The Truth Project session 7 followup 7.2 Podcast/Audio

Fighting for the Faith has a timely reflection that has plenty of application to current events.

The Biblical case for life-long Marriage between one man and one woman
(As opposed to the secular push for homosexual marriage)

Hymns and Readings for 2 August 2009, 9th Sunday after Pentecost

Series B, Proper 13

 

Like the Golden Sun Ascending TLH 207

The Infant Priest HS98 853 (Tune: Rockingham Old (TLH175 second tune))

Lord Jesus Christ, Thou Living Bread TLH 312

O Living Bread from Heaven TLH 316

Now Thank We All Our God TLH 36

 

Exodus 16:2–15

                        ²The whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, ³and the people of Israel said to them, “Would that we had died by the hand of the Lord in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the meat pots and ate bread to the full, for you have brought us out into this wilderness to kill this whole assembly with hunger.”

            ⁴Then the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I am about to rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go out and gather a day’s portion every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. ⁵On the sixth day, when they prepare what they bring in, it will be twice as much as they gather daily.” ⁶So Moses and Aaron said to all the people of Israel, “At evening you shall know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt, ⁷and in the morning you shall see the glory of the Lord, because he has heard your grumbling against the Lord. For what are we, that you grumble against us?” ⁸And Moses said, “When the Lord gives you in the evening meat to eat and in the morning bread to the full, because the Lord has heard your grumbling that you grumble against him—what are we? Your grumbling is not against us but against the Lord.”

            ⁹Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, ‘Come near before the Lord, for he has heard your grumbling.’” ¹⁰And as soon as Aaron spoke to the whole congregation of the people of Israel, they looked toward the wilderness, and behold, the glory of the Lord appeared in the cloud. ¹¹And the Lord said to Moses, ¹²“I have heard the grumbling of the people of Israel. Say to them, ‘At twilight you shall eat meat, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread. Then you shall know that I am the Lord your God.’”

                                 ¹³In the evening quail came up and covered the camp, and in the morning dew lay around the camp. ¹⁴And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as frost on the ground. ¹⁵When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, “It is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat.

 

Ephesians 4:1–16

            ¹I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, ²with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, ³eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. ⁴There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— ⁵one Lord, one faith, one baptism, ⁶one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. ⁷But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ’s gift. ⁸Therefore it says,

 

                        “When he ascended on high he led a host of captives,

                          and he gave gifts to men.”

 

⁹(In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower parts of the earth? ¹⁰He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) ¹¹And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, ¹²to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, ¹³until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, ¹⁴so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, ¹⁶from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

 

John 6:22–35

            ²²On the next day the crowd that remained on the other side of the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not entered the boat with his disciples, but that his disciples had gone away alone. ²³Other boats from Tiberias came near the place where they had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴So when the crowd saw that Jesus was not there, nor his disciples, they themselves got into the boats and went to Capernaum, seeking Jesus.

            ²⁵When they found him on the other side of the sea, they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you come here?” ²⁶Jesus answered them,  “Truly, truly, I say to you, you are seeking me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. ²⁷ Do not labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give to you. For on him God the Father has set his seal.” ²⁸Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” ²⁹Jesus answered them,  “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.” ³⁰So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see and believe you? What work do you perform? ³¹Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” ³²Jesus then said to them,  “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” ³⁴They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”

                                 ³⁵Jesus said to them,  “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.

 

Catechism Assignment for 27 July 2009

The Apostles’ Creed: The Third Article

What does this mean? I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.

In the same way He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith.

In this Christian church He daily and richly forgives all my sins and the sins of all believers.

On the Last Day He will raise me and all the dead, and give eternal life to me and all believers in Christ.

This is most certainly true.

Hymns and readings for 26 July 2009, Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

Series B, Proper 12

 

Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me TLH 649

Be Still My Soul; the Lord Is on Your TLH 651

Eternal Father, Strong to Save LBW 467

 

Genesis 9:8–17

            ⁸God said to Noah and to his sons with him, ⁹“Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, ¹⁰and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth. ¹¹I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.” ¹²And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant that I make between me and you and every living creature that is with you, for all future generations: ¹³I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth. ¹⁴When I bring clouds over the earth and the bow is seen in the clouds, ¹⁵I will remember my covenant that is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh. And the waters shall never again become a flood to destroy all flesh. ¹⁶When the bow is in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is on the earth.” ¹⁷God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

 

Ephesians 3:14–21

            ¹⁴For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, ¹⁵from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, ¹⁶that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, ¹⁷so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, ¹⁸may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, ¹⁹and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

            ²⁰Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ²¹to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

 

Mark 6:45–56

            ⁴⁵Immediately [Jesus]  made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. ⁴⁶And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. ⁴⁷And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. ⁴⁸And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, ⁴⁹but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, ⁵⁰for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said,  “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” ⁵¹And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, ⁵²for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.

