His scientific endeavors convinced him of the existence and necessity of the Creator. Studying the human body, he realized how dependent people are on involuntary physical processes, and he saw close-minded reliance on reason as not only ignorant, but “worse than ingratitude.”

He was familiar with uniformitarianism, which influenced the development of Darwinism, and Bell thought science should be allowed to follow the evidence—even if it leads to a supernatural origin.

“When man thus perceives, that in respect to all these vital operations he is more helpless than the infant, and that his boasted reason can neither give them order nor protection, is not his insensibility to the Giver of these secret endowments worse than ingratitude?”—C. Bell, 1852, The Fourth Bridgewater Treatise on the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God as Manifested in the Creation: The Hand; Its Mechanism and Vital Endowments as Evincing Design, 14

William Kirby
Entomology
William Kirby and fellow British entomologist William Spence authored the four-volume An Introduction to Entomology: or Elements of the Natural History of Insects, considered the foundational work in the field of entomology.

With Spence, Kirby helped found the Entomological Society of London in 1833, to which he was appointed Honorary President for life. His vision of an Ipswitch natural history museum was realized in 1847, and he served as its president until his death in 1850.

“In no part of creation are the POWER, WISDOM, and GOODNESS of its beneficent and almighty Author more signally conspicuous than in the various animals that inhabit and enliven our globe.”—W. Kirby, 1835, The Seventh Bridgewater Treatise on the Power, Wisdom, and Goodness of God as Manifested in the Creation: The History, Habits and Instinct of Animals, Vol. 1, i.

James Clerk Maxwell
Electrodynamics and Statistical Thermodynamics
James Clerk Maxwell worked extensively with translating electromagnetic equations and the principles of color combinations. He was elected to the Royal Society in 1861 and published multiple papers on electromagnetism, heat, and physics.

Maxwell is held in high regard to this day in the scientific community, but few know or acknowledge his strong Christian roots or his faith in the authority of God’s Word. Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of the Species (1859) was published during Maxwell’s lifetime. Maxwell wasn’t convinced evolution was a viable theory, and he wasn’t afraid to speak on the matter.

“The consciousness of the presence of God is the only guarantee of true self-knowledge. Everything else is mere fiction, fancy portraiture—done to please one’s friends or self, or to exhibit one’s moral discrimination at the expense of character.”—J. C. Maxwell, 1858, A letter to the Rev. L. Campbell.
Robert Boyle
Louis Pasteur
Microbiology, Bacteriology, Biogenesis Law, Pasteurization, Vaccination And Immunization
Little was known about preventative medicine in the days of Louis Pasteur. Today, we owe all the discoveries in the fields of microbiology and immunology to his work. He shares the title of “father of germ theory and bacteriology” with German physician Robert Koch. He was a devout Catholic and was famously “regarded as conforming with the biblical account of the creation.”

At the time, Darwin’s theory of abiogenesis (or the idea that life was generated from non-life) reigned, but Pasteur’s systematic and exhaustive experiments disproved it, opening the way for germ theory. He had a rigorous approach to experimentation and wouldn’t make any claims until he had re-tested his hypothesis several times.

Two of his main contributions to science and medicine are the anthrax and rabies vaccines. His work set the foundation for some of the most important advances in our modern world. Pasteur was an experimentalist of the highest order, and his science was undoubtedly fueled by his faith.

“I see everywhere the inevitable expression of the Infinite in the world; through it the supernatural is at the bottom of every heart.”—L. Pasteur

George Washington Carver
Modern Agriculture
George Washington Carver revolutionized agricultural science with his cultivation of soil-enriching crops, such as peanuts and soybeans, to revive earth that had been depleted of nutrients from cotton farming. He discovered over 100 uses for the sweet potato and 300 uses for the peanut. He was offered many honors and substantial wealth from patents, but he chose not to patent his discoveries because it would take too much time and benefit too few.

Frugal in finance and humble in character, Carver was undoubtedly a deeply devoted Christian. He attributed inspiration of his work to God, and his studies of nature convinced him of the existence and benevolence of the Creator.

“If I know the answer, you can have it for the price of a postage stamp. The Lord charges nothing for knowledge, and I will charge you the same.”—G. W. Carver

Christianity is a well-rounded belief system, it understands that man is natural and spiritual. Scientism is very narrow and limited.

