2005 Winter - Higher Things Magazine (with Bible Studies)

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Inside this issue:

• Persecuted for the Faith— Lutheran Youth in Sudan • The Truth About Mental Illness • Christmas Angels: Do They Fly, Float, or Stand by Your Side?

W W W. H I G H E RT H I N G S . O R G

/ WINTER / 2005

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Contents T A B L E

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Volume 5/Number 4 • Winter 2005

HigherThings

FEATURES

COLUMNS

4

16 Kathy and the Wonderful, Beautiful, Happy, Very Good Day

The Devil’s Opera

By A.B. Fouts Are praise services the cure for depression? Can praise music take away your despair? Read this intriguing article to explore the heartache of bipolar disorder and the truth of the Gospel.

5

Dear Pastor . . .

Questions and Answers about Depression

By Rev. Dan Krueger Dear Pastor, I need some advice. I’m feeling so depressed. Can you help? Is there something wrong with my faith? Pastor Krueger helps to clear up the confusion.

8

Looks Can Be Deceiving

By Seminarian Joshua Genig Campus Crusade for Christ, an organization over fifty years old, has groups at more than thirteen hundred college campuses. Is this parachurch group helpful to Lutheran college students or not?

11 Tea and Philosophy

By Adriane Dorr The TGB Society serves up tea, good conversation, and thoughtful discussion. See what this college group is all about.

12 Christmas: On the Earth

By Rev. George F. Borghardt III The Christmas narratives in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke are favorites of many. Pastor Borghardt explores one aspect of the story— the angels’ role in our Lord’s Christmas coming.

22 Lutherans in Sudan

By Hipi Elisa Hipi is the daughter of Rev. Andrew Elisa, the president of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in the Sudan. She lends some thoughts about God’s unceasing blessings in the persecuted and war-torn country of Sudan.

By Kathy Luder Kathy’s day starts out crummy and goes downhill from there. At the end of the day, Kathy flops on the couch, and her perspective suddenly changes.

18 Blog War on the Wrath of God

By Dr. Gene Edward Veith Was Hurricane Katrina an example of God unleashing His wrath? Read about Dr. Veith’s blog wars and God’s wrath, grace, and our hope in Christ.

20 MINING THE RICHES: A Promise of the Lord

By Rev. Brian Mosemann In Mark 4, Jesus calms the sea and quiets the waves. Pastor Mosemann reflects on this text, on our resistance to trust in God, and on the Gospel promises of our Savior.

26 Pulse: I Kissed Legalism Goodbye

By Adriane Dorr In this Pulse column that reviews several books on “Christian dating,” Ms. Dorr reflects on boyfriends, girlfriends, hand checks, and Christ’s everlasting grace.

28 Dare To Be Lutheran: Sin, Certainty, and the Gospel: Why I’m Not Eastern Orthodox

By Rev. Paul Gregory Alms In this semi-regular column, Higher Things seeks to understand our distinctiveness as Lutherans. In this issue, Pastor Alms lends his thoughts about the Eastern Orthodox Church and our Gospel-rich Lutheran heritage.

30 Catechism: Lead Us to Resist Temptation

By Rev. David Petersen We continually struggle with temptation, just as our Master, Jesus, was also tempted. And yet we hold fast to the hope we have in Christ when all earthly sufferings, including temptation, will finally be removed.

One the cover: An Angel Appears to the Shepherds From Printing the Word: The Art of Watanabe Sadao An exhibition of prints from the collection of Anne H. H. Pyle The Gallery at the American Bible Society, New York City

Also in this issue: 10 Letters to the editor 14 Information about The Feast Higher Things conference in July 2006 24 News and Notes 25 Lower Things: WWJD?

By Nathaniel Rhein

Publications Executive & Editor REV. TODD PEPERKORN Assistant Editor JULIE STIEGEMEYER Editorial Assistant ADRIANE DORR Art Director STEVE BLAKEY

Editorial Associates REV. GEORGE BORGHARDT REV. TIM PAULS REV. DAVID PETERSEN REV. ERIK ROTTMANN

III

Bible Studies Editor REV. TIMOTHY SCHELLENBACH Contributing Editors REV. ERIC ANDRAE PAM KNEPPER KATHY LUDER REV. SCOTT STIEGEMEYER DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH Marketing Manager MARY JO JITER

Subscriptions Manager CYNTHIA HALL

Subscriptions Assistant CHRIS HALL

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Internet Services Executive REV. GEORGE BORGHARDT Conferences Executive REV. BRUCE KESEMAN

III

Leadership Executive SUE PELLEGRINI

Christ On Camous Executive REV. MARCUS ZILL

— BOARD OF DIRECTORS President REV. KLEMET

PREUS

Vice President REV. WILLIAM Secretary SANDRA

CWIRLA

OSTAPOWICH

Treasurer LYNN FREDERICKSEN

BRUCE PARADIS REV. RICHARD RESCH JEFF SCHWARZ BEVERLY YAHNKE MOLLIE ZIEGLER Higher Things Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things Inc., 2026 22nd Ave., Kenosha, WI 53140.

No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2005. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Fort Wayne, Indiana. For subscription information and questions, call 260-357-5094 or email subscriptions@higherthings.org.

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The

the lyrics on the Power Point projector disappear. Everyone screams wildly.

Life of Christ Church is supposedly a Lutheran Christian church.They have a private high school here. I’m in the gym.

I played basketball here once. Now I’m listening to crappy, Lutheran musicians sing pop knockoffs.The God these people worship must like rowdy mobs.“Where’s Jesus’ mosh pit?” I want to know. Eric won’t even look at me.

Bible verses are read.The bongo guy talks about how God loves everyone so “Let’s raise our voices in thanks!” He starts praying. Everyone else puts an arm in the air. Some people signal a touchdown. Or maybe raising both arms will act as a doubly powerful Holy Spirit lightning rod.

“Jesus,” Bongo Man says,“we just wanted to thank You for Your great love for us, for giving us Your Holy Spirit on this wonderful day!” People randomly say,“Amen!”

I zone out.Thirty feet to my right in an unlit corner a big wooden cross is attached to the wall. Jesus died on a cross.That’s why I’m here. Because Jesus loves me. And Jesus loves Eric, my roommate who dragged me here—twice. But Eric stopped talking to me when I refused to sing along for the second Sunday in a row.

“Eric!” I defended myself,“Medicine doesn’t even help my depression, okay? My brain isn’t wired like yours.” But he had insisted. Give it another try. God would reveal His love for me.

I’d feel better.

Eric’s euphoric; he’s doped up on God. He tells me,“You just need to believe.”

I tell him,“I believe there will be food in the cafeteria for dinner.You don’t see me skipping to the Commons like an idiot ecstasy addict, waving my arms in the air!”

Whatever.The “love” that swept over the crowd when the music started bypassed me. But Eric is the real idiot. I made a stupid, stupid mistake. I confided in him. Sometimes I think about

Devil’s Opera

By A. B. Fouts

illions of Americans suffer from clinical or manic depressive disorders. Despair, guilt, shame— what draws these people out of the darkness into Christ, the light of the world?

You might be surprised what doesn’t.

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Pay close attention to this narrative.

I’m at Life of Christ Church with my friend Eric, who dragged me here for the second time. I’m watching as some bongo-playing moron on the dais gyrates to “Open the Eyes of My Heart.”

The praise band is well equipped: eight-piece trap set, full-size keyboard, electric and bass guitars, a high tech and professionally installed sound system, and a spotlight. Most upstart bands would give eye teeth for the guitars alone.When the song ends,

suicide. And he had the cure.This is his solution to my problem— this “praise service.”

The only reason I came to Life of Christ a second time was because I hoped (even though deep down I knew it wouldn’t happen) that maybe this time God would let me soar too.

Everything I hoped would make me feel better—none of it has worked, including this absurd church.

What a sham this turned out to be—this sick devil’s opera.

The young man telling the story suffers from a bipolar disorder.This chemical disorder, like all mental illnesses, manifests itself differently in different people, but its particular trademarks are soaring periods of mania, followed by crushing despair, which is the stage the narrator is suffering. People with this and related mental illnesses cannot be uplifted or cured by upbeat songs and joyous crowds.These physical diseases need a doctor’s supervision. Cancer patients can’t wish away tumors. People with mental disorders cannot wish

away sadness, despair, emptiness, self-loathing, fatigue, anger, fear, anxiety, and any other debilitating emotions.

A cure for mental illnesses at large is non-existent.

There are effective methods for stabilizing bipolar and other disorders, but they are largely medical, not only situational (e.g., diet and exercise, being around exciting people in exciting places).

Why then, in light of the Gospel’s joyous message, do some people still despair endlessly? Doesn’t the Gospel promise “peace that passes all understanding”? Does Christ’s sacrifice not apply to the mentally ill who often worship and commune in bleak anguish?

Christ once told a complaining St. Paul,“My grace is sufficient for you.” And it is. Christians are already dead— drowned in our Baptism, crucified with Christ. But we are also alive, risen with Him in that same Baptism, longing for eternity. Like Job, who lost everything—everything— Christians cry,“Though He slay me, my hope is in Him.” If a mentally ill individual is told praising God will ensure feelings of love, happiness, and peace, their chemicallyimbalanced bodies will likely prevent it. Praise songs become Satan’s property as he uses them to spread the lie that the unhappy are the unwanted.

Suffering is part and parcel of a Christian’s life, used powerfully by God for our good and His glory—as we take up our cross and follow the Suffering Servant. We don’t have God’s promise for happiness! Instead, our LORD promised us His peace in the midst of the earth’s travail.

Suffering with anything, including bipolar disorder, is not a measure of the magnitude of our faith, nor can we expect that “sufficient faith” will exempt us from suffering.

Praise God salvation doesn’t depend upon how we feel!

Feeling sad doesn’t change God’s love for us. Salvation rests in the promise and gift of God in Jesus Christ.Through Baptism God gives hope to His people.This hope abides even in our afflictions, even in our depressions and illnesses. For hope, real hope, is in God’s baptismal promises. And that hope—and hope is not a constant joy and unrelenting urge to praise God—preserves us steadfast while we wait.

We look heavenward—sometimes in the impatient darkness of mental illness—until Christ returns.

What then can draw these poor afflicted souls out of the darkness? The same thing that drew our Lord out of the grave’s darkness–God’s Word and promise. God’s praise will be sung with full voice and heart by all His joyful sons.

