2020 Spring - Higher Things Magazine (with Bible Studies)

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Special Topical Issue:

Worldviews: Finding Your Footing • Renewing Hope in an Age of Hopelessness • A Bloodstained Lens • Being a Lutheran in Public School • The Morality of Consent • The Battle Is Already Won

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In Jonathan Fisk’s newest book, discover the most important words Jesus ever said.

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© 2020 Concordia Publishing House

H I G H E R

Contents T A B L E O F

Volume 20/Number 1 • Spring 2020

HigherThings

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Volume 20/Number 1/Spring 2020 Bible Studies for these articles can be found as appendices to this magazine Executive Editor

Katie Hill Art Director

Steve Blakey Editorial Associates

Rev. Paul Beisel Rev. Gaven M. Mize Rev. Dr. Matthew Richard Copy Editors

Kay Maiwald Dana Niemi Bible Study Authors

Rev. Aaron T. Fenker Rev. Joshua Ulm ___________ Board of Directors President

Rev. George F. Borghardt Vice-President

Rev. Duane Bamsch Treasurer

Mr. Kurt Winrich

Special Features 4 A Bloodstained Lens

By Rev. George F. Borghardt So how do we balance being “in” the world but not “of” the world, as Jesus told us in John 15? Rev. Borghardt clarifies this and sets the stage for understanding your Christian worldview.

6 Being a Lutheran in Public School

By Isaac Ostopowich You’re at school, minding your own business but sometimes you wonder, what does living out your faith look like? Isaac takes you on a tour of his experiences at public school with the goal of encouraging you to know what you believe and how to communicate it.

8 The Morality of Consent

By Rev. Mark Buetow In a day and age where truth is seen as relative, find out from Rev. Buetow how the right balance of Law and Gospel comes to bear on the popular concept of “consent” in a relationship.

10 The (a)Typical Family

By Rev. Harrison Goodman Everyone around you has picture-perfect families, especially at church—at least it can feel that way. But is that true? Rev. Goodman directs us to the Truth, and reminds us where our comfort can be found.

12 Approaching Feminism with the Mind of Christ © 2020 Concordia Publishing House

By Deaconess Ellie Corrow Is there anything redemptive about feminism and does it have a place in our lives as baptized children of God? Ellie points us to Christ and His gifts to us to answer those questions.

14 Renewing Hope in an Age of Hopelessness

By Dr. Angus Menuge Dr. Menuge instructs us on the ins and outs of countering two hope-stealing ideologies in our modern world, and it comes down to Christ and Him crucified.

Secretary

20 The Battle Is Already Won

By Rev. John Dreyer According to Rev. Dreyer, remembering that Christ has already been victorious is the key to seeing the world rightly, especially when we think about the tests, struggles, and suffering that are an inevitable part of our lives.

22 All In for a Culture of Life

By Kaitlin Sheridan On January 23, 2020, the 47th anniversary of the momentous Roe v. Wade decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, many passionate folks, including Kaitlin, marched for life around the country. Learn from her experience why it is so vital for us to stand up for the preciousness of life.

Regular Features 26 Catechism: The Catechism as Worldview

By Rev. William M. Cwirla The Catechism isn’t merely something we memorize for confirmation. Rev. Cwirla explains how it shapes the way we view God, ourselves, and how He works through us.

Rev. Joel Fritsche Mrs. Becky Clausen Deaconess Ellie Corrow Rev. D. Carl Fickenscher Mr. Anthony Pellegrini Rev. Chris Rosebrough ___________

Executive Council Executive Director

Erica Jacoby

Dean of Theology

Rev. Aaron T. Fenker Business Executive

Connie Brammeier Media Executive

Sandra Madden Conference Executive

Crysten Sanchez Marketing and Development Executive

Patrick Sturdivant

Higher Things® Magazine ISSN 1539-8455 is published quarterly by Higher Things, Inc. P.O. Box 155 Holt, MO 64048. No portion of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the executive editor of Higher Things Magazine. Copyright 2019. Higher Things® is registered trademarks of Higher Things Inc.; All Rights Reserved. Printed in the United States. 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/ for writers’ guidelines and theme lists.

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A Bloodstained Lens

By Rev. George F. Borghardt

As Southerners, we taught our kids to be polite

and respectful to all adults. They weren’t just to say, “Yeah” or “Nah” to the adults around them but rather, “Yes, ma’am,” or “No, sir.” This is how we were raised. That’s how we raised our sons in Texas. After I took a call to Illinois, my youngest son found himself in detention for responding to one of his teachers with, “Yes, ma’am.” You see, his Midwest teacher took his show of respect as being disrespectful. The lens with which she interpreted “Yes, ma’am” was different than the lens my son had and it caused misunderstanding.

We all see the world from a certain perspective or through a particular lens. Our senses take in information from the world and people around us and we filter it or interpret it based on our life experiences and culture. It’s how we “see” and “hear” things. If we put on green glasses the world will look green; in the same way we see the world through certain cultural and experiential lenses.

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The world around you has a completely different culture than the one of your Christian faith. It’s not just a matter of a difference in morality (Second Table of the Law). It centers around God (First Table of the Law). You were taught to see everything in the universe in the context of God sending His Son to suffer and die for your sins and the sins of the whole world. God is working all things out—good and bad—for your good in Christ. He is with you in the waters of your Baptism. He’s forgiving you in the words of your pastor and his feeding you His Body and Blood in the Sacrament.

That’s Christian faith! Your faith in Jesus is what is totally different from the world! You see the world through Jesus-colored glasses! There are no accidents or serendipities in your world. When something happens it is going to work out for you. When it doesn’t, that’s going to work out for you, too. You know and you trust that God is making everything work in the universe and He’s making it work out for you (Romans 8:28). How could you not? He gave up His Son. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world. It is what it is. It’s survival of the fittest. You gotta do unto others before they do unto you. It’s not cheating if you don’t get caught.” That’s the world’s creed. It’s not only godless—its faithless. Everything is accidental. Evolution teaches the world that everything is about death not life. To the world, morality and gender are not set, they are fluid. There is no black and white morality because there is no higher power. There is life and then there is death and “you can’t fight death and taxes.”

It would be easy if the only lens you ever looked through in life is the one you received at your Baptism. The problem is that you have your foot in both cultures and so you try to wear both lenses. You want to see the world through the lens watermarked with Jesus. (See what I did there?) But you live in a world where you pick up things, expressions, and ways to see the world that influence your worldview. They fog your Good-Friday-Jesus-for-me lens. Before you know it, this results in minor changes to how you see the world occur even without your realizing it. In the same way my son picked up a Midwestern accent from our time living near Chicago, you

tend to pick up worldviews that don’t fit with your Christian faith.

The Lord’s words call you to repentance. They clean your lens, washing it with baptismal grace.

You are repented by God. When you confess your sins, the Lord forgives you and sets you out to see and experience the world through His Word and promise. But how do you live in this world and keep your lens clean?

The answer is not to completely separate yourself from the world and live in the wilderness like St. Francis of Assisi. He left his wealth and the civilization he lived in and surrounded himself with nature, hoping to be free of the trappings of the world. Many have done this and have become nuns and monks, separating themselves from the lens of the world. That might help you in some way but it doesn’t help the person God loves in Christ, too: your neighbor.

God wants to save you. He also wants to save your neighbor.

He’s doing good to you. He’s doing good to those around you, too, through you. Since your neighbor is in the world, God has put you in the world to love and serve those in the world with you. You do this in the world but not wearing the world’s lens. Your lens has been washed in the blood of the Lamb. You see things, you perceive things, experience things in the context of Jesus Christ and Him crucified for you.

You are in the world, but not of the world.

How does that look? How are you in the world but not of the world? How do you see the world in Jesus—as a baptized child of God—while still living in this world? This issue of the Higher Things magazine is going to explore how to answer these questions. You see the world through His Word taught to you in church. My job has been to point out to you the only lens that matters to you and say, “You are of Christ and Christ is of God” (1 Corinthians 3:23). Jesus FOR YOU, as taught to you from the sacred Scriptures within the Church, is the only lens you need.

Rev. George F. Borghardt is the pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in Bossier City, Louisiana and serves as the President of Higher Things.

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BEING A LUTHERAN IN PUBLIC SCHOOL

By Isaac Ostapowich

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espite the reality that public schools are often hostile to Christianity, I openly practice my Lutheran faith in my public school. Actually, it works out better than most people would think. Sure, I wear a crucifix necklace, but the most obvious thing I do is pray every day. In public and everything.

Not obnoxiously though, just quietly by myself. In the mornings, I try to get to my first class early and pray before the day really begins. I also pray before and after lunch like we did at my Lutheran middle school (Faith Lutheran School in Plano, Texas). I used to pray at the end of the school day, too, but now that I can drive, I just want to get home. What can I say, I’m a teenager!

Living out my faith like this started after attending my first Higher Things conference a few years ago where I began to realize how good I have things.

Since then, I’ve learned so much and have really begun to understand what it means to be Lutheran.

Practicing my faith this way doesn’t really affect my life negatively at all. Most people find my lifestyle strange, and don’t really see it anywhere else. I’m kind of like a foreigner and they want to know more. And they ask me questions. ALL. The. Time.

