“Now all these things happened unto them for examples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.” 1 Corinthians 10:11 (Read v. 1-13)

Most Christians have heard and read of the failings of God’s people Israel. They were all graciously redeemed of the LORD God and delivered from slavery in Egypt, but not all entered into the land of promise.

The Apostle Paul wrote of this to the believers in Corinth: “Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and did all eat the same spiritual meat; and did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

In the same way as Christians are all baptized into Christ and partake of His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, so the people of Israel were baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They partook of the manna which God provided them and drank water from the spiritual Rock which followed them, which was Christ. Yet “with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.”

God’s Word says, “These things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.”

What is the apostle saying to us? Just because we have been baptized into Christ and have partaken of Christ does not mean we cannot fall away and lose the salvation God has so graciously provided for us. If we lust after and desire evil things instead of what the LORD God has given us and turn back into sin and unbelief, we too will lose the life Christ Jesus so desires to give us. If we do not walk and live by faith in God and the promises of His Word, we will also, like many of the Israelites, be overthrown in the wilderness of this world.

We ought not ever to think that we are Christian and all is well with our soul if we are living in the sins of the flesh. The Bible clearly warns us: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

True Christians are sorry for their sins, trust in Christ’s atoning sacrifice for forgiveness and then, as a fruit of faith, seek to live for Christ in accord with His Word. They are led by God’s indwelling Spirit. Read 1 John 1-2.

Alone, we would most certainly fall and perish. But we have been redeemed by Christ. He walks with us and leads us. His Spirit dwells within us. He is with us always and never permits us to be tempted above that we are able. If we walk with Him, being led by God’s Spirit, He will bring us safely through the wilderness of this world to Himself in heaven.

It is as the Bible says, “And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.” (2 Tim. 4:18).

Dearest Lord Jesus, forgive me for failing to follow You in faith. Lead me in the way everlasting for Your name’s sake. Amen.

[Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Jesus came again into Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine. And there was a certain nobleman, whose son was sick at Capernaum. When he heard that Jesus was come out of Judæa into Galilee, he went unto him, and besought him that he would come down, and heal his son: for he was at the point of death. Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe. The nobleman saith unto him, Sir, come down ere my child die. Jesus saith unto him, Go thy way; thy son liveth. And the man believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.” John 4:46-53

Are we willing to take Jesus at His word or must we see to believe? When Jesus returned to Cana in Galilee, a certain official at Capernaum whose son was sick and at the point of death heard of Jesus’ return and went to Jesus for help. He begged Jesus to come down to Capernaum and heal his son.

Those who have had children sick and facing death can understand this royal official’s desperation. All seemed hopeless. Only a miracle could save this man’s son, and he had heard of Jesus’ power to work just such miracles. If only Jesus would make the trek down to Capernaum in time!

How did Jesus respond to the nobleman’s request? He said, “Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.” And it’s true. Think of Martha’s words to Jesus when Lazarus died: “Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died” (John 11:21). And we might think the same thing as we stand at the bedside of a dying loved one: “If only Jesus were here, he wouldn’t die.”

But wait, Jesus is here. He’s present everywhere. He’s with us always, even to the end of the world (cf. Matthew 28:20). Do we have to see His presence to believe He’s with us? Do we have to see Him lay His hands on the sick and dying to know that He has done so? Must we see signs and wonders with our own eyes before we believe? Is it not enough to read of His mighty works in the pages of Scripture, hear of His love and mercy toward us and know that He Himself died for all our sins, rose from the dead and ascended to the right hand of God the father?

And if we see no miracle, has none occurred? If a loved one dies in the Lord Jesus rather than being restored to health and life here in this world, is not this an even greater miracle? Think about it. Jesus died for the sins of the world and rose again. His Holy Spirit raised up our loved one’s soul, which was dead in sin and unbelief, to faith and life in Christ Jesus. For Christ’s sake, a soul destined to eternal damnation in hell has received God’s pardon and forgiveness and was restored to fellowship with God and destined to the eternal joys of heaven. When that loved one died a temporal death, God’s angels came and carried his or her soul into the very presence of Christ our Savior. Is not this a greater miracle than any temporal healing we might see with our earthly eyes? We cannot see it now, but when we get home we shall see!

