2006 Spring - Higher Things Magazine (with Bible Studies)

• Intelligent Design: Humans, God, and Mt. Rushmore • Reasons to Avoid Dropping the G-Bomb • Prayer in Public Schools— A Nation at War

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Inside this issue:

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/ SPRING / 2006

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CONTENTS T A B L E

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FEATURES 4

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Intelligent Design: Science or Religion?

By Rev. William M. Cwirla Who ya calling pond scum?? Were you created with a purpose or did you evolve from gunk?

Can science and Christianity coexist? Read Rev. Cwirla’s defense of Intelligent Design to find the answers.

The Pinch: Caught in the Middle of the School Prayer Debate and Other Church/State Stuff

By Rev.Tim Pauls Prayer in public schools is a good thing. Or is it?

Rev. Pauls discusses multiculturalism, secularism, and the fine line between church and state.

Accompanying his essay is a compelling article on school prayer by Mollie Ziegler.

10 Myths about Suicide:: Christian Responses to Kids at Risk

By Dr. Beverly Yahnke Over 50 percent of teenagers contemplate suicide. Read Dr.Yahnke’s article to find out how you can help those who face this temptation.

12 A Few Lies Satan Tells about Himself

By Vicar Charles Lehmann Vicar Lehmann weighs in on Satan’s anger, our sin, and God’s gift of Jesus for our redemption.

14 Your Alpha to Omega: What to do after Graduation

By Rev. George F. Borghardt III Are you finishing school this year? Do you feel unsure of what life has in store for you after graduation? Rev. Borghardt reminds us of the hope and promise we have in Christ.

25 The G-Bomb

By Rev.Tom Chryst Your friends, television actors, and maybe even you misuse the Lord’s name. Check out Rev. Chryst’s article to see why three little words say more than you might think.

COLUMNS

Volume 6/Number 1 • Spring 2006

16 We are Family

By Kathy Luder Kathy and her mom attend a funeral at church.

While there, she contemplates the similarities between biological families and church families, family suppers and the Lord’s Supper, and birthdays and feast days.

20 Mining the Riches: Why Do We Suffer?

By Jeff Hansen While reflecting on Lamentations 3, Jeff Hansen gives insight about God allowing suffering in our lives.

23 Putting Christ in Christianity

By Dr. Gene Edward Veith Why are most Christians so reluctant to talk about Jesus? Are good works more appealing than our Savior? Dr. Veith outlines the importance of focusing on Christ and the forgiveness He offers.

26 Pulse: And the People’s Choice Award Goes to . . .

By Adriane Dorr Do you like the Black-Eyed Peas? Gwen Stefani?

Audioslave? Read this Pulse column to see a survey of what kinds of music Higher Things readers listen to the most.

28 Dare To Be Lutheran: A Relevant Font

By Aaron Wolf Megachurch or faithful church? Contemporary Christian music or the liturgy? Video projectors or hymnals? Mr.Wolf explains the benefits of being distinctly, and even an old-fashioned, Lutheran.

30 Catechism: The Power of Water

By Rev. David Petersen God joins water and His Word to keep us from eternal damnation. Read about God’s saving gifts, which He gives us through the means of Baptism.

Also in this issue: 22 Letters to the editor 24 News and Notes

HigherThings 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

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Leadership Executive SUE PELLEGRINI

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Pennsylvania judge recently ruled that the teaching of intelligent design as an alternative to the theory of evolution in the public high school science classroom constituted the teaching of religion, and was, therefore, unconstitutional. Across the country the debate rages in school boards, courtrooms, and classrooms. Is intelligent design science, or is it religion?

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WHAT IS “INTELLIGENT DESIGN?” Intelligent Design (ID) is a school of thought held by some scientists, theologians, and philosophers who believe that the universe shows objective evidence for design. Consider this example. Imagine walking along a stretch of ocean beach and seeing an array of rocks that form the letters “HELLO.” Is it more reasonable to assume that this formation is the result of the random tumbling of rocks bounced around by waves over a long stretch of time or the intentional act of a designer who arranged the rocks for a specific purpose? We immediately assume design, of course. Rocks bouncing in the waves don’t form letters much less words. That’s the idea behind Intelligent Design.

ID advocates see evidence for intelligent design in nature.

Biologist Dr. Michael J. Behe (Darwin’s Black Box) calls biological systems “irreducibly complex.” He cites the whiplike tail of single cell flagellets as an example.

The flagellum in the cell consists of a stator, rotor, bushing, hook, and tail. If one piece is missing or defective, the flagellum will not work, and the cell cannot move and dies.

Therefore, concludes Dr. Behe, the flagellum could not have evolved from simpler forms over a long period of time. It must have been designed as a working unit from the beginning.

Mathematician Dr. William A. Dembski (Intelligent Design:

The Bridge Between Science and Theology) finds what he terms “specified complexity” in the genetic code. The genetic code consists of four basic molecules designated by the first letters of their chemical names: A,C, G, and T. These four molecules, arranged in long double helix strands, form genes and chromosomes, a detailed blueprint for every protein in the body.

The genetic code is specific and complex information—a dense language with a four-letter alphabet. The chances of A,C,G, and T molecules stringing themselves together to form a coherent code for an aardvark or even an amoeba, much less a human being, are impossibly small. Like the software of a computer, the very existence of a code implies a coder.

ID proponents point out that Earth is a rare cosmic gem in the universe. It’s the perfect place for life—the right galactic neighborhood, perfect parent star, orbit, distance from the sun, surface gravity, magnetic field, oxygen atmosphere, water to land ratio, surface temperature, a large solitary moon to govern the tides. Furthermore, the entire universe is delicately balanced on a finely tuned set of universal physical constants.

One tiny glitch in any of these universal constants, and the whole galactic party would be over. ID advocates contend that these things cannot possibly be the result of a great cosmic coincidence; they point to intelligent design.

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By Rev. William M. Cwirla

SCIENCE OR RELIGION? The majority of scientists and science educators remain unconvinced. They argue that design, like beauty, tends to be in the eye of the beholder. We have an eye for pattern. We sometimes see “faces” or other objects in the clouds. Rock cliffs sometimes resemble faces. Snowflakes form beautifully intricate geometric patterns, yet these “designs” are a natural property of crystalline water. Design is not a measurable property in the same way as temperature or color.

Critics cite bacterial injection systems similar to the flagellum in the cell yet simpler, challenging whether biological complexity is actually irreducible. They also point out that chemical systems are not entirely random, especially when it comes to large, complex macromolecules like DNA and proteins.

Specified complexity may be a property of these molecules.

Science educators fear that introducing intelligent design into the science classroom will lead to sloppy science. They charge ID proponents with plugging God into the gaps of scientific knowledge as a catchall explanation. Science deals in verifiable, testable concepts. Since God is not testable, God should not be introduced into the scientific discussion. When scientists observe an event, they assume a natural cause, not a divine miracle.

Ordinarily, this assumption works quite well. Science studies things as they are. Scientists in the physical sciences, such as physics and chemistry, follow a strict scientific method.They conduct controlled experiments to test their hypotheses and theories.The natural sciences, like biology, deal with much more complex systems; experiments are not always possible.

The study of origins—where things come from and how

they are developed—cannot use experiments to repeat past events. Instead, researchers make observations and form reasonable explanations that fit the facts. It’s like detective work.

Detectives collect clues from a crime scene and put together a case that will convince a jury “beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Evolution looks at the evidence from the natural world and sees a process of change by natural selection; ID sees evidence for intelligent design.

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? God ordinarily works through means. Though He made everything out of nothing in the beginning, He used the material of the Earth to bring forth vegetation and animal life (Genesis 1:11–12, 24) and the waters to bring forth the creatures of the sea (1:20). He made man out of the dust of the ground (Genesis 2:7). Science can analyze the clay, but it cannot detect the Potter. Though Christ “fills all in all”(Ephesians 1:23 ESV) and is the creative, ordering Word through whom all things were made and in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:17), no telescope or microscope can detect His presence.

Certain things can be known about God from the observation of nature. The apostle Paul wrote that even those who do not have the written Word can know something of God from nature: “For His invisible attributes, namely, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made” (Romans 1:20 ESV). Ultimately, however, understanding that God created everything out of nothing by His Word is a fruit of faith. “By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible” (Hebrews 11:3 ESV).

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SCIENCE OR RELIGION? Is intelligent design “religion”? No. It has nothing to say about who God is or how God is to be worshipped. Is it science? Not in the same sense as physics or chemistry. Past events cannot be repeated under controlled experimental conditions.Yet ID is both religious and scientific. It uses scientific data to defend theism against atheism and provides a reasonable explanation for the observed complexity of life and the ordering of the universe.

ID is nothing new. It is the “Natural Theology” of William Paley (1743–1805), the “Watchmaker God” of Isaac Newton (1643–1727), and the “Uncaused Cause” of Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274). The fourth-century church father Athanasius (298–373), writing against the Epicurean materialist philosophers of his day, noted: This distinctness of things argues not a spontaneous generation but a prevenient Cause; and from that Cause we can apprehend God, the Designer and Maker of all (On the Incarnation 1:2).

Does ID belong in the classroom? The famous apologist G. K. Chesterton once remarked,“It is absurd for the Evolutionist to complain that it is unthinkable for . . . God to make everything out of nothing, and then pretend that it is more thinkable that nothing should turn itself into everything.” Any reasonable explanation that fits the facts should be open for debate.

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Evolution and intelligent design certainly need to be discussed within the philosophical foundations of science.

Evolution’s assumption of natural cause is as scientifically unable to be tested as the concept of intelligent design.

Unfortunately, philosophy and theology are not necessarily part of the modern curriculum. Any interpretation of scientific data, especially when it pertains to the origin of life and the universe, will always have philosophical and theological as well as scientific aspects.

The Christian faith doesn’t stand or fall on a concept of intelligent design. It stands or falls on the crucifixion and resurrection of the creative Word made flesh, Jesus Christ, in whom the sinner is justified before God by grace through faith for Jesus’ sake—the same Word who made the heavens and the earth and died and rose to redeem the cosmos He created.

What a privilege it is to know and confess the Designer and Redeemer’s name, Jesus, and to be known by Him! Rev.William M. Cwirla is Pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, CA and vice president of Higher Things.

For further reading on the debate between ID and evolution see: • Intelligent Design? - a special report reprinted from Natural History magazine • (http://www.actionbioscience.org/evolution/nhmag.html)

ThePinch

By Rev.Tim Pauls

n the one side, there are those who say that church and state should be totally separate, that religion has no place in public life.

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If you want to give it a name, call it secularism.

Among other things, secularism teaches that there should be no prayer in public schools, no nativity scenes at city hall or public displays of the Ten Commandments in parks.Taken to the extreme, secularism also seeks to remove “under God” from the Pledge of Allegiance. Secularism has made a lot of progress over the past sixty-five years (It’s hard to believe that many public schools used to begin the day with students reciting the Lord’s Prayer!), usually by filing lawsuits. It didn’t used to be this way.

President Thomas Jefferson signed legislation that sent money to Jesuit priests in part for the purpose of spreading the Gospel among American Indians.

No, when the United States was a young country, government could interact with religion as long as

the government did not show favoritism.That’s what the First Amendment to the United States Constitution says. Nevertheless, secularism has changed a lot of things and continues to push hard.

On the other side, there are those who argue that nearly all religions should be in public life, especially schools. Call it multiculturalism.The argument goes like this: it’s important to study culture, and religion is just a part of culture.You can’t understand India unless you study Hinduism.You can’t understand the Middle East unless you study Islam.You can’t understand Israel without studying Judaism.Therefore, students should study religion in public school, and they do study religions like Hinduism, Islam, and Judaism.There’s one problrm though. Students may not study Christianity. Why? Because while the other

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religions belong to certain cultures, Christianity does not. It’s all over the world, not just in India or the Middle East.Therefore, it’s just a religion and shouldn’t be in school. (Note two problems with multiculturalism. For one, try studying European or early American history and culture without tripping over Christianity. For another, note that when multiculturalists insist that all religions are equal, they are also saying that no religion is true or saving.)

