Author Archive -- Pastor Karl Weber
Karl has been serving St. Paul’s Richville LC and St. John’s, Ottertail, MN since Labor Day, 2004. He was raised in the Roman Church receiving his BA from Fordham University. Before going to seminary he was a computer programmer in Minneapolis. He served as a short term missionary in Guatemala and Kenya, East Africa. He spent time as a member of the ELCA and studied two years at Luther Seminary, St. Paul, MN pursing his M. Div. before transferring to the LCMS for theological reasons and continuing his studies at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne. He was ordained in 1991 and earned his D. Min. in May 2002 from the same institution. He has contributed study notes to The Lutheran Study Bible. He enjoys deer hunting, going to the gym, swimming, and reading. He is married to Mary and has five wonderful children.
Text: Jn 16:23-33 Sixth Sunday after Easter / Confirmation Sunday, May 5, 2013 Thank you. Thank you parents for allowing me the privilege to assist you in teaching your children God’s Word through Confirmation. You know as well as I, that God has given parents the responsibly of teaching the Scriptures and Catechism to their children—not the pastor, Sunday School teachers, or others; but parents the responsibly of teaching their children God’s Word. Allow me to read from Deut 6. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. More…
WITNESS, WORSHIP, & 2 COR 6:14-18 Like many in Synod I have had conversations with proponents of syncretism. They have been friendly and pleasant and for this I thank Jesus. In the course of these conversations a theme comes to light which in the eyes of its promoters legitimizes syncretistic worship. It is the desire to “witness,” or, “evangelize” in such community worship services. Having participated in short-term mission work overseas in Guatemala and Kenya I wholeheartedly resonate to this desire to witness as do all Christians. Proponents of syncretism claim evangelism is accomplished in a worship service More…
Our familiarity with Christ’s birth, death and resurrection as our substitute tend to mute the true significance for many. But instead of changing the message it is better to ask the Holy Spirit that we be changed towards an attitude of repentance lest we miss what Jesus truly does for us. Every year we come to Holy Week and Easter Sunday. At times this repetition may seem boring to those who do not know the true nature of their sins. Asking Jesus for a Spirit of repentance is the antidote. Imagine an individual on kidney dialysis. Twice or even More…
Associate Editor’s Note: Adam Menze died in a plane crash last week. He had a wife (Rhonda) and six young children. He was a very close friend to Pr. Karl Weber, one of our regular writers. If you would like to send a card to the family, please send to Rhonda Menze, 35391 Quiet Waters Rd, Ottertail, MN, 56571. If you would like to financially support her young children, there has been an educational fund “Menze Kids” has been set up at the First National Bank of Henning, Ottertail, and Battle Lake. Donations can be sent to: First National Bank More…
In search and rescue operations tracking an individual lost in the wilderness becomes difficult if not impossible when multiple foreign footprints dot the path. Additionally, tracking needs to be done in the daylight before the night falls. In similar fashion, when the true path of salvation found in Christ is interspersed with a foreign message the path to Jesus Christ becomes less discernible. It is good to confess that Jesus is the one who died for our salvation and in him is found eternal life. This is stating the thesis of what we believe. Notice however, the entire second half More…
Pastor Karl Weber wrote this for his March 2012 newsletter and gives his permission to share it wherever. Feel free to copy it or modify it for your own newsletters if it’s not too late, or sending it to friends. BJS has posted articles on previous Ash Wednesdays in 2010 and 2009. Greetings in Christ Jesus! Ash Wednesday will soon be here. As in past years the imposition of ashes will be offered to those who so desire. In our age of Botox and our culture’s pursuit of perpetual youth ashes made in the sign of the holy More…
The Gentile Christmas fast approaches on January 6th when the Church celebrates Epiphany. Here, Wise Men came from the East bearing gifts for the Christ child (Mt 2:11). Gold, frankincense, and myrrh are thought to symbolize the intercessory work of Jesus and much ink has been spilled to affirm this belief. We Three Kings Of Orient Are lends an air of credence to this belief with the following verses: 3) Born a King on Bethlehem’s plain Gold I bring to crown Him again King forever, ceasing never Over us all to reign. 5) Frankincense to offer have More…
