Sermons, Why Bother?

Why should we still bother with sermons? Why not simply bypass them or do as many churches do and simply turn them into Bible Studies?

Is there a difference between a Bible Study and a Sermon? Many people think not. Yet I cannot imagine a single person counting standing in a grocery store checkout line as being the same as being called to the supper table. What is the difference? In the first instance the food items are gathered together and bagged and carried home. In the second instance the food items are prepared as a succulent meal and served to those hungrily awaiting to gobble it down.

A sermon is not merely gathering together facts to present to people in an organized manner. A sermon is not merely a lecture. A sermon is a prepared feast that is fed to those who have been called together to gobble it down. This feast is not mere facts and information. This feast is the very Word of God, the Lord Jesus Himself, fed aurally to those who have come to receive Him into their hearts yet again. The sermon is also preparation, like an appetizer, for the greater feast of the body and blood of the Lord in His Holy Supper of everlasting Communion.

Sermons are without a doubt a lot of work to prepare. The initial stages are sheer agony. But the pastor receives more than he exerts, and what he receives he delivers to those whom the Lord has entrusted to his pastoral care. They in turn receive what their loving pastor feeds to them and they carry it with them wherever they go throughout the week, sharing morsels with others whom they encounter in their daily journey.

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Translations or Versions

I often am deeply perturbed by the inaccuracies that I find in the various translations of the Bible. In the post below I share a deliberate mistranslation in the NRSV. The statement of Revelation 13:8 directs the reader to understand that apart from knowing the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world one cannot know of the book of Life that belongs to Him. The words of the text stand as a stark contrast and warning against those who worship the beast and are therefore cut off from the Lamb and His book of Life.

If a translation does not convey this as it stands written, what hope do those who read it have of hearing and learning the truth? Those translations that change what is written are not translations at all and the message that is conveyed in those is really not the intended message but a version of the message. The so-called translators have changed the message to make it their own version of the message.

I find myself inclined to cry out strongly against such things. What else can one do when concerned for the everlasting well being of fellow humans, knowing that the unadulterated good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is absolutely necessary for everlasting salvation, peace, hope, joy, forgiveness, and life?

Yet I also fear that crying out too loudly can leave people in doubt regarding whether or not it is truly possible even to know the truth. Thus I wish also to point to the standby translations that were translated without the intent of changing the message. This is one of the reasons that I have returned to using the King James translation. It is widely circulated throughout the world. It is overall a good translation. While it has some weaknesses, it does convey the message reliably. People can read it with confidence when they are regularly hearing preaching from a pastor who uses the original languages for his preparations and study. And it is in the public domain and can be quoted, printed, and distributed freely.

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Translations or Interpretations?

My frustration over the inaccuracies in our many translations is experienced frequently. Over the period of my life I have used many different translations or “versions” of the Bible. I learned Luther’s Small Catechism in at least three versions, each using another version of the Bible. Three different versions of the Hymnal also were foisted upon me. This is a confusing practice. It makes remembrance of the specific passages of Scripture difficult, especially when seeking to use a concordance.

But this is not the main cause of my frustration. My greater frustration arises from the continual bombardment that I experience of interpretation being forced upon the texts of the Holy Scriptures and being presented as what the Scriptures actually declare and teach. I do not know of any English version/translation that does not do this.

I have returned to using the King James as my primary source. It is the most widely known and accepted. It is better than many so-called translations. And, it is in the Public Domain and can be quoted freely without limit.

Nevertheless I encounter many false things in even this old stand by translation.

In the Gospel reading appointed for the Fifth Sunday after the Epiphany, the reading for this week’s sermon, the first sentence is translated the worst in the ESV and RSV, which are virtually the same translation of this verse. The text is Matthew 13:24.

Here are a few of the translations of this verse:

KJV:
Another parable put he forth unto them, saying, The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man which sowed good seed in his field:

NKJV:
Another parable He put forth to them, saying: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field;

NIV:
Jesus told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

RSV:
Another parable he before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field;

ESV:
He put another parable before them, saying, "The kingdom of heaven may be compared unto a man who sowed good seed in his field,

Of these the KJV is the closest to what Matthew writes. The RSV and The ESV are the worst. These actually change the meaning of the verse entirely. Matthew records Jesus as saying: “Was made like/was likened the kingdom of the heavens unto a man sowing/who sowed good seed in the field of him.”