Even if we are sad now and suffer many trials, even if our faith seems insufficient, God’s grace is sufficient.Tears will be wiped away, and despair destroyed. Agony sees light at the tunnel’s end.The devil’s opera will end.

Andrea B. Fouts is a Masters of Arts in Religion student at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis.You can reach her by e-mail at abbrunsvold@excite.com.

Dear Pastor . . .

Questions and Answers in Dealing with Depression

By Rev. Dan Krueger

Dear Pastor, Often when I was young I felt blue.

But now as an adult those feelings seem to be a deepening depression. What’s going on?

Certain life events can cause depression. Jesus Himself wept at the grave of Lazarus. However, while Jesus experienced these feelings, He also experienced joy. His reaction was to a situation and was not a characteristic of mood.

Clinical depression is not a reaction to a situation, but a mood that intrudes into every aspect of life.

Along with a general sense of depression or a negative outlook, people slipping into depression withdraw from activities they used to enjoy. If a day is full of ten positives and one negative, people who are clinically depressed might spend 90 percent of their time thinking about the one negative and 10 percent of their time thinking about the nine positives. As depression deepens, the individual might start to feel that things are hopeless and may begin to think, write or talk about death or suicide.

Along with these mood changes, there are also characteristic physical and mental changes. People with clinical depression often experience a significant Continued on next page

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weight gain or loss. Sleep patterns become abnormal.

Depression often manifests itself in a persistent fatigue or lack of energy. People suffering from depression have difficulty concentrating or remembering things. When you see these kinds of persistent changes taking place in yourself or a friend, seek professional help.

I told my family doctor about my depression, and a blood test revealed a thyroid condition that contributes to it. He corrected it, but years later I had other bouts of depression.

Depression rarely has a single cause.The chemical balance of our brains is achieved through a complex interplay of body, mind, and spirit. On the physical end, estrogen levels in women alter this chemical balance, which is why many women experience monthly mood changes and post-partum depression.The amount of sleep a person gets influences this balance. Depression may have many different origins. Food and the amount of fats we consume, as well as stress, have been identified as two of the many factors that may contribute to depression.

That time my psychiatrist put me on an antidepressant that helped, but I developed unpleasant side effects. I am hoping there are other ways to get help.

Research into depression in the last ten years has given us options. Modern antidepressants address one component of depression, but modern studies show that combined strategies for treating depression are far more successful.

Improving your diet, increasing the amount of sleep you get, and getting regular exercise are often as effective in treating low to moderate depression as taking an antidepressant.

Dietary factors, including the type and amount of fats we consume, as well as stress, have been identified as two of the many factors that may contribute to depression.

A particular form of talk therapy called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) dramatically reduces the relapse rate of depression when combined with antidepressants.

Cognitive therapy helps to change your emotions by changing how you think about the world and yourself.

Modern brain imaging shows that cognitive therapy and antidepressants both change the physical structure of the brain but in different ways.This is why combined therapies are more effective than either one alone.

I want to learn more about this, but some people tell me there is something wrong with my faith, and sometimes I think that must be true. Is it?

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Often, depression reflects a chemical imbalance in the brain. Serotonin, dopamine, or norepinephrine are neurotransmitters in the brain that carry impulses among all the brain cells. When neurotransmitters are not in full supply, the impulses are poorly regulated and the symptoms of depression emerge. Stress, particularly mental stress, also dramatically influences the chemical signaling of our brain.

Excessive and continued stress actually shrinks a vital brain structure called the hippocampus, which is involved in learning and memory.

Faith is not something we do.“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8 NKJV). Faith receives what God has done.

If you ask,“God, is there something wrong with me?” His answer is,“Yes!” Paul says,“For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells” (Romans 7:18 NKJV). Depression tends to focus on what is wrong, and therefore pulls us toward the Law side of Scripture.The Law declares that there is nothing in any of us but sin and death.

However, Jesus, who died for us, makes us clean in the waters of Baptism.The Gospel tells us that Christ removes our sins. In Christ, the answer to the question,“Is there something wrong?” is always,“No! You are perfect through Me!” Instead of asking,“What’s wrong with me?” (Law), receive Christ’s promise,“I have made you right” (Gospel). Instead of asking,“What am I going to do?” (Law), Christ says to you, “I have done it all” (Gospel). Instead of asking,“Why is this happening to me?” (Law), receive God’s Gospel promise that all “things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (Romans 8:28 NKJV).

Paul says,“Yet the law is not of faith” (Galatians 3:12 NKJV).

Faith doesn’t ask,“What should I be doing?” or “What’s wrong with me?” Rather, faith receives what God has done, and that is always good news.

Rev. Dan Krueger is pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Hiawatha, Iowa, and has developed Bible study materials related to the topic of depression.

You can email him at revkrueger@gospeltherapy.com.

Ultimate Event

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It is a place where students can explore the possibility of some day becoming a pastor. ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠

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W I N T E R 2 0 0 5 __ 7

Looks Can Be

De

ave you ever noticed how looks can be so deceiving?

Maybe you’ve invested your money in a pair of FOAKLEY (“F”ake Oakley) sunglasses. Maybe you responded with haste to one of those “You’ve just won a million dollars”phone calls or letters. Day after day, people are deceived by looks.

Sadly though, the way of our world is to try and get an between the teachings of CCC and the advantage through deception. Although it hurts our ego Lutheran Church can be quite difficult. But remember: looks can be very deceiving. and our wallet when the world deceives us, it is even So we need to take a closer look. We need more damaging when we are deceived in the Church. to lean in and see if there’s an “F” next to

H

To date, nearly thirteen hundred college campuses have made room for one of the oldest campus ministries: Campus Crusade for Christ (CCC). It was started in 1951 by Bill and Vonette Bright. Since the inception of the organization, the mission has been to share the Gospel with college students and eventually win them to Christ. By powerfully bringing the message of Jesus to college campuses, CCC looks to enable students to make a decision for Jesus.

In many respects, the core beliefs of CCC look quite similar to what one would find in many Lutheran churches. Although CCC allows for freedom of belief and practice in many areas, the group is quite adamant about upholding what it would

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deem the “fundamentals of faith.” It promotes the teaching of the Holy Trinity, the two natures of Christ, His virgin birth, His atoning death, His resurrection from the grave, and the work of the Holy Spirit to bring spiritually dead sinners to new life.This is not unlike many Christian churches; yes, even the Lutheran Church. Consequently, deciphering

our Oakleys or a fine line on our winning letter. However, when we discern between practice and doctrine that is true or false, we do not base our decision on a hunch or a guess. We take a closer look by turning to God’s Word for illumination, which shows us the foundation of our faith, Jesus Christ.

Although CCC should be commended for its endeavor to share Jesus with college students, its members present Him in such a way that He seems an abstract figure. It is though they say,“Yes, He did a gracious thing nearly two thousand years ago, but He is no longer integrally connected to us and His creation.”

Their Jesus is far off. He is in heaven giving advice and demanding a decision. But that is not the Jesus of the Bible.

The Bible doesn’t leave us with an abstract, intangible Jesus.The Bible teaches that Jesus comes to us. When He comes, He comes concretely. He joins us to Himself in the life-giving waters of the font. He gives us His Holy Spirit. He forgives our sins. He grants eternal life. We are made His precious bride, and our faithful bridegroom promises that He will never leave us.There is no room for decisions and dedications here. He does the choosing and the dedicating! He has cho-

eceiving

By Seminarian Joshua Genig

sen and dedicated us for Himself. He has made us His own in the waters of Holy Baptism. He graciously feeds us with the tangible food of heaven: His own body and blood. Our Jesus is Emmanuel. He is God with us in a fleshly and concrete way.

This is real. Jesus gives Himself to us.

He is not in heaven pointing fingers. He is on every Christian altar that confesses Him and celebrates His Supper. He is at every font where water and Word make disciples. And He is on the lips of every pastor who speaks in His stead and at His command His words of absolution and grace. He is there physically. He is there with His precious body, dripping blood, sanctified waters, and life-giving Word. All who are wearied by the changes, chances, and trials of this life, especially the college life, are given Christ concretely.There is nothing abstract about Him. He is with us.

He feeds us. He restores us. Jesus Christ has made us bone of His bone and flesh of His flesh.You also, who dare to be Lutheran, Christ has made you His own.

He will never leave you. He will continue to sustain you in a tangible, life-giving way. He will come to you—concretely.

Seminarian Joshua D. Genig is a student at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and vicar at St. John Lutheran Church in Wheaton, Illinois. His email address is jgenig@stjohnwheaton.org.

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Feedback editor

letters to the

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Rev. Paul McCain’s “The Day I Got Punched” article discussed what his Catholic high school religion teacher, a Roman Catholic priest, taught—that any sincere person of any religion will go to heaven. My priests certainly do not say that—in fact, I haven’t heard that in my almost 30 years of regular Mass attendance. I assure everyone, the Roman Catholic Church proclaims Jesus and the Gospel—loud and clear.The best sermons I’ve ever heard have been those from Catholic clergy. In the article there was a quote to the effect that the Catholic Church teaches that we are justified by works with God’s grace through Jesus.

This is stated in the article to be a false teaching.Why? My other favorite article was the article written by . . . you,“God’s Gift of Life.” It’s about time such ideas appeared in print.

“Losing Stupid” and “Why Ceremonies Matter” were awesome too.Thanks for a banquet of food for thought!—Beth No one’s disputing the fact that the Gospel is still preached in the Roman Catholic church. But we do have a problem with the Roman Catholic teaching that justification by faith alone is not enough, and that faith plus something else, like works, is what’s required. See,

we Lutherans like to call a thing what it is. So when Ephesians 2:8 says that “It is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God,” we believe that’s what Jesus meant! That isn’t to say that we are anti-good works. Of course we pray that the faith Christ works in us is evident in how we live our lives. But we don’t worry that those works somehow play into our salvation. What a scary thought that would be!

We’re glad that you are enjoying and learning from the different articles in Higher Things. Keep reading. We’ve got a feeling that you’re going to find other articles in this issue that you’ll like too. __________________ What’s the deal with the old-fashioned artwork on the cover of the last issue? It looks like what the Orthodox use when they parade around with icons and stuff.—Michael While the Orthodox do often use icons, Lutherans have always embraced solid religious artwork, whether it’s old or new.The print by Fra Angelico used for the fall issue of Higher Things is a colorful representation of Christ gazing down at His children from heaven on the final day. Wrap your head around this—that picture, called “The Last Judgment,” has been around since about 1431!

