Please share this information with any fellow Christian looking to supplement their devotional life during this advent season.
Devotions | Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary
Concordia Theological Seminary faculty, staff, and students are pleased to provide devotions for your meditation this Advent season. Beginning November 30, a daily audio devotion will be available for your PC or iPod.
We provide three methods to receive the devotions:
- Concordia TheoBLOGical Seminary Devotions
This comes from As We Sail... So many of our great hymns come out of great suffering and faith made strong by the Holy Spirit, producing perseverance. May you be blessed with hope in Christ this Thanksgiving and in days to come.
Martin Rinkart became a Lutheran pastor in Eilenberg, Germany at age 31, just as the terrible Thirty Years War, involving most European countries, was beginning. Being a walled city it was a political and military refuge becoming extremely overcrowded. This caused pestilence and famine, adding even more to the deaths caused by army attacks. One year before the wars were over, Rinkart was the only minister left in Eilenberg, having to conduct 50 funerals per day (including his wife's). Germany's population was reduced by 30%, 1/2 of all males, 1/3 of all towns. The Rinkart home was a refuge for victims even though there was very little for his own children and after mortgaging his future income for several years. At times 30-40 citizens could be seen brawling in the street over one crow (no, not a cow). Rinkart's health and faith remained strong, the hymns he composed during this time conveyed trust and thanks. He died shortly after peace came. To think that this long time of devastation was this mans whole ministry. He had to have constantly drown himself in his knowledge of his Savior in order to be an encouraging shepherd to his sorrowful flock, and eventually to what was left of the the city's population. Someone who had the courage to intercede for the impoverished against conquering commanders. It would seem to us that he had little to thank God for, but look at the words to this hymn he wrote. Among the years of utter devastation he still must have also seen some wondrous things, experienced love, found joy, felt peace, received guidance, adored his Lord and anticipated heaven. Having this example before me, there is no reason that I cannot always have an attitude of gratitude.
If you want to hear the song go here.
O Lord, How Shall I Meet You LBW 23
Lo! He Comes with Clouds Descending LBW 27 (Organ setting LSB 336 is better)
Fling Wide the Door LBW 32
O Savior, Rend the Heavens Wide LBW 38
Come, O Precious Ransom LBW 24
In the comments following the news release at military.com you find a notably Marine comment:FARAH PROVINCE, Afghanistan — In the city of Shewan, approximately 250 insurgents ambushed 30 Marines and paid a heavy price for it....
“Our vehicles came under a barrage of enemy RPGs (rocket propelled grenades) and machine gun fire. One of our ‘humvees’ was disabled from RPG fire, and the Marines inside dismounted and laid down suppression fire so they could evacuate a Marine who was knocked unconscious from the blast.”
The vicious attack that left the humvee destroyed and several of the Marines pinned down in the kill zone sparked an intense eight-hour battle as the platoon desperately fought to recover their comrades. After recovering the Marines trapped in the kill zone, another platoon sergeant personally led numerous attacks on enemy fortified positions....
During the battle, the designated marksman single handedly thwarted a company-sized enemy RPG and machinegun ambush by reportedly killing 20 enemy fighters with his devastatingly accurate precision fire. He selflessly exposed himself time and again to intense enemy fire during a critical point in the eight-hour battle for Shewan in order to kill any enemy combatants who attempted to engage or maneuver on the Marines in the kill zone. What made his actions even more impressive was the fact that he didn’t miss any shots, despite the enemies’ rounds impacting within a foot of his fighting position....
“I didn’t realize how many bad guys there were until we had broken through the enemies’ lines and forced them to retreat. It was roughly 250 insurgents against 30 of us,” the corporal said. “It was a good day for the Marine Corps. We killed a lot of bad guys, and none of our guys were seriously injured.”
I don't get it. I mean where's the news here? Marines are outnumbered and attacked. Marines attack in response. Enemy die in large numbers. Enemy abandon weapons and run away bravely. Marines hand out candy. That's it? This is not news people. This is just the Marines.I'm impressed.
Just as I was beginning to examine the TNIV and other translations in preparation for a one-night-only study of Bible Translations and how to use them along comes "the Voice."
