2018 Spring - Higher Things Magazine (with Bible Studies)

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A Special Topical Issue:

Vocation

• #whoami • Free in Christ Slave in Christ • Called to Receive: The First Table • Called to Serve: The Second Table

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H I G H E R

What does it mean to be a Christian in a technologycentered world?

Contents T A B L E O F

Volume 18/Number 1 • Spring 2018

HigherThings

®

Volume 18/Number 1/Spring 2018 Bible Studies for these articles can be found at: higherthings.org/ magazine/biblestudies.html Executive Editor

Katie Hill

Vocation, vocation, vocation!

Art Director

Steve Blakey

We can’t emphasize it enough! Our callings and relationships are gifts from God, which you’ll discover in our topical spring issue of Higher Things Magazine. Vocation is precisely what Paul is talking about in Ephesians 2:10: “We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” As always, we start by foundationally understanding who we are as baptized children of God. From there we grapple with the Law and Gospel and where they come into play as we fulfill the various roles we walk in. And finally, we tackle a question that you have probably asked yourself at one time or another: “What do I do with my life?” From cover to cover, you’ll notice a recurring theme: Through faith in Christ we have freedom to live out our vocations for the good of our neighbor!

Editorial Associates

Rev. Greg Alms Rev. Paul Beisel Rev. Gaven Mize Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard Copy Editors

Kay Maiwald Dana Niemi Bible Study Authors

Rev. Jacob Ehrhard Rev. Sam Schuldheisz Joshua Ulm Subscriptions Manager

Elizabeth Carlson ___________ Board of Directors President

Rev. George F. Borghardt Vice-President

Special Features 4 #whoami

By Rev. George F. Borghardt Rev. Borghardt emphasizes that, as a baptized child of God, you are free to live in Jesus and rest in the knowledge that He promises to work good in your life—no matter how many times you might try and fail—that you might show His love to others.

6 Free in Christ-Slave in Christ

By Rev. Donavon Riley Because of all that Christ has done for us, we are completely free from the condemnation of the law, yet we are completely bound to our neighbor in love. Rev. Riley explains how this works itself out in our vocations.

8 Called to Receive: The First Table

By Rev. Eric Brown As much as we try to turn the Ten Commandments into hoops we have jump through to please God, Rev. Brown makes the case that they are anything but hoops. The first three commandments specifically give us a look into the giving heart of God, who doesn’t leave us to fend for ourselves as we endeavor to fulfill our vocations.

10 Called to Serve: The Second Table

By Rev. Aaron T. Fenker Rev. Fenker delves into Ephesians 2:10—no holds barred.

What does it mean that we are “God’s workmanship?” What are those “good works which God prepared beforehand?”

Find out!

12 Jesus for You, Jesus Through You

By Rev. Harrison Goodman Rev. Goodman assures us that our callings aren’t about us, they are about Jesus for us, and therefore He equips us in every way, despite our weaknesses.

18 Vocational Variety: God’s Wisdom for Women

By Deaconess Ellie Corrow We hear so many mixed messages from our culture about what women can or should do. We don’t need to look any further than the pages of Scripture to discover the particular ways God gifts and equips women to fulfill their varied vocations.

20 Called to Deliver: The Pastoral Ministry

By Rev. Rich Heinz The pastoral call is no more holy than any other call but it does come with its own set of unique blessings. Rev. Heinz shares his own experience in the hopes of encouraging young men who are contemplating this vocation for their lives.

22 So What Do I Do with My Life?

By Rev. Mark Buetow Have you figured out what you’re doing after high school?

Whether or not you think you have zeroed in on what your future career plans are, one thing is certain: As you are living your life in Jesus, He will make you a blessing to others.

Regular Features 28 Catechism: Three Orders: Table of Duties

By Rev. William M. Cwirla Rev. Cwirla walks us through the Table of Duties found in our handy dandy Small Catechism, explaining how vocation is worked out in three overlapping spheres designed to work together, to the glory of God and for the betterment of our neighbor!

30 Bible Study: So What Do I Do with my Life?

Be sure to check out this sample of one of our student Bible studies which links up with Rev. Mark Buetow’s article on P. 22.

Rev. Duane Bamsch Treasurer

Mr. Eric Maiwald Secretary

Rev. Joel Fritsche Deaconess Ellie Corrow Rev. D. Carl Fickenscher Mr. Bob Myers Mrs. Sue Pellegrini Rev. Chris Rosebrough ___________

Executive Council Deputy Executive/ Conference and Retreats

Sandra Ostapowich Media Executive

Rev. Aaron Fenker Business Executive

Connie Brammeier Development Executive

Erica Jacoby

Higher Things® Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly

by Higher Things, Inc., PO Box 156, Sheridan, WY 82801. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine.

Copyright 2018. Higher Things® is registered trademarks of Higher Things Inc.; All Rights Reserved.

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For subscription information and questions, call 1-888-4826630, then press 4, or e-mail subscriptions@higherthings.org.

(This phone number is only used for subscription queries.) For letters to the editor, write letters@higher things.org. Writers may submit manuscripts to: submissions@ higherthings.org. Please check higherthings.org/magazine/ writers.html for writers’ guidelines and theme lists.

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#who

By Rev. George F. Borghardt

You’re baptized. So, you are a child of God.

You will inherit everything. Everything in heaven and earth is yours. You have everlasting life.

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God loves you—even you. Hard to believe, isn’t it? He doesn’t love you with empty words or shallow religioussounding talk. He sends His Son to die for you. Dead Jesus on Good Friday is how God loves you. Risen Jesus on Easter is how sure your forgiveness is!

All that you are, all that you have done, all that you could do and will do, is washed clean in the Blood and Water flowing from His pierced side. He lives, and now you do, too! You are Watered.

You are Worded. You are Bodied and Blooded. How God sees you is through His Good Friday and Easter gifts.

Now, the same God who made the universe in six days is your God. Better than that: The God of all creation bids you to call Him “Father.” He is your Father, because Jesus died and rose again for you. Who you are depends on Whose you are!

The good news, the Gospel, doesn’t depend on you. You do nothing to make God keep loving you. It isn’t as though God is your God, but only if you do this or don’t do that. God isn’t your Father because you do anything. It rests solely and only on Jesus. If it did rest at all on you, it would never be sure. It would only be as certain as you and your abilities.

Some days, God might love you. On bad days, no love. If any part of who you are to God rests on you, all of you is lost.

Who you are depends on Whose you are.

A lot of people may have a lot of things to say about who you will turn out to be. They will tell you what you must do, how you should dress, what college you should attend, what career you should have, where you should live, what you need to do in every part of your life. Maybe some of those things will be good and helpful, or maybe not.

As these messages tug and pull on you to try and influence who you are, you may become confused. Aptitude tests don’t tell you who you are. Neither do your friends and social media.

Listen instead to the One Who has redeemed you. You are one for whom Christ died. You are a baptized child of God! Your baptism defines who you are by telling you Whose you are!

After God had saved the children of Israel, after He had rescued them, He said, “I brought you out of the land of Egypt, I saved you with a mighty hand and outstretched arm. You will have no other gods.” That’s God saying this: “I’m your God. You are my child. Here is how my children live!” After He saved them, He told them how His children live as His children. He told them how to love Him and one another. The same is true for you!

The Commandments show more

than just what you have to do to love God, they also show you who you already are in Christ! This is how you live in Christ. If you live contrary to this or do something in your life that is contrary to your Baptism, you are actually denying Whose you are. So, the jobs in this life that are contrary to the Word of God are the “callings” you want to avoid. Being entertained, choosing lifestyles, and investing your time and energy in those things that are contrary to your Baptism are self-destructive and most likely end up with you outside the faith of Jesus. Why would you live that way anyway? You are baptized!

The Commandments also show you what you don’t have to do! Where there is no Word of God prohibiting a calling, you are free to pursue it! All things are yours in Jesus. All things are possible after Easter. There are no “can’ts” or “impossibles” in the Gospel. You are free to live. Free to move.

Free to be His child in whatever way that fits you.

If it doesn’t work, that’s okay. That vocation simply wasn’t given you to do! He’ll pick you up and lead you somewhere else.

Being baptized also means you aren’t alone—ever. You aren’t on your own to try to discern what God wants you to do with the rest of your life. God is the one Who put you where you are: in this time and place, with your skills and gifts, facing your opportunities and challenges. He is working through your

oami life’s successes and failures to show His love to you and to others around you.

What you do with the rest of your life isn’t only about you. Luther said that we live in Christ by faith, and for our neighbor by love. This is also about Jesus for you and Jesus through you for those around you.

Now, God does give you some clues in your life as to what you can do for others. He has given you the gift of parents, pastors, and teachers to guide you on the way. He put them in your life to speak for Him where there isn’t a Word of God in Scripture. He also has given you many gifts, skills, resources, opportunities, challenges, and limitations, that give you a clue about what He has for you. If you aren’t good at math, you might not be a good rocket scientist. If you aren’t strong and fast, maybe pro football player isn’t your calling.

He won’t love you more if you are pastor or deaconess.

You don’t earn His favor by doing something religious. He loves you because of the suffering and death of Jesus. Whatever you do in faith (that is, in Jesus and not breaking the Commandments) will be a gift to others. God will love you in Jesus if you are an engineer. He will love you in Jesus if you have a college degree. He will love you if you don’t. He will love you in Jesus whether you are a janitor

or a doctor, a garbage collector or an artist, a plumber or a cashier. He doesn’t love you more if you are a housewife.

He doesn’t love you less if you are. He’s going to do good through you for your neighbor in all of these vocations!

You already have a life full of vocations given to you from God to show His love to others. You are already a student, child, brother or sister, church member, neighbor. A vocation is not only or even mainly a job, it is also your calling in family and community.

You are not waiting to graduate or get established in your career to serve Jesus in love and show love to others; He has already given you a life full of vocation and opportunity.

You are free. Free to try. Free to fail.

Free to get back up and try again. Free to live in Jesus and not worry about what He wants you to do. He’s going to work good in your life wherever you go and whatever you do. That’s the kind of God He is. After all, you are who you are, you will be who you will be, because Jesus did what He did for you.

Remember, your Baptism defines who you are by telling you Whose you are!

Rev. George F. Borghardt is the pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bossier City, Louisiana. He also serves as the president of Higher Things.