About 95% of the kids I know are basically “Nones,” meaning they don’t consider themselves to be religious in any way. A lot of them will wear Christian labels, but they don’t know what they believe. They might go to church regularly, but they have no clue what their denomination is or what their church believes about anything.

Teaching that sort of thing doesn’t seem important at a lot of churches.

They just go to a church because the people there are nice and sometimes it’s even entertaining.

Most kids at my school don’t really see anyone practicing their faith outside of church either. They certainly don’t see anyone praying by themselves in public. Sometimes, I’ll pull out my Small Catechism or Lutheran Book of Prayer (as Lutherans do). Kids occasionally interrupt me, asking if it’s a Bible. So I explain it’s just a book of prayers or teachings. The next question is inevitably, “What’s Lutheran?”

But because kids at school know I’m a Christian and since I’m also a teenager like them, they ask me a lot of questions about religious issues. Usually, people ask what the Bible says about this or that, or whether something is a sin.

But since so many kids have never been exposed to something like the Ten Commandments—especially in writing—they honestly don’t know when something is sinful or what a sin even is. I’m glad they feel comfortable asking me, though.

There are generally three categories of people who want to talk to me about religion. First there are people from a non-denominational church or they say they’re Baptist (there are a lot of both in Texas) who have some grasp of Christianity so it can often be easier to explain things to them. Lutherans have a lot of sensible reasons for what we believe, and these friends are quick to come around and find some areas of agreement with me. Atheists are either super-interested in debating about religion...or they hate it completely. But my favorite people are those who are

interested in talking about “spirituality” but haven’t really had any exposure to an organized religion. They ask the really good questions, not just things like, “Why does my pastor say this and your pastor say that?” but rather deeper questions like, “Why do you believe in God?” and “What does it mean to believe in God?” Those are the most fun conversations!

There’s something important to keep in mind: when my friends have different beliefs and morals than mine, I try to approach conversations about controversial issues very gently and carefully. I’ve learned that if I’m aggressive about my beliefs, the

other person will shut down and get defensive. We’ll both just stubbornly dig into our original points and neither one of us will ever get anywhere. But if I can approach things civilly and calmly, showing a willingness to consider what the other person is saying, he’ll usually give my side a chance, too. Often, he’ll see that what I’m saying actually makes more sense than an emotional argument, too. When I take a gentler approach, there’s also no pressure to respond quickly or aggressively.

Here are three things to keep in mind as you practice your faith at school: 1. Be open minded. When you’re talking with non-Lutherans you need to know when to listen to their

views, and when to express your views. But you also need to know when those views are likely to clash strongly so you don’t start off on the wrong foot with them. You can always pick up the conversation at another time.

2. Be friendly about your beliefs. If someone’s asking you questions, provide an answer! That may interest him or her in learning more and possibly even coming to embrace your faith.

3. Remain dedicated. The more dedicated you are to living out your faith openly, the more it communicates to others that not only you are a faithful person but also that you have good judgment and are a trustworthy person to talk to.

Do I run the risk of being swayed by someone else’s beliefs? Well, as a Lutheran who knows what I believe and why, it’s easy to see the holes and flaws of my friends’ beliefs and ideas so I don’t worry about being tempted away from mine. Besides, when you tell people the Gospel and about salvation they have through Christ, they’re like “What??” because the notion (that wonderful notion!) that faith alone saves is completely alien to people who have never been exposed to our Lutheran faith. Even a lot of Christians don’t believe in faith alone when it comes down to it, but ultimately believe somehow they’re saved by works. They don’t directly say works will save you, but they believe that doing good things and being a good person plays a role in how you get into heaven. And that’s another opportunity to tell people about Jesus, right there!

Isaac Ostapowich is a member of Faith Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas and a junior at Denison High School in Denison, Texas.

He plays a lot of video games and writes as a hobby.

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The Morality of Consent

By Rev. Mark Buetow

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ven though Joseph was sold into slavery by his brothers, the Lord blessed him in the house of his master, Potiphar, the Egyptian captain of the guard.

Joseph pretty much ran the whole household: He was responsible for the finances and groceries and maintenance and the other slaves. When Mrs. Potiphar comes to try and seduce him— “Lie with me!”—well, why not? She’s an adult. He’s an adult. What would be the harm in it if they are both willing?

But Joseph refuses. “How can I do this thing and sin against God?” He also is concerned for his master. Mrs. Potiphar was Potiphar’s wife, and Joseph had no right to do that with her. What’s ironic is that when Joseph chooses to do the godly thing, he still gets in trouble. She turns him in and he gets thrown into prison. But notice something here: Joseph trusts in the Lord’s care, and he refuses to do something wrong even when he knows could get away with it.

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Joseph and Potiphar’s Wife. Museum: State A. Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts, Moscow. Author: RENI, GUIDO. alamy.com

Here’s where the world would object. You see, the prevailing moral standard of the day is simply, “consent.” If two people are adults, and both consent, then whatever they want to do is okay. No one can tell them they’re wrong or say they should not do certain things. But consider this question: Can something be wrong even if everyone is in agreement and there aren’t any apparent consequences? The answer depends on whether someone believes in “absolute truth” or “subjective truth.” A simple example: Absolute truth says that adultery is wrong. Joseph should not do that with Mrs. Potiphar, because that would be a sin, against God’s will. Subjective morality would simply say that if both of them consent, there’s really nothing to stop them. Potiphar doesn’t own Mrs. Potiphar. She lives her own life.

Backing up a bit, we can look at Joseph’s situation from the perspective of the Sixth Commandment.

You shall not commit adultery. God says not to lie with someone who isn’t your spouse. But there’s something beyond that: Love your neighbor as yourself. Joseph knows this, too. He tells Mrs. Potiphar that he is in charge of everything from his master, except her. By saying that, Joseph, even as a slave, shows that he loves his neighbor and doesn’t desire to hurt him. Likewise, he doesn’t want to sin against God. There are two parts of the Commandments: Love God and love your neighbor. The world says, “If I want to do this thing, and everyone consents, and it makes me happy, then I should do it.” As Christians, God’s Word teaches us to ask, “Will this thing that I do glorify God or profane Him? Will it help or hurt my neighbor?”

First off, the Law of God should teach us to repent.

If you don’t ask those two questions about the things you do—if you make choices and take actions solely based on what feels good and satisfies your desires— then you really have turned away from the Lord and His will. To see that and to acknowledge that is our repentance. But fixing it is something else. Sure, if we just asked those two questions every time we decided whether or not to do something, thought about it, and then did the right thing, well, we wouldn’t fall into sin, would we? That’s the problem. Just knowing what is right or wrong won’t make us do right or avoid wrong.

That’s why the morality of consent is so tempting to buy into. It can’t be wrong if everyone is in favor!

So here comes Jesus to sort it out and save us. And the glorious irony is that He consents to His suffering and death! The Sanhedrin (made up of Jewish religious leaders) certainly consented to His death. They wanted Him crucified. Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, even though he knew he was condemning an innocent man, even though he knew he was doing wrong, consented to crucifying and killing Jesus. Most of all, though, Jesus Himself consented to His own death. He did not defend

Himself against the religious leaders; He didn’t defend Himself to Pontius Pilate. Rather, He consented to His own suffering and death, doing the will of the Father.

He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will but yours be done, Father.” Do you see the irony of our salvation? Jesus actually goes along with the wrong choice that everyone else consents to, so that His death on the cross and resurrection will be our salvation.

It’s that salvation, that forgiveness, that new life Christ wins for us, delivered and strengthened by His Word, baptismal water, and Body and Blood, that set us apart in this world, free from a horrible “morality of consent.” The Spirit has something greater for you when you’re faced with the temptation to simply go along because everyone else wants to do something: The confession of the truth of God’s Word is that there is a right and wrong, determined by the Lord and not by us. That’s a good thing, because it doesn’t just mean that God is glorified, but also that our neighbor is truly loved and served. Knowing our morality is rooted in God’s Word rescues us from that lame analysis of every action or situation: “Well, what’s in it for me?”

Put another way, having crucified our sinful flesh with Christ in the waters of Baptism gives us a better perspective on whether we should just consent to something. We instead ask the better question: “Does it glorify God and serve my neighbor?” If not, then let us not sin against God! The world’s morality of consent is a random and messy thing. How old does one have to be to give consent? How do we know if a person consents? The reality is that most people work hard to try to find their way around consent. It’s why people try to seduce and scam others all the time, hoping to get what they want while making others think it’s what they want. That’s a sad and destructive way to live!

Jesus Christ has rescued us from this world’s morality. Even if we were to suffer for doing what is truly right in God’s sight, we have this assurance and consolation: Jesus works all things out for our good.

He forgives our missteps of morality and the messes we make. He gives us His Spirit so that we become a light in the dark and a loving neighbor to those around us. When the world says one thing and actually does another, it is Jesus who lives in you so you can be someone different, someone loving, someone who seeks the good of others as the highest goal. The One who consented to His own death has given you a new life where your every decision isn’t based on whether you have permission, but on the freedom of God’s love in Christ to love others genuinely.

Rev. Mark Buetow is the pastor of Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church and School in McHenry, Illinois.

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omewhere down the line Christians began to believe there is a typical family in church. We imagine a happily married couple with some, but not too many, kids. Nobody has to deal with divorce and its aftermath.

