Adult Bible Class -- New Series begins April 7

 Oh, Come, Let Us Adore Him!

          Why do Lutherans worship the way they do?  What makes us different?  Should we be different? 

Our next Bible study will be entitled, “Oh, Come, Let Us Adore Him!”  We will consider how the Bible lays the foundation for our worship so that we gain a greater appreciation for our Lutheran heritage.  After all, “We’ve always done it that way” is not a good foundation.  There has to be a reason we’ve done it a certain way.

All are welcome to consider these matters and to ask questions about “Why this?” or “Why that?”  You can even bring up criticisms you’ve heard or had, and we will assess if they are valid and how they can be resolved.  The tentative schedule is below:

April 7             WORSHIP: Why do we do it?

April 14           WORSHIP: A Service?  Who serves whom?

April 21           WORSHIP: Different Theologies: Glory or the Cross?

April 28           WORSHIP: Lex Orandi, Lex Credendi

(or, The way we worship is the way we believe)

May 5              WORSHIP: Rites and Ceremonies / Words and Actions

May 12            WORSHIP: The Church Year; Weddings; Funerals

May 19            Review of Luther’s Small Catechism / Examination of catechumen

Adult Bible Class beings promptly at 9:00 AM on Sundays.  All are welcome.

Bible Bits -- Job 11

The patriarch Job suffered intensely, apparently for no reason at all.  While God reveals the reason in chapters 1-2, those conversations were unknown to Job.  All Job knew is that he was violently robbed of his wealth, his flocks and herds, his servants, his children, his health, his prominence, and his honor.  Job endured all this misery without finding fault with God.

Well, eventually, Job's anguish began to pour out.  He demanded to know from God why he was being treated so badly.  He maintained his innocence and was confident of his faithfulness to God.  

Job had three friends who came to visit him.  They each believed they knew the reason for Job's suffering.  In each case, they believed Job was getting his just desserts.  They believed that God works by karma--you suffer for the bad you do.  Consider the words of one of Job's friends:  "For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God's eyes.’  But oh, that God would speak and open his lips to you, and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom!  For he is manifold in understanding.  Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves" (Job 11:4-6).

Can you imagine how these words pierced Job's heart?  His friends had no actual charges to bring against Job other than, "You must have done something bad.  God doesn't do this to good people."  Their charges were fabricated, and their observations were heretical.  Where does God promise that we will only experience prosperity if we follow him?  Jesus says the opposite: We will have a cross.  And while the cross will be painful, it will ultimately be good.

The theology of Job's friends is still alive and well today.  Many will teach you that, if you follow God's word, he will pour down so many blessings that you will not be able to keep them all.  But compare that with the Bible.  Ask Moses how much prosperity he saw.  Or Elijah.  Or Jeremiah.  Or the apostles.  Or Jesus.  We know that our glory comes after the resurrection.  We know our treasures are in heaven.  

If God chooses to bless us richly on earth, we will receive it with thanks.  However, God's love is not measured by how well we are feeling or by how prosperous or popular we are.  God's love is revealed in Jesus Christ and his forgiveness.  Job trusted that word despite everything else that he experienced.  His friends trusted their experiences and drew horrible conclusions.

God's word will never fail us, even when our wealth, health, or friends fail us.  The Lord's mercy endures through all of it.

Something from ... Luther on bearing sufferings as a Christian

I ran across this today, and it seemed to resonate with all of the frustrations we are enduring through the COVID-19 pandemic.  Still, in the history of Christendom, the cross we are asked to bear due to the COVID-19 pandemic is minimal compared to what others have had to suffer.  The point of comparison is not how bad we have it, but the goodness of God's promises which sustain us and provide us comfort through it. 

Here is something from Martin Luther.