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I couldn’t find a way to reblog the following, it’s from a young lady who appears to want to be anonymous, so I will respect that and will at least post the link to where the following came from:   https://steagarden.wordpress.com/

This is a subject I have other material that I am going to be blogging on, this is information I never saw before, in regards to scientists who are sincere Trinitarian Christian believers. The world would have us believe that science and Christian faith are diametrically opposed. That there is the natural and the supernatural and never the twain shall meet. That of course is nonsense, let’s just start with the fact that creation came into being as a result of the supernatural (that is God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit). To deny that is simply irrational and deny the reality around us. The faith system called scientism (believes that everything is about natural law and there is no other law, everything is subject to scientific examination and if it’s not amenable to that, well it doesn’t exist.) That folks is irrational, and this from people who are claiming to be very rational????

Science exists because God created it. For millennium scientists studied nature with the supposition that what they were studying was put there by God. Well-rounded, intelligent people understand that people certainly need to be knowledgeable about the science of the world, it is part of God’s creation. At the same time understanding that man is far more than just the material, there is a spiritual side to man that is unique and how God made us. To deny that is not some kind of intellectual superiority! It’s living in a fantasy world of denial and a gross disregard of the facts.

Squid’s Tea

Exploring Photography, Poetry, God’s Word, and the Little Things In Life

12JUN 2015

1200s-1400s

Alright, first post naming Christian scientists.

Robert Grosseteste: 1175-1253
Father of the Scientific Method.  (Pretty important, no?)

Roger Bacon: (got to love that name) 1214-1292
Loved to study nature through the use of empirical methods. He’s often included in a brief list of observers who used the modern scientific method for observations and was often considered a radical by religious authorities of his time because he would question everything.  Source: http://www.visionlaunch.com/roger-bacon-inventions-and-accomplishments/

Thomas Bradwardine: 1290-1349
Reformer who examined Aristotle’s ideas critically.

I do want to say one thing… If the universe was created by an all powerful being who was a master designer, we would expect to see order, similar design between species, laws that don’t change, and complex systems.  I doubt that anyone will disagree with me on the fact that that is what we see through our microscopes!  But if the universe really did evolve from nothing, then why bother with science?  The laws that we hold so firmly (i.e. 1st and 2nd Law of Thermodynamics) will just change in the next couple hundred years, right?  If there is no stability to this world, then things cannot be tested over and over again, because things will have changed.  That’s not scientific!  Just a thought.

-Squid

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12JUN 2015

Christians Can Be Scientists?

In his recent debate against Ken Ham, Bill Nye (the Science Guy) cautioned parents not to teach their children creationism because we need scientists, engineers, doctors, etc. in the future.    I think he needs to learn who even paved the way for where the scientific community is right now… Christian scientists!  They all got into science for the sake of studying God’s creation!  So, to educate him, (sorry, couldn’t help throwing that in) I am going to do a series of posts on Christian scientists throughout the centuries.  I’m going to try to cover one time period per day for about 4-5 days I think.  Keep posted (no pun intended) for the first post!

-Squid

It’s not The banal, provincial and idiosyncratic, it’s about true Christian worship.

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It’s about the infinite, the whole Body

One of the main points of Christianity is its universality, it’s timelessness, about being so part of something so much bigger, infinitely bigger. Christianity is not limited to a time and place, it is worship that we share with all the generations of brothers and sisters in Jesus who have preceded us, all who will follow us and all who are around the world.

That connection surely is in Jesus, the Triune God, but it is also in shared worship. Be honest, if Augustine showed up at the door of First St Johns today, he would get it.  Yea there are variations, especially since the time of Martin Luther, but Augustine would still understand that this is Christian worship. If someone from Liberia, Thailand, Russia, South America showed up at First St Johns they would recognize what is going on, they would be comfortable that they are with fellow Christians and know the point of what we are doing at worship.

When we do our provincial, idiosyncratic, bouncing around that is only meaningful to your particulaf generation, in your little part of the world, to your little culture, that doesn’t apply geographically, generationally, that is only about your tastes, your preferences, you have limited yourself. It’s really not about worshipping Jesus, it’s about worshipping your preferences, and Jesus just happens to fit those preferences.