Nobody’s single and old enough that people ask why, or worse, try to guess. Nobody’s in the closet. Nobody’s struggling with anxiety or depression. Everyone believes the same things.

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I’m not saying those families don’t exist. I’m saying they’re far from typical. Still, it’s hard to be different when everyone expects you to be the same. So when we look around the congregation and everyone else looks normal, we pretend. The irony is that since we pretend to be normal,

everyone else pretends, too. It creates an image of the typical church family that flies in the face of what many of our families actually look like behind closed doors. Never mind all the Bible stories about families that don’t fit this “typical” mold. Ignore Cain and Abel.

Ignore Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Esau.

Ignore Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar.

That awful little lie of the typical church family leaves us in the uncomfortable position of finding it easier to talk about our family’s sins in the world, where of course everyone’s family is messed up, rather than in the church—the one place God built to forgive sinners and comfort those suffering its wages.

The world has no shortage of sympathy for your family issues. They can relate. Commiserate. Share their own stories. Make memes. They can understand what you’re going through and make you feel like it isn’t your fault. It’s hard to be different when everyone expects you to be the same, and in the world we don’t feel so different. But even though it’s more

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comfortable talking about sin in a world that agrees we have that in common, something terrible has happened. We have forgotten that we were set apart.

We Christians come from messed up families just like the rest of the world, but we aren’t known by our sin, as common as it may be. We’re known by our Lord. His mercy. His Cross. His resurrection. We’re known by Baptism.

God wants us to find comfort in something more than just knowing that everyone else is messed up, too.

I understand not wanting to feel so different, but there isn’t as much comfort in being a part of the majority as you would imagine. The question isn’t whether or not you’d jump off a bridge if all your friends did it. The question is

what’s at the bottom when you land. Sin breaks stuff. That’s why our Lord calls it sin. It hurts. Our messed-up families, our secrets, our guilt, and our shame only testify to the fact that His diagnosis is correct. Just knowing everything else is falling apart, too, doesn’t actually fix the problem. It just leaves us all trying to cope with the damage sin has created and justify ourselves in the middle of it. Memes don’t fix as much as we wish they did. In wanting just to not be so different, we’ve only really chosen to identify ourselves by our sins and not

by Christ’s forgiveness of them. Even knowing Bible characters have their own weird stories doesn’t help. Comfort isn’t found in knowing that everyone’s family is falling apart. Comfort isn’t found in realizing that sin is common.

Comfort is found in knowing that Christ joins us in it.

Our Lord took on flesh and was born into an atypical family. His Father was way older than His mom, in an “In the beginning” kind of way. His stepdad was probably enough older than His mother to turn heads, too. Jesus was mocked for His mother’s story about how He was born. His lineage gets even more uncomfortable. Read the stories of the names listed in the genealogies sometime (e.g., Rahab was a prostitute).

But Jesus didn’t choose this family and this lineage just to commiserate with our family drama. He came to save sinners, including you, and even your family. Jesus was born in order to bear the Cross, atoning for all the sin that leaves us feeling so uncomfortable with what our families look like. He did more than join a messed-up family. He made you a part of His own: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Romans 8:16-17).

Romans 8 is true, because through Baptism, God has made you a part of His family. You are the Church, as atypical a family as you’ll ever find.

God’s family only has redeemed sinners

in it. Like Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar.

Like Isaac, Rebecca, Jacob, and Esau.

Like you and yours, and like me and mine. He doesn’t just unite us in having the same sins. He unites us in the same mercy. We are brothers and sisters in Christ. We are the typical church family, sinners washed clean in the blood of the Lamb. We are children of the promise. We are not known by what divides us, but by what unites us and holds us through this life and unto life everlasting.

When this mercy becomes the definition of a church family, you can deal with your own family in the same light. Since your family happens to be filled with actual sinners, first recognize God’s will to see them forgiven and loved. Right and wrong don’t stop being right and wrong. Sin still breaks stuff. But what sin would do to separate us from the love of God, Christ Jesus conquers by the Cross.

When your family struggles with real problems—divorce, sexual identity, and secret sin—start with Jesus’ Cross. He is the Good Shepherd. He has already redeemed your family, even your sinful one. He is even now at work to seek you out and to carry you home. In the Cross, see mercy. See the difference between helping and winning. Being right is easy. You can win the argument.

God’s Word speaks clearly. Helping takes mercy. Winning is about your being right. Helping is about your neighbor receiving a gift from God. Right and wrong won’t change, but that perspective alone can shape your approach quite a bit.

The typical family in church is made of sinners knit together in the forgiveness of sins, tied together in vocation, building one other up in love into Him who is the Head, even Christ Jesus. It looks messy because rather than worry about how it looks, we cling to the Cross, where Christ bled to cover sin.

Rev. Harrison Goodman is the pastor of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas.

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Approaching Feminism with the Mind of Christ

By Deaconess Ellie Corrow

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he latest Taylor Swift video (“The Man”) features the recording artist transformed into a man wherein she proceeds to claim that life would be so much better for her if only she were treated like a man. Catchy tune or not, her message is clearly meant to proclaim a common gripe of feminism. While one might see this as at least a sugar-coated venting session by a popular singer, many times we hear shrill voices in defense of feminism. Do we need to listen to these voices? Is everything labeled as “feminism” a bad thing?

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Even the word “feminism” conjures up a variety of negative images for Christians, as its obvious influences are splashed all over our news and entertainment, Taylor Swift being just one example of many. In the Christian view, feminism can be thanked for everything from widespread family breakdown to the celebration of abortion as a constitutional right. You don’t have to spend much time in social media before you find feminists who insist that controlling men and guaranteeing access to abortion are at the heart of the movement. These are views that should be rejected, as they are clearly at odds with Christian teachings about the equality of the sexes and the sanctity of life. As Christians, we should never be supportive of movements that seek advancement at the expense of our neighbors.

It’s pretty straightforward then, right? All feminism is wrong and in direct contradiction to the teaching of Scripture!

Well, it’s not quite that simple. Despite how unified feminism appears to be, historically it has been quite diverse, and some of this diversity is still evident today. For this reason, we are better off looking at the various forms of feminism that litter our modern landscape, rather than assuming feminism is, or always has been, a singular, clearly defined movement. For example, are we discussing early feminism that was very prolife and saw abortion as an attack on women, or the feminism that proudly asks women to #shoutyourabortion? Obviously, in the first form there is much the Church can stand behind, while the second is quite alarming.

Despite this diversity, the Church can be guilty of oversimplifying and dismissing an entire movement, out of fear of its effects on Christian men and women. Here is the bottom line: Jesus does not give us a spirit of fear, and we should not allow fear to shape how we interact with our neighbors, especially if that fear would ask us to silence and dismiss those neighbors. Instead, it can be helpful to approach each issue with grace and humility, wondering what it is we can learn, especially from people whose experiences are very different from our own.

In the case of feminism, if we listen, we might hear outright and open rebellion against God’s Word, or we might hear fear, or the stories of centuries of women’s oppression, and the denial of rights on the basis of sex. Agreeing or disagreeing with a person’s solution to an obvious problem, like sexism, is a very different thing from dismissing their concerns entirely, which is what happens when the Church assumes that all brands of feminism work against the Christian faith.

In contrast to the blanket dismissal of feminism, some Christians have asserted that Jesus was a bit of a feminist in how He elevated and protected women, particularly in a culture not especially prone to do so. We should not try to read our Lord’s words and actions through the lens of our modern culture. However well-intentioned, this is simply not a good approach to reading and understanding Scripture. What is

plainly evident is that Jesus interacted with women as if they were, well, human, as so well profiled by Dorothy L. Sayers in her book Are Women Human? Who would deny that women are human? Isn’t that just obvious to anyone? Not always.

Throughout much of history women have been treated as second-class citizens, without benefit of status or rights, except when granted to them by the men in their lives.

Unfortunately, the tendency to dehumanize other people groups because they are smaller, weaker, or lack a voice is common to mankind, and we don’t have to think too hard before we encounter instances in our own world. We not only see it in the genocidal horrors of the 20th century, it’s evident in the schoolyard bully, and even in ourselves when we laugh at another’s expense. For this reason, we cannot be trusted to look to our own thoughts, actions, behavior, or even cultural norms to determine what value to place on another.

Instead, Jesus provides the answer to that question by dying for every, single person, purchasing their redemption, not with gold or silver, but with His innocent suffering and death.

When we see Jesus treating women with dignity and respect throughout the Gospels, we see that He is affirming their diverse humanity, as women, and that should set the norm for how we act toward others.

Do we need feminism to shape our view on how to treat women? No! Jesus does that quite nicely for us, if only we have ears to hear what He is saying. He is not saying that men and women are the same, save for some anatomical differences, as some feminists would assert. He is saying that women should not be oppressed and dehumanized, reduced to roles only women can fill, and instead should be valued in their varieties of gifts and roles.

If we use the mind of Christ as we address feminism, we are freed from the demands of acceptance or rejection of an “-ism”, and instead are able to listen to our neighbors, hear how they are suffering, and consider whether there are unnecessary burdens we can help lift with the easy yoke of the Gospel. In this way, we can graciously give our neighbors the dignity and respect they deserve, as ones for whom Christ died, ministering to them with the grace we ourselves have so abundantly received.