If you think this has nothing to do with you, you’re wrong. When secularism pushes in the courts, the lawsuits nearly always involve something that happened at a school. When multiculturalism pushes, it nearly always involves the curriculum of

secularismmu schools. If you’re in school, you’re on the front line of this war. Secularism is pushing hard on one side, saying religion doesn’t belong in society.

Multiculturalism is pushing hard on the other, saying that every religion, except Christianity, belongs in society. Right in the middle is the pinch. Right in the middle is you.

What are you supposed to do? You’re a Christian, forgiven for Jesus’ sake and seeking to live by God’s Word.You’re also a citizen in the United States, called

by God to honor rulers and laws.You’re the innocent bystander in a big fight, and neither side is sympathetic to you and your faith. What are you supposed to do?

For starters, be careful—really careful. When you fight one enemy, you often help another.Take prayer in public schools.You might be tempted, like many Christians, to take up the fight and insist that there must be a class prayer at the start of the day in pub-

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lic schools. Be careful what you wish for. According to the First Amendment, government can’t favor one religion over another.Therefore, if there’s prayer in public schools, it won’t just be prayer to the one true

Prayer in Schools: To Pray or

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f you went to a public school fifty years ago, your day probably would have begun with public prayer. Court rulings have taken prayer out of schools, but some Christians fight to bring it back.

God commands prayer throughout the Bible.The right to address God in prayer is a beautiful gift, but did you know Lutherans spoke negatively about prayer in schools as far back as 1870? That’s because

in school-led Bible studies and prayers, false doctrine was taught about Jesus. If there were problems then, things haven’t exactly gotten better since.

Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs now attend public schools. In America, everyone has the right to worship as he or she pleases, and we don’t have an official religion. Still, many of our founders were Christian. Politicians mention God in speeches, and

God.There will also be prayers to the Muslim Allah, Vishnu, Buddha, and more. Do you see? If you fight against secularism, you’re helping out multiculturalism.“I don’t want that!” you say.“I don’t want to sit through a bunch of prayers to false gods!” So, you decide, it’s better to have no prayer in school at all.

That might be true, but now you’ve just handed a big victory to secularism.

Try another one. Should the old Ten Commandments monument be allowed to stay in the local park? “Absolutely not!” say secularists, and Christians have been fighting in court to keep the commandments in public places. But if one religion has a statue in the park, the First Amendment says

in history.That could change in the future as secularism and multiculturalism continue, but for now though, you’re okay.

More importantly, you don’t have to win the battle.

The battle has already been won.“In the world you will have tribulation,”said Jesus to His disciples.“But take heart; I have overcome the world”(John 16:33 ESV). No matter how much people maintain there are no gods or many gods, this truth remains: Christ has overcome the world, conquering sin and death on the cross. Eternal life is yours, because He’s redeemed you to make it so. It’s only a matter of time until He returns in glory to deliver His people to heaven.

In the meantime, live as one redeemed. Be a

ulticulturalism that any religion can put one in. Do you want a park with a bunch of statues to all sorts of false gods or room to play Frisbee? Once again, you’re in the middle. If you fight to keep the monument, you’re helping multiculturalism. If you fight to keep all the monuments out, you’re helping secularism. What are you going to do? You’re in the pinch, and you can’t win.

For one thing, don’t panic.This isn’t anything new, but Christians have been through one or the other before with greater stakes. Read up on Polycarp sometime, an early Christian who was told to worship a bunch of false gods or die. Or read up on Christians who lived in Communist countries, instructed to deny the existence of God or die.The world is never going to have much use for Jesus.

In fact, give thanks for this: in the United States, you live in a nation that defends your right to worship the one true God.You enjoy a freedom to worship in this land that has never been known before

Not to Pray?

good citizen wherever you are, and make decisions carefully, doing your best to help your neighbor and influence society as you’re able. If you’re old enough to vote, then vote—even on the local bond issue.

Honor your rulers and laws, unless they command you to disobey God. Rejoice to confess the truth, for you can comfort the despairing secularist that there is a God who gives eternal life freely and the confused multiculturalist that there is a Savior who truly raises from the dead.

And always rejoice.The battle is won, for Christ has overcome the world.The pinch will pass, and the kingdom of heaven is yours.

Rev.Tim Pauls is Associate Pastor and Acting School Administrator at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and School in Boise, Idaho. His email address is tpauls@goodshepherdboise.org.

By Mollie Ziegler

God is on our coinage and in the Pledge.

But these statements aren’t reflections of the triune God we worship but a generic god for Americans. Muslims can say the Pledge just as well as we can, but they do not believe in Jesus. So what does it really mean when a politician says,“God bless you”?

If prayer were to be allowed in government

schools, it would have to be generic and meaningless or we would be forced to hear false doctrine from other religions.

We may wish that everyone we went to school with worshiped Jesus, but not everyone does. And even if everyone at school claimed to believe in Jesus but taught false things about Him, what kind of prayer would we share?

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myths abo Christian Responses to Kids

By Dr. Beverly Yahnke

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arrie was a really bright girl who always wanted to please everyone.

She was a little shy and never really seemed to have a best friend.

She wanted to be a teacher someday so that she could help kids. But Carrie’s life story ended prematurely because she committed suicide in her senior year. Her family and community were shocked beyond words.

No one had a clue. Everyone felt guilty, certain that they must have missed some signs. Only Carrie’s suicide note allowed a glimpse into her pain.

She wrote,“I hate myself, I hate my life and it hurts too much to live.”

How is it possible to feel so depressed, so hopeless, so isolated and unloved that teens could consider ending their lives? Psychologists acknowledge that some teens can feel helpless to respond to their personal pain and may retreat quietly into a private cocoon, deeply wounded, yet keeping the love and genuine care of others at a distance.

According to The Center for Disease Control, suicide is a public health epidemic. It reports that 50 to 80 percent of teens think about suicide when they are in some sort of pain. An unspeakable 8 to 10 percent of teens attempt suicide. As unthinkable as it seems, each year almost five thousand young people end their own lives. Suicide has become the third leading cause of death among those aged fifteen to twenty-four, following only car accidents and homicides.

How can Christians respond to this kind of epidemic? We are called to speak the truth in love to one another.Truth trumps the lies that tempt depressed people to end their lives. Examining the top ten lies, or myths, about suicide equips us to respond to others in need.

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1. People who talk about suicide won’t really do it.

Threatening suicide helps us to desensitize ourselves to the horror of the actual act of taking a life.We become numb to the horror of what suicide really is.

Many who commit suicide have talked with others about their pain and their plans, only to be regarded as attention seeking or to be thought theatrical.

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2. Anyone who thinks about suicide must be crazy.

Fifty to eighty percent of teens aren’t crazy! People who think about suicide have been hurting for a long time and can’t imagine that anything in their lives can become better.That’s not crazy.That’s a horrible lie that has caused hopelessness.

3. Suicide is a good solution.

Wrong. Suicide is a permanent solution for only a temporary problem.

4. Talking about suicide will give someone the idea.

Talking about suicide will allow someone to know that another human being actually cares and wants to help.

Talking about suicide prevents teens from thinking grim and dangerous thoughts alone.Talking about suicide allows you to share God’s view of the matter and reaffirm His absolute love for His children.

5. Don’t ask if someone is thinking about suicide.

Ask! It’s one of the most helpful things you can do. It’s import ant to ask,“Are you safe? Have you been thinking about hurting yourself? Have you almost been wishing you were dead?” Ask! 6. It’s wrong to tell a teacher or parent if a friend is thinking about suicide.

Tell! It isn’t violating a confidence or betraying friendship if you tell an adult that a friend is suicidal; it’s saving a life.

7. Suicide will let me punish those who have hurt me.

Some who commit suicide imagine,“This’ll teach ‘em.”The only thing suicide teaches is that destruction of life is tragic.

Suicide doesn’t mean you win. It means you’ve lost everything.

8. No one will ever appreciate me until I’m gone.

Get over the fantasy. Funerals aren’t about appreciating the dead. Appreciation is what one living person gives to another living person. Burial is what we give the dead.

9. God doesn’t care or I wouldn’t be suffering like this, so I don’t care either.

Talk to your pastor; he will listen to the burdens of your heart.

Then listen to your pastor as he talks with you about the most difficult questions people have asked for centuries.“Why me?

Why now? Why this? Why is God punishing me? Why won’t God answer my prayers?”Your pastor will hear your fear, doubt, hurt, and despair and invite you to take possession of God’s own life as you receive absolution, prayer, and blessing.

10.No one can help; there’s no point in living..

Wrong! Psychologists, physicians, and counselors can help enormously.Tell a teacher, pastor, or school counselor just how awful you’ve been feeling.You won’t hear words of judgment; you’ll find rescue and remedy. If you or someone you know is feeling like there’s no point in living, caring adults will be eager to provide real help and real hope.The truth of the matter is that once you share your honest feelings, you’ll already notice an immediate sense of relief.You’ll no longer be alone in the midst of all of the hurt. Friends make sure that depressed and worried friends get help.

We can all take comfort and reassurance during difficult times from the words of our Lord.“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation.

But take heart; I have overcome the world”(John 16:33 ESV).

Dr. Beverly Yahnke is Executive Director of Christian Counseling Services in Milwaukee. She is a member of Elm Grove Evangelical Lutheran Church in Elm Grove,Wisconsin.

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A Few Lies Satan Tells

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ood and evil, light and darkness, God and Satan—two great forces are locked in an eternal struggle for mastery over the human race. Is this the way it is? No, it’s not true. But that is what you hear in popular books, movies, and television shows.

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It’s a view of the world that fills Satan with glee.“Yeah, I’m hot stuff,” he says.“God doesn’t get the play in Hollywood that I do. I’m the one everybody wants to see.”

But what Satan’s forgetting is that he’s a creature, and in that sense, he’s just like you or me.The word creature sounds like what it means. A creature is a “created thing,” created by God. And when we confess, as the Scriptures do, that Satan is a created thing, he screams in fury. Satan’s first sin, the one that got him banished from the presence of God, was that he wasn’t satisfied with who he was.

We hear echoes of Satan’s aggravation in his tempting of Eve in the garden. When Eve tells him that she must not eat from the tree, the serpent replies,“You will not surely die . . . For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4–5 ESV).

Satan tries to pull Eve into his sin.“God’s holding out on you,” he says.“He doesn’t want you to be all that you can be.” And sadly, when Eve eats of the tree, she loses all that Satan says she’ll get. She was already like God, in the sense that she was created in His image, and that image is lost. She had already received all good things from her Creator, but she casts those things aside and receives death, pain, and anguish. And Satan has gotten just what he wanted. Misery loves company, and now Eve, Adam, and the entire human race live in the death that is Satan’s everlasting prize.

But let’s not give the devil more than he’s due. And he’s not due much. The world will say the garden is the place where the struggle began. It will say Satan and God are two equals who are beating each other up in a battle for your soul. But that’s Satan talking.

And as loud as Satan might yell, he can’t endure just one Word of God. Satan is a liar and a murderer and has been one since the beginning (John 8:44).The Word of God is truth. It is reality. And in the fullest way, it’s Jesus who says,“I am the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6 ESV). And those are three things Satan cannot endure.

Jesus is the way to the Father whose presence Satan cannot tolerate. Jesus is the truth that destroys Satan’s lies. Jesus is the life that Satan doesn’t want you to have. Faced with God’s promises, Satan

must flee.“…Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:2–4 ESV).