Liturgical worship is not about “little ole me”, it’s about being part of something infinitely bigger, that cuts through time, generations, thru space, across cultures, both now and through history. Liturgical worship, genuinely ties me to the worship of Christ, to hundreds of millions of people in time and space.

Sure would I like a time where I’m being entertained by Michael Card, Rich Mullins (yes I know he is in the presence of the Lord)’ Chris Rice, John Michael Talbot, Carmen. All due respect but those musicians are part of an older generation and now it’s about Mandisa, King and Country, David Crowder. Sorry for most out there, they are only going to recognize the names of their generation. Sorry, I’m much more interested in being tied to brothers and sisters in Jesus around the world and down through history, than those who are Michael W Smith fans talking about Jesus.

As much as many would like to think that “worship” today is oh so cutting edge and meaningful, be honest it’s really not. It’s all about you, all about your entertainment, and not really not about worship. You may think your praise band is the most plugged in, but to Christians around the world and through history it’s not! Not even recognizable, to most Christians and to the vast majority of Christians even offensive.

Yea, you want worship your way, but it’s time to recognize that it’s not about you. Christian worship is and always will be about Jesus first, then about you being part of the “catholic” that is “universal, authoritative ” true Christian church that is about serving Christ and His people and not about your provincial, narrow tastes. You may think new is somehow more enlightened and applicable, but it’s only to you and your big box church are a tiny part of the universal church in time and place. Maybe it’s about time, for you to become part of the universal church and save the entertainment for afterwards. By all means Michael Card coming to your church, invite me. I’m inviting you to real worship, that will unite you with Christians throughout the world and history at First St Johns.

Los credos de la iglesia y de la Santísima Trinidad First St Johns May 30, 2015

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[Translation by Google translate]

Hacemos nuestro comienzo en el Nombre de Dios el Padre y en el nombre de Dios el Hijo y en el nombre de Dios el Espíritu Santo, y todos los que conocen un solo Dios, en tres personas, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo dijo … AMEN !!

Hoy en día es “Trinidad” Domingo, este tapas de la Pascua / Ascensión / Pentecostés parte del calendario, esto es cuando recordamos que hay un solo Dios, el Gran Shema. La oración central en el libro de oraciones judío, y podemos decir “Oye, oh Israel, el Señor es Dios, el Señor es Uno.” Desde el principio ha habido un solo Dios, pero sabemos esto como el “Dios”, un solo Dios, hecho de tres personas, Dios Padre, Dios Hijo y Dios Espíritu Santo. A medida que la introducción en su boletín de esta mañana señala, la palabra Trinidad, no aparece en la Biblia. Muy a menudo, cuando usted consigue a alguien que quiere debatir el cristianismo, que arrojarán que uno como una especie de trompeta. Esto no va a ser terriblemente caritativa, pero si los cerebros eran dinamita esa persona no tendría suficiente para sonarse la nariz. De todos modos, ¡No! La palabra simplemente describe lo que leemos en la Biblia. Ciertamente vemos la Trinidad en el relato de la Biblia. Vemos a Dios el Padre, ciertamente como Él es retratado en nuestra lectura de Isaías, alto y sublime. Muchas personas les gusta jugar con la idea de que así, el Padre fue retratado en el Antiguo Testamento, pero no el Hijo o el Espíritu Santo. Queremos hacer el caso que hay muchos, lo que se llama Cristofanias en todo el Antiguo Testamento, por ejemplo Wil Pounds describe en Josué 5: 13-15, cuando un hombre armado misterioso aparece en el campamento de Israel, que se identifica a sí mismo como el “capitán de el ejército del Señor “:” Josué reconoció de inmediato el carácter sobrenatural de este visitante. Josué estaba en la presencia de Dios. Y Josué se postró sobre su rostro en tierra, y se inclinó hacia abajo, y le dijo: ‘¿Qué tiene mi señor para decir a su siervo? “(V. 14b).” Como Libras señala, a este hombre misterioso elimina cualquier duda de quién es Él, y nos dicen que esto es un cristofanía, porque en primer lugar “Josué cayó sobre su rostro y adoró”. Sólo “adorar” a Dios. Jesús en Su encarnación menudo recibe la adoración de la gente. ¿Recuerdas cuando Thomas se puso de rodillas y dijo: “¡Señor mío y Dios mío!” (NVI) Pero el “Príncipe del ejército de Jehová”, también dirigió a Josué: “Quítate las sandalias, porque el lugar donde estás es santo.” ¿Qué otro episodio en la Biblia ¿eso te recuerda … Sí, el Señor dice a Moisés que hacer lo mismo en Éxodo 3: 5 El “Príncipe del ejército de Jehová” está diciendo claramente a Josué que él está en la presencia de Dios, el. encarnado Persona de la Trinidad y que sería … ¡Jesús!

