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Showing posts with label Christian faith. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christian faith. Show all posts
Saturday, July 3, 2010
A wonderful take on the LC-MS convention in Houston!
Here is a post by the head of our mercy arm here in the Missouri Synod (LC-MS). He wonderfully expresses the Christ-centered approach we should all have toward this life. Something Rev. Harrison also shows forth in his book, 'A Little Book on Joy'.
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
A Little Something about Snow
This post, from the blog I linked yesterday, gives a delightful description of snow. For those who are in the midst of the "annual great white rearrangement", here is another way to look at such things. We more often than not think of snow and only remember the slush on city streets or the scraping of windows every morning or the shoveling of sidewalks that must be done. We forget about the joy we first felt each winter at the first snow when we were children. We forgot that we too used to put out our tongue to taste the snow. Some of us declaring that it was not done yet or just right!
Also, notice in the second half the argument, not simply for the existance of "a god", but of the God of Genesis. The God who knits (Psalm 139) each of us in our mother's womb. This is the same God who with intricate care creates billions of snowflakes for each snowfall. Even if they will melt in a month or later that same day. After you read this, go play in the snow!
Also, notice in the second half the argument, not simply for the existance of "a god", but of the God of Genesis. The God who knits (Psalm 139) each of us in our mother's womb. This is the same God who with intricate care creates billions of snowflakes for each snowfall. Even if they will melt in a month or later that same day. After you read this, go play in the snow!
Monday, December 14, 2009
Latin Hymns--Updated
I found this post (scroll down to the one titled "Latin Hymns") at a delightful blog that Elephant's Child made me aware of, thank you for that. I thought this was a wonderful post from last week about how to listen to Latin hymns. We more often than not hear these hymns in their English translations, but every once in a great while, such as at this blog, we get to hear them in the original language that they were first sung in.
By the way, the first hymn mentioned is LSB 332 "Savior of the Nations Come". The other two are perhaps, LSB 442 "All Glory Laud and Honor" and the third is possibly the Latin words for Psalm 26:6. This Psalm is titled: Cantabos Domine. Thank you to Ewe and to my father-in-law for helping. I should have been able to guess "All Glory Laud and Honor". Oh, well.
HT: Laudator Temporis Acti
By the way, the first hymn mentioned is LSB 332 "Savior of the Nations Come". The other two are perhaps, LSB 442 "All Glory Laud and Honor" and the third is possibly the Latin words for Psalm 26:6. This Psalm is titled: Cantabos Domine. Thank you to Ewe and to my father-in-law for helping. I should have been able to guess "All Glory Laud and Honor". Oh, well.
HT: Laudator Temporis Acti
Thursday, December 10, 2009
The Manhattan Declaration
This is a vitally important document. I cannot urge all of you strongly enough to read this declaration, sign it and then share it. We as Christians cannot remain silent. We need to join with our brothers and sisters in our faith who lived in previous centuries and battled against other, earlier evils.
Speaking out against such as this is part of our vocation as Christians.
This document deals with the critical issues of our age; life, marriage, freedom of conscience. The three issues dealt with here are the ones that will define us, I believe, as Christians.
Follow the link below the Pelican. Go, read, sign.
Speaking out against such as this is part of our vocation as Christians.
This document deals with the critical issues of our age; life, marriage, freedom of conscience. The three issues dealt with here are the ones that will define us, I believe, as Christians.
Follow the link below the Pelican. Go, read, sign.
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Theology and Science
To view this slideshow (scroll down and click on the link for "the Month in Space") is to realize what complexity is found in the few small words of the first article of the Apostles' Creed: "I believe in God the Father almighty, maker of heaven and earth" (Luther's Small Catechism (II: 1st). And the words of the Holy Spirit by the prophet Moses in Genesis: 'And God said, "Let there be lights in the expanse of the heavens to give light upon the earth." And it was so. And God made the two great lights--the greater light to rule the day and the lesser light to rule the night--and the stars. And God set them in the expanse of the heavens to give light on the earth, to rule over the day and over the night, and to separate the light from the darkness. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening and there was morning, the fourth day.' (Genesis 1:14-19) Not only does these images from space remind us how complex our world and universe really are, they also remind us what God really did by speaking a few small words! Finally, did anyone catch on that when God made the sun, the moon and the stars, these were three separate groups? 1. The greater light to rule the day--the sun. 2. The lesser light to rule the night--the moon. And 3. The stars. The sun is a separate creation from the stars.