"So in our suffering we should so act that we give our greatest attention to the promise, in order that our cross and affliction may be turned to good, to something which we could never have asked or thought.  And this is precisely the thing which makes a difference between the Christian's suffering and afflictions and those of all other men.  For other people also have their afflictions, cross, and misfortune, just as they also have their times when they can sit in the rose garden and employ their good fortune and their goods as they please.  But when they run into affliction and suffering, they have nothing to comfort them, for they do not have the mighty promises and the confidence in God which Christians have.  Therefore they cannot comfort themselves with the assurance that God will help them to bear the affliction, much less can they count on it that he will turn their affliction and suffering to good." (Martin Luther, "Sermon at Coburg on Cross and Suffering, 1530; p 201, Luther's Works: American Edition.  Volume 51 (Sermons I); Fortress Press: Philadelphia, PA.  1959.)

No one was ever saved because God is awesome

       Please understand that the above statement does not deny that God is awesome.  He most certainly is!  The Scriptures proclaim that in many ways.

       But what does it mean that God is awesome?  I suspect that most people would refer to the fact that God is almighty.  There is no denying the jaw-dropping displays that testify to the omnipotence of our Lord. 

       God created the universe in six 24-hour days.  All things, seen and unseen, came into being simply because God commanded it to be so.  God said, “Let there be,” and there was – in all its variety, brilliance, and abundance.  It is on display in the vast oceans, the towering mountains, the wind-swept canyons, the lush forests, and the arid deserts.  That is awesome.

       God’s omnipotence continues to be on display as he annually provides enough food for every creature on earth; as, season after season, he keeps the planets in their orbits; as he controls the thunderstorms, earthquakes, hurricanes, volcanoes, etc…  The Awesome Power behind the awesome power of nature is our Almighty God.

       God is awesome.  It is revealed throughout the beauty and violence of creation.  It causes scientists to marvel, artists to wonder, and poets to ponder.

       And yet, it has never saved anyone.

       No one was ever saved because God is awesome.  God’s omnipotence, revealed in creation, shows us that God is imaginative, wise, precise, orderly, generous, and strong, but it tells us nothing about mercy.

       When the Lord revealed himself to the Egyptians in Moses’ day, he afflicted them with plagues and death.  No doubt, it was an awesome display of God’s strength.  How many Egyptians do you suppose were saved by it?  Or think about the Judgment Day to come.  God’s wrath will be poured out in all its fury on the guilty.  Awesome?  Sure.  Those who are banished to hell will be impressed, but not saved.

       No one was ever saved because God is awesome.  It sounds strange, but it is true.  For this reason, we ought to take care that our hymns have something more to say than God is awesome – for the sake of our visitor who needs to know more about God than he is awesome, and for our own sake because we need more encouragement than that.

       St. John wrote, “No one has ever seen God, but God the Only Begotten, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known.” (John 1:18)  Jesus did not spend his time talking about how awesome God is.  Jesus revealed God’s mercy and forgiveness.

       God’s forgiveness is revealed in a weak, suffering Savior.  God’s justice is displayed in a Messiah who was falsely accused, brutally beaten, and maliciously executed.  God’s compassion is seen through a Savior who had nails driven through his wrists and feet and a spear thrust into his heart.  God’s forgiveness comes through his Son who was condemned.  Eternal life comes from the lifeless One who hung from a cross.

       Simply from a historic perspective, Jesus’ sufferings and death appear to be grotesque.  They are an image of a weak, helpless, and beaten man.

       Faith knows better and says that this is where God is truly awesome.  This is where God demonstrates a boundless love to sinners – that he would suffer and die to save them. 

       This salvation is given not through displays of power and grandeur, but through preaching, through water, and through bread and wine.  Though these appear to be simple things, they are how God grants to us the benefits of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection. 

       Rather than confess that God is awesome (which could mean anything), we rejoice that God is merciful, that God has become man to suffer and die for us, and that God purifies us of all sin.  No one is saved because God is “awesome”, but many have been saved because God has suffered, bled, and died for them.  No one receives salvation by taking in the grandeur of creation; but we are saved by partaking in the word and sacraments.  It is there that our Lord is at work to deliver his gives.  To some, it appears lowly and even boring.  But to God's people, these are where God delivers his gifts of forgiveness, new life, and salvation.  In these, God does not dazzle us with awe; by these he delivers us in his mercy.