For Rural Lutherans During this Drought


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Reflections on the Fall of a Pastor

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Tullian Tchividjian, the well known pastor of Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, has resigned his position.  According to his own statement both he and his wife committed adultery.  This disqualifies him from the pastoral office.  He has willingly acknowledged his affair and peacefully stepped aside. It is a sad day when a pastor must resign his call for any reason, but especially for living an immoral life.  Tchividjian's case gives a great deal of pause for Lutherans in particular since he was highly influenced by Luther's writings and those of contemporary Lutheran scholars such as Robert Kolb.  Tullian, in recent years, has sought to clarify the proper distinction of Law and Gospel in his own preaching as well as to spread that teaching to a wider audience. As Lutherans we have a high view of God's Word in general and of the Gospel in particular.  When a Lutheran pastor falls into temptation does he really need to resign?  Can he not simply be ...
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How to Read a Book (especially one written by someone with different beliefs)

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Lutherans have very distinctive beliefs and firmly held convictions about the radical nature and content of the Gospel.  This is a good thing.  Lutherans who confess the articles of the Christian faith as explained in the Book of Concord have a firm grasp of who Jesus Christ is and exactly what He has done for redeem us from sin, death and hell. This is not something they should give up.  This is a distinctive that must endure for the sake of the whole Church, for the sake of the whole world.The Good News of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed, and no other. However, this great positive can sometimes manifest itself as a negative when Lutherans become overly critical of other Christians (or non-Christians) who write books.  Our knee-jerk reaction is to criticize everything that is wrong with the book, and never to consider what it might have to teach us. The problem with this hyper-critical attitude is that it is a denial of the Gospel.  (More on that ...
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Why the Resurrection is the Only Answer that Matters

There seem to be some people who are confused as to why the resurrection of Jesus can make or break the argument for a young earth.  On the surface this is not obvious. Why do Christians care how many days it took to create the earth?  I don't.  It could have taken God half a second.  I could have taken Him 40 trillion years.  Why do Christians (myself included) put stock in the fact that Genesis 1 states that it took 6 days? Because Jesus Christ says that the Law and the Prophets (Genesis included) point to Him.  He endorses the Old Testament on several occasions, including a quote of Genesis 2 when discussing marriage and divorce. Because Jesus Christ rose from the dead, a clear indication that the claims He made about Himself were true, including His endorsements of the Old Testament.  Jesus rose from the dead showing His followers that He really was the Son of God. If Jesus did not rise from the dead we are, as Paul says, to be pitied above...
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