Dr. Kenneth Korby quipped, "the more English translations of the scriptures are available, the less people actually read them." In more ways then one, "the Voice" is another market introduction to lead people into Biblical illiteracy.
In the category of "innovations meant to make your product stand out from the pack" the voice has one feature that may be nice for the drama ministry, or for the private reader, but makes tV useless to be read aloud. It is formatted like a play script, with a narrator describing actions and the words of Jesus, the disciples and others set off like lines in a play.
"The Voice" makes claim to be a translation, but fails to actually translate the scriptures. It does not even paraphrase the scriptures (like the NLT). Rather "the Voice" reads like a slick emergent mega-church pastor interpreting the scriptures rather than reading them. This interpretation-is-better-than-translation approach assumes the reader is an idiot, incapable of any independent thinking. Rather than let the scriptures be heard and let readers apply what they hear to their own lives and situations, the voice saves the readers all that troublesome thinking and engagement with the text. It nicely removes the work of the Holy Spirit and also inoculates the reader from having any creative insights into the text. Compare and see how "the Voice" castrates John 20:22-23, removing any sense that Jesus is extending his ministry to and through the apostles, and eliminating the possibility of Jesus establishing a sacrament.
First (as a control translation) NASB:
22And when He had said this, He breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23"If you forgive the sins of any, their sins have been forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they have been retained."
22 Then he breathed on them and said,“Receive the Holy Spirit. 23If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
22Now He drew close enough to each of
them that they could feel His breath. He
breathed on them:
Jesus: Welcome the Holy Spirit of the living
God. 23You now have the mantle of God’s
forgiveness. As you go, you are able to
share the life-giving power to forgive
sins, or withhold forgiveness.
Also, the Voice is just plain annoying:
31The accounts are recorded so that you,"Liberating king"?! Conclusion:
too, might believe that Jesus the Liberating
King is the Son of God, because believing
grants you the life He came to share.
Chris Rosebrough is right when he says:
The name of this fresh “translation” is The Voice and it claims to be a dynamic translation of the Bible. Unfortunately, not since the release of the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ New World Translation of the Greek Scriptures in 1950 has there been a bible published that so blatantly mangles and distorts God’s Word in order to support a peculiar and aberrant theological agenda.
Via the London Telegraph:
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - The Vatican's newspaper has finally forgiven John Lennon for declaring that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, calling the remark a "boast" by a young man grappling with sudden fame.
The comment by Lennon to a London newspaper in 1966 infuriated Christians, particularly in the United States, some of whom burned Beatles' albums in huge pyres.
But time apparently heals all wounds.
"The remark by John Lennon, which triggered deep indignation mainly in the United States, after many years sounds only like a 'boast' by a young working-class Englishman faced with unexpected success, after growing up in the legend of Elvis and rock and roll," Vatican daily Osservatore Romano said.
Lord of glory, You have bought us TLH 442
The Day is Surely Drawing Near TLH 611 ss. 1-4 before sermon. Ss 5-7 after sermon.
Crown Him with Many Crowns TLH 341
Faith Comes by Hearing has a new outreach opportunity. By texting “BIBLE” to 80672, people can have the encouraging Word of God sent directly to their mobile phone. Once subscribed, people will receive a chapter a day of the Audio Drama Bible. In less than a year, people can listen through the entire New Testament.
Listening to the Bible is a great way to experience the word of God in you day to day life. You can listen while driving, working or lying down at night. Our congregation participated in a mission program with Faith Comes by Hearing, the American Bible Society and Wycliffe Bible translators. 
FCbH provided free mp3 cd's of their dramatized audio New Testament. We challenged the congregation to listen to the whole New Testament across the next 30 days. Then at the end we gathered in a mission offering for FCbH and Wycliffe Bible Translators to produce audio New Testament recordings and "Proclaimers" (Solar/Dymo powered digitial New Testament Players) for the Bengali language -- the native language of the majority of the people in Bangladesh. Our congregation donated an average of over $200 per family. I am pleased to say that the recording is complete and distribution begun. If your congregation has not yet participated, I heartily recommend it and encourage it.
I probably will not be blogging anything for a couple days, so here is some mindless entertainment while I am out searching for the Yeti (or Gnomes.)