Pictures like that are important.They depict Christ, or His saints, or some

event that took place in the church’s history.These pieces can be helpful for any Lutheran. For example, icons can be used as an aid during your personal devotions as a visible tool for keeping your mind from wandering. While we don’t worship or revere the pictures as some sort of way to get to our Savior, we do realize that they are powerful reminders of the saints who have already died in the faith, of Christ’s redemptive work on the cross, or of the Judgment Day that is to come. With that in mind, go back and have another look at that cover. It’s not so bad now that you think about it, is it? __________________ Pastor Borghardt wrote in his article “Heaven: Why It Doesn’t Matter” that “It’s not like . . .there is any doubt about you being in heaven.” But I have a Catholic friend who DOES worry about whether or not he’ll be there. He says he has no way of knowing for sure.What can I do to give him some sort of comfort?—Bethany We’re saddened to hear that your friend is unsure about heaven, but here are a couple of thoughts to pass along to him.You might start out by talking to him about his Baptism. When he was baptized, this friend of yours was saved

by God’s grace through faith, which was at work even though he didn’t know it.

As a result, Martin Luther says in the Small Catechism, one of the benefits of Baptism is knowing that you have the promise of eternal life in heaven with Christ. And when our Lord promises us something, we hold Him to that no matter what!

You could also remind your friend that every time he goes to church, hears the Word preached, receives Jesus’ body and blood into his mouth, and hears the forgiveness of sins, the faith he was given in his Baptism is strengthened.

Then remind him of John 3:36: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life.” Finally, pray that he will find comfort in the words of his Savior and will be able to look forward to heaven, not with fear or worry, but with joy and anticipation.

Tea Philosophy and

By Adriane Dorr

Y

Topics range from The Da Vinci Code to existentialour moms have been worried. Many of you ism to anti-French jokes to the meaning of evil. While headed off to college a few months ago and all of these conversations help students sharpen one they’ve been fretting for weeks now over whether another’s beliefs, most attendees are simply interested in exploring philosophical matters from a Lutheran you’ll eat something other than Taco Bell for the next perspective. In essence, student Jeff Dock explains, year and if you’ll separate darks from whites when you “We seek to bring a truly Lutheran voice to contempodo laundry. But greater things concern them as well, like rary issues and especially apologetics.”

Teachers from all departments are also welcome what kinds of friends you’ve made and if you’ll fall into the to attend the meetings. Most agree with the students’ right crowd. In light of this, your moms probably haven’t viewpoints, but some don’t. In the majority of cases been encouraging you to join extracurricular school groups though, the students realize that as former CUW stulike Berkeley’s Young Queers United for Empowerment dent Lucas Christensen states,“The role of attendant professors is typically in helping to facilitate meaningto meet new friends. But becoming friends with people ful conversation.These teachers have been doing—in in Concordia University Wisconsin’s TGB Society may just their respective vocations—that which we gather to make your mothers a little less hysterical. discuss, namely: providing meaningful answers to the The group was founded in 2003 by two students who were interested in philosophy and theology. It was loosely modeled after C.S. Lewis’s conservative literary club called The Inklings. Since Lewis and his friends met at the University of Oxford and since CUW’s philosophy chair Dr. Angus Menuge is from England, the two students decided to add a touch of British flair to their own group by serving scones and hot tea at every meeting. Even though the group consequently began to be known as the Tea Society, more students—even males—continued to join.

After a year passed, the name morphed into the TGB Society, focusing on the three classical ideals of truth, goodness, and beauty.

Meetings generally spotlight student-led discussion regarding things philosophical and how they relate to a Lutheran’s worldview. CUW student Nathan Fischer regularly attends the meetings and believes that “TGB does a great job of discussing contemporary topics from a philosophical perspective, all the while working under the authority of Holy Scripture and confessional theology.”

problems within a society starving for truth.”Teachers, especially from the philosophy department, are also on hand to point the students to useful resources when further research or follow-up is desired.

TGB Society is the perfect group for students with questions.“For college students,” notes Fischer,“our worldviews are really being called into question and rigorously examined, not to mention being developed into the worldviews we’ll have for the rest of our lives.” Attending the club’s meetings is helpful for students who need to sort out their beliefs among like-minded Lutheran peers. He adds,“TGB provides a place where worldviews can be philosophically and confessionally thought out and put to the test.”

These are the kind of kids your mom wants you to hang out with, not the Free Radicals club from Berkeley who label themselves “Chemists for Peace.”

TGB is a normal group made of normal students who come from normal backgrounds, making it a good club especially for all you college freshmen out there.

You really can’t go wrong with a group like TGB, says Jeff Dock.“Having a well-grounded Christian worldview is important as students start their studies in their various fields. It’s hard to know what’s wrong about something if you don’t first know what’s right about it, and hard to know what are lies when you don’t know the truth.”

Adriane Dorr graduated from CUW in May with a degree in English and Writing.

She works as editorial assistant for Higher Things and, after completing a summer

internship at Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, now also works for the company as a free-lance copy editor.

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hristmas Eve always brings such beautiful pictures into our minds.There are the shepherds watching their flocks by night.There is the angel of the Lord coming to them to announce the birth of the Savior. Can you imagine the wonderful sound the choir of angels made? And don’t forget how the shepherds ran to find out what had happened! It’s such a beautiful picture!

Where did you picture the angel? You pictured him in the air, didn’t you? I know because I used to picture him there too! The question is,“What does the Bible say?”

St. Luke records that there were the shepherds, living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night (Luke 2:8).

What’s next is amazing! “And the angel of the Lord stood near them and the glory of the Lord shown around them and they were greatly frightened” (Luke 2:9).

Did you hear that? St. Luke records that the angel of the Lord stood before them. He wasn’t floating in the air over the shepherds. No, the angel stood—as in, on the ground. His feet were on the ground! He stood just like you stand.

There is no better place for the angels to be than on the earth, for that is where Jesus is.The Savior of the world is in the city of David. He’s the baby wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in the manger.

The Son of God is born on the same chunk of dirt that we live on. He’s one of us now—He cries, sleeps, eats, and does all the other things that little babies do. “No crying He makes?” No way! Lots of crying He makes! He’s that much like you. He came to earth for us, as one of us.

Our sin is that we think that God and His angels are way up in the sky while we are on the earth. When we sin, which is all the time, we think there are things between us and almighty God that aren’t settled or that need to be settled by something we do. If we do the right thing, maybe God, who lives somewhere up there in the sky, will take notice of us way down here on the earth.

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on

Christmas

on the

Thank God for Christmas! It shows us how and where God really is for us.The angel isn’t in the air and neither is God.The Son of God, fully divine, was born of the Virgin. God is with us— right down here in the dirt.

Little Baby Jesus, wrapped in swaddling clothes, was born just like you but without your sin. He took your sin upon Himself on the cross so that you would be just as He is. He is perfect, and now in Him you are perfect too. And when you fall asleep, you will rise, just as He rose!

The shepherds found the Son of God in the manger, but He’s not there anymore. Nor is He on the cross.Today, Jesus is found in the Word your pastor puts into your ears, which tells you that God has taken on your flesh and died for you. He’s in the waters of your Baptism, where all your sins drip off your forehead. He’s in the Lord’s Supper, where He gives His Body for you to eat and His Blood for you to drink for the remission of all your sins.

The Lord’s gifts are where you are—on the earth. God and His angels don’t lock themselves in heaven, and they don’t hover above they earth.That’s why they don’t go back to heaven until after they have delivered the Lord’s message and given us a good hymn to sing! God is where you are, down on earth in your little world, where you have problems, where you suffer, where you are sick, and where you die.

God has come to you in the person of His Son. Everything is on the earth—the angel, the shepherds, even God Himself.

That’s the beautiful and true Christmas picture.

“From heaven above to earth I come To bear good news to every home; Glad tidings of great joy I bring, Whereof I now will say and sing…” (TLH 85:1)

Earth

Rev. George F. Borghardt III is the assistant pastor of St. Mark Lutheran Church in Conroe, Texas, and a member of the editorial board of Higher Things. His email address is revborghardt @sanctus.org. Check out his blog at http://blog.higherthings.org/borghardt/.

W I N T E R

By Rev. George F. Borghardt III

An Angel Appears to the Shepherds 1990, 24 x 29.25 inches Luke 2:8-12 Plate 13, page 57 Printing the Word: The Art of Watanabe Sadao An exhibition of prints from the collection of Anne H. H. Pyle The Gallery at the American Bible Society, New York City

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Join us at Worship at The Feast This year we will expand the worship services, having not only the usual daily Matins, Vespers, and Evening Prayer at Shove Chapel, but also nightly Compline in the more intimate settings of the residence halls. We are also planning for not just one, but two Divine Services—one to begin and one to conclude the conference. In addition to our usual opportunities for volunteers to participate in the choir and instrumental ensembles, we will be inviting young men to apply to serve as ushers and young ladies to serve on our conference altar guild.

Catechesis at The Feast

A Higher Things Youth Conference - 2006

Colorado College Colorado Springs, CO July 18-21, 2006 he biblical narrative is a culture of festivity. And so Paul urged the church in Corinth to continue to keep the “Feast” (1 Corinthians 5:8).The Lord’s Supper is a precious gift because of whose Supper it is. It is truly the Feast of feasts because in, by, and through it, Christ is truly present for us.

We invite you to come and join us at The Feast, as we seek to explore the indescribable riches of what our gracious Father has given us in the Sacrament of the Altar.

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We are really excited about the speakers lined up for The Feast. In fact, we are so excited that we just couldn’t fit them all in! So at this year’s conference there will be TWO sets of in-depth sectionals to choose from! It’s like catechesis—supersized. Rev. Peter Bender will be our catechism speaker and Rev. Brian Mosemann will be the plenary speaker. In-depth sectional information is currently available on our Web site at www.TheFeastOnline.org.

Fun at The Feast We have a ton of opportunities available to us on the campus of Colorado College—movies, games, basketball, swimming, possibly even broomball! In addition to all these activities, we will be having a western BBQ/show at the Flying W Ranch and visiting different area attractions.

Groups arriving early have a number of sight-seeing opportunities available to them as well. Check out www.thefeastonline.org to see some options.