            ⁵³When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. ⁵⁴And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him ⁵⁵and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. ⁵⁶And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well.

 

The Truth Project 7 followup 7.1 Already in the Public Schools: the Homosexual agenda

Even here, now. Consider when you watch this video what exactly is going on in the children as this propaganda day is presented. Here is what happens when the responsibility for education is removed from the parents and turned over to the government. The Bible places responsibility for education in the family -- not the state. Parents who demonstrate their values well at home only have their children for half of their waking hours at most.
The government schools have their own agenda of values that they will teach your children.
Can't believe this is mainstream in public education in America? The National Education Association (NEA) has just thrown their full support and political influence behind same-sex marriage.

Great Moments in Pastoral Ministry

Messages like this are all a part of the joy of being a pastor:

Click here to listen.

The Truth Project Session 5b follow-up 5.7 Audio Podcast -- the effect of Materialism's assertion that existence is accidental and without purpose

A philosophy that the existence of the universe is random, accidental and purposeless, results in meaningless of life.

Click to listen.

Hymns and readings for 19 July 2009, Seventh Sunday after Pentecost

Series B, Proper 11

 

Children of the Heavenly Father LBW 474

The King of Love My Shepherd Is LBW 456 After Baptisms

O Bread of Life from Heaven LBW 222 Sermon Hymn

O Living Bread from Heaven LBW 197

Built on the Rock the Church LBW 365

The Church’s One Foundation LBW 369

Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us LBW 481

 

Jeremiah 23:1–6

        ¹“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. ²Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord. ³Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ⁴I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord.

        ⁵“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

 

Ephesians 2:11–22

        ¹¹Remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— ¹²remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ¹³But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. ¹⁴For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility ¹⁵by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, ¹⁶and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. ¹⁷And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near. ¹⁸For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. ¹⁹So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, ²⁰built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, ²¹in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. ²²In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

 

Mark 6:30–44

        ³⁰The apostles returned to Jesus and told him all that they had done and taught. ³¹And he said to them,  “Come away by yourselves to a desolate place and rest a while.” For many were coming and going, and they had no leisure even to eat. ³²And they went away in the boat to a desolate place by themselves. ³³Now many saw them going and recognized them, and they ran there on foot from all the towns and got there ahead of them. ³⁴When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things. ³⁵And when it grew late, his disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is now late. ³⁶Send them away to go into the surrounding countryside and villages and buy themselves something to eat.” ³⁷But he answered them,  “You give them something to eat.” And they said to him, “Shall we go and buy two hundred denarii worth of bread and give it to them to eat?” ³⁸And he said to them,  “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.” And when they had found out, they said, “Five, and two fish.” ³⁹Then he commanded them all to sit down in groups on the green grass. ⁴⁰So they sat down in groups, by hundreds and by fifties. ⁴¹And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven and said a blessing and broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples to set before the people. And he divided the two fish among them all. ⁴²And they all ate and were satisfied. ⁴³And they took up twelve baskets full of broken pieces and of the fish. ⁴⁴And those who ate the loaves were five thousand men.

 

 

This should be obvious: co-habitation hurts future marriage

From science news:

ScienceDaily (July 14, 2009) — University of Denver (DU) researchers find that couples who live together before they are engaged have a higher chance of getting divorced than those who wait until they are married to live together, or at least wait until they are engaged. In addition, couples who lived together before engagement and then married, reported a lower satisfaction in their marriages...."Cohabiting to test a relationship turns out to be associated with the most problems in relationships," Rhoades says. "Perhaps if a person is feeling a need to test the relationship, he or she already knows some important information about how a relationship may go over time."

Of course, couples should also not shack up because it is sin -- a mockery of marriage and of the symbolic representation of the relationship of Christ and His Church.

The Truth Project 5b followup 5.6 Video: The Case for a Creator

The quality video by Lee Strobel is now available for free. This one hour video makes a convincing argument that the existence of a creator cannot be ignored -- science continuously points to it. Watch it here:

The Truth Project Session 5b follow-up 5.5 Video Darwinism naturally leads to Racism and Eugenics

John West's book Darwin Day in America catalogs the dark and grotesque effects of a materialist worldview and Darwinism. One result of this worldview is the eugenics movement. Eugenics is the effort to 'direct' the evolution of the human race by sterilizing 'undesireables' and encouraging the pure breeding of superior stock. Of course, Margaret Sanger, founder of Planned Parenthood, considered the Ayrian race to be the superior stock, and considered immigrants and blacks to be the sort that were unfit to reproduce.

