2001 Summer - Higher Things Magazine (with Bible Studies)

Higher Things

SUMMER

Now if you were raised with Christ, be eager for the things that are above, where Christ is sitting at the right of God.

2

Keep

your mind on things

L U T H E R A N

above, not on earthly things.

3

You see, you

have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

4

When

Christ, your Life, appears, then you too will appear with Him in glory.

D A R E

T O

B E

Colossians 3:1-4

/ 2001

from

the

editor-in-chief

dare to be lutheran Being a Lutheran can be lonely. In high school, I always felt like I was the only one in the world who had Lutheran beliefs. I had friends, but none of them quite understood who I was as a Lutheran Christian.

If you ever feel this way, remember you're a Christian just like the baby Christians newly baptized and the mature,elderly Christians ready to be called home.There is no real difference,for the faith we all hold is the same. Yet, many adults believe the only way young people will be saved and stay in that faith is if the Church gives them empty theology. We, at Higher Things, believe differently. We’ll tell you the truth. You can handle it.

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 2

On the following pages, you will read about how Jesus Christ came into this world to free us from the bondage of sin, death, and the power of the Devil. These are not dead words you learned from the Catechism, but living words that flow from the voice of God Himself. Our Lord Jesus Christ gives us this life through His Word, Preaching, Baptism, Holy Absolution and the Lord’s Supper. These “Higher Things”, provide you with the knowledge that Christ is in you and you in Him. And it is the “Higher Things” of Christ that change who you are and how you look at the world.

Read these pages and learn who you are in Christ Jesus.

Dare to be Lutheran. You will not be disappointed.

Pastor Todd Peperkorn Editor-in-Chief Peperkorn@higherthings.org

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FEATURES

HigherThings

Clouds and Gutters

Editor-in-Chief REV. TODD PEPERKORN

by the Rev. James Winsor Pastor of Risen Christ Lutheran Church, Arvada, CO

T A B L E

O F

CONTENTS

What do we mean when we say “Higher Things”? Learn about how Christ comes down to us and raises us up to Him.

Volume 1/Number 1 Summer 2001

Managing Editor PAM KNEPPER

Assistant Editor JULIE STIEGEMEYER

Editorial Associate REV. DAVID PETERSEN Art Director STEVE BLAKEY

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Dying to Live by the Rev. Harold Senkbeil Pastor of Elm Grove Lutheran Church, Elm Grove, WI

A poem to the youth of the church. Word pictures from the Dying to Live Youth Conference, Laramie, WY, July 2000.

11 Soul Searching

by Julie Stiegemeyer Freelance Writer, Pittsburgh, PA

Have you ever had your faith shaken to its very core?

Julie Stiegemeyer has. Read how this former Methodist Christian found Lutheranism and the clearly proclaimed message of Christ crucified.

12 Going to Hell at the Happiest Place on Earth by the Rev. Grant A. Knepper Pastor of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Seattle, WA

Disneyland is called the happiest place on earth because inside its gates reality is masqueraded to portray fantasy and even a trip to hell. But for Lutheran

Business Manager LYNN FREDERICKSEN

HIGHER THINGS, INC. BOARD OF DIRECTORS President REV. DANIEL Vice President REV. TODD

Secretary REV. SCOTT

WOODRING

PEPERKORN

STIEGEMEYER

REV. KLEMET PREUS DR. GENE EDWARD VEITH REV. JAMES WINSOR REV. MARCUS ZILL Higher Things Magazine is published quarterly by Higher Things Inc., 2026 22nd Ave., Kenosha, WI 53140. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the editorin-chief of Higher Things Magazine.

Copyright 2001. Printed in the United States. Postage paid at Fort Wayne, Indiana. For subscription information, write to: Higher Things Magazine, P.O. Box 580111, Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158-8011 or e-mail to Subscriptions@higherthings.org.

Higher Things Magazine is mailed to most pastors and congregations of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in the United States and Canada.

Christians, reality is found inside the church. The reality of font, pulpit and altar. The reality of the words,“given

The HIGHER THINGS of God define

and shed for you.” Inside the doors of the church we

and shape who we are as Christians.

find THE ANSWER that is just as real and true inside as

Because of Christ’s forgiving

it is outside.

presence in our lives, we are free to live in Him.

13 Catechism by the Rev. David Petersen Pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, IN

You have probably memorized the Catechism, but can't quite recite it anymore. Pick it up again. Look at it anew. It is not simply a book of instruction, it also is a book of prayer and faith.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 1 __ 3

H I G H E R

T H I N G S __

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CLOUDS AND

GUT

This is a magazine about “higher things”. But don’t get the wrong idea. This is not about having

things are found in lowly places.

Church is not a religious rave party and the sacramental life is not about “rolling.” No. It happened on a real wooden cross with real nails

spiritual hyperventilation. This higher life is not found or lived in the clouds in some transcendent ethereal plane of consciousness.

hand ruling everything for the sake of the church. And you’re with Him as He does that. This is not all a bunch of positive self-talk or

But it’s history. Jesus really hung around on the planet as one of us. He really died, rose, ascended, and sits at the Father’s right

you’re home sick with a cold and can hardly rise out of bed.

dead to sin when all you can think about is wearing or removing such and such an outfit. You don’t feel too risen from the dead when

You don’t feel particularly enthroned in glory when some jerk decides to ruin your reputation or swipe your girlfriend. You don’t feel too

ascended. You are seated at the Father’s right hand (see Ephesians 2:6). It’s a done deal. Now, of course, we’re not good at seeing this.

tion from the grave, His ascent to heaven, and His session (being seated, enthroned) at the Father’s right hand. You died. You arose. You

happened in baptism. When Paul says, “You died,” he is passing along Good News. Baptism hooked you up to Jesus’ death and resurrec-

just for your soul, but for the whole you. It happened in baptism. In Colossians 3, St. Paul tells us “You died.” He’s talking about what

You see, Christianity doesn’t handle “The Great Divide” between the gutter and the clouds by sending us off to India to lose our skin, take on a glossy-eyed serenity, and find our inner divine self. Nor does it keep us stuck in the gutter of rage and self-pity. There is another way—death and resurrection. Not

octane, honest, realistic, maybe even Lutheran version of female Christian Rock. In fact, I think we’d get higher things.

