Associate Editor’s Note: The following was written for the newsletter of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Long Prairie, MN (Independent) which is served by LCMS Pastor and BJS Contributor Pr. Nathan Higgins. The article is a good reminder of spending time … Continue reading
The most recent issue of Lutherans Engage the World (Nov. – Dec. 2013, Volume 2, Number 2) features a ‘Meet and Greet’ with the Rev. Ross Johnson. Rev. Johnson is the incoming director of LCMS Disaster Response. He answers “10 … Continue reading
I always find it remarkable how many Christians are drawn to celebrate a ‘Passover Seder’. Around this time of year, I usually start seeing threads popping up on e-mail lists, how this congregation or some neighboring congregation is doing it. … Continue reading
Perhaps the best way to respond to a national tragedy – or any kind of tragedy, is with mourning, repentance, and faith. One especially relevant biblical account is that of Luke 13. Here, Jesus is told of a situation, in … Continue reading
Here in Minnesota, we will be voting in November on the “Marriage Protection Amendment” to our State Constitution. If passed, this Amendment will give our state a constitutional definition of marriage as being between ‘one man and one woman’. (On … Continue reading
Having been encouraged to study the Book of Concord (see my previous post), my Wednesday evening adult Bible class turned to Luther’s Small Catechism. Beginning in the Preface, we found quite a bit to provoke discussion. I was surprised at … Continue reading
One feature of District and Synodical Conventions is the “mom and apple pie” resolution. These are the kinds of resolutions that no sensible person can really vote against. Cynics suspect that such resolutions are set forward in order to get … Continue reading
Using color to mark times and seasons of the Church Year is nothing new to most of us. The idea of using liturgical colors seems so normal to us, that you can often find people with strong opinions about such … Continue reading
When you talk to some people, you might get the impression that they view their attendance at church services simply as an obligation. They go, because God expects them to go. Yet, when they go to church for God, they … Continue reading
I would like to spend a little time with three words mentioned by Pastor Martin Noland in his response (comment #32) to my previous post. Thank you (and everyone) for your comments! In the Missouri Synod’s latest Rite of Ordination … Continue reading
When I became a pastor in the Lutheran Church, I said that I would perform the duties of my office in accordance with the Lutheran Confessions. I promised, with the help of God, to preach and teach and administer the … Continue reading