Friday, December 4, 2009
De Incarnatione Verbi Dei--St. Athanasius
Lately, I have been reading from St. Athanasius' work on the Incarnation of the Word. I try to do this every Advent. It is good preparation for Christmas and it tends to bear fruit in my sermon writing as we anticipate the coming of our Savior in the flesh. So, Athanasius writes for us about our Savior as He was in His body.
"Thus, even while present in a human body and Himself [Jesus] quickening it, He was, without inconsistancy, quickening the universe as well, and was in every process of nature, and was outside the whole, and while known from the body by His works, He was none the less manifest from the working of the universe as well."
In other words, Jesus was not limited while He was in the flesh. I always knew this, but the way the Saint puts it here, it shed new light on an old aspect of the incarnation. I am thankful that I regularly read this so that I can get all the meat and marrow from the bones of this
text.
"Thus, even while present in a human body and Himself [Jesus] quickening it, He was, without inconsistancy, quickening the universe as well, and was in every process of nature, and was outside the whole, and while known from the body by His works, He was none the less manifest from the working of the universe as well."
In other words, Jesus was not limited while He was in the flesh. I always knew this, but the way the Saint puts it here, it shed new light on an old aspect of the incarnation. I am thankful that I regularly read this so that I can get all the meat and marrow from the bones of this
text.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Prayers for Depression
I have noticed that there seem to be way too few prayers available for depression. Perhaps I have simply missed them, but the one resource I have is a prayer book from the early part of this century. This a tragedy considering the high rates of depression currently. I think that the church has fallen down on this mark so far. Hopefully, there is such a thing as a prayer book for the different kinds of depression in the works somewhere.
This is why as I prayed the Prayer of the Church at each of my congregations I was filled with joy that this prayer was included.
O Lord, God almighty, grant peace to those whose hearts and minds are filled with anxiety and turmoil. Give hope to those who battle with depression, and sustain those with mental illness. Help us all to know the full consolation of Your love, especially when we are overcome with anxiety and despair. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Perhaps it is only my perspective, but this seems to come along to infrequently.
This is why as I prayed the Prayer of the Church at each of my congregations I was filled with joy that this prayer was included.
O Lord, God almighty, grant peace to those whose hearts and minds are filled with anxiety and turmoil. Give hope to those who battle with depression, and sustain those with mental illness. Help us all to know the full consolation of Your love, especially when we are overcome with anxiety and despair. Lord, in Your mercy, hear our prayer.
Perhaps it is only my perspective, but this seems to come along to infrequently.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Ember Days
The Ember Days comprise the Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the week following the first Sunday of Lent (the Sunday following Ash Wednesday, in the Spring); the week between Pentecost (fifty days after Easter) and Trinity Sunday; the week following the Feast of the Holy Cross (September 14); and the week following the Commemoration of St. Lucia (December 13).
Traditionally, these were four in number and roughly coincided with the four seasons. In the Lutheran church, these days were marked with preaching on the Catechism and the praying of the Litany.
In my own life, I have tended to simply add the Litany in to my daily devotion. It does not take long to pray and it is wonderful and timeless in its language.
HT: Pr. Weedon and the Treasury of Daily Prayer, p. 21 for making me aware of these special days
Traditionally, these were four in number and roughly coincided with the four seasons. In the Lutheran church, these days were marked with preaching on the Catechism and the praying of the Litany.
In my own life, I have tended to simply add the Litany in to my daily devotion. It does not take long to pray and it is wonderful and timeless in its language.
HT: Pr. Weedon and the Treasury of Daily Prayer, p. 21 for making me aware of these special days
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Psalms and Depression
I finished the other night a book titled: "Finding God: Praying the Psalms in Times of Depression" by Thomas Lewis. This gentleman is a Presbyterian Pastor and one who also suffers from depression. He wrote this book out of his own experience with major depression.
