Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore His sacred name.

There is a very real danger that anything can become a cliche'.

And that's a terrible shame, because there are some things that should always be sharp and real and current - but by our careless use of them their meaning is gradually shifted... drained away... until they are only a faint tincture of their rightful potency.

Of all things, can you imagine this happening to the cross?...

[Jesus] said to Simon, "Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch." Simon answered, "Master, we've worked hard all night and haven't caught anything. But because you say so..."

Do you ever find your work frustrating? [Insert sounds of laughter here.] Do you ever feel like you're wasting your life, putting in countless hours without being appreciated, without really accomplishing anything? [Insert groans and lamentation.] Do you ever wish that somebody who doesn't know anything about how your job functions would come along and tell you how to do it better? [Insert sound of silence.]

Maybe not...

Try to excel in gifts that build up the church.

It's funny how we can know something quite well, and yet fail to apply our knowledge or fail to see the implications of what we know in a different context.

For instance, a pastor can know all there is to know about listening skills in counseling but never stop to think that his wife needs the same listening ear. A doctor can master the perfect bedside manner but not think to apply it to his own children. A waitress earns the gratitude and gratuities of her customers by her attention to their needs, but doesn't apply those same skills to her friends. And we all know that...

Then one of the seraphs flew to me with a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. With it he touched my mouth and said, "See, this has touched your lips; your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send?"

Somehow, it seems to me, we tend to look at verses like this as being directed at someone else - not us. I don't know if you feel this way or not. Maybe it's just me. But things like this happen to people like Isaiah or Jeremiah, not me.

Oh sure, I have a "call" from God. But it's much harder for me. For us. Isn't it? I mean, God didn't appear to us. He didn't speak out loud to us. And most importantly, no angel touched us with a burning coal...

Do you know why a short ladder (only 5 rungs tall) has appeared in every single photo of the main entrance of the Church since the invention of photography?

Back in 1757 (before the Revolutionary War, etc.), the Ottoman Empire issued a ruling that established the status quo at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.

You see, the church was owned or controlled by several different divisions of the Christian faith who were constantly fighting over how it was to be treated (repairs, expansions, worship, admission, etc.). So to stop the fighting...

Veritas

That's the Harvard University motto. It means "truth," which presumably is a reference to the goal of education, to pursue scientific, historical, literary, and philosophical truth. There's just one problem... That's not actually Harvard's motto.

Their real motto is...

They were amazed at his teaching, because his message had authority.

What does it mean to say that Jesus' message had authority? Where did that authority come from?

We typically talk about 4 kinds of authority...

You might enjoy reading this Lutheran Witness Reporter article about relief work in Haiti.  Linked here.

And now I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

Alright, let me admit my bias up front. Although I'm a sentimental person, I am intensely suspicious of sentimentality. If tears spring to my eyes when I witness a tender moment in a movie, that's fine. (Although I'll try to hide it.) But if someone wants to make me emotional, or more commonly wants to make themselves emotional, I'm disgusted. Emotions derive whatever value they have from the reality they reflect - they are not worth pursuing for their own sake. In fact, the sweet wine of love is a poison if it does not come from the grapes of sacrifice, selflessness, commitment, and even suffering.

Why do I start with this? Because I've encountered so many people who have jumbled Paul's words, and spend all their lives pursuing a resounding Gong Show of love...

You should be sure to go to these websites to find encouraging information about Haiti relief efforts.

James and Christel's blogsite has an encouraging short video up. You'll love the great recording of a Haitian Lutheran congregation in song after the disaster.

James uploads photos to the LCMS pages at Picassa. You can also find pics there from other synod mission fields.

LCMS World Relief posts up-to-date info about how our church is helping, and how the Body of Christ is serving.

Dr. Al Collver, currently on the ground in Haiti, has interesting posts from his experiences and those of others.

"Do not say, 'I am only a child.' You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.

This is my first posting since I returned from a week of vacation, and already I feel worn down. Do you know how that is? Too many things seem to pile up. Even if they're not real issues, but only issues you're afraid will come up or get worse, the list gets longer and longer of those things in the back of your mind.

This last week it has been events in Haiti that have disturbed and distracted me...

 Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant...

Oh, no problem. Paul would be pleased with us, wouldn't he? We always focus on people's different gifts! For instance, we talk incessantly about the people on American Idol and which ones are talented and which ones are not. We talk about peoples' appearance - who looks good - who has good taste - who's strong or weak. We talk about athletic talents ALL the time, even assigning numerical values to them so we can rate them in our fantasy league.

And unfortunately, we evaluate talents among those we work with and those we love. We evaluate whose talents do us the most good...

 No longer will they call you Deserted, or name your land Desolate. But you will be called [My Delight Is In Her] and your land [Married].

Hola! I'm blogging from my son's office in Panama today. We began the day by driving to the top of a tall hill overlooking the city. From that vantage point James could point out different neighborhoods and areas, each with it's own character. Here an historical district - there a "bad area" - here a busy port or an area with rich Americans - there a dangerous part of town. We can each characterize the cities and neighborhoods we know the same way - although our names would differ depending upon our relationship with them.

The very best name of all for a city or a village or an area is...

I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come...

My sermon planning notes say that this is my text for this Sunday, but I haven't had time to work on it yet. Your input would certainly be welcome.

The direction I planned to go with these verses was the dilemma we face when considering John's "good news." We talk about this as the gospel, but after pointing out all the peoples' sins John tells them that someone even more powerful than himself is about to come who will baptize them "with the Holy Spirit and with fire"!!! "His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."

Oh yeah. Wonderful news...

What shall we say then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!

What a weird thing to say. Who would ask a question like that? Would anybody actually think that they could or should continue to sin just because they know that they can now be forgiven?

Um... Well... Raise your hands...

"Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine... I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your stead..."

Some people have a sense of their place in history. Some people are forever living in the future. And some people are very vividly in the present moment.

I've heard people give strong arguments for the superiority of one of another. Some even insist that only one of the 3 points of view is morally right. But really, all three are advocated in the Bible. Stop and consider, how do you look at your life today?...

The traffic on the roads was awful. Roman soldiers were stopping and bothering people. Mary was uncomfortable bouncing along on the donkey in the last days of her pregnancy, and too tired to walk all those miles. When Mary was riding, Joseph had to carry all the luggage, and when Mary walked Joseph had to support her. They wondered, "Are we there yet?"

Well, I confess, this is not from the Gospel of Luke. But it could have been.

We often bemoan the weary days leading up to Christmas. Frantic housecleaning before company arrives. Trying to get the last of the baking done. Being unproductive at work, and yet deadlines still pressing. Stores overcrowded, long lines, terrible traffice, bad weather, the stress to our credit card... did I miss anything? These are the days before Christmas for us, and they could not have been easy for Mary and Joseph either. And yet...

When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.

I guess every pastor has his "hobbyhorse," a topic or a theme in God's word that resonates with him and seems to find its way into many sermons. I apologize if I'm beating my personal drum again, but I am repeatedly struck by the hiddenness of God's hand in our lives. Even in Jesus' life and ministry, the glory of God is mostly hidden!

Only at certain times does God's glory break through: the transfiguration, the miracles, Elizabeth's recognition of Mary as the Lord's mother. But what about all of the other times? What are they like?...

Therefore when Christ came into the world, he said: "Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, 'Here I am...'"

God did not desire sacrifices and sin offerings??? Of course he did. He said so repeatedly in the Old Testament, didn't he? But the author of Hebrews argues that sacrifices are not what God really wanted. And that was plain too from what God said in the Old Testament. What he desired most was to be reconciled to his lost creation.

Here's a difficult thing about Biblical interpretation: sometimes there is a simple version and then a more complex version of what God is saying. There may even be several layers of meaning. For instance, the kids' version of the Sabbath is "God wants you to go to church on Sunday." The more mature understanding is...

But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel...

Small towns are different. They're not like cities. It's not just fewer people, or fewer "cultural events." It's a different way of relating to one another, and a different way of seeing yourself and your community.

Maybe this is a fair summary of the root of it. Small towns are like a family group - you don't expect anybody from your little tribe to change the world. "The world" is circumscribed by the city limits...