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Pres. Harrison shares Lenten blessings
Harrison shares Lenten blessings – YouTube.
Prepare for Lent with this Confessional Mirror
Emmanuel Press offers a free download of the Beichtspiegel (confession mirror) as published in The Brotherhood Prayer Book. A Beichtspiegel is a tool used for reflection and self-examination in preparation for private confession and absolution or for the Divine Service.
Download Link: http://emmanuelpress.us/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/BPB-Beichtspiegel1.pdf
The season of Lent is a particular time of repentance for Christians. Ash Wednesday represents the beginning of a forty-day journey into the wilderness that ends with Jesus leading us into the promised land of heaven by His perfect death and sacrifice. In baptism, our Lord Jesus Christ began in us a living faith, and we return to the promise of our baptism every time we confess our sins and receive forgiveness. Thus the purpose of a Beichtspiegel is to help us reflect upon our individual sins and lead us to the soothing balm of the absolution. True repentance is both sorrow over sin and faith in Christ’s forgiveness.
A Beichtspiegel helps us to consider our sins according to the Ten Commandments. As stated in its introduction:
The Small Catechism urges us to consider our place in life according to the Ten Commandments. The Commandments act as a mirror to reflect our sinful thoughts, words, and deeds. This honest reflection, on account of God’s holy Word working in us, will bear the fruit of repentance. In private confession and absolution we repent before our pastor of those sins which we know and feel in our heart, and he, in turn, grants us Christ’s forgiveness individually.
Examining ourselves is not merely for the purpose of causing shame over our wretched sinfulness, but to focus us on the only source of comfort: Jesus. It is forgiveness that we Christians seek, not a perfect and exhaustive confession. Yet when we are able to better understand and articulate in what ways and how often we sin, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross becomes a necessary and most precious thing.
After confessing the guilt of our trespasses against the Ten Commandments, the Beichtspiegel then closes with a clear proclamation of Christ’s grace and mercy:
Do I believe that my sins are serious in the eyes of God and believe that Jesus Christ died for all of my sins and gives forgiveness to me through His Word and through the Sacraments?
If you believe this, my dear brother or sister in Christ, then come and unburden your conscience before your pastor who has been placed in the stead of Jesus for your comfort. Your confession does not need to be perfect, for the Absolution that Jesus gives is.
May your meditation upon Christ’s suffering and death be to you a consolation and source of strength this Lenten season.
via Free Download: Beichtspiegel from The Brotherhood Prayer Book | Emmanuel Press.
Funeral arrangements for Henry Carl Klopp, Jr.
Our dear member Henry Klopp died in the Lord this morning, February 17, AD 2012. We give thanks that Henry’s tribulation has ended and he enjoys the bliss of eternity. The visitation will be Monday, February 20 from 2pm to 8 pm at Smits Funeral Home 2121 Pleasant Springs Lane (Rt. 30 & Pleasant Springs Lane) Dyer, IN 46311. His funeral will be Tuesday, February 21 at Grace, with showing at 9:30 am and service at 10:30 am. His committal will follow at Assumption Cemetary, 19500 Cottage Grove Ave., Glenwood, IL 60425.
Then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them.” (Revelation 14:13)
UPDATED: Corrected location of visitation.
Philip Melanchthon (birth), Confessor (Feb 16)
Philip Melanchthon (1497–1560) was a brilliant student of the classics and a humanist scholar. In 1518 he was appointed to teach along with Martin Luther at the University of Wittenberg. At Luther’s urging, Melanchthon began teaching theology and Scripture in addition to his courses in classical studies. In April of 1530, Emperor Charles V called an official meeting between the representatives of Lutheranism and Roman Catholicism, hoping to effect a meeting of minds between two opposing groups. Since Luther was at that time under papal excommunication and an imperial ban, Melanchthon was assigned the duty of being the chief Lutheran representative at this meeting. He is especially remembered and honored as the author of the Augsburg Confession, which was officially presented by the German princes to the emperor on June 25, 1530, as the defining document of Lutheranism within Christendom. Melanchthon died on April 19, 1560.
LCMS President comments on birth control mandate (video)
LCMS President comments on birth control mandate – YouTube.
Missouri Synod president says church remains ‘deeply concerned’ about health plan mandate
Missouri Synod president says church remains ‘deeply concerned’ about health plan mandate despite White House statement
http://www.lcms.org/Document.fdoc?src=lcm&id=1679
ST. LOUIS—February 14, 2012—The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, issued a statement today in response to President Obama’s health plan “accommodation” for religious groups, which was announced last week:
“In response to President Obama’s announcement Friday concerning an ‘accommodation’ to a previous mandate that health plans must cover all forms of birth control (even those that can kill the unborn), The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) remains deeply concerned. We strongly object to the use of drugs and procedures that are used to take the lives of unborn children, who are persons in the sight of God from the time of conception. Drugs such as ‘Plan B’ and ‘Ella,’ which are still included in the mandate, can work post-conception to cause the death of the developing child, so don’t be fooled by statements to the contrary.