God has claimed you as His own in your Baptism. He has put His name on you and has given you His Holy Spirit.

Notice how John speaks. Satan and God are not equals. He that is in you is greater than he that is in the world. And though at the Word of Jesus Satan must flee, he will also come back with his murderous lies. He will accuse you with your sins. He will bring death, sickness, and suffering into your life. He will say,“God’s promises are bunk.They are lies. Look at all that you are suffering!”

But God has promised that He will abide in you. He that has claimed you in Baptism feeds you with His very body and blood in the Lord’s Supper. And as you receive the living Christ into your own body, Satan’s lies melt away, and only you, a redeemed child of God, remain.

Charles Lehmann is a student at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He serves as vicar of Saint Paul Lutheran Church in Hamel, Illinois. Before studying for the ministry, Charles was a Lutheran High School theology teacher. His email address is lehmanncr@ctsfw.edu.

s

mself

By Vicar Charles Lehmann

Dualism: A Resurgence of an Old Heresy

T

he idea that God and Satan are equals is nothing new. As Lehmann points out in his article, the devil considered himself to be God’s equal way back at the time of the fall. It’s a teaching called dualism, and it keeps appearing.

At the time of the apostles, it was the Gnostics (rhymes with the word caustic) who taught that the holy god was far away from the evil world, so it was up to you to save yourself by learning enough special knowledge. Four centuries later, it was the Manichaeans (does not rhyme with plecostomus) who taught that God and evil were equals, and evil could keep God from getting things done.

Therefore, it was up to you to save yourself by living an austere life.

I caught a radio preacher saying,“There’s a vote for your soul. God has voted for your salvation, and the devil (rhymes with duh-AY-vil) has voted for your damnation. It’s up to you. How will you vote?” See the trend? If God and Satan are equals, then it’s up to you to save yourself. Apparently, Jesus didn’t do enough to save you.

But He did, and that’s the joy and comfort of being a Christian. Jesus has conquered the devil completely, for eternity. It’s done. They’re only equals in the wishful thinking of Old Adam.

Of course, this doesn’t say much about you.

When you give into temptation, you’re giving in to a defeated enemy. That by itself shows how badly you need a Savior. The Good News is that Christ is your Savior. No matter what the devil thinks or says, he’s beaten, and you’re forgiven for all of your sins.

- Rev.Tim Pauls

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after Gr

Your Alpha to Omega: What to

W

hen you were little, your mom and dad taught you a song. My parents taught me the same one. And after you learned this song, you knew your ABCs.

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Later, you learned how to recognize letters and how combinations of letters formed words.You learned to read groups of words, and books, more books, and bigger books. For twelve long years, you practiced using those letters that Mom and Dad first taught you so long ago.

Now school is coming to an end, and it’s time to decide what to do with all those good things that the Lord put into you. Do you continue learning more about those letters and how to use them, or do you put those letters to good use in a job? Do you do both? What would Jesus want you to do?

Those ABCs you learned can help us answer that. Jesus learned His alphabet just like you learned yours. Well, He probably didn’t learn His ABCs in a song. His parents probably taught Jesus His alpha, beta, and gammas.The Greek alphabet that Jesus would’ve learned is similar to ours, but doesn’t end in Z but in the little letter omega.

Jesus knew His alphabet so well that three times in the Book of Revelation He says,“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.”Three times He reminds us that He is the beginning of all things and the end of all things. He’s the A, and He’s the Z. But what does Jesus want you to do? I don’t know.You shouldn’t worry about that either.That’s the last thing Jesus wants you to worry about. He doesn’t want you to be afraid, to worry, or to fret about the future. He has died for you. He has taken upon Himself every last thing that could ever make you afraid. He has paid for your sin. He died your death. And the power of the devil? He even defeated the devil on the cross.

His cross shines through everything in your life— even your life after graduation. He is the beginning.

He is the end. He’s every letter in between too. Every step you take is taken as one who bears His name that was put on you in Baptism. He’s right there. He’s walked those steps for you. He’s lived your life and even died the death that your life deserved. He is, He was, and is to come.

So whatever you do, you do as one for whom Christ has died. Go to school! He’s your Lord there. Go to work! He’s your Lord in the workplace too. If you were to decide to fish every day for the rest of your life, He’d be with you.That’s what your Baptism says.

Sure, you could go and turn from Him and decide to waste your life.You can walk away and see how it goes for you on your own. It might go well for a bit.

But in the end, when Omega comes, you will find that running from Him will only get what you deserve.

But the Alpha and Omega will run after you. He has a way of doing that. I ran from Him, and He was faithful to His Name. He’s faithful to His Name put on you too.

Don’t you see the freedom that you have in Christ? In Christ you are truly free to do whatever you want to do. He put His Name on you in Baptism, and He’s with you.

Whatever you choose, whatever you do, wherever you go,

raduation Do

Rev. George F. Borghardt III

whenever you get around to it, He’s there with His forgiveness and eternal life.

So pray as one who has the ear of God. He can’t wait to hear and answer. He won’t tell you what to do.You are too free for Him to require you to do something. But He will give you great comfort, reminding you over and over again that no matter what you decide, you are free.

Being that free means that you don’t have to decide all by yourself what you are going to do with the rest of your life. God has surrounded you with answers. What do Mom and Dad say? They are far more helpful in your life than just teaching you about the ABCs. God gave them to you to help you with these decisions. That’s what they are for!

Talk to your pastor too. You probably wouldn’t live somewhere without electricity. No way.You need to plug stuff in. In the same way, you certainly don’t want to go somewhere where you won’t hear the Word of God. You need to be refreshed. You are going to need to receive the Sacrament in this bold new life you are going to live!

Remember, you are free.

Free to do

whatever you want to do. Free to consider others as more important than yourself and to find ways to serve them. And if you succeed, you are free. What if you fail and fall on your face? You are still free—free to pick yourself up and start all over again.

The cross says that Christ is your Alpha and Omega, in good and bad, in successes and failures, in good times and bad times. He’s working all the time to take all the bad stuff and make it good for you and to help you see and cherish the good things that He has given you.

So what will you do? That’s up to you! Take comfort in Jesus’ Alpha and Omega love that He has for you. For Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega of whatever you do after graduation. He’s the beginning and the end of today, tomorrow, and the rest of your life.

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/.

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I

walked into the kitchen looking for a snack and saw my mother pouring a can of cream of mushroom soup into a casserole dish with green beans in it.

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“Oooh!” I said.“Are you making green bean casserole?”

“Yes,” she said.“But it is not for you. It’s for church.”

“For church?”

“Yeah.There is a funeral tomorrow. Mrs. Martin, Molly’s great aunt, died,” she said, pulling the garbage can out from under the sink.

“Why don’t you ever make green bean casserole for us?” I asked.“The only time we get it is Christmas and Easter.”

“I don’t know.You can have some at the funeral dinner tomorrow. Would you please take this garbage out?”

“We’re going to the funeral? Did I know her?” I said as I mashed the garbage down and pulled on the sides of the bag.

“She sat toward the front on the pulpit side. She was there every Sunday.”

“But we never talked to her,” I said, pulling the bag out of the can.

“Well, I did, a little. But it doesn’t matter. She is part of our family, our church family,” she said, smiling as she slipped a wrapper into the very top of the garbage bag.

“Our church family?” I asked, heading for the door, afraid she’d try to get more stuff in and the garbage would fall out on me.

“Yes. Our church family,” I heard in my mom’s firm voice as the door swung shut behind me.

I threw the garbage into the bin and tried to remember what Mrs. Martin looked like. I had a vague idea, but I couldn’t get the details. I had a sense that she wore elegant clothes but couldn’t bring anything exact into focus. We were going to the funeral and Mom said she was family,“church

family,” but what kind of a relative do you not know?

That night we went to the visitation. It was a bit like a family reunion. My mother kept introducing me to people who knew me when I was little even though I didn’t know them.They oohed and ahhed over how big and how pretty I am. Even though it was quiet, there was more laughter than I expected.

And we had the normal reunion type of food: cold cuts, pickles, and olives. Compared to a typical family reunion this one had a bonus: Molly was there. She was sad, but mostly she was sad for her mom. Mrs. Martin was her mom’s favorite aunt, but Molly said she didn’t feel that close to her and the whole thing was kind of weird.

During the funeral the next day, I thought about our church as a family. Like all families, we spend a lot of time together. Of course, my biological family spends more time at church than most. My dad never met a service he didn’t like. If the pastor bothers to prepare a sermon, my dad figures we should listen. So come what may—Epiphany, Ascension, you name it, even a funeral for someone we barely know—we’re there. We’re not the only ones.The pastor’s family and Molly’s family are always there too. So is Mrs. Martin. Other families are there most of the time but not always. Not everyone comes for Ascension. And some don’t even make it every single Sunday. But if they’re there a lot of the time, I at least recognize them. And if they’re old, they seem to know me, even if I don’t know them—just like relatives.

I was singing “I Know that My Redeemer Lives” as the casket was carried out the door, and I couldn’t think of a time when we gather with my extended biological family that we didn’t also gather with our church family. Christmas? Thanksgiving? Weddings?

Funerals? Baptisms? Reformation? We always see my grandparents and cousins at those times. We also always go to church at those times.

Later I realized that is not why we’re a family.

We’re a family because of what we do together.

We are

We’re not at a gun show or a spelling bee or a basketball game. We’re worshiping together. We’re sharing in something. We’re communing together.

Holy Communion is a family meal.

Since that funeral, I’ve been looking around on Sundays and silently assigning relationships to people. It is kind of corny, but it is fun. I’ve decided the people who usually sit behind us are my aunt and uncle and their children, who I sometimes babysit, are my little cousins. Mrs. Martin was my grandmother. Molly, of course, is my sister. Her parents are more than an aunt and uncle.They are a second set of parents. I’ve assigned relationships to just about everyone even though no one but Molly knows it. Most of them aren’t really that close.They are like slightly distant cousins.

It occurred to me that if we’re all cousins or related in some way, if our parents are all siblings or cousins themselves, then the pastor is the grandfather. He is the one we gather around to listen to.

He dispenses advice and tells the family stories. He ties everyone together. But that didn’t fit. For one thing, our pastor is nothing like either of my grandfathers. I just couldn’t think of him that way. Besides that, the people in the pew are pretty stable.They’ve been there a while, or at least I expect them to be.

But this is the third pastor I’ve known. I really love him, but I know that pastors come and go.

He can’t be the grandfather if he might leave. Jesus is the grandfather. He is the patriarch that ties us all together. We don’t gather around the pastor. We gather around Jesus. He is the person, the relationship we all have in common.

I suppose that is pretty obvious, but it took me a while to figure it out. I’d just never taken this idea of church family seriously before. So now I figure the pastor is a stand-in for the grandfather, some kind of old friend of the family. He brings Jesus to us. He stands in Jesus’ stead. He speaks Jesus’ words. And as great as he might be, as much as I would miss him if he left, he is not the one who binds us all together.

That is Jesus’ job. Jesus makes us all relatives, all family. Jesus is the grandfather. And in Jesus we all share the same last name, His Name. We’re all named “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”That is the Name into which we were baptized, by which we’ve been adopted and made children of heaven. We belong to Him, and we belong to one another. All this to say my mother was right: we are family.

Family Kathy Luder, a big fan of Strongbad e-mail, can be reached at KathyLuder@ hotmail.com. She promises to be nicer than Strongbad.

by Kathy Luder

S P R I N G

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18

Ultimate Event

T H I N G S __

The

H I G H E R

C

hrist Academy is a two-week residential program for high-school-aged men, founded by Concordia Theological Seminary. It is a place where students can study about Christ who is present in His Word and Sacraments and who died that their sins would be forgiven. It is a place where students can experience seminary life.