I found it to be a very facinating read. This book speaks about certain of the Psalms, 13, 130, 22, 42-43, 77, 40, 30, 131 being used in a devotional manner to help with depression. The author is very clear throughout that major depression is to be combated with medication, therapy, and spiritual counceling. His main point is to explain how certain of the Psalm can be used to help in the treatment of depression but that this is only part of what is necessary.
Most of the Psalms listed are ones that he identifies as speaking to depression but a couple of them are for later. When the depressed individual is far enough along to be at the point of being able to rejoice again. What I liked about this book is that it spells out in the final chapter how to use these Psalms as spiritual excercises.
He lays them out as a devotion. The study of each Psalm begins with prayer, then the reading of the Psalm, he is always encouraging the person to pause when something strikes the reader saying, "read it again, stop meditate on that, then go on". Then there is his commentary and a section teaching the reader how to journal about that Psalm. Finally, he ends again with a prayer. It is sometimes one that the author has given, one the reader has written or a hymn/spiritual song.
Throughout, the reader is encouraged to be engaged with a group. The reader is encouraged to do the spiritual exercises with others if at all possible. At the same time though, the author acknowledges that this may not be possible.
All in all, I found this book to be very eye opening. I think it will help me as I minister to those in the churches I serve who are suffering with depression. The thoughts contained in this book have helped me to be more empathetic than I was before I read it.
I found it to be a very facinating read. This book speaks about certain of the Psalms, 13, 130, 22, 42-43, 77, 40, 30, 131 being used in a devotional manner to help with depression. The author is very clear throughout that major depression is to be combated with medication, therapy, and spiritual counceling. His main point is to explain how certain of the Psalm can be used to help in the treatment of depression but that this is only part of what is necessary.
Most of the Psalms listed are ones that he identifies as speaking to depression but a couple of them are for later. When the depressed individual is far enough along to be at the point of being able to rejoice again. What I liked about this book is that it spells out in the final chapter how to use these Psalms as spiritual excercises.
He lays them out as a devotion. The study of each Psalm begins with prayer, then the reading of the Psalm, he is always encouraging the person to pause when something strikes the reader saying, "read it again, stop meditate on that, then go on". Then there is his commentary and a section teaching the reader how to journal about that Psalm. Finally, he ends again with a prayer. It is sometimes one that the author has given, one the reader has written or a hymn/spiritual song.
Throughout, the reader is encouraged to be engaged with a group. The reader is encouraged to do the spiritual exercises with others if at all possible. At the same time though, the author acknowledges that this may not be possible.
All in all, I found this book to be very eye opening. I think it will help me as I minister to those in the churches I serve who are suffering with depression. The thoughts contained in this book have helped me to be more empathetic than I was before I read it.
Friday, September 11, 2009
September 11
Today, whether it has been made official by anyone or not, should for at least the near term be one of those days designated a day of repentance and prayer. In other words, it should be a day to pray the penitential Psalms(6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130, 143), a day to pray the historic Litany, and a day to listen to and sing this. That hymn, like many other hymns, when sung by a boy's choir, it always makes me cry.
Following is the Litany from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's new hymnal The Lutheran Service Book.
L: O Lord,*
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: have mercy.
L: O Lord,
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: hear us.
L: God the Father in heaven,
C: have mercy.
L: God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: God the Holy Spirit,
C: have mercy.
L: Be gracious to us.
C: Spare us, good Lord.
L: Be gracious to us.
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: From all sin, from all error, from all evil; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from sudden and evil death; from pestilence and famine; from war and bloodshed; from sedition and from rebellion; from lightning and tempest; from all calamity by fire and water; and from everlasting death:
C: Good Lord, deliver us.
L: By the mystery of Your holy incarnation; by Your holy nativity; by Your baptism, fasting, and temptation; by Your agony and bloody sweat; by Your cross and passion; by Your precious death and burial; by Your glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter:
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment:
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: We poor sinners implore You
C: to hear us, O Lord.