“We see President Obama’s action Friday as significant, in that it appears to have been prompted by the many voices united in concern over an infringement of our religious liberties. But the ‘accommodation’ did not expand the exemption for religious employers, nor did it restrict the mandate in any way. It simply described a temporary enforcement delay and a possible future change—a change that, unfortunately, would not adequately protect religious freedom or unborn lives.
“We remain opposed to this mandate because it runs counter to the biblical truth of the sanctity of human life. We are committed to working to ensure that we remain free to practice the teachings of our faith, that our religious rights are not violated, and that our rights of conscience are retained. Freedom of religion extends beyond the practice of our faith in houses of worship. We must be free to put our faith into action in the public square, and, in response to Christ’s call, demonstrate His mercy through our love and compassion for all people according to the clear mandate of Holy Scripture.
“The government has overstepped its bounds. This controversy is not merely about ‘birth control’ and the Catholic Church’s views about it. It’s about mandating that we provide medications which kill life in the womb. And moreover, and perhaps even more ominous, it is about an overzealous government forcing coercive provisions that violate the consciences and rights of its citizens. We can no longer expect a favored position for Christianity in this country. But we can, as citizens of this great nation, fight for constitutional sanity against secularizing forces. As we have vividly experienced in discriminatory state legislation with respect to homosexual adoption, we, and our institutions (and those of other religious citizens of good will), are being robbed of the right to the free exercise of religion absent government intrusion or threat. The next assault will come upon church-related retirement facilities. How much longer will it be legal in this country to believe and act according to the dictates of biblical and creedal Christianity?
“Jesus bids us, ‘Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s’ (Mark 12:17). We will pray for and support our government where we can, but our consciences and lives belong to God.”
Upcoming Lenten and Easter Services
ASH WEDNESDAY & LENTEN SERVICES
Wednesdays beginning February 22 at 2 pm & 7 pm.
We’ll celebrate the Lord’s Supper using Divine Service Three for Ash Wednesday. For following Wednesdays, the order of service for 2 pm is Vespers and 7 pm is Compline. The focus of our weekly Lenten meditation is Luther’s Small Catechism, each week considering one of the six chief parts.
HOLY WEEK DIVINE SERVICES
Palm Sunday and The Passion according to St. Matthew – April 1 @ 9 am
Monday of Holy Week @ 9 am – St. John’s Passion
Tuesday of Holy Week @ 9 am – St. Mark’s Passion
Wednesday of Holy Week @ 9 am – St. Luke’s Passion
Holy Thursday @ 2 pm and 7 pm
Good Friday @ 2 pm and 7 pm
Great Vigil of Easter – Saturday @ 7 pm
Easter Sunrise @ 7am
Easter Festival @ 9 am
Easter Week - Mon (4/9), Tue (4/10), Wed (4/11) @ 2 & 7 pm
Philemon and Onesimus (Feb 15)
Philemon was a prominent first-century Christian who owned a slave named Onesimus. Although the name “Onesimus” means “useful,” Onesimus proved himself “useless” when he ran away from his master and perhaps even stole from him (Philemon 18). Somehow Onesimus came into contact with the apostle Paul while the latter was in prison (possibly in Rome), and through Paul’s proclamation of the Gospel he became a Christian. After confessing to the apostle that he was a runaway slave, he was directed by Paul to return to his master and become “useful” again. In order to help pave the way for Onesimus’s peaceful return home, Paul sent him on his way with a letter addressed to Philemon, a letter in which he urged Philemon to forgive his slave for having run away and “to receive him as you would receive me” (v. 17), “no longer as a slave, but as a beloved brother” (v. 16). The letter was eventually included by the Church as one of the books of the New Testament.
Valentine, Martyr (Feb 14)
A physician and priest living in Rome during the rule of the Emperor Claudius, Valentine become one of the noted martyrs of the third century. The commemoration of his death, which occurred in the year 270, became part of the calendar of remembrance in the early church of the West. Tradition suggests that on the day of his execution for his Christian faith, he left a note of encouragement for a child of his jailer written on an irregularly-shaped piece of paper. This greeting became a pattern for millions of written expressions of love and caring that now are the highlight of Valentine’s Day in many nations.
Collect: Almighty and everlasting God, You kindled the flame of Your love in the heart of Your holy martyr Valentine. Grant to us, Your humble servants, a faith like Valentine’s and the power of love, that we who rejoice in Christ’s triumph may embody his love in our lives; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
Aquila, Priscilla, Apollos (Feb 13)
Aquila and his wife Priscilla (Prisca), Jewish contemporaries of St. Paul, traveled widely. Because of persecution in Rome, they went to Corinth where they met the apostle Paul, who joined them in their trade of tentmaking (Acts 18:1–3). They, in turn, joined him in his mission of proclaiming the Christian Gospel. The couple later traveled with Paul from Corinth to Ephesus (Acts 18:18), where the two of them established a home that served as hospitality headquarters for new converts to Christianity. Apollos was one of their numerous Jewish pupils in the faith. An eloquent man, Apollos “spoke with burning enthusiasm and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus” (Acts 18:25). He later traveled from Corinth to the province of Achaia, where he “showed by the Scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus” (Acts 18:28). Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos are all remembered and honored for their great missionary zeal.