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Free in Christ Slave in Christ

by Rev. Donavon L. Riley

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r. Luther taught that in relation to God, the struggle and affliction we old Adam sinners suffer in relation to God’s Word of Law is already addressed and resolved in Christ Jesus.

In relation to Christ, the Law’s demands are shut up. As Christians, the Gospel announces that we are now free from the Law’s accusations and condemnation because we have fulfilled the whole Law through faith in Christ (Romans 3:31). We are wholly and completely free. On the other hand, we are not free to live only for ourselves.

Instead, Jesus sets us free to love our neighbor. In this way, through faith in Christ, we forget ourselves and live for our neighbor.

In relation to our neighbor, God’s Word of Law teaches us what our neighbor needs from us for their good. In this way, Christians are wholly and completely bound to their neighbor by selfless love.

Therefore, as Dr. Luther taught, a Christian is completely free through faith from the accusations and condemnation of the Law for Christ’s sake, and at the same time a Christian is completely bound to his neighbor in love.

Of course, this makes us nervous. If God does not demand that we obey His Word of Law, because that demand has already been satisfied by Christ, why bother with the Ten Commandments at all? It made Luther’s peers and students nervous, too. Many people asked him, “If it’s not necessary to keep the commandments, then what’s the point of good works?” The answer is, in relation to God, our good works are worthless and useless. But, in relation to our neighbor our good works are necessary and vital for his wellbeing.

Because Jesus obeyed God’s Word of Law for us, we do not have to wring our hands worrying about whether we have done enough or too little to satisfy God’s commands. But, once we are clear of this, God does not set us free to run amok, chasing after every desire and craving. Instead, God sets us free to serve our neighbor, and there are many, many things our neighbor needs us to do to help him.

When we are freed by the Gospel from worrying about which works are good, which are bad, which work is selfishly motivated and which is not, we do not have to keep trying to make God happy with us (He already is), and we can stop using our neighbor as an opportunity to score points with the Almighty. Because He saves us by grace alone, God reveals to us that everything is gift from our Giver God. Even, and especially, the Ten Commandments are now revealed to us for what they are in fact: pure gift. The gift of the Commandments reveals to us that the commands are not demanding our works in order that we may be saved, but that as far as our neighbor goes, God has already “prepared good works in advance for us to do” (Ephesians 2:10). What great news! We do not even have to worry about good works. Our heavenly Father has already taken care of that, too. He will work in and through us to produce “fruit of the Spirit” which love and serve our neighbor.

This leads us back to Dr. Luther,

who explains in his Commentary on Psalm 147 “All our work in the field, in the garden, in the city, in the home, in struggle, in government-to what does it all amount before God except child’s play, by means of which God is pleased to give His gifts in the field, at home, and everywhere? These are the masks of our Lord God, behind which he wants to be hidden and to do all things.”

In short, when we are living out our vocations, we are masks of God. He is working through us for the betterment of our neighbor.

We are to live in Christ through faith, which means we receive all things, especially our neighbor, as gift.

All people are now evident to us as creatures of God, and more important than that, as someone for whom Jesus bled and died. We hear the Gospel promise, which we have done nothing to earn or deserve. Then the God’s Word of Law is a promise, that God will be our God and we will be His people.

The Commandments outline in brief how God will uphold and maintain the relationship. How the commands are enacted in our vocations is the living, breathing reality of that relationship.

Finally, then, the Commandments do not contribute anything to our salvation. Jesus alone does that.

However, that does not mean they are done away with because we have heard the Gospel. The fact is, we need God’s Word of Law to curb and restrain sin, to show us our need for a Savior, and to teach us what is needed to put the old Adam to death. Jesus completely obeys and fulfills the Law’s demands for us, so that we can stop worrying about whether we are on God’s good side or not. Now that we are free of that, free from having to earn God’s favor, free from competing with other Christians for God’s attention, we can bind ourselves to our neighbor for our neighbor’s sake.

God does not need anything from us. He ran the universe just fine for a long time before we came on the

scene. It is only our sinful arrogance that imagines God needs our time, money, and talents to keep creation running smoothly. Our Christian calling is to enjoy our Baptism and be faithful, loving, and kind to others in our earthly vocations. This is why Jesus taught that God’s Word of Law was not given for us to obey and impress God, but for the sake of our neighbor, to help and gift them. The religious leaders, on the other hand, taught that the Law’s purpose was that it is better to do something that qualifies as “religious” rather than do something that is selfless, and only done for the sake of our neighbor, no matter how nasty, ugly, or sinful it may appear to others.

Christ lives in us through faith.

Therefore, all that He has done, we have done. All that we have not done, He has already forgiven. And since He lives in us through faith, all our good works are done by Him in and through us. The gifts and good works we give to our neighbor are fruits of Christ’s Spirit who lives and dwells and works in us through His gifts of Baptism, forgiveness of sin, the Gospel, and the Lord’s Supper. So, in the end, if we want to do good works—or faithfully live out our vocations—we do not need more information or motivation. We need more forgiveness of sin and more Jesus in us. This is why Dr. Luther taught that in relation to Jesus, God’s Word of Law is shut up. yet, in relation to our neighbor, God’s Word of Law teaches us what good works our neighbor needs to support and protect his body and life.

It’s all Jesus, all gift, by which He lives and breathes and has His being in and through us and by which He does all good things for us.

Rev. Donavon Riley is the pastor of St. John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church in Webster, Minnesota. He is also the online content manager for Higher Things. You can contact him at elleon713@gmail.com

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Called to Receive:

The First Table

By Rev. Eric Brown

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o often when we think about the Ten Commandments we think of them as primarily about what we are to “do”—what actions we must do in order to be Christian, please God, and keep out of trouble. However, that’s not really how the Commandments start. In fact, the major point of what we call the First Table (Commandments 1-3) is that God wants to do stuff for us.

God CALLS us to receive His gifts from Him as we pursue the vocations in which He has placed us.

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This is all set up with the introduction to the Commandments from Exodus 20:2: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.” God sets up the situation—I am the God who rescued you from slavery—and here is what the results of My rescue

will look like: I alone will be your God, and you’ll call upon Me rightly for I will listen, and you will rest because I give you rest, as opposed to your slave masters in Egypt.”

Point in fact, this ought to be the same angle we take towards the Commandments today—they aren’t ways that we earn God’s approval or buddy-buddy ourselves up to Him. No! We are those who have been redeemed by Christ Jesus, washed clean in Holy Baptism. Thus we, too, are called to receive. Let’s consider these Commandments.

You shall have no other gods before Me. The often overlooked words “before Me” are fascinating. The actual translation from the Hebrew is “in My face” or “in My presence.”

God says, “I have rescued you, and as such I’m not going to share you with other gods because I will be your God and I will serve you as My people.” God here is saying that He is the One who blesses us and takes care of us—not any other gods, and not any other thing that we turn into an idol and place our trust and hopes in, such as money, power, people, etc. In addition, all the Commandments are really extensions of this first one. They detail ways that we are tempted to put something else in God’s place of Giver—ways that we are tempted to receive “blessings” from someone or something other than God. You shall not misuse the Name of the LORD your God. God has given us a wonderful gift in His Name. We know Him, and through Christ we have access to Him. We can call upon Him and He will hear us and act as is best for us. That is a fantastic gift that we have been called to receive! Think of all the important, powerful people you know about. How many, if any of them, would give you the time of day? And yet God Almighty, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, has given you access and the ability to call upon Him in prayer at any time and He has promised to hear you. This is mindboggling! Therefore, you don’t need to mess with God’s Name, you don’t need horoscopes or to cross your heart and hope to die (I mean, really, Jesus already did that one for you). You know that for Christ’s sake your prayers will be heard. God has given us the gift of prayer, and prayer is really all about the good things for our body and soul that He gladly gives to us.

Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. There’s another great and simple gift that God has called you to receive: rest! Your life is not defined by all the things that you do, the never-ending activities and to-do lists that pile up on top of each other. Sure, He has placed you in a number of vocations that you daily live out. However, you don’t always have to be busy, trying to prove things to people.

God calls you to rest. He calls you to rest and receive His blessings from Him. He calls you to rest and remember that He has actually done it all for you already in Christ Jesus. He calls you away from the guilt and shame that drives you (either to action or inaction) and says, “I forgive you all your sins.” He calls you away from the rat race and says, “The Peace of the LORD be with you always.” Jesus gives you His own Body and Blood so that you would taste and know that the LORD is good.

He has called you to receive Himself as your Sabbath rest.

Do you see it now? These Commandments aren’t the holy hoops you have to jump through to get in good with God. In fact, they are God telling you to put down your holy hoops, to despise them and throw them away. He has already rescued and redeemed you. Jesus has died and has risen. You are baptized. It is finished. This is the reality of your life. However, God knows that Satan, sin, and the world around you will still attack and torment you. He knows that they will try to make you forget all that He has already done for you in Christ. And so, you are called to receive—to step away from all that junk and to simply receive from God His gifts to you. He calls you to enter into His presence, to pray to Him for all your needs, and to hear His Word of forgiveness that gives you life and salvation again. Your life as a Christian isn’t shaped by what you do for God; it is shaped by what He has done for you and gives to you. You are shaped by all the things you receive from God, equipped

by Him to fulfill your vocations because He really does love and care for you. God grant that we see this daily more and more!

Rev. Eric Brown is the pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Herscher, Illinois.

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Called to serve:

The second Table

By Rev. Aaron T. Fenker

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ou are a child of God. You are a saint.

You are spotless, blameless, and holy before your heavenly Father. You have the Spirit. You no longer live, but Christ lives in you, who loved you and gave Himself for you (Galatians 2). All of these truths together mean one thing: you are baptized.

So, now act like it! Act like a Christian. Produce good works. Do your duty. Don’t just talk the talk. Walk the walk. You have to show that you mean it. Don’t be a Sunday-morning Christian—a pew potato.

All sorts of things like this float around in Christian circles.

Now, of course, faith does produce good works.“Faith without

works is dead,” James says (James 2). Jesus also says,“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5). What James and Jesus say gets twisted into “be a better Christian.” That’s not really their point, but still James and Jesus are right: faith produces good works, good fruit. But, how and where does this happen? Rejoice! It’s really not all that hard. Well, it’s still hard to do (impossible without Jesus), but it’s easy to understand and confess.