When the nobleman said to Jesus, “Sir, come down ere my child die,” Jesus said to him, “Go thy way; thy son liveth.” Jesus wanted this man to trust Him and take Him at His word — He challenged this man’s faith. And, indeed, when we think about it, wasn’t it better that this man’s sick son be healed immediately rather than waiting another day while Jesus walked from Cana down to Capernaum?

Jesus wants us to take Him at His word as well. He promises us forgiveness for all our sins and life eternal with Him in heaven through faith in His name. We can’t see these blessings now, but they are ours just the same. Must we see signs and wonders to know His word to us is true? Must we speak in tongues or work miracles in Jesus’ name before we can believe we are really forgiven and have a place in God’s eternal kingdom?

Knowing our weaknesses, Jesus does give us visible means connected with His Word that we might take hold of and receive the promises. That we might know our sins are washed away and forgiven and that we are born anew as God’s children, He gave us the waters of baptism. Water is used by God’s command and connected with His Word of promise, and through it He washes away all our sins for Jesus’ sake, regenerates us and make us children of God by the gracious working of the Holy Spirit (cf. Titus 3:4-7). In and with the bread and wine in the Lord’s Supper, Christ Jesus gives us His body and blood which were given and shed for the remission of our sins — all that we might be assured of full and complete forgiveness as we partake of the sacrificial “Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29).

The Bible tells us that “faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17). When this nobleman heard the words of Jesus, he “believed the word that Jesus had spoken unto him, and he went his way. And as he was now going down, his servants met him, and told him, saying, Thy son liveth. Then enquired he of them the hour when he began to amend. And they said unto him, Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him. So the father knew that it was at the same hour, in the which Jesus said unto him, Thy son liveth: and himself believed, and his whole house.”

Now think of Jesus’ words to us: “Be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2); “Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world” (Matthew 28:20); or “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:2, 3). Jesus spoke these words and they are recorded for us that we, too, might believe. Through these and many other passages of Scripture, He assures us of eternal salvation — of a place in His everlasting kingdom!

We may not be able to see all these blessings now — we can only take Jesus at His word and live our lives here in confidence — but when we get home, we’ll see that His words are true. God did indeed forgive all our sins for the sake of Jesus’ innocent sufferings and death in our stead. God was watching over us, caring for us and preserving us in the faith throughout our earthly lives. Heaven is real, and Messiah Jesus did prepare a place for you and me to dwell with Him there in the mansions of His Father’s house.

In fact, when we get home, we’ll be amazed and struck with awe at the blessings which are ours in Christ Jesus — blessings which we didn’t begin to fathom here in this world! The Bible tells us “That in the ages to come” our gracious God will show us “the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:7).

Yes, when we get home, not only will we see that Christ Jesus our Savior lives, we will see that we indeed live forever in Him!

O gracious God, grant us faith to take Jesus at His word until that day when we go home and see with our own eyes that all He has promised us is true! Amen.

[Scripture from the King James Version of the Bible.]

Thanksgiving Worship

Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name. Bless the LORD O my soul, and forget not all His benefits…. Psalm 103

Come and join us at 7 p.m. tonight as we gather to give thanks and praise unto the LORD our God for all His benefits to us – above all, His gift of forgiveness of sins and life eternal for the sake of the Son’s innocent sufferings and death in our stead.

Paul’s Letter to the Believers at Colosse (continued)

“Children, obey your parents in all things: for this is well pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.” Colossians 3:20-21

It is God’s perfect will that children obey their parents in all things – the only exception being when obedience to parents would cause disobedience to God (cf. Acts 5:29). Obedience to parents, God says, is “well pleasing unto the Lord.”

This, of course, is one of the Ten Commandments of the LORD God. The Bible says: “Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; that it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth” (Ephesians 6:2-3).

Such honor and respect for parents and others in authority over us is sorely lacking in our day. Children, in both selfishness and rebelliousness, dishonor parents, teachers and authorities and refuse to obey. Such disobedience and rebelliousness, they need understand, is not only against their earthly parents and authorities, but against God Himself, who placed their parents and other authorities over them for their good.

Disrespect and disobedience toward parents is disrespect and disobedience toward the LORD God. Not honoring teachers and authorities placed over us is not honoring God who created us and placed us under authority.

