Dear friends in Christ,
We continue our survey of Church History from the book of Professor E.A.W. Krauss from our St. Louis seminary of a century ago.
This month we continue our look at the life and work of Count Nicholas Ludwig Zinzendorf, an ecumenist for whom doctrine meant nothing. Although he loved Christ, claiming to be Lutheran, and had a real desire to share Christ, his was a message without doctrine and thus it had no substance, failing to fulfill Jesus’ Great Commission of making disciples of all peoples by baptizing and “teaching them to observe all things I have commanded you” [Mt 28.20].
41. ZINZENDORF AND THE UNITY OF BRETHREN [Part 2]
In 1727 Zinzendorf gave up his position in Dresden and made his home among the congregation where, for a time, he held the office of Superintendent and gave the congregation a solid order and constitution. The others, some who had been Lutheran and some who had been Reformed were not very happy with the “strict church discipline” of the Moravian Brethren. Even here Lutheran and Reformed fought over the Lord’s Supper; several of the Moravian Brethren even seemed to follow Unitarian notions. So what did Zinzendorf do? He always said that for himself, he followed the Unaltered Augsburg Confession but did he use it in doctrinal discussions in the “Renewed Unity of Brethren” to try to convince those who believed differently that the Augsburg Confession was in accord with Scripture and that the same speech was to be used in one sense and with the same meaning in order to achieve true God-pleasing unity? Absolutely not. Instead, he said, “It doesn’t matter whether a soul is Reformed, Lutheran or Catholic, as long as it falls at the feet of the Savior.” Therefore he introduced three classes into the “Unity of Brethren”, according to their religious background: Moravian, Lutheran, Reformed. If he had not shied away from the “offense” and feared further attack, he would have certainly been moved by his religious ambiguity to add to the three, a fourth group—Roman Catholic. He would certainly have even compiled a hymnbook for Catholics and gotten other devotional materials for the Catholics who were closely associated with him. He was not even averse to associating with Unitarians. “Among us,” he says, “no one needs to change his religion; he merely becomes a child of God under the care of the Moravian Brethren! What does a person gain from us? A certain ability to associate with the Savior in a childlike, easy manner, and a firm certain reliance on the Lamb that He will never forsake me.” This horrible indifference toward the pure Lutheran doctrine, this “overthrowing of church differences,” quite rightly stirred up the anger of the church authorities. “The Herrnhuter,” wrote the Consistory of Hannover in 1740, “mixes all religions together in a disorderly fashion and would like to abolish every distinction with the errant principle: one may believe whatever one wants no matter how absurd it may be, as long as only the most inner soul perfectly rests in Christ.” Although the Pietists were just as taken in to this indifferentism like he was, not even they were happy with him. He made Christianity too easy for the people. In fact, because he publicly said that he never experienced in himself what the Pietists called the “struggle of repentance”; strict Pietists absolutely denied him the right of calling himself a Christian. He laughed at them…
The Jesuits caused the emperor to look upon him with suspicion as a person who estranges his subjects and lures them over to a new religion. Thus he suffered many trials, even banishment on occasion. He did not have the ability to sit still; he could not stay anywhere very long and wanted to recruit everywhere for his cause: in Germany, in Switzerland, in Holland, in Denmark, in England, in Russia, in America. The congregation was never without discord and he was frequently disturbed by news from Herrnhut. It did not matter whether the dissension and trouble were deserved or undeserved. He called them equally “Christ’s dishonor”…
He sometimes had the feeling that his position was “schismatic” because it was not instituted by God. So he decided formally to enter the spiritual estate in order to be able to live undisturbed for his “calling.” He presented his intentions to the elders and deacons of the community; they had doubts but his wife had even more doubts. The “Savior shall give His decision by lots.” In Herrnhut lots had been already used for some time to seek the will of heaven in questionable cases (especially concerning marriages; only later was “feeling above lots” recognized although lots were still used to confirm or reject couples who had had already been suggested; and “in 1836 by synodical decision lots were limited to the marriage of missionaries.”) The lots decided in the affirmative. He was examined in Stralsund and there gave his trial sermon “with great approval”. In Stralsund he received a certificate of orthodoxy, laid aside his sword forever, went to Tuebingen, was ordained there by Chancellor Pfaff. In Stuttgart, where he preached right after this, he once more came out from among the counts, ascended the pulpit as cavalier and knight of the order and a mercenary soldier followed him with a Bible.