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 Ballwin, Missouri, with her son, Andrew, and a few dogs and cats.

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Renewing Hope in an Age of Hopelessness

By Dr. Angus Menuge

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Keith McIntyre | Shutterstock.com

n the world of Harry Potter, fearsome creatures called Dementors drain people’s hope by consuming their souls. The parallels in our world are manmade ideologies that lead people to believe their life has no meaning. Two of these ideologies you and I face today are scientism and nihilism. But unlike Harry, we don’t have mere magic to counter these ideologies—we have a number of tools, particularly theology grounded in Scripture.

Our Culture’s Dementors: Scientism and Nihilism Scientism is the view that natural science has final authority in what we can claim to know. Scientism comes in two forms. Strong scientism says that science is the only way to know. Weak scientism says that there may be other sources of insight, but science is by far the best (most certain) source of knowledge. Both strong and weak forms of scientism tell us we cannot have moral or theological knowledge. This is because no scientific observation can detect whether an action is right or wrong, or whether God is triune, as examples. Thus moral and theological beliefs are regarded as mere opinions, not as something that can be known. Centuries of moral reflection and even the Bible are rejected as sources of knowledge.

Scientism, then, leads to nihilism, another souldestroying point of view. Nihilism is the view that nothing has any objective value. After all, if science alone provides knowledge, and science cannot determine whether human life has value, then we cannot know that human life is worth anything.

Where does this lead to? The unborn child and the terminally ill patient don’t have lives worth living.

And if we depend on the filter of science, this may cause people to doubt that their personal lives have any meaning or purpose. After all, vocation and loving our neighbor are not scientific notions. Science cannot address these things.

have minds, capable of observing natural events, proposing theories, and devising experiments to determine if those theories are true. But here’s the problem: the mind itself is not scientifically observable. In science, something is observable only if it is a public phenomenon, one that many people can witness. So it is not possible to scientifically observe one’s own mind, since no one else can see it.

And we clearly cannot observe other people’s minds; all we can observe is their outward behavior or what their bodies are made of. This is just one angle to examine philosophically. There are many others that demonstrate that strong scientism is false.

But many people might think that weak scientism is true—that perhaps some non-scientific sources (like literature or philosophy) have some value, but science is still the most certain. This, too, is false because a claim cannot be any more certain than the assumptions it depends on. For example, suppose I look out of the window at Concordia Wisconsin and seem to see a tree in the courtyard. My claim that there is a tree in the courtyard cannot be any more certain than my assumptions that 1. my eyes are working, 2. I am not hallucinating, and 3. I am not looking at a prop for an outdoor theatre performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Likewise, all science depends on a number of non-scientific assumptions, and so no scientific claim can be more certain than those assumptions.

The Perspective of Philosophy Just as Harry Potter warded off the Dementors with the Patronus charm, philosophers have been able to dispel scientism. Philosophy can be a very helpful tool. For example, strong scientism is a selfdefeating claim. For “Science is the only way to know” is not a scientific claim, and therefore, by its own standard, cannot be known. This claim is not scientific because it cannot be tested by any observation or experiment. It is, rather, a philosophical claim about science, and even by those standards, it is clearly false. It’s a dilemma that can’t be solved.

Strong scientism is false because science itself makes assumptions that science cannot demonstrate.

To do science, one must assume that scientists

The Problem with Assumptions It’s important to remember that all modern science rests on three major, non-scientific presuppositions.

• First, it is assumed that the world is orderly, for if the world is mere chaos, the search for laws of nature is bound to fail.

• Second, it is assumed that the human mind is rational, for if our minds are chaotic, we will not be able to discover natural order even if it is there.

• Third, it is assumed that our reason is attuned to the order of nature, that the same reason that governs our thoughts also governs the laws of nature.

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These are assumptions one must make before science is even worth doing. Yet they have been proven right by the scientific progress they have encouraged. If these assumptions did not derive from science, where did they come from? Surprisingly, historians of science generally agree that these assumptions came from…wait for it…theology!

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The Natural Order of Things The idea that the universe is orderly comes from the theological conviction that it is the creation and handiwork of a single, rational God. For atheism and polytheism, by contrast, there is no reason to expect a universe that functions logically, because there is either no lawgiver (atheism) or many conflicting ones (polytheism). The idea that the human mind is sufficiently rational to discover the laws of nature derives from the Christian teaching that human beings are made in the image of God so that they can rule over the creation entrusted into their care. Remember, this is exactly what God laid out for Adam.

Without God, human beings would just be accidents of blind nature, and there is no reason to think their minds would be reliable enough to do science. Finally, the human mind is attuned to the order of nature because we see that same divine reason in human nature and in the laws of nature.

The theological conviction driving the scientific revolution was that the natural world was God’s “other book.” As God specially reveals Himself in the Bible, He also reveals Himself in the “book of nature.” Science gets its rationale from theological assumptions. Weak scientism is therefore false, since science cannot be any more certain than those assumptions. And since we obviously do have a lot of scientific knowledge, it follows that theological knowledge also exists.

The Redemptive Nature of Hope Science cannot detect moral values. But we have seen that science is not the only or best way to know.

Theology also provides knowledge, and it has a lot to say about the dignity and meaning of human life.

In the Bible, we learn that we humans are specially made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27) and that, because of this, even after the fall into sin, we all have special value (Genesis 9:6; James 3:8-10). And when God acted to save us from sin, He became a human being—not any other creature—and shared in human suffering (Hebrews 2:17, 4:15). And though all creation will one day be redeemed (Romans 8:22), God is especially concerned to save human beings (Romans 5:8). Beyond this life, God offers eternal life with Him, compared to whose blessings none of our current sufferings compare (Romans 8:16-18).

For now, we counter the hopelessness of scientism and nihilism through finding meaning and dignity by loving our neighbor through vocations God assigns (1 Corinthians 7:20; Ephesians 2:10). God has a plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11) and works all things together for good for those who love Him (Romans 8:28), even by using our sinful choices (Genesis 50:20).

Some may think this is all a matter of faith and isn’t something we can know. But that reflects the unbiblical view that faith is not a form of knowledge. Job declares in faith, “I know that my redeemer lives” (Job 19:25), and Paul writes “I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me” (2 Timothy 1:12). Theology grounded in Scripture gives knowledge about the meaning and purpose of our lives.

And you are reminded of this every time you partake of the gifts God delivers to you through His Word and Sacraments. You know that you are made in His image, that Jesus Christ willingly took on flesh, and that the Cross is where hopelessness met its death. And you know that this is true for your neighbor, too! That is true knowledge that no Dementor or vile ideology can take away.

Author’s Note: The philosophy program at CUW is classical and has a strong emphasis on worldviews, bioethics, and apologetics. Our graduates have been very successful pursuing vocations in the pastoral ministry, law, and advanced studies at top graduate schools. We would welcome participants in Higher Things conferences to join our thriving program.

Angus Menuge, Ph.D. is Chair of the Department of Philosophy at Concordia University Wisconsin.

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Conferences

Watermarked www.higherthings.org www.watermarked2020.org

Colorado State University

University of Tennessee

NW Missouri State University

Calvin University

Fort Collins, CO • June 29 – July 2, 2020

Maryville, MO • July 7 – 10, 2020

Why Higher Things?

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2020

We live in a culture of blurry religious distinctions and do-it-yourself spirituality. Youth, especially, need solid ground that will nurture lasting Christian faith.

Rather than treating youth as an adolescent subculture and confusing them with religious experiences that cannot be replicated at home, Higher Things believes in challenging youth to learn the pure doctrine of the Christian faith. By teaching them the same message that they hear at home, youth grow in the fullness of the Christian faith as they come to appreciate historic liturgical practice and its unique focus on God’s gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation for us delivered in Word and Sacrament.

The Theme: Watermarked

“Baptism now saves you.” (1 Peter 1:21) You were born to die. You’re a sinner, and sinners are marked for death. You not only inherited it, but the sins you commit daily earn you death. You won’t just die and be buried. Since you’re born dead in trespasses

Knoxville, TN • July 14 – 17, 2020

Grand Rapids, MI • July 21 – 24, 2020

and sins (Ephesians 2:1), you’re marked and sentenced to die forever in hell—a child of wrath (Ephesians 2:3).

Yet your sins aren’t yours anymore, neither is your death. Jesus took them as His own. “He became sin” (2 Corinthians 5:21), your sin, and “He died to sin once for all” (Romans 6:10), for you, too. He gives what is His to you—”righteousness and purity forever.” You are no longer marked and sentenced and left to die. You are marked for life in Jesus.

Jesus marked you with the Water of Life in Holy Baptism. His water and Word splashed over your forehead, washing you with the rosy-red water from His spear-pierced side and clothing you with His own resurrection. In Holy Baptism Jesus recreated you to be what He has forever wanted you to be: His disciple and friend, a child of His Father and His own brother or sister, that is, “an heir, having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:7).

At the 2020 Watermarked Conferences we rejoice in and cherish all the promises and blessings Jesus makes and delivers to each of us in Holy Baptism. You really are what He says you are: marked forever as His own.