You may give a sigh of relief that those days are gone. They are not.



The graph flashed quickly. BlackGenocide.org provides this:












(!)

Planned Parenthood is still doing it:



And now Hot Air reports today that the new Science Czar is a Eugenicist:

If You Like Putting Sterilants in Our Water and Forcing “Undesirables” to Have Abortions, Have We Got a Science Czar for You

It turns out that John Holdren, Obama’s new “science czar,” has expressed some unusually radical ideas about stemming population growth. Or to put it more simply, he’s a totalitarian eugenicist:

Forced abortions. Mass sterilization. A “Planetary Regime” with the power of life and death over American citizens.

The tyrannical fantasies of a madman? Or merely the opinions of the person now in control of science policy in the United States? Or both?

These ideas (among many other equally horrifying recommendations) were put forth by John Holdren, whom Barack Obama has recently appointed Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, Assistant to the President for Science and Technology, and Co-Chair of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology — informally known as the United States’ Science Czar. In a book Holdren co-authored in 1977, the man now firmly in control of science policy in this country wrote that:

• Women could be forced to abort their pregnancies, whether they wanted to or not;
• The population at large could be sterilized by infertility drugs intentionally put into the nation’s drinking water or in food;
• Single mothers and teen mothers should have their babies seized from them against their will and given away to other couples to raise;
• People who “contribute to social deterioration” (i.e. undesirables) “can be required by law to exercise reproductive responsibility” — in other words, be compelled to have abortions or be sterilized.
• A transnational “Planetary Regime” should assume control of the global economy and also dictate the most intimate details of Americans’ lives — using an armed international police force.

Ideas have consequences... long lived consequences.

Catechism Assignment for 13 July 2009

The Fifth Commandment
You shall not murder.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body, but help and support him in every physical need.

The Sixth Commandment
You shall not commit adultery.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other.

The Seventh Commandment
You shall not steal.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not take our neighbor's money or possessions, or get them in any dishonest way, but help him to improve and protect his possessions and income.

The Truth Project Session 5 follow-up 5.4 Introduction to Creation Science

There is a hugh difference between Intelligent Design and Creation Science. Both are approaches to science. ID is "pure science" that allows for the possibility of a designer behind existence and life. Creation Science starts with an assumption of the existence of a Designer who has revealed himself in the Bible. Creation science starts with the premise that what the Bible says is accurate in its description of creation, and therefore functions as a starting point for our building of models of science. Both ID and creation science test their hypotheses, but ID does not take any account for revelation, but only follows empirical evidence for its conclusions.

Here is a sampling from a great article available from Answers in Genesis. In the article, yoyu can see that creation science is a framework of science that makes testable hypotheses and predictions. Click the image above for the complete article:

Cold Material near the Earth’s Core

In the early 1980s, physicist John Baumgardner developed a creationist theory for the rapid motion of the earth’s crust during the Flood. His theory suggested that the “cold” crust, located beneath the pre-Flood oceans, should have sunk the full 1,800 miles (2900 km) to the base of the earth’s hot mantle, where the temperatures are up to 7,232°F (4000°C). This crust would have melted if it had millions of years to reach the base of the mantle, sinking as slowly as today’s rates. On the other hand, if it sank quickly 4,350 years ago, as Baumgardner’s theory suggested, then piles of those plates should still be found at the base of the mantle, cooler than the mantle around them.

Test Result: Mantle Discovery

It took ten more years before scientists developed the technology capable of “seeing” something like that at the base of the mantle. When that technology was developed, the cold material was discovered, just as Baumgardner’s model had expected. This successful prediction suggests that Baumgardner’s model is true. It also suggests that continents moved rapidly during the Flood and that the Flood occurred only thousands of years ago, just as the Bible suggests.

Discover: Catastrophic Plate Tectonics

The Truth Project Session 5 follow-up 5.3 Audio/podcast Intelligent Design

Why get a definition of intelligent design from newspaper sources and others who are biased against it from the beginning? Here's Todd Wilken interviewing one of the leaders of the movement, Dr. William Dembski:



Directly to the point, does it matter if you believe in creation or evolution? This question is addressed by Dr. Nathan Jastraam, first made famous by being a vicar at St. Paul's Lutheran Church, Blue Earth, Minnesota, now serving at Concordia University, Wisconsin.