King Friedrich Wilhelm I had heard all kinds of strange things about him and thought to himself, “Zinzendorf has to be either a jolly or a melancholy fanatic, a person who is half ludicrous and half dangerous.” When Zinzendorf made his visit to him in Wusterhausen, praised the colony of Salzburgers the king had established in Lithuania, the king changed his opinion about him. He saw that “his only sin was that as a count and respected man in the world he completely devoted himself to the service of the Gospel; there is no danger with him either on account of heresy or disorder to the state; the devil from hell could not lie worse than Zinzendorf’s opponents had lied.” The king then also had the chief court preacher, Jablonsky, who at the time was most senior among the Moravian bishops, consecrate one of Zinzendorf’s Herrnhuters, David Nitschmann, as bishop so that he might do mission work with greater authority. In Berlin Zinzendorf gave religious lectures in a private home two to four times a week. It was noted with pleasure that the “rush from the world of the distinguished Berliners was so great that one day 42 carriages stopped before the house.”
In 1739 Zinzendorf set out on a sea journey to the West Indies in order to visit the islands of St. Thomas and St. Croix where Herrnhuter mission stations had been set up. In St. Thomas he found everything in sad shape. The “brothers,” who had preached the Gospel to the Negro slaves there, were in prison for three months because after “their enemies had cast suspicion upon them, they did not want to clear themselves with an oath.” Zinzendorf secured their release from the Danish governor. When Zinzendorf himself began to preach in Creole, the colonists “by shot and blow” dispersed his audience. He protested this with government in Copenhagen and returned to Europe.
In a letter from January 1740 to a friend he wrote: “As far as my general plan is concerned, I do not have one at all; instead, I follow the Savior from year to year…. For a year or two I occasionally have a specific plan; thus…I have as a plan to preserve for the Savior the Moravian church that arose without me so that no wolf gets it to eat it; a plan to visit as many heathen peoples as I can and to see whether they will be able to share in the blood that was shed for all; a plan to bring as many souls as I can to sin and grace. Thus I love the pulpit so much and travel 50 miles for the pleasure preaching. But the plan which I have unwaveringly followed from 1717-1739 to unite all children of God not living together, I now abandon because not only do I not see any breakthrough, but I am beginning to notice a mystery of divine providence.”
But he still did not abandon this foolish plan. Already the next year, he traveled to North America with his 16-year-old daughter, to where a Herrnhut type Brethren Colony had been founded on the Delaware River from which the settlements Bethlehem and Nazareth later arose. He tried to get these two going again, but caused nothing but discord and unrest. It is almost laughable, to see how emphatically he stresses in his biography that here in the land of freedom he “gave up before many witnesses, among whom was Benjamin Franklin, the title of Count and was simply called Brother Ludwig or Friend Ludwig.” Franklin may have quietly laughed to himself and thought: precisely when you make such a great and ceremonious event by giving up the title of Count for a short time, people see how important it is to you. At that time, in the eyes of Americans, a count, even one with sovereign claim, was still not such great lord that they would not have felt themselves to be sufficiently free before him.
Brother Ludwig even had to experience, to his horror, that the inane Puritans fined him for desecrating the Sabbath because he wrote down a hymn, a spiritual one, on a Sunday. The constable arrested him just like any other actual or alleged desecrator of the Sabbath. After three times undertaking a journey inland to proclaim the Gospel himself to the Indian tribes, he again returned to the continent via England.
