schwarmerei

The Holy Spirit's public witness

May 22, 2009

Luther on the objectivity of the Holy Spirit’s testimony: No one in need of comfort, therefore, should wait until the Holy spirit in all his majesty speaks to him personally from heaven. For the Holy Spirit carries out his witness publicly in the sermon. That is where you must seek and await him, till the [...]

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If you try…

May 20, 2008

Chuck Finney has done it again, ruining another morning. The devilish proponent of the New Measures is praising the “modern sound” at CrossPoint Lutheran Community Church, with their blend of Amazing Grace and the Rolling Stones. Isn’t it great how the “modern sound” is something from 1969? The radio stations that play this stuff are [...]

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The Anxious Bench

April 30, 2008

We all knew that the spirit of Charles Finney was haunting the LCMS. What was unexpected was that he would start a blog detailing his diabolical work.

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The biggest problem with "Relevant Church" is not the Sex Challenge

February 23, 2008

Along with everybody else, I snickered at the news of the so-called Relevant Church‘s “Sex Challenge.” I was particularly jarred by the notion that the unmarried were being asked to abstain from sex for only thirty days. Given tomorrow’s Epistle in the traditional calendar (Eph. 5.1-9), I thought I’d start off my homily blasting that. [...]

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How are souls "won"?

February 14, 2008

Dr. Stuckwisch has an excellent preliminary examination of some disturbing news coming from the new Commission on Worship about surveying the top five percent of “soul-winning” congregations in the LCMS, presumably so the rest of us can copy their New Measures. In this paragraph he delivers the payload: Since when do Lutherans need a survey [...]

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Works Prompted by the Spirit

October 24, 2007

It is striking to me–and undoubtedly would horrify the modern antinomians–to see how clearly Luther upholds both salvation by grace alone and the life of good works done by the saved. Your ways are not My ways.… Here He is speaking of ways by which we are justified. There are two ways. The one, by [...]

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My Thoughts Are Not Your Thoughts

October 24, 2007

I hadn’t realized the anti-Enthusiast thrust of the passage, “My thoughts are not your thoughts” (Is. 55). Here is a gem from Luther (again, from the Isaiah lectures): The ungodly object, “You are calling us sinners. Do you not see that we are doing well? We are not like other men.” To them He responds [...]

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Are Vikings Fans Welcome?

May 2, 2007

Or perhaps the newest member of the New England Patriots? Check out what’s happening at Lame-beau Field.

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