a Lutheran’s Confessions

     Experts say it takes 21-28 days to form a new habit, and the Lenten season lasts 40 days. What better habit could you form than to be in God’s Word every day?
     Please check out the display in the foyer regarding Lenten devotional materials for every age—young children through adult, and please take what you need to build the habit in yourself and in your household.
     Jesus said, “If you abide (remain) in My Word, you are truly My disciples.”
     We don’t live by bread alone but by every Word that comes from the mouth of the Lord.
     Paul writes, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.”

     Dr. David Scaer, of Concordia Theological Seminary, Ft. Wayne, has made the point that Jesus was not a great writer like Shakespeare or Aristotle.
     He produced no books or works of art.
     He never left the immediate vicinity of Palestine and was virtually unknown outside his own country.
     Yet he asked His followers, “Who do people say I am?” and “Who do you say I am?”
     By what right does anyone ask these questions?
     The questions suggest that Jesus must be something other people are not.
     Pay close attention to the words of the Nicene Creed as you speak them. They spell out clearly what manner of man our Lord Jesus is.

I believe in one God,
the Father Almighty,
maker of heaven and earth
and of all things visible and invisible.

And in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the only-begotten Son of God,
begotten of His Father before all worlds,
God of God, Light of Light,
very God of very God,
begotten, not made,
being of one substance with the Father;
by whom all things were made;
who for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven,
and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the virgin Mary
and was made man;
and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate.
He suffered and was buried.
And the third day He rose again
according to the Scriptures
and ascended into heaven
and sits at the right hand of the Father.
And He will come again with glory to judge
both the living and the dead,
whose kingdom will have no end.

And I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the Lord and giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son together
is worshiped and glorified,
who spoke by the prophets.

And I believe in one holy Christian and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one Baptism for the remission of sins,
and I look for the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

“It certainly is not possible to comfort a soul unless it hears the Word of its God. But where in all the books is God’s Word except in Scripture? What are we doing by reading other books and letting this one lie? Other volumes may indeed trouble or kill us, but no other book than Scripture is able to comfort us. Scripture alone bears the title which St. Paul gives it, a ‘Book of Comfort’ which can sustain the soul in all tribulation so that it does not despair but keeps on hoping.”
949 “What Luther Says” CPH

     According to Dr. Alveda King, niece of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the right to life is the first civil right guaranteed to all Americans.
     “Ever American is entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” she says. “The first gift the Lord gives us is our lives. Life is our first civil right.”
     She believes her uncle, who advocated “a beloved community,” would agree.
     “We must include the unborn in all the work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and we will always say with the Scriptures, ‘Beloved, let us love one another,’ and that includes the little babies.”
     Today is Sanctity of Human Life Sunday, and I agree that the dream of Dr. King includes all the children God has given us, born and unborn.

    Sometimes the guilt we carry is imaginary. Sometimes it is real. There is a difference between true guilt and false guilt.
    False guilt arises when we tell ourselves or someone else tells us that we are in the wrong when we are not. The antidote to false guilt is to hear the truth—the truth that others have responsibility for what happened, not us.
    Hearing the truth lifts the burden of false guilt.
    True guilt is another matter. It arises when we are clearly in the wrong and we know it. We may try to run from it but we cannot. Our conscience keeps accusing us and will not give us rest. The antidote to true guilt is the Gospel—the Good News that Christ has died for and taken away all your sin and guilt.

“God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.”

    If your conscience is accusing you, I encourage you to make an appointment with me so that you can hear the Gospel spoken personally to you. Hearing the Good News of our Savior lifts the burden of guilt and enables you to get on with your life. Make an appointment to see me or come by during the fireside chat tonight from 6:30-7:30pm. Anything you share in the privacy of the confessional is kept in the strictest confidence.

    Parents, the most important thing you can do for your children is to pass on to them the true, apostolic faith which as expressed in the Small Catechism and the other confessional writings of the Lutheran Church.
    Jesus said, “If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples.” Paul wrote, “Watch your life and doctrine closely,” and “Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have received. Keep away from them.”
    There are many dangers and threats to your children, but none greater than false teaching.
    It’s all around our community and on the airwaves. If you guard your children against the H1N1 virus, why would you neglect to inoculate them against the false gospels of today?
    Ground your children in the truth by bringing them to Grace Club, Catechism, Youth Group, Sunday School and, most of all, to the Divine Service. Nourish them in Christ’s Word and Holy Supper, and study your Bible and catechism daily with your family, not because you must, but because their souls mean more to you

“If I live longer, I certainly want to write a book on temptations, for without these a man cannot appreciate Holy Scripture, faith, or the fear and love of God; nay, he who has never been in temptations cannot know what it means to have hope.”
4347 “What Luther Says” CPH