Visit www.TheFeastOnline.org for more information, to download registration forms and a printable information sheet with all this and more! Registration opened on November 15.

Conference Speakers:

Rev. Peter Bender, Pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, WI

Rev. Brian Mosemann, Director of the Pre-Seminary Program, Concordia University in Austin, TX

✠ Registration, Housing, and Meals: $300. A non-refundable deposit of $75 is due at the time of registration. ✠ Registration closes February 28, 2006 or when we reach capacity! ✠ Forms and more information available at www.TheFeastOnline.org.

See you at the Feast!

And in this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of choice pieces, a feast of wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of well-refined wines on the lees.

Isaiah 25:6

More information at www.TheFeastOnline.org

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Kathy and the Wonderful, Beautiful, Happy, Very Good Day

by Kathy Luder

olly was supposed to pick me up for school this morning. Last night she changed her plans. But she didn’t tell me. I was twenty minutes late for first period. I had to inconvenience my dad, which made him grumpy. It wasn’t my fault, but when he mumbled something about responsibility, I knew he thought it was.

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I brought the bibliography for my group report in English, but Jason didn’t write the conclusion. So all six of us got a D, even those of us who had done what we were supposed to. It is 25 percent of our grade. It wasn’t my fault. It was Jason’s. But Mr. Warner wouldn’t listen.

At lunch, I was just telling Molly she forgot me this morning when Susan tripped and spilled chocolate milk on me in the cafeteria. It wasn’t my fault. But Molly still laughed. My sweater is probably ruined. I had to wear it the rest of the day and to the speech team meeting after school. I could smell it on me, and it was sticky. It made me a bit nauseous. I felt dumpier than usual.

Mrs. French told me I have to try improv this year.

We’re already strong in debate. I don’t like improv. I like to be prepared.You can’t prepare for improv.To get us warmed up she had us play charades. I hate charades. She made me go first. I hate going first.

She announced to the group that the theme was music and then whispered in my ear the impossible word wrap. How could I get that across? Nothing was working today.

I took a deep breath and pictured the scene. Mrs. French started the egg timer. I forgot about looking stupid. I focused and threw myself into communicating without words. I played air guitar and mouthed singing into an air microphone. All the kids were yelling out “band” and “rock.” Somebody yelled “Brittany Spears” but I kept going. I acted like I was turning dials on a control panel. I pretended to be holding headphones to my head, bobbed my head, stood up, gave a thumbs up to the imaginary musicians and starting packing up.They caught right on.They yelled out “recording session,”“radio,” and “studio.” I gestured for them to keep guessing.

Someone yelled,“It is a wrap.” I jumped up and said,“Yes!” just as the buzzer went off.

Then Mrs. French forever confirmed my geekiness. She said,“It was supposed to be rap music. Like hip hop and stuff.”

The room burst into laughter. I was so nervous that I had made it harder than it was. Rap music would have been easy, but I was mad to have play charades and for some reason I was thinking “It’s a wrap.”

So I made a fool of myself. Again. In typical Kathy fashion, I stood there in my brown-stained sweater, pantomiming my heart out, with no clue as to what was happening around me.

The entire speech team thinks I am an idiot. It wasn’t my fault.

But I have to agree, I am an idiot.

I got home just as they were clearing the dishes from the table after dinner.

“Hi, Kathy,” Mom said.

“Dad and I have a dance lesson tonight so we had to eat early. I saved you a plate.”

“What is it?” I asked as I dropped my book bag to the floor.

“Beef stroganoff,” “I hate beef stroganoff.” I said, falling into the chair.

Dad came into the kitchen, tying his tie.

“Too bad,” he said.

“Your mother made it, and you’re going to eat it. What do you think this is?

A restaurant?”

I sat down in front of the stroganoff and twirled it around on my fork, angry at everything.“There’s a frozen pizza in the freezer,” Mom said as she walked out. I stuck with the stroganoff. It was

tasteless and cold. I doubt anything would have tasted good. I ate a little but threw most of it away.

I was still hungry as I threw myself down on the couch in front of the television. Dad had left the news on. It was Tuesday, August 30, the day

after Hurricane Katrina had torn through New Orleans.The reporter was speculating about how bad inflation might get and how this might affect us.

“Perfect,” I thought.“Just as I get my license we can’t afford to drive.”

Then they showed the city under water and talked about the people trapped in their attics without food or water. I sat up and leaned closer. I saw a hand sticking out of the water. I wanted to turn the TV off, but I couldn’t.The mayor of New Orleans came on and complained about how the government had failed him while the reporter was talking about the futile evacuation order from before the storm.The camera panned over the city’s school buses all lined up in the water.They hadn’t taken a single person out. I thought about the beef stroganoff in the garbage as I mindlessly watched the screen change to a commercial.

Then I realized that I hadn’t prayed all day. I had complained and wished things were better, but I’d never asked God to make it better. I hadn’t thanked Him for all the good stuff I had either. It was my fault. It was my own most grievous fault. I hadn’t quite cried because of all of the stuff that happened at school, but I’d come close.

Now I realized it really was over spilled milk.

I sat on the couch, put my head in my hands, and prayed for forgiveness. I prayed also for New Orleans, for those who had fled their homes, and for those pointing fingers. And I thanked God for the safe and peaceful day that I had had and for Christ’s promises to me in my Baptism. I even thanked Him for beef stroganoff.

Kathy Luder, avid reader of Higher Things Forums, knows that her best day on earth isn’t as good as the worst day in heaven and that the best is yet to come.You can e-mail her at KathyLuder@hotmail.com

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By Dr. Gene Edward Veith

God

Blog War on the Wrath of

I got into a blog war over the meaning of Hurricane Katrina.

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I was asked to be part of Zeitgeist, World Magazine’s sub-blog, in which different writers carry on conversations with each other (http://zeitgeist.worldmagblog.com/zeitgeist/). One of the writers insisted that Hurricane Katrina— as well as other natural disasters—should be seen as expressions of the wrath of God. He said that the Bible gives many examples of God zapping individuals, cities, and nations for their sins.The writer, a well-known Reformed pastor, said that while it is not politically correct to say so, God used Hurricane Katrina to judge New Orleans—which used to be affectionately known as “Sin City” before Las Vegas competed for that title—and the United States as a whole, which, he said, has become so sinful it may well be considered the “Babylon” of biblical prophecy.

I came back with the point that Jesus Christ Himself tells us exactly how we should consider such catastrophes: “There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. And he answered them,‘Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? “No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish’”(Luke 13:1–5).

So, I said, the point and the application are clear. No, the people in New Orleans were not being punished because they were any more wicked than anyone else. And yet, the message to each of us in our own sin cities is to repent.

Horrible disasters like Hurricane Katrina show us the fallenness of nature. We also see how thin the veneer of civil righteousness is, how when the external controls of the government and the first use of the law are taken away, our sinful nature breaks out in pillaging, raping, shooting at rescue helicopters, doctors killing their patients, and nursing home employees running to save their hides while letting the old people drown in their beds. We should realize that we, in similar circumstances, might very well act in the same way.The wages of sin are

death, and everybody is going to get paid. So any example of death or the horrors that cause death should provoke us to repent.

My blogging adversary didn’t really answer my Bible verses. Instead, he said that the reason for our disagreement was a “mindset.” He said that he thinks of God in terms of His judgment and His wrath against sin. We really do not understand God until we grasp how much He hates sin and the terrible quality of His vengeance against unrighteousness. My fellow blogger lamented how so many people tame, domesticate, and make God nice. He confessed that in his mind, the wrath of God is always before him.

I actually agreed on the reality of God’s wrath, that disasters should make us repent, and that our differences were a matter of mindset. I said that the Lutheran mindset refuses to think of God apart from Christ.

The other blogger is always contemplating God directly, lauding His glory, speculating about Him, and saying how scary He is. But, as Luther warned, we dare not presume to approach or even think about God apart from a mediator.

So, in the Lutheran mindset, when we think of God’s wrath, we immediately bring Christ into the picture.The target of God’s wrath is Christ—not us, not the hurricane victims, not those the Tower of Siloam fell on, not the whole sinful mess of humanity—Jesus on the cross, bearing in His body the sin of the world and experiencing God’s judgment against that sin, so that we can experience instead His grace and mercy.

We must not think of God and His wrath apart from Christ, the wrath-bearer. And when we think of Christ, we must remember how He is hidden in our neighbors in need, that “as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me” (Matthew 25:40).That would include the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Dr. Gene Edward Veith is the cultural editor for WORLD magazine, the Director of the Cranach Institute, and a contributing editor for Higher Things.

MINING THE RICHES

A Promise of

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aw is spoken to convict someone of his sin. Gospel is spoken to forgive or comfort someone who already is convicted of his sin. In Mark, we are hanging out with our Lord Jesus and His disciples.Which words do they speak to each other— Law or Gospel?

th

The disciples speak to Jesus, “Teacher, don’t you care that we are dying?”They speak Law. They accuse Jesus of not caring. They are quick to point out His “sin.”We might think that is quite bold or brash of the disciples, since Jesus has no sin, yet we do the same thing.

Our Lord doesn’t seem to respond to our situation, and it appears that He doesn’t care or that He is asleep on the job, so we get upset because He is not doing anything (at least not the way we think He should).

We think it is the Lord’s fault, so we blame Him. Blaming God started back in the garden with Adam when he said,“The woman YOU gave me . . . ” Jesus responds, but first He speaks to the wind and the sea.“Peace! Be still!”The Law is spoken, and the wind and sea respond by doing the will of the Lord.The Law, which is given to the wind and sea, comes as gift to the disciples.

The wind ceased, and the sea was calm. What is given as Law to one comes as gift to another.

After Adam and Eve had sinned, the Law that God spoke to Satan—that the offspring of the woman will crush his head—comes as Gospel to Adam and Eve—the offspring of the woman will save them. Again, the offspring, Jesus, received the full weight of the Law on the cross where he suffered the wrath of the Father for our sins, yet that which is given as Law to Jesus comes to us as gift—the free gift of forgiveness.

Next, Jesus responds to the accusation of the disciples, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?”

he LORD

By Rev. Brian Mosemann

Rev. Brian Mosemann, STM, is assistant professor of theology at Concordia University, Austin,Texas.

He will be the speaker for the plenary sessions at The Feast, the Higher Things conference in July 2006 in Colorado Springs, Colorado.You may email him at chemnitz@mac.com.