While it is, sad to say, the way of the world and our own sinful nature not to honor parents and authorities, those regenerated by God’s Spirit will see and acknowledge their own sinfulness in this regard and turn to the LORD God for His mercy and forgiveness won for all by the innocent sufferings and death of His own obedient Son, Christ Jesus. And, as a fruit of their faith in Jesus, they will also, with the help and aid of God’s Spirit, seek to honor and obey parents and others placed in authority over them.

Of course, the command to honor and obey parents has another side to it as well. Fathers are not to provoke their children to wrath and discouragement by being overly harsh or mistreating them. This command also applies to mothers, for they are helpmeets to their husbands.

Here, too, fathers and mothers often fail. Instead of remembering that their children are both created and redeemed of the LORD God and that He desires children to be brought to Him in baptism and raised up in the “nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4; cf. Matthew 28:19-20; Acts. 2:38-39; Luke 18:15-17), they treat their children in selfishness and anger, punishing them when they get in the way rather than when they do wrong and sin. And, all too often, parents fail to bring their children to Christ Jesus and neglect to teach them to know the LORD and His Word.

Jesus’ warning is amply clear: “Whoso shall offend [causing to sin or fall from faith in the Lord Jesus] one of these little ones which believe in Me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6).

Provoking children to anger and abusing or neglecting them and their needs, both temporal and spiritual, is also the way of this world and our old sinful nature. But such behavior on the part of parents, teachers and others in authority greatly displeases the LORD God, who gave His only-begotten Son to redeem, not only adults, but children, both young and old.

Again, parents and those in authority who have been born anew by the mighty working of God’s Spirit through the washing of water and the Word will examine themselves and their own attitudes and actions toward their children, acknowledging their sins and shortcomings and turning to their merciful heavenly Father for forgiveness and the strength to bring up their children as He would have them raised. In the shed blood of Jesus, there is forgiveness. In the working of God’s Spirit, there is help and strength to change one’s attitudes and actions.

Dear Father in heaven, mercifully forgive me for dishonoring and disobeying my parents and others in authority over me. Forgive me also for failing to love the children You have placed under my care with Your love, for failing to be patient and understanding with them, for being overly harsh with them, for failing to bring them to You and teach them Your life-giving Word, and for failing to correct them and bring them up in Your nurture and admonition. Forgive me for the sake of Jesus, Your Son, and His sufferings, death and resurrection in my stead. By Your regenerating Spirit, give me the will and strength to conform my attitude and actions to Your holy will. Amen.

Pastor Randy Moll

We All Believe in One True God:

A Summary of Biblical Doctrine

By Wallace H. McLaughlin

(The entire book is posted under Pages on the Church Web log)

XII. The Means of Grace

In the last three chapters we have been discussing God’s way of salvation for men, in particular the doctrines of conversion, of justification, and of sanctification. In the next three chapters we intend, God willing, to direct our attention to the means or instruments which God employs to bring about conversion or the bestowal of justifying faith, thus making man a believer, and which He also uses to produce the sanctification of the believer. This we shall discuss first in general, in this chapter on the means of grace, with special attention to the primary means of grace, the Gospel, and shall then direct our attention in particular to each of the two Sacraments, Holy Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. Subsequent chapters on the Church, and the Ministry, through which the means of grace are administered among men, will be followed, finally, by studies of the Election of Grace, and the Last Things.

In treating the means of grace we must always bear in mind the Biblical doctrine of universal objective justification, as taught in 2 Cor. 5:19, for this accomplished justification is the content of the means of grace. God has forgiven all men’s sins, and by the means of grace He conveys to us this forgiveness. 2 Cor. 5:19: “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” The last words of this Scripture passage refer to the means of grace; for the Gospel, or good news that our sins are graciously forgiven for Christ’s sake, which is the primary means of grace, is that “Word of reconciliation” referred to in the text just quoted.

The Gospel is a means of grace in every form in which it reaches men: as preached (Mark 16:15, 16; Luke 24:47: “remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations”), as written or printed and read (John 20:31: “These are written, that ye might believe;” 1 John 1:4: “These things we write unto you, that your joy may be full”), as declared in absolution, general or individual (John 20:23: “Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them”), as pictured in symbols or types (John 3:14, 15: the brazen serpent in the wilderness), or as pondered in the heart (Rom. 10:8: “The Word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart”) — also in the holy Sacraments, as connected with the water of Baptism (Acts 2:38; 22:16) and with Christ’s true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper (Luke 22:19, 20; Matt. 26:26–28).