A very impressive singer, lyricist, and musician, Alanis, if she ever became a Christian, could provide us with a higher fiber, higher

smoking a cigarette.

doesn’t matter much anymore. She was probably better off when one hand was in her pocket and the other was

with “Carrie” (Sarah Jessica Parker) on HBO’s Sex in the City. When you decide you’re God or Goddess, your skin

ly come back from India without her skin. She is now a “womyn” and is comfortable doing “the big kiss thing”

feel good in this skin.” And to a suicidal friend, “You were uncomfortable in your own skin.” Alanis has apparent-

The singer Alanis Morrisette, herself, is not comfortable in her own skin. “If I am famous then maybe I’ll

could ascend to the heights of glory God must have had in mind way back when.

could just drop it off at some sort of spiritual dry cleaner and pick it up on Monday morning. Maybe without it your soul

When it comes down to it, sometimes you just don’t feel comfortable in your own skin. It gets you into trouble and you wish you

exchange for a permanent smiley face tattoo.

way out of the grime is through a sort of cloudy Christianity where you give your heart to Jesus (not sure why He’d want that!) in

that wades through the sludge of our idiotic times. If you ask the students at the local Bible study, you might get the feeling that the only

Sometimes you get the idea that you have to choose between clouds and gutters—between some sort of fake spiritual high or a life

and found again, you come to see that higher

Now if I’m losing you, don’t worry. When it comes to higher things, a person has to be lost before they can be found. As you’re found

same time and place.

your head in the clouds or your mind in the gutter. Higher things are very familiar with both clouds and gutters, which are often in the

TTERS

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By the Rev. James Winsor

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Things!

The Rev. James Winsor is Pastor at Risen Christ Lutheran Church, Arvada, CO

are, and by the way, in Christ you are perfect.” Welcome to Higher

she quotes this way, “We’ll love you just the way you are if you’re perfect.” God says, “I do love you just the way you

wet. Higher things like that are happening through lowly things like you, like me. Alanis complains about picky parents, whom

thing with a higher purpose. When you serve a Big Mac, God feeds His creatures. When you catch a friend’s tears, God’s shoulder gets

is doing His higher things through the lowly things of the church and through your everyday calling. You, yourself, have become a higher

means you can be at ease with God, with heaven, and be at ease with your neighbor, with earth. God

womb, on the cross, and in the here and now whenever a man speaks His forgiveness “in the stead and by His command.” Now this all

and stay there. The grime goes with you even if you get partway there. No, God will have to come to the gutter. And He has, in Mary’s

If you won’t let God step into the gutter, that’s where you’ll always be stuck. Try as hard as you want; you can’t make it to the clouds

absolve me?”

mocking some local deity when she sings, “How soon will I be holy? How much will this cost, guru? How much longer ‘til you completely

But even in India, she’s still waiting for absolution, waiting to lose the burden of guilt, self-hatred, and bitterness. She appears to be

your penance, sort of a spiritual make-up session. It didn’t work too well. She was missing Christ and His cross.

school where absolution wasn’t absolution. It wasn’t forgiveness free and clear. You had to remember and confess it all. You had to say

complains, “I confessed my darkest deeds to envious men,” whom she has noted are loveless priests. She attended a Roman Catholic

And then there’s that lowly thing called absolution. It too contains the higher things of forgiveness, life with God, salvation. Alanis

so he kept it and still has it. So comfortable that He offers it to you in bread, a very lowly thing containing the highest of the higher things. God’s body given to your body. He’s even comfortable in your skin!

These higher things come in other lowly places too. Bread. Wine. A pastor’s pardoning voice. Skin. Jesus was comfortable in His skin,

the death of you. Just what you need.”

her suicidal friend, “If we were our bodies...I’d be joining you.” God responds, “You are your body. Join her. Jump into the fountain. It’ll be

that gutter. Alanis can’t picture God in the gutter. She asks, “If I jump in this fountain, will I be forgiven?” God says, “Yes!” She says to

gutter, but still a gutter. A gutter is a place for water to flow. Clean water cleans you even if in a gutter. These higher things happen in

Baptism is the window in the heavens that grabbed you in time and sucked you into eternity. But baptism is a gutter thing, a clean

there.

He got from our race, the body He hooked up to yours in baptism. That real body ascended to God as God. You were there. You’re still

shows up in the tomb and out of it on Easter morning. His body ascended through the clouds, the body He got in Mary’s womb, the body

to touch real marks on real skin. Jesus ate real fish and bread in their presence. You were there. Baptism makes you a time traveler who

His death. It happened out of a real tomb with strips of linen. Mary clutched real ankles. Thomas, after the others before him, was invited

and thorns. Real guilt from the real world. Real death. Real abandonment from the Father. You were there. Baptism time-warped you into

A SONG

T

NIGHT IN THE

To the youth of our church @ Dying to Live Youth Conference Laramie, Wyoming @ July 2000

he organ muses in the night @ Soft

and deep it ponders mysteries profound @ Calling all the faithful weary to the church’s evening prayer: @ Seek

rest in Him who is your rest; @ Find Light eternal midst gathering gloom of

night @ @ @ one flame sheds light into the dark @ one voice pierces silent shadows of the night @ then echoing, the

church responds: @ Jesus Christ is the Light of the World @

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S U M M E R 2 0 0 1 __ 7

The Light no darkness can overcome. @ Stay with us, Lord, for it is evening @ And the day is almost over @ @ @ Gaining courage, young mouths find voice @ Within the church’s song @ for unsung yearnings of the heart @ Kyrie eleison @ Lord, have mercy @ You are worthy of being praised @ With pure voices forever. @ @ @ But where find that purity? @ How cleanse the mouth @ And purify the sinful heart and hands? @ How drive deep despair from out this house of gloom and death? @ @ @ Contrite hearts and broken spirits join @ To

speak the truth before the throne of God @ I, a poor, miserable sinner, confess… @ Ears of faith hear the very words of Him who once w

Forgiveness here on earth by Christ’s very own command and will @ I forgive you all your sins in the Name @ Of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

Blood @ His living flesh and blood given once upon His cross @ But now on earth the church’s bread of heaven and wine of Joy @ @ @ Thi

eternity @ then took frail human flesh and blood within a virgin’s womb @ @ @ The Song of the Lamb and of His eternal bride the church

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was dead @ But lives and holds the keys of death and hell @ @ @ The Word of Life for sinners locked in prison cells of sin and shame @

t @ @ @ Then the great Good Shepherd stoops down low to feed His dying flock @ Under earthly bread and wine His very Body and true

is Feast of Life a foretaste of the Feast still yet to come @ Mouths open up to receive the very Life @ That first was with the Father from all

h @ Echoes loud and long again on earth @ and hearts are brave again, and arms are strong @ He leads his people forth in joy @ With shouts of thanksgiving @ @ @ Old men and young men together @ Sons and daughters - all one body, they @ Menservants and maidservants join here on earth @ To sing the church’s ceaseless heavenly song @ With one mouth giving glory here below @ to Him who sits there above upon His throne @ and to the Lamb once slain to lead forth Life from death @ @ @ One Spirit and one Body @ One Baptism and one Lord, @ One God and Father of them all @ One generation lauds His works to yet one more @ The LORD’s own voice is heard again on earth @ His never-ending song is learned anew @ @ @ So through the church the song goes unbroken on @ That in these gray and latter days @ There still are those whose life is praise @ Each life a high doxology @ Unto the Holy Trinity @ @ @ Amen, Lord Jesus, quickly come @ Let your light scatter the darkness @ And illumine your church

By the Rev. Harold Senkbeil, Pastor of Elm Grove Lutheran Church, Elm Grove, WI

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The Summer 2001 issue of

Higher Things Magazine is sponsored by

Horizon Conferences

, an organization

dedicated to providing information about conferences and publications that address issues facing the For more information, visit the Horizon Conferences web site at

Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod.

www.horizonconferences.org.