Vemos el Espíritu Santo en toda la Biblia, así, Génesis 1: 2, no se puede conseguir mucho más temprano en la Biblia que eso, dice: “Y la tierra estaba desordenada y vacía, y las tinieblas estaban sobre la faz del abismo, . Y el Espíritu de Dios se movía sobre la faz de las aguas. “(NVI) Hay otras dos referencias al” Espíritu de Dios “en Génesis. Rey David en el Salmo 139: 7 escribe: “¿Dónde me iré de tu Espíritu? O dónde huiré de tu presencia? ”

Entonces tenemos escritos que podemos visualizar fácilmente, el bautismo de Jesús, Marcos 3: 16-17 “Y cuando Jesús fue bautizado, en seguida se subieron del agua, y he aquí los cielos le fueron abiertos, y vio al Espíritu de Dios que descendía como paloma, y ​​que viene a descansar en él; y he aquí, una voz del cielo dijo: “Este es mi Hijo amado, en quien tengo complacencia.” Casi lo mismo de nuevo en la Transfiguración, donde Jesús aparece claramente como la divinidad, con el Padre afirmando que “Este es mi Hijo amado, en quien tengo complacencia; escuchar a Él. “El Espíritu Santo se convierte en una presencia muy tangible, como el resultado de la promesa de Jesús en el Día de Pentecostés. Ahora que Jesús ha muerto para nuestra justificación, ahora estamos en condiciones de ser habitado por Dios el Espíritu Santo.

Otra cuestión que se plantea es sobre los “credos” en general. Se ha puesto de moda hoy en día para despedir “credos” y / o “confesiones”, que es realmente lo mismo, excepto por alguna extraña razón, las personas que deberían saber mejor tratan de dividirlos. Somos un “cuerpo confesional”, aquí, en primer lugar Saint Johns y en las CLEM en su conjunto. Confesamos los credos, cuando usted toma su confirmación o los votos de miembros, sus votos están en el contexto de los Apóstoles Credo “¿Crees en Dios Padre Todopoderoso” y va a partir de ahí, usted respondería recitar el Credo de los Apóstoles. Usted se compromete a respetar las creencias históricas de la Iglesia cristiana. Muchos hoy en día, “oh no necesitamos confesiones y credos” hace que te preguntes lo que el punto es para ellos. ¿Tienen ellos o ellos no creen en Dios Padre Todopoderoso, Jesucristo su único Hijo, nuestro Señor, y en el Espíritu Santo y el / iglesia cristiana católica Santo. Usted está prometiendo acatar los preceptos fundamentales del ser cristiano. Si usted no está haciendo eso, entonces usted realmente tiene que preguntarse si usted está en una iglesia cristiana, ya sea que tome todo el concepto del cristianismo en serio y lo que realmente está haciendo aquí. Hoy recordamos el Credo de Atanasio. Por razones obvias no recitamos este credo cada semana, pero nosotros tomamos el tiempo para recordar que al menos una vez al año. La iglesia ha tenido que lidiar con las enseñanzas heréticas desde el principio, las personas que han tratado de socavar las enseñanzas de Jesús con la racionalización humana. La iglesia primitiva especialmente acercó a responder a estas herejías y no se preocupe acerca de tomar los éxitos de la sociedad contemporánea. La iglesia no está aquí para ser dictado por el mundo, la iglesia es para apuntar a la verdad en Jesucristo y que es lo que la iglesia primitiva hizo en el Credo de los Apóstoles de fecha a alrededor de 200 dC, Credo de Nicea 325 dC y luego el de Atanasio Creed aproximadamente 500. Todo para responder herejías entonces, y desde luego a responderlas en este día y edad. A medida que la inserción en el boletín se lee: “El Credo de Atanasio declara que sus enseñanzas relativas a la Santísima Trinidad y la encarnación de nuestro Señor son la” fe católica “… lo que la verdadera Iglesia de todos los tiempos y todos los lugares ha confesado.”

