The 23 Year Story of Change-Promoting Organizations in the LCMS
THE TWENTY-THREE YEAR STORY OF CHANGE-PROMOTING ORGANIZATIONS IN THE LCMS By Rev. Dr. Martin R. Noland In the past week or so, congregations…
Author: Pastor Martin Noland
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — The Kingdom of God Comes Near
Sermon Text: Luke 10:1-20 [7th Sunday after Pentecost] In our Gospel lesson this morning, we see Jesus appointing the “seventy-two.” These men, who…
Lay Ministry Biblical References
Here is a post from our archives written by Pr. Martin Noland that may help with our current day issues. What are good…
No room in the C.U.S. Regenthood
“There’s no room in the ‘hood for you!” That is the message that LC-MS parish pastors, commissioned ministers, stay-at-home-moms, and most laymen might…
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — The Train of Witnesses
Sermon Text: Mark 16:1-8 Easter Sunday, Series B Most any day I can hear from my office a long train whistle, coming from…
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — Cases of Hidden Identity
Sermon Text: Mark 9:2-9 The Transfiguration of Our Lord; Series B People are often not what they seem to be. Hidden behind a…
Four Overtures for the 2016 Convention
It’s time . . . to start submitting overtures regarding the issues confronting the LCMS. The following are four overtures that address, in…
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — The Kingdom of God is Near
Sermon Text: Mark 1:14-20 [3rd Sunday after Epiphany, Series B] After five years of autumn in Evansville, I have learned not to procrastinate…
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — With God Nothing is Impossible
Text: Luke 1:26-38 Fourth Sunday in Advent; Series B When I was a doctoral student at The Union Theological Seminary in New York…
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — The Beginning of the Gospel
Sermon Text — Mark 1:1-8 December 7, 2015 — 2nd Sunday in Advent, Series B There is always something exciting and auspicious about…
Problems with 2013 Dispute/Expulsion System
Editorial Comment: Pastor Noland has been working on analyzing the Dispute Resolution Policy of the LCMS and this is a document that he…
Five-Two and PLI Too
The recent BJS posts about the “Five-Two” network may all sound vaguely familiar to any of you who have been reading BJS for…
Deconstructing Lutheran Identity
A recent blog comment by Rev. John Hannah, President of the American Lutheran Publicity Bureau, stated a good bit of truth and got…
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — Dealing with Death
Sermon Text: Luke 7:11-17 October 5th, 2014; 16th Sunday after Trinity; one year series Our American culture has a problem in dealing with…
Why I’m Optimistic About the LC–MS
Some folks have recently challenged my often-stated assertion since 2010 that “These are good days for the LCMS.” I think it is fair…
Remembering Robert
Last month marked the silver anniversary of the “retirement” of Dr. Robert Preus from the presidency of Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. On July 27, 1989 the Fort Wayne Board of Regents opened its summer meeting with a devotion led by Preus. After the devot
Sermon — Pr Martin Noland — The Proper Use of Mammon
Text: Luke 16:1-9 [Ninth Sunday after Trinity] Our Gospel lesson this morning is one of the more difficult of Jesus’ parables. In order…
What is a “Confessional Lutheran”?
Simple Answer: Someone whose religion is in congruence with the canonical Scriptures and the Lutheran confessions found in the “Book of Concord.” The…
Further review of “A Lutheran Book on Purgatory”
This is originally written on a post A Lutheran book on purgatory, pastoral purgatory (written by Pastor Scheer) that was originally written as…
Do Non-Christians Believe In and Worship the True God?
Consider the argument settled. The Latin version settles it—as it often does . . . After the Yankee Stadium “Prayer for America” in…
The Challenges of Church Growth and Decline
When my wife Karla and I were first married, over twenty years ago, I invited her to join me for the banquet at…
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — Praying in the Name of Jesus
Text: John 16:23-30 (1-Year Series) May 25, 2014 — Sixth Sunday of Easter Prayer is one of the simplest things in our religion….
Why Biblical Inerrancy is Important — and Always Will Be
Forty years ago, The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (hereafter LCMS) was in an uproar. Its Saint Louis seminary president, John Tietjen, was suspended in…
A New Era in American Evangelicalism?
The lead article in the December 2013 issue of Christianity Today (hereafter CT) was about the Colorado Springs megachurch called New Life and…
Sermon — Pr. Martin Noland — Keep Watch!
Text: Luke 12:35-48 [New Year’s Eve] I don’t know about your household, but we pretty much have the tornado routine down pat. When…