Pastor Wade's blog

Discipline?

Pastor Wade — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 18:45:42 +0000

Yesterday I preached on Hebrews 12:1-2- Runnning the race of your life with endurance. How to run the race with endurance:

Look around at many who have suffered and died because Christ is precious.
Lay down everything that holds you back, including sin that entangles you.
Look to Jesus, the author and perfector of our faith.

One part of the passage that surprises some is the reference to Jesus enduring the cross "for the joy set before Him." Jesus wants us to be filled with joy in Him. IN Him. Not from Him. In Him.

There is a big difference. I pray that you live your life with joy, trusting that what God says is good IS good.

In a month I will preach on the next section of Scripture (it was too much for one message). We laid the foundation today for a discussion on Christian discipline. I'm not talking discipline of children, though the topic is related.

We tend to give discipline the way we receive discipline. Those who do not (or will not) discipline their children usually are undisciplined themselves. For example, think of the person who thinks spanking is always child abuse, but chooses instead to whine at their undisciplined child all day.

Discipline comes from the same root as "disciple," and discipline is the act of making a disciple.

I encourage you to look ahead a bit and read Hebrews 12:3-13. Let God make you a disciple this week. Live a life of discipline, and let God in His Word define that process.

Go serve your King,
PW

Why our new hate crimes law isn't such a good thing

Pastor Wade — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:55:48 +0000

Do not fear. But rest in Christ and act accordingly. Please, friends, don't take your freedoms for granted. And keep in touch with those charged with protecting those freedoms (usually they can be reached in the 202 area code).

When President Obama signed into law a military spending bill last week, an unwanted passenger came along for the ride: Expansion of federal "hate crimes" prosecution to cover those who consider themselves to be "gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgendered." (On a side note, what was it doing in a military appropriations bill? They put it in something no conservative would dare vote against- though 29 still did.)

The law is so broad that almost anything could be considered a hate crime with a little judicial creativity- a resource that we do not find in short supply. That includes verbal speech, printed word, hiring/firing/housing decisions, or even teaching from the Bible.

I have received repeated assurances from two of our congresspeople that such teaching will not be infringed upon. Such assurances aren't all that assuring, for one swipe of a pen or one judge's decision could erase those assurances. Also, I'm not just concerned about my freedom to teach Scripture, but your freedom to think, speak and live according to your conscience.

Further, there is a clause that makes "aiding and abetting" a crime. Here's what could easily happen:

A pastor preaches on Romans 1, rationally explaining Scripture's stand on homosexuality.
A member of that church goes to work and someone asks him what he thinks of homosexuality.
The member rationally explains Scripture's stand on homosexuality.
The member's co-worker complains to authorities, claiming that his rights were violated because he pereceived himself to be, for instance, transgendered and felt threatened by his co-worker's response.
The member is forced to plea bargain to avoid jail time- probably something like "sensitivity training" or a course on overcoming "homophobia."
A court finds that the pastor "aided and abetted" this member's "harassment."
The court brings charges against said pastor.

Go serve your King,
PW

PS- Thomas Jefferson hated hate crimes legislation. Here's why:

Delighting in God's Word

Pastor Wade — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:30:50 +0000

Open my eye, that I may behold wondrous things out of Your law.
Your testimonies are my delight; they are my counselors.
-Psalm 119:18, 24

God's Word is the best counselor.

May this prayer and confidence be yours today.

Go serve your King,
PW

Why we don't understand "church"

Pastor Wade — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:55:20 +0000

This blog entry fulfills my promise in Sunday's message to explain one reason that English-speakers struggle so much to understand the term "church." That message- on Matthew 16:13-18-is also on this site.

We use the term "church" to refer to:

A service- something that hapens
A building- the place where it happens
An organization- the way we make it happen
An universal (or is it "a universal?")- all followers of Christ everywhere at all times.

If you think these distinctions are trivial allow me to illustrate. Today we had church at our church as a a service of our church that is an extension of Christ's universal Church. That should do it.