If you would like to be a sponsor, make a donation, or place an ad in Higher Things Magazine, contact Pam Knepper, Managing Editor at H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 10

Magazine@higherthings.org.

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So ul

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Going to Hell at the Happiest Place on Earth very November the youth at my congregation participate in a Disney turn-around trip. The trip works something like this. We depart from our church parking lot in a rented bus late on a Friday evening. The bus drives all night, arriving at Disneyland Saturday morning just as the gates open. We spend all day in the park running ourselves ragged going between Main Street, Adventure L a n d , To m o r r o w Land,Mickey’s Toon Town, and all points in between. Late Saturday evening, after the fireworks, we meet back at the bus. We then drive all night bringing us back to our church parking lot just in time for the late service on Sunday morning.

Now Disneyland is one of those places that works because almost nothing in it is real. It is an escape from reality. You can do things, or at least pretend to do things at Disneyland that you could never do in real life. Let's face it,enjoying the rides and seeing the shows can be fun, but when it is time to leave the park, the fantasy stays behind.Or at least it should.

However, on my last visit, I noticed something different. This time the park was not content just to offer a welcome respite from the common day-to-day existence most of us share.

No, this time Disneyland offered a lifestyle, a way of living that would bring meaning and satisfaction to our existence. Disneyland offered us THE ANSWER. According to the disembodied voice that boomed during the fireworks show, all we had to do to have

E

H I G H E R T H I N G S __ 12

happy, successful, trouble-free lives was to simply believe in holiday magic. This belief would see us through the troubled times, the times of uncertainty, and would ensure that we all had successful, financiallylucrative careers.

Shortly after the end of the fireworks show we decided to go on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Seated in an old fashioned car, the ride took us on an out of control drive through the streets and buildings of an old city. It appeared that the ride had

come to an end when our car got hit head-on by a train, but much to our amazement, it didn't end there.

Seconds after the head-on collision, our car drove into a hot, steamy room filled with what appeared to be flames and ghostly apparitions floating about. In short, we found ourselves in hell. I thought, “How could this be?

Disneyland was supposed to be the

By the Rev. Grant A. Knepper

happiest place on earth. Maybe I just did not believe enough in holiday magic?”

We rode the ride again, except this time I tried my hardest to believe in holiday magic. I also tried to steer the other way when the train came at the car, but nothing worked. No matter how hard I believed or tried to steer the car in the other direction, I ended up in the hot, steamy room with the flames and the floating spirits. Despite what the disembodied Disney voice had promised, belief in holiday magic was not THE ANSWER. If holiday magic couldn't keep me out of Mr. Toad's pretend hell, how could it possibly be of any real help outside the gates of Disneyland where trains really hit cars, people really die, and worse yet, people really go to hell?

I was still mulling this over in my head as we boarded the bus and began our overnight ride. The next morning, we pulled into the church parking lot and got off the bus near the doors of the church. Suddenly, I realized that inside the gates of Disneyland we found only fantasy masquerading as reality. But inside the doors of the church we find reality. The reality of font, pulpit, and altar.The reality of the words,“given and shed for you.” Inside the doors of the church we find THE ANSWER that is just as real and true inside as it is outside.

The Rev. Grant A. Knepper is Pastor at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Seattle,WA

During my confirmation years

And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Plate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty.

From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.

What does this mean?

C

I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord.

Who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sins, from death, and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy, precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence, and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity. This is most certainly true.

From The Small Catechism. Copyright 1986.

By Concordia Publishing House, St. Louis, MO. Used with permission.

the

atechism

By the Rev. David Petersen

The Second Article: Redemption

, my best friend was a guy by the name of George. He was a Seventh-Day Adventist. He and I were closer than brothers. We shared everything. We spent hours together talking about every aspect of our lives—including our faith. Now, the Seventh-Day Adventists have some strange ideas. They believe that all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament are still in effect. Because of this they view Christ differently than Lutherans do. My friend was quite worried that we Lutherans, with all our stuffy formalism, statues, and sacraments, didn’t really believe in the Biblical Jesus.

I remember one time when George was quizzing me about various things in the Bible. He wanted to know if Lutherans believed in the virgin birth, the raising of Lazarus, and other details from Christ’s life that he felt were essential to faith. I agreed with everything he said, but couldn’t find the words to sum up what I believed about Jesus. I knew I was a Christian even though we watched television and ate meat, but I felt like my faith wasn’t as vibrant or zealous as his. I wanted to prove to George that I really did believe in the Biblical Jesus.

Then on my way home from George’s house, it suddenly dawned on me—the Catechism!

When I got home, I went straight up to my room and pulled out my Catechism. I copied down (I should have known it by heart, but didn’t) the Second Article of the Creed and Luther’s explanation in a letter. It was all there, a perfect little summary that encapsulated all our hope in Jesus Christ. I had memorized this for class and would later memorize it again for questioning. But that day I read it with fresh eyes. This was my faith and I was glad to attach my name to it.

The next day, I gave George the letter. He was impressed. I later gave him his own copy of the Catechism. Over time, George and his parents grew to respect Lutheranism, but never converted.

At the end of our eighth grade year, George and his family moved away.

Even today, I still miss him, but he is lost to me. All I have left of him are fond memories. But that was a critical time in my life and in my faith. Through George (and the faithful pastor that instructed me) God put me through the ropes and I am stronger because of it. I was re-born in Baptism, but throughout the course of confirmation classes, God awakened me. That was the beginning of my love and appreciation for the Catechism, and a desire to teach it to others.

Most of you have probably memorized the Catechism, but I am guessing you can’t quite recite all of it anymore. Pick it up again. Look at it anew.

It is not simply a book of instruction, it also is a book of prayer and faith.

May God bless your reading of it!

The Rev. David Petersen is Pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, IN There are three kinds of laws in the Old Testament: The Moral Law, which tells people their duty towards God and man; the Ceremonial Law, which regulated worship and diet in the Old Testament; and the Civic Law, which was the State Law for the people living in Israel at that time.