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

Worship, the Center of the Experience Life-Changing Studies Clarity of Direction Fun Activities June 18-July 1, 2006

For more information, please call:

1-800-481-2155 www.ctsfw.edu ChristAcademy@ctsfw.edu

S P R I N G

2 0 0 6 __ 19

Why DoWe

MINING THE RICHES

Suffer?

By Jeff Hansen

Why do we suffer? This is a question that’s been asked many times by many people. However the suffering manifests itself, it’s unpleasant for us as human beings to endure, and quite often it’s downright painful.Why does God allow these unpleasant things to happen?

H I G H E R

T H I N G S __ 20

While reading through my old hymnal years ago, I came across a hymn referencing a verse from the third chapter of Lamentations. The reference from this relatively obscure and seldom-read book of the Bible seemed out of place, so I decided to read the chapter.

Lamentations 3 teaches a lot about suffering.The first twenty verses describe how it feels to suffer, and many individuals can relate to its graphic description.The tone completely changes with the next verse: “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; His mercies never come to an end” (ESV).

This is Gospel and echoes John 3:16.

Those first twenty verses are also a foreshadowing of Christ’s suffering and dying on the cross for our salvation! Additional words of comfort follow:“For the Lord will not cast off forever, but, though He cause grief, He will have compassion according to the abundance of His steadfast love; for He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men” (Lamentations 3:31–33 ESV).

Lamentations 3 teaches us that although we may suffer at times, the Lord will grant us faith, give us endurance, and help us get through those difficult times.

Job even tells us that “He delivers the afflicted by their affliction and opens their ear by adversity” (Job 36:15 ESV).

1 Corinthians also assures us that “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and He will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation He will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it” (1 Corinthians 10:13 ESV). God has everything under control, no matter the circumstances, which is very comforting.

The hymn I was alluding to earlier was “Go To Dark Gethsemane.”

At the close of the second stanza, it states,“Shun not suff’ring, shame, or loss; learn of Him to bear the cross” (Lutheran Worship, 110:2). Christ experienced a great deal of suffering, even death, in order to carry out the one great plan of salvation for us. God has plans for all of us as well.That’s why He created us. Although we may never know exactly what those plans may be, we must endure any hardships that come our way. Adversity puts our lives in a different light and changes us.

Martin Luther once stated, ”Affliction is the best book in my library,” meaning that the grim reality of suffering can often be the best teacher. It’s healthy to search for something positive to come from our sufferings.

About the Author Suffering can make us thankful for what we already have, as God’s will for us in Christ Jesus is to give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5). Suffering can also humble us by showing that we are not in complete control of everything. Multiple verses in Proverbs declare,“Humility comes before honor.” We read that God will exalt the humble in many places in the Bible. Martin Luther even points out that,“God creates out of nothing. Therefore, until a man is nothing, God can make nothing out of him.” This statement reminds us of Job, especially of his eventual redemption.

Suffering can aid us in witnessing to others and in comforting those who suffer from afflictions similar to what we’ve endured. This is illustrated by the words, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too” (2 Corinthians 1:3–5 ESV).

God uses suffering to refine our faith as we find that other things aren’t trustworthy like we thought.The first chapters of 1 Peter and James remind us,“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:6–7 ESV), and,“Count it all joy, my brothers,when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. . .

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:2–4, 12 ESV; see also Romans 5:15, 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, and 1 Peter 5:6-11).

Our Heavenly Father often does His work through those who suffer. He strengthens and shapes us in our faith to be more useful to Him through our afflictions. By bearing our crosses, we become better servants to the Lord. Christ bore the biggest cross of all, and He helps us to bear ours. We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us. We also know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose.

In this world, we will have trouble. But take heart. Christ has overcome the world.

Jeff Hansen is a three-time cancer survivor and is also the webservant and chairman of the board of evangelism for Trinity Lutheran Church (LCMS) in Billings, Montana. A talented musician, he provides musical visitation to patients at a local Billings hospital.You can email him at dulcimerist@gmail.com.

Jeff Hansen loves to play Lutheran hymns on his mountain dulcimer. He enjoys it so much, in fact, that he takes hours out of each week to bring that music to people he doesn’t even know.Those who are fortunate enough to hear his talent are a captive but grateful audience.They are cancer patients at a local hospital.

Giving of himself through music is not hard for Hansen. He can identify with the people for whom he plays. He is all too familiar with their sickness and pain. At age seventeen, he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor and, more recently, fought his own battle with cancer.

Hansen is thankful for the opportunity to play hymns at the hospital, since each session gives him a chance to discuss theology.

He knows the meaning and history of many of the hymns as well as background on their authors. Whether it involves a conversation about Martin Luther or John Huss, or a chat about hymns of sorrow or of comfort, Jeff Hansen is eager to talk about the salvation that is found only in His Savior, Jesus Christ.

- The Editors

Feedback editor

letters to the

Thank you for making a theological meaty magazine for teenagers and college students. I really look forward to getting the magazine each quarter. My grandma’s even reading it now!

One question though—I’m wondering about the article on depression. My sister thought it was saying that people who suffer from depression can be cured by the Gospel alone. I thought it was saying that it was okay if we take medication or get therapy, as long as we are still grounded in our faith. We argue about this every couple of days. Will you please be the tiebreaker for us?

Thanks again.

Matthew

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T H I N G S __ 22

This is a delicate subject,as you’ve already found out,but your sister’s just a bit off on this one.The Gospel works forgiveness of sins.It promises eternal salvation and an end to all suffering,even depression.But while we’re on earth, it won’t straighten out brain cells that have gone haywire.It won’t take arthritis out of old knees.It won’t make high blood pressure disappear.

These problems are a result of sin,and that is why God gives us doctors,nurses,hospitals,and medicine.If you break your leg,you go to the doctor right away.Likewise,if you have mental or emotional issues,you should go to your physician,counselor,or therapist.As good stewards, we use these things that God has made to help us while we are still on earth,while we simultaneously cling to the Gospel and find hope in the resurrection when we will all be made perfect. __________________ Thank you, Thank you, Thank you for making Higher Things! I can’t wait till the next magazine comes out. How could I get old

magazines? I’d really like to have all the magazines that you guys have made.Tell Kathy Luder “Thank you” from me. I really enjoy all her articles.

I just wanted to tell you that in the spring 2005 photo contest, you guys snapped a picture of my brother while he was away at college in Wisconsin.That was something really cool to see.

I was kind of surprised at the picture on the cosmetic surgery article. The girl had quite a shirt. If you had put her in a simple, plain T-shirt it would have enhanced her facial features and not her bust. There’s cleavage! I just wanted you to know about that.

One more thing. Do you think you could have more than four magazines a year? It would be fun to have one every month.

Sincerely, Katherine Since I’d be the last person to come between you and back issues of the magazine, fill out the “Vintage Copies of Higher Things” form (see page 2) so that we can ship some off to you. Believe me—reading all our past articles will keep you busier than a set of jumper cables at a hillbilly wedding. Also keep in mind that this is also a surefire way to get Kathy Luder to autograph your magazine at a Higher Things conference.Those signed copies sell like hotcakes on ebay. Uhh, actually, I meant to say that if you’d rather thank Kathy in person, you can e-mail her at kathyluder@hotmail.com. __________________ You have a nice magazine, but it seemed as though the article on Campus Crusade for Christ was a bit harsh. I go to a very large secular university and it’s not easy to find other Christians on campus let alone Lutherans. Aren’t we being picky when we decide not to join other Christian organizations? Christians are always going to be in the minority, so shouldn’t we try to band together whenever possible? I have many good friends that I met in CCC and I’m not going to cut ties with them simply because they don’t believe all the same things I do.

That’s my two cents.

Pax, Joseph

Finding Lutheran friends isn’t always easy. I feel your pain on that account. But we’re not being judgmental when we say it’s best not to join organizations like CCC. For instance, you don’t become a member of the National Rifle Association if you support gun control, and you certainly don’t join the American Rabbit Breeders Association if you raise llamas.

Likewise, you don’t normally hang out at CCC meetings if you don’t agree with their Reformed beliefs.That doesn’t mean that you can’t be friends with people from other Christian denominations or who aren’t even Christian at all. But it does mean that joining an organization like the CCC shows a false unity of doctrine when there really is none. __________________ Today was a good day to skim through the many periodicals that have piled up on my desk. Among these were Christian News and Higher Things. Interestingly, the most recent editions of each contained multiple references to Holy Baptism, Holy Absolution, and Holy Communion.

Is something going on in Synod that I am unaware of? Are we starting to ease into three sacraments, by appending “holy” to absolution and mentioning it in the same breath with Baptism and Communion? I’m pretty sure that absolution fails the test defining what a sacrament is, as there is no physical element attached to the Word.

Please be careful to not give an unclear message on what constitutes a sacrament and what does not, especially since your publication is aimed at people who are impressionable.

Your fellow servant in Christ, Kim As you noticed,we at Higher Things have no problem with calling Absolution holy.In fact,we like it.Luther did too.In the Large Catechism,he described Absolution as “the third sacrament.”

But we don’t call it holy just because Luther did.

We use the word holy because that is what Absolution is.It is a sacred act.It is a sacramental one.It works forgiveness of sins.We call the Scriptures holy and we believe in “one holy Christian and apostolic Church”in the Nicene Creed. Holy simply means that something is set apart for God’s unique purpose.Neither the Scriptures nor the Lutheran Confessions define the number of sacraments explicitly.Certainly we know that Absolution is not our own doing; if it was,we would have no right to label it as such.

But because it is done by the Lord for us,we call it Holy Absolution in full acknowledgment of the fact that Christ has yet again given us His forgiveness through the words of our pastor.

Putting

Christinto Christianity

By Dr. Gene Edward Veith

was recently assigned the task of reviewing a whole raft of Christian children’s videos.There was a lot of gratuitous cutesiness as well as explicit lessons in life. Most of them were heavy on how to be a good little boy or girl. A few of them, such as the ones about vegetables, were actually funny and entertaining. But none of these videos for kids, despite their label of “Christian,” said anything about Jesus Christ.

I

I travel about through the whole range of American Christendom. Many, maybe most, of the sermons being preached today have to do with self-help, politics, pop psychology, problem solving, and biblical tips for successful living. (If you don’t believe me, check out some of the sermon Web sites.) But Christ is often not mentioned, or if He is, He is tacked on at the end with the altar call.

Browse through your local Christian bookstore, look at some Sunday School curricula, or just talk with Christians. One would assume from that evidence that Christianity has mainly to do with being good (rather than being forgiven for being bad), finding a way to be successful and happy (rather than bearing a cross), getting power (rather than coming to terms with our weakness), and having a relationship with a deity who resides either far above us looking down or in our hearts (rather than the God who came in the flesh).

The Lutheran blogger Bunnie Diehl used to have a weekly feature that attracted a lot of evangelicals and gave them fits. She would print the lyrics of the top Contemporary Christian Music hit. She would then ask,“What is Christian about this song?” Often the songs never mentioned Christ at all, sometimes just hinting at Him in words that could just as easily apply to one’s boyfriend or even girlfriend. Often the songs do refer to a generic deity, but they could just as easily be sung by a Muslim.

I also notice the phenomenon of ignoring the specifically Christian God—the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—in discussions of the problem of evil, occasioned by all of the hurricanes, tsunamis, tragic accidents, and horrific crimes that plague our world.

Learned theologians go on about why God permits such things to happen, but they tend to stick with the generic God looking down upon His world.They do not talk about the Christian triune God, and how the Second Person of the Trinity came down from heaven precisely to suffer and to die.That the Christian God is Jesus Christ, who “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4 ESV), and more than that, who has borne in His body all the evil in all of history and

who has atoned for it on the cross, never so much as gets mentioned.