All means of grace, the Gospel, Baptism, and the Lord’s Supper, have the same purpose and the same effect. As surely as Baptism is a means of regeneration (“the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost,” Titus 3:5), so surely the word of the Gospel works regeneration (“being born again … by the word of God,” 1 Peter 1:23). As certainly as Christ gives us His true body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, so sure it is also that He names as purpose of this wonderful gift the assurance and attestation that God is graciously disposed toward those who eat and drink, because of the body given and the blood shed by Christ: Luke 22:19; Matt. 26:28 (“given and shed for you for the remission of sins”). In perfect agreement with this Scripture teaching, the Confession of our Church states: “Of the use of the Sacraments they teach that the Sacraments were ordained … to be signs and testimonies of the will of God toward us, instituted to awaken and confirm faith in those who use them” (A. C., XIII, Trig., p. 49).

The great importance of the Christian doctrine of the means of grace is evident from the Scriptural teaching that God wills to bestow the forgiveness of sins for Christ’s sake and faith in this forgiveness, regeneration unto spiritual life and all spiritual gifts connected with it, only through the means of grace which He has ordained, namely, through the Word of the Gospel and the Sacraments. It is noteworthy that, although many erring denominations theoretically deny the effectiveness of the means of grace and teach that God’s grace operates without means, they nevertheless most inconsistently continue to use these means (or at least some of them), and that God uses His means of grace, also in their hands and mouths, to bring men to faith and preserve them in faith, thus producing and maintaining the one true faith in the hearts of His real Christians in spite of Satan’s delusions. We need only adduce a few of the many strong statements of Holy Scripture to prove that God does indeed in His Word emphasize the efficacy and importance of the means of grace in kindling and sustaining Christian faith:

John 17:20: “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on Me through their Word.”

1 Peter 1:23: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.”

Titus 3:5: “According to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost.”

Mark 16:15, 16: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved.”

Luke 24:47: “Repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations.” Notice that this text does not speak of preaching about the remission of sins, but simply preaching remission of sins. The preaching of the Gospel conveys and bestows the remission of sins. And no remission of sins is to be found elsewhere than in the Gospel.

Through the means of grace alone God chooses to deal with us unto our salvation, to bestow His gifts of forgiveness, peace, joy, and everlasting life. By this we do not mean to say that God could not operate in our hearts without such external means, nor that He has not in certain exceptional cases done so (see Luke 1:15, 41, 44). But what we do assert is that when, under terrors of conscience, we seek assurance of God’s grace, He has bound us to the objective Word of the Gospel and to the Sacraments, and has not referred us in this situation to an immediate internal illumination of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit chooses to work through the means of grace. In them He is at home and at work; and, knowing this from Holy Scripture, we shall not seek Him and His gracious operations elsewhere. The Apostolic teaching and practice agrees with the Scripture testimony cited in the previous paragraph, for they do not encourage men to expect the Holy Spirit to light on them without means, but enjoin them to seek grace and salvation in the means of grace:

Acts 20:32: “I commend you to God, and to the Word of His grace.”

Acts 2:38: “Repent and be baptized every one of in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

1 Peter 3:21: “Baptism doth also now save us.”

Thus Holy Scripture teaches both that faith and regeneration are the work of divine omnipotence and that this divine power is exerted through the outward means of the Word and Baptism.

If we are clear on the Scriptural doctrines of universal objective justification and the means of grace, we shall have no difficulty with the Scriptural teaching concerning the means of grace in the form of absolution, as we find it in the words of our Lord recorded in John 20:23: “Whosesoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them.” For absolution is simply a special form of proclaiming the Gospel, namely, the announcing of the forgiveness of sins to one or more persons upon their confession of sins, either by a public servant of the Church or by a lay Christian. Absolution is based solely on the fact of God’s reconciliation to the world by the perfect satisfaction of Christ and on the divine command (John 20:21; Luke 24:47) in Christ’s name to proclaim the remission of sins provided by Him. Our attitude toward the means of grace, also in form of absolution, really reveals, as Luther has written, whether we take the Word God has given to His Church to be God’s Word, or whether we regard His Word in the mouth of a fellow-man to be merely a man’s word. The administration of the external means of grace by our fellow-men and fellow-sinners is one of the most marvelous demonstrations of God’s gracious condescension and love for poor sinners which leads Him so richly to provide means and ways to assure us of His grace and the forgiveness of our sins.