[Here Professor Krauss refers to another historian, named Gareis, who says about Zinzendorf’s work in America]: “The first trip began on 28 June 1742 and went from Bethlehem to Meniolagomekah, a Delaware village. Almost everywhere he found a friendly reception. On 14 August he met a large delegation of six Indian nations among whom the Iroquois were the strongest and said to them through a white translator: he has the word of the Lord for them and their people and that both he and his brothers would bring it to them; their intention was neither to buy land from them, nor to engage in trade with them, but instead to show them the way of salvation. The Indians were amazed to hear this message and declared after lengthy deliberation: ‘Brother, you have come this long way across the ocean to us to preach to the Indians. You did not know that we were here, and we knew nothing of you. This came from a Hand high above. Come to us, you and your brothers; you are welcome. Take this Wampum cord as a sign that our words are truth.’ Thus the Iroquois concluded a friendship treaty with the count. It was continually renewed allowing the brothers an extended mission activity. The count made a second trip on 21 August to Shekomeko where he spent heart inspiring days in association with the baptized Indians, had important meetings with Missionary Rauch regarding mission work, introduced a Christian congregational order and solemnly installed the four baptized into the office of assistants. ‘These four incomparable Indians according to spirit and nature,’ it says in a letter of the Count, ‘are true men of God and form a meeting that we often attended with astonishment.’ After six more Indians who desired salvation were baptized and the small congregation by that had grown to ten, Zinzendorf left Shekomeko on 04 September. His third journey went to the Indians on the Susquehanna. On 28 September he was welcomed in Shomokin in a friendly way by the chief, Shikellimus. On the other hand, he did not succeed at all in gaining the trust of the wild Shawano, among whom he stayed 20 days. They opposed him with his life. With great troubles and dangers he returned.”
Zinzendorf then also wanted to go to Russia but was not welcomed there because “his wife had already made a bad name for herself there as a sectarian.” He was even taken into custody in Riga [Latvia]. Czarina Elisabeth, to whom he turned, gave him this short word: “he may leave the imperial lands, the sooner the better.” When he insisted on an investigation of the report promulgated about him, it was said: “Your Majesty would not find any need to investigate something on his account.” Thus he was brought under military escort to the border; then he went to inspect the Herrnhut settlements in Silesia.
From 1751-55 he had an extended stay in England where he secured from parliament recognition for his congregations. After the death of his son, Renatus, and his wife, he married Anna Nitschmann, his friend and helper for many years, in 1757.
He died on 09 May 1760 in Herrnhut, ready to go to his Lord; and it was noted that the saying in the book of the Unity of Brethren for that day was: “He will joyfully bring his harvest in with praise and thanks.” His homecoming was announced with the sound of the trumpet, as was the custom with death of every person in Herrnhut. The congregation gathered in the afternoon in the prayer hall and thanked God for the grace that He worked through him. The next day his body was clothed with a white robe, as the bishops of the Unity of Brethren used to wear, and was displayed in a violet lined casket and viewed by all. His funeral was on 16 May. 2100 people from Herrnhut and almost just as many outsiders followed the casket. 32 preachers and missionaries, several of whom were from Holland, England, North America and Greenland were present in Herrnhut, took turns carrying the casket accompanied by the congregation singing:
Oh, how blessedly you sleep, And dream sweet dreams.
The burial took place on Hutberg, the congregation’s cemetery. His first wife was to his left; in that same month his second wife followed him in death and was at his right.
Zinzendorf died penniless. “I did not seek,” he could truthfully say, “what belonged to my brothers and sisters, but them; for the children should not gather treasures for their parents, but the parents for their children. No one should be able to say: he made me rich. For many years I never had 100 Taler in my own goods and property.
So far Professor Krauss
LWML NEWS
We had a very nice meeting Sunday with new faces. We welcome you and we hope you return. We did the new scheduling for this year not a lot has changed. The new schedules will be out soon.