Suscribimos Credos y Confesiones para permanecer leales y fieles a la verdadera iglesia católica, esa iglesia que fue establecida por Jesús. Si queremos estar en comunión con Jesús, entonces, ciertamente, que la comunión ha de ser con su Cuerpo, que es la iglesia. Estos Credos y Confesiones nos unen con los cristianos de todo el mundo que verdaderamente conocen a Jesús y sus enseñanzas, su señorío y la salvación en su iglesia. Somos uno con los mártires de Jesús a través de la historia y de los que están siendo martirizados en este mismo minuto. Somos uno a través de los credos y confesiones con sus discípulos, sus confesores, sus misioneros, sus maestros, a todos los que son Su historia ahora ya través. El Espíritu Santo nos ha dado estos credos y confesiones para darnos nuestra fe que nos señala a Jesucristo como Señor de nuestra vida y nuestro Salvador a la vida eterna. Si nos olvidamos de estos credos nos preparamos para ser nuestros propios maestros y discípulos, para hacernos objeto de culto para decidir cómo adoramos y quien adoramos. Por favor, tome este inserto casa, sacar su diario, leer a través del Credo y escribir acerca de cómo esto mantiene usted señaló que el único y verdadero Dios, Padre, Hijo y Espíritu Santo.

La paz de Dios que sobrepasa todo entendimiento, guardará vuestros corazones y vuestros pensamientos en Cristo Jesús. Amin y Shalom.

Why Creeds? Why the Trinity? First Saint Johns May 31, 2015

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[click on the above link for the audio version of this sermon]

We make our beginning in the Name of God the Father and in the Name of God the Son and in the Name of God the Holy Spirit, and all those who know One God, in Three Persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit said … AMEN!!

Today is “Trinity” Sunday, this caps off the Easter/Ascension/Pentecost part of the calendar, this is when we remember that there is One God, the Great Shema. The central prayer in the Jewish prayerbook, and we can say “Hear oh Israel the Lord is God, the Lord is One.” From the beginning there has been One God, but we know this as the “Godhead”, one God, made up of three person, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. As the Introduction in your bulletin this morning points out, the word Trinity, doesn’t appear in the Bible. Quite often when you get someone who wants to debate Christianity, they will throw that one up as some kind of a trump. This isn’t going to be terribly charitable, but if brains were dynamite that person wouldn’t have enough to blow his nose. Anyway, No! The word simply describes what we read in the Bible. Certainly we see the Trinity in the narrative of the Bible. We see God the Father, certainly as He is portrayed in our reading in Isaiah, high and lifted up. Many people like to play around with the idea that well, the Father was portrayed in the Old Testament, but not the Son or the Holy Spirit. We would make the case that there are many, what are called Christophanies throughout the OT, for example Wil Pounds describes in Joshua 5: 13-15 when a mysterious armed man shows up at the Israelites camp, who identifies Himself as the “captain of the host of the Lord”:  “Joshua immediately recognized the supernatural character of this visitor. Joshua was in the presence of God. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and bowed down, and said to him, ‘What has my lord to say to his servant?'” (v. 14b).” As Pounds points out, this mysterious man removes any doubt of who He is, and we say this is a Christophany, because first “Joshua fell on his face and worshipped”.[1] We only “worship” God. Jesus in His incarnation often received worship from people. Remember when Thomas fell on his knees and said: “My Lord and my God!” (ESV) But the “captain of the host of the Lord”, also directed Joshua to; “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy.” What other episode in the Bible does that remind you of? … Yes, Yahweh telling Moses to do the same thing in Exodus 3:5. The “captain of the host of the Lord” is clearly telling Joshua that he is in the presence of God, the Incarnated Person of the Godhead and that would be … Jesus!