Registration

Find the Registration Materials and Conference Information packets at Watermarked2020.org.

Registration will open on November 1, 2019 and close as each site reaches capacity. We work very diligently to keep costs as low as possible while providing the best conferences we can – every year! The perperson rates are based on the date your group’s registration fees are paid in full. Additional fees apply for registrations and changes made on or after May 1, 2020. Balances paid on or after May 1, 2020 will incur a $25 per person late fee. See the Registration Policies for more information about fees and deadlines.

Colorado State University - Fort Collins, CO (June 29-July 2, 2020) Northwest Missouri State - Marysville, MO (July 7-10, 2020) University of Tennessee - Knoxville, TN (July 14-18, 2020) Calvin University - Grand Rapids, MI (July 21-24, 2020) Your Registration Fee includes: • • All conference programming (Catechesis, • Worship, Entertainment) • • Three (3) nights of campus housing • (double-capacity) • • Nine (9) Meals (Day 1 supper - Day 4 lunch) • • Conference Handbook • • Daily Services Book • • Conference T-Shirt Not only can you register your group online at watermarked2020.org, you can pay deposits and your balance online. Just follow the instructions on the webpage to register your group.

Age Requirements

Higher Things conferences are generally planned for high-school-aged youth, but registrants may be any youth who have been confirmed prior to the conference, including middle school and college students. We recognize that the ages of confirmed youth vary from congregation to congregation, and just ask that if a group is bringing young people who are not yet confirmed or in high school, their group leaders be prepared to provide additional supervision accordingly.

Chaperones

Chaperones must be at least 21 years old at the time of the Conference and approved by the Group’s pastor to serve in that role. There must be at least one (1) male Chaperone for up to every seven (7) male youth in a registered group, and at least one (1) female

REGULAR Feb. 1, 2020 to April 30, 2020

LATE (on or after May 1, 2020)

$410

$435

Chaperone for up to every seven (7) female youth in the group. There is no restriction on the number of Chaperones that may register with a group. All Chaperones and other adults in a group must complete the Registration process. If a Group needs assistance in finding Chaperones for the number of Youth they’re bringing, Higher Things can provide a list of Group Leaders from their area who may be contacted to ask if they would be willing to help out. Please contact the Conference Registrar (registrar@higherthings.org) for this assistance. All adults/chaperones registered to attend a Higher Things conference must also pass a national criminal and sexual predator background check by May 1, 2020. All Higher Things staff, volunteers, and leadership complete child safety training and annual background checks. See the Registration Policies for more information about background checks.

Conference Capacities

The 2020 conference in Colorado has a capacity of 1000. The conferences in Missouri, Tennessee, and in Michigan all have capacities of 900.

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The Battle Is Already Won Rev. John Dreyer

When

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you get up in the morning, you probably have a regular routine as you get ready for school or some other activity of the day. As you set out about your routine, how do you see your day? What’s on your mind? Perhaps there are exciting things that you’re looking forward to or perhaps you’re dealing with a particular struggle or crisis in your life that’s been plaguing you. In many ways our circumstances in life affect our attitudes, and sometimes we find ourselves just not knowing what direction to go in life.

The stuff of this life tends to greatly influence how we view the world around us and may seem more real than the greater life God has given us in Christ as His baptized children. Let’s be honest, life is not always easy and sometimes we have no choice but to confront some tough situations in our day.

Our culture, how we were raised, our experiences, and our encounters in life tend to play a big role in how we see the world. How we see things is key to the biblical understanding of our daily Christian life. This is called a Christian worldview.

Worldview is the lens through which we see

life. Our Christian worldview not only teaches us how to see our circumstances but also gives them meaning, especially during certain times of struggle or suffering—even when the stuff of life is more than we can bear.

In our Western culture, because we value independence, we try to “solve” our problems and have a hard time dealing with ongoing struggle or suffering.

The psalmists had a particular worldview of life that is found throughout the rest of the Bible. In Psalm 77, Asaph cries out to God, his hands stretched out in prayer. Asaph does not find comfort in his situation.

In fact, He feels abandoned by God. But then, boom! in verse 10 he switches to a very positive note. He says he will appeal to the right hand of God, he will remember the works of the Lord and His mighty acts of redemption. But how does this help Asaph’s problem?

Just knowing these facts about God doesn’t seem like it would be enough to remedy his situation.

Ah, but it is. In the worldview of the psalmist, the meaning of life and our perspective is not known through our struggles or sin. Rather it is understood only from God who is the author, giver and sustainer of our life, from whom all good things come (even when we think they are bad things). As Christians, we are allowed to see these struggles and even our sin through the lens of Christ, knowing who we are before the gracious God of redemption. This is how suffering and struggles can strengthen our faith and trust in God. When the devil tempted Adam and Eve, he went after the very umbilical cord of their life. He didn’t just pick this sin or that sin. He wanted to turn Adam and Eve away from God and His promise.

The devil said to Eve, “You can be like God.” Sin is a faith and relationship problem in the Bible.

It is when we do not

fear, love and trust in God above all things. When we sin we are saying, “I am my own god. I am the one who gives meaning to life. I am the one in authority. God is insufficient or God has failed me.” And this is ultimately what leads us to follow other worldviews, rather than to look through the lens of Christ.

If you have been to my breakout sessions at Higher Things summer conferences, you might have heard me say that when you learn to do an exorcism, you learn what it means to be a Christian. Sometimes we only view exorcisms as combating the devil, appearing as an unending battle like in Ephesians 6, which talks about the armor of God. Indeed, it references an ongoing battle depicting spiritual warfare. But in the Gospels, exorcisms address more of our spiritual wellbeing rather than simply a battle scene.

Let’s consider the movie version of an exorcism. You go into the room. The possessed person is lying on the bed. Is there spiritual warfare going on in that room?

The answer is clearly yes. But we know as baptized Christians, that the battle has already been won. The exorcist does not go into room as if it were a battle scene but enters in as a victor, declaring the battle won in the Gospel. In the same way It is like a pastor walking up into the pulpit with all confidence in order to preach the Law and declare the Gospel, the victory won. Your pastor is also armed with the Sacraments for the forgiveness of your sins—a tangible reminder of that victory. We don’t have to be present at an exorcism to understand that the devil’s main goal to turn us away from a “fear, love and trust in God above all things” and toward despair in our sins and struggles. The devil would wish you to look through a different lens than that of Christ.

As baptized Christians our identity and life is founded in Christ’s victorious death upon the Cross for the forgiveness of our sins. Will you still struggle in this life, see your repeated sins, and be faced with your failures? Indeed you will, but you need only remember that you are a baptized child of God. All of heaven is behind you.

Rev. John Dreyer is the senior admission counselor at Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana. He also is a regular breakout speaker at Higher Things conferences.

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ALL IN for a Culture of Life

By Kaitlin Sheridan

I didn’t want to be there. The weather felt like a box of flavorless

popsicles and the day itself hung black. It was my husband’s only day off to spend with us and my son was eight months old so, no, I was not ready for trying to find five layers of clothing for my child and shuffling through mud puddles.

Once our feet hit the pavement, however, and happy cheers were ringing through the streets of Fort Wayne, Indiana, my mood dramatically changed. It changed because I quit wrestling with my negative thoughts and marched into what really mattered: life for all.

We were at the Allen County March for Life. In the 47th year of remembering the Roe v. Wade decision of legalizing abortion access which has led to the murder of millions of innocent children, I knew why I was there with my husband and my infant child. I was there because life matters, and we needed to be a witness to that truth.

This truth was never more evident than in the Incarnation, where Christ became man in the womb of Mary. Christ Himself took on human flesh. Christ became human for us as a baby in the womb. There, in Mary’s womb, was where He made, all life has value—even that of a tiny three-week-old baby. Because Jesus Himself was once an unborn baby, then all unborn have been given significance.

Satan could not fathom such a union with God—one where we are joined in flesh with the God-man Christ Jesus. He was green with envy. His work now is what it always was: to strip us from this union with Christ, so he starts with the body. He attacks the very thing that Christ claimed was His in the Incarnation.

Satan’s first picture painted of such evil was in the Garden of Eden, where he tempted Eve to take a bite of forbidden fruit. Satan first tempted Eve’s eyes. That fruit now looked beautiful. He tempted her hearing. The screeching-ofbad-decisions fruit now sounded like a mouth-watering crunch. Everything about that fruit now seemed good to all of the senses. She consumed it; then it consumed her.

The seed of sin began to grow throughout mankind.

Now, on the 47th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, we have more rotten fruit: abortion, Planned Parenthood, a women’s choice. It leads to the same outcome for those who bite of it: death. These are the things that make up the devil’s playbook. He begins by attacking the mind. He slyly words advertisements as “good healthcare,”“safe option,” “therapeutic,”“best for you right now,” and bullies women into thinking that they have no other option than to murder their child. The fruit is shinier—more acceptable—than ever because it’s presented by a doctor, a spouse, a best friend, a trusted coworker, or someone else you respect and believe would care for you. Satan guides you to a doctor who will prescribe you pills that will end a baby’s life (which include even the mildest forms of birth control pills, friends). Satan

will walk you into your abortion appointment. He will hold your hand even as you think you’re doing the right thing, but He won’t tell you that you’re doing the wrong thing. He will pat your back and tell you that you’re doing what’s best for you. He will not call you a murderer.

