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Showing posts from September, 2012

The Greatest

Who is the greatest?   Who is the greatest Christian in the world?   Which one of us in this room is the greatest disciple of Jesus Christ?                 As Lutherans we know the folly of such questions.   We know good and well that Jesus should slap us upside the head for asking things like that.   As Christians we are not to be haughty or prideful.   We are not to clamor or argue over who is the greatest.                    Rather we are to be humble.   We are to think nothing of ourselves, never asserting our spiritual superiority, always letting others, especially Jesus take the spotlight.   We would never ask something as pretentious as, “Which one of us is the greatest?”                  Rather, our question would be, “Which one of us is the humblest?”   Come on Jesus, tell us truthfully, aren’t I more humble than that guy over there?   Isn’t my humility far more impressive than hers?   Lord, I thank you that I am not arrogant or haughty, like so many of those

A Biblical Sinner's Prayer?

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This is partially (or totally) in response to "The Evangelical Jesus Prayer" found here .  The author of this article assures us that the so-called "sinner's prayer" employed by so many churches in our day and age is biblical, and therefore good and useful.  It is seen as biblical, not because it is drawn from the Scriptures verbatim (like the Lord's Prayer), nor because it is drawn from Christian antiquity (like the Apostles' Creed), but because it is a summary of the Gospel. A typical prayer is quoted as: "Lord Jesus, I need You. Thank You for dying on the cross for my sins. I open the door of my life and receive You as my Savior and Lord. Thank You for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. Take control of the throne of my life. Make me the kind of person You want me to be." We are also warned against "theological snobbery and spiritual self-righteousness".  (In other words, don't get too picky about the words of

Man of Steel - Father to son.

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If you are a father, or a son with a father worth half his salt, this has got to hit you.  Forget the special effects.  This voice-over alone was enough to get me excited to see the movie.