The RSV and the ESV change this to “the kingdom of heaven may be compared to . . .” This is horrible. May be . . .? Jesus says that it was likened unto and they translate that it may be compared to.

This completely changes the point of the parable. It completely changes how preachers preach this text and how people perceive the Word of God, even the kingdom of God.

IF you are interested, my exposition of this text is available here. PDF and Audio are available here.

My former church body has chosen the ESV for its official use. Before that they chose the NIV. Both are very bad choices. I used the NIV for years and regret it now. But even the NIV does a better job with this text than the ESV.

I find it frustrating that with the resources that a church body the size of the LC-MS has, with the number of experts in the original languages that they employ in their seminaries, that a really faithful translation has never been produced. But I suppose that would require an entirely other focus for the church body. Then, also, who among their “experts” would even understand the issue while they continue in a communion that does not care? It is a sad thing to observe, especially since so many people continue to trust such leaders because it is easier than standing on and in the Word alone.

Hungry Kenyans

The day before my birthday I received an e-mail from a man in Kenya by the name of Eric. He told me that he had visited our web site and found what is posted there to be inspiring and encouraging and therefore was contacting me to teach them the Word of God.

The little congregation is hungry, very hungry. They are hungry to be fed the Word of God for their salvation and comfort. They have encountered the pretense of the many churches, the hypocrisy of one thing being professed as official doctrine, but another thing being practiced in the various congregations. So they are gathered together in the hope of hearing the Truth and walking in Him.

Money is an issue for them. Their pastor, Eric, earns $1.00 per day digging for people. He walks 15 kilometers to town to rent computer and Internet time at the cyber café and then walks home again. He checks his e-mail every day to see what new information I have sent to him. If I miss a day or two he wonders whether I am OK. It makes my heart hurt to realize that I failed him. I think of these dear people continually, but sometimes I have no new things to send and fail to take into account that they are looking for daily communication.

How many people in America would walk 15 km, that is, 9.32 miles, in order to receive little bits of new teaching concerning the Gospel? How many Americans would take from their grocery money in order to pay to download such bits of teaching concerning the Gospel?

Stephanie and I can relate somewhat. Yet I am amazed at the desire of these dear people for the Word. And they are indeed in need. They have no Bibles. They have no hymnals. Moreover, what they receive from me is in English, which is not their native tongue. Yet they say that they rejoice to receive what I send them. Pastor Eric downloads my sermon each week, pays to print it, and then delivers it the following Sunday to the congregation. Some of the older people do not know English, so he has to translate and explain parts of it for them.

I am amazed that they say that they understand the sermons. People in America have criticized me for being too deep for them. Yet these people in another land and of another tongue say that they are benefitting. All that I can say to this is: Thanks be to God!

Thus far I have been able to print the Enchiridion from the Concordia Triglot for them and have sent them some copies. I also received from the Lutheran Heritage foundation a copy of the Enchiridion in Swahili, which they graciously gave me permission to reprint freely. I have scanned it and formatted it for a larger print booklet and have printed it and sent some copies as well. Through Biblica in Nairobi I have been able to purchase and send 3 copies of a Kiswahili Reference Bible along with 3 paperback KJV Bibles. None of these have yet arrived, but they are eagerly awaiting their delivery.

This is all that Stephanie and I have been able to do so far. We would like to do more. Perhaps in time we will have some more funds available. Sadly, the bills and debts must be paid. But at least the dear people will now have the Scriptures available to share in together, and copies of the Enchiridion (the Small Catechism) for their growth in understanding the Faith.

Much of my free time has gone toward these efforts. It is exciting to be a part in such an opportunity for the Gospel. It is a great joy to observe people who are hungry for the Gospel.

Peter’s Affirmation of the Epistles of Paul

In a discussion regarding the practice of infant baptism at On the Wittenberg Trail, actually closer to a monolog on my part which the host graciously endured, I became aware of a point in one of the Scripture passages that had previously escaped my notice.

Here is the text:

And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction. Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own stedfastness. (2 Peter 3:15-17)

While I was delving into the text regarding the manner in which people torture the Scriptures to try to force them to agree with their preconceived opinions, I noticed something else declared in this text. Surely this is not a new observation, but it is new to me.