“We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10). Now that sounds beautiful and wonderful, and it is! But it’s day-to-day sort of stuff. That’s the beauty of it! Just listen to John the Baptizer and the people who came to be baptized for the forgiveness of their sins:

“Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.” And the crowds asked him, “What then shall we do?” And he answered them, “Whoever has two tunics is to share with him who has none, and whoever has food is to do likewise.” Tax collectors also came to be baptized and said to him, “Teacher, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Collect no more than you are authorized to do.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what shall we do?” And he said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or by false accusation, and be content with your wages” (Luke 3:9–14).

Being kind and helping those around you, tax collectors being fair, soldiers doing their duty: that’s the service of the baptized. That’s you, too! Besides all the blessings I listed before, when you are baptized something else happens: you join the holy priesthood of all God’s people (1 Peter 2:9; Exodus 19:6). Now, does that mean you have to do churchy things to be a good Christian? Not necessarily.

Certainly, some men will be pastors.

Most other people will be hearers.

(Check out the Table of Duties in your catechism.) Both are holy. But God’s holy priesthood doesn’t just serve at church, in worship to be good priests and servants of God. Look at what John the Baptizer said. When soldiers do their duty, it’s holy. When tax collectors fairly collect taxes, it’s holy.

When people are kind to one another, it’s holy. That goes for you, too!

Who’s right next to you? Whom do you see first thing each day? What’s her name? What about the first 10 to 15 people?

There’s your holy service. There are your good works. There is your good fruit. From your baby brother to your math teacher, your classmate to your manager at work, and, yes, even your parents. By being baptized into Christ, those everyday acts of service are absolutely holy and put a smile on your heavenly Father’s face, but only because you’re in Christ. When you do your homework as the baptized, that’s holy homework. Your chores are holy chores, your having dinner with your family is a holy meal, your talking about your day with your friends is holy talk. Why? Only because you’re in Christ—you’re baptized into His death and resurrection. You’re washed in His blood, and so are your works.

Your good works look right back at you. Just look at your place in life: “Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker?” (Small Catechism, Confession: Which are these?) The problem is that your sins look right back at you, too. There is your failure to do your duty. There are your sins.

There is your confession. There you “sin by thought word and deed, by what you have done and by what you have left undone,” (Divine Service: Setting One).

Nevertheless, God is at work in and through us. But we try and go our own way and, left to ourselves, we do it our way.

We’re rude, short, selfish, always wanting something in return.

That’s our flesh that’s at war with the Spirit who dwells within us (Galatians 5) and with Christ, our Lord, who also lives within us (Galatians 3). You are His hands and voice to spread love, mercy, service, and forgiveness to everyone around, but it’s day to day. Whom do you see most of all? Them first.

You’re like a rock dropped in a pond that God uses to cause ripples of love to flow out into the world. That’s the service of baptized priests and children of God. It’s still impossible with us. It really is. We mess up, we wrong those we love the most. We take them for granted, want them to serve us first. Repent. There is your confession.

Yes, you are called to serve, but it’s not like Jesus does His part, then you do yours to show how serious a Christian you are. That’s a lie! “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13).

You are in Christ, and He in you.

That’s Holy Baptism. But it’s the Sacrament of the Altar, too, where you receive Jesus’ Body and Blood.

There the Vine pours His life into you, the branch, through the fruit of the vine: the wine that really is His blood.

That is how He “abides in you, and you in Him” (John 15:5; John 6:56).

His life wells up within you unto good fruit: “faith toward God and fervent,” heartfelt, genuine “love toward one another” (Post-Communion Collect).

You are called to serve. God has already laid out your service for you (Ephesians 2). “Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker?” Well, there you go! Jesus still lives in you and you in Him: body and blood united. You are united as a priest to your High Priest, and so you love and serve your family, friends, classmates, and anyone else you happen to meet, too! Really, it’s Jesus who is working in and through you to do it. His hands—that’s you! And “he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). We have this promise that “He who calls you is faithful; He will surely do it” (1 Thessalonians 5:24).

Rev. Aaron T. Fenker is the pastor of Bethlehem and Immanuel Lutheran churches in Bremen, Kansas. He is the media executive for Higher Things.

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Jesus for You,

By Rev. Harrison Goodman

Vocation is how God ties us to each other.

He has given us specific people and has commanded us to love them in specific ways. Parent, child. Husband, wife. Pastor, hearer. Teacher, student. Ruler, citizen. These are God-given and unique roles we fill. We don’t do it for ourselves, but to care for our neighbor. It’s all Law. Do this and not that to these people. You can find the specifics in the Table of Duties—that section we tend to neglect in the Small Catechism. I don’t know about you, but I can’t read it without the phrase “Not enough!” kicking me in the gut. Nowhere in the Table of Duties is there the encouragement to “try your best.” To be honest, I haven’t really done that, either.

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I know what it takes to fulfill the vocations I’ve been given, and I know that I’m not enough. That word eats at us: “enough.” It steals our sleep. It bites at us no matter how hard we try to run and hide from it. I’m not a good enough husband, dad, or pastor. Are you a good enough student, athlete, friend, son, or daughter? Or does that word “enough” keep you up at night, too?

This is how the world measures our stations in life. It’s why there’s such pressure on you to succeed, and such shame when you don’t. The church word we use to address that failure, the shame, and the terrible things we’ll do to climb over each other to never feel it again, is sin.

Jesus bled and died for you to forgive your sins. While that’s great news, the forgiveness of sins won’t pass your math test. You’re still not enough. Looking in the mirror is still a disappointment. Deep down we feel like the Gospel shouldn’t be Christ fulfilling the Law for us, but rather Christ teaching us how to fulfill

Jes

it ourselves. We want Jesus to teach us how to be enough.

The problem is that we’re trying to make the Gospel about us rather than for us. The Gospel isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus for you, as Paul reminds us: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.

For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8–10).

You’re justified before God on account of Christ’s works—not your works.

There is no boasting in the word “enough” here. Your Baptism, not what you do, makes you a good enough Christian. Your worth isn’t about what you earn, but what about what God paid for you. This is not measured in your success or failure. It’s not measured in you at all. It’s measured in Christ’s blood, shed for you. It’s enough, even though you aren’t.

God loves sinners.

God loves you.

Jesus didn’t need you to be enough for Him to save you.

He doesn’t need

sus

Through You

you to be enough for Him to work through you either. He sends the Holy Spirit to accomplish this.

There’s a connection between what God has made you to be and what He’ll accomplish through you. Your election, God’s work to save you, and your vocation, God’s work to care for your neighbor through you, are from the same source.

God loves sinners. Paul writes that before the foundation of the world God prepared the good works we will do, that we should walk in them. He can even accomplish good through sinners. He’s promised to do so. It rarely looks all that impressive, but

that’s okay. Jesus was pretty unassuming, too. He still saved you by His death upon the cross and resurrection from the dead. Unassuming isn’t so bad. Jesus preaches through sinful pastors, loves through sinful parents, and learns through sinful students. God has made you holy, and God does holy things through you.

This promise lets us stand closer to the Law, because the Law can’t hurt us anymore. To us, it’s a guide and even a promise. Christ has called these things good. He has promised to do good through us, and these things will be for our ultimate good and the good of others because of it. Where we get in the way, fail, sin, and break things, He forgives and heals. To the Christian, vocation isn’t a burden, but a gift. It’s not that He can’t help your neighbor through you until you’re not a sinner anymore. This is where God promises to work for the people I love. This is how He’ll get it done, both through me and in spite of my weakness. I may not be enough, but He is. Always.

It’s not about whether I’m a good enough father, but whether God says being a father is good. God wants to see my children cared for. He wants it so much He’ll even work through a sinner like me to do it. If God calls my vocations good, then He is at work through them to serve my neighbor.

He prepared these good works before the foundation of the world. He’ll make sure I walk in them.

God wants to see His creation sustained. He accomplishes this through the vocations He gives us. He puts on a mask that looks like you and cares for the people you both love.

That’s why it’s important to remember that your election isn’t about you. It’s about Jesus for you. Your vocation isn’t about you either, It’s about Jesus through you. God has made you holy in your election. He has given you people to love and to serve. God’s always the one at work, and He’s never been afraid to work through sinners for sinners. Stop with the word “enough.” Better yet, drown it every day in your Baptism, that the new man may emerge and arise to live before God in righteousness and purity forever.

Rev. Harrison Goodman serves as pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Carroll, Nebraska.

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CUI

H I G H E R

At Concordia University Irvine, we understand that you are many things. You may be a scholar & a seeker.

An athlete & musician. An artist & scientist. A leader & a learner. We value your &s. It’s where your passions as a student intersect with your calling. As a Lutheran Christian university, we call that vocation & we know that you have more than one. At Concordia, you have the freedom & the guidance to pursue all of your &s.

Whether you want to major in business or psychology, music or math, or become a teacher, we’ve got you covered.

Learn about Concordia University Irvine majors, scholarships, athletics, and more at: www.cui.edu/ug 1530 Concordia West, Irvine, CA 92612 • (800) 229-1200 • admissions@cui.edu

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You

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• Sit at the feet of outstanding theology professors • Learn from veteran deaconesses • Worship and study God’s Word in a vibrant community of faith • Live, learn and serve alongside many church work students • Study theology in Cambridge, UK • Live out God’s mercy in field work, internship and graduate placement around Chicago, the U.S. and the world • A cost-effective way to obtain full LCMS Deaconess Certification • Earn a Bachelor of Arts in Theology plus a one-year paid internship • Graduates can enhance their service with a master’s degree in social work, counseling, gerontology, teaching or business

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South Illinois University Carbondale, Illinois

Carleton College Northfield, Minnesota

The University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas

July 24-27, 2018

Pacific Lutheran University Tacoma, Washington

July 31-August 3, 2018

Visit

Sanctified2018.org or email conferences@higherthings.org for more details.

“You shall be holy to me, for I the LORD am holy and have separated you from the peoples, that you should be mine.“ (Leviticus 20:26)

Higher Things is pleased to announce the 2018 conferences: “Sanctified.” Join us next summer as we look at the Commandments and how God has called us to be His own people in Christ.