Catechism Assignment for 9 July 2009

Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.

The Fourth Commandment
Honor your father and your mother.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise or anger our parents and other authorities, but honor them, serve and obey them, love and cherish them.

Catechism Assignment for 8 July 2009

Deuteronomy 6:4 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Matthew 28:19 Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

The Third Commandment
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.

Hymns and Readings for 12 July 2009, Sixth Sunday After Pentecost

Series B, Proper 10

 

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing LBW 499

Praise my soul the king of heaven LBW 549

Jesus, Priceless Treasure LBW 457

Sing Praise to God, the Highest Good LBW 542

 

Amos 7:7–15

            ⁷This is what [the Lord God] showed me: behold, the Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plumb line, with a plumb line in his hand. ⁸And the Lord said to me, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A plumb line.” Then the Lord said,

 

                        “Behold, I am setting a plumb line

                          in the midst of my people Israel;

                          I will never again pass by them;

⁹                       the high places of Isaac shall be made desolate,

                          and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste,

                          and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.”

 

            ¹⁰Then Amaziah the priest of Bethel sent to Jeroboam king of Israel, saying, “Amos has conspired against you in the midst of the house of Israel. The land is not able to bear all his words. ¹¹For thus Amos has said,

 

                        “‘Jeroboam shall die by the sword,

                          and Israel must go into exile

                          away from his land.’”

 

¹²And Amaziah said to Amos, “O seer, go, flee away to the land of Judah, and eat bread there, and prophesy there, ¹³but never again prophesy at Bethel, for it is the king’s sanctuary, and it is a temple of the kingdom.”

                                 ¹⁴Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs. ¹⁵But the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’

 

Ephesians 1:3–14

            ³Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, ⁴even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love ⁵he predestined us for adoption through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, ⁶to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. ⁷In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, ⁸which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ ¹⁰as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.

            ¹¹In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, ¹²so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. ¹³In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, ¹⁴who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.

 

Mark 6:14–29

            ¹⁴King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” ¹⁵But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” ¹⁶But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” ¹⁷For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. ¹⁸For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” ¹⁹And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, ²⁰for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.

            ²¹But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. ²²For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” ²³And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” ²⁴And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” ²⁵And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” ²⁶And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. ²⁷And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison ²⁸and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. ²⁹When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

 

The Truth Project Session 5 Follow-up 5.2 Video: A Snarky Reframing of Dawkins' Arguments Against the Existence of God Turned back on him

Not that this is an argument that will convince anyone, but it does expose the weakness of the arguments of the "new atheists."

The Truth Project Session 5 Follow-up 5.1 Video: the Heavens declare the Glory of God

Watch the rest of the video here.

Catechism Assignment for 7 July 2009

John 5:39 These are the Scriptures that testify about Me.

The First Commandment
You shall have no other gods.
What does this mean?
We should fear, love and trust in God above all things.

The Second Commandment
You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God.
What does this mean?
We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, use satanic arts, lie, or deceive by His name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise, and give thanks.

Happy Independence Day!

Is this what the Chinese fireworks manufacturer thinks of America's Independence day celebrations?

The Truth Project session 5 part 1 prep video

Real discussion of the flaws of evolutionary theory is being actively suppressed. Ben Stein's movie, Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, exposes the firing and marginalizing of prominent scientists who dare to question the status quo.
This trailer is a two minute introduction to the movie, which I highly recommend viewing. If you have a Netflix subscription, it is available as a part of your subscription in their ON DEMAND videos section.

The Truth Project Session 4 Follow-up 4.3 Audio/Podcast

The Amazing Fulfilled Prophecies Regarding Jesus Christ

Chris Rosebrough (in segment 4 of 5 of this episode of Fighting for the Faith) leads a fantastic apolgetic argument showing that Jesus is the ONLY man who could be the Messiah, Lord and God that the Old Testament prophesies require.

And on Issues, Etc.

The Attributes of God Dr. Steven Hein of the Concordia Institute for Christian Studies

Both of these programs are available live in a FREE streaming webcast on Pirate Christian Radio.

The Truth Project Session 4 Follow-up 4.2 The World's Greatest Authority of Scripture

From Chris Rosebrough at Extreme Theology:

When we examine the eyewitness testimony concerning Jesus that is recorded for us in the contents of the four biographies (Gospels) of the New Testament we learn that Jesus Christ claimed to be none other than the One True God in human flesh. Any nut or lunatic can claim to be God but proving such a claim is a whole other issue. Fact is, Jesus proved His claims to deity by raising Himself from the dead three days after He was crucified under Pontius Pilate.[1] The men who authored the New Testament documents were also eyewitnesses of Jesus’ life, teachings, miracles and His bodily resurrection from the dead.