Herein St. Peter states in absolute manner that the writings of St. Paul are Scriptures the same as all the other Scriptures.

While there are plenty of passages to affirm the Scriptures of the New Testament as divinely inspired and truly the revelation of God to man, while I always recognized in this text that St. Peter lovingly affirms St. Paul’s apostolic authority, I never was aware of the fact that St. Peter here declares the writings of St. Paul to be truly the Scriptures akin to all the other Scriptures. But there it is! Plain as day!

Another point, while not a new observation, is that those who torture one part of the Scriptures are said to torture the other Scriptures as well. It is common for people to take parts of the Scriptures and ignore them or to say of them that they are not truly the Scriptures or that they are limited by time or cultural relevance. But as St. Peter declares here and the Scriptures consistently affirm, to wrest or torture one part of the Scriptures sets the person in league with those who torture all the other Scriptures. To deny or wrest or twist or redefine or manipulate one point of the Scriptures is to place oneself in league with all who do so to any and ultimately all of the Scriptures. This is why Jesus declared to those who did so that they were not sons of God but had the devil, the father of lies, as their father.

Anyway, it is delightful finally to observe what has stood written for millennia, that in this text St. Peter affirms the writings of St. Paul as the Scriptures.

VBS Crock

It seems that Lutherans have largely forgotten who they are. It seems that Lutherans have forgotten why they are Lutherans. This is demonstrated quite clearly in the crock of Vacation Bible Study programs that Lutherans are using these days. The congregation in which I was raised is a prime example. My “home” congregation is known as Trinity Downtown , formerly known as Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church. The shift from Evangelical Lutheran has taken many years, but now seems to be complete.



The following is the web site’s summary “update” stating the completed activities and fulfilled objectives of the VBS program for 2009:

Vacation Bible School
Crocodile Dock - UPDATE
Vacation Bible School 2009 ended July 24, but the memories and experiences of seeing God everywhere will continue. Approximately 100 children everyday learned how to be fearless kids shining the love of God. We collected well over a hundred canned goods for the food pantries; dozens of bottles of bug spray for Compassion Corner to distribute; children’s vitamins for Hands of Mercy mission in Sudan; and diapers for BETA house. The children made 200 stuffed turtles for Operation Kid-to-Kid, a mission of care and love for children suffering natural disasters. What a great week!


The VBS theme of the Group Ministries materials is restated in this update:

“Approximately 100 children everyday learned how to be fearless kids shining the love of God.”


Is anything missing from this theme?


Is the Gospel in anyway whatsoever even mentioned? Is the name of salvation mentioned as being taught to the children as even a sub-theme? Were the blessings of Baptism in any way a part of what the children were taught? How exactly are the children to be “fearless?” Is this fearlessness the gift of God that accompanies the good conscience of 1 Peter 3:21? What is the source of this fearlessness, since no mention is made of Jesus or the Holy Spirit or the Father or even of God, how did the children see God everywhere? Since the means of grace by which God makes Himself known are not mentioned, how were the children taught to see God? Since the means by which God promises to come to His children with His love are not mentioned, since the means by which God’s love shines in the world are not mentioned, how were the children taught to shine with God’s love? What does this notion mean apart from the means of grace declared in the Holy Scriptures?

Is this what the congregation professes to be? Is this what the congregation has bound itself to teach and practice?

From the constitution of the congregation:

PARAGRAPH 12: DOCTRINAL LITERATURE
In the church and public services of this congregation purely Lutheran hymns, and in all ministerial acts purely Lutheran forms only shall be used. Thus, also, in the parochial school, besides the Holy Scriptures and Luther's Small Catechism, such books only as are purely Lutheran shall be introduced and used for instruction in Christian doctrine, and all other books used in the school shall be free from everything which is in variance with Lutheran doctrine.


PARAGRAPH 19: UNALTERABLE PARAGRAPHS

Of this constitution, paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15,16, 17, and 19 shall be unalterable and irrepealable.


Is there a conflict between what Paragraph 12 states regarding the doctrinal literature used in the congregation and school and the materials purchased and utilized in this VBS program?


