Article 18 of the Augsburg Confession asserts the Lutheran belief concerning the will of man saying,
"Concerning free will it is taught that a human being has some measure of free will, so as to live an externally honorable life and to choose among the things reason comprehends. However, without the grace, help, and operation of the Holy Spirit a human being cannot become pleasing to God, fear or believe in God with the whole heart, or expel innate evil lusts from the heart" (Augsburg ... |
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Fire can be both friend and foe. An uncontrolled blaze can consume whole houses, forests, and cities. But keep it under control, and fire is a toasty warm companion on a cold winter’s night. Fire can terrify, or it can soothe. It can make us flee in fear, or lead us to frolic in its warmth.
In our first reading, the prophet Malachi preached about 430 years before Christ. Malachi tells us something that’s both terrifying and comforting: ... |
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Virgil Solis (1514-1562), "Malachi"
Malachi speaks to the people about the return of Elijah. In the background, John the Baptist points to Jesus.
[audio mp3="http://steadfastlutherans.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Burned-Alive.mp3"][/audio]
A burn is a bodily injury resulting from exposure to heat, caustics, electricity or certain radiations. Burns result in varying degrees of skin ... |
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A Hymn on the Scriptures
by Rev. Mark Preus
Come, Jesus Christ, our precious Lord,
And give Your holy Spirit,
Who comforts sinners with Your Word
To clothe them with Your merit;
For this the Scriptures were inspired,
That we who in our sins were mired
Might know You as our Savior,
And praise Your name forever.
For patience, comfort, and for hope
The ... |
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“Advent Trees” (Matthew 3:1-12; Isaiah 11:1-10)
You’ve heard of Christmas trees. But have you heard of “Advent trees”? No? Well, I hadn’t either. In fact, I just made that term up as I ... |
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Associate Editor's Note: The following sermon was preached for Thanksgiving.
Today our nation remembers the early settlers in our land. They left everything in the Old World to come to the New ... |
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Readers of BJS should be very familiar of the situation with University Lutheran Chapel, Minneapolis. They have currently purchased property and called "Luther House" which serves many of the ... |
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Here is a guitar transcription for O Thou That Tellest Good Tidings To Zion from Handel's Messiah.
Midi File
Letter size PDF ... |
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Well, the bull is out of the chute and the first week of Concord Matters is "in the can". The first episode was not short of technical issues as the non-studio located guests had some connection ... |
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In my last post, I briefly recounted why KNGN developed the show: LampLight Conversations. I, however, did not introduce you to the regular conversationalists. There’s Adam Spanier, the station ... |
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Associate Editor's Note: Like Pastor Sikora's sermons? If so, Pastor Sikora is a guest on the KFUO program "Concord Matters" this week. Concord Matters is a new program KFUO underwritten by ... |
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Hilariously Heretical
In this episode of Boars in the Vineyard Pastors Polzin and Price play "Meology vs. Theology." Pr. Price "preaches" one of the funniest parody's of a mega-church sermon I've ... |
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Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 19:14)
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them ... |
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Advent has begun again. It's easy and tempting to treat Advent as a pre-Christmas but it's so much more.
Advent is waiting for the coming of Christ. It's a time of remembrance and expectation. ... |
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“Light in the Darkness” (Romans 13:8-14)
Advent is a season of light. In fact, you could say that Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany--the whole three-month sequence centered around ... |
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I'm still transcribing a few more parts of the Messiah for use with guitar. Here is a version of And the Glory of the Lord.
Letter Size PDF
Midi ... |
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It seems like pastors are always looking for some ways in which to catechize their members of all ages (new or veteran ones) in the truths of the Scriptures and the Catechism. This is what most ... |
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Wait … Nooooo! Did I read that correctly? Is the author saying we are to judge and that, even worse, judging is a loving thing? Gasp! Doesn’t the author realize what Jesus said in his Gospel? ... |
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As you saw today on BJS there were two excellent articles written concerning the Divine Call process and the Office of the Holy Ministry. These two articles were enhanced by a Google Hangout hosted ... |
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Several months ago I applied and obtained a job at Walmart.
“But, Pastor Richard, I thought you were and are a pastor?”
As many of you already know, I was in the colloquy process for quite some ... |
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Lutheran Calendar from BJS
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