You will have no other gods before my face. You will not misuse my Name or despise My Word. You will keep my Sabbath Day holy. You will honor your father and your mother. You will not murder. You will not commit adultery. You will not steal. You will not bear false testimony against your neighbor. You will not covet—not your neighbor’s house, or his neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.”

“I’m the Lord God, Who brought you out of Egypt. I have saved you. I’ve saved you from slavery in Egypt.

I’ve saved you from your sins. You will be holy to me. You are holy to me because I’m holy.”

July 10-13, 2018

July 3-6, 2018

2018 HIGHER THINGS CONFERENCES

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Vocational Variety:

I

Women

God’s Wisdom for

H I G H E R

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By Deaconess Ellie Corrow

n the last hundred years we have seen unprecedented changes for American women: changes which have brought them into the voting booth, the university classroom, medical school, the military, and everything in between. In the wake of these changes, cultural shifts have occurred both in the secular world and within the church. Young Christian women in today’s world should feel understandably uncomfortable with a cultural narrative that suggests that whatever men do, women can and should pursue, no matter the cost.

However, at times there is an answering narrative from the church that suggests women should only serve in those vocations that are unavailable to men. That is, on the one hand to be female is to be no different from a man (other than in anatomy), while on the other hand it may seem that femininity offers no particular usefulness outside of the home.

Both of these responses are extremes which fail to account for women as individuals with differing gifts, talents, and abilities, all of which they can use in service to their neighbors.

As you journey through the Scriptures, the differences amongst all of God’s saints become apparent. Not only do we see their sins and weaknesses but at times we are given a glimpse into their distinct personalities and vocations.

For example, how many Sunday school lessons have been spent on hot-headed fisherman Peter, or the tax collector Matthew, or the perseverance of the Canaanite woman?

How boring would all these stories be if we were given cookie cutter saints who never challenged our narrow, preconceived ideas? However, as we look through the pages of Scripture, read the Church’s history, reflect on the saints we commemorate, and look to our neighbors around us, it becomes clearer that the God who calls His Church from every tribe and nation, the God who makes us male and female, is a God who delights in diversity.

These wonderful differences amongst each of us also apply to the faithful women of God portrayed in Scripture, whose variety of service presents a broad and colorful tapestry. It is God’s Word that introduces us to Deborah the judge of Israel and Queen Esther, yet also sees fit to deliberately name Lois and Eunice, Timothy’s grandmother and mother, who raised him in the faith. It is in Acts where we learn of the businesswoman Lydia who, upon hearing the gospel preached by Paul, was baptized along with her household. We also meet Mary, the mother of our Lord, who receives God’s Word of promise, however impossible it may seem to believe, with joyous thanksgiving. Or we encounter another Mary, who neglected the housework and sat at our Lord’s feet, the rightful place for any disciple— male or female. It would seem from just these cursory examples that our Lord is able to make great use of the variety of women’s service for the expansion of His kingdom.

Unfortunately, as the Church is attacked by a hostile world that rejects the God-pleasing gifts of marriage and children, she can be tempted to fall into the opposite ditch, suggesting that perhaps these are the only pleasing vocations for women. With this singular emphasis it begins to sound as if the highest good and the goal of the Church is to return to some supposed glory days resembling Leave it to Beaver. Indeed, it may be comforting in troubling times to imagine an era when life was simpler, houses were pristine, dinners made from scratch, children were obedient, and everyone knew his or her place. The trouble is that nostalgia presents its own peculiar brand of deception, leaving its devotees chasing the wind. Additionally, as we nurture ourselves on nostalgia, we begin to measure ourselves and

our neighbors against this mythical ideal instead of rejoicing in each other’s gifts, which may, in the freedom of our Baptisms, be brought into service of our neighbors in our homes, churches, communities, and workplaces.

Our differences in vocation and ability are not meant to be a source of strife, but rather of comfort and mutual encouragement. St. Paul assumes diversity within the Body of Christ in 1 Corinthians 12 when he uses the metaphor of the human body to illustrate that each part of the body works in concert with the other. An eye shouldn’t tell the hand there is no use for it, likewise, it is not sensible for the head to reject the feet. Similarly, perhaps a foot should not lament that it cannot see, but instead rejoice in the means it is given to serve the body. In contrast to this, some in the culture may look at the Church and insist the feet become the head, by demanding women be pastors, or housewives become lawyers, all the while touting diversity.

The Church, however, understands unity in the face of true diversity. Our Lord is the One who has numbered each of the hairs on our heads, whether that hair be red, brown, blonde, curly, or straight. He has also given a variety of gifts, which you are free to use in service to your neighbors.

Some may find great joy and peace at being a stay-at-home mother and wife, serving their closest neighbors, and this is a wonderful thing.

Others may wish to serve as doctors, lawyers, social workers, teachers, or in any other innumerable ways, and these are also Godpleasing vocations. Yet in the midst of these various vocations we are called by the Gospel as one Body, into the mysterious place where the last is first, the first is last, where the sinner is sanctified and called a friend of God. It is a remarkable, supernatural unity that knits us together as a family, as Christ called us individually out of darkness and into the freedom of His marvelous light with the waters of Baptism yet calls us together around the hearing of His Word, and His Body and Blood for the forgiveness of sins. However different each of us may be, we are all pilgrims in a dry and weary land, grasping the nourishment of Word and Sacrament delivered by the nail-scarred hands of our Lord Jesus Christ. And in doing so, we are equipped to serve our neighbor.

Deaconess Ellie Corrow is the MIssionary Care Coordinator at the LCMS Office of International Mission and serves on the board for Higher Things. She lives in Baldwin, MIssouri, with her son, Andrew, and a few dogs and cats.

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Called to Deliver:

By Rev. Rich Heinz

I

t was the spring of my 8th grade year. Our class was on a field trip to Chicago, and we concluded the day with a visit and tour of the campus of Concordia CollegeRiver Forest. That tour made such an impression on me that I never seriously considered any other college. Enjoying the visit and tour, I began to process several things. There were all the times that teachers in my Lutheran school had dropped hints. There was the great impact of vicars in our congregation —young men doing their “student preaching,” if you will. There was my pastor, who had (purposefully, I’m sure) said things in front of his son, who was a good friend of mine, that I should be a pastor.

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And then there was Mrs. Thrush. She was the classic “little old lady” in church, who had been friends with my great-grandparents. Every time I would acolyte, she would admire how I looked in the vestments. With a sparkle in her eye, she would tell me that I needed to give some thought to this!

God gives each of us many vocations. Each vocation or calling is worthy of honor as long as it is lawful. Through our vocations, we serve our neighbor in love, living out the faith that the Lord has given. And while a vocation serving in Christ’s Church does not earn any more “points” with the Almighty, it is a joy and privilege to serve Him! I thank God that He has led me to the calling of the Pastoral Office. He has taught me, trained me, and used me to serve His Church and her members for over 20 years, in a variety of ways. That’s a beautiful aspect of the Holy Ministry—there are some basic regular tasks, and a broad spectrum of service that surrounds them. The preaching and

teaching of the Word of God are central to the pastor’s work. Serving the people of God with His Word can take many forms. While the most common is in the life of a parish, pastors can also be called to teach theology at a Lutheran school, university, or seminary. Or they may serve the Church at large in an organization such as Higher Things, Lutheran Heritage Foundation, the Synod, or in so many others.

Delivering the sacraments can create some of the most joyful moments of a pastor’s life in the ministry. Giving new birth from above to the Lord’s children is an incredible and exhilarating event!

So also is each and every celebration of the Eucharist! Of course, the serious task of hearing confessions, and the joyful result of proclaiming Absolution is a blessed and impactful event every time.

A pastor has the unique gift of being brought into a family’s life at the moments of their most joyful celebrations, and during their deepest heartaches. From births and Baptisms, to hospital rooms and death beds, each is a place where he is called to bring the comfort of the soothing, healing Gospel to his parishioners.

Arms loaded with his most trusted

The Pastoral Ministry tools (Bible, hymnal, catechism, and a “sick call communion kit”), a pastor speaks and sings the Word of God and delivers the Holy Supper, bringing forgiveness, peace, love, and hope like nothing else can.

There are also the days filled with “average” moments. The hours of meetings with boards and committees and voters’ assemblies would be an example. These times are received as gift, and help us appreciate the joys of the more important times of Word and Sacrament all the more! A pastor can continue to thank God for the joys of preparing and teaching Bible Study, working with the youth in the church, and anticipating the next Divine Service!

Serving God as a pastor is definitely not a “9 to 5” job. Pastors are always “on call.” People do not have accidents only at certain times, or schedule when to die. A pastor will always drop what he is doing and go to the bedside of the hurting (or dying!) Christian— even though the Old Adam wants to sleep through that 3:00am call or text! But he will also find that, in spite of the hardships, the Lord works through that Word and the pastor is humbled and fulfilled to be a part of that time.

Through all the highs and lows of life with the congregation (or in my case, Concordia University), the pastor is forgiven and strengthened in receiving the Word and the Sacraments, and joyfully gives them to God’s children. He works to serve the Lord in serving His Church.

If you are a young man asking, “What do I do? How can I become a pastor?” Here are some starters. Go to church, regularly! Receive Jesus in His Gifts, and feed on His Word. Study and pray your catechism all the time. Then, when you fail to do these perfectly (which happens every day), the Spirit will lead you to repent and receive forgiveness in Christ. This is your foundation.

Talk with your own pastor. He’s really not that scary. And he probably would be thrilled to know you are considering this vocation! Your pastor knows you; he will talk with you and give advice on how to pursue this “noble task” (1 Timothy 3:1).

Your home pastor will likely urge you to go to a Concordia University (possibly his alma mater, if he attended one). There you can be well equipped with the languages that Scripture was written in (Hebrew and Greek) as well as some excellent theology classes to lay the foundation for your seminary work.

After your bachelor’s degree, you would go to one of our Synod’s seminaries (or maybe our sister seminary in Canada). Three years of academics and a year of vicarage—think student teaching for pastors—and the church says you are ready. The Lord works through seminary officials and district presidents to place seminary graduates into their calls, to be ordained into the Office of the Holy Ministry.

Yes, it’s a long process, but it is such an amazing gift from God to serve His people! The joys far outweigh any challenges in this life, making the pastoral ministry a wonderful blessing and calling from the Lord.

