Martyrdom: The Increase of Christ

Greetings, grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

To hear what the baptized have in common with St. John the Baptizer, and how we are blessed by Christ our Lord even as the world curses us, click on this MP3 audio link. Martyrdom: The Increase of Christ

Thanks be to God that though we become separated even from our own life, by the power of His Holy Spirit at work in the Word and Sacraments of the Church, He never lets us be separated from our true head, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Your servant of the Word,
Pastor Hering

The Devil Is in the Numbers

You have heard it said, "The devil is in the details." One of the details in which he cloaks himself is the numbers and the games well-meaning Christians, including pastors, play to increase them.

Here, the Flood, is both informative for and illustrative of God's Church--not in exact numbers, but in the stark contrast between



the number of those who reject God's message and method of deliverance, and those who believe it and are saved. "God’s patience waited in the days of Noah,while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water." 1 Peter 3:20

Likewise, Jesus' conclusion to the parable of The Wedding Banquet: "For many are called, but few are chosen." Matthew 22:14

Give this little 1.5 minute clip a listen and see what you think:

Issues, etc. sound byte of the week winner--the Rev. Dr. Laurence White, "Is Christianity about the Numbers?"

"The LORD did not set His love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were the least of all peoples; but because the LORD loves you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers.” Deuteronomy 7:6-8

When Jesus Draws Near

Greetings saints and sinners alike,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

To hear how Jesus draws near to you to give you peace just as certainly as He did to the people of Jerusalem in today's Gospel lesson, click on this MP3 audio link. When Jesus Draws Near

Thanks be to God He does draw near to us, for of ourselves we never could or would draw near to Him. God grant that you too hang on His words for eternal life.

Your servant of the Word,
Pastor Hering

One Who Is Faithful

Greetings all!

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

To hear who is the one that is faithful and what that means for you, click on this MP3 audio link. One Who Is Faithful

Thanks be to God He has given us His One and only Son to be and do for us what we cannot be or do of ourselves.

You Do Not Know What You Are Asking

Greetings!

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

To hear how you, like the apostles St. James the Elder and his brother John, don't know what you are asking and yet still are served by your forgiving God, click on this MP3 audio link. You Do Not Know What You Are Asking

Thanks be to God He always comes to serve selfish and ungrateful sinners such as we are.

Eat and Be Satisfied

Dear Children of God,

To hear how you, like the 4000 served by the disciples of Christ in the desolate place Mark speaks of in our Gospel today, can eat and be satisfied every time, click on this MP3 audio link. Eat and Be Satisfied

Thanks be to God He always has more than enough to satisfy His beloved children.

New President and Structure for the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod has elected a new president in convention at Houston today, 13 July, 2010. The Reverend Matthew Harrison was elected on the first ballot this afternoon with 54% of the votes. This after major structural changes altering the face of Synod have been adopted in the past two days.

If you care to get the details of this and other happenings in Houston, go to the LCMS convention website: http://www.lcms.org/pages/convention.asp?NavID=13524.

To catch the video of anything you have missed, go to the archives at http://www.lcms.org/pages/convention_internal.asp?NavID=17241.

And if you would like to tune in to the live video stream over the course of the rest of the convention go to http://www.lcms.org/pages/convention_internal.asp?NavID=17032.

Finally for a discussion of the convention events up to the present, tune in to Issues, etc. live or check out their archives in the coming days by clicking the "Listen" tab at http://issuesetc.org/live/.

The grace and peace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ be with us all.