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Sermon and Video of Divine Service for 24th Sunday after Pentecost

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Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer 24th Sunday after Pentecost    Deuteronomy 6:1-9  Hebrews 9:11-22  Mark 12:28-37   Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Amen. Jesus says to the scribe, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” This scribe that Jesus speaks to has just agreed with him about what is the most important commandment out of the 613 commandments that God gave to Moses.  When Jesus answered the question he began with the Shema, the Jewish confession of faith that is found in our first reading.  In the confession, “The Lord is One,” God reveals that there is only one God. There are no others. Unlike the pantheon of gods in Egypt, Caanan, Greece, and Rome.  After the confession that the Lord is one, Jesus says the first commandment. The confession of the Lord God as One and the first commandment demand complete obedience to God. The Lord demands complete devotion through all the love we ca
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Review - Not God's Type: An Atheist Academic Lays Down Her Arms

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  Holly Ordway.  Not God’s Type: An Atheist Academic Lays Down Her Arms . Moody Press, Chicago, 2010. Ignatius Press, San Francisco. 2014.  Inside the book jacket, the following statement is in bold letters at the top of the book description: This is the story of a glorious defeat. Indeed. Ordway chronicles God’s glorious defeat of her fervent atheism. And, because God has a marvelous sense of humor, he uses the most unlikely of people to bring the Gospel to her in a way that disarms her and allows the Word of God, that two-edged sword (Hebrews 4:12), to pierce her heart and mind and bring her to faith in Christ. The defeat took a long time. God’s chosen instrument of communication was Josh, Ordway’s fencing coach. He spoke to her in an intellectual language that she could understand. He exhibited patience and discipline in dealing with Ordway. Not only in fencing, which she readily concedes that she needed, but also during their discussions of the Christian faith. He let her ask quest
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Review - The Liberating Arts: Why We Need Liberal Arts Education

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Jeffrey Bilbro, Jessica Hooten Wilson, and David Henreckson, editors. The Liberating Arts: Why We Need Liberal Arts Education.  Plough Publishing House, 2023.  Reports abound about the financial and enrollment challenges of liberal art colleges. Reports also abound about universities and colleges making drastic changes with their humanities departments. Programs in history, English, foreign and classical languages, philosophy, etc. and the professors that teach them are reduced or eliminated. Some argue this is a good thing.  We should focus on science, engineering, technology, and math instead. Others say, not so fast!  This engaging, thoughtful, and informative collection of brief essays about the liberal arts enters the conversation. These essays are the end result of a movement among practitioners of the liberal arts that began in the spring of 2020 with a series of video and audio conversations and interviews and the development of the website liberatingarts.org. The purpose of th
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Sermon and Video for the 23rd Sunday after Pentecost

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Image:  The Blind Men of Jericho  by Nicolas Poussin, 1650 [Louvre, Paris] Video of Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer   23rd Sunday after Pentecost   Jeremiah 31:7-9     Hebrews 7:23-28    Mark 10:46-52   Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen.    This past Monday and Tuesday I was at the All-District Pastor Conference. Before the conference began on Monday, there was a “New to the District” orientation led by President Stuckwisch. He arranged for a number of people that worked in the District Office, as well as the Vice Presidents, and others to be at the meeting so that we can attach names to faces. We also heard President Stuckwisch’s emphasis in his work at President of the District. He exhorts pastors and congregations to become uniform in doctrine and practice, especially centering worship around the use of the Lutheran Service Book and the practice of Close-Communion.    I find these kinds of orie
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An explanation of Closed Communion practice in the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

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 President Stuckwisch has a video/podcast explaining why Close Communion is the practice of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. President Stuckwisch strongly encourages congregations in the Indiana District to continue with this practice.  Here is his article in Earthen Vessels: On Pastoral Care, Church Fellowship, and the Practice of Closed Communion The practice of Closed Communion has been the consistent teaching of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod throughout its history, yet it can be awkward and difficult to understand and to carry out consistently and clearly in the week-by-week life of the Church. Misunderstandings of Closed Communion, its meaning and purpose, have resulted in a variety of different practices across our congregations. As part of my ongoing efforts to address these concerns and teach on these matters, I’ve recorded a half-hour audio-video “podcast,” with the help of Rev. Danny Mackey (Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Muncie, Indiana, and our District Secretar
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Review of Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care

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John McWhorter.  Doing Our Own Thing: The Degradation of Language and Music and Why We Should, Like, Care. Gotham Press, 2003.  304 Pages. We regularly encounter complaints that the writing and the speaking of English continues to get worse as time goes along. This kind of complaint is often expressed in connection with criticism about education. McWhorter is a professional linguist. This book is an investigation into whether or not English language usage, both written and spoken, has indeed changed. If so, why and when?  McWhorter begins with the Gettysburg Address. Abraham Lincoln provided a brief address that is a sophisticated piece of writing and oratory. Lincoln’s address stands in contrast to the speech immediately before his because of Lincoln’s brevity. Edward Everett waxed eloquently about the conflict and its meaning at Gettysburg for two hours. (The speech in its entirety is found here:  https://voicesofdemocracy.umd.edu/everett-gettysburg-address-speech-text/  .  Based on
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sermon and Video for 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

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Divine Service at St. Luke, Rensselaer   2024 22nd Sunday after Pentecost    Ecclesiastes 5:10-20      Hebrews 4:1-16      Mark 10:23-31 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer. Amen. The Bible describes God’s Word in a number of ways. For example, the longest Psalm in the Psalter is Psalm 119.  Through the course of 176 verses we are led into an extended reflection on God’s Word. One of my favorite verses there is verse 105: “ Your word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path .” God’s Word does illumine our journey through life.  I regularly return to 2 Timothy 3:16-17 “ 16  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17  that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work .” When we read the Scriptures devotionally, the Holy Spirit regularly speaks to us through these ancient words. We are encouraged, taught
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