Rev. Rich Heinz is the assistant vice president for Mission & Ministry at his Alma Mater, Concordia University Chicago, in River Forest, Illinois.

While serving the university, he is still an ordained servant of the Word, encouraging others to pursue the calling of the Holy Ministry, and other callings of service in the Church.

He is also the worship coordinator for Higher Things.

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So What Do I Do with My Life?

By Rev. Mark Buetow

W

hen I was in high school, I wanted to be a professional pilot. Maybe I would be an airline pilot flying a 747 or perhaps a corporate pilot in command of a Gulfstream jet. I remember taking a career counseling test that was supposed to help me figure out what my skills and interests would suggest for a career. It wasn’t hard to answer the questions so that “pilot” was on the list! (As was “farmer” and “person who makes artificial limbs!”)

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In college, after becoming very active in our campus Lutheran church, I decided during my sophomore year that I would no longer be a pilot but would go to seminary after college to be a pastor. So I changed my major to history and headed off to seminary.

Also during college, I met my wife, and we were married just before my senior year. It turns out I left college with a whole bunch of vocations or upcoming callings that I hadn’t even considered when I started!

As a young man looking forward, it seems that my choices were all about what I wanted to do and be and accomplish.

I remember a poster my friend had of seven really fancy cars in front of a mansion with the title “Justification for Higher Education.” I wanted to go to college to get a job and make a lot of money. Even when I went to seminary, it was all about my wanting to study theology (which interested me) and to be a person who could help others (whatever that meant). Still, the choices I made were about me and what I wanted to do.

But looking back, I can see now that the Lord was working things out to put me where He wanted me to be, doing what He wanted me to do, to serve those He wanted me to serve. Even as I was trying to figure out what I wanted to do, the Lord put people around me in their callings and vocations who helped guide and direct me. That’s why, as Christians, we talk about more than just “careers” or “jobs” or “relationships.” They are called “vocations” for a reason. It’s because the things we are given to do in this life for others are given to us by our Father in heaven. He calls us to these vocations so that we may glorify Him and serve others in many and various ways.

As a Christian young person, the answer to the question, “So what do I do with my life? is best answered by,“What do you want to do? What interests you? What do you enjoy doing? What sort of challenges do like tackling? What sort of work do you hope to avoid?” These questions are helpful for figuring out what sort of paths in education or technical training you might like to pursue. But it’s important to have the bigger perspective, too. You are baptized into Christ. You have been called by God to be part of His Church and a believer in Jesus. Your life is no longer about living just for you. It’s about glorifying God by loving and serving others!

You see, no matter what job or career or vocation you end up with, even if you don’t think about it, the Lord will be using you to care for others. The education and skills and experiences you have aren’t just yours. They’re given to you as a gift as you live your life doing good things for others in your particular calling. Whether you end up as the head of your own international corporation or working a seemingly dull 9 to 5 job in a factory, we don’t judge our callings as the Lord does. In every place you end up, in whatever it is you’re doing, you have the opportunity

to do good to others and to demonstrate the love and grace of Jesus by doing your job well and helping others as you do.

I don’t know what the Lord has in store for your life. You might think you have an idea, but there are permutations and possibilities you haven’t even dreamed of! Whatever you do and wherever you go and however you are called to serve, know that you have been called since the baptismal font to be God’s own dear child. Everything you do in your life He will use as a blessing to others. Every failing He forgives and every good deed He works through you is for the good of others. You may find yourself at the end of a series of choices you’ve made in a job you really enjoy. You may find yourself in a situation you didn’t choose, due to circumstances, doing something that you hadn’t planned and don’t always enjoy.

But either way, that calling—that vocation—is the Lord’s gift to you and it is His gift to those around you through you.

In my calling as a pastor, I have the job of reminding those whom I serve (and those to whom I write articles), that Jesus has died for you and risen again. That’s HIS vocation: that of Savior. And because He’s done that, He’s set you free to pursue the things you enjoy and love, while still guiding and working behind the scenes so that you will be a blessing and gift to others. So what do you with your life now? You keep living it in Jesus! And He will bless others through you.

Rev. Mark Buetow is pastor of Bethel Lutheran Church in DuQuoin, Illinois. He can be reached at buetowmt@gmail.com.

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Every week Dr. Brian German (Director) records free 30-minute podcasts on a variety of biblical books and topics.

Subscribe now through our website.

July 31-Aug 3, 2018 Camp IO-DIS-E-CA Solon, Iowa Registration is now open!

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August 10-11, 2018 Mount Calvary Lutheran Church-Brookings, SD $40 per person Rev. Harrison Goodman Rev. Randy Sturzenbecher

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D A R E

T O

B E

L U T H E R A N

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Seven Apologists Every Christian Should Know

A Collection of Articles by Rev. Mark A Pierson

Now Available from Higher Things

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On April 26, 1518 Luther’s fame was secured. While his 95 Theses, written six months earlier had caused some rumblings it was the Heidelberg Disputation that was, arguably, the match to the gasoline of the reformation.

Higher Things is proud to present THE HEIDELBERG DISPUTATION Now Available on Amazon

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Catechism

Three Orders: The Table of Duties

By Rev. William M. Cwirla

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I

remember when I was in high school.

I couldn’t wait until I was in college.

I thought life would be all fun and I could do whatever I wanted. But college classes were harder and more demanding, the workload was heavier, and the responsibilities were greater.

When I lived at home under the rule of my parents, I couldn’t wait until I was out of the house, on my own, and

FREE. I thought I could do anything I pleased. But there were rent, food, clothes, and books to buy. Then a job, a family, a congregation. More responsibilities and duties.

Two things I learned: You’re never without responsibilities.

And you’re never out from under authority.

We’re going to spend some time now on The Table of Duties. It’s the eighth and last part of the Small Catechism and deals with responsibilities and authorities. This part probably wasn’t prepared by Luther, but was later taken up into the Small Catechism and became a part of it.

The Table of Duties is a collection of Scripture passages dealing with various aspects of our temporal life in this world under the categories of home, church, and state.

These are the three realms or “orders” in which all of us, as baptized believers, live. We are born or adopted into a family and home. We are members of a congregation. We are citizens of a state.

It’s really all about the 4th commandment and the gift of “parents and other authorities.” God is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14:33) who sets everything in His creation in order and under His authority. Without order and authority, there would be only chaos and anarchy, which may sound like fun until you have to live in it. Just ask anyone who has lived in a country whose government has collapsed. Our old Adam needs to be kept in line.

In each order—home, church, state—there is office and authority which are God’s representatives under the 4th commandment.

In the home, husbands are the heads of their wives and their households, and fathers and mothers are over their children. This is not to boss them around and make their lives miserable but for their blessing and protection.

Also included here are bosses and workers, since the original workplace was the home.

In the church, God has established that there are those who preach and those who hear: pastors and people. While every Christian is a priest in Christ’s royal priesthood, not all Christians are pastors. Priests are born in Baptism; ministers are made through call and ordination.

In the state or civil society, God has ordered things so that there are those who govern and those who are governed. In our country, we participate in the selection of those who govern, but ultimately they hold office in the government. This, too, is for our blessing and benefit, both to restrain the evils of sin and our sinful natures and for the promotion of the general good.

As baptized believers in Christ, we live at the intersection of all three orders in family, congregation, and society. This is where God has located us to serve our neighbor with His goodness and mercy. Each of us has a place and purpose in each of these orders. Lutherans call that “vocation,” or “calling.” Where God has placed you and gifted you defines your vocation, your calling—that is, the way in which you serve your neighbor, whether as a teacher, fireman, father, mother, pastor, plumber, etc.

Our old Adam hates order. He’s a natural-born anarchist who wants to be a god in place of God and doesn’t like to be told what to do. Our natural inclination when confronted with a “table of duties” is to let out a big sigh, give an eye roll and say,“Do I have to?” And the answer from God is,“Yes, you have to! Repent!” Of course, this ultimately kills the old Adam, which is precisely what the Law is supposed to do. But in the meantime, it forces the old Anarchist to get with the program and keeps him in line.

“The Word became Flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14). And in dwelling among us, Jesus came into all three of these orders and lived under their authority. He was obedient to His earthly parents, Mary and Joseph (Luke 2:51).

As a boy, He sat at the feet of the teachers of the synagogue and the temple (Luke 2:46). He was subject to the religious and civil governments of His day—the same authorities who would eventually sentence Him to death and crucify Him. Jesus did the Table of Duties to His death for you.

You do them, too. They are your duties and responsibilities, the holy orders of your priesthood. You do them not to earn God’s favor or reward. Christ has already done all that for you. You do them to offer your bodies as a living thank offering to God (Romans 12:1) in loving service of the people God put around you: your family, your community, your congregation. God is “hiddenly” working through you to do His goodness and mercy to those around you. You have a vocation, a calling.

At the moment, you are exploring and discovering how God has gifted you. You’re learning in classroom and laboratory. You’re developing skills and honing talents and testing your abilities. You’re apprenticing adults, preparing to take up adult-sized responsibilities and authorities. You’re preparing to be husbands and wives, fathers and mothers, workers and citizens, members of congregations. Priestly servants.

There isn’t any secret plan for your life in the mind of God. There’s no waiting for God to reveal some special “plan” He has in mind for you. He’s left you free to design one for yourself. How will you thank God for His saving you in His Son? How will you serve those around you in the love of Christ? The Table of Duties will be your guide.

Rev. William M. Cwirla is the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California.

S P R I N G 2 0 1 8 _ 29

So What Do I Do with My Life?

A HIGHER THINGS BIBLE STUDY • Spring 2018

1

4

In the first few paragraphs of Rev. Buetow’s article, he shares how he started out in high school with the goal of being an airline pilot (what he truly thought he wanted to grow up to be) but ended up as a pastor. Read Proverbs 16:9. What does this verse remind us that is always at work as we think about what we want to do with our lives?

As Christians, we get to experience freedom that only comes through Christ. What might we be tempted to do with that freedom? What does Paul remind us of in Galatians 5:13-14?

2

6

3

7

Why is “vocation” often a better description of what we do or who we connect with in our lives, rather than merely “career,”“job,” or “relationship?” Read Ephesians 2:10.

Because we are recipients of God’s immeasurable grace through Jesus Christ what, according to 1 Peter 4:9-11, is the point of serving one another?

5

Now that we have died to the law, in what do we get to live out our vocations? See Romans 7:4-6.