We see the Holy Spirit all through the Bible as well, Genesis 1:2, you can’t get much earlier in the Bible than that, says: “The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (ESV) There are two other references to the “Spirit of God” in Genesis. King David in Psalm 139:7 writes: “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?”

Then we have writings that we can readily visualize, Jesus’ baptism, Mark 3:16-17 “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Much the same again at the Transfiguration, where Jesus clearly appears as divinity, with the Father affirming that “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to Him.” The Holy Spirit becomes a very tangible presence, as the result of Jesus’ promise on the Day of Pentecost. Now that Jesus has died for our justification, now we are fit to be indwelt by God the Holy Spirit.

Another issue that is raised is about “creeds” in general. It has become trendy today to dismiss “creeds” and/or “confessions”, which is really the same thing except for some odd reason, people who should know better try to divide them. We are a “confessional body”, here, at First Saint Johns and in the LCMS as a whole. We confess the creeds, when you take your confirmation or membership vows, your vows are in the context of the Apostles Creed “Do you believe in God the Father Almighty” and it goes from there, you respond reciting the Apostle’s Creed. You promise to abide by the historical beliefs of the Christian Church. Many today, “oh we don’t need confessions and creeds” makes you wonder what the point is for them. Do they or do they not believe in God the Father Almighty, Jesus Christ His only Son, our Lord and in the Holy Spirit and the Holy Catholic/Christian church. You are promising to abide by the fundamental precepts of being a Christian. If you’re not doing that, then you really have to ask yourself whether you’re in a Christian Church, whether you take the entire concept of Christianity seriously and what you’re really doing here. Today we remember the Athanasian Creed. For obvious reasons we don’t recite this creed every week, but we do take time to remember it at least once a year. The church has had to deal with heretical teachings since the beginning, people who have tried to undermine Jesus’ teachings with human rationalization. The early church especially stepped up to answer those heresies and didn’t worry about taking the hits from the contemporary society. The church is not here to be dictated to by the world, the church is to point to the truth in Jesus Christ and that is what the early church did in the Apostles Creed dated to about 200 AD, Nicean Creed 325 AD and then the Athanasian Creed about 500. All to answer heresies then, and certainly to answer them in this day and age. As the insert in your bulletin reads: “The Athanasian Creed declares that its teachings concerning the Holy Trinity and our Lord’s incarnation are the “catholic faith”…what the true Church of all times and all places has confessed.”

We subscribe to Creeds and Confessions in order to stay true and faithful to the one true catholic church, that church that was established by Jesus. If we want to commune with Jesus, then certainly that communion has to be with His Body, which is the church. These Creeds and Confessions unite us with Christians all over the world who truly know Jesus and His teachings, His Lordship and salvation in His church. We are one with Jesus’ martyrs through history and those who are being martyred at this very minute. We are one through the Creeds and Confessions with His disciples, His Confessors, His Missionaries, His teachers, all those who are His now and through history. The Holy Spirit has given us these Creeds and Confessions to give us our faith that points us to Jesus Christ as Lord of our life and our Savior to life eternal. If we forget these Creeds we set ourselves up to be our own teachers and disciples, to make ourselves the object of worship to decide how we worship and who we worship. Please take this insert home, take out your journal, read through the Creed and write about how this keeps you pointed to the One true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

The peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Amin and Shalom.

[1] http://www.abideinchrist.com/messages/jos5v13.html

In Jesus we get the attitude we need. Then it’s up to us.

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It really is about attitude. Sure people with bad attitudes succeed, but you also know that they will never be content, they will never know trust, promise, they will always be insecure. They know that even if their lives appear to be a “success”‘, that they will never have peace. Peace doesn’t necessarily mean complacency. In fact it seems when the Holy Spirit gives me peace is when I get excited and driven to take on the next challenge. Too often I just really don’t “see” it and can’t get motivated.