L: To rule and govern Your holy Christian Church; to preserve all pastors and ministers of Your church in the true knowledge and understanding of Your wholesome Word and to sustain them in holy living; to put an end to all schisms and causes of offense; to bring into the way of truth all who have erred and are deceived; to beat down Satan under our feet; to send faithful laborers into Your harvest; and to accompany Your Word with Your grace and Spirit:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To raise those who fall and to strengthen those who stand; and to comfort and help the weakhearted and the distressed:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To give to all peoples concord and peace; to preserve our land from discord and strife; to give our country Your protection in every time of need; to direct and defend our "president/queen/king" and all in authority; to bless and protect our magistrates and all our people; to watch over and help all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation; to protect and guide all who travel; to grant all women with child, and all mothers with infant children, increasing happiness in all their blessings; to defend all orphans and widows and provide for them; to strengthen and keep all sick persons and young children; to free those in bondage; and to have mercy on us all:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers and to turn their hearts; to give and preserve for our use the kindly fruits of the earth; and graciously to hear our prayers:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
C: we implore You to hear us.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: grant us Your peace.
L: O Christ,
C: hear us.
L: O Lord,
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: have mercy.
L: O Lord,
C: have mercy. Amen.
The Litany may conclude with the Lord's Prayer and a collect.
HT: Elephant's Child
Following is the Litany from the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's new hymnal The Lutheran Service Book.
L: O Lord,*
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: have mercy.
L: O Lord,
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: hear us.
L: God the Father in heaven,
C: have mercy.
L: God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: God the Holy Spirit,
C: have mercy.
L: Be gracious to us.
C: Spare us, good Lord.
L: Be gracious to us.
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: From all sin, from all error, from all evil; from the crafts and assaults of the devil; from sudden and evil death; from pestilence and famine; from war and bloodshed; from sedition and from rebellion; from lightning and tempest; from all calamity by fire and water; and from everlasting death:
C: Good Lord, deliver us.
L: By the mystery of Your holy incarnation; by Your holy nativity; by Your baptism, fasting, and temptation; by Your agony and bloody sweat; by Your cross and passion; by Your precious death and burial; by Your glorious resurrection and ascension; and by the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter:
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: In all time of our tribulation; in all time of our prosperity; in the hour of death; and in the day of judgment:
C: Help us, good Lord.
L: We poor sinners implore You
C: to hear us, O Lord.
L: To rule and govern Your holy Christian Church; to preserve all pastors and ministers of Your church in the true knowledge and understanding of Your wholesome Word and to sustain them in holy living; to put an end to all schisms and causes of offense; to bring into the way of truth all who have erred and are deceived; to beat down Satan under our feet; to send faithful laborers into Your harvest; and to accompany Your Word with Your grace and Spirit:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To raise those who fall and to strengthen those who stand; and to comfort and help the weakhearted and the distressed:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To give to all peoples concord and peace; to preserve our land from discord and strife; to give our country Your protection in every time of need; to direct and defend our "president/queen/king" and all in authority; to bless and protect our magistrates and all our people; to watch over and help all who are in danger, necessity, and tribulation; to protect and guide all who travel; to grant all women with child, and all mothers with infant children, increasing happiness in all their blessings; to defend all orphans and widows and provide for them; to strengthen and keep all sick persons and young children; to free those in bondage; and to have mercy on us all:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: To forgive our enemies, persecutors, and slanderers and to turn their hearts; to give and preserve for our use the kindly fruits of the earth; and graciously to hear our prayers:
C: We implore You to hear us, good Lord.
L: Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,
C: we implore You to hear us.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: have mercy.
L: Christ, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world,
C: grant us Your peace.
L: O Christ,
C: hear us.
L: O Lord,
C: have mercy.
L: O Christ,
C: have mercy.
L: O Lord,
C: have mercy. Amen.
The Litany may conclude with the Lord's Prayer and a collect.
* (the letters L and C used here are for Leader and Congregation)
HT: Elephant's Child
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Pursecution of Iraqi Christians continues
Today there is still pursecution of Christians in Iraq and around the world. In spite of the Iraqi governments claims to the contrary. We must continue to petition our loving God to protect and provide what Christians in such situations need for their faith. We should also thank God that we live in a country were we are allowed to worship as we wish.
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