On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them,‘Let us cross over to the other side.’ Now when they had left the multitude, they took Him along in the boat as He was. And other little boats were also with Him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him,‘Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?’

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. But He said to them,‘Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?’ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another,‘Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!’ Mark 4:35–41 NKJV

Rembrandt. Christ in the Storm on the Lake of Galilee. 1633. Oil on canvas. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, USA.

Those are not words of comfort but words of Law, which are spoken to convict the disciples of their sin. Jesus makes clear that the fault lies not with Him but with the disciples who do not have faith, and thus they are afraid.

Faith is trust in the Lord, in His promise. The temptation is always to doubt His promise. In the garden Satan tempted Eve to doubt the word of the Lord,“Did God really say . . . . ?”When the disciples feel the wind and see the waves, they doubt the word of Jesus and have no faith but are afraid.

What word of the Lord do they have in which they do not trust? Jesus said to the disciples,“Let us cross over to the other side.”When the Lord says you are going to the other side, you are going to the other side! With the promise of the Lord, they have no need to fear. Even if the wind and the waves take them to their death, it is not their concern; it is the Lord’s concern. He said they were going to the other side, and He is the one who will get them there, even if He has to raise them from the dead to make good His promise.

The Lord has given you a promise—your sins have been forgiven. It is not a promise He has to make good for He already made good on that promise when He died on the cross and rose again. He delivers that gift of forgiveness to you in Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, Holy Communion, and the preaching of the Gospel.There He speaks to you His Gospel promise to comfort you.“I baptize you . . .”“I forgive you all your sins . . . ”“Take and eat, take and drink, My body given for you, My blood shed for you . . . for the forgiveness of sins.” Doubt says,“A few words, a little water, some bread and wine—doesn’t look like forgiveness to me.” Faith, on the other hand, trusts the promise of the Lord and in thanksgiving responds with an astounding, “AMEN. It shall be so. Gift received!”

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Lutherans in

Sudan

By Hipi Elisa

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he Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan (ELCS) was established in November 1993 by Mr. Andrew Mbugo Elisa. He was later trained at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and ordained on August 29, 1999. Pastor Elisa is now the ELCS president. From its beginning, the aim of the ELCS has been to preach the true Word of God, to help people, and to evangelize.

The ELCS headquarters moved to Khartoum (in northeastern Sudan) shortly after it was founded, since civil war in Sudan made it unsafe to remain in the homes near Juba (in southern Sudan).The church started in Khartoum with people praying every Friday in our home.Then, in 1996, we rented a building in Khartoum that became a prayer center.

Sunday services were held from 10:00 a.m. to noon with about twenty-five members attending.

I was six years old at that time and my sisters, Naku and Zereda, were four years old and two years old. In 1997, my sister Zereda was one of the first children baptized in the ELCS, and I was a Sunday School member. I began to grow in Lutheran faith and knowledge. I discovered that Martin Luther’s teaching is the right and true teaching. I learned this by reading the Bible and the Small Catechism.

I was happy when my father was ordained in

1999, and I began to develop an interest in Sunday School teaching. In 2001, I began to teach the first group, which includes children from eighteen months to five years old. I was also responsible for a Bible study group. Now the ELCS has grown and has many congregations in the South and the North.The majority of its members are Sunday School children.

God has blessed the ELCS with the St. Paul Lutheran Charity Hospital, which is now helping fellow Christians and poor people.The St. Paul Hospital encourages me to study hard and to become a doctor. I pray that God will bless my desire to become a doctor.

Thanks be to God for the peace that has come with the end of the war! I was born in war. War continued until I was fifteen years old. I don’t even know what the South, my home, looks like. But with the coming of the peace, we want to continue promoting Lutheran work all the more, especially Sunday School work. In order to have a good Sunday School program we will need kindergarten Sunday School teaching materials. We need cooperation and support from the Sunday Schools in America.

The training for the Sunday School teachers is greatly needed because it will enable the teachers to teach properly. We are finding it difficult to use American materials, which are sometimes difficult to for the children to understand, not only because of

the language but also their format. American Sunday School materials are sometimes culture-specific.They may work well for American children, but not so well for children of other countries.

Here in Sudan, most of the children understand Arabic and only a few of them understand English.

My thanks go to all the people who are supporting the ELCS.Their gifts help this Church to grow, and I ask God to bless them. My wish is that God may bless the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Sudan, especially the little children and the Sunday Schools. I pray that they may grow in faith and in Lutheran doctrine and become true Lutheran Christians. I am also asking God to bless the Church by opening schools and a university.

May God bless you. Luke 18:15–17.

Miss Hipi Elisa, 15, is the daughter of Rev. Andrew Elisa and lives in Khartoum, Sudan.

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HIGHER THINGS

News & Notes Publications Magazine Hires Marketing Manager Higher Things magazine is pleased to welcome Mary Jo Jiter as our new marketing manager.

Mrs. Jiter will work with the subscriptions, database, and advertising departments to help coordinate congregational renewals, solicit new subscriptions, and raise awareness of Higher Things magazine to the congregations of The Lutheran Church— Missouri Synod and beyond. Welcome aboard!–Rev.Todd Peperkorn

Conferences What should Higher Things do when annual conferences outgrow most college campuses? Add more conferences! Beginning in 2007, Higher Things will host two great conferences at two different locations at two different times each summer.This decision opens up additional options for groups and allows participation to continue expanding while maintaining the “just right” size of conferences that Higher Things youth have grown to love.–Rev. Bruce Keseman

✠ Christmas (Booklet available for download Nov 1)— Rev. George F. Borghardt III, Assistant Pastor, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX ✠ Epiphany—Rev. George F. Borghardt III, Assistant Pastor, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX ✠ Pre-Lent—Rev. Grant Knepper, Mount Olive Lutheran Church, Seattle, WA ✠ Lent—Rev. Daniel J. Feusse, Concordia Lutheran Church, Clearwater, NE ✠ Easter—Rev. William M. Cwirla, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Hacienda Heights, CA ✠ Trinity (Pentecost Tide)—Rev. Duane Bamsch, Evangelists Lutheran Church, Kingsbury, TX ✠ Trinity (Apostles’Tide)—Rev. J. Richard Sawyer Jr., Good Shepherd Lutheran Church & School, Brandon, MS. ✠ Trinity (St. Lawrence/Martyrs’Tide)—Rev. Richard Heinz, Senior Pastor, Saint John Lutheran Church, Lanesville, IN ✠ Trinity (St. Michael/Angels’Tide)—Rev. Dr. D. Richard Stuckwisch, Emmaus Lutheran Church, South Bend, IN ✠ Trinity (All Saints’Tide)—Rev. Duane Bamsch, Evangelists Lutheran Church, Kingsbury, TX Excited about these changes? We are! What’s even better is that there are more big and audacious things being added soon.Take a look at http://www.higherthings.org/. Better check daily!–Rev. George Borghardt III

Christ on Campus Web and Internet Services Beginning at Reformation, Higher Things went through a face lift on our web page. Check it out and you will see a whole new look with lots of great features in the works!

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Higher Things Media We now have audio on the Higher Things Web site! We have received permission from Issues, Etc. to store the interviews of all your favorite Higher Things writers. Check it out.

Daily Reflections We are also happy to present daily Reflections for the full year! You will find it available through e-mail and posted daily on our web site, or you can download a seasonal booklet! We’ve even got a slew of new writers! Here are our 2005-2006 Reflectors: ✠ Advent (Booklet available for download Nov. 1)—Rev. George F. Borghardt III, Assistant Pastor, St. Mark Lutheran Church, Conroe, TX

Christ on Campus, the campus ministry arm of Higher Things, will be greatly expanding in the coming year. We will be holding at least five or six regional Christ on Campus retreats at various campus sites around the country and developing Christ on Campus chapters. Also, the fourth annual Christ on Campus Staff Conference for those engaged in campus ministry will be held June 6–8, 2006, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Look for more information about all of the above at the revamped Christ on Campus area of the Higher Things Web site.–Rev. Marcus Zill

Leadership Training Leadership Training epitomizes an entirely new facet of Higher Things as we seek ways to train confessional leaders and provide the resources they need to effectively minister to Lutheran youth. Currently we are defining specific needs of youth group leaders and preliminarily identifying how to meet those needs, beginning with “Youth 1.0,” which is guidelines for how to begin a youth program, how to ascertain congregational support (over and above buying fundraising items!!), and resources that are invaluable to youth programs.–Sue Pellegrini

Coming in ay W r u o Y 2006!

College Retreats University Lutheran Church & Student Center, Bloomington, IN Dates: February 24-25 • Speaker: Rev. Prof. Richard Resch Topic:“Where Heaven Meets Earth: Christ’s Presence in Worship” St. Paul’s Lutheran Chapel & University Center, Iowa City, IA Dates: February 25-26 • Speaker: Rev. Dr. Andrew Das Topics:“St. Paul - Selected Topics”and “Breaking the DaVinci Code: Fact and Fiction” Luther Memorial Chapel & University Student Center, Shorewood,WI Dates: March 31-April 2 • Speaker: Rev. Prof. Chad Bird Topic:“Worship in the Old Testament” St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church & Campus Center, Laramie,WY Dates: April 21-23 • Speaker: Mr. Craig Parton Topic:“Defending the Faith in an Age of Unbelief” Garner State Park, Concan,TX (in conjunction with www.ligw.org) Dates: June 1-3 • Speaker: Rev. Marcus Zill Topic:“Life Together: God’s Gift of Holy Marriage”

And don’t forget…

The 4th Annual

CHRIST ON CAMPUS Staff Conference

First Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, PA • June 6-8, 2006 Rev. Dr. John R. Stephenson "Pastoral Care and the Sacraments on Campus"

Lower Things Draw Boldly

University Lutheran Chapel, Minneapolis, MN Dates: October 13-15 • Speaker: Rev. Prof. Brian Mosemann Topic: “Confronting Post-Modernism Through Law/Gospel”

By Nathaniel Rhein

Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon "The Homosexualist Agenda on Campus and in the Classroom" Rev. Larry Nichols "The Challenge of Cults and the Occult in the College Context"

For mo re informa t i o n click on Ministrthe “Campus y” higher link at www. things.o rg

W I N T E R 2 0 0 5 __ 25

Josh Harris has the answers to all of your dating questions.