Why does so much Christian discourse leave Jesus out of the picture? Sometimes there is a commercial reason.“Christian” products that don’t mention Christ can appeal to a bigger market. After all, Muslim, Jewish, and humanist parents all want their kids to be moral. Morality indeed is universal.There is no such thing as a distinctly Christian morality.The basis of our faith is not morality but Christ and the forgiveness He offers for our immorality. Even Bible stories—whether told with vegetables or insects—can appeal to all religions, as long as we stick to the Old Testament.

Besides, the Law (as opposed to the Gospel) and a generic deity (as opposed to the triune God) are more ecumenical and inclusive. Christ always has a way of being a “stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense” (1 Peter 2:8 ESV).

Christians themselves often relegate Christ and His work to the time of a person’s conversion. After that, they think they don’t really need Him. After they have been forgiven, they can concentrate on their good works.These Christians do not realize that Christ is for every moment of our lives, that we have continual access to His forgiveness and His life-changing power, that He is actually present with us in His Word and Sacraments.

I once had a student who wrote an essay about how Lutherans are not really Christians. She thought Lutherans had idolatrous views of the Sacraments.

She also thought Lutherans put too much stock in faith in Christ.To be saved, she insisted, you had to abide by the full counsel of God, which included, she wrote, God’s desire that women not cut their hair.This misguided young woman was trusting for her salvation in the length of her hair. She did not believe the Gospel.This young woman, so devout and religious and moralistic, said that we Lutherans are not Christians, but she was not a Christian herself. She was trying to be a Christian without needing Christ.

But it is neither doctrine nor works that makes Christians, nor is it Christians who judge Christians. It is Christ. May God ever keep Him and His work before our eyes.

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

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HIGHER THINGS

News & Notes Conferences

Christ on Campus

– Rev. Marcus Zill

– Rev. Bruce Keseman Higher Things Doubles Number of Conferences in 2007 Higher Things Conferences has some good news and some not-so-good news. You may have heard that The Feast is full. The good news is that more and more people want to attend Higher Things Conferences. The not-so-great news is that there isn’t enough room at Colorado College for everyone. We opened extra space to pack in 1250 registrants, but there are still several hundred on the waiting list.

So what is Higher Things doing to make sure there is more room in 2007? We’re doubling the number of conferences! Look for one conference in Minnesota and another in North Carolina. Together they will accommodate over 2500 youth!

Higher Things Introduces Regional Retreats Meanwhile, what is Higher Things doing for groups that didn’t get into The Feast this year—and for everybody else? We’re starting something brand new: regional retreats. Higher Things has created the position of Retreat Executive to organize at least eight retreats at locations all around the country by the summer of 2007. Expect one near you—maybe before the end of 2006! Watch the Web site for the latest information.

Internet Services

– Rev. George F. Borghardt III

Internet Services is very proud to introduce our volunteer staff members:

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✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠ ✠

Mr. Tim Beach, Media Content Manager Mrs. Andrea Fouts, Reflections Assistant Editor Sem. Ryan Fouts, Reflections Audio Editor Miss Anna Joy Holbird, Reflections Content Manager Rev. Matthew Larson, Reflections Theological Editor Ms. Sandra Ostapowich, The Feast Content Manager Rev. Derek Roberts, Christ on Campus Content Manager Rev. Ralph Tausz, Reflections Theological Editor Rev. Brian Thorson, Magazine Content Manager

These wonderful people work behind the scenes to make our Web site the greatest Lutheran youth site on the planet! Thank you so much for your hard work!

Christ on Campus, the campus ministry arm of Higher Things, is poised for great things in the coming year. This is just the beginning!

College Retreats There were several great regional college retreats this spring with a couple yet on the way and even more to come this fall.

See if there is one near you!

Staff Conference The Fourth Annual Christ on Campus Staff Conference for those engaged in campus ministry will be held June 6-8, 2006 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This promises to be the best staff conference yet!

Chapters We have just unveiled our new Christ on Campus Chapter program, which will help connect Lutheran campus ministries committed to providing biblical and confessional catechesis, solid liturgical practice, and faithful pastoral care.

Want to learn more about campus ministry done Higher Things style? Please feel free to contact us and check out http://christoncampus.higherthings.org for more information on all of the above and more.

“G-Bomb” T

By Rev.Tom Chryst

Dropping the

he mother of all curse words.The foulest, most potent, most explosive word in our language.The F-bomb.

You know what it is. I don’t have to spell it out.

But would you believe me if I said that, as a pastor, I am more offended by someone taking the Lord’s name in vain? I am. I call it dropping the G-bomb.You might call it breaking the Second Commandment.

God’s name is one of the most precious gifts we have. But we sinners like to abuse our gifts, don’t we?

Just like we dirty up the language about sexuality, we drag God’s name through the mud too.

One way to misuse His name is purposely, like when, as Luther wrote, we “curse, swear, lie, or deceive.”

Oh, but there are other ways.

The one I notice most is the phrase,“Oh my God!” Now really—is this necessary?

It’s just a careless use of a precious thing when we go throwing around God’s name just to express our excitement, disgust, surprise, or whatever. We do it so much we even have an abbreviation for it now: OMG! That’s what I call dropping the G-bomb. But it’s a bomb people drop with reckless abandon.They do it carelessly, thoughtlessly. God’s name is to be kept holy. We pray that every time we utter the Lord’s prayer, don’t we?

And don’t try to tell me OMG is used as a prayer. I don’t think so. Not unless you are finishing the thought with something remotely prayer oriented. Otherwise it’s like calling up your friend and hanging up as soon as they say hello.

Here’s a game to play. While watching television sometime, count how many times people drop the Gbomb. Or even better, count the number of times your friends use it in casual conversation. Or even better, catch yourself when you are about to say it—and stop!

It’s not easy to break a habit like this. It takes time, practice, and most of all, repentance. But know that God forgives your thoughtless words and your disrespect of His name just as He forgives all our sins in Christ.

The flip side of the coin is that God does want us to use His name. How? As Luther wrote, we “call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks.”This is Gospel.That we get to use, to speak, to even know the

name of God is a blessing and a privilege.

Perhaps I should use a phone analogy. Having God’s name is like having His phone number. I don’t know about you, but I don’t give out my phone number to just anyone—only those people I want to talk to. It is the same way with God. He wants us to call Him, to pray, to ask for what we need, and to thank Him for our blessings.

That’s why that whole burning bush thing was so important in the Old Testament. God was sharing His name with Moses and the Israelites. But it was more than that. It was “Hey, give me a call sometime. I’m here for you!” And God says the same to us.

Maybe you’ve seen that poster with all the different names for God. There must be dozens of names.

Each one tells us something different about God. And almost always, the name tells us something good He does for us.

Redeemer. Father. Savior.

Teacher. Friend.

Perhaps the

The Second Commandment You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God. What does this mean?

We should fear and love God so that we do not curse, swear, lie, or deceive by his name, but call upon it in every trouble, pray, praise and give thanks.

- Luther's Small Catechism

@#*z+|#& most important name God tells us is the name of His Son, Jesus, which means “God saves.”What an appropriate name for the one who died and rose and lives and reigns and truly does save us. In fact, only Jesus Christ gets us to the Father, which is why even our prayers are offered in Jesus’ name.

So think about it. Next time you’re about to drop the G-bomb, why not keep God’s name holy? It’s a precious gift. Let’s use it the right way because we will be blessed in His name.

Rev.Thomas Chryst is Associate Pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, in Racine,Wisconsin. His email address is tomchryst@yahoo.com.

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T

eenagers love music.They use it to rebel against authority.They talk about it with their friends.They turn it up to unhealthy decibels when they’re mad.

Parents listen to their children talk about musicians as if they’re speaking a foreign language, unable to tell the difference between the Backstreet Boys and Black-Eyed Peas, between 50 Cent and the Foo Fighters.They watch in dismay as Big & Rich appear on TV with Cowboy Troy, the hick-hop rapper, and a midget with a crutch called Two Foot Fred who randomly dances around stage. And they don’t even pretend to understand why their kids don’t know whether to call Sean Combs Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, or just Diddy.

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Andthe

Higher Things readers were given the chance to voice their opinions about music on the online forum (http://forum.higherthings.org/). They were also able to vote for the genre of music they like best. Half of those who voted listen to pop music almost exclusively. Country was the next favorite, while classical, oldies, and religious styles of music appeared to entertain only a smattering. Apparently playing Gwen Stefani’s “Luxurious” on the organ doesn’t quite have the same effect.While some don’t really have a favorite artist, like Higher Things reader DoRena, others prefer bands that range from Blue Rodeo to Audioslave. Most of the readers wrote that they singled out these bands because they could relate to their style or lyrics. Lauren picked her favorite group based on the quality of the sound, especially “upbeat and funky music that makes me want to dance,” while Seth prefers good lyrics that “are very poetic and deep, and speak about current events, personal things that have happened in the writer’s life, and simply songs that express joy, anger, helplessness, and love.”

Besides having a favorite band, most readers also found a song they couldn’t get enough of, and most were also from the pop genre.

Anna enjoyed “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers, Rae liked “This is How a Heart Breaks” by Rob Thomas, and Heidi tuned in to “Somewhere Only We Know” by Keane. Parents can rejoice that they can at least identify DoRena’s favorite,“that one ‘Lonely’ song with the Chipmunks,” which was originally crooned by seventy-year-old Bobby Vinton but has been remade by Akon, a rapper from Senegal.

The voters also noted that their tastes in music fluctuate with their mood. Rae “listens to many different kinds of music, so it depends on what I’m doing, how I’m feeling, and how I would like to feel.” Sometimes, DoRena admits, she doesn’t even know what she’s in the mood for so she puts in “a mix of CDs and hits the ‘random’ button.” Most of the responders said that they use music to accent their mood, playing heavy music when they’re sad, and light, upbeat music when they’re happy. For instance, if you get

People’sChoice Goes

nervous before you fly, try humming the Beatles’“Yellow Submarine” to calm down.

Teenagers also use music to change their disposition from one mood to another on occasion. Seth knows that “if I need to get pumped up for something (before sports, or before doing something I’m not looking forward to) I’ll listen to a ‘raveup’ song that will make me feel like I can take on the world. It works.” It’s too bad that David only had a harp and no Matchbox 20 to calm King Saul with. Somehow it seems that “I’m not crazy. I’m just a little unwell” would have done the trick.

Contrary to what most parents think, most of the teens who responded to this survey claim that their friends usually don’t influence what kind of music they enjoy. Listening to a good song or CD with their friends may make them feel wanted or like part of a group, but generally they claim to come to stick with their own musical preferences, rather than those of their friends. College, of course, will change all of this.You may be a devout Jessica Simpson fan (although I sincerely hope not), and your roommate may be hooked on Wylie and the Wild West, a western swing band. But you’ll acclimate, trust me. One reader noted that she loved hiphop dance music, while her college roommate only listened to Contemporary Christian music. In time, the CCM CDs grew dusty and dance mixes were preferred by both girls.

Tastes in music can differ even between families living under the same roof, Lauren points out, saying,“My family likes country music and I haven’t listened to that stuff in years. Now bluegrass . . . that’s a different story!” (In case you were wondering how many country and western singers it takes to change a light bulb, it’s three—one to change the bulb and two to sing about the old one. ) Anna is not swayed by her friends’ opinions, but “If they say I have to hear a song, then I’ll probably listen to it once or twice.” On the other hand, some teenagers, like Heidi, appreciate their friends’ advice and are open to new styles of music simply because their trusted friends enjoy it. She writes,“Mostly that’s because they introduce me to artists I wouldn’t have otherwise heard. It’s nice to not have to find all the good music by myself!”

Whether you’re a lifelong No Doubt fan or a Kantorei groupie, Higher Things readers have proven that there will always be a genre of music to fit your tastes.