We are having a 5th Sunday dinner next Sunday, 31 January. It will be pot luck, hope to see you there and share in the meal. Our next meeting is April 10th please put it on your calendar. I pray you all have a great and happy month, Carol
FROM OUR ZONE LWML: It is less than six months until the LWML District Convention hosted by the Central NY South Zone will be held at the Hilton Inn in Binghamton on June 10th to 12th. The theme is "Take My Hand and Lead me." (Ps. 25:4-5). Our zone is small but our committees are working very hard to make this an event that will be a blessing to all who attend. We will appreciate your promotion of this 36th biennial convention and your encouraging your ladies to attend. (Husbands are also welcome - for a fee!). The president of your LWML society has been provided with literature and application forms which should be submitted by April 30th. We will also appreciate having pastors attend. You may see Pastor Eckstrom for more information regarding that. The registration fee is waived for clergy attending Convention sessions. No registration fee is required for those attending only the worship services, banquet and entertainment. If you have any questions, contact me or Ruth Mueller, Convention Chairman. Pray for us!
In His Hands!
Martha - CNYSZ president
CHURCH YEAR NOTES: ASH WEDNESDAY is 10 February.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent, the season when Christians meditate on the great price Jesus paid to save us from our sins. This season also reminds us to take up our cross daily to follow Jesus—even suffering, if need be, for His name.
As disciples of our Lord Jesus we are called to struggle against everything that leads us away from love of God and love of our neighbor. Repentance, fasting, prayer, and works of love—the disciplines of Lent—have helped Christians through the centuries in waging this “spiritual warfare.” The disciples of Lent prepared the catechumens of the early church for their baptism on Easter, and prepare us today for a full and transforming celebration of Christ’s glorious resurrection.
Beginning in the tenth century, ashes were imposed on this day upon penitent sinners in preparation for their restoration to full communion with the Church. Since the eleventrh century, ashes have been imposed upon all the faithful who desire them, as a reminder that the wages of sin is death, for “dust you are and to dust you will return” [Gn. 3.19]. We begin Lent marked with ashes on our foreheads, and end it with the reminder that these marks of mortality are obliterated in the washing of baptism: “We were buried with Christ through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may lead a new life” [Rm 6.4].
Our Ash Wednesday service will be at 7 PM and include the imposition of ashes.
APB—Do you have an extra 2.5 liter Corelle Ware casserole dish with lid that you didn’t know you had? If so, it may have come from the church. We have a report of one turning up missing after the 5th Sunday meal in November. If you do have it, please bring to the church kitchen so it can be returned to its proper home. Thanks!
PRAY FOR OUR CONGREGATIONAL OFFICERS. 0n 10 January, we installed into office our Congregational Officers.
MAJOR PERESTROIKA [перестро́йка] AT FAITH:
Due to the action of the voters at the January meeting, beginning in February we will move the monthly Voters’ Meeting to the first Sunday of the month and the Coffee Hour to the third Sunday of the month.
And Jesus said to them, “Follow me, and I will make you become fishers of men”
[Mk. 1.17]
Where is the fish? Where have they gone—where are they staying? That is the question which is placed in most churches. And no, I am not speaking about trout; I am talking about people. Where are the fish—where are the people? Why do we not meet them any more in church? Whom can we blame for it? Our membership numbers are tanking. Visitors and offerings, that’s what we are fishing for—or perhaps not?
Do we perhaps simply have to try out a new net? Is it the case that maybe the old net that we always turned to no longer serves its purpose? Should we perhaps change our bait? A little more fun. A few plays. Peppy music. A little froth? Just not this worn out business of sin and grace. People do not want to hear that. Satisfy the customer. In other words: let us free ourselves from the cross! Let us free ourselves from this talk about the crucified Christ and make everything sickeningly sweet! That will bring the people to us.
Now that can be the case—or maybe not. But in that case it will not be the Church that we are building. We will simply be gathering people who continue to live in their sins secure and lost. They think: everything is in order. But in reality nothing is in order.
No! If we want to be fishers of men, then we can only use the net that Jesus gave us. And what is that net? It is the Gospel. So like Jesus Himself said: The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the Gospel [Mk. 1.14]. That is our net. That is our message. Turning back and forgiveness in the name of Jesus.