Just crack open any one of his books—I Kissed Dating Goodbye, Boy Meets Girl: Say Hello to Courtship, Stop Dating the Church—and you’ll find information on how to have a God-pleasing relationship that will lead to a God-pleasing marriage and eventually produce God-pleasing children. It seems a bit odd then that the man who advocates holy relationships, no kissing before marriage, and accountability partners would have the email address DOIT4JESUS@aol.com. Ugh. Please. We’d rather not.

I Kissed Dating Goodbye is Harris’s revolutionary book that swept the Christian evangelical world off its feet.

Teenagers who read it were awed by and strangely attracted to the idea that dating, in all its commitment-free glory, does more harm than good. Harris’s theory sounded far more workable: if you focus on certain Bible passages regarding sex and marriage, if you refrain from all things physical when going out, and if your family and pastor demand a weekly accounting of your activities with your boyfriend or girlfriend, you can be assured that your relationship will be a godly one. It sounded good. It enticed thousands of teenagers. Girls even began saying things like,“I’m not dating anymore. Jesus is my boyfriend.” Huh? In his next book, Boy Meets Girl, Harris outlined his version of what a relationship based on biblical principles should look like. He elaborated on the idea that courting is more purposeful than dating. It is a season, he claims, a time in which a man and woman decide whether or not they are meant to be married. Courtship actively works towards marriage, while dating is loose and without meaning.To Harris’s mind, the secular standards for dating were far less than ideal, and so religious ones were put in place. Boyfriends and girlfriends don’t hug. Marriage is the goal of any relationship. Pastors and parents supervise the courtship, pointing out what the couple is doing wrongly and what worries them about the pair.

These types of rules struck a chord with many teenagers and spawned a whole new rash of books. Finding Your Million Dollar Mate was next. The author, Randy Pope, outlined six principles that will guarantee you, literally, a match made in heaven. Some of them are helpful, such as praying daily for your future spouse. Some are pretty harsh, like immediately breaking off relationships with non-Christians. Ouch. But these rules, if followed in the proper succession, the author practically says, guarantee a long and happy life.

All these regulations sounded quite pleasing to the tingly ears of young men and women everywhere. We like the idea that we can do something for God, that we can work at being better, and even bring about more holiness by our own actions. Harris sweet talks us into believing this by writing that God is simply “telling us that if we want to get life right, we need to make it about God. Another way to put it is that we need to see God’s glory as the greatest purpose of every part of life.” Or at least for forty days.

“Well, that’s certainly easy enough!” we cry. So now all we need to do is talk up God and let our parents check on us during dates, and then everything is guaranteed to work out swimmingly. A + B = C. Or better yet, if we pray enough, only hang out with Christians, and follow the six highly effective habits of dating, we’ll end up marrying a physical reincarnation of Michelangelo’s David. God will surely make the perfect girl or boy waltz right into our lives.

Nice try, but no go.These books are dangerous. In fact, they’re nothing more than Law. And because they’re Law, all they do is accuse. And they keep right on accusing, from the Table of Contents to the back cover.

They put the responsibility on us as readers to be holy and sinless when dealing with members of the opposite sex, even though it’s impossible.

IK

Goo

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 26

There’s no way that praying with your boyfriend will stop you from saying something hurtful to him later on. Having your parents bellow “Hand check!” during a movie will not keep you from lusting after your girlfriend ten minutes later. Going to church with your sweetheart is not a promise that you won’t break his or her heart some day.

I’m sure that Josh Harris wrote these books with the best of intentions. But somewhere between studying the Scripture and putting pen to paper, he screwed up.

Big time.Teenagers turn to his book looking for the truth, searching for the best way to please God in a relationship.They turn the last page feeling guilty and ashamed for sins that have already been forgiven and even for things that aren’t wrong at all, like kissing someone before marriage.

Take heart. Harris’s version of how to interact with your boyfriend or girlfriend is not Gospel truth. Certainly he mentions things that are good to keep in mind when dating. He suggests praying for your boyfriend or girlfriend and that the Lord would bless your time together.You can even ask that He give you the strength to keep the 6th Commandment in mind when the temptation gets a little too strong. Pray that God would keep you pure in heart. Hold Him to His promise of forgiveness. And then rest in His grace, knowing that there’s a possibility that at some point in your relationship you’re going to screw up.You may lust.You may lose the other person’s trust.You may get mad at him or her.You’re a sinner.

But there is Jesus, that pesky guy Harris somehow forgot to work into the conversation. Jesus promises to forgive any mistake you might make in your relationships. He died for you for a reason.

He hung on the cross—smelly, bleeding, weak, and dirty— so that when you say something you shouldn’t, there’s forgiveness. When you get a little carried away with staring at your girlfriend’s legs, there’s forgiveness.

When you lie to your boyfriend, there’s forgiveness. When you yell and swear and say things you don’t mean, He forgives that too.

Jesus is not your homeboy. He’s not even your boyfriend. If He is, you’re going to have to break up with Him the next time that cute guy in study hall asks you out, and that would just be mean. But the good news is that He’s your Savior, and He works all the wrong things you do, even in relationships, for your good.

Kissed

Legalism

By Ad ria ne Do rr

oodbye

Adriane Dorr graduated from CUW in May with a degree in English and Writing.

She works as editorial assistant for Higher Things and, after completing a summer internship at Concordia Publishing House in St. Louis, now also works for the company as a free-lance copy editor.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 5 __ 27

Sin,Certainty, and th

Not Eastern Orthodox

Why I’m

By Rev. Paul Gregory Alms

irst of all, let me say that I am a great admirer of the Orthodox Church (sometimes called the Eastern Orthodox Church).The Orthodox Church is made up of similar churches linked by a common confession, liturgy, and tradition, which stretch back to the earliest days of the church and have many commendable traits. I admire the Orthodox Church for its liturgical services and commitment. Orthodoxy has preserved a liturgical, sacramental service and continues to insist upon it. Another thing I like about the Orthodox is that they uphold the Sacraments! They believe and confess that the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper is the true body and blood of Christ.They believe that in Baptism it is God who works regeneration. Orthodox churches are also very traditional and conservative.They conserve and hold to what has been passed down to them from the Christian past.

F

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 28

he

Gospel: So at this point you are probably wondering,“If the Orthodox are so great, why aren’t you one, Pastor Alms?” Good question.The truth is that while I find much to approve of in the Orthodox churches, I am Lutheran and will not switch to Orthodoxy. Why? It’s not because I was brought up Lutheran (which I was) and not because my mom would not approve (which she wouldn’t!) and not because I might lose my job or some benefits (which I would). No, I am going to remain Lutheran because in several crucial areas Lutherans, not the Orthodox, confess and teach the truth of the Scriptures.

Certainty is one area where Lutherans and Orthodox diverge.

One of the great needs we have as sinful people is certainty. We must be certain about God and His mercy to us in Christ.Think of how it would be (and how it often is) if we were uncertain whether our parents or others really loved us. It is the same with our relationship with our Lord.

We need to know for sure what He has done for us and where and how we can receive His love and forgiveness. As Lutherans, we know for sure that we base all our teaching and certainty on the words of Jesus Himself and the Word of His inspired prophets and apostles.

In contrast, Orthodoxy has embraced some practices and beliefs that are not based on the clear word of God.They point people to practices such as praying to the

saints or fasting or using icons in a way that cannot be supported using the Word of God.This makes people uncertain. How can we know that such things are acceptable to God or that He wishes us to do them? How can we know that we can gain acceptance or approval from God for such things?

Sin is another area in which Lutherans and Orthodox differ.

Lutherans talk a lot about sin and the depths of its corruption and the effect it has even on us, the baptized.

Ephesians 2:1 says that without Christ we are corpses and that sin has killed us. What can corpses do?

Get up? Wiggle a toe? Follow Jesus?

Cooperate in achieving good works?

No! Nothing!

Orthodoxy does not share this Scriptural insistence on the effect of sin upon us. Instead, the Orthodox often seem to teach we can cooperate with the Holy Spirit in achieving our salvation. Orthodox leave the door open to the possibility that we in our own free will can exercise some power in getting to heaven.

Lutherans slam this door shut and give all the glory to God alone.

The main reason I am a Lutheran and plan to remain one is the Gospel. Lutherans are all about the Gospel—Jesus Christ on the cross for us sinners! Jesus Christ in the font for us sinners! Jesus Christ on the altar, in our mouths for us sinners! Being a Lutherans means being focused on the Gospel and what God does for us, not on ourselves or on our good-

ness or efforts. We have liturgy, catechism, hymns, churches, sermons, youth groups, magazines, pastors, you name it . . . all for this—to hear and receive the Gospel.The Gospel is not one message among many for Lutherans; it is our lifeblood, the place where we gain all things in Christ, the rock on which we stand.

Lutherans proclaim this: salvation is a pure and free gift from God.This is how God wants it. Jesus, who is love Himself (1 John 4:6), wishes to be the giver and lover and redeemer, the gracious and forgiving one. He wants us to be loved ones, the receivers, the grateful, forgiven, baptized ones, who allow Him to do all for us so that we may witness to His goodness with our thanks and hymns and lives.

While we admire the Orthodox and stand with them on some matters, we insist on the Gospel truth of Scriptures and Confessions and call all Christians to join with us in the saving confession of God’s truth.

Pastor Paul Gregory Alms is the husband of Suzanne, the father of Katie, Rebecca, Hannah, and Natalie, and the pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Catawba, North Carolina.You may contact him at almpsg@vol.com and read his blog at http://blog.higherthings.org/almspg/.

W I N T E R 2 0 0 5 __ 29

Lead us to

ResistTemptation

by Rev. David Petersen

W

THE SIXTH PETITION And lead us not into temptation.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? God tempts no one.

We pray in this petition that God would guard and keep us so that the devil, the world, and our sinful nature may not deceive us or mislead us into false belief, despair, and other great shame and vice.

Although we are attacked by these things, we pray that we may finally overcome them and win the victory.

H I G H E R

T H I N G S __ 30

e receive God’s grace through Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, Holy Communion, and the Holy Bible (wherever it may be found, such as in the Holy Liturgy). We have been reconciled to God in Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection have paid for all our sins.

They are removed. God has forgotten them. We are declared righteous and holy even as Jesus is righteous and holy for we are baptized. We eat the body and drink the blood of our risen Savior. He joins Himself to us. We are the temples of His Holy Spirit not built with hands, nor by the aid or will of a man, but by His holy Word. He speaks, and it is so. He keeps His Word in us. He lays hands upon us and comforts us through His ministers. He hears and answers our prayers. He loves us, and therefore He banishes all guilt and shame. We are His, and we are free.