Repent. Turn away from this fruit of death. Keep steadfast in God’s Word to know right and wrong.

Remember who you are. You are not a slave to sin “having been set free from sin, [you] have become slaves of righteousness” (Romans 6:18). Do not be afraid to confess the truth in this dark world. Make the sign of the cross upon your foreheads and upon your hearts for you have been baptized for this moment here and now. As St. Cyril of Jerusalem noted, “[F]or when they see the Cross they are reminded of the Crucified; they are afraid of Him, who bruised the heads of the dragon.” Be the baptized. May the Cross that marks you and claims you remind the devil of the One who was made flesh for you. May that Cross make him tremble and flee.

And may that Cross remind him that you are joined with Christ Jesus. You are not joined to evil ways even in this evil world.

Christ claims you. May your confession of truth be with you as you proclaim, “For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2) because the crucified Christ is the One who makes all lives valuable. He makes the old lady in the nursing home who can’t remember her name valuable. He makes the life of the single man on Valentine’s Day valuable. He makes the homeless woman’s life valuable. He makes the life of girl who did not make the play she auditioned for valuable. And, yes, He makes even the tiny baby in his mother’s womb valuable. How did He do this? He claimed us. We no longer need to succumb to the bloody hands of abortionists, but we can submit to the Holy Waters that cover us in our Baptism.

And when I think on that, I realize I had no business NOT being at the March for Life—cold, rainy, dreary day, ittty bitty baby and all—because our Lord really does know what’s good for us, better than we do ourselves.

It was a blessing to be with others who knew that life is precious for all people.

Kaitlin Sheridan is a wife, mom, and deaconess intern who lives in Indiana with her family.

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Liturgical Catechesis

The Catechism as W rldview

By Rev. William M. Cwirla

T

his issue of Higher Things Magazine is devoted to the concept of “worldview.” What exactly is a “worldview?” You’ll find a variety of definitions. I define it this way: A worldview is the sum of our knowledge, experiences, beliefs, and ideas that shape the way we understand the world. In other words, a worldview is a kind of lens through which we see and interpret the world around us.

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Many things shape our worldview: parents, teachers, pastors, books, movies, television, the internet. All of these play a part in shaping the lens through which we look at the world and attempt to answer, “What does this mean?”

Think about all the factors that have shaped your view of the world so far. You live in a western, industrialized, first-world country.

Your family has a certain ethnic and cultural history. You’re attending school or perhaps you’re being homeschooled. You live in the 21st century, a much different century than Luther’s 16th century or the time of the Bible.

You are scientific, whether you like science and are good at it or not. You know about galaxies

and solar systems, and you’re acquainted with bacteria, viruses, atoms, and molecules. You have vast amounts of information available at your fingertips on the internet. You can travel anywhere in the world in a matter of hours. You can instantly communicate with people on the other side of the world.

As a Christian, you are baptized into the death and life of Jesus. You are a child of God

by God’s own declaration. You worship in the Triune Name. You know psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. You know the Scriptures and the confessions of the Church, particularly the creeds and the Small Catechism, which we Lutherans say is a simple summary of the

Christian faith. These also shape your worldview and will give you a slightly different perspective on things than those youth who don’t have them.

The Catechism shapes the way we view ourselves. The Ten Commandments teach us not only that we sin but that we are sinners— corrupted to the core of our humanity. The Commandments orient our lives both vertically and horizontally, before God and before one another. Whereas the unbelieving world sees things only in terms of the horizontal—justice, peace, equality, charity, love—we are taught to see things vertically, too. “We should fear, love, and trust in God above all things.”

Not only do we see our sin, but we also see the limitless opportunities of love presented in day-today life: helping our neighbor in his or her need, upholding the sanctity of human life, honoring marriage as a gift of our being made male and female, protecting property and reputation, living contentedly. The Commandments rescue us from the endless pursuit of self-improvement in favor of giving ourselves in service to others even as we live before God in faith.

The Catechism shapes our view of God as our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier. God is our Creator and we are His creatures. The first article of the Creed reminds us that the entire created order, even down to those pesky bacteria and viruses, are good. God makes only good. Evil is the corruption of good; it is completely uncreative. We are rescued from a “dualistic” worldview that sees some things as “good” and other things as “evil.” All created things are good gifts from our Father in heaven who knows how to give good gifts to His children.

God is our Redeemer in the eternal Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. God became Man in Christ, a fact that shatters conventional worldviews. The Infinite took up residence in the finite; the fullness of God dwells bodily among us in Christ. Salvation is not a matter of escaping the body through some spiritual ecstasy but instead happens in the body as we are embodied in Christ and His Body, the Church. That Christ became human allows us to rejoice in our humanity as He makes us into a new humanity in His death and resurrection.

God is our Sanctifier who makes us holy. The world thinks that holiness is something we do by

our external discipline, but the Catechism teaches us that holiness happens on the inside, at the core of our being where the Spirit calls us by the Gospel, enlightens us with His gifts, sanctifies and keeps us with Jesus Christ and with the whole Church in the one true faith. In a world that boasts of being enlightened and awakened, the Catechism reminds us that it is the Spirit who enlightens our darkness and awakens us from death to life.

The Catechism shapes our conversation with God in prayer. Prayer is intimate speech, family small-talk—a little child coming to his or her dear Father in heaven. We pray as God’s children, in solidarity with our brother, Jesus, in the unity of the Spirit who intercedes for us with unutterable sighs. Prayer is not about getting the words right or cultivating some spiritual discipline, but talking to God on the most intimate terms. The Lord’s Prayer shapes our entire world view of the spiritual life in terms of God’s Name, kingdom and will, our daily provision and care, forgiveness, spiritual protection, and final deliverance. Is there any human need that is not somehow covered in the Lord’s Prayer?

The Catechism shapes our view of how God deals with us. God always works through creaturely means—hidden in, with, and under the created order. We are creatures, and God deals with us as creatures. He births us from above in baptismal water. He absolves our sins with words expressed in our language. He gives us the Body and Blood of our Savior in the form of a meal of bread and wine.

We don’t try to escape the material world to find God; God finds us right in the midst of the material world in the most humble of means: water, words, bread, and wine.

Perhaps you never thought of it this way before, but the Small Catechism is not simply a summary of the Christian faith, it’s a lens through which you might rightly view the world as God sees it. Look at the world through the Small Catechism, and you will see how the world looks with Christ at the center.

Rev. William M. Cwirla is the pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, as well as a president emeritus of Higher Things.

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“TheAMorality of Consent” HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Introduction This article helps to show us the massive gulf between Biblical truth and the world’s fickle morality. In this study, we will examine the account of Joseph and Potiphar’s wife, as well as taking a look at the Sixth Commandment. This will help us see God’s gift of marriage, God’s love in the midst of suffering, and God’s truth versus the world’s lies.

Opening Begin by reciting the Ten Commandments.

1. What conflicts exist between the worldview of the world and the worldview given in the Scriptures?

Answers will vary. Creation/evolution, views on abortion, views on marriage, and even the concept of absolute truth are all examples that should yield fruitful discussion.

2. What is the Sixth Commandment? What does it mean? Which gift of God does this introduce to us?

The Sixth Commandment is: You shall not commit adultery. This means that we should fear and love God so that we lead a sexually pure and decent life in what we say and do, and husband and wife love and honor each other. This introduces us to God’s gift of marriage. All of society benefits from marriage through the procreation of children and faithfulness between husband and wife.

3. Thinking of marriage as a gift, how do we treat that gift when we break the Sixth Commandment?

When we break this commandment, we reject the gift of marriage, forsaking it for a cheap imitation.

When we break the Sixth Commandment, we are like spoiled children who complain about good gifts from their parents.

4. Does the world see marriage as a gift of God? Who does the world see as an authority over marriage?

The world doesn’t see marriage as a gift of God, in fact, God doesn’t get any say in what marriage is. The world vests authority over marriage in the self. “I can love who I want to,” or “As long as a relationship is among consenting adults, it is okay,” are examples. This leads to all sorts of perversions of God’s gift, from divorce to same-sex marriage to polygamous relationships and beyond.

5. As we approach our text in Genesis 39, we remember that Joseph is a son of Jacob. His father loved him more than his brothers and showed this favor by giving him a colorful coat. Joseph had (and shared) dreams where his entire family bowed down to him. Joseph’s brothers were so jealous that they threw him down a pit and sold him into slavery. How might Joseph have been tempted to feel as a result of this mistreatment?

He may have been tempted to be frustrated or angry, even angry at God! The way that he was treated is certainly unfair. From the text, it appears that the Lord preserved Joseph from despair or feeling sorry for himself.

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

6. Read Genesis 39:1-6. What did God do in the midst of Joseph’s suffering?

God has worked it for good, allowing Joseph to experience success and prosperity in Egypt. It is worth noting that God “working all things together for good” is not always as immediate or obvious as it is in the story of Joseph.

7. Read Genesis 39:7. Potiphar’s wife propositions Joseph, attempting to seduce him. If Joseph’s only standard for relationships had been based on “consent” what would he feel he should he do?

If consent was the basis, then Joseph would have felt like doing whatever makes him happy as long as it didn’t “hurt anyone.”

