I've had an Epiphany!

Funeral for Judy J. Olsen Psalm 23:1 A psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, 3 he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. For centuries, the 23 rd Psalm has been one of the most treasured passages in all of Holy Scripture. They are among the most comforting, often being quoted in times of trouble or distress. In this psalm we see the imagery of the Lord being our Shepherd and host in both the peaceful days and in the difficult days. The Good Shepherd is w...

Matthew 7:15-29   “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves.   16 By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?   17 Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.   18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit.   19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.   20 Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them. 21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.   22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’   23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ 24 “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and ...

I thought this was a very interesting posting from Worship Ideas You Can Use I do not like this newer music. Here’s why: 1. It is too new; like an unknown language 2. It is not as melodious as the more established style. 3. There are so many songs that it is impossible to learn them all. 4. It creates disturbances and causes people to act in an indecent and disorderly manner. 5. It places too much emphasis on instrumental music rather than on godly lyrics. 6. The lyrics are often worldly, even blasphemous. 7. It is not needed, since preceding generations have gone to heaven without it 8. It monopolizes the Christian’s time and encourages them to stay out late 9. These new musicians are young upstarts, and some of them are lewd and loose persons. The only problem is, the above comments were said 288 years ago (1723) in an attack against the hymns that many love today. Wait, there’s more… The first monk who experimented with multi part harmonies was excom...

An excellent lesson on what the Bible has to say about anger. I teach people that the Bible calls for you to have two responses if someone has wronged you and you are angry about it. Either we have the guts to talk to the person about their sin against us and then forgive them or we don't speak to them and still forgive them. Either way, we cannot allow anger and resentment to dwell in our hearts. That allows the devil to gain a foothold (Eph 4:26-27).

2 Corinthians 13:11-14 Finally, brothers, good-by. Aim for perfection, listen to my appeal, be of one mind, live in peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you. 12 Greet one another with a holy kiss. 13 All the saints send their greetings. 14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Today is Holy Trinity Sunday. Today is a day to take a big, deep breath and confess the incomprehensible – God as one Divine Being in three Divine Persons, a Unity in Trinity and a Trinity in Unity. Or as we confess in the Athanasian Creed: “without mixing the persons or dividing the divine being.” Though we cannot wrap our puny minds around the doctrine of the three-in-one God, throughout the Scriptures, our creeds and our hymns, we do not try to explain the mystery of the Trinity; we simply confess it as fact. Even though we only celebrate one Trinity Festival each church year, just about every worship service be...

Wedding of Jeff Schommer & Barb Olsen on June 17, 2011 Grace and peace to you in the name of our Triune God, who comes to us today in love. Amen. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. Dear friends and family, and especially you, Jeff   and Barb on this, your wedding day. You have chosen some beautiful words about love for your wedding text. Some of the most astute observers of what love is like - are children: One child for example said that "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne ...

As we are ready to once again celebrate God’s gift of fathers, here is some advice to you whom God has blessed to be called “Dad” or “Daddy.” Good fathers discipline in love Women love emotional sharing. Sometimes their husbands drive them crazy because they just don’t seem t o feel anything or want to talk about things of the heart. But, ladies, there is a huge upside here. Men can discipline without melting emotionally. They can insist on right behavior even when the kids think they are too cool, too busy, or too smart to have to endure this clearly unnecessary hardship. Happy is the family where there is a man who knows how to show tough love. God’s view? “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11 ).” Because God made males less emotionally vulnerable, they can better ignore the squawking and woofing that always erupts from immature youth...

I love the way author Max Lucado writes. He is a great storyteller and a fantastic wordsmith. I have a number of Lucado's books on my shelves and receive his daily paragraph devotions. However, as popular as he is, as many books as he has sold, as many lives as he has touched with the Gospel, he still proclaims false doctrine. I still remember being told at the Seminary that you can generally tell a pastor's theology based on the kind of books he has on his shelves. Though our WELS pastors may have a few books by Lucado, Covey or even some fiction by Peretti, they had better have the majority of their books be sound, Lutheran, biblical doctrine. Martin Luther, The People's Bible commentaries, The Book of Concord, People's Bible Teachings, C.F.W. Walther, Francis Pieper, Werner Franzmann, etc. I mention this because of the devotion I received via email from Max Lucado on Friday, June 12 entitled "Saved by Faith." In the devotion he calls communion and bapti...

1 Corinthians 15:50-58 I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God , nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed-- 52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. 53 For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. 54 When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Alw...

Acts 2:1-21 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. 5 Now there were staying in Jerusalem God-fearing Jews from every nation under heaven. 6 When they heard this sound, a crowd came together in bewilderment, because each one heard them speaking in his own language. 7 Utterly amazed, they asked: "Are not all these men who are speaking Galileans? 8 Then how is it that each of us hears them in his own native language? 9 Parthians, Medes and Elamites; residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, 10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya near Cyrene; visitors from Rome 11 (both Jews...