The Ceremonial Law is not binding for us because it was fulfilled in Christ. For example, in Acts 10, God tells Peter to eat foods that were unlawful in the Old Testament for the new age in Christ has begun.

Neither are the Civic Laws of the Old Testament binding for us. But our own Civic Laws, unless they violate God's Moral Law, are binding for us and it is a sin to break them. Only the Moral Law was written into man's heart and is still binding for us today. Sins and good deeds both are defined by this Law. The Moral Law is summarized by Jesus in Matthew 22:37-40 as: “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments, hang all the Law and the Prophets.

S U M M E R 2 0 0 1 __ 13

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Pastor Erik Rottmann Leader’s Guide I.

Seventh Day Adventists in light of the Scriptures As you read in the article, this church body believes “all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament are still in effect.”

A. According to Leviticus 16:6-16, what act was a major part of the Old Testament ceremonial law? Now, what do Hebrews 10:10 and 1 John 2:2, 4:10 say about Jesus’ sacrifice for us?

Sacrifices were central to the ceremonial law, as the Leviticus passage indicates. Hebrews 10:10, however, describes Jesus’ death as a sacrifice “once for all.” The passages from 1 John further indicate that Christ is the “atoning sacrifice.” Because His was the last, all-powerful sacrifice, no further sacrifices are necessary.

B. Take a look at Colossians 2:16-17. What does St. Paul call the Old Testament festivals and ceremonies? What reality did they point toward?

The Colossians passage describes the ceremonial law with all its observances as “a shadow of the things to come” (NIV). Now that Christ, the reality, is here, the shadows are no longer necessary.

C. Think about Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17. What implications do these words hold for the ceremonial law? The moral law (Ten Commandments)?

Discuss the meanings of the words “abolish” and “fulfill” with the students. Jesus’ fulfillment of the law means that we ourselves no longer must act to fulfill it (that is, carry out rites and ceremonies). Thus, the ceremonial law no longer binds us. Christ also fulfills the moral law (Ten Commandments) for us. The commandments do not instruct us how to find salvation, but how the Christian loves God above all things and loves his neighbor as himself (Matthew 22:3640). Perhaps it would be helpful to review the Small Catechism’s explanations of the Ten Commandments, pointing out how each of the commandments describes the way Christians act when living by faith.

II. The Holy Spirit and the gift of faith Rev. Petersen is probably not alone in thinking that his friend’s faith was more “vibrant or zealous” as his. Many Lutherans struggle in this same way, often wondering if they truly have the gift of the Holy Spirit or if their faith is as good as someone else’s.

A. How does St. Peter describe your faith in 2 Peter 1:1? What comfort does this description offer you?

No matter how old or how young the Christian, he or she possesses “a faith as precious as [the apostles’]” 2 Peter 1:1. Certainly there are no “greater” or “lesser” Christians, but God looks at all believers equally. Other helpful verses: Acts 10:34, Galatians 3:26-29, Ephesians 2:19-22.

B. Where does faith come from, according to the following verses? Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:17.

While many Christians today believe that faith is something they give to God in response to the Gospel, these passages clearly show that faith actually comes from God! It is His gift to the believer! By this gift of faith, God makes the Christian able to believe. Review the Small Catechism’s explanation to the Third Article of the Creed, especially the first couple of lines.

C. If you ever doubt or wonder whether you have the gift of the Holy Spirit, how might the following verses calm these fears? 1 Corinthians 12:3, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:20-22. For further assurance, take another look at the Small Catechism’s explanation to the Third Article of the Creed.

You need not ever wonder if you have the Holy Spirit, because the very fact that you can say and believe, “Jesus is Lord!” shows that the Holy Spirit dwells within you. The Spirit came to you at your Baptism, as the Titus passage indicates, saving you through the washing away of your sins. Another helpful passage: John 3:1-6.

Higher Things – Dare to be Lutheran “Catechism” Bible Study – Leaders’ Guide, continued III. The testing of your faith Rev. Peterson described his experience with his friend as, “a critical time in my life and in my faith…God put me through the ropes and I am stronger because of it.”

A. How does James 1:2-4 say we ought to regard trials of faith? What blessing results from such trials?

Begin by discussing the sorts of things that happen to Christians that might prove to be a test or trial of their faith.

Surprisingly, these tests of faith should be regarded as “pure joy!” As St. James indicates, trials produce perseverance, which in turn develops Christian maturity.

B. What are some examples of trials that are recorded in Hebrews 11:1-19? What exhortation immediately follows in Hebrews 12:3?

Have the class take note of some of the prominent Old Testament believers recorded in Hebrews 11. See if they can think of any other examples of those who lived by faith (compare Hebrews 11:32). This is the “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in Hebrews 12:1. As imitators of their faith, we, too, “run with perseverance.”

C. Do not think that this testing of your faith is a way of proving your personal endurance to God. Recall instead where faith comes from (see part B, above). Discuss the following verses, noticing the “power source” that enables you to persevere: 1 Corinthians 1:18, Ephesians 1:18-19, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Timothy 1:12, 1 Peter 4:11.

The “message of the cross” (the Gospel) is the “power of God” (1 Corinthians 1:18) for believers. They are able to resist temptation and persevere in the faith, not because of their own personal strength, but because of “His incomparably great power” (Ephesians 1:19). Jesus’ Word continually works within the believers (1 Thessalonians 2:13), giving them Jesus’ strength (1 Timothy 1:12, 1 Peter 4:11) and enabling them to persevere. Other helpful verses: 1 John 4:4, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9.

Pastor Erik Rottmann Bible Study I.

Seventh Day Adventists in light of the Scriptures As you read in the article, this church body believes, “all the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament are still in effect.”

A. According to Leviticus 16:6-16, what act was a major part of the Old Testament ceremonial law? Now, what do Hebrews 10:10 and 1 John 2:2, 4:10 say about Jesus’ sacrifice for us?

B. Take a look at Colossians 2:16-17. What does St. Paul call the Old Testament festivals and ceremonies? What reality did they point toward?

C. Think about Jesus’ words in Matthew 5:17. What implications do these words hold for the ceremonial law? The moral law (Ten Commandments)?

II. The Holy Spirit and the gift of faith Rev. Petersen is probably not alone in thinking that his friend’s faith was more “vibrant or zealous” as his. Many Lutherans struggle in this same way, often wondering if they truly have the gift of the Holy Spirit or if their faith is as good as someone else’s.

A. How does St. Peter describe your faith in 2 Peter 1:1? What comfort does this description offer you?

B. Where does faith come from, according to the following verses? Ephesians 2:8-9, Romans 10:17.

C. If you ever doubt or wonder whether you have the gift of the Holy Spirit, how might the following verses calm these fears? 1 Corinthians 12:3, Titus 3:5, Ephesians 2:20-22. For further assurance, take another look at the Small Catechism’s explanation to the Third Article of the Creed.