These materials are produced by Group Publishing. Group’s Statement of Faith says:

Statement of Faith

What we believe:

We believe the Bible is the inspired, authoritative Word of God.

We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

We believe in the deity of Jesus Christ, in his virgin birth, in his sinless life, in his death on the cross, in his bodily resurrection, in his ascension to the right hand of the Father, and in his personal return.

We believe people receive forgiveness of sins and eternal life through Jesus.

Group’s mission:
We equip churches to help children, youth
and adults grow in their relationship with Jesus.


Does this sound like what is stated in Paragraph 12 of the congregation’s constitution? Does this sound like literature that is purely Lutheran? Where are the means of grace? Where is the need for the proclamation of the Gospel? Where is the Holy Spirit’s work of calling, gathering, enlightening, sanctifying and preserving in the one true faith? Where is any declaration of how the salvation that is through Jesus is imputed to those who would receive His forgiveness and eternal life?

According to Group, faith grows through serving others:

Group's Faith In Action

We don’t just say it. We do it!
At Group, hammering nails, painting porches and meeting
practical needs have just as much to do with serving churches as creating books, magazines and curriculum. Each year, more than 20,000 youth and their leaders venture across the U.S. and beyond to grow in their faith by serving others. Whether it’s building wheelchair ramps, insulating drafty trailer homes, working at a homeless shelter, or running a VBS, participants shine the love of Jesus in every dark corner they can find.


Thus, Group teaches that doing good works is the means by which a person’s faith grows.


How do Lutherans teach that faith grows? Lutherans teach in accord with what the Scriptures declare, and as the one holy catholic Church has confessed in the Ecumenical Creeds, that faith grows not through one’s own works, but through the works that the Holy Spirit works through the preaching of the Gospel and through the Sacraments. The Third Article of the Creed directs us to this for our comfort and assurance. Luther beautifully expounds upon this in his explanation to the Third Article, saying:

The Third Article declares:

I believe in the Holy Ghost; one holy Christian Church, the communion of saints; the forgiveness of sins; the resurrection of the body; and the life everlasting. Amen.

Luther explains:

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Ghost has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith; even as He calls, gathers, enlightens, and sanctifies the whole Christian Church on earth, and keeps it with Jesus Christ in the one true faith; in which Christian Church He forgives daily and richly all sins to me and all believers, and at the last day will raise up me and all the dead, and will give to me and to all believers in Christ everlasting life. This is most certainly true.

What a marvelous contrast! One way is pure grace, the other way is completely dependent upon the works and efforts of the individual.

Does it really matter whether pure Lutheran literature is used? Without a doubt!

The literature published by Group always directs away from depending upon the grace of God in Christ. It always directs to little programs and projects of service as the means by which a person convinces oneself that faith is alive and growing. Pure Lutheran literature always directs away from one’s own works and efforts so as to direct us to the pure grace of God in Christ as our only source of hope and comfort. Then we see God being present in the means by which He has ordained. Therefore we do not need to look for Him everywhere, because we actually receive Him through the means of grace. Then, rather than working to become fearless kids who shine the love of God, rather, we take comfort in the promises of God in our baptism and in the Holy Communion and in the pure preaching of the Gospel. Then we rest in His peace rather than working to become certain of our faith. When God is the one who works our faith for us, all that we need to do is what St. Paul writes to the Philippians, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. What this means is to be certain that we truly are receiving our understanding only through pure Lutheran literature, which always teaches us to trust in God’s grace in Christ. Then we truly are fearless because we realize that in Christ we have no cause to be afraid. (Rom. 8)

So then, why do congregations like the one in which I was raised, Trinity Downtown in Orlando (LC-MS), and Risen Savior in Orlando (WELS), as well as congregations in many places and denominations, use materials from Group, materials that they have promised not to use? Is it because of laziness? Perhaps, but more likely it is simply because they trust in cutesy gimmicks rather than in the Word. If they trusted in the Word they would actually use the Word. But they choose these cutesy cartoons and silly little projects rather than the Word. They hold onto the name of Lutheran for the sake of their tradition and heritage, but they use the methods and doctrine and practice of the preachers of faith by works. Lutherans teach as the Scriptures do, that works are the result of faith, not that faith is the result of works.