So why do we struggle so mightily? I'm glad you asked.

The word "church," in both the Old and New Testaments, is better translated in most instances by the term "congregation." A congregation is a gathering of people who get together- congregating.

We say that the right form of the kingdom of God on earth is is the congregation. Why? We can never see the universal church. What we can see, visibly, is individual followers of Christ congregating together. This picture of the church minimizes its institutional power and importance.

So we begin our story in 1600 (or so) AD, England, with a young man by the name of James. James was an ordinary boy except for the identity of his mother: Queen Mary, aka "Bloody Mary" for her violent oppression of nonCatholics in the British Empire. Remember that King Henry VIII had a falling out with the Roman Catholic Church in the previous century, so he started his own- The Church of England, with the King of England serving as its head. Mary was solidly Catholic and sought to end this entity.

James had an older brother (Arthur), so he was groomed to be a churchman, not king. His formal education began at age 3 with "preschool." I'm not making this up:

Morning prayers, Greek, New Testament, Greek Classics
Break for breakfast
Latin, History
Break for lunch
Composition, Mathematics, Geometry, Rhetoric, Philosophy

James was a perverse man- I'll withhold the details for the sake of maintaining a G rating on this site. And when his brother Arthur died this would be theologian became king.

Forward to 1611: King James authorized an English Version of the Scriptures. He called it... the Authorized Version (gotcha). He gave his team of translators 14 translation rules, the third of which stated, "The Greek term ekklesia shall be translated 'church.'"

Why? The Church of England had power, and keeping that term in Scripture bolstered that power. Further, there was a guy in Rome who had a church- He called it the Universal (or Catholic) Church, and James was not to be outdone. And we've been struggling with the term "church" ever since.

Lesson? Christ is the head of His Church (Ephesians 4:15; 2:20), yet man is always drawn to its power. Remember that the congregation is not an institution; it is a gathering of God's people. So today when I say "go serve your King it is a call to be Christ's church as a member of your congregation.

Go serve your King,
PW

Lutherans and God's Word

Pastor Wade — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 13:53:10 +0000

For an explanation of this series click here.

This quote is included in the new "Lutheran Study Bible," the ESV version published by the Missouri Synod, not to be confused with the recently released publication from the ELCA.

It is a Luther quote with the citation WA 48:155, and I apologize that my scholarly endeavors have not equipped me to find the source and put it in common terms.

Whoever believes and holds to Christ's Word, heaven stands open to him, hell is shut, the devil is imprisoned, sins are forgiven, and he is a child of eternal life. That is what this book teaches you- the Holy Scripture- and no other book on earth.

Consider the steadfast love of the Lord

Pastor Wade — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 15:45:45 +0000

Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things; let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord. -Psalm 107:43

If you are wise- do this, God says. Are you listening?

Consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

The one who offers this love is the Living God, the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- the great I AM.

The character of that love is steadfast. It is the Hebrew word "hesed," pronounced with a good, productivce guttural at the end. It is a word that is so broad that it is hard to define. Translators of some versions settled on the invented word "lovingkindness" as a bit of a code word.

Hesed is steadfast. It is loyal, unbroken love. God's never ends (Lamentations 3:22). God desires it for (and from) mankind (Hosea 6:6), but man's is lacking, passing away like a morning cloud (Hosea 6:4).

What are you considering today?

If you are wise, consider God's steadfast love.

Go serve your King,
PW

This was fun

Pastor Wade — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 22:05:50 +0000

Yesterday I spent my annual one hour on a fall afternoon at the corner of 41st & Shirley. The event is LifeChain, a 20+ year old endeavor to declare the sanctity of the unborn and pray for an end to abortion. LifeChain is not a protest. It is a silent prayer gathering. People stand silently and hold positive, constructive signs like "Adoption is the best option," "Jesus forgives and heals," and "Pray for an end to abortion."

Interestingly, the event has drawn very little media coverage over the years- even in 2006 when people lined both sides of 41st Street from Sertoma to Minnesota. The picture above is from last year.