III. The testing of your faith Rev. Peterson described his experience with his friend as “a critical time in my life and in my faith… God put me through the ropes and I am stronger because of it.”

A. How does James 1:2-4 say we ought to regard trials of faith? What blessing results from such trials?

B. What are some examples of trials that are recorded in Hebrews 11:1-19? What exhortation immediately follows in Hebrews 12:3?

C. Yet do not think that this testing of your faith is a way of proving your personal endurance to God. Recall instead where faith comes from (see part B, above). Also discuss the following verses, noticing the “power source” that enables you to persevere: 1 Corinthians 1:18, Ephesians 1:18-19, 1 Thessalonians 2:13, 1 Timothy 1:12, 1 Peter 4:11.

Pastor Robin Fish Leaders’ Guide I.

Life in a Gutter The Article speaks about how you need to be lost before you can be found. According to the Bible we are lost in sin, if we are left to our own devices.

A. What is the problem with man that caused the flood, in Genesis 6:5? What judgment did God pass against man in Gen. 8:21?

The problem is our sinful nature. That is what creates the "gutters" in our lives. Genesis 6 tells us that man' s inclination is always evil, and Genesis 8 tells us that the flood did not change that.

B. Read the catalog of sin in Romans 1:18-32f. Note carefully how God punishes evil with evil. What is our natural state, Romans 8:7?

Romans 1 pictures for us a ' catalog'of sins in which God punishes one sin with a greater sin, but man does not yield to God and recognize his increasing depravity, thereby continuing the downward spiral. Romans chapter 8 describes our state as naturally hostile to God and unable to obey Him, even if we wanted to.

C. We like to think we can find our own way out of the gutter, but what does 1 Corinthians 2:14 tell us about that possibility? Now take another look at Rom 8:7. In what way does that passage agree?

Even though we may be falsely confident that we can control ourselves or choose the good, God tells us that we do not receive God' s things by nature, and that we cannot understand them without the help of the Spirit. Romans 8:7 also says that we not only don' t subject ourselves to the law of God, but we are not even able to do so!

D. What does Romans 6:23 say about life in this gutter?

Romans 6:23 tells us that life in this gutter ends in death - both death of the body and death of the soul. The gutter is where it ends, when we are left to our own abilities.

II. God dealt with the Gutter Rev. Windsor suggests that part of our way out of the gutter is to look back at history. He points us not to what we do, but what God has done. Our "way out" is not by escape into "glossy-eyed serenity" but by becoming immersed in reality - the reality of Jesus Christ.

A. How did Jesus get down in the gutter with us? See Colossians 2:9, Romans 5:6-8. How encompassing is Christ’s death, according to 2 Corinthians 5:14 and 1 John 2:2?

Pastor Windsor mentions Colossians - chapter 2, verse 9 tells about the ultimate in "getting down in the gutter" - the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. The real "getting down" took Christ to the grave on behalf of sinners. Talk about how Verse 8 bring Christ' s "getting down in the gutter" to the personal level - He didn' t just die for "people", He died for US. 2 Corinthians 5 makes it so encompassing that we cannot excuse ourselves from His sacrifice. He died for all.

B. Jesus didn' t stay in the gutter. See Matthew 28:6-7, 2 Timothy 2:8-9, and Acts 1:9-10.

The resurrection account tells us that Jesus did not stay in the gutter of the grave, but rose. It is so certain and true that Paul was willing to become a prisoner and suffer persecution for it. Continue with the reading in 2 Timothy through verse 13, and share how Paul intends that we live in the certainty and reality of Christ' s salvation too. Just as Jesus ascended in Acts, so we, too, will one day ascend - connect this passage in Acts with 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17.

C. What does all that that have to do with our being in the gutter, according to 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17? What about now? See 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 6:1-14!

1 Thessalonians 4 talks about our rising to meet the Lord at the end of all things. But that day of delight is not when our time with the Lord begins. It is the consummation. 2 Corinthians 5 tells us that newness begins when we begin with Jesus Christ. Take some time to consider together what that newness is and does in us, and what it is not and does not do. Romans 6 is the best description of how "sanctification" works in us - how God works holiness in us. Paul is describing how - and why - the new nature works - "being dead to sin, but alive to God."

Higher Things – Dare to be Lutheran “Clouds and Gutters” Bible Study – Leaders’ Guide, continued III. God brings you to the clouds Pastor Windsor quotes Paul in Colossians 3, where he tells us that we have already died. Read that chapter to get a picture of the how the higher life works.

Note that this echoes quite closely the teachings of Romans 6 - the old nature is dead and the new is alive to God but we do not sense it, even though it is true. Therefore we "reckon" it or account it, or consider it so.

A. Look at what God does for us in Baptism, Galatians 3:27. Return also to Romans 6:1-11 and discuss the “death” and “life” of Baptism.

Baptism is a gutter only in that water runs through it. Through our Baptism, God clothes us with Christ. Think of how that relates to the robes of the pastor, a symbol of the ' white robes of Christ' s righteousness. Galatians tells us we wear Christ, not just his righteousness. Romans 6 describes the "mystical union" of the believer with Christ through Baptism. We actually die with Jesus on the cross, and are raised to a new - and real - eternal life with Him. Down to death and up to everlasting life.

B. Jesus continues to join us in earthly things to bring us to the higher things of life with Him. What does 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 say about Jesus joining us? Discuss how we "participate together" in the body and blood of Christ. How does that transform our gutter into a higher thing?

1 Corinthians 10 teaches us that Jesus joins us by allowing us to share in Him, in His body and blood. The word “participation” is "Koinoinia" in the Greek. The word “Koinonia” is commonly used among Christians, but most do not understand that it means to participate together in something holy - most specifically in Christ' s true body and blood. We receive it into ourselves in the Sacrament really and by mouth. It is not symbol but a marvelous and intimate reality. We are made holy by having Christ within ourselves.

IV. Clouds in the Gutter God’s Work through your daily life A. God has plans to use you – but how much has God left to you to invent for yourself, according to Ephesians 2:10?

God has left nothing to us to invent when it comes to good works. He has planned even specific good things for us to do, and lays them in our path.

B. Read Galatians 5:22-23, discussing how each of these things cause you to bring a piece of the clouds into the gutter. Then read Colossians 1:9-14 to help deepen your understanding of the higher things in these lower places.

These are the fruits of the Spirit - the good and heavenly things that the Holy Spirit works in those who believe.

Galatians speaks about those higher things that the Spirit works in those of us still at work in the gutter. The Colossians passage describes the gifts of knowledge and wisdom and understanding and steadfastness. Finally, in the Colossians passage, we are reminded that we have been delivered from the gutters (the domain of darkness) and transferred into the clouds (the kingdom of His beloved Son) by God' s work.