We Christians are on the cusp of celebrating our God’s birth from the Virgin Mary. Yes, the Second Person of the Trinity took on human flesh in the womb of His mother to become one of us. Christians confess that in Jesus all things are made new and all life is sacred to be protected and nurtured whether in the womb or outside. In His incarnation Jesus was united to our human flesh, and never was Jesus less than fully human while in the womb. This understanding of the incarnation leads Christians to proclaim the intrinsic worth of life from More…
In my recent article I encouraged Minnesotans to vote “yes,” November 6, 2012, on the “Marriage Protection Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution,” for the sake of children. This Amendment would codify marriage in our State’s Constitution as being between a man and a woman. In response some Christians politely asked if I was getting too involved in politics. Marriage is not simply a political issue. It is also a moral issue and in addition to the public square there is no better place to talk about these than in church. No less than the wife of the President, Michelle More…
For the sake of the children I urge all Minnesotans on November 6th, 2012, to vote “yes,” for the “Marriage Protection Amendment to the Minnesota State Constitution,” when it appears on the State ballot. It is a widespread moral instinct found through ten thousand years of recorded human history that children are best served by a mother and a father who are male and female. This widespread moral instinct always wins at the ballot box but has at times been overturned by an elite minority of judges or legislatures who undermine the democratic process. In the ballot box I encourage More…
Rev. Dr. Robert Holst, President Emeritus of Concordia University St. Paul, expressed his belief that for too long he viewed the church as simply people and not brick and mortar. Holst expressed his thoughts at a Board of Regent Meeting on Thursday, May 12, 2011, as he reminisced over his past twenty years as president of this fine institution prior to his retirement effective June 1st. As a regent at CUSP these words took me by pleasant surprise as I continue to grieve over the sale of University Lutheran Chapel, Minneapolis. I was captivated by Holst’s insightful words as missional More…
Rev. Dr. Karl Weber wrote this very timely piece after gleaning comments and posts here at BJS. He has compiled a lot of the argumentation around the ULC situation and placed it here. On occasion parishioners ask whether it is permissible for Christians to go to court. The discussion revolves around these two verses in particular; “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded? But you yourselves wrong and defraud—even your own brothers!” (1 Cor 6:7-8). Questions surrounding these verses were heightened when the More…
In light of the Fifth Commandment; “Thou shalt not murder,” why does the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, and, our Catechism [endnote 1] teach that Capital Punishment is a legitimate form of punishment should society and the government chose to enact it? The problematic section of the Catechism is as follows: 53. Does anyone have authority to take another person’s life? Yes, lawful government, as God’s servant, may execute criminal and fight just wars. 165 Rom 13:4 He is God’s servant to do you good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword for nothing. He More…
When is the last time you saw the word “liturgical,” in the same sentence with “boot camp”? Initially they don’t seem to have anything in common but upon further investigation this belief might change. Yes, the increase of physical endurance and strength is a goal of boot camp. But there is more, much more of even far greater significance. One of the primary purposes of this famed US Military rite of passage is to break down the individual so that a new identification is constructed. These soldiers in training become fellow comrades who are your new family, life, and your More…
Greetings in Christ Jesus! Prior to 1530 the Western Church was simply known as the church catholic as there were no denominations prior to this date. Either you were a Christian and a member of the church catholic, or you were a pagan. Then on June 25th, 1530 the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V summoned the Lutherans to assemble at a Diet, a Church Council in the city of Augsburg, Germany. Charles V wanted to unite Christendom and so asked the followers of Luther to explain their beliefs. With the presentation of the Augsburg Confession the first church or denomination More…
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