Lord, make us fishers of men. Amen
[Pr. Michael Soucek, in God Is For Us, 05 Jan 2015]
S.W.A.K.—Sealed With A Kiss?
No! Even better: S.W.B. A. B.—Sealed with Body and Blood!
Do this in remembrance of me. [1 Cor.11.24c]
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me. [1 Cor.11.25c]
I rejoice that it is going well physically for you and your loved ones. God grants you this kindness so that you may all the more earnestly care for your soul’s well-being through diligent use of His word and sacrament. Just like He does with His word, God also desires diligent use of His Sacrament of the Altar.
In the Words of Institution, our Lord Himself says that we are to go often to the Lord’s Table: Do this in remembrance of me, and again, Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me, that is, we are to eat and drink of the blessed bread and cup often. The Lord does not want His Supper to be neglected and despised by us Christians, but rather “done” and, in fact, often. Therefore our Dr. Luther, a person who is experienced in Scripture, wrote the famous statement in the Preface to the Small Catechism: “When someone does not seek or desire the Sacrament at least four times a year, it is to be feared that he despises the Sacrament and is not a Christian, just as a person is not a Christian who does not believe or hear the Gospel.”
It is not a legalistic demand when our dear Savior says and has His Apostles say that we should go to the Holy Supper often; nor is it when His chosen instrument, Dr. Luther, declares that, wherever possible a believing Christian should appear at least four times a year at the Table of the Lord. In His Law, in the Ten Commandments, God indeed demands: You should! You must! The Holy Supper, however, is in no way part of the Law. It is, rather, the complete opposite of the Law: pure Gospel, pure grace, salvation, peace, blessedness, forgiveness. The Holy Supper brings and gives to us sinners, who are aware of our guilt, precisely the thing we want: God’s forgiveness.
Allow me to explain this a bit. Let’s assume that you know that tomorrow you will die. Wouldn’t you be thinking a lot today about whether you also have God’s forgiveness? Certainly! because without forgiveness no person can enter heaven. Now, it is precisely this forgiveness of all your sins that the Holy Supper gives and, in fact, even seals. It seals God’s forgiveness. What does that mean? A judge or lawyer places his stamp, his seal, at the bottom of a document as a sign that everything stated in the document is true. God’s letter to us sinners is His sweet Gospel. Everything that the Gospel says to us sinners about God’s grace and the forgiveness of our sins is the pure truth, and by the Sacrament of the Altar God affixes His seal to the truth of this to the individual communicant.
Each Christian who communes should be convinced of this: as surely as I have received Christ’s sacrificed body and sacrificed blood, just as certainly has God forgiven me, me personally, all of my sins completely and forever. In this way the Holy Supper seals the forgiveness of sins.
Is this not something that is especially worthy of praise? O how thankful we Christians should be to God for the gracious comfort of this glorious Sacrament! Whoever recognizes this even a little, will not have to be asked, “How come you only attended the Holy Supper once or twice last year?” No, as Luther says, “he would come running and racing of his own will” and compel his pastor to give him the sacrament, and by this be continually strengthened in his conviction: “I am still Your dear child, in spite of the devil, world and every sin.” May you, in the fervent longing for your salvation, often feed and strengthen your soul at the Lord’s Table of Grace!
P.E. [Magazin fuer evang.-luth. Homiletik und Pastoraltheologie, vol. 37, number 12 {December 1913}, pg. 573]
German/ Australian Lutheran theologian, Herman Sasse notes: All attempts to build Christian congregations without placing at their center the congregation-forming Sacrament of the Altar are just as much condemned to failure as are efforts to renew the Divine Service without renewing the Lord's Supper. The sad experiences of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in this area only confirm the lessons the past. The enormous effort made in the area of church planting during recent generations must be regarded as a failure. It has produced a wealth of societies and card files, but not a single congregation.
Herman Sasse, The Lonely Way 1, 1938.