Pastor Robin Fish Bible Study I.

Life in a Gutter The Article speaks about how you need to be lost before you can be found. According to the Bible we are lost in sin, if we are left to our own devices.

A. What is the problem with man that caused the flood, in Genesis 6:5? What judgment did God pass against man in Gen. 8:21?

B. Read the catalog of sin in Romans 1:18-32f. Note carefully how God punishes evil with evil. What is our natural state, Romans 8:7?

C. We like to think we can find our own way out of the gutter, but what does 1 Corinthians 2:14 tell us about that possibility? Now take another look at Rom 8:7. In what way does that passage agree?

D. What does Romans 6:23 say about life in this gutter?

II. God dealt with the Gutter Rev. Windsor suggests that part of our way out of the gutter is to look back at history. He points us not to what we do, but what God has done. Our "way out" is not by escape into "glossy-eyed serenity" but by becoming immersed in reality - the reality of Jesus Christ.

A. How did Jesus get down in the gutter with us? See Colossians 2:9, Romans 5:6-8. How encompassing is Christ’s death, according to 2 Corinthians 5:14 and 1 John 2:2?

B. Jesus didn' t stay in the gutter. See Matthew 28:6-7, 2 Timothy 2:8-9, and Acts 1:9-10.

C. What does all that that have to do with our being in the gutter, according to 1 Thessalonians 4:14-17? What about now? See 2 Corinthians 5:17 and Romans 6:1-14!

III. God brings you to the clouds Pastor Windsor quotes Paul in Colossians 3, where he tells us that we have already died. Read that chapter to get a picture of the how the higher life works.

A. Look at what God does for us in Baptism, Galatians 3:27. Return also to Romans 6:1-11 and discuss the “death” and “life” of Baptism.

B. Jesus continues to join us in earthly things to bring us to the higher things of life with Him. What does 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 say about Jesus joining us? Discuss how we "participate together" in the body and blood of Christ. How does that transform our gutter into a higher thing?

Higher Things – Dare to be Lutheran “Jello, Confirmation, and the Catechism” Bible Study, continued IV. Clouds in the Gutter God’s Work through your daily life A. God has plans to use you – but how much has God left to you to invent for yourself, according to Ephesians 2:10?

B. Read Galatians 5:22-23, discussing how each of these things cause you to bring a piece of the clouds into the gutter. Then read Colossians 1:9-14 to help deepen your understanding of the higher things in these lower places.

Leaders’ Guide I.

The call to evening prayer calls us to “seek rest in Him who is your rest.”

A. In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was associated with resting from work. According to Exodus 20:11, why was Israel to observe the Sabbath?

The seventh day was the day on which God rested from creating the world. He did this not because He needed a rest, but because He wished to provide a pattern for us.

B. In the New Testament, we are free to choose which days we worship God and rest from work. But the purpose for our rest is still the same. How does Martin Luther explain the Third Commandment in the Small Catechism?

“We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.” Explain that to rest doesn’t simply mean that you don’t do any work, but that we receive as a free gift that which we need for our refreshment and recovery from work, namely the forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation through Word and Sacrament.

C. What further insights into why we rest does Luther give in stanza 4 of LW #331 (TLH #287)? Who works while we are resting?

“Put aside the work you do so that God may work in you.” When we are working, what we receive is a reward for our work. God works in us as a free gift. It is not a reward or wages for anything that we do. This is why hearing God’s Word and receiving His body and blood are associated with resting rather than working.

II. Pr. Senkbeil asks were it is we find the purity that allows us to be in the presence of God. “But where find that purity?

How cleanse the mouth And purify the sinful heart and hands? How drive deep despair from out this house of gloom and death?”

A. What does our Lord say about how pure we must be in Matthew 5:20, 48? Do we measure up when we look at ourselves? What about when God looks at us?

“Unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” “Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.” Of course we don’t measure up to this on our own. But Christ was perfect for us, and His perfection covers our sin. So when God looks at us, we are perfect, and our righteousness is greater than that of the scribes and Pharisees.

B. Recently we all witnessed events in New York and Washington, DC, which stand as a powerful and tragic reminder of why it is that this old sinful world is called a “house of gloom and death.” According to Luke 13:1-5, of what should these events remind us?

The same sin which caused men to commit these acts lives in each of us. Were we to stand before God’s judgment without Christ, we would be no better than the terrorists. We are all in need of repentance and forgiveness.

C. Read stanzas 2-3 of LW #319. According to the author of the hymn, how does our purity in God’s sight come to us in this house of gloom and death? With what part of the liturgy does Senkbeil associate these words?

Since Senkbeil quotes this hymn throughout his poem, it’s printed here for those who use TLH, which doesn’t contain it.

O God, O Lord of heaven and earth, Your living finger never wrote That life should be an aimless mote, A deathward drift from futile birth. Your Word meant life triumphant hurled In splendor through your broken world; Since light awoke and life began, You made for us a holy plan.

In blind revolt we would not see That rebel wills wrought death and night. We seized and used in fear and spit Your wondrous gift of liberty. We walled us in this house of doom, Where death had royal scope and room, Until your servant, Prince of Peace, Broke down its walls for our release.

Higher Things – Dare to be Lutheran “Dying to Live” Bible Study – Leaders’ Guide, continued You came into our hall of death, O Christ, to breathe our poisoned air, To drink for us the deep despair That strangled our reluctant breath. How beautiful the feet that trod The road to bring good news from God! How beautiful the feet that bring Good tidings of our saving king!

O Spirit, who did once restore The Church that it might yet recall The bringer of good news to all: Breathe on your cloven Church once more That in these gray and latter days There may be those whose life is praise, Each life a high doxology Unto the holy Trinity.

Our purity comes because God entered this sin-corrupted world and took all the sin and death upon Himself. His death on the cross was not a defeat but a victory, since sin was destroyed and with it all the things which sin has caused in this world. In the liturgy, the place where sin is most directly confronted and destroyed is in the Confession and Absolution.

III. “Then the great Good Shepherd stoops down low to feed His dying flock.” The image of the Good Shepherd caring for His sheep is one of the most familiar and comforting descriptions of Christ’s love for His Church.

A. Read Psalm 23. What verses remind you of the Means of Grace by which our Good Shepherd feeds us?

Answers may include the green pastures (Communion) and quiet waters (Baptism), the rod and staff (Law and Gospel, the Word), the table (Communion), the anointing (Baptism), the cup running over (Communion), goodness and mercy following all the days of our life (the Means of Grace in general). The point is, this psalm is drenched in the Means of Grace. These are not just poetic images of the kinds of things a good shepherd does.

These are the real and concrete things our Good Shepherd does for us.