Sing to it. Dance along. Enjoy its universal appeal. But remember to steer clear of songs that promote violence or sexual promiscuity or any of those things that aren’t healthy. While they are common in our society, these songs are certainly not helpful to have stuck in your head.

There is no doubt music is a good gift from God. We may enjoy music for its own sake, like we enjoy a beautiful sunset or a chocolate milkshake. What becomes tricky is when we think sunsets preach the Gospel or that chocolate milkshakes are like the Lord’s Supper. Don’t make music into something it isn’t. It can’t replace the Gospel. It can alter your mood, but it can’t save your life.That is our Lord’s work alone. And that is why we enjoy music for what it is and nothing more. We are thankful God has given certain people excellent musical abilities. (I, however, am not one of them, unless you count being able to play the kazoo an “ability.”) We rejoice in the talents of these musicians that have brought joy and pleasure to our lives. Whether it makes us turn the station or sing along, whether we can waltz to it or break-dance, we thank God for the gift of music.

Award to...

By Adriane Dorr

Adriane Dorr works as a copy editor for CPH and will pursue a master’s degree at Concordia Theological Seminary in the fall.

What’s new from our editorial board?

Our own Rev. Tim Pauls has a new book out for teens. Enjoy!

Going Out, Getting Dumped, and Playing Mini Golf on the First Date is a practical book.This doesn’t mean it provides a list of practical dating advice for the perfect date.

Nor can it be called practical because it can guarantee to make the teenage years a snap for parents by keeping kids out of sexual trouble.

Instead, because it views the entire matter of sexuality from God’s perspective, Law and Gospel, its practicality is of a higher quality or genre.

That’s an immense subject to approach in only one hundered twenty-six pages for an audience of 13-18 year olds. However, Tim Pauls successfully accomplishes his goal by keeping his topic firmly grounded in Baptism.That is, when sexuality and dating are considered catechetically, the main principle involved is God’s institution of marriage at creation. According to God’s plan, marriage was for the sake of servanthood, not selfishness. By emphasizing that relationships that are based on either servanthood or selfishness, Pauls brings clarity to God’s original plan for His people. In so doing, Pauls also reveals what the baptized life in Christ ought to be.The unasked, but obvious, question by the end of the book is,“You are baptized and dating. In Christ you live in servanthood, not in selfishness. Now, what is it you want to do?”

Going Out, Getting Dumped, and Playing Mini Golf on the First Date is not a fix-it for all dating woes, but it’s a catechetical aid and a starting point for fruitful discussion.

- Reviewed by Deaconess Emily Carder To purchase the book, go to www.cph.org.

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A Relevant

Font Font u

By Aaron D. Wolf

“Your font just isn’t relevant.”When Professor Worldly Wisdom told me that, I’m pretty sure I felt a tiny, hot vein pulse on my forehead. How can a font be not relevant?

I wore many hats at our small evangelical church, or what I like to call the Willow Creek Mini-Me Clone Church: worship leader, elder, and bulletin maker.We couldn’t afford an expensive video projector for our song lyrics, so worshippers had to rely on our little bulletins, printed on a folded 8 1/2 x 11-inch piece of warm, friendly canary-colored paper from Kinkos. But I had committed a mortal sin according to the Canon Law of Cool Churches. I’d used an unfriendly Gothic font.

Dr. Wisdom, a professor at Fancy Pants Evangelical Seminary (names have been changed to protect the guilty), was our consultant, a guru who was explaining why our church wasn’t growing.

He started out,“I’m an unchurched guy who’s been invited by one of your people.

I come in here and sit down and open up this bulletin and BAM! You hit me with this churchy font. And I’m already uncomfortable.”

His point was that everything counts when you’re programming a service “because lost people matter to God. Are you willing to risk one soul coming to

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u

Christ because you like German fonts?”

Many moons have passed since that frustrating day. Today the Way of Willow (the philosophy of the gigantic Willow Creek Community Church of Barrington, Illinois) has infected formerly traditional churches of every stripe. Now, many churches—even Lutheran ones that for centuries had traditional worship and a common liturgy with only minor changes over the years—feel compelled to follow the thought process outlined by Professor Worldly Wisdom. Perhaps you’ve seen this, and if it was at a small church compared to Willow Creek (twenty-four thousand people attend on weekends), the experience might not have been pretty. It’s one thing when the praise band is made up of a host of trained, skilled musicians. But when Pastor Lutefisk and four other middle-aged men and women and their guitars and Clavinovas struggle through such contemporary classics as “You Are My All in All,” a song that is almost fifteen years old, you might find yourself asking why you bothered to get out of bed on a Sunday morning.

wimsicalcasualGoth s disingenuous techno c flourished squat

artistic stoic tribalcrafted Established geeky light awkward

MILITARISTIC mythologic

unfriend unfriendly Still, Professor Wisdom’s question is left hanging in the air.“Are you willing to risk one soul coming to Christ because of your liturgy?” Many of us who love to sing the Kyrie, the Gloria, and the Sanctus every Sunday don’t have a good answer to that question. We get caught up in debates over drums and small groups and even fonts but miss the big picture. In the Way of Willow, the burden is on you to save souls.

That burden was lifted from me when I stumbled upon the Lutheran Confessions, the collection of biblical doctrines to which we who dare to be Lutheran hold.

There I learned that Professor Worldly Wisdom’s question was the wrong question. Instead, we must ask,“What separates a sinner from God?” And the answer to that is not “our style,” but the fact that they are dead in trespasses and sins (Ephesians 2:1), unable to respond even to the slickest of programming.

Next comes,“What can save sinners and make them alive again?” And the answer is that they need to hear God’s Law, His

judgment on their sinful condition, just like a vampire needs a stake through the heart to convince him that he’s dead.

They need to hear God’s Word of forgiveness, the Gospel, that Christ has freely given them through His bitter suffering, death, and resurrection.These are the things that God delivers through our old-fashioned Lutheran liturgy, hymns, and preaching, along with those things that are rarely seen in the Cool Churches: the altar, where we receive forgiveness through Christ’s body and blood, and the font, where God washes away sins and makes dead men live.These things aren’t very flashy, but God has used them for two thousand years and through countless generations, while the world has changed and one fickle trend has yielded to the next.

Following the Way of Willow is confusing because it teaches us that we’re not so bad after all. It says all we need is a little more convincing, a little more tweaking. It also breeds arrogance in our hearts, because we assume that our use of relevant fonts has bridged the gap

between heaven and hell that only a crucified Redeemer could bridge. Since sinners matter to God, so much so that He paid for their sins on a bloody cross, what could be more effective than a straightforward liturgy and hymns that tell them the Good News? Of the Lord’s Supper, St. Ambrose said,“Because I am sick, I am bound to take the medicine.”

What does a man sick with sin need more than the medicine of forgiveness?

And St. Paul tells us “For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ” (Galatians 3:27 NKJV). Now there’s a relevant font!

Aaron D.Wolf (awolf@rockfordinstitute.org) is the associate editor of Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture, published in Rockford, Illinois. He is a member of Reformation Evangelical Lutheran Church (LCMS) and the father of four children.

seventies mechanical

commonsanitized

t sloppy overused

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aptism is water. It was just plain water. It came right out of the tap or right out of the rain barrel or river, wherever ordinary water comes from. But the water used for Baptism is no longer just plain water. It is the water included in God’s command. It is the water combined with God’s Word. It is baptismal water.

B

How can water do such great things?

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Certainly not just water, but the word of God in and with the water does these things, along with the faith which trusts this word of God in the water.

For without God’s word the water is plain water and no Baptism. But with the word of God it is a Baptism, that is, a lifegiving water, rich in grace, and a washing of the new birth in the Holy Spirit, as St. Paul says in Titus, chapter three:“He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by His grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. This is a trustworthy saying” (Titus 3:5–8).

- Luther's Small Catechism

Holy Water does not forgive sins, rescue from death and the devil, or give eternal salvation to all who believe the words and promises of God by itself. It does do all those things, just not by itself. For there is a Word of God in baptismal water.That Word of God in and with the water, along with the faith that trusts that Word of God in the water, forgives sins, rescues from death and the devil, and gives eternal life to all who are baptized and believe this.

For without water there is no washing of rebirth and renewal. Without water there is no Baptism. Baptism is water and Word.

The Word of God in baptismal water is specific. It is not just any Word of God. It is this Word of God:“In the Name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit.”That Word of God has power to cast out the old man and raise up the new. It does what it says.

Whoever believes and is thus baptized will be saved.

For whoever believes and is thus baptized belongs to God in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. God’s Name lays claim upon the soul of the baptized. It is like a child in school writing his name on a new folder, or a like new bride dropping her earthly father’s name for her husband’s, or like being adopted into a new family.

Baptism transfers ownership from the devil to God.The baptized belong to Him by grace. Baptism pours the Holy Spirit through Jesus Christ in the Name of the Father onto the baptized.The baptized is anointed. He is marked. He is baptized not just with water. He is baptized not just with words. He is baptized with the Holy Spirit of Pentecost, that is, he is baptized with fire.The eyes alone cannot see these things. But faith sees, and faith believes.The baptized are heirs of eternal life.They are heirs of the Father’s throne by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God gives His Name to His children.That is part of what fathers do.They give their name to their children. So those who are baptized are now named “Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.”

by Rev. David Petersen

Baptism is

Not only do they belong to God; He also belongs to them. He is their God and what is His is theirs. What child ever said to his friends,“Come over and play at my father’s house?” None. Children say,“Come and play at my house.”

Now certainly God’s Word has power apart from water. God is not limited to Baptism.The Ethiopian eunuch believed and confessed Jesus as the Christ before Baptism. It may also be that the penitent thief who was crucified with Jesus was not baptized before he died either. But even if he wasn’t, he went to paradise on Good Friday. But those are the exceptions. God’s Word has power in and of itself. It can make disciples all on its own, out of nothing, even as it once called light out of darkness and order out of chaos. But God has given us Baptism. He has laid His promise upon this Sacrament.This is where He is according to His grace and mercy.This is how disciples are made.There is where men are joined to the death and burial of Jesus Christ and raised up again to new life. Baptism is the normal course. It is what He has given us to do.That is why we baptize all nations, not doubting, but firmly believing that by it sins are forgiven and disciples are made and the angels in heaven rejoice.

Of course, water on its own does not do these great things. Water on its own merely keeps men alive. It quenches their thirst. It washes their wounds and keeps them free of infection and disease. But greater things than these, than life or cleanliness, does God give by water. For He does not give water alone. He gives water and Word. He gives Baptism, and Baptism saves.

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.

Subscribe to: Now you can subscribe on-line with PayPal! Check it out at www.higherthings.org or call 260-357-5094

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CHRIST ON CAMPUS Staff Conference

First Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church, Pittsburgh, PA • June 6-8, 2006 Are you a campus pastor?

Involved in campus missions?

Interested in starting a campus ministry?

Then this conference is for you!

With outstanding speakers, a special workshop on the basics of campus ministry, and lots of opportunities to share ideas and resources with others at the forefront of campus ministry, this is one conference you will not want to miss.

Who should attend? Pastors, vicars, DCEs, DCOs, and laypersons working or interested in working in campus ministry.

Cost? Registration is $69 (Early Bird Special before May 1 - $59)

Featured Speakers: Rev. Dr. John R. Stephenson Associate Professor of Historical Theology Concordia Lutheran Theological Seminary, St. Catharines, Ontario “Pastoral Care and the Sacraments on Campus”

Redeemer Lutheran Church • 202 West Rudisill Blvd. • Fort Wayne, Indiana 46807-2498

The 4th Annual

Dr. Robert A. J. Gagnon Associate Professor of New Testament, Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, PA “The Homosexualist Agenda on Campus and in the Classroom” Rev. Larry Nichols Our Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church, Smithfield, RI & Campus Chaplain at Rhode Island College, Providence, RI “The Challenge of Cults and the Occult in the College Context”

Downloadable brochures and registration forms are available at http://christoncampus.higherthings.org.