FROM THE SAINTS—A LENTEN LESSON: SHOWING MERCY
St. Spyridon, the Wonderworker and Bishop of Trimythous, Greece from the Fourth Century. His simple life as a shepherd and his selfless help to people has been filled with wonders, love and humor. On one occasion, some thieves entered Spyridon’s sheepfold during the night. When they had seized as many sheep as they wanted, they tried to leave the sheepfold, but an invisible force nailed them to the ground, and they were unable to move. At dawn, the Bishop came to his sheepfold. Seeing the thieves, he reproached them mildly, and instructed them to strive in the future to live by their own labors and not by thievery. He then took a sheep and gave it to them, saying, this is for your trouble, so that your all-night vigil might not be in vain,” and he dismissed them in peace.
OUR CRACK RESEARCH DIVISION ANSWERS THE QUESTION:
WHY DO WE HAVE ALTAR RAILS?
In preReformation days altar rails were unnecessary. With the removal of the roodscreens [a platform in a church reached by a small staircase. It was thought they were built for the priest to read the Gospel and Epistle during Mass, but this theory has been discarded because a fully vested priest would have difficulty in climbing the stairs to the loft. Date principally from the 14th cent.] at the Reformation, in order to keep the dogs (which, at that period, accompanied their owners into the church) from defiling the sanctuary, rails were erected. These were put close enough together to keep the animals out.
Good examples are still to be seen at Compton Wynyates, War., and also at the Lady Chapels of Gloucester and Winchester Cathederals. (Very occasionally one meets with "dog tongs" used to eject stray dogs from the church. There is a pair at Bangor Cathederal and at Clynnog Fawr, Llanwnda, Caernarvonshire.)
[From: Burrow's Glossary of Church Architecture, Furniture & Fittings]
GET THE FULL FAITH LUTHERAN EXPERIENCE!
One of our members has set up a Facebook page for our congregation. It can be found at Facebook.com/Faith Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. If you are on Facebook be sure to check out our Facebook page and “Like” us. That way you will get timely updates from the church, Luther quotes to ponder and other worthwhile doctrinal teaching that will reinforce what you hear in church and help you form your thinking in a Biblical way.
Be sure to point others to our website and Facebook page as well.
HAPPY ST. VALENTINE’S DAY!
Who was St. Valentine? He was a martyr, one killed on account of his faith in Jesus.
A physician and priest living in Rome during the rule of the Emperor Claudius, Valentine become one of the noted martyrs of the third century. The commemoration of his death, which occurred in the year 270, became part of the calendar of remembrance in the early church of the West. Tradition suggests that on the day of his execution for his Christian faith, he left a note of encouragement for a child of his jailer written on an irregularly-shaped piece of paper. This greeting became a pattern for millions of written expressions of love and caring that now are the highlight of Valentine's Day in many nations.
NOT ONLY DO WE REMEMBER ST. VALENTINE ON 14 FEBRUARY, BUT WE ALSO REMEMBER SAINTS CYRIL AND METHODIUS. WHO ARE THEY? Missionaries to the Slavs
Cyril and Methodius, Cyril (826-69) and Methodius (c. 815-85) were brothers who came from a Greek family in Thessalonica. The younger brother took the name "Cyril" when he became a monk in 868. After ordination, Cyril became librarian at the church of Holy Wisdom (Hagia Sophia) in Constantinople. In 862 the brothers were sent by the emperor as missionaries to what is now the Czech republic, where they taught in the native Slavic tongue. Cyril invented the alphabet today know today as "Cyrillic," which provided a written language for the liturgy and Scriptures for the Slavic peoples. This use of the vernacular established an important principle for evangelical missions.
Our Synod’s Stewardship Newsletter Article
We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves us is never alone. That is because faith is a living, busy, and active thing. It inhales all of God’s riches in Christ and exhales this in love and service to the neighbor.
But who is my neighbor? God in His mercy has placed us into three distinct communities: society, family, and the church. That means we have a duty to those around us in each of these communities. We pray for the people in these three communities daily. We rejoice with them in times of joy and suffer with them in times of sadness. And we give to them from the income that God provides as we are able and as they have need.