A few words must be added as to the reason why prayer, deeply as we appreciate the privilege of such access to our heavenly Father, must not be placed on a level with the Word and the Sacraments as a means of grace. To regard prayer as a means of grace (as so many do) would be coordinating incongruous things. Word and Sacrament are the means through which God deals with us men, that is, imparts to men the remission of sins earned by Christ, and through this bestowal creates and sustains faith in them. Word and Sacraments are, as Luther was accustomed to say, something God does to us. By prayer, on the other hand, believers are doing something toward God. Prayer obtains the remission of sins as an exercise of faith, which is man’s hand stretched out to receive God’s benefits, not as a means of grace, which is God’s hand stretched out to bestow His benefits.

The important Biblical doctrine of the distinction between Law and Gospel, which has already been virtually treated, under another name, in the article of justification, should be at least briefly presented also in connection with the doctrine of the means of grace. For, strictly speaking, not the Law, but the Gospel alone, is a means of grace. God indeed prepares a man’s heart for the bestowal of His grace by the Law, just as a farmer prepares the ground for the sowing of seed by breaking it up with the plow, but He never bestows the gracious forgiveness by means of the Law. Romans 3:20: “Therefore by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight: for by the Law is the knowledge of sin.” The Law, in the proper sense of the word, is that Word of God in which God demands of men that in their nature, thoughts, words, and acts they conform to the standard of His commandments, and pronounces the curse on those who fail to comply. The Gospel, in the proper sense of the word, is that Word of God in which God promises His grace for the sake of Christ’s vicarious satisfaction to such as have not kept the divine Law. Law and Gospel have indeed something in common — both are the Word of God; both apply to all men; and both are to be taught side by side in the Church and by the Church up to the Last Day.

But as to their promises, as to the persons to whom each is to be preached, and as to the sources from which they are known, Law and Gospel are opposites. The Law’s promises are conditional, and therefore beyond our reach, since we are unable to fulfill the condition (Gal. 3:12; Luke 10:28). The Gospel’s promises are gratuitous, without any condition attached. The Law pronounces the righteous man righteous; the Gospel pronounces the unrighteous man righteous; Rom. 4:5: “justifieth the ungodly.” “The Law is to be preached to secure sinners, the Gospel to terrified sinners,” as, with slight variations in wording, all orthodox expositions of the Catechism have ever taught. And this Catechism teaching is firmly based on the Word of God, e.g., Rom. 10:4, Luke 4:18: “To preach the Gospel to the poor.” The Gospel is to be recognized as the “higher Word,” which is to be God’s final Word for the terrified sinner. While the natural man still knows the Law, no thought of the Gospel has ever come of itself to even the wisest and (in the sphere of civil righteousness) most righteous of men. Contrast Rom. 2:14, 15 with 1 Cor. 2:6–10. Neither Law nor Gospel can be dispensed with in the practice of the Church or of the individual Christian, for the following reasons: 1). Only the sinner whom the Law has brought to a knowledge of his deserved condemnation will in faith accept the remission of sins offered in the Gospel. 2). The Gospel furnishes and presents man with the very fulfillment which the Law demands. 3). The Gospel with its verdict of justification must supersede or “devour” the Law with its verdict of condemnation. 4). Also after a man has become a Christian he still cannot do without the use of the Law; for he is not yet entirely a new man, but still has the old Adam dwelling in him. According to the new man the Christian needs the Law in none of its three uses (as a curb, a mirror, and a rule), according to the old man in all.

(N.B. The above presentation, especially the brief treatment of the distinction between Law and Gospel, has been in large part condensed and simplified from Dr. F. Pieper’s masterly presentation in his Christian Dogmatics. The remaining six chapters will lean heavily upon my translation of unpublished lectures delivered in the German language by the sainted Dr. Pieper in the fall semester of 1927–28, when I sat at his feet in his Dogmatics class).

What Do We Believe?