Go to http://christoncampus.higherthings.org for more information about: NEW Christ on Campus Chapters NEW Upcoming College Retreats Great Resources for Campus Ministry Discussion Forums for College Students and Campus Workers

Learn about Cmore on Camhrist pus

Non-Profit Org. U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 264 Fort Wayne, IN

✠ ✠ ✠ ✠

Pastor Darrin Kohrt Bible Study Leaders’ Guide Begin your study of God’s word by praying this prayer of Martin Luther, “Gracious Lord, remind me by Your Spirit that You have called me by Your Gospel to be Your child and that it is my vocation at all times to be a Christian. Grant me a better understanding of my Christian vocation so that all I do in my work may reflect glory upon you. Help me exercise the freedom I have to serve you in any godly occupation, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

When trying to find direction in life it is easy for Christians to become confused about what God wants them to do. We know that the will of God is unalterable, but how does that apply to us in our individual pursuits and endeavors? Are we obligated to follow a predetermined career path? Christian obedience does not mean that we are bound to a life of drudgery against our will. Christ has freed us to serve Him in godly capacities that are without restriction.

I.

Trapped in Expectations A. Expectations can be crippling. Discuss some expectations that are difficult to live up to.

You might mention the expectations of parents and peers especially in regards to vocation.

B. What feeling often occurs when we fail to meet expectations? For help see Psalm 38:4 and James 2:10.

Guilt is probably the most common feeling as the result of failure to meet expectations. Anger, resentment and depression are also commonplace.

C. What are the ultimate demands or expectations that are placed on us? See Leviticus 11:45 and Mark 12:30-31.

What is the consequence of failure? See Romans 6:23a.

God demands holiness and perfection. We can never meet the Law’s demands, and eternal death is what we deserve for our failure. Be sure to note that many expectations other people place on us are not legitimate.

II. Freed by Emancipation A. Christians have the ultimate freedom. How was this attained? See Revelation 1:5.

Christ freed us from the power of sin, death, Satan, and the demands of following God’s law perfectly, by shedding His blood on the cross.

B. According to Galatians 3:26-29, what “tangible” assurance do we have of this freedom?

We confess boldly and confidently with Luther that we are baptized!

III. Freed to choose Vocation A. The great Saint Augustine said, “Love God and do as you please.” Discuss why and in what sense this is good advice.

Discuss in practical and specific terms the freedom we have as Christians to pursue many endeavors in life, so long as the choices one makes take God’s revealed will (the Ten Commandments) into account, and contrast with the ideas of some sects that one must “discern God’s will” even when none of the options is sinful (“does God want me to buy a Chrysler or a Honda”?).

B. Of what value is 1Peter 2:16-17 as you consider what you will be doing in the future?

Note especially that part and parcel with our ultimate freedom is the privilege to serve Christ by serving others in all that we do.

Pastor Darrin Kohrt Bible Study Begin your study of God’s word by praying this prayer of Martin Luther, “Gracious Lord, remind me by Your Spirit that You have called me by Your Gospel to be Your child and that it is my vocation at all times to be a Christian. Grant me a better understanding of my Christian vocation so that all I do in my work may reflect glory upon you. Help me exercise the freedom I have to serve you in any godly occupation, in Jesus’ name. Amen.”

When trying to find direction in life it is easy for Christians to become confused about what God wants them to do. We know that the will of God is unalterable, but how does that apply to us in our individual pursuits and endeavors? Are we obligated to follow a predetermined career path? Christian obedience does not mean that we are bound to a life of drudgery against our will. Christ has freed us to serve Him in godly capacities that are without restriction.

I.

Trapped in Expectations A. Expectations can be crippling. Discuss some expectations that are difficult to live up to.

B. What feeling often occurs when we fail to meet expectations? For help see Psalm 38:4 and James 2:10.

C. What are the ultimate demands or expectations that are placed on us? See Leviticus 11:45 and Mark 12:30-31.

What is the consequence of failure? See Romans 6:23a.

II. Freed by Emancipation A. Christians have the ultimate freedom. How was this attained? See Revelation 1:5.

B. According to Galatians 3:26-29, what “tangible” assurance do we have of this freedom?

III. Freed to choose Vocation A. The great Saint Augustine said, “Love God and do as you please.” Discuss why and in what sense this is good advice.

B. Of what value is 1Peter 2:16-17 as you consider what you will be doing in the future?

Pastor Richard Ziele Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

Consider the following song: This little Gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine! This little Gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine! This little Gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine! Let it shine all the time, let it shine.

A. What is the grammatical subject of the first three lines?

The song puts the object first, but its grammatical subject is “I.” B. Discuss- Whose is the power and the glory in this song?

The song celebrates what “I'm” going to do.

C. A “hymn” is a song of praise to a god. Is “This Little Gospel Light” a hymn?

Emphatically this song is not a hymn. It praises what I'm doing. There are many songs of religious sentiment which are harmless in themselves but are not hymns and not suitable for worship. Point out the difference between worship (where God’s Word has its way with us) and merely feeling good or sentimental.

II.

Consider the following conversation: “You don't believe the Bible like I do!” “Well, you don't love people like I do!”

A. What is the real point of this (and most) argument(s) about religion?

The real point of such arguments is who is right. This is why even when you win, you don't win your opponent to faith. The argument does not result in praise to God but praise (or resentment?) to the winner.

B. Read John 4:19-26. The woman at the well was asking Jesus a question about obedience in worship. What does Jesus say is needed to truly worship God? The woman was asking who was right, but Jesus says that is beside the point. The point is that God desires people to worship in “Spirit and in Truth.”

C. Identify the three persons of God in John 4:19-26. Who reveals the Father's will to us? Who enables us to worship?

Verse 23 identifies the God who is worshiped as the Father; verses 25 & 26 identify the Christ as the one who reveals the Father's will; verse 24 identifies the Spirit as the one who enables us to worship.

D. What does it mean to worship in Spirit and in Truth? Discuss, then check out I Corinthians 12:3.

Luther's Catechism says, “God's Name is hallowed among us when God's Word is taught in its truth and purity and we…lead a holy life according to it …God gives us His Holy Spirit so that by His grace we believe His holy Word and lead a godly life…” (Lord's Prayer, petitions 1 &2). The Spirit leads us to the truth that Jesus is Lord (that He is above us, is right to order us).

III. St. Paul describes those who live by the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-26. Neither works of the flesh, nor works of the law flow from the Spirit. We are freed from the need to center on ourselves.

A. Who do those who have the Spirit belong to?

They belong to Christ. Point out that as members of Christ, we serve Him, not ourselves; we have life in Him, not in ourselves.

B. Discuss: Every human is born self-centered. We use religion, even the true religion in a self-centered way to justify ourselves (put ourselves in the right). The Spirit leads us to give all glory to God, to admit that God alone is righteous. The Holy Spirit frees us from “I”-dolatry when He leads us to faith in Christ.

If the students leaves with a sense of superiority over the non-believers or misbelievers, this study has failed; if the student gives praise to God for revealing the Gospel, the study has met its object.

Pastor Richard Ziele Bible Study I.

Consider the following song: This little Gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine! This little Gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine! This little Gospel light of mine, I'm going to let it shine! Let it shine all the time, let it shine.

A. What is the grammatical subject of the first three lines?

B. Discuss- Whose is the power and the glory in this song?

C. A “hymn” is a song of praise to a god. Is “This Little Gospel Light” a hymn?

II.

Consider the following conversation: “You don't believe the Bible like I do!” “Well, you don't love people like I do!”

A. What is the real point of this (and most) argument(s) about religion?

B. Read John 4:19-26. The woman at the well was asking Jesus a question about obedience in worship. What does Jesus say is needed to truly worship God?

C. Identify the three persons of God in John 4:19-26. Who reveals the Father's will to us? Who enables us to worship?

D. What does it mean to worship in Spirit and in Truth? Discuss, then check out I Corinthians 12:3.

III. St. Paul describes those who live by the Spirit in Galatians 5:16-26. Neither works of the flesh, nor works of the law flow from the Spirit. We are freed from the need to center on ourselves.

A. Who do those who have the Spirit belong to?

B. Discuss: Every human is born self-centered. We use religion, even the true religion in a self-centered way to justify ourselves (put ourselves in the right). The Spirit leads us to give all glory to God, to admit that God alone is righteous. The Holy Spirit frees us from “I”-dolatry when He leads us to faith in Christ.

Pastor Paul Philp Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

Pastor Cwirla notes that intelligent design (ID) is not “religion” nor is it “science,” in the same way that physics or chemistry is science.

A. Given this, is ID a reasonable topic to be taught?

Answers will vary; discuss.

B. Read Psalm 19:1-6. Does this change your thoughts regarding the teaching of ID? It may or may not. Seek to find out why and how it may change. The Psalm describes the creation proclaiming God. Consider what creation proclaims about its creator. Does it indicate a means of ID? In fact it does, God is confessed.

C. Could someone view the creation from an ID perspective without having true faith in God? Why or why not?

It would be possible for someone to view the creation around them and determine that there had to be some means of intelligence and organization behind its creation without believing in the true God as creator. In fact this is the basic position of ID. D. Could viewing the creation from and ID perspective create a circumstance in which faith in the true God could be created?

It is certainly possible that someone who believes in ID would then be in a position to hearing about the designer. This could lead to the creation of faith through the witness of God’s Word and fellow Christians. More on this in 3 below.

II. Pastor Cwirla indicates that Hebrews 11:3 says that it is our faith which believes how God created the world.

A. In what is our faith grounded?

The life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

B. Read John 1:1-18. Who does John indicate regarding the source of creation?

The Word, Jesus was involved in creation.

C. What has the Creative Word done for us?

He became flesh for us, entered into creation. He did this in order that He might redeem us from our sin and grant us forgiveness and eternal life.

D. Ultimately, why has He done this? Read John 20:30-31.

That we might believe in Jesus and thereby have life in Him. He did this out of love and mercy for us. This is of course the most important point of our faith as Pastor Cwirla points out.

III. As Christians grounded in faith in Jesus Christ we believe God is the creator. Pastor Cwirla notes this and that no scientific process can detect His presence in creation.

A. Is it possible for ID be of benefit it if is taught, given that it is not specifically “religion” or “science?”

Yes, it can engage us in important debate. Pastor Cwirla asserts “any reasonable explanation that fits the facts should be open for debate.”

B. Building upon 1d above, can we as Christians make use of ID? It may be possible to work through ID as a means to providing a witness to the true creator and thus to Christ.

Pastor Cwirla mentioned that God does work through means.

C. Read Acts 17:22-33. Do Paul’s words while speaking on the Areopagus provide any direction for us in making use of ID? We might use ID much as Paul used the altar to the unknown god as a starting point for the proclamation of the Gospel.

D. How does our answer to the above question inform our view of ID and whether or not it should be taught?

It may be a reason for us to support its teaching.

E. Are there any pitfalls or dangers that we need to be concerned about in the teaching of ID? There may be many. First among them, ID is not the same as teaching creation, and we must be aware of this.

Also, some who buy into the theory of ID may not in fact recognize that God is the creator and may find themselves worshiping some other false god or gods. Not everyone who believes in ID believes in God, in fact there may be many who do not and would not believe in God but who would support ID.

Pastor Paul Philp Bible Study I.

Pastor Cwirla notes that intelligent design (ID) is not “religion” nor is it “science,” in the same way that physics or chemistry is science.

A. Given this, is ID a reasonable topic to be taught?

B. Read Psalm 19:1-6. Does this change your thoughts regarding the teaching of ID? C. Could someone view the creation from an ID perspective without having true faith in God? Why or why not?

