Monday, October 10, 2011
Holy Spirit gives us Enough (Large Cat.)
Therefore every Christian has enough in Baptism to learn and to practise all his life; for he has always enough to do to believe firmly what it promises and brings: victory over death and the devil, forgiveness of sin, the grace of God, the entire Christ, and the Holy Ghost with His gifts. 42] In short, it is so transcendent that if timid nature could realize it, it might well doubt whether it could be true. 43] For consider, if there were somewhere a physician who understood the art of saving men from dying, or, even though they died, of restoring them speedily to life, so that they would thereafter live forever, how the world would pour in money like snow and rain, so that because of the throng of the rich no one could find access! But here in Baptism there is brought free to every one's door such a treasure and medicine as utterly destroys death and preserves all men alive.
44] Thus we must regard Baptism and make it profitable to ourselves, that when our sins and conscience oppress us, we strengthen ourselves and take comfort and say: Nevertheless I am baptized; but if I am baptized, it is promised me that I shall be saved and have eternal life, both in soul and body. 45] For that is the reason why these two things are done in Baptism, namely, that the body, which can apprehend nothing but the water, is sprinkled, and, in addition, the word is spoken for the soul to apprehend. 46] Now, since both, the water and the Word, are one Baptism, therefore body and soul must be saved and live forever: the soul through the Word which it believes, but the body because it is united with the soul and also apprehends Baptism as it is able to apprehend it. We have, therefore, no greater jewel in body and soul, for by it we are made holy and are saved, which no other kind of life, no work upon earth, can attain.
Let this suffice respecting the nature, blessing, and use of Baptism, for it answers the present purpose.
Monday, October 3, 2011
What to look for in the Church. (Bryan Wolfmueller)
It happens that sometimes in this life we find ourselves looking for a church. What, exactly, are we looking for? What do we base our search upon?
To begin, let’s make a distinction between what is nice and what is necessary. There are a lot of nice things to find at a church: an active youth group, friendly and welcoming people, a spacious and updated facility, a pastor who keeps everyone awake through the sermon, fantastic musicians, and people who don’t sin. All of these things are nice, but they are not necessary.
The things that are necessary are very few, but very important. The necessary things are the Gospel rightly preached and the Sacraments rightly administered. These two very humbly and easily overlooked things are the most important things in the church. In fact, these two things are the most important things in the entire world.
We need a committee to investigate the usefulness of a revolving door.
In the Gospel rightly preach and the sacraments rightly administered the Holy Spirit is present forgiving sins (Mark 16:16; John 20:23; Matthew 26:28), creating faith (Romans 1:16; 10:17), giving out victory over sin, death and the devil (1 John 5:4), and bringing people to the joys of everlasting life (John 3:16).
Our Augsburg Confession says this with marvelous simplicity:
Also they teach that one holy Church is to continue forever. The Church is the congregation of saints, in which the Gospel is rightly taught and the Sacraments are rightly administered. (AC VII.1)
There are things that are nice to have, but only the Gospel and the Sacraments are necessary, necessary for the Lord’s church, necessary for our families, necessary for our salvation.
May the Lord Jesus continue to see that His Gospel is rightly preached, that His sacraments are administered according to His institution, and that we, His people, are found in congregations and churches that are marked with the same. Amen.
Bryan Wolfmueller blog-site is very good.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
A Book Report by my Son Ansir. Good Job.
This book, The Screwtape Letters, is quite different. It is written by genius and mastermind C.S. Lewis,who has written many different books on the Christian religion. He has written to a wide audience, having books of many genres,such as fantasy, theology, and literal criticism. The Screwtape Letters is a small number of letters written by from the perspective of a experienced demon, Screwtape, to his nephew Wormwood, an inexperience demon who is trying to tempt a newborn Christian out of his faith. Interestingly this book provides reverse thoughts about life, Christian acts, and God Himself (Hence Screwtape is a demon.)
The Screwtape Letters takes place before and during the Second World War. It is a number of letter written between Screwtape and his nephew Wormwood, this could be classified as a connection between hell and earth. The book also takes place in London, England. From the books standpoint we get a view of Screwtape's mind and can easily figureout what Wormwood is thinking.