This leads me to a bit more of a mundane subject. “in a landmark 1967 study. Australian psychologist Alan Richardson chose three random groups of students. One group practiced basketball free throws daily for twenty days. Two other groups shot only on the first and last days. But one of the no shooting groups spent twenty minutes per day carefully visualizing foul shots. At the end, the non-practicers hadn’t improved at all. No surprise. The hands-on practicers improved 24%. And the visualizers? They improved 23 percent… ”

“…mental training will boost performance. Psychologist Steve Ungerleider recommends regularly sitting in a quiet, comfortable space and spending 20 minutes mentally walking through ever step of your upcoming bike, run, or ski before race day.” – Outside Magazine. P 66 January 2015.

There are times when I am kind of wondering about what the Holy Spirit is leading me to do. Too often what’s anyone’s response? Fight or flight? You either just plunge right in or you pull a Jonah and head west. Seems to me most of the time we need to spend time being guided by the Holy Spirit in how we should do what we are being guided to do. Certainly it will take away a lot of your anxiety, it’s just not going to be as bad as you think. “If I go and talk about Jesus to that person what will happen, how is God helping me to visualize that?” Sure they could just brush me off, but now that I’m visualizing it, it’s really not that bad. But if I keep thinking about hitting those free throws, seeing some genuine trust, hope and promise in the person I’m talking to, wow! Won’t that be so incredible? Win the game, see the Holy Spirit bringing someone to salvation. “jje

Spend some time on what the Holy Spirit wants you to do and how that would look. No, it’s not always going to be what we think we want. The results may not always be enough, at least to our standards. But knowing that it is the Holy Spirit moving, seeing that, mentally and then being there seeing Him work, these are things that we are way to quick to throw cold water on. Spend some time to see it the way the Holy Spirit wants it and follow through.

Priorities, when are you going to make Jesus one?

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I so had to pass this along. The following is from Pastor Ken Klaus who, along with  Pastor Greg Seltz, does daily commentary from Lutheran Hour Ministries which is a tremendous ministry. Please read Pastor Klaus’ commentary for today, June 4, 2015 and I heartily recommend that you subscribe to LHM’s daily email devotional:

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June 4, 2015

 

And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25

The world can be a busy place — so busy we sometimes need to set timepriorities.

Certainly, that was the situation for the officials who were running the NCAA Softball Regionals. The third scheduled game of the day was between Louisiana Lafayette and Baylor. Looking for ways to keep things on time, it was decided they would forego the playing of the National Anthem.

The officials felt perfectly comfortable with their judgment. After all, hadn’t the Anthem been sung at the beginning of the day’s activities? Just as importantly, no official could find anything in any rulebook that demanded the singing of the nation’s song before every one of the afternoon’s softball battles.

The announcement was made to the crowd over the PA: “Because of time issues there will be no National Anthem before the game.” The news was not met with pleasure by the fans. Indeed, it didn’t take too long for representatives from the stands to voice an official protest.

They were told, “No, our decision stands. No Anthem will be sung.”

As I said, the world is a busy place, and sometimes we have to make decisions as to how we are going to use our time. That’s the way it was that day for the fans who had come to watch the game at Lansom Park. They made their decision. Without any music, without the use of the public address system, without a great deal of organization, the people sang the nation’s Anthem. The players stopped and took off their caps; the umpires stopped and stood respectfully, while the people sang.

Many who were there that day were moved to tears, and no objections have been made about a misuse of time. Indeed, most agree it had been the right thing to do.

Now the only reason I bring this little story to your attention is because you and I make similar decisions about our use of time. For example, this is Thursday, and in a few days it will be Sunday. You will wake up and be confronted with numerous ways you could spend those hours.

Maybe the golf course beckons … or you need to do some lawn work … or the fish have been biting … or a birthday needs celebrating … or maybe you have to visit a sick relative. I don’t know what is on your list of things to do, but I certainly hope attending worship is on that list.

Yes, I realize those other things need to be done, but worshipping the Lord whose Son died so we might be forgiven and granted a place in heaven is not a matter inconsequential. Now you can skip church, just like those fans could have skipped the singing of the Anthem. You can skip such things, and it won’t be the end of the world.

But some things should be done — even if they cost time — because it is the right thing to do.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, each of us has 24 hours in a day. Grant us the wisdom to use those hours wisely, so You may be glorified, and we may do that which is right. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

In Christ I remain His servant and yours,

Pastor Ken Klaus
Speaker emeritus of The Lutheran Hour®
Lutheran Hour Ministries