Last Best Hope or United Schmucks of America?

Ex KGB agent, Youri Bezmenov warning the U.S.A. on Marxism and Marxists.



How to subvert a nation.

From Ashes--to Cross--to Life!

CORRECTION: This sermon preached at Trinity Lutheran Church of Layton, Utah for ASH WEDNESDAY, February 25, 2009, is an adaptation of a sermon drafted by Rev. Brent Kuhlman , pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Murdoch, Nebraska. It is the product of a Lent workshop hosted by Rev. Clint Poppe, who sent it to me. Here is the audio from ASH WEDNESDAY morning's Divine Service:
AshWed.From Ashes to Cross to Life.WMA

Have a blessed Lent as God breathes life into us piles of ashes.

And thank you , Pastor Poppe!

10,000th Hit

Woo hoo!

Laughing Martin has surpassed the 10,000 hit plateau, with over 7,000 of those hits being from a unique computer. This does not necessarily mean over 7,000 different people, all of you unique in your own right, it does mean that 1000s have dropped by and, in the case of most posts, have either read or heard the Word of God proclaimed to them for the salvation of their souls and the building of their faith in the one True God--Father, + Son, and Holy Spirit.

Thank you for stopping by and please pass the word about Laughing Martin, and more importantly, pass the Word of God along.

Soli deo gloria!

Your laughing little warrior,
Izzy

With Unveiled Faces

Over my years as a pastor here at Trinity, Layton, The TRANSFIGURATION of Our LORD has grown to be one my favorite Sundays of the Church year--if a pastor may be allowed to have such favorites. The reason is basically twofold:

1) The spectacularly vivid view The TRANSFIGURATION of Our LORD gives us of heaven-- being in the presence of Christ with His prophets of ancient day and apostles of the days of His pedestrian ministry, walking and talking with Him.

2) The abundantly rich Scripture texts it presents to the pastor for preaching--offering one of those pleasant pastoral puzzles, i.e. what one must leave out of the sermon.

But I digress into something of another sermon in itself.

So here is the audio file of the sermon preached here at Trinity Lutheran Church in Layton, Utah for The TRANSFIGURATION of Our LORD , February 22, 2009 with one further disclaimer that must be made in order that the listener will understand the introductory remarks of the sermon.

Disclaimer: Upon entering the pulpit I could not get my recording device to power up. So I excused myself to get a back-up from my office after asking the congregation to meditate on Luther's Small Catechism explanation to the First Article of the Creed, which we would recite later in the sermon.

With that, the audio:
TransfigurationofOurLord.WithUnveiledFaces.mp3.mp3

Have a blessed week with unveiled faces in the presence of the Son of God.

Will You Not Do It?

Here is the audio file of the sermon preached here at Trinity Lutheran Church in Layton, Utah for the SIXTH SUNDAY after the EPIPHANY, February 15, 2009:
Epiphany5.WillYouNotDoIt.WMA

Have a blessed week as one washed clean in Baptism and the blood of Christ.

It's Your Future

Having just concluded our annual Tri-Circuit Conference during which we discussed the BRTF presentation as per the ND Convention, I have one recommendation over and above the content and merit of the presentation:

Do everything you can to get your District President to change the format of the presentation so that you are able to discuss the points before taking part in their survey.

It is your District Convention, not the BRTF Convention. As such you can, should, and must set the agenda. This means that you tell them how much time they can have and how that time will be used.

The Task Force has requested two hours on the agenda of each District Convention. The first hour is to make their presentation and have you rate each point as they make them, without discussion or any real time to think about it. The second hour is for discussion.

There is no reason your District shouldn't be able to demand discussion prior to rating the points. We are talking about the future of our synod, not a TV pilot show or a new brand of tooth paste.

If you find any value in this recommendation, please pass it along to your congregations and circuits.

Respectfully submitted,
Rev. Kurt Hering, Pastor
Trinity Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod
Layton, Utah

Preaching the Kingdom--to Grasshoppers

Here is the audio file of the sermon I preached as guest preacher at Trinity Lutheran Church of St. George, Utah for the FIFTH SUNDAY after the EPIPHANY, February 8, 2009:
Epiphany5.PreachingtheKingdom.mp3

Have a blessed week in the kingdom of God, grasshoppers.

Authority Commands Obedience

Here is the audio file of the sermon preached at Trinity Lutheran Church of Layton, Utah for the FOURTH SUNDAY after the EPIPHANY, February 1, 2009:
Epiphany4.AuthorityCommandsObedience.WMA

Have a blessed week in the obedience of faith as Christ's forgiven children.