So, what is VBS today anyway? The letters stand for Vacation Bible School. This seems to be appropriate, for what is taught does seem to be a vacation from the doctrine of the Bible. But what sort of vacation is that? After all, it is the clear doctrine of the Bible that assures us of God’s love. It is the clear and unadulterated doctrine of the Scriptures that comforts us with the merits of Jesus as the cause of our forgiveness and salvation and new life of peace and hope and joy.

The Holy Spirit continually calls us to congregate to enter into the vacation that God provides, also called the Sabbath. He calls us regularly to take a vacation from the cutesy things that have no substance and have no power to give hope and peace. He calls us regularly to take a vacation from our own self-delusions and our own corrupt and frail efforts at holiness and goodness. He calls us to take a vacation from the lies and the disappointments of the world. He calls us to take a vacation from our own failures. He calls us to receive the holiness offered in Holy Baptism. He calls us to partake of the meal of life. He calls us to step out of the struggles and stresses of daily living in this world of sin and sorrow to rest in the mercy of Almighty God.

Why would anyone choose gimmicks over what the Lord provides? Why would anyone choose works over the freely bestowed gifts that God provides through the means of grace? Why would anyone choose anything other than what is taught and given in the pure Lutheran literature?


As for me and my house, we will continue in the vacation that the Lord provides.






(All images are from Group’s free downloads in connection with the CrocodileDock VBS page. The noticeable absence of anything relating to God, Christ, or the Gospel is not by choice but according to what was provided at the site at the time of downloading.)

Shut Up and Listen

Not very long ago I wrote to someone whom I love very much words that to most people would sound contradictory. I wrote:

     You truly need to shut up and listen. You need to set aside the Scriptures and stop seeking to understand them according to your own reason and strength. You need to listen to one who truly knows the God of peace, mercy, and love. Then you can pick up the Scriptures again and be free of your own interpretations. Then you will be free to hear the merciful love of God that the Scriptures declare in connection with Jesus.

In this connection St. Peter writes:

We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. (2 Peter 1:19-21)

In Acts 8 Luke records the account of the Ethiopian eunuch’s encounter with St. Philip. The eunuch was a very sincere man, who came to Jerusalem to worship the God of Israel, purchased portions of the Scriptures, including the book of Isaiah, and eagerly sought to know the meaning of the Scriptures but could not understand apart from having the Holy Spirit’s true interpretation preached to him. Upon hearing the one true faith of the Scriptures from Philip, the man carried the Gospel back to Ethiopia with joy.

One of the problems in the Church today and with those who seek to understand the Scriptures is that many, even most, seek to interpret the Scriptures for themselves. But God has appointed that the Scriptures be used to preach the Gospel, or as Luke records with Philip, to preach Jesus, which is one and the same preaching. But this Jesus cannot be known apart from the right preaching. To one who has not been regenerated, as well as to one who has drifted into other interpretations, the Scriptures become a stumbling block rather than a source of life. Without the right knowledge of Christ, which is purely by the faith created by the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures become a tool of the devil. The devil used an interpretation of the Word to deceive the woman. The devil tried the same thing with the Word Himself, Jesus, of all the insane things that the devil could try.

Sometimes, when a person has become confused as to the testimony of the Scriptures, the person actually needs to be advised to stop reading the Scriptures, to set them aside, and allow one who knows the true testimony of the Holy Spirit to proclaim it. Then, like the Ethiopian eunuch, the Scriptures can be picked up again and read to the everlasting benefit of the person’s soul. Otherwise the person continues in the self-deception of his own reason and strength and follows after a false doctrine and a false faith, that end in death rather than in life.

America: A People of the Bible

Throughout my lifetime and especially throughout the recent election season, I have heard people challenge the Christian and Biblical moorings of this nation.

Here is a challenge to all who so say:

Whenever an oath is required of a citizen of this nation, upon what Book is that oath made?

From the oath required in the courtroom to the oath required of anyone assuming office in the United States of America, upon what Book has it been required?

Has not this singular Book been the foundation of truth and justice and the oath to be true from the very beginning of our nation until this very day?

Surely there has been and continues to exist much variance in the professions of faith that people make based upon their reading of this Book. Nevertheless, the Book has been the foundation for all that has been understood as good and true and noble in this nation.

Who can honestly deny this?