D. Could viewing the creation from and ID perspective create a circumstance in which faith in the true God could be created?

II. Pastor Cwirla indicates that Hebrews 11:3 says that it is our faith which believes how God created the world.

A. In what is our faith grounded?

B. Read John 1:1-18. Who does John indicate regarding the source of creation?

C. What has the Creative Word done for us?

D. Ultimately, why has He done this? Read John 20:30-31.

III. As Christians grounded in faith in Jesus Christ we believe God is the creator. Pastor Cwirla notes this and that no scientific process can detect His presence in creation.

A. Is it possible for ID be of benefit it if is taught, given that it is not specifically “religion” or “science?”

B. Building upon 1d above, can we as Christians make use of ID? C. Read Acts 17:22-33. Do Paul’s words while speaking on the Areopagus provide any direction for us in making use of ID? D. How does our answer to the above question inform our view of ID and whether or not it should be taught?

E. Are there any pitfalls or dangers that we need to be concerned about in the teaching of ID?

Pastor Tom Hoyt Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

There are many ways to use God’s name incorrectly. Of course, Pastor Chryst is correct in his article, “Dropping the ‘G-Bomb’”. Breaking of the second commandment is one of the “Big Ones”. You do not want to offend God Himself!

A. But, let’s think for a bit about another way to use God’s name incorrectly, and offend God. In the Large Catechism Luther teaches us the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be thy Name.” Luther says, “In the first place, then, it is profaned when men preach, teach, and speak in God’s name anything that is false and deceptive, using his name to cloak lies and make them acceptable; this is the worst profanation and dishonor of the divine name.”

Can you think of people or teachers that teach things that are not true, and speak as though what they are saying is God’s truth? Name some examples: Here you may want to have some handy books available from the cults. The Mormons teach that the “Book of Mormon” is from God Himself. They also have a couple of other books. One, called “Doctrines and Covenants” contains supposed “revelations” from God which continue to be received by the President of the Mormon Church.

They ignore the fact that many of these so-called revelations contradict earlier teachings! The Christian Scientist church has a book called “Science & Heath” which they claim is God’s truth. This book is often seen in larger bookstores alongside the “New Age” or “self-help” books. I have even seen it stacked alongside the BIBLES, too!

In addition to these, the false teachers on the television teach as if they have God’s Word, when actually, they have very little true substance.

B. Perhaps you mention people like the “Salvation Army” (Note: Some people are not aware that the Salvation Army is a church as well as a social work organization. Yes, they are.) The Salvation Army does not practice baptism not babies, not adults - nobody! Read Matthew 28:18-20 again. How does God tell His church to “make disciples”?

Again, an easy one! But, it is important to note that this “formula” for “making disciples” is the only such guide that we have in Holy Scripture. There are many “programs” out there that are supposed to be the “quick route” to being a Disciple, but these two things together give us God’s Promise, and enough to keep us occupied for this side of eternity!

C. Is it “ok” for a church, or a pastor, or some other “teacher” to teach that baptism is optional, or not necessary at all? Is that teaching what God said? Can you even imagine someone admitting that what they teach is contrary to God’s Word?!! Can you think of other churches who deny what Christ says about making disciples, or the importance of baptism, or the Holy Supper? Are they honoring God’s Name?

This should be easy. You may need to be ready to cut off the discussion! Of course, the easy answers: Baptists deny any benefits from Baptism or the Holy Supper. Along with the Baptists are many others. (If you have folk around that are called “non-denominational” or “independent churches,” 99% of the time those are simply “Baptistic” type churches that don’t use the name.) Pentecostal type churches also deny Baptism & the benefits of the Supper. Officially the “United Pentecostal Church” denies the Trinity!

II. Read the rest of Luther’s Large Catechism regarding the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer.

A. Do we find that we, and the world in which we live, take God’s name, and His truth lightly?

If you don’t have a copy of the Book of Concord, it’s an important book in any teacher’s library! Borrow one from your pastor—and order one for yourself while you are visiting with him! As to the answer to the question, if we examine ourselves we find that we do, on a daily basis, live contrary to God’s Word in one way or another.

B. When we find that we have offended God what does His Word lead us to do?

A reminder is in order that “repentance” has two parts: not only feeling sorry (contrition) but also turning from the sin (desiring to do better with the help of the Holy Spirit) and looking to Holy Absolution, God’s forgiveness.

C. We often think of having God’s Name put upon us in Holy Baptism. Read Numbers 6:22. Can you think of another time when God’s Name is put upon us?

A nice way to remind the learner that we do miss something when we bolt for the door before the Divine Service is ended. You DO miss something—something very important. I don’t want to miss knowing that God does “lift up his countenance” on me (I like the idea of God’s looking at me with pleasure!) and giving me His peace . . . even if I just received that same peace in the Holy Supper!

Pastor Tom Hoyt Bible Study

I.

There are many ways to use God’s name incorrectly. Of course, Pastor Chryst is correct in his article, “Dropping the ‘G-Bomb.’” Breaking of the second commandment is one of the “Big Ones.” You do not want to offend God Himself A. But, let’s think for a bit about another way to use God’s name incorrectly, and offend God. In the Large Catechism Luther teaches us the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “Hallowed be thy Name.” Luther says, “In the first place, then, it is profaned when men preach, teach, and speak in God’s name anything that is false and deceptive, using his name to cloak lies and make them acceptable; this is the worst profanation and dishonor of the divine name.”

Can you think of people or teachers that teach things that are not true, and speak as though what they are saying is God’s truth? Name some examples:

B. Perhaps you mention people like the “Salvation Army” (Note: Some people are not aware that the Salvation Army is a church as well as a social work organization. Yes, they are.) The Salvation Army does not practice baptism not babies, not adults - nobody! Read Matthew 28:18-20 again. How does God tell His church to “make disciples”?

C. Is it “ok” for a church, or a pastor, or some other “teacher” to teach that baptism is optional, or not necessary at all? Is that teaching what God said? Can you even imagine someone admitting that what they teach is contrary to God’s Word?!! Can you think of other churches who deny what Christ says about making disciples, or the importance of baptism, or the Holy Supper? Are they honoring God’s Name?

II. Read the rest of Luther’s Large Catechism regarding the First Petition of the Lord’s Prayer.

A. Do we find that we, and the world in which we live, take God’s name, and His truth lightly?

B. When we find that we have offended God what does His Word lead us to do?

C. We often think of having God’s Name put upon us in Holy Baptism. Read Numbers 6:22. Can you think of another time when God’s Name is put upon us?

Pastor Glenn Niemann Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I.

To Whom alone should we pray?

A. Psalm 65:2 Who is the “You” (i.e., The Triune “You”) in this verse?

B. I John 5:20-21 Who is the “Him who is true”? Name some idols.

C. Revelation 22:8-9 Why do we not worship angels?

II. For what (or whom) should we pray?

A. Matthew 5:44 For our enemies …

B. Matthew 8:2 For our cleansing – i.e., forgiveness Ask: “Is repentance prayer? Why?” C. I Timothy 2:1-2 For good government. Ask “Should we pray for bad government, too?”

III. Where should we pray?

A. Matthew 6:6 At home (or, in secret – i.e., on our own, not for “show”) B. Luke 5:16 By ourselves – or, between ourselves and our Lord.

C. Acts 12:5 In prison – AND in Church (!).

IV. When should we pray?

A. Psalm 65:8 Morning and evening . . .

B. Psalm 119:164 Seven times a day . . . (Churchly “hours” of prayer.)

C. I Thess. 5:16-18 Always, without ceasing, in everything.

V. Why should we pray?

A. Matthew 21:22 Because God promises to answer.

B. John 14:13-14 And in answering, God is glorified.

C. John 15:7 In praying, we abide in Him, and He in us.

VI. How should we pray?

A. Psalm 136:1 With thanks for His mercy.

B. Philippians 4:6 Without anxiety; with thanksgiving.

C. James 1:6-7 Without doubt, with faith..

Pastor Glenn Niemann Bible Study I.

To Whom alone should we pray?

A. Psalm 65:2 B. I John 5:20-21 C. Revelation 22:8-9

II. For what (or whom) should we pray?

A. Matthew 5:44 B. Matthew 8:2 C. I Timothy 2:1-2 III. Where should we pray?

A. Matthew 6:6 B. Luke 5:16 C. Acts 12:5 IV. When should we pray?

A. Psalm 65:8 B. Psalm 119:164 C. I Thess. 5:16-18 V. Why should we pray?

A. Matthew 21:22 B. John 14:13-14 C. John 15:7 VI. How should we pray?

A. Psalm 136:1 B. Philippians 4:6 C. James 1:6-7

Pastor Jeffrey Ahonen Bible Study Leaders’ Guide I. II.

Vicar Lehmann reminds us that God and Satan are not evenly-matched opponents “locked in an eternal struggle for mastery over the human race.”

A. Read Isaiah 14:12-14. How do these verses support the statement that Satan( called “Lucifer” or “Son Of The Dawn” here) was not satisfied with who he was, as a creature of God? This fallen angel was cast out of Heaven (v. 12), because he let his heart be filled with jealousy; he desired to be like God (v. 13-14), rather than being content in his God-given place as one of God's glorious creatures.

B. Read Job 2:1-10. How does this encounter between God and Satan demonstrate God's mastery over Satan?

Notice firstly that Satan has come with the other angels (“sons of God”) to “present himself before the Lord” and give an account of his activities (v. 1). This indicates that Satan himself acknowledges God's authority over him.

Secondly, it is only because of God’s permission that Satan is allowed to afflict Job (v. 6). Note well that, according to verse 7, it is Satan—not God—who strikes Job with the boils. Finally, God places a restriction upon Job that Satan is obliged to honor: Satan is not allowed to take Job’s life (v. 6).

III. God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

A. Read Genesis 3:14-15. What phrase points to Christ’s victory over Satan at His cross?

God proclaimed to Satan in the garden of Eden, “He [Christ] will crush your head, and you will strike His heel” (NIV).

B. Read Revelation 12:7-12. How do these verses describe the effect of Jesus’ death and resurrection upon Satan's power?

Note that this passage does not describe the initial banishment of Satan out of Heaven. Rather, this speaks of the final banishment that followed the finished work of Christ; this is indicated in the reference to the fact that the “power of His Christ has come” (verse 10) and that this victory has come as a result of the “blood of the Lamb” (verse 11). Now Satan can no longer stand before God and accuse us of our sins, for they have been taken away

by Jesus, the Lamb of God Who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

C. Read Isaiah 14:15-17. Even though Satan continues to persecute the people of God on Earth (Revelation 12:12), how should we view him as a result of Christ’s victory over him?

Verse 15 proclaims that Satan has been cast into Hell (“Sheol,” “Grave,” and “Pit” are synonyms for Hell) as punishment for his rebellion. Verses 16-17 paint the picture of a formerly mighty angel who is now essentially powerless and no longer strikes fear in the heart of the Christian.

Pastor Jeffrey Ahonen Bible Study I.

Vicar Lehmann reminds us that God and Satan are not evenly-matched opponents “locked in an eternal struggle for mastery over the human race.”

A. Read Isaiah 14:12-14. How do these verses support the statement that Satan( called “Lucifer” or “Son Of The Dawn” here) was not satisfied with who he was, as a creature of God?

B. Read Job 2:1-10. How does this encounter between God and Satan demonstrate God's mastery over Satan?

II. God has defeated Satan through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus.

A. Read Genesis 3:14-15. What phrase points to Christ’s victory over Satan at His cross?

B. Read Revelation 12:7-12. How do these verses describe the effect of Jesus’ death and resurrection upon Satan's power?

C. Read Isaiah 14:15-17. Even though Satan continues to persecute the people of God on Earth (Revelation 12:12), how should we view him as a result of Christ’s victory over him?