Pious Lutheran

Prostration before the cross,  Redeemer Lutheran Church - LCMS, Ft. Wayne, IN Humility Pastors are to be humble in their shepherding Everyone is to be humble to each other Everyone is to be humble beneath God We humble ourselves beneath God because He cares for us. The proverb says: “ Toward the scorners He is scornful, but to the humble He gives favor. ” Humility is an important Christian virtue. It’s important not just because no one likes a loudmouth know-it-all arrogant jerk, like the devil who struts about like a roaring lion, but because “ Pride goes before destruction, And a haughty spirit before a fall. Better to be of a humble spirit with the lowly, Than to divide the spoil with the proud. ” Indeed, as St. Peter tells us: “ God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. ” Thus, our lesson today is about humility. Our reading began with an exhortation to humility to pastors: “ I exhort the elders among you… shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising ove...

All Saints,  in the church of All Saints in Přeskače. Jesus’ word gives life The words of this world are devilish lies Even if these words are rational These words bring death Jesus’ word is truth from the Father The one who believes Jesus’ word is born of God Those who keep the Word shall never see death It’s a common assumption that Christianity is a nice religion which never says anything harsh, but that’s clearly not true, because Jesus isn’t very nice. “ Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but He sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear My word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires… Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God. ” Jesus just called these Pharisees children of the devil, which isn’t particularly the nicest thing you could say, ...

The Christian Martyrs' Last Prayer , Jean-Leon Gerome, between 1863-1883 Faithfulness at the end Faithfulness not to live like the world Though it surprises the world Faithfulness in our minds Which flows out in love towards others Faithfulness amidst suffering We entrust our souls to a faithful Creator “ The end of all things is at hand. ” Perhaps that sounds like a doomsday prophecy, and I guess it is in a way, but it’s not so much about doom for us Christians. The telos, the fulfillment of all things is drawing near; think of the end rather like the end of a war. St. Peter said, “ Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. ” Earlier he said, “ Gird up the loins of your mind. ” The Christian life is like a war and we are nearing the end of this war. As the war begins to draw to a close, now is especially not the time to surrender to the enemy or start getting sloppy. After all of this hard training and fighting, it would be a trag...

Four Loaves and Two Fish , Mosaic at Church of the Multiplication in Tabgha, 5th Century More than a Bread-King Jesus is the King of all creation and provides for His hungry people He provides food to nourish our bodies Most importantly, He provides Himself as the Bread of Heaven, and nourishes our souls Last week we talked about the Exodus out of Egypt in which the Israelites were rescued from their bondage to Pharoah. Nevertheless, in spite of their rescue, they did as we often do: they grumbled. “ The whole congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness, and 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. ” When it says they grumbled against Moses and Aaron, they were really, in all actuality, grumbling against God, not truly Moses and Aaron. ...

The Triumph of Christianity Over Paganism,  Gustave Dore, 1886 Zeal for what is good Christ was zealous for good, so He willingly suffered for righteousness sake, saved us, and now reigns in heaven. We too ought to be zealous for what is good, since we have been saved by Christ’s sufferings.  “ Whoever desires to love life and see good days, let him keep his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking deceit; let him turn away from evil and do good; let him seek peace and pursue it… Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? ” I suppose we do live in a somewhat apathetic age; there’s a sort of listlessness and depression that seems to be quite pervasive in our culture. This is demonstrated by how much smaller many organizations are today than they used to be and how we dress in public. That said, there’s still a certain level of zeal in which people are quite passionate about some things. This is demonstrated at athletic competitions, protests or riots, and ...

The Plague of Flies , James Tissot, circa 1896-1902 God redeems His people from the devil’s kingdom The exodus foreshadows our deliverance from this world The dividing line between God’s people and this world is redemption Following the creation and the flood, the most significant event in the Old Testament is the exodus out of Egypt. God began the ten commandments by saying: “ I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. ” The Passover was a weeklong feast to be celebrated yearly, which was a memorial of what God had done for His people in the exodus; God commanded: “You shall tell your son on that day, ‘It is because of what the LORD did for me when I came out of Egypt.’ ” The exodus was so significant because it made it clear that God redeems His people from the devil’s kingdom with a mighty, yet merciful, hand. Numerous films have been made which depicted the events of the exodus, most popularly the movie The Ten Commandments starri...