Christ, Whose Glory Fills the Skies LBW 265
The Day Is Surely Drawing Near LBW 321
Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven LBW 549 (Distribution)
Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence LBW 198
Our God, Our Help in Ages Past LBW 320
Children of the Heavenly Father LBW 474
November 10 is St. Martin Luther Day.
Turns out that Martin Luther was a Logos-maniac.
Nice stop-animation. Enjoy
Happy St. Martin Luther Day!
I have been picking on Joel Osteen for quite some time. He is not the only false teacher out there, but as the popular pastor of America's largest "church" he is Exhibit A.
A Little Leaven produced a video summary of a Joel Osteen sermon that proves him to be a false prophet who twists scripture and denies the purpose and power of Jesus' death and resurrection. The problem here is that Joel Osteen does not believe that sin is real and deadly. At most he sees sin as a lack of self-esteem and achievement. At worst, he does not believe sin exists at all. He preaches a false gospel -- which is really no gospel at all.
The people who read his books and watch his broadcasts are being deceived. Many seek to be closer to Jesus. They think that this smooth-talking, kind-faced preacher will lead them there. Instead he is dragging them away. Osteen's preaching robs his listeners of all the comfort of the Gospel. Please encourage your friends to turn him off and begin listening to a preacher who declares Christ and him Crucified.
Those who doubt how bad it is, watch the video and see for yourself:
A friend sent an e-mail suggesting that we send our suggestions to change.gov for the new Obama administration to consider. Here is Heather's response
Thank you for your email. I am sure that President-elect Obama is interested in what ideas Americans have for his presidency. Yet he has so many advisers already and also his own vision for his term. Instead of writing him with a political idea of what I think his four years should be, I think that he would be better served by our prayer. We are already praying for our 44th president as are Christians all over our country and the world.
We will pray for President -elect Obama that God works through him in a way that blesses our country. We will pray for his safety in body, mind and soul. We will pray that his work is pleasing to the Lord. We will pray for godly order that we may live peaceably. We pray that he would serve our country by the defense of her citizens, punishment of evildoers, and the protection of all life including the weak, the vulnerable, the sickly, the unborn and the aged. We pray that he will do his work without favoritism but with justice and equality. We will pray that he protect marriage as a life-long, sacred union between one man and one woman. We will pray that he will do all in his ability to strengthen and encourage families, as they are the foundation of civilization, given by God himself in the garden of Eden. We will pray for the Obama family that God would protect and bless them according to His tender mercies and His will for their life. We pray that Barak will be faithful in worshiping the one true God and that he has a rich prayer life that will bless his office and home. We will ask the Lord to help him fight against the perversion that infects our culture. We pray that God would direct him to encourage our nation's schools, colleges and universities to be places where truth is treasured and knowledge gained for the good of mankind. We will pray that he upholds the work ethic that made this nation so noble. We will pray that the Holy Spirit blesses him with discernment so he may trust in Jesus and not believe false ideas or liars. We will pray that he strives to serve this country with his best and, in turn, that he encourages Americans to achieve great things in their God given stations of life. We will ask the Lord to help him encourage Americans to be selfless servants of their neighbors. We pray that he will defend and preserve the constitution and treasure it for the valuable heritage it has given us and will continue to give all who seek freedom from oppression. We will ask the Lord to work in President-elect Obama's administration to seek what is true, good and right. We will ask that God give him wisdom and humility, that his yes may be yes and his no be no. We pray that God would give him strength to bring comfort to others who suffer here in our land and beyond our borders. We will pray that God would bless America's churches and pastors with freedom of speech to give witness and glory to God. We will pray that all Christians everywhere benefit from Obama's presidency and that his leadership would advance the Gospel of Jesus Christ to all of the world. We will pray most fervently that he keep America as a light on the hill where all can see the hope that cannot come through a mere politician but can ONLY come through faith in Christ Jesus.
In Christ,
Heather
Rise, My Soul, to Watch and Pray LBW 443
Come, Thou Almighty King LBW 522
Wake, Awake for Night Is Flying TLH 609
Rise Up, O Saints of God! LBW 383