What happens if we end up in a calling or vocation that we don’t desire to be in?

What important promise does Romans 8:28 help us remember?

Close by singing LSB 853:4 “How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord”.

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“Called to Serve” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Opening Prayer “All Christians who have been baptized, Who know the God of heaven, And in whose daily life is prized The name of God once given: Consider now what God has done, The gifts He gives to ev’ryone Baptized into Christ Jesus. In Baptism we now put on Christ—Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav’nly Father.” (LSB 596, stanzas 1, 4) 1. How did you receive the Spirit? How did Christ come to dwell within you and you in Him? You received the Holy Spirit in Holy Baptism. That’s where He “was poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior,” from Paul in Titus 3. You were given new life in the Spirit, you were born from above by water and the Spirit (John 3:5).

In Holy Baptism, you were buried into Christ’s death and raised in His resurrection, that’s Romans 6. You were crucified with Jesus. Through Holy Baptism, Jesus also lives within you. Now you live, trusting in Jesus and what He’s done for you—that’s faith.

2. If you are in Jesus, what will happen? What is faith without works?

Those who are in Jesus are those who have been baptized into Him. This means that His life flows into you and through you. Without Jesus you have no life, for “apart from Me you can do nothing,” He says.

Apart from Christ you’re “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). You have new life in the here and now of this life. In Christ, you will produce good fruit, that is, good works. That’s what James also says, “Faith without works is dead.”

Faith that isn’t alive and producing works isn’t faith. Bad fruit or no fruit, bad works (sins) or no good works, is a sign that faith is dead. Without Jesus you’re a cut-off branch, and branches that are cut off from the tree or vine are dead, they wither away, and they rot.

3. Read Ephesians 2:1–10 and Luke 3:9–14. How does God gift us with our good works?

What Jesus and James say about faith and works sounds pretty scary. It sounds like we're dead and hopeless, but Paul tells us those are the sorts of people our heavenly Father saves in Jesus Christ. God created us for good works, but that don’t have to find our good works. Your heavenly Father has prepared your good works for you in advance. He laid the path, and now all you do is have to walk in it free from worry and fear.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

4. Thinking about the people John talked to in Luke 3 above, what are some day-to-day ways that you baptized to love and serve those around you?

At first, students’ answers may vary, but, in the end, they should all get back to the same things: their day to day lives. Good works aren’t something we need service projects or mission trips for. You don’t have to travel anywhere to do God-pleasing good works. Life as a Baptized Christian really is day to day sort of stuff. As youth and students, Baptism places you into cherishing the 4th Commandment: honoring, loving, and forgiving parents; loving and forgiving your siblings; honoring, loving, and forgiving teachers and coaches; loving and forgiving your fellow students, teammates, and even opponents. As a baptized child of God, doing the dishes, doing your homework, forgiving your teacher, loving those who’ve wronged you are holy things. They put a smile on your heavenly Father’s face.

5. Read Confession: What is Confession from the Small Catechism? What sins should we confess?

Which are these? (LSB 326) Your good works look right back at you. Just look at your place in life: “Are you a father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, or worker?” (Small Catechism, Confession: Which are these?) The problem is that your sins look right back at you, too. If these things bother you, go see your pastor. Be absolved. Be forgiven. Only by living in the light, life, and forgiveness of Christ can you reflect that life, love, and forgiveness. Your Pastor is their to serve you with the forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness we need daily and much for all the ways we mess up the good works God prepared for us to walk in.

6. Read Christian Questions with Their Answers 18–20 (LSB 330).

When you receive Jesus’ body and blood in the Lord’s Supper, Jesus “abides in you, and you in Him” (John 15:5; John 6:56). At the Altar you learn to love God and your neighbor. The Body given to you is the same Body that’s given to those around you. The Blood in the chalice was shed for you, for all people. How can you have a feud with someone who’s received Jesus’ blood with you? To cut off someone who’s received Jesus body with you, would be like cutting off a part of yourself. If they aren’t receiving it with you, we should want that! Only by receiving His forgiveness and love together can we truly be united in the peace and love of Jesus. His life wells up within you unto good fruit: “faith toward God and fervent,” heartfelt, genuine “love toward one another” (Post-Communion Collect).

Closing Prayer “May the God of peace Himself sanctify us completely, and may our whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls us is faithful; He will surely do it. Amen.”

(Corporate Confession and Absolution, LSB 291)

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“Called to Serve” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Opening Prayer “All Christians who have been baptized, Who know the God of heaven, And in whose daily life is prized The name of God once given: Consider now what God has done, The gifts He gives to ev’ryone Baptized into Christ Jesus. In Baptism we now put on Christ—Our shame is fully covered With all that He once sacrificed And freely for us suffered. For here the flood of His own blood Now makes us holy, right, and good Before our heav’nly Father.” (LSB 596, stanzas 1, 4) 1. How did you receive the Spirit? How did Christ come to dwell within you and you in Him?

2. If you are in Jesus, what will happen? What is faith without works?

3. Read Ephesians 2:1–10 and Luke 3:9–14. How does God gift us with our good works?

4. Thinking about the people John talked to in Luke 3 above, what are some day-to-day ways that you baptized to love and serve those around you?

5. Read Confession: What is Confession from the Small Catechism? What sins should we confess?

Which are these? (LSB 326)

6. Read Christian Questions with Their Answers 18–20 (LSB 330).

Closing Prayer “May the God of peace Himself sanctify us completely, and may our whole spirit, soul, and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls us is faithful; He will surely do it. Amen.”

(Corporate Confession and Absolution, LSB 291) © 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“Jesus for You,A HIGHER JesusTHINGS® Through You” BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Introduction God didn’t create His creatures in isolation, He created them in community! As the article mentions, God ties us to our neighbor through our vocations, the callings that He gives us. In this study we will focus on how we live as Christians in the world. Jesus calls us to love our neighbor as ourselves, looking to the needs of others rather than our own. He wants to serve His creation through you! Let’s explore how this looks in our lives.

Opening Prayer “Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

1. Vocation (not vacation!) comes from the Latin word that means “calling”. God calls His creatures to various stations in life and uses His creatures to serve His creation. Some examples of vocation are mother, father, child, sibling, student, worker, and friend. What vocations has God given to you?

Answers may vary. Encourage the students to think about their entire life: home, school, and elsewhere.

2. The article by Pastor Goodman mentions that vocation can be easily found in the Small Catechism.

Which portion of the catechism should we look to when we want to learn about vocation? Go there and see what it has to say to you!

This may be a good time to have the students break up into groups and look closely at the Table of Duties for several passages on vocation.

3. During Martin Luther’s life, he fought against the perception that the only ones who truly served God were priests and monks! We are justified before God by grace through faith in Christ! Then as we live in the world, we can serve our neighbor in many different ways. Priest or monk was, at that time, one way to serve the neighbor, but blacksmiths, shoemakers, mothers, and midwives also served God by serving their neighbor. Make a list of needs that you have during the day and different people that God uses to serve those needs.

This list will also vary.

4. Now we will turn to several passages that show “Jesus through you” as God’s people served God and one another in their callings. Read Genesis 1:26-28. What responsibilities did God give to Adam and Woman in this passage?

In this passage, God gives Adam and Woman the calling of filling the earth with human beings. He calls them to be husband and wife and then calls them to be mother and father. This is one example of God serving His creation through His creatures.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

5. Read Genesis 2:19. What job does God give to Adam in this passage?

God gives Adam the job of naming His creatures. God could have done this job Himself, of course, but He has given mankind dominion over His creation. Adam exercises his vocation in service of God and in service of His creation. The animals see the love and care of their Creator through Adam’s work of naming the creatures.

6. Read Exodus 35:4-35. What is being built in this passage?

The tabernacle is being built in this passage. This is the tent where God dwells as He led His people. This is the location of the ark of the covenant.

7. Look through the passage again. Who does God call to serve in this passage? How does he call them to serve?

God calls all the people of Israel to serve. Specifically, he calls the skilled craftsmen (v10), the skillful women (v25), Bezalel (v30), and Oholiab (v34). He calls them to serve with the skills they have been given. The craftsmen and skillful women serve in their vocations and provide the materials for the tabernacle, serving God by providing the tabernacle, and importantly serving the community as well.

8. How is God the source of this serving? What establishes the identity of these people?

The text is clear that God has given the skills and intelligence to the craftsmen and women who would put together the tabernacle. The identity of the people is still in the promises of God, fulfilled in Christ. Their identity is found in the one who dwells in the tabernacle, not in their act of serving to build the tabernacle.

The offerings of the people culminate in 36:5-6 as Moses has to stop the offering! People have brought too much! The offerings and craftsmanship of God’s people exemplify an important aspect of vocation: It is about the neighbor, not about you!

9. How can we learn from these saints as we serve God in our vocations?

Answers will vary. They serve using the skills that God has given them. They serve in other ways than being priests (although some certainly do serve as priests). They aren’t focused on “enough”, but they work using what God has given to them.

Conclusion Your identity in Christ is established in our baptism. Jesus is for you! As God’s baptized child, God also uses you to serve His creation and your neighbor; Jesus through you! Rejoice in the callings that God has given you! Recognize that you are serving God as you serve your neighbor! Trust that God is serving through you, even if what you are doing seems boring or mundane. God loves you and has made you His own. He loves His creation and wants to serve it through you!

Closing Pray the Lord’s Prayer together.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“Jesus for You,A HIGHER JesusTHINGS® Through You” BIBLE STUDY Opening Prayer “Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.”

1. Vocation (not vacation!) comes from the Latin word that means “calling”. God calls His creatures to various stations in life and uses His creatures to serve His creation. Some examples of vocation are mother, father, child, sibling, student, worker, and friend. What vocations has God given to you?

2. The article by Pastor Goodman mentions that vocation can be easily found in the Small Catechism.

Which portion of the catechism should we look to when we want to learn about vocation? Go there and see what it has to say to you!

3. During Martin Luther’s life, he fought against the perception that the only ones who truly served God were priests and monks! We are justified before God by grace through faith in Christ! Then as we live in the world, we can serve our neighbor in many different ways. Priest or monk was, at that time, one way to serve the neighbor, but blacksmiths, shoemakers, mothers, and midwives also served God by serving their neighbor. Make a list of needs that you have during the day and different people that God uses to serve those needs.

