tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post1935525467489183597..comments2024-03-27T15:47:46.091-05:00Comments on Pastoral Meanderings: The Means or the EndPastor Petershttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10653554256101480140noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-16804942541779158382011-08-15T14:07:04.131-05:002011-08-15T14:07:04.131-05:00I think Luther said it best when he wrote,"Bu...I think Luther said it best when he wrote,"But what is the kingdom of God? Answer: Nothing else than what we learned in the Creed, that God sent His Son Jesus Christ, our Lord, into the world to redeem and deliver us from the power of the devil, and to bring us to Himself, and to govern us as a King of righteousness, life, and salvation against sin, death, and an evil conscience, for which end He has also bestowed His Holy Ghost, who is to bring these things home to us by His holy Word, and to illumine and strengthen us in the faith by His power." (Large Catechism Part 3 Paragraph 51)Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05805071098838461003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-58844682460212645632011-08-15T09:35:34.819-05:002011-08-15T09:35:34.819-05:00If I may my favorite: the kingdom of God is righte...If I may my favorite: the kingdom of God is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.Paulhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09350908137437557142noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-87857468851631655302011-08-14T13:21:48.029-05:002011-08-14T13:21:48.029-05:00Anonymous: Almost everything you write is true, t...Anonymous: Almost everything you write is true, though being slow on the uptake, I am not sure whether you agree with me or not. You may be aware of the fact that in the Mark 1:15 quotation you cited, “other ancient authorities read ‘gospel of the Kingdom’”<br /><br />But ultimately, the kingdom of God does not refer only to God ruling in our hearts. The passage in Luke 17:21 is the only one in all of Scripture that refers to the Kingdom being “in” us. So this does not define exclusively where the Kingdom is, even as the passage I quoted, in which our Lord says, “I was sent for this reason” does not mean that there were not also other reasons, as indeed there were. There are many passages that say that we are in the Kingdom, as opposed to the Kingdom being in us, as, for instance, Colossians 1: 13 ”He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” The Apology says simply, “Besides, the Church is the kingdom of Christ, distinguished from the kingdom of the devil.” (The Defense of the Augsburg Confession Articles VII and VIII: Of the Church.)<br /><br />One of our most ancient hymns, The Te Deum, contains these words, “having overcome the sharpness of death, He opened the Kingdom to all believers.” <br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-91489168846798482192011-08-13T16:21:55.356-05:002011-08-13T16:21:55.356-05:00Attention George A. Marquart
Jesus said: "Th...Attention George A. Marquart<br /><br />Jesus said: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand,<br />repent and believe in the gospel"<br /><br />In the person of Jesus Christ the<br />kingdom of God was now a present<br />reality as he began his public<br />ministry. It came in the life, death<br />and resurrection of Christ. The<br />consummation of the kingdom of God<br />will come with the parousia of Christ when he returns to judge the<br />world.<br /><br />Ultimately, the kingdom of God<br />refers to God ruling in the hearts<br />of people as they come to faith<br />in Jesus Christ.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-47555614622765823162011-08-13T14:50:21.056-05:002011-08-13T14:50:21.056-05:00Dear Rev. Peters: a truly edifying and uplifting p...Dear Rev. Peters: a truly edifying and uplifting post. I do not write that just as a lead-in to my “but”. However, whether a gift or a curse, there is this thing that makes me cringe at certain concepts:<br /><br />First: “To preach the Gospel is to preach Jesus Christ.” Now who could take exception to that? Our Lord did, when He spoke about the “Gospel of the Kingdom” in many places including, (Luke 4: 43) “but He said to them, “I must preach the Gospel of the Kingdom of God to the other towns as well; for I was sent for this purpose.” I don’t mean that this is “another” Gospel, but “to preach Jesus Christ” is not the complete Gospel. Our Lord spent about three years preaching the “Gospel of the Kingdom”, while the Synoptic Gospels record that He only spoke three times about His suffering and death until the final discourses on Maundy Thursday. He also urged us to pray “Thy Kingdom come,” as the second petition of the prayer He taught us Himself (One could even argue that it is the first, inasmuch as “hallowed be Thy Name” could be thought of as part of the address, related to the traditional Hebrew, “baruch ata Adonai”). Therefore, I submit that it is necessary and salutary that the Gospel of the Kingdom also be preached to our people, because it tells us about the provisions our dear Lord made for His children after His Resurrection and Ascension. In addition to other things, it says a great deal about the work of the Holy Spirit in guarding us in this Kingdom and assuring us of God’s favor.<br /><br />Leading seamlessly into, “When the Spirit imparts faith to our fearful and stubborn hearts, we finally realize that it is all about Jesus! I often wonder what would happen if we preached this as fervently as we try to preach improvement, morality, responsibility, and success. Do you think maybe a new Pentecost?” I find this really disturbing. Is faith not a gift that most of us have received in Baptism? Does the work of the Holy Spirit depend on how fervently the Gospel is preached? Was the Spirit Who worked the miracle of Pentecost not the same Spirit who dwells in the heart of each one of His children today? <br /><br />There is no such thing as the “Spirit of the Early Church”; it is one and the same Holy Spirit. Pentecost was a single event, not one in which the Apostles received the Holy Spirit. According to our Lord’s promise, on that day they “received power” (Acts 1:8), but if we think such an event could be repeated, we diminish its significance. Because it is of this St. Paul speaks in 2 Cor. 3:7ff, “7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it.”<br /><br />Peace and Joy!<br />George A. MarquartAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-36761391670908184532011-08-13T10:41:39.005-05:002011-08-13T10:41:39.005-05:00Too much focus on WWJD (don't think I have to ...Too much focus on WWJD (don't think I have to spell that out). Not enough focus on WHJD-WHAT HAS JESUS DONE?<br /><br />Even sermons that preach Law and Gospel, then end again with Law (lettuce-let us do...) fail. The focus is to be on Christ and Him crucified. Sermons should not end with what we should do; that's Law. If we focus on "how we're doing" we've already taken our eyes off Jesus, and begun to sink into the water upon which He has graciously allowed us to walk.Janis Williamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02947508427040251166noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329600504016968888.post-50393287186318178072011-08-13T09:16:53.256-05:002011-08-13T09:16:53.256-05:00Gospel-centered preaching proclaims
the power of C...Gospel-centered preaching proclaims<br />the power of Christ to change a<br />person's life. The Gospel-focused<br />sermon proclaims that the crucified<br />and resurrected Christ changes our<br />attitudes and transforms our behavior<br /><br />Christ forgives us in order to <br />empower us to make a new beginning<br />as a new person in Christ. He does<br />this through His Word and Sacrament.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com