The characters in The Screwtape Letters are very interesting. Screwtape is seen to have reversed views on Christian life. he sees hate as the ultimate emotion and shuns love and compassion. He sees God as an enemy, and often calls him that throughout the letters. One of the most interesting traits about Screwtape is that he believes tempting humans to do small sins will secure their soul in hell. This way of thinking is much different from Wormwood's who thinks that tempting humans to do greater sins will secure their soul in hell. Another interesting fact is that Screwtape becomes so irate he turns into a giant centipede. For multiple reasons did not care about the Second World War while Wormwood saw it as an opening to tempt his subject into vastly large sins.
To be honest I loved the way The Screwtape Letters was written. It was written in a very quirky and unique way, and the reverse ways of thinking sometimes made me laugh, but I felt it's what made the book enjoyable for me. However it was confusing at times, but this is mostly due to the fact that it was written in letter form and we could only see Screwtape's letters. I found this somewhat disappointing that the book did not contain some of Wormwood's letters, it left me slightly confused and it felt like I had to catch up in some chapters. I was very satisfied with the writing.
I would say Lewis did a good job of getting his story's point across. No matter how hard the devil tries to tempt you, you can always rely on God to help you fight back. This is definitely seen at the ending when the young man whom Wormwood is tempting, dies in an air raid on London. The young man then goes to heaven and this leaves Wormwood to be punished and Screwtape irate. I found this conclusion satisfying and it did not disappoint.
I enjoyed The Screwtape Letters. It had quirky writing, interesting characters, and a satisfying ending. Although it could be somewhat confusing at times, I like the letter format the book was written in. Also the reverse ways of thinking was very interesting, seeing that Christian never think that way. Overall The Screwtape Letters was a very written book, and another great novel written by genius author and theologian, C.S. Lewis.
Ansir did a very good job and I am proud to post this. Hope you enjoyed reading.
The Screwtape Letters takes place before and during the Second World War. It is a number of letter written between Screwtape and his nephew Wormwood, this could be classified as a connection between hell and earth. The book also takes place in London, England. From the books standpoint we get a view of Screwtape's mind and can easily figureout what Wormwood is thinking.
The characters in The Screwtape Letters are very interesting. Screwtape is seen to have reversed views on Christian life. he sees hate as the ultimate emotion and shuns love and compassion. He sees God as an enemy, and often calls him that throughout the letters. One of the most interesting traits about Screwtape is that he believes tempting humans to do small sins will secure their soul in hell. This way of thinking is much different from Wormwood's who thinks that tempting humans to do greater sins will secure their soul in hell. Another interesting fact is that Screwtape becomes so irate he turns into a giant centipede. For multiple reasons did not care about the Second World War while Wormwood saw it as an opening to tempt his subject into vastly large sins.
To be honest I loved the way The Screwtape Letters was written. It was written in a very quirky and unique way, and the reverse ways of thinking sometimes made me laugh, but I felt it's what made the book enjoyable for me. However it was confusing at times, but this is mostly due to the fact that it was written in letter form and we could only see Screwtape's letters. I found this somewhat disappointing that the book did not contain some of Wormwood's letters, it left me slightly confused and it felt like I had to catch up in some chapters. I was very satisfied with the writing.
I would say Lewis did a good job of getting his story's point across. No matter how hard the devil tries to tempt you, you can always rely on God to help you fight back. This is definitely seen at the ending when the young man whom Wormwood is tempting, dies in an air raid on London. The young man then goes to heaven and this leaves Wormwood to be punished and Screwtape irate. I found this conclusion satisfying and it did not disappoint.
I enjoyed The Screwtape Letters. It had quirky writing, interesting characters, and a satisfying ending. Although it could be somewhat confusing at times, I like the letter format the book was written in. Also the reverse ways of thinking was very interesting, seeing that Christian never think that way. Overall The Screwtape Letters was a very written book, and another great novel written by genius author and theologian, C.S. Lewis.
Ansir did a very good job and I am proud to post this. Hope you enjoyed reading.
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