4. Now we will turn to several passages that show “Jesus through you” as God’s people served God and one another in their callings. Read Genesis 1:26-28. What responsibilities did God give to Adam and Woman in this passage?

5. Read Genesis 2:19. What job does God give to Adam in this passage?

6. Read Exodus 35:4-35. What is being built in this passage?

7. Look through the passage again. Who does God call to serve in this passage? How does he call them to serve?

8. How is God the source of this serving? What establishes the identity of these people?

9. How can we learn from these saints as we serve God in our vocations?

Closing Pray the Lord’s Prayer together.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“So What DoA HIGHER I Do With My Life?”

THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Leaders’ Introduction Encourage the students to have an initial conversation about what they think they want to do/be when they finish school. Let them know this is just sort of a brainstorming, dreaming time. You can ask them why they are thinking about the choices they present.

1. In the first few paragraphs of Pastor Buetow’s article, he shares how he started out in high school with the goal of being an airline pilot (what he truly thought he wanted to grow up to be) but ended up as a pastor. Read Proverbs 16:9. What does this verse remind us that is always at work as we think about what we want to do with our lives?

It is okay and even good to plan for your future. What is important to keep in mind is that God has His plan and we might never know what that is but He is always working to accomplish His plan. We might have a specific career path we are certain we should start out on, but He can easily and often does redirect us for our good and for our neighbor’s good, too!

2. Why is “vocation” often a better description of what we do or who we connect with in our lives, rather than merely “career,” “job,” or “relationship?” Read Ephesians 2:10.

Vocation is a word that communicates purpose. It isn’t just something we do ever day—it’s who we ARE. You ARE a son or daughter, you ARE a student and/or employee. You might hope to be a doctor or a welder, a teacher, or a secretary but those are more than just spots you fill. God works it out (beforehand as it happens) how you will minister to others through those relationships, jobs and careers.

3. Because we are recipients of God’s immeasurable grace through Jesus Christ what is the point of serving one another according to 1 Peter 4:9-11?

We are ministers of God’s grace. Everything we do is an opportunity to serve others and communicate and share that grace—the same grace we ourselves have received!

4. As Christians, we get to experience freedom that only comes through Christ. What might we be tempted to do with that freedom? What does Paul remind us of in Galatians 5:13-14?

We often forget that, because we are free, life isn’t just about living out that freedom for ourselves. We are encouraged to truly relish our freedom by serving one another in love.

5. Now that we have died to the law, in what do we get to live out our vocations? See Romans 7:4-6.

We can serve in the way of the Spirit. Again, because Jesus has made all things right between us and the Father, we are FREE to love one another. In doing so, remembering who we are in Christ, we put to death the deeds of the flesh and bear fruit in the Spirit for the good of our neighbor.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

6. What happens if we end up in a calling or vocation that we don’t desire to be in? What important promise does Romans 8:28 help us remember? Can you think of times this has happened to you?

Because we live in a fallen world, we may, from time to time, be in vocations that aren’t what we had hoped for or expected. This might be a particular relationship or in a certain job that doesn’t turn out to be what you were told. Nearly every role we fill in our lives will get challenging occasionally, even if we DO love it. What Romans 8 tells us is that, no matter what, God promises to work ALL THINGS together for our good, even when it looks like that’s impossible.

Closing Sing together “How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord” (LSB 853, st. 4).

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“So What DoA HIGHER I Do With My Life?”

THINGS® BIBLE STUDY 1. In the first few paragraphs of Pastor Buetow’s article, he shares how he started out in high school with the goal of being an airline pilot (what he truly thought he wanted to grow up to be) but ended up as a pastor. Read Proverbs 16:9. What does this verse remind us that is always at work as we think about what we want to do with our lives?

2. Why is “vocation” often a better description of what we do or who we connect with in our lives, rather than merely “career,” “job,” or “relationship?” Read Ephesians 2:10.

3. Because we are recipients of God’s immeasurable grace through Jesus Christ what is the point of serving one another according to 1 Peter 4:9-11?

4. As Christians, we get to experience freedom that only comes through Christ. What might we be tempted to do with that freedom? What does Paul remind us of in Galatians 5:13-14?

5. Now that we have died to the law, in what do we get to live out our vocations? See Romans 7:4-6.

6. What happens if we end up in a calling or vocation that we don’t desire to be in? What important promise does Romans 8:28 help us remember? Can you think of times this has happened to you?

Closing Sing together “How Clear Is Our Vocation, Lord” (LSB 853, st. 4)

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“Three Orders:A HIGHER The Table of Duties” THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Leaders’ Introduction Have handy some copies of the Catechism and the Table of Duties (it is found in Lutheran Service Book, p.

328.) The Table of Duties itself is nothing more than a collection of Scripture passages that was compiled to give “practical advice” on how the Lord teaches us to love and serve our neighbor in our various callings. This Bible study will serve as an introduction to the purpose of the Table of Duties.

1. Look at the “Table of Duties." What is its purpose? Which vocations apply to you?

The Table of Duties is introduced this way: “Certain passages of Scripture for various holy orders and positions, admonishing them about their duties and responsibilities.” Its purpose, therefore, is to instruct us in our various “orders” and how we are to serve our neighbor in each of these orders of life. Answers will vary but certainly individuals will recognize themselves as Hearers, Children, possibly Workers and probably Youth.

2. According to Pastor Cwirla's article, there are three Orders in which God exercises authority over us. What are the three Orders and what authorities has God given us under each?

Home, in which the Lord places our parents, grandparents, etc. over us; Church, in which the Lord provides pastors over us; State, in which the Lord gives us government, teachers, police, bosses, etc.

3. Review the Fourth Commandment and Meaning from the Small Catechism. What does it mean to have and/or be an authority? According to the world? In Christ?

The Fourth Commandment meaning teaches us that we are to obey not just our parents but “other authorities.” Most people associate “authority” with being “in charge.” That is, those in authority have the job of telling the people under them what to do. This view is reinforced by the abuse of that authority.

Just ask any of the kids who have jobs how their bosses may treat them. Hopefully they are treated well but often times they are treated badly and with little respect. Genuine authority is to be given a place by God in which you care for others in a certain way. In this sense, authority isn't about “being in charge” but about “serving.” This really turns the worldly view on its head.

4. Read Romans 13:9-10 and 1 Timothy 2:1. What is the basis for respecting and honoring authority?

The basis for all of the Table of Duties is love of neighbor. It is important to emphasize that when we speak of “good works” we (1) don't mean things we do that earn forgiveness and (2) do mean the everyday things we do to live in our vocations, submitting to those over us in the three Orders, and all ways in which we love and care for others. Therefore we don't think about our callings as ways to boss others around but to serve those under us and respect those over us.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

5. Read Luke 2:46, Luke 2:51, and John 19:10-11. How does Jesus fulfill the Table of Duties in each of the three Orders? What does this mean for us?

Jesus is obedient to His parents, honors the religious authorities who teach the Word, and submits to the authority of the governor. While the Table of Duties shows us God's Word for each of our callings, since we fail at them, we are accused by the Table of our sins. (The Table of Duties is the Law, not the Gospel after all). Therefore it matters that we see examples of Jesus keeping the Law for us. Where we fall short and fail, He lives and does what the Law says. Where we shirk our duties, He fulfills all of His. This “active obedience” counts for us and is a part of the way Jesus saves us (the other part being His being punished for our sins, which is called "passive obedience”).

6. How are we given our vocations/callings? Is there some way to figure out which vocations we should have?

We recognize that all callings are a gift from God. Some callings we have without a choice, such as being a child or hearer of the Word. Other callings may involve our selecting one thing over another, such as becoming an engineer instead of lawyer or working at a factory instead of a restaurant. These sorts of callings are chosen as we have the advice and guiding of our parents and those who watch over us. But these are not necessarily set in stone and therefore we don't need to seek some “master plan” but rather, as Pastor Cwirla says in the article: “He's left you free to design a plan for yourself. How will you thank God for His saving you in His Son? How will you serve those around you with the love of Christ.?”

7. Discuss your future plans and possible callings. How will you choose? What considerations will you have? Where will Christ be in all of that?

Answers will vary but this is a good time for the youth to think about and encourage each other in their future plans. Regardless of what they do or where they end up, they will always be hearers of the Word and therefore everything they do will be sanctified by the Savior who has washed away all their sin and makes all of their works good and perfect in God's sight.

Closing Sing together, “How Clear is Our Vocation, Lord” (LSB #853)

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“Three Orders:A HIGHER The Table of Duties” THINGS® BIBLE STUDY 1. Look at the “Table of Duties." What is its purpose? Which vocations apply to you?

2. According to Pastor Cwirla's article, there are three Orders in which God exercises authority over us. What are the three Orders and what authorities has God given us under each?

3. Review the Fourth Commandment and Meaning from the Small Catechism. What does it mean to have and/or be an authority? According to the world? In Christ?

4. Read Romans 13:9-10 and 1 Timothy 2:1. What is the basis for respecting and honoring authority?

5. Read Luke 2:46, Luke 2:51, and John 19:10-11. How does Jesus fulfill the Table of Duties in each of the three Orders? What does this mean for us?

6. How are we given our vocations/callings? Is there some way to figure out which vocations we should have?

7. Discuss your future plans and possible callings. How will you choose? What considerations will you have? Where will Christ be in all of that?

Closing Sing together, “How Clear is Our Vocation, Lord” (LSB #853).

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“Vocational Variety: God’sAWisdom for Women” HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Introduction God loves ALL of His creatures. He also gives different roles to His creatures. When exploring the role of men and women, these two truths are important to keep in mind. The Scriptures provide for us a picture of God’s love for all His creatures and the way that He orders His creation, explaining how men and women are to function in the church and the world.

1. Begin by reading/singing several stanzas of “For All the Faithful Women,” (LSB 855).

2. The article by Deaconess Corrow mentions many changes that have taken place in the United States in the last 100 years when it comes to the relationship of men and women. How have those changes impacted you? What evidence of these changes do you see in your community?

Answers will vary. It is important to recognize that many changes in society are positive and many are negative. This isn’t a black and white answer. The intent of this question is to help the group consider and recognize societal changes.