Since Jesus proved His claim to being the One True God in human flesh by raising Himself from the dead, there is no greater authority, living or dead on the subject of the Bible than Him. There is no modern scholar or Biblical critic, regardless of the number of degrees that he or she may hold who can speak with greater authority on the subject of the Word of God than Jesus Christ. Therefore, if you call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower then you would do well to pay close attention to what Jesus believed and taught regarding both the Old and New Testament Scriptures and bring your thinking and convictions in line with His.

Jesus’ View of the Old Testament

What exactly did Jesus believe and teach regarding the Old Testament stories? Did Jesus consider them to be mere man-made mythological narratives or did He believe them to be much much more? We’ll answer these questions by first reviewing Jesus’ thoughts regarding the stories concerning Adam and Eve.

In Matthew 19:3-6, the eyewitness biographer records this exchange between Jesus and the Pharisees:

Matt. 19:3 And Pharisees came up to him and tested him by asking, “Is it lawful to divorce one’s wife for any cause?” 4 He [Jesus] answered, “Have you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female, 5 and said, ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let not man separate.”

The topic that the Pharisees were testing Jesus on was marriage and divorce. The question was rather stupid and poorly thought out. But, Jesus’ answer tells us a lot about His view of the book of Genesis. First Jesus points the Pharisees to Genesis as if it alone provides the authoritative answer to their trick question. Then Jesus quotes Genesis 1:27 as if it literally meant what it said, “God created him; male and female he created them”. Then Jesus quotes Genesis 2:24 as if it literally meant what it said, “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh...”

There was no equivocation on Jesus’ part and no hint that He secretly believed that the opening story of Genesis was a man-made poetic myth or that it was less than historically true. In fact, Jesus’ final statement on the matter makes it perfectly clear that Jesus literally believes that God is the one who brings a man and woman together and makes them one flesh. All of this is predicated on Jesus’ personal knowledge that Adam and Eve were literally and historically the first two humans that Jesus created.

Challenge Questions: If you call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower yet don’t believe that the story of Adam and Eve is historically true or accurate, what authority are you basing this belief on? Is it right for you to call yourself a Christian or a Christ-Follower when your view of the scriptures are at odds with Jesus’ views?

Read more HERE, including how Jesus authenticates the New Testament Scriptures as well.

Hymns and Readings for 5 July 2009, Pentecost 5

Series B, Proper 9

 

Come, Holy Ghost, God and Lord TLH 224

Thou Whose Almighty Word TLH 508

On Eagles’ Wings LSB 727

Jesus, Lead Thou On TLH 410

In the cross of Christ I glory TLH 354

Eternal Father Strong to Save LSB717 or LBW 467

 

Ezekiel 2:1–5

                                 ¹He said to me, “Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak with you.” ²And as he spoke to me, the Spirit entered into me and set me on my feet, and I heard him speaking to me. ³And he said to me, “Son of man, I send you to the people of Israel, to nations of rebels, who have rebelled against me. They and their fathers have transgressed against me to this very day. ⁴The descendants also are impudent and stubborn: I send you to them, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God.’ ⁵And whether they hear or refuse to hear (for they are a rebellious house) they will know that a prophet has been among them.

 

2 Corinthians 12:1–10

             ¹I must go on boasting. Though there is nothing to be gained by it, I will go on to visions and revelations of the Lord. ²I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows. ³And I know that this man was caught up into paradise—whether in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows— ⁴and he heard things that cannot be told, which man may not utter. ⁵On behalf of this man I will boast, but on my own behalf I will not boast, except of my weaknesses. ⁶Though if I should wish to boast, I would not be a fool, for I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain from it, so that no one may think more of me than he sees in me or hears from me. ⁷So to keep me from being too elated by the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from being too elated. ⁸Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. ⁹But he said to me,  “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. ¹⁰For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

 

Mark 6:1–13

            [Jesus] went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. ²And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? ³Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. ⁴And Jesus said to them,  “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” ⁵And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. ⁶And he marveled because of their unbelief.

            And he went about among the villages teaching.

            ⁷And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. ⁸He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— ⁹but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. ¹⁰And he said to them,  “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. ¹¹ And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” ¹²So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. ¹³And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.