What do we believe about Prayer? Consider the following summary statement and look up the supporting Bible passages:

PRAYER

We believe that prayer is an act of worship in which Christians call upon the LORD God with their hearts and voices, offering up praise and thanksgiving to God and making request of Him (Psalm 5:1-3; 19:14; 103:1; 95:1-6; 96:1-13). Though prayer is not a means of grace, it is a great privilege which God gives to those who trust in Christ Jesus for their salvation (1 John 5:11-15; Romans 8:15; John 16:23). Since God commands His children to come to Him in prayer, and promises to answer the prayers of those who have saving faith in Christ Jesus, we believe that every true Christian should pray regularly and in all things (Matthew 7:7-8; Psalm 50:15; Philippians 4:6; Isaiah 65:24; Psalm 65:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:17-18).

Bible Study in Preparation for Sunday

The Adult Bible Class continues its study of the Gospel of John. To prepare, read John 1:29-51. What did Jesus tell Simon? Cf. Matthew 4:18ff.; 16:13ff.; Mark 1:14ff.; Luke 5:1-11. What do we learn about Jesus’ calling of His first disciples? What did Jesus say to Philip? What did Philip first do? Are we willing to leave all behind and follow Jesus? What did Philip say to Nathanael? To what passages might Philip have been referring? How did Nathanael respond? Why? How did Philip answer Nathanael’s objection? What can we learn from this? What did Jesus say of Nathanael? What does this mean? Cf. Psalm 32:1-6; 1 John 1:5-10; Psalm 51. How did Jesus know Nathanael? What does this reveal about Jesus? How did Nathanael respond to Jesus? What did Jesus then say? What did Jesus say Nathanael would see? Who else had seen such a similar thing? Cf. Genesis 28:10ff. What does this reveal about Jesus?

The Catechism Class will continue studying the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed and learning of Jesus and what He has done to redeem all mankind.

The Sunday Scripture readings will be Psalm 25; Jeremiah 33:14-16; 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13; and Luke 19:28-40. On the first Sunday in the Church Year, we turn our attention to the advent of our Savior and King, looking at the promises of His first coming as well as to His return on the Last Day. We seek to prepare our hearts for Christ’s coming by humbly acknowledging our sins and disobedience and trusting in God’s mercy and forgiveness which He offers and gives us for Christ’s sake – for the sake of Jesus’ innocent suferings and death upon the cross in our stead and as our substitute. What had God promised to the house of Israel and to the house of Judah? Who is the Branch of Righteousness who would grow up unto David? How is this so? How would Judah be saved and Judah dwell safely? Who would be called The LORD our righteousness? Why? Cf. Jeremiah 23:5-6. What was Paul’s prayer for the believers at Thessalonica? Who would establish their hearts? In what? How? By works or through faith? How did Jesus enter into Jerusalem? How will He come again? What will be your response to His appearing?

Remember to Pray

Remember to pray for our church and for all our members that none be lost to Christ’s kingdom, but that all continue in repentance and be strengthened and built up in the true and saving faith in Christ Jesus through the hearing and study of His Word. We continue to pray for all who have been sick or who are suffering among us, for those who have been absent from us, for our students who are away at school, and for our adopted soldiers. Pray for God’s help with our church’s financial needs. Continue to pray for the Lutheran Churches in the Philippines who have suffered much from repeated Typhoons.

Upcoming Events

Thanksgiving Worship will be held at 7 p.m. tonight. Come and give thanks unto the LORD!

The Choir is practicing for upcoming services. More voices are always welcome.

Advent Services, preceded by a soup and sandwich supper, will begin on Wednesday, Dec. 2. The soup and sandwich supper will begin at 6:20 p.m., and the services will follow at 7 p.m. The series of services will consider Luke, chapter one.

The Annual Voters’ Meeting will be held after church on Sunday, Dec. 6. A potluck dinner will follow the worship service, and the meeting will follow the dinner.

Wednesday night Bible studies will begin in the new year. Watch for more announcements about them as the time approaches.

Member photos – If any families or individual members yet wish to have a photo taken before the Christmas season (at no cost), please see Pastor Moll. He is offering to take the photos at church and write the images to a CD for members. He will also use the photos to update those on the bulletin board. If anyone else is interested, he will take the photos after church on Sunday.

Information for bulletins or newsletters may be sent to Pastor Moll by calling him at 479-233-0081 or by e-mail at mollfoto@yahoo.com.

“Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD.” Psalm 25:6-7

[Scripture in this Newsletter is taken from the King James Version of the Bible]