3. Read Galatians 3:26-29. This passage provides a wonderful description of the salvation that Christ gives. We are all children of God by faith. After describing the reality of salvation by grace through faith in Christ, Paul reminds us that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave or free when it comes to salvation. Paul is saying that Jews are no less God’s children than Greeks, females are no less God’s children than males. How is Baptism a picture of this unity?

Everyone needs what is given in Baptism. Male and female, Jew and Greek, are all sinful and in need of God’s grace and mercy. God doesn’t give a different grace to Jew and Greek, He sent Jesus to die and rise for the whole world. Every Baptism, infant or adult, black or white, male or female, is done the same way.

Water is applied, the Word is spoken, and the promise of God is given. We don’t have different baptisms, but ONE BAPTISM for the remission of sins.

4. Even as Paul describes the lack of distinction with regards to salvation, he affirms distinctions with regards roles in creation. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Paul speaks here about variety of gifts given in the body of Christ. Not everyone is called to serve God in the same way. Using the metaphor of the body, what would a body that was all arms or all ears look like? How would it function?

God gives a variety of gifts to his people for a reason! A body with all ears would look silly and would be a downright mess! It couldn’t walk or talk. It couldn’t eat or drink. All it could do is hear, and there wouldn’t be a brain to process the signals from the ears! If you had a church with all pastors, it wouldn’t function very well! There would be a fight about who would preach every Sunday and there wouldn’t be anyone to listen!

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

5. The previous passage focused on the variety of spiritual gifts given to God’s people, not specifically mentioning gender. In addition to a variety of gifts for proclamation and understanding of the Gospel, Paul also affirms differences between men and women. Read Ephesians 5:22-33. Is this referring to the salvation of men and women or the way that men and women interact within God’s created order?

This is referring to the order of creation, not the order of salvation. This passage is not undoing the Galatians 3 text. Men and women are equally children of God, but they have been called to different roles within God’s creation. This is not something to be despised, but something to be embraced! As the article mentions, God loves variety!

5. What job does God give to the husband in this passage? What job does He give to the wife?

The husband is to love the wife and lay down his life for her. This is a heavy task and it calls the husband to die to himself and live for his wife. The wife is called to respect her husband, dying to herself and living for him. God has ordered His creation. He wants it to run work well, and so He has created ordered diversity within His creation.

6. When Paul speaks about the role of men and women in creation, he often returns to the creation of male and female and the institution of marriage in Genesis. Read Genesis 2:18-25. Why does God create the woman? How does He describe her role in verse 18?

God creates the woman because it is not good for the man to be alone. He calls her a “helper.” Rather than creating another human being who is the same as Adam, he creates a human being who completes Adam. He created Adam and Eve as complementary human beings, giving them different roles that work well together.

7. God has called women to many important roles. One such role is Mother, a high and noble calling.

Read 2 Timothy 1:5. What role can faithful mothers play in the lives of their children?

Faithful mothers can provide examples of faithfulness and Christian living to their children. They can teach the faith to their children, reminding them of their baptism and the love of God in Christ.

8. Of course, motherhood is not the only role that God calls women to. Read Exodus 35:25-29. How do women serve God in this instance?

Women serve God by using the skills that He has given them. The particular skills given in this passage are inconsequential. What is important is that women are called to use their skills and abilities in service to God, whatever they are, remembering their identity in Christ and living in love towards the neighbor.

Conclusion God loves variety. He created men and women different, giving them different skills and abilities that He uses to serve His creation. He set an order to creation, an order that society often rebels against! The Scriptures give us a full picture of men and women. Men and women are equally children of God. They are created by God and have equal value and dignity in God’s eyes. God’s created order revealed in the Scriptures and shown even in nature itself also shows that men and women are different. Women have different roles in marriage, in the church, and in society even as they have equal value in the order of salvation. This is a gift to be embraced, even as our culture struggles to understand it.

Closing Pray the Lord’s Prayer together.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“Vocational Variety: God’sAWisdom for Women” HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY 1. Begin by reading/singing several stanzas of “For All the Faithful Women,” (LSB 855).

2. The article by Deaconess Corrow mentions many changes that have taken place in the United States in the last 100 years when it comes to the relationship of men and women. How have those changes impacted you? What evidence of these changes do you see in your community?

3. Read Galatians 3:26-29. This passage provides a wonderful description of the salvation that Christ gives. We are all children of God by faith. After describing the reality of salvation by grace through faith in Christ, Paul reminds us that there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, male and female, slave or free when it comes to salvation. Paul is saying that Jews are no less God’s children than Greeks, females are no less God’s children than males. How is Baptism a picture of this unity?

4. Even as Paul describes the lack of distinction with regards to salvation, he affirms distinctions with regards roles in creation. Read 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. Paul speaks here about variety of gifts given in the body of Christ. Not everyone is called to serve God in the same way. Using the metaphor of the body, what would a body that was all arms or all ears look like? How would it function?

5. The previous passage focused on the variety of spiritual gifts given to God’s people, not specifically mentioning gender. In addition to a variety of gifts for proclamation and understanding of the Gospel, Paul also affirms differences between men and women. Read Ephesians 5:22-33. Is this referring to the salvation of men and women or the way that men and women interact within God’s created order?

5. What job does God give to the husband in this passage? What job does He give to the wife?

6. When Paul speaks about the role of men and women in creation, he often returns to the creation of male and female and the institution of marriage in Genesis. Read Genesis 2:18-25. Why does God create the woman? How does He describe her role in verse 18?

7. God has called women to many important roles. One such role is Mother, a high and noble calling.

Read 2 Timothy 1:5. What role can faithful mothers play in the lives of their children?

8. Of course, motherhood is not the only role that God calls women to. Read Exodus 35:25-29. How do women serve God in this instance?

Closing Pray the Lord’s Prayer together. © 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“#whoami” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Leaders’ Introduction Your identity is in Christ! There is no greater blessing or joy than to live as a child of God, bought with the blood of Jesus, washed and made clean in Baptism. As you read through the article you saw that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments are filled with affirmation of the identity of the people of God. In our study we will consider identities that the devil, the world, and the flesh try to substitute for our identity in Christ.

Then we will look at ways that God has reminded His people of who they are and how He reminds us who we are now.

1. What different things do people claim as their identity. Give the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Answers will vary. The identity that defines Christians is that which is given in Baptism. “I am God’s own child!” Other identities given in the world must never overtake this one identity. Some see take their Godgiven vocation and turn it into their “identity” such as a mother whose identity lies in her children and the care that she gives them or a police officer whose identity lies in excellence at his job. Other times, worldly identities attempt to overtake the identity which is given to us in Baptism.

2. What temptations might cause someone to put another identity in place of their Christian identity?

Doubt can cause people to downplay or reject their identity in Christ. The devil can use the temptation of money, friends, influence, or other temptations to make other identities look better than our true identity.

3. Read Exodus 20:1-2. At what place in the Exodus story do these words come? What is going on in the narrative?

These words come after God has brought His people out of the land of Egypt. They were in bondage, but God heard their cries and stretched out His hand to rescue them. The chariots and armies of Pharaoh that made Egypt one of the most powerful nations in the world were drowned in the Red Sea, but the people of God went through on dry ground. The Exodus is the climax of the Old Testament, the chief redeeming act of God where He won back His people from the hand of the Egyptians. The Israelites had no hope of freeing themselves, but God saved them and brought them out so that they could enter into the land and live there as His people.

4. What comes right after these verses in the story?

God gives the 10 commandments to His people.

5. Why is it important that God gives a reminder of His gracious, redeeming act before giving the Law to the people?

He is reminding them of who He is and who they are. God reminds them that He is “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness” (Exodus 34:6). They are His people for whom He acted to save. Throughout the Old Testament, the Exodus reminds God’s people that He hears the cries of His people and will act to save them. The Exodus is fulfilled in Christ.

The outstretched arm of Christ destroyed death on the cross and the mighty hand of the God raised Him from the dead. God’s mighty act on our behalf in His death and resurrection won us as His people. We are given the salvation that Christ won for us in our baptisms.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

6. What temptations might make the people of Israel doubt their identity as God’s people? Read Exodus 16:1-3 and Numbers 13:25-33.

God’s people are tempted to doubt their God and their identity as His people by hunger and military might in these passages.

7. Read Matthew 5:1-16. How do we see a similar pattern here to what happened in Exodus and Numbers?

Jesus establishes the identity of His disciples by blessing them in the beatitudes and then begins to give them instructions for living.

8. Read Genesis 1:28. What command does God give to Adam and Eve? What does He do before He gives them a command?

He commands them to be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Before He commands them, He blesses them. They are His creatures, receiving all that they have from His hand, and as they fulfill the command to fill the earth, His grace and provision go with them.

9. As we are tempted to forget or reject our identity in Christ, how does God remind us that we are His? God saves us in Baptism! Our Baptism also provides a daily reminder that we are God’s own. We hear the voice of our pastor reminding us that even though we have sinned, God forgives us and restores us. Our brothers and sisters in Christ remind us who we are in Christ.

Conclusion As Pastor Borghardt wrote, Baptism defines who you are by telling you Whose you are! You are God’s own child.

God loves reminding His people what He has done for them. He reminded the Israelites that He brought them out of Egypt. He reminds you that He forgives you and has won your salvation. Now, with your identity solidified and firm in Christ, you are free to live according to that identity. You are free. Free to try. Free to fail. Free to get back up and try again.

Closing Pray the Lord’s Prayer together.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018

“#whoami” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY 1. What different things do people claim as their identity. Give the good, the bad, and the ugly.

2. What temptations might cause someone to put another identity in place of their Christian identity?

3. Read Exodus 20:1-2. At what place in the Exodus story do these words come? What is going on in the narrative?

4. What comes right after these verses in the story?

5. Why is it important that God gives a reminder of His gracious, redeeming act before giving the Law to the people?

6. What temptations might make the people of Israel doubt their identity as God’s people? Read Exodus 16:1-3 and Numbers 13:25-33.

7. Read Matthew 5:1-16. How do we see a similar pattern here to what happened in Exodus and Numbers?

8. Read Genesis 1:28. What command does God give to Adam and Eve? What does He do before He gives them a command?

9. As we are tempted to forget or reject our identity in Christ, how does God remind us that we are His?

Closing Pray the Lord’s Prayer together.

© 2018 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2018