B. In Luke 24:13-35, the disciples ask Jesus (though they didn’t yet know it was Him) to stay with them, for it is evening. The Evening Prayer liturgy echoes this prayer. In the end, how did the disciples know that it was the Lord who stayed with them?

They knew Him “in the breaking of the bread,” which is a phrase Luke often uses to refer to the Lord’s Supper.

C. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus promises to be with His Church always. Where is His comforting and strengthening presence found among us?

In the Word and Sacraments administered by those called and ordained to do so, as Christ speaks and baptizes through the minister’s mouth and hands, but most especially in His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.

Bible Study I.

The call to evening prayer calls us to “seek rest in Him who is your rest.”

A. In the Old Testament, the Sabbath was associated with resting from work. According to Exodus 20:11, why was Israel to observe the Sabbath?

B. In the New Testament, we are free to choose which days we worship God and rest from work. But the purpose for our rest is still the same. How does Martin Luther explain the Third Commandment in the Small Catechism?

C. What further insights into why we rest does Luther give in stanza 4 of LW #331 (TLH #287)? Who works while we are resting?

II. Pr. Senkbeil asks were it is we find the purity that allows us to be in the presence of God. “But where find that purity?

How cleanse the mouth And purify the sinful heart and hands? How drive deep despair from out this house of gloom and death?”

A. What does our Lord say about how pure we must be in Matthew 5:20, 48? Do we measure up when we look at ourselves? What about when God looks at us?

B. Recently we all witnessed events in New York and Washington, DC, which stand as a powerful and tragic reminder of why it is that this old sinful world is called a “house of gloom and death.” According to Luke 13:1-5, of what should these events remind us?

C. Read stanzas 2-3 of LW #319. According to the author of the hymn, how does our purity in God’s sight come to us in this house of gloom and death? With what part of the liturgy does Senkbeil associate these words?

III. “Then the great Good Shepherd stoops down low to feed His dying flock.” The image of the Good Shepherd caring for His sheep is one of the most familiar and comforting descriptions of Christ’s love for His Church.

A. Read Psalm 23. What verses remind you of the Means of Grace by which our Good Shepherd feeds us?

B. In Luke 24:13-35, the disciples ask Jesus (though they didn’t yet know it was Him) to stay with them, for it is evening. The Evening Prayer liturgy echoes this prayer. In the end, how did the disciples know that it was the Lord who stayed with them?

C. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus promises to be with His Church always. Where is His comforting and strengthening presence found among us?

Pastors Glenn Niemann and Erik Rottmann Leaders’ Guide I.

The Reality of Hell “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” gives the impression that Hell does not really exist, but that it is all part of a fun-and-games fantasy world.

A. Despite Disneyland’s depiction of it, is hell a real place or a religious fabrication? See Matt. 5:29-30, 25:46, and 10:28.

As these verses show, the Bible clearly teaches the reality of Hell. Jesus warned that unrepentant sin leads there (Matt.

5:29-30, 25:46) and that God is powerful to destroy both the body and soul of those who hate Him (Matt. 10:28) B. Even though Disneyland appears to picture Hell as a fun place, what do the following passages have to say about it? Matthew 13:41-42, 50; 2 Peter 3:7, Revelation 20:10, 14-15; 21:8; 22:15.

It is like a “fiery furnace” (Matthew 13:41-42) with weeping (verse 50). Hell will be used as a tool of judgment against unbelief (2 Peter 3:7), into which Satan will be eventually cast (Revelation 20:10, 14-15) along with all unbelievers whose works condemn them (Revelation 21:8, 22:15)..

II. Christ’s Descent into Hell A. In the Apostle' s Creed, we confess with the Church that Jesus "descended into hell." Take a look at I Peter 3:18ff.

Why did Christ do this?

Christ did not descend to suffer, but to proclaim His victory, the victory He won in His resurrection from death and the grave. This descent took place after Jesus’ death and before His Easter morning appearances.

B. What did He proclaim to those "spirits in prison"? (Colossians 2:13-15; Hebrews 2:14-15, 17).

Victory! In His descent, He “triumphed over them” (Colossians 2:13-15), announcing that he who previously held the power of death, that is, the devil, is now defeated Hebrews 2:14-15, 17).

C. What hope is ours in Christ? Romans 6:1-14.

Because Christ died and rose again, we know that we, too, shall die and rise. In Baptism, this death has already begun to take place (See Small Catechism, Baptism IV), and the resurrection shall be fully known to us on the Last Day. III. Things Are Not What They Would Seem Pastor Knepper realized that Disney Land could only offer “fantasy masquerading as reality.”

A. Disneyland looks great out the outside, but is inwardly empty. By contrast, the realities of the Church – “font, pulpit, and altar,” as Pastor Knepper summarized—don’t really look like all that much on the outside. But what great power lies beneath these outward forms? For Baptism, look again at Romans 6:1-4; for the pulpit, see 1 Thessalonians 2:13; for the Sacrament of the Altar, see 1 Corinthians 10:16.

In each of these passages, it is clear that God’s Word is powerful, even though it looks like any other word.

Baptism looks only like water, but Romans 6:1-4 show that it is water powerful enough to kill and raise to life. The sermon preached from the pulpit is more than an information session or a Bible Study time, but it is the deliverer of God’s Word “which is at work in you” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). By the same power of the same Word, we participate with Christ’s death and resurrection by taking Holy Communion.

B. Things are not what they would seem for the Christian life, either. Instead of being trouble-free and worry-free, what do the following verses say about the life of faith? Hebrews 11:36-39, 2 Corinthians 4:7-11, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, 1 Peter 2:11-12.

While many Christians believe that Christianity should be trouble free, the examples of the saints in these passages show that many times the Christian life full of suffering. But rather than judging our lives by the external view of things, “we live by faith, not by sight”! (2 Corinthians 5:7). The reality of our life in Christ is rooted not in what we see, but in what God the Holy Spirit has enabled us to believe through His powerful Word.

C. Despite all of the suffering that Christians continue to face on this earth, because of the reality of sin, toward what hope do we look? See 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:4, 1 Corinthians 15:50-54.

After looking up these passages that speak about the future hope that is ours in Christ, remind the students of the th Small Catechism, the Lord’s Prayer, the 7 Petition. We live in the assurance that God shall “graciously take us from this valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven.”

Pastors Glenn Niemann and Erik Rottmann Bible Study I.

The Reality of Hell “Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride” gives the impression that Hell does not really exist, but that it is all part of a fun-and-games fantasy world.

A. Despite Disneyland’s depiction of it, is hell a real place or a religious fabrication? See Matthew 5:29-30, 25:46 and 10:28.

B. Even though Disney Land appears to picture Hell as a fun place, what do the following passages have to say about it? Matthew 13:41-42, 50; 2 Peter 3:7, Revelation 20:10, 14-15; 21:8; 22:15.