But all is not complete. God is not yet done with us.Temptation remains. God Himself tempts no one. It is the devil, the world, and our sinful nature that deceive or mislead us.

When our Lord took up our flesh, He also faced temptation. His greatest temptation was to come down from the cross. He was taunted, “Physician, heal yourself.”The devil wanted Him to be God somewhere else and leave us to him, to leave us to what we deserved.

Why should Jesus go hungry in the desert when evil men are satisfied all over the earth? Why should He not enjoy the miracle He performed for His people in the exodus?

Why should He suffer for those who hate Him? The devil laid all these things before Jesus that the Father had not given. He could have had them by divine right, but He had humbled Himself. As a man, He did not always or fully use His divine rights and powers so that He might suffer even as we suffer and ultimately die even as we die. So also was He tempted as is common to man, but the devil did not find an ally in Him as the devil finds in us. Jesus overcame these temptations. He defeated the devil.

Temptations come also to us. We are not above our Master. Even though we have been forgiven and abide in the grace that He gives, we still suffer these attacks. It is not God who sends them. But God does use them. He uses them to teach us to pray, to show us what is truly good, and to purify us

through trials. We pray in the Lord’s Prayer that we would not be led into temptation. We are really asking that we be led out of temptation.

Although we are attacked by these things, we ask that we would finally overcome them and win the victory. We cannot do this on our own.

Our spirits are willing, but our flesh is weak. We like our sins. So the Lord teaches us to pray. He teaches us to throw ourselves upon Him and His mercy, to pray for His Kingdom and His will.

It is hard to sin while praying.

What then should you pray to avoid temptation? Why not the Lord’s Prayer itself?

It certainly isn’t the only prayer you could pray, but there is none better. Like praying the Psalms, the Lord’s Prayer has the advantage of also being the very Word of God. Nothing shuts the devil’s mouth like the truth, and nothing is as true as God’s Word. What could be more true, more confounding to the devil than the perfect prayer given from our Lord’s own mouth?

For a while you must endure temptation.

Absolution, even Holy Communion, will not remove it. But it will be removed. It will be taken away.You will overcome these things and win the victory.You will come out of these great tribulations, out of the grave, and be arrayed in white like your fathers before you.

Rev. David Petersen is pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and is also on the Higher Things editorial board.

His e-mail address is David.H.Petersen@att.net.

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“I Kissed Legalism Goodbye” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

Miss Dorr points out that some of the things that Harris and others advise concerning relationships are “good to keep in mind when dating.”

A. Review the Sixth Commandment and its explanation from the Small Catechism. Read Matthew 5:27-28. Why is a good idea to pray for strength to keep the Sixth Commandment?

Because not only action but thought that is not “sexually pure and decent” is adultery as far as God is concerned, and so when you’re with a member of the opposite sex with whom you are mutually attracted, temptation is especially strong.

B. What about the advice to pray for your boyfriend or girlfriend?

Of course, since that person is important to you, you should pray for him or her. Your relationship is one that is lived before God, not apart from Him, and so prayers for him or her are simply part of being a Christian in that relationship, part of what the “station in life” of being boyfriend or girlfriend entails. A relationship which causes you to try to pretend that God can’t see or doesn’t know about it is very unhealthy for both parties, not to mention your faith.

II. However, other things he says are more problematic.

A. Can you find a place in the Bible where kissing before marriage (or even hugging!) is forbidden?

No, of course not. In some cultures, kissing (yes, even on the lips) is a sign of friendship, not to mention hugging. I’d hate to think that Harris would forbid hugging your mom or dad or your best friend (even if that friend happens to be of the opposite sex), but that seems to be the suggestion.

B. What do you think might have led Harris to put such restrictions on relationships that go beyond what the Bible says?

Initial answers will vary here. Through discussion, lead the students to the idea that sometimes it may be helpful to avoid certain activities or physical gestures when temptation is especially strong, but that doesn’t mean those gestures (such as hugging or even kissing) are always wrong. An alcoholic may need to avoid beer and wine altogether in order to avoid the temptation to get drunk, but that doesn’t make drinking wine or beer a sin for everyone.

III. The worst feature of his books is not what he says, but what he doesn’t say.

A. Read Romans 3:23. What does he forget to mention about the possibility of having a perfect, God-pleasing relationship?

The fact that all of us are going to mess up in some way or another, sooner or later. Even if the problem isn’t the Sixth Commandment, we will say things and do things that hurt the other person or cause them to lose some measure of trust in us. We will judge the other person too harshly or be not quite honest about what we are thinking or feeling at times. We cannot have a perfect, happy-ever-after relationship.

B. Read Romans 3:24. What is the most important thing he forgets to mention?

That Jesus took all of our sins (including the ones committed in the context of our relationships) and died for them on the Cross. That He gives us this free forgiveness through His Word and Body and Blood. That the purpose for the Word is not primarily to give us rules for Godly living, but to give us the free salvation which is ours through Jesus Christ.

“I Kissed Legalism Goodbye” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study I.

Miss Dorr points out that some of the things that Harris and others advise concerning relationships are “good to keep in mind when dating.”

A. Review the Sixth Commandment and its explanation from the Small Catechism. Read Matthew 5:27-28. Why is a good idea to pray for strength to keep the Sixth Commandment?

B. What about the advice to pray for your boyfriend or girlfriend?

II. However, other things he says are more problematic.

A. Can you find a place in the Bible where kissing before marriage (or even hugging!) is forbidden?

B. What do you think might have led Harris to put such restrictions on relationships that go beyond what the Bible says?

III. The worst feature of his books is not what he says, but what he doesn’t say.

A. Read Romans 3:23. What does he forget to mention about the possibility of having a perfect, God-pleasing relationship?

B. Read Romans 3:24. What is the most important thing he forgets to mention?

“Looks Can Be Deceiving” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

Seminarian Genig points out that many of Campus Crusade’s beliefs regarding what it calls the “fundamentals of faith” are similar to what the Lutheran Church teaches about these things.

A. Read Mark 10:38-42. Is it a good thing that they teach the “fundamentals of faith” rightly?

Should we regard them as Christians?

Yes, it is a good thing, and yes, they are Christians. God can and does work through His Word even where there is also false doctrine, and we rejoice that He does so, as those who are saved through the preaching of false teachers will also be in heaven with us. This is why we don’t seek to evangelize or convert those who are already Christians but are in fellowship with false-teaching churches or groups. At the same time, we must not ignore or minimize the damage that is caused when the fundamental truths of faith are preached along with error.

B. Read Matthew 5:17-21. Is it enough to agree in a limited set of “fundamentals of faith”?

Should we support and practice fellowship with those who agree with these fundamentals but who are wrong on the Sacraments or on the subject of how conversion happens?

Certainly not. While we do thank God that He works through His Word even where error has intruded, we dare not approve of or endorse the error. None of God’s Word is unimportant, and those who deny any part of it are risking their belief even in the “fundamentals.” If time (and knowledge of the Confessions) permits, point out to the students that when AC VII says, “For the true unity of the Church it is enough to agree about the doctrine of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments,” the confessors are not talking about a limited set of “fundamentals” but with every article of doctrine taught by the Scriptures, since all are connected with the Gospel and Sacraments.

II. “Their Jesus is far off. He is in heaven giving advice and demanding a decision.”

A. Read Colossians 1:27. Does the Bible speak of a Jesus who is far off?

No. It speaks of a Jesus who comes to us and dwells in us.

B. Read John 15:16. Does Jesus say we have to choose Him? No. He chose us. As the Catechism puts it, “I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him. But the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”

III. “He is there physically. He is there with His precious body, dripping blood, sanctified waters, and life-giving Word. All who are wearied by the changes, chances, and trials of this life, especially the college life, are given Christ concretely.”

A. What do you think he means by the word “concretely” here?

What is meant here is that Christ comes to us in physical things that have a real existence in the real world. It’s not a matter of things that come from our own hearts, such as feelings we might have or decisions we might make.

B. Why is the fact that Christ comes to us concretely important?

What comes from our own heart or our own mind can change. We may feel good about Jesus one day and not so good the next. Our salvation doesn’t depend on us, but on Him. And the things He comes to us in, water, Word, bread, and wine, don’t change like our feelings and will can. They are rock-stable and reliable.

“Looks Can Be Deceiving” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study I.

Seminarian Genig points out that many of Campus Crusade’s beliefs regarding what it calls the “fundamentals of faith” are similar to what the Lutheran Church teaches about these things.

A. Read Mark 10:38-42. Is it a good thing that they teach the “fundamentals of faith” rightly?

Should we regard them as Christians?

B. Read Matthew 5:17-21. Is it enough to agree in a limited set of “fundamentals of faith”?

Should we support and practice fellowship with those who agree with these fundamentals but who are wrong on the Sacraments or on the subject of how conversion happens?

II. “Their Jesus is far off. He is in heaven giving advice and demanding a decision.”

A. Read Colossians 1:27. Does the Bible speak of a Jesus who is far off?

B. Read John 15:16. Does Jesus say we have to choose Him?

III. “He is there physically. He is there with His precious body, dripping blood, sanctified

waters, and life-giving Word. All who are wearied by the changes, chances, and trials of this life, especially the college life, are given Christ concretely.”

A. What do you think he means by the word “concretely” here?

B. Why is the fact that Christ comes to us concretely important?

“Dealing with Depression” and “The Devil’s Opera” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach and Christina Kirk Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

Both of these articles deal with the subject of mental illnesses of various kinds.

A. Read Genesis 3:1-19. What is the ultimate reason why mental illness exists in the world?

Like all other illnesses and problems we face, mental illness has its ultimate source in the fact that the world has been corrupted by the sin we have all inherited from Adam and Eve, the same as any other physical illness or condition, such as cancer, broken bones, or the common cold.

B. Read John 9:1-3. Are mental illnesses (or other illnesses, for that matter) caused by the sins of the individuals who have them?

No. While it is true that some afflictions may be a direct result of something that person has done (such as when AIDS is contracted by means of breaking the Sixth Commandment or the use of contaminated needles or illegal drugs), the vast majority of illnesses (including especially mental ones) are not caused by anything that person did. They are simply another reflection of the fact that this old world has been broken by sin and so nothing works the way it did before.