8. Read Genesis 39:8-10. Joseph makes it clear that he has a different standard, a different worldview.

On what basis does he make his moral decisions?

His standard is the will of God. He doesn’t live by the fickle law of “consent” but refuses to commit sin and wickedness before the Lord. More than that, he desires to uphold God’s gift of marriage, given to Potiphar and his wife. This is true love for his neighbor.

9. What benefits does God’s gift of marriage bring?

God’s gift of marriage brings children, companionship, and love. It also provides a restraint against sin, binding one man to one woman and helping to curtail temptation.

This story of Joseph provides a wonderful, faithful, example of keeping the Sixth Commandment. For him, the relationship with Potiphar’s wife was about far more than “two consenting adults” but rather two human beings living in the realm of God the creator. Joseph acted based on the will of God rather than the whims of his flesh or the lies of the world. He defended God’s gift of marriage and refused to accept the quick, fleshly, substitute that presented itself. And as Joseph’s story continues in Genesis, we will find that remaining true to God’s will lead to further suffering, but God again brings good out of the midst of it (Genesis 50:20).

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“TheAMorality of Consent” HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Opening Begin by reciting the Ten Commandments.

1. What conflicts exist between the worldview of the world and the worldview given in the Scriptures?

2. What is the Sixth Commandment? What does it mean? Which gift of God does this introduce to us?

3. Thinking of marriage as a gift, how do we treat that gift when we break the Sixth Commandment?

4. Does the world see marriage as a gift of God? Who does the world see as an authority over marriage?

5. As we approach our text in Genesis 39, we remember that Joseph is a son of Jacob. His father loved him more than his brothers and showed this favor by giving him a colorful coat. Joseph had (and shared) dreams where his entire family bowed down to him. Joseph’s brothers were so jealous that they threw him down a pit and sold him into slavery. How might Joseph have been tempted to feel as a result of this mistreatment?

6. Read Genesis 39:1-6. What did God do in the midst of Joseph’s suffering?

7. Read Genesis 39:7. Potiphar’s wife propositions Joseph, attempting to seduce him. If Joseph’s only standard for relationships had been based on “consent” what would he feel he should he do?

8. Read Genesis 39:8-10. Joseph makes it clear that he has a different standard, a different worldview.

On what basis does he make his moral decisions?

9. What benefits does God’s gift of marriage bring?

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“The (a)Typical Family” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Introduction Pastor Goodman’s article talks about the broken world that we encounter in this vale of tears. The sinful world isn’t abstract or distant. It impacts us in real, personal ways, even in our own homes and families. This study on Romans 8:18-25 will give us a chance to experience the sinful world in the words of the apostle Paul, and to hear the Good News that breaks through the darkness.

Opening Begin by praying the Lord’s Prayer together.

1. Read Romans 8:18. What sufferings did Paul experience in his life as a Christian? What sufferings do we experience today?

Paul was beaten, imprisoned, hated, and mocked. Attempts were even made on his life! It is clear that becoming a Christian did not make life any easier for Paul. We have many experiences of suffering today.

Sometimes we suffer for being faithful. Other times our sufferings are results of the fallen world (illness, death, etc.)

2. Read Romans 8:19-21. Paul says that creation has been subjected to futility (uselessness or pointlessness). What examples of futility do you see in the world around you? In your life?

Answers will vary. The world is full of futility. When you get a new phone, it is obsolete within a few months. When you try to break a bad habit, the struggle often seems pointless. Even our struggle against sin can sometimes seem futile. This doesn’t give us an excuse to not engage in the fight, but it seems to be the frustration of Paul in Romans 7.

3. How can our struggle for perfection in society emphasize the futility of living in the sinful world?

Answers will vary. To use an example from the article, when having a perfect family is our source of identity, security, and meaning, it can lead to despair when imperfection takes hold.

4. Read Romans 8:22. Why is creation groaning? Why do you think Paul used the metaphor of a woman in childbirth?

Creation is groaning because it can’t wait for the futility to end! Death, famine, natural disasters, etc.

Creation itself bears the burden of our sin! The childbirth metaphor helps emphasize the urgency and the earnestness of creation’s desire for redemption. It also is a reminder that this fallenness won’t be with us forever.

5. Read Romans 8:23. What is the good news in this passage? When will it take place?

The good news is that our futile, sinful bodies are going to be redeemed. When Christ comes again to raise the dead, our bodies will become like His perfect, resurrected body. We will live forever, never to die again. This will happen on the Last Day when Christ returns to judge the living and the dead.

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

6. Read Romans 8:24. What sorts of things are you hoping for in your life (think outside theology for a moment)? What difficulties exist when you can’t see what you hope for? What does this require of us when we think about the hope of eternal life?

Answers will vary. Encourage the students to entertain even mundane-seeming hopes such as a sports championship for their favorite team. When you can’t see what you are hoping for, it is easy for doubt to seep in. It requires faith. Thankfully, faith in Christ is a gift of God given by the Holy Spirit. Faith clings to this hope.

7. Read Romans 8:25. We are encountered by one more difficult word at the end our study, patience.

What are we waiting for as Christians? Why is patience hard to develop?

We are waiting for Jesus to come again, raise the dead, and restore creation. Patience is hard because we are constantly under attack! While we wait the devil assaults us. Our flesh wars against us. The world mocks us. To use Paul’s words, while we wait, we do so in a creation that is in bondage and captured by futility.

8. What will Jesus do when He returns? What will become of futility when He returns? Read Isaiah 25:6-8.

Jesus will put right everything that sin has made wrong. He will raise the dead and restore creation. The marks of sin that exist in our families, our schools, and our lives will be repaired. We live in a world of sin.

This results in imperfect people, imperfect families, and imperfect lives. But Jesus does His best work in the midst of imperfection. He comes to forgive, free, and restore. When He comes again on the Last Day, we will see the completion of this restoration as He redeems all that is wrong with the sinful world.

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“The (a)Typical Family” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Opening Begin by praying the Lord’s Prayer together.

1. Read Romans 8:18. What sufferings did Paul experience in his life as a Christian? What sufferings do we experience today?

2. Read Romans 8:19-21. Paul says that creation has been subjected to futility (uselessness or pointlessness). What examples of futility do you see in the world around you? In your life?

3. How can our struggle for perfection in society emphasize the futility of living in the sinful world?

4. Read Romans 8:22. Why is creation groaning? Why do you think Paul used the metaphor of a woman in childbirth?

5. Read Romans 8:23. What is the good news in this passage? When will it take place?

6. Read Romans 8:24. What sorts of things are you hoping for in your life (think outside theology for a moment)? What difficulties exist when you can’t see what you hope for? What does this require of us when we think about the hope of eternal life?

7. Read Romans 8:25. We are encountered by one more difficult word at the end our study, patience.

What are we waiting for as Christians? Why is patience hard to develop?

8. What will Jesus do when He returns? What will become of futility when He returns? Read Isaiah 25:6-8.

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“Approaching Feminism with the Mind of Christ” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Introduction God loves ALL 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 wonderful 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.

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

1. 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.

2. 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!

3. 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 refers 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! © 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

4. 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.

5. 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.

6. Deaconess Corrow points out that Jesus interacted with women as if they were human beings. Read John 4:1-27. What does she mean by this?

Jesus speaks with compassion and tells the Samaritan woman exactly what she was aching to hear—that He was living water which would satisfy her so she would never thirst again. In v. 27 we see that the disciples were shocked that he was talking to a woman. We see this pattern of interaction with women in Jesus’ dealings with his Bethany friends, Mary and Martha, Mary Magdalene, and the Syrophoenician woman, to name just a few. But more than that, He Himself was the Good News for these women, He died and rose for them. Whenever we hear mixed messages from our culture as to how women are to be treated, we can look to Christ to be the norm for how we act toward all people, not just women.

Closing Close by praying the Lord’s Prayer together.

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“Approaching Feminism with the Mind of Christ” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Opening Begin by reading/singing several stanzas of “For All the Faithful Women,” LSB 855.

1. 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?

2. 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?

3. 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?

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

5. 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?

6. Deaconess Corrow points out that Jesus interacted with women as if they were human beings. Read John 4:1-27. What does she mean by this?

Closing Close by praying the Lord’s Prayer together. © 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“All InAfor a Culture of Life” HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Opening Prayer/Introduction Open by reciting the Apostles’ Creed, paying special attention to the Second Article.

1. Read Jeremiah 1:5. Although this passage was spoken in its original context to the prophet Jeremiah, how does it apply the care and compassion God provides in sustaining all human life?

Just as God cared for Jeremiah and formed him in the womb so, too, He knows all people who are born from the moment of conception, and if we take the Psalms seriously, even before then (Psalm 139:16).

Although these words specifically apply to Jeremiah’s in utero ordination to be a prophet, all Christians can rejoice in the fact that they, too, have been consecrated in a second birth, known as Holy Baptism (John 3). And when it comes to God’s care of life, He is greatly concerned and cares for all life, especially the unborn and defenseless among us.

2. The article’s author points us to the Incarnation of Christ as a way of magnifying the preciousness of life. Read Luke 1:22-44. What was made Jesus conception unusual?