II. Christ’s Descent into Hell A. In the Apostle' s Creed, we confess with the Church that Jesus "descended into hell." Take a look at I Peter 3:18ff.

Why did Christ do this?

B. What did He proclaim to those "spirits in prison"? (Colossians 2:13-15; Hebrews 2:14-15, 17).

C. What hope is ours in Christ? Romans 6:1-14.

III. Things Are Not What They Would Seem Pastor Knepper realized that Disney Land could only offer “fantasy masquerading as reality.”

A. Disneyland looks great out the outside, but is inwardly empty. By contrast, the realities of the Church – “font, pulpit, and altar,” as Pastor Knepper summarized—don’t really look like all that much on the outside. But what great power lies beneath these outward forms? For Baptism, look again at Romans 6:1-4; for the pulpit, see 1 Thessalonians 2:13; for the Sacrament of the Altar, see 1 Corinthians 10:16.

B. Things are not what they would seem for the Christian life, either. Instead of being trouble-free and worry-free, what do the following verses say about the life of faith? Hebrews 11:36-39, 2 Corinthians 4:7-11, 2 Corinthians 12:7-9, 1 Peter 2:11-12.

C. Despite all of the suffering that Christians continue to face on this earth, because of the reality of sin, toward what hope do we look? See 2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:4, 1 Corinthians 15:50-54.

Pastor Eric Andrae Leaders’ Guide I.

Preliminary Comments The teaching of the church most helpful to this Bible Study is the Doctrine of the Distinction between the Law and the Gospel. A brief summary of this doctrine follows, which should be helpful for the instructor to keep in mind and adapt for class use: A. The Holy Bible contradicts itself! "The doctrinal content of all of Holy Scripture, both Old and New Testaments, consists of two diametrically opposite teachings, namely the Law and the Gospel" (C.F.W. Walther, Law and Gospel, 14).

1. "...two diametrically opposite teachings...." Well, Webster' s II New Riverside University Dictionary defines "contradict" as "To express or assert the opposite of (a statement)."

2. C.F.W. Walther, the father of our Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod as one of its founders and its first president, says that Holy Scripture teaches opposing (contradictory) matters within its pages!

B. This is a wholly Biblical and distinctive teaching of the Lutheran Church. Without a proper understanding of the proper distinction between Law and Gospel, the Bible remains a closed, contradictory book. It is thus, for example, one of the chief tasks of a pastor to "Be diligent to present [himself] approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth" for those in his care. (2 Timothy 2:15, emphasis added).

C. So, what is the difference between the Law and the Gospel?

1. The Law teaches what we are to do and not to do (a guide and a curb; often called the third and first use of the Law, respectively); the Gospel proclaims what God has done, and still does, to save all.

2. The Law rightly accuses us and shows us our sin (a mirror; the second, and chief, use), the wrath of God, and thus our need for a Savior; the Gospel is the forgiveness of sin (Holy Absolution), gives us this Savior and our Lord Jesus Christ we so need (Holy Supper), and confers the grace of God (Holy Baptism).

3. The Law must be proclaimed to all people, but especially to impenitent sinners; the Gospel must be proclaimed to sinners who are troubled because of their sins. (Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation, 98.) (See Romans 3:20, 7:7, 1:17, Ephesians 2:8-10, 2 Samuel 12:1-14 and the response of Psalm 51, Romans 10:4, Galatians 3:24).

D. In summary, through the Law and the Gospel, our Lord in the Holy Bible surely "contradicts"--that is, opposes sin, death, and Devil--for the salvation of humankind!

II. Brief commentary on the Bible Study: I.A & B: The Law shows us that we are not perfect, and indeed, even our good works are but as “filthy rags” to the Lord.

I.C: Christ is the one, the only one, whose works, chiefly his death and resurrection, are good enough.

II.A: Faith is a free gift from God, his decision, his work/act, with no strings attached. Dead bodies, “dry bones,” cannot do or decide anything. .

II.B: God gives Christ/faith through the Cross (B.1.), its preaching (B.2 ) and its application in Holy Baptism (B.3.). .

The articles from the AC summarize this (B.4 ). This is the Gospel and is further explored in what follows.

II.B, continued: God strengthens faith through the crosses we bear. He does this through Holy Scripture, through the Office of the Holy Ministry, through the Lord’s Supper, through the Church--all of which center on and give us, of course, Christ alone.

III.A: God’s love is Christ for the life of the world.

III.B: As God has first loved us, we love one another with his love. God’s love is displayed, indeed administered, in the Holy Church’s Means of Grace, which are also the means and source of his love and salvation for sinners, for us. Font, pulpit, altar, office of the ministry: they are solid, objective, concrete, sure. This is the substance of Lutheranism and the certain assurance of salvation.

Pastor Eric Andrae Bible Study Begin your study with the Collect for the Word: “Blessed Lord, since you have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn and take them to heart that by patience and comfort of your holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, through Jesus Christ, your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.” (Lutheran Worship [LW], 156; cf. The Lutheran Hymnal [TLH], 14) I.

“Are my works good enough?”

A. Why might you doubt your salvation? See St. Matthew 5:48; St. Luke 13:25-28; Romans 6:23a B. Have you done enough good things to earn salvation? See Isaiah 64:6-7; Romans 2:5-6, 3:19, 23; James 2:10 C. Whose works are good enough? See Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53:9b; St. Matthew 3:14-15, 5:17; Galatians 4:4-5; Hebrews 4:14-15

II. “Is my faith strong enough?”

A. Is faith something you do; in other words, is faith your decision, a good work that you do? See Ezekiel 37:1-14; St. John 1:12-13; Romans 6:23b; Ephesians 2:8-9; 2 Timothy 1:9 B. How does God give Christ and faith to you? See: 1. Isaiah 53:4-5; Romans 4:23-25; Galatians 2:20, 3:13; 2 Peter 1:2-4 2. Romans 10:13-17; Galatians 3:2 3. St. Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-11; Galatians 3:26-27; Ephesians 4:4-7 4. Augsburg Confession (AC) IV, V C. In what ways does God strengthen the faith? See St. Luke 22:32; Acts 2:42; Philippians 4:13; 2 Timothy 3:16; 1 Peter 1:6-9. Also take a look at the hymnal: Post-Communion Collect #1 (LW p. 174; TLH, 30).

III. “Does God love me?”

A. Does God love you? See Deuteronomy 32:10; St. John 3:16; Romans 3:21-28, 5:7-8; 1 John 4:10 B. How is God’s love shown? See Titus 3:4-7; 1 John 4:11; AC VII; see also passages under III.A. Close by singing or reading aloud “Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word” (LW #334; cf. TLH #261