II. Andrea Fouts tells the story of a young man with a bipolar disorder.

A. What does the young man’s friend think will “cure” him?

Participating in a “contemporary” worship service that focuses on the emotions of peace and joy, and having one’s faith strengthened so that he will be able to resist the feelings of despair, as if the despair has a spiritual source rather than a physical one.

B. Why doesn’t it work?

Because bipolar disorder, like most other mental illnesses, isn’t just a matter of having wrong emotions that can be fixed by an emotionally uplifting experience. It is a chemical imbalance in the brain which is just as physical as is deafness or blindness.

C. Will participating in a more historic, sacramental church “work”?

Not in the physical sense. These are physical disorders, not problems that indicate a lack of faith or spiritual life. While Gospel-focused, sacramental worship will do a better job of nourishing your faith as you face the temptations that accompany these illnesses than lawfocused contemporary worship will, strengthening your faith will not, in itself, cure the physical problem that causes these feelings of depression and despair in the first place. God works through physical means to cure physical problems (doctors and casts for broken bones, antibiotics for infections, nutrition for malnourishment, etc.), and mental illnesses are physical problems.

III. Pastor Krueger discusses some of the options for treatment of clinical depression, including antidepressant medications and cognitive behavioral therapy.

A. Does reliance on such treatments indicate a lack of faith?

No. Certainly it is true that some forms of psychology have often been abused to cause people to doubt their faith in Christianity, counseling and medications do not indicate a lack of faith any more than taking Tylenol to cure a headache indicates a lack of faith.

B. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. Are these illnesses always to be thought of as a curse or problem?

No, they can often be opportunities and blessings in disguise. For example, the young man in Mrs. Fouts’ article can see more clearly than his peers the shallowness of modern “evangelical” forms of worship, because of his disorder. Those with depression can often understand the theology of the cross better than others, because they know better than some others how God works through suffering and the cross. Also, they also have a better understanding of our helplessness and need for God’s intervention, as those with such illnesses cannot by their own reason or strength “cure themselves.” As St. Paul points out, it is God’s strength that is made perfect in our weaknesses. And the means by which He does so (counseling, medication, sometimes accompanied by a change of lifestyle as well) are themselves blessings from Him, not just something those with these illnesses must “put up with.”

“Dealing with Depression” and “The Devil’s Opera” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach and Christina Kirk Bible Study I.

Both of these articles deal with the subject of mental illnesses of various kinds.

A. Read Genesis 3:1-19. What is the ultimate reason why mental illness exists in the world?

B. Read John 9:1-3. Are mental illnesses (or other illnesses, for that matter) caused by the sins of the individuals who have them?

II. Andrea Fouts tells the story of a young man with a bipolar disorder.

A. What does the young man’s friend think will “cure” him?

B. Why doesn’t it work?

C. Will participating in a more historic, sacramental church “work”?

III. Pastor Krueger discusses some of the options for treatment of clinical depression, including antidepressant medications and cognitive behavioral therapy.

A. Does reliance on such treatments indicate a lack of faith?

B. Read 2 Corinthians 12:7-9. Are these illnesses always to be thought of as a curse or problem?

“Lead us to Resist Temptation” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

Pastor Petersen reminds us of what the Catechism teaches, “God tempts no one.”

A. Read James 1:12-15. Where do temptations come from?

“Each one is tempted he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.” Or, as the Catechism reminds us, “The devil, the world, and our sinful nature.” Temptation doesn’t come from God but from Satan, others around us, and especially our own hearts.

B. Does this mean that a real Christian won’t have temptations in his life?

Of course not. This is one of those lies promoted by some neo-evangelicals, that being a Christian means you will always be subjectively happy, healthy, and wealthy. If being a Christian means being free of temptation, then Christ Himself had problems, as Pastor Petersen points out.

II. Even though God tempts no one, He does have a purpose in allowing us to be tempted.

A. Read Matthew 15:21-28. Even though He eventually granted the woman’s request, why did Jesus act like He was going to refuse her?

To show, and give exercise to, her faith. Just as muscles don’t grow and become strong unless they are exercised, so also faith becomes stronger when it is tested. When faith begins to rely on crutches like emotions or the fact that things are going well for us, sometimes those crutches might be taken away so that we can rely more strongly on the Word itself.

B. Read Matthew 4:1-11. What was God’s purpose in allowing Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness?

To show us how to resist temptation, i.e., through the Word, and, more importantly, to overcome temptation for us as the Righteous One (cf. the Man who endures temptation in James 1:12) whose victory is given us as a free gift in the Word, water, body and blood.

III. Temptation will eventually have its end.

A. Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. What does St. Paul teach us about how much God will allow us to be tempted.

He will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape, that we may bear it. Emphasize to the students that this doesn’t mean God won’t allow us to be tested beyond what we think we can bear, nor does it mean that He won’t ever allow us to be tested beyond what we can bear by our own reason or strength. Rather it means that He will give us, through His Gospel and Sacraments, what is needed to endure it.

B. Pastor Petersen says that “Absolution, even Holy Communion, will not remove [temptation].”

Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

This is a bit of a trick question, and there is a sense in which either answer is true. Of course, in the context, his statement is correct. Rightly receiving the Gospel and Sacraments don’t mean that we will be free of temptation in this life. However, temptation does have its end, namely eternal life. And it is precisely eternal life which the Gospel and Sacraments give us.

Knowing that we already now have that eternal and perfect life that is free of temptation is itself part of the comfort and strength God gives us to face the ongoing temptations we face in this world.

“Lead us to Resist Temptation” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study I.

Pastor Petersen reminds us of what the Catechism teaches, “God tempts no one.”

A. Read James 1:12-15. Where do temptations come from?

B. Does this mean that a real Christian won’t have temptations in his life?

II. Even though God tempts no one, He does have a purpose in allowing us to be tempted.

A. Read Matthew 15:21-28. Even though He eventually granted the woman’s request, why did Jesus act like He was going to refuse her?

B. Read Matthew 4:1-11. What was God’s purpose in allowing Jesus to be tempted in the wilderness?

III. Temptation will eventually have its end.

A. Read 1 Corinthians 10:13. What does St. Paul teach us about how much God will allow us to be tempted.

B. Pastor Petersen says that “Absolution, even Holy Communion, will not remove [temptation].”

Do you agree or disagree with this statement?

“Blog War” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

Dr. Veith notes that while natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina (not to mention manmade ones such as 9/11) are not to be considered God’s judgment on any specific people, they are reminders that we are all in need of repentance.

A. Read Luke 13:1-5. Does Jesus agree with the idea that the particular victims of the disasters in His time were singled out for some special punishment?

“No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” They are reminders to us of the sinfulness of mankind that has corrupted creation, not necessarily judgments upon the specific individuals.

B. Read Luke 21:25-27. Of what great future event are the disasters a reminder? Why do you think this great event is connected with these reminders to repent?

They are reminders of the second coming of Christ in glory. The reminders of the end of the world (wars, rumors of wars, natural disasters, etc.) are also consequences of sin in the world.

The reason this old world is being done away with is because it’s broken by sin, and the perfect new creation is coming to replace it (in fact, it’s already here in the resurrected body and blood of Jesus Christ).

II. The major difference between Dr. Veith and his opponent in the blog debate was their view of God, and that affected their view of how He relates to His creation and His people. Dr. Veith looks to God as He reveals Himself in Christ, while his opponent looks at God’s wrath over sin as if that were who and what God is.

A. Read John 14:6. Who does Jesus say we are to look to if we wish to know God? Himself, the Son of the Father, one with the Father.

B. Read 1 John 4:7-8. Who has a more accurate picture of God, the person who focuses on His wrath or the one who focuses on His love?

The one who focuses on His love. In fact, elsewhere in that letter John goes so far as to say that the one trying to get to know God apart from His love in Christ has no part in Him. III. “In the Lutheran mindset, whenever we think of God’s wrath, we immediately bring Christ into the picture.” Christ bore the punishment for our sin, therefore He bore all the wrath over sin.

A. Read Isaiah 53:4-6. How does Isaiah describe the wrath over sin Christ bore?

In taking all sin upon Himself, Christ took all the consequences of sin, too. He was “stricken, smitten, and afflicted,” wounded, bruised, beaten, and whipped. He took all the consequences of sin on Himself.

B. Read Matthew 25:31-46. In view of the Isaiah passage above, what is Christ talking about when He says, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me”?

Those who have been affected by the consequences of sin in our world (sickness, suffering, disasters, grief, etc.) remind us of Him who took it all on Himself and suffered for all of it. They are those for whom Christ died to win salvation and eternal life free from all this suffering.

Therefore in serving them we serve Christ. If time permits, you may want to point out to the students that seeing God as primarily wrathful can be taken to such an extent that it would make helping the victims of the hurricanes or of 9/11 immoral. After all, if those events were God’s specific wrath on the victims (rather than consequences of the general sinfulness of the world and reminders to all of us to repent), then isn’t it wrong to alleviate the suffering of those whom God’s wrath has targeted for suffering?

“Blog War” Pastor Timothy Schellenbach Bible Study I.

Dr. Veith notes that while natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina (not to mention manmade ones such as 9/11) are not to be considered God’s judgment on any specific people, they are reminders that we are all in need of repentance.

A. Read Luke 13:1-5. Does Jesus agree with the idea that the particular victims of the disasters in His time were singled out for some special punishment?

B. Read Luke 21:25-27. Of what great future event are the disasters a reminder? Why do you think this great event is connected with these reminders to repent?

II. The major difference between Dr. Veith and his opponent in the blog debate was their view of God, and that affected their view of how He relates to His creation and His people. Dr. Veith looks to God as He reveals Himself in Christ, while his opponent looks at God’s wrath over sin as if that were who and what God is.

A. Read John 14:6. Who does Jesus say we are to look to if we wish to know God?

B. Read 1 John 4:7-8. Who has a more accurate picture of God, the person who focuses on His wrath or the one who focuses on His love?

III. “In the Lutheran mindset, whenever we think of God’s wrath, we immediately bring Christ into the picture.” Christ bore the punishment for our sin, therefore He bore all the wrath over sin.

A. Read Isaiah 53:4-6. How does Isaiah describe the wrath over sin Christ bore?

B. Read Matthew 25:31-46. In view of the Isaiah passage above, what is Christ talking about when He says, “Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to me”?