To me the event used to be somber. Now it is joyful! Yes, it is somber to consider the MILLIONS of humans killed in abortion. But it is joyful to declare God's truth to people who pass by.

Join us next year, 2PM the first Sunday in October.

And remember- there is only one question to ask in an abortion discussion: What is "it" that you are aborting? If "it" is not a human life, no justification for abortion is necessary. If "it" is a human life, no justification for abortion is possible.

Go serve your King,
PW

Lutherans and God's Word

Pastor Wade — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 21:46:44 +0000

For an explanation of this series, please click HERE.

From the Augsburg Confession,article 21, in which the authors are decrying the Roman Catholic "cult of saints," and are wishing to:
a) be a bit humble in the midst of their boldness
b) ground their views in Scripture

This is just about a summary of the doctrines that are preached and taught in our churches for proper Christian instruction, the consolation of the consciences, and the amendment of believers. Certainly we should not wish to put our own souls and consciences in grave peril before God by misusing His name or Word, nor should we wish to bequeath to our children and posterity any other teaching than that which agrees with the pure Word of God and Christian truth. Since this teaching is grounded clearly on the Holy Scriptures and is not contrary or opposed to that of the universal Christan church, or even of the Roman church (in so far as the latter's teaching is reflected in the writings of the Fathers), we think that our opponents cannot disagree with us in the articles set forth above. Therefore, those who presume to reject, avoid, and separate from our churches as if our teaching were heretical, act in an unkind and hasty fashion, contrary to all Christan unity and love, and do so without any solid basis of divide command or Scripture.

May we also ground our lives on the pure Word of God, clearly upon the Holy Scriptures.

Go serve your King,
PW

Unfinished Business

Pastor Wade — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:40:07 +0000

Living Word is a member of the Association of Free Lutheran Congregations (The AFLC), a 270-congregation Biblically conservative doctrinally evangelistic association of independent Lutheran congregations headquartered in Minneapolis.

We hold that God's Word is true, and the only souce and norm for Christian life and practice. Click here for God's Word applied to a number of contemporary issues.

Each fall most of the leadership groups from our many cooperative endeavors gather together in Minneapolis for prayer, encouragement and planning. I was "tweeting" (go here for those posts) from a two hour session that provided each department time for a seven minute update. That doesn't sound like much, but it's enough to give a quick picture of your ministry's condition and direction.

I lost signal toward the end of the meeting, and wanted to give the remaining departments their 144 characters of "fame:"

AFLC World Missions, which I mentioned by scope in my tweet, is also in financial need. They are handling this need well, not projecting panic, but desiring their need to be known. If you want to know more, go to their web site.

AFLC Home Missions develops congregations within the United States, mostly newer congregations or church plants. Living Word is a part of AFLC Home Missions, though we are non-subsidized, having received most of our startup help from our sister congregation, Abiding Savior Free Lutheran, also in Sioux Falls. Home Missions also has financial need. Check them out online.

Final, the Coordinating Committee is the group that, well, coordinates all of the moving parts that are the AFLC. Their most visible job is maintaining the roster of clergy and congregations in our fellowship. As such they have the joys and trials of working with pastors and congregations in just about any position imagineable. I'm not just going all "team player" here- they are doing a good job. I'm thankful for their ministry.

That's a snapshot of the AFLC for you. I hope you're a bit interested. I'm very encouraged by the progress in our body, and looking forward to watching God use us to reach a lot of precious eternal human souls in the years to come.

Go serve your King,
PW

Lutherans and God's Word

Pastor Wade — Thu, 17 Sep 2009 18:38:43 +0000

For an explanation of this series, click here.

Nevertheless, just as, while the holy apostles were still alive, it happened that false teachers insinuated perverted teacings into the churches in which the apostles themselves had planted the pure, unadulterated Word of God, so such false teacherse were also inflicted on our churches because of our own and the ungrateful world's impenitence and sin.

From the preface to the Book of Concord, 1578-1580.

Go serve your King,
PW