Although we’re all familiar with the Christmas story, we know that Jesus did not have an earthly father but was conceived by the Holy Spirit. The angel, Gabriel, was very clear that this was something very special and Mary herself was amazed and trusted God in spite of being initially perplexed. We read here that Mary also visited her cousin, Elizabeth, at which point John, in her womb, leapt for joy as he recognized his Savior. This passage reminds us of the reality that the God of the universe willingly took on flesh, and that His life in the flesh was precious at conception.

3. Using your Small Catechism, which commandment is chiefly concerned with protecting God’s gift of life?

In the explanation to the Fifth Commandment we hear: “We should fear and love God so that we do not hurt or harm our neighbor in his body but help and support him in every physical need. Abortion – not to mention many other pro-life concerns – harms and hurts our unborn neighbors in the worst way, by ending their life. Scientifically speaking, the unborn are human from conception. This is a biological – in addition to being a theological – fact of importance for our pro-life involvement. As Christians we should have the utmost concern for God’s gift of life, especially when that life – no matter what age – is being threatened with violence and harm. Here in this commandment God protects His gift of life and calls us to do the same in our daily lives for the sake of our neighbor.

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

4. Why is it good for Lutherans to participate in events such as the National March for Life? Are prolife issues only a concern for Christians?

As implicitly mentioned in the previous answer, pro-life issues are also common to people outside Christianity. This is not merely a Christian issue, but an issue for all people. In fact, there are many good arguments that are applicable for conversations outside of Christian circles where citing Biblical support may not always be well received. Furthermore, it is good for Lutheran Christians to be involved with other Christians in this area where common work can be done without compromising the Gospel. In participating in pro-life groups and rallies, such as the National March for Life, Lutherans are voicing their concern for and publicly acting on behalf of their neighbors.

5. The Lord’s Prayer includes several petitions that would be appropriately applied in pro-life concerns.

What would those petitions be and how do they communicate both Law and Gospel?

Given enough time and explanation, each of the seven petitions could find application in both Law and Gospel for pro-life issues. However, the 5th, 6th, and 7th petitions, in particular, narrow the focus on repentance and forgiveness, protection against temptation, and deliverance from evil. Certainly abortion is a sin – personally for those afflicted by it and nationally for all of us. But we dare not leave the issue in the Law. Yes, abortion kills. But Jesus forgives. He was killed for our offenses and put to death to deliver us from our trespasses. Similarly, many are tempted to go through with abortion, ignore the problems of abortion, or be tempted by guilt over past sins such as abortion. We pray in this petition that our Lord would protect all people from these temptations of the devil and replace his lies with Christ’s word of promise and truth. And finally, we pray that the Lord would deliver us from the evil of abortion, especially people we may know who are struggling with this issue and the weight of misery it has wrought.

6. Where in the Bible do we learn that life is intrinsically valuable to God? Certainly we learned this earlier from the Jeremiah 1:5 passage. Read also Psalm 139 together as a group.

What does this Psalm say about God’s gift of life? Consider many of the other “creation” psalms: 8, 9, 104.

The birth narrative of John in Luke 1 and Jesus in Luke 2 (which we looked at earlier) also are highly informative for the biblical world view of life inside the womb, namely, that from the moment of conception we are human beings. Simply because there is a difference in size, location, environment and development between a human being inside the womb and outside does not mean that the child is less than a human being. No doubt there are numerous other examples in the Scriptures, consider especially the way the OT patriarchs treat their children (contrasted with the surrounding pagan cultures) in light of God’s promise to Abraham.

Closing Prayer Close by singing through the first stanza in “God’s Own Child I Gladly Say It” (LSB 594).

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“All InAfor a Culture of Life” HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Opening Prayer/Introduction Open by reciting the Apostles’ Creed, paying special attention to the Second Article.

1. Read Jeremiah 1:5. Although this passage was spoken in its original context to the prophet Jeremiah, how does it apply the care and compassion God provides in sustaining all human life?

2. The article’s author points us to the Incarnation of Christ as a way of magnifying the preciousness of life. Read Luke 1:22-44. What was made Jesus conception unusual?

3. Using your Small Catechism, which commandment is chiefly concerned with protecting God’s gift of life?

4. Why is it good for Lutherans to participate in events such as the National March for Life? Are prolife issues only a concern for Christians?

5. The Lord’s Prayer includes several petitions that would be appropriately applied in pro-life concerns.

What would those petitions be and how do they communicate both Law and Gospel?

6. Where in the Bible do we learn that life is intrinsically valuable to God?

Closing Prayer Close by singing through the first stanza in “God’s Own Child I Gladly Say It” (LSB 594).

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“Being a Lutheran in Public School” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Leader’s Guide

Opening Prayer/Introduction Begin by confessing the Apostles’ Creed together.

1. How do you feel when you think about being public with your faith? Does it excite you? Scare you?

Answers will vary. Some participants may find it to be an adventure to share their faith in public. Others may find it scary. Our culture has decided that religion, politics, and other topics are not subjects for civilized conversation, which can lead to increased fear when it comes to being public about one’s faith.

2. Have you ever prayed or pulled out your Bible in public like we read in the article? If so, what kinds of reactions did you receive? If not, what reactions would you expect to receive?

Answers may vary. The article was helpful in pointing out several different reactions to the sight of a Bible or prayer book in public.

3. Read 1 Peter 2:4. How was Jesus rejected by men? How are Christians rejected by men?

The Jews rejected the fact that Jesus was the Messiah and God’s Son. In Matthew 16 it is clear that many thought Jesus was spectacular—a prophet, a great man—but it was only Peter, Jesus’ disciple, who trusted that Jesus was “the Christ, the Son of the Living God!” This knowledge was revealed to Peter. He didn’t come up with it on his own. Because of the rejection of this truth about Jesus, He was crucified at the hands of the Jews (crowds, chief priests) and the Gentiles (Pilate, Roman soldiers). Christians throughout history have been rejected by men on account of our association with Jesus. In John 15:18 Jesus tells His disciples, “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.” Feel free to discuss further what this looks like today.

4. Though we are rejected by men, how does God see us? Why? God sees us as His chosen people, precious in His sight. We are made holy and precious by the blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit has called us by the Gospel and made us God’s own in our Baptism.

5. Read 1 Peter 2:6-8. How this this passage describe Jesus in relation to believers? How does it describe Him in relation to unbelievers?

For believers, Jesus is a solid, unmoving, cornerstone. He is the foundation of who we are and what we believe. When we rest upon this cornerstone, we KNOW that we will not be put to shame. For unbelievers, Jesus is a stumbling block. They don’t believe in Him and may find Him perplexing and confusing. NOTE: You may receive questions about Peter’s words “as they were destined to do.” This verse is not attempting to portray a group of people created for damnation. Rather, it explains the inevitable results of unbelief.

If you have more questions or concerns about this passage, please make contact with your pastor. He will be glad to explain further.

6. Read 1 Peter 2:9. What reaction do you have to this verse? This verse is talking about us!

Answers will vary. Joy, excitement, awe, and wonder are all reactions that could come from these verses.

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

7. What darkness did God call us out of?

God called us out of the darkness of sin, death, and unbelief. On our own, apart from Jesus, we are slaves to sin, blind wanderers without knowledge of God, and enemies of God doomed to die. Note the incredible contrast between this darkness and the marvelous light that God has called us into!

8. How does this passage describe what it is like to tell others about the Good News? Should this inspire fear? Joy? Something else?

This passage describes it as “proclaiming the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” This isn’t portrayed as a burden or a terrifying task, but a joy.

9. How might we go about the task of being public in our faith with joy?

This passage inspires confidence in us as we recognize that Jesus is our cornerstone. It inspires awe and joy as we recognize that God has called, washed, and freed us. As we are public about our faith, a focus and emphasis on the Good News will never steer us wrong. The Gospel provides a joy that can never be extinguished. The article provides three good tips 1. Be open minded. 2. Be friendly. 3. Be dedicated. As described by Peter, this faith isn’t something that we can argue or debate someone into believing. Instead, it is joyous Good News to be believed and proclaimed out of love for our neighbor.

Closing Close by singing LSB 813, “Rejoice O Pilgrim Throng.”

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020

“Being a Lutheran in Public School” A HIGHER THINGS® BIBLE STUDY Opening Prayer/Introduction Begin by confessing the Apostles’ Creed together.

1. How do you feel when you think about being public with your faith? Does it excite you? Scare you?

2. Have you ever prayed or pulled out your Bible in public like we read in the article? If so, what kinds of reactions did you receive? If not, what reactions would you expect to receive?

3. Read 1 Peter 2:4. How was Jesus rejected by men? How are Christians rejected by men?

4. Though we are rejected by men, how does God see us? Why?

5. Read 1 Peter 2:6-8. How this this passage describe Jesus in relation to believers? How does it describe Him in relation to unbelievers?

6. Read 1 Peter 2:9. What reaction do you have to this verse? This verse is talking about us!

7. What darkness did God call us out of?

8. How does this passage describe what it is like to tell others about the Good News? Should this inspire fear? Joy? Something else?

9. How might we go about the task of being public in our faith with joy?

Closing Close by singing LSB 813, “Rejoice O Pilgrim Throng.”

© 2020 Higher Things, Inc.

Magazine Bible Studies - Spring 2020