So we pay taxes to our governments so that they may do the work that is needed for our neighbors in society. We give to our families so that they have food and clothing, house and home, even educations. And we give to our church—our local congregations—so that the gospel may be preached and the sacraments administered for us and others.
The beauty of this is that God smiles upon all that giving. When you pay your taxes, God is pleased that you have served your neighbor who needs what the government provides. When you provide for your family, God is pleased. That you have helped your neighbor with the necessities of life by sharing with them what He has given to you, God is pleased. And when you give to your local congregation to support the ongoing preaching of the gospel, God is pleased. To all this giving, He says to you, “Well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Looking at giving in this light makes it a joy to give. The joy is multiplied. There is joy in you because you have served your neighbor in his need. There is joy in your neighbor for God has answered their prayers through you. And God rejoices and is pleased with it all. It might just make the humdrum of grocery shopping and mortgage payments a bit more joyous. It might even make April 15 tolerable (St. Paul had to have this pep talk with the Romans, also, “This is why you pay taxes….” Rom. 13:6). And it surely will make the envelope placed into the offering plate a joyful thing.
Indeed God is pleased with you. You are saved by faith alone because of Jesus Christ. And that saving faith is never alone. It is busy and active. It serves the neighbor in society, family, and church with free and cheerful giving.
Faith Lutheran Voters’ Meeting-January 10, 2016
Meeting called to order @ 12:25pm after prayer given with 18 members present.
FROM THE LCMS FOUNDATION
Our Family, Our Father, Our Faith
Family love runs deep. It often defines a person’s priorities.
The Apostle Paul asked the Corinthian Christians to consider this question; ““What do you have that wasn't given to you?” 1 Corinthians 4:7.
Despite rampant dysfunction, families remain the cultural foundation for untold benefits that God gives to the world. Families can also breed personal trouble and societal curses.
Being part of a family frames a person’s sense of security, respect, hope and service, or the lack thereof. Parental influence is well documented. Its significant impact cannot be denied. Parents provide the key factors in a person’s values and attitudes.
Among the many designs our Creator gave, He also gave us His Word about His intent for families. A family home is the place where children are to be nurtured, admonished (encouraged) and instructed to help them know God and learn to be stewards (managers) of all of life. The family unit provides the best opportunity for a person to grow in loyal love and grateful service.
Jesus showed us that God is our heavenly Father. Jesus, as our brother, understood his eternal identity and left us His example as a testament to exhibit all the power and wisdom that our eternal Father wants for us and our spiritual family.
With this picture of ‘family’ in view, a question arises.
When we leave this earth, what will others remember about us? What will the example of our own lives tell others? Will our own last will and testament reflect our connection with our family of faith? Will it point to the priorities that we held as faithful Christian stewards? Will it give witness to our prayer that, “Thy Kingdom come, on earth, as it is in heaven?” Or will we leave no documentable trace of such a legacy? For more information, contact Robert Wirth, LCMS Foundation Gift Planner @ robert.wirth@lfnd.org or 716-863-4427.
EQUIPPING THE PRIESTHOOD OF ALL BELIEVERS...Issues, Etc. is a radio talk show produced by Lutheran Public Radio in Collinsville, IL and hosted by LCMS Pastor Todd Wilken. This week's topics include: Exorcism, The Diet of Worms, The Conversion of Paul, The Boy Jesus at the Temple and more. You can listen on-demand at www.issuesetc.org and on the Lutheran Public Radio mobile app.
LAW AND GOSPEL on your Lutheran Radio Station Worldwide KFUO.org. Learn about two completely different Biblical teachings on your Lutheran Radio Station Worldwide KFUO.org. Law and Gospel uses the theological distinctions between Law and Gospel not only to apply the Bible, but also to understand our relationship to God’s entire plan of salvation in Christ.Monday-Friday @ 9:30am Central Time. Archived at KFUO.org. Follow us on Facebook.com/KFUOradio.
Comments for this post have been disabled.