The Secret Wireless

             “ Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. ”   Jesus has graciously invited us to see God as our Father, and to pray to Him with the confidence of sons.   But what is a son to ask of His almighty, heavenly Father?                 We begin by praying that God’s name would be hallowed, or kept holy.   Luther’s explanation in the Small Catechism says:   “God’s name is kept holy when the Word of God is taught in its truth and purity, and we, as the children of God, also lead holy lives according to it.   Help us to do this, dear Father in heaven!   But anyone who teaches or lives contrary to God’s Word profanes the name of God among us.   Protect us from this, heavenly Father!” That’s interesting isn’t it?   The petition taught by Jesus is about the name of God being kept h...

  Jesus teaches us to pray: "Our Father who art in heaven..."                                 Is God really your Father?   Because we talk and think about Him as if He is all the time.   In fact many non-Christians seem to assume that God is a fatherly figure, even if they do not really go to church or trust Him for salvation.                 I want to make the assertion tonight that God is not your father, at least not in the way you usually think about it.      First, think about the Biblical evidence.   You will search, nearly in vain, for references to God as Father in the Old Testament.   They are there, but they are rather few and far between.   Usually it is God who asserts that He has act...

The Huffington Post actually published a good article.  I know, I know.  Usually the HuffPo is garbage laced with poison, but this really was a helpful article...one religion of all topics! In his article "Why We Know So Little About Moses and Jesus" author Bernard Starr helps to explain why the record of the lives of these two Biblical figures do not include detailed accounts of their upbringing. Ever since the dawn of the age of psychoanalysis we have been trying to understand what makes a person tick by asking where they came from.  The keys to a person's identity lie in the past, in their youth.  That is, at least, what we believe to be true. And so we often want more information about the young life of Moses.  What was it like to grow up as an outsider in Egypt?  Was he ever mistreated?  Was he spoiled?  What was his education like?  We assume that these are important questions. The same goes for Jesus.  We want to know ...

In his most recent Issues Etc Journal Todd Wilken has this to say about our Sunday morning worship services: What if, when that Sunday morning visitor wandered into church, we made it clear to him that this is the Lord's Day and the Lord's house because the Lord Himself-Jesus-is there?  What if everything we said and did while he was visiting our church-every word, gesture, action, song and prayer-clearly confessed this?  What if, instead of reengineering the day to fit his expectations, we taught him to expect nothing less than Jesus, in person, forgiving sins? Wilken's line of questioning is right on the money.  What is missing from Christian worship is not the right style of music or the right kind of decorations.  What is often missing is Jesus.  Many churches fail to preach anything resembling the Gospel, and settle for self-help instructions for better living. Yet even among those churches where Christ is proclaimed regularly and the Lord's Supper...

On January 9 Rupert Murdoch tweeted this: “Maybe most Moslems peaceful, but until they recognize and destroy their growing jihadist cancer they must be held responsible”  To this author JK Rowling responded: “I was born Christian.  If that makes Rupert Murdoch my responsibility, I’ll auto-excommunicate.” Whatever you think of Rupert Murdoch, and whatever you think of JK Rowling, this does make an interesting exchange.  My concern, however, is not with Murdoch’s view of Muslims, nor Rowling’s.  I am far more interested in her statement about Christianity. Now, I am not an expert on Rupert Murdoch and I will not comment on his faith, but I will take JK Rowling at her word and assume that she is indeed a Christian.  And that makes her tweet problematic. First, Christians are not born, they are made.  Most Christians hold to the doctrine of Original Sin which confesses that human beings are conceived in a state of unrighteousness.  You...

  Epiphany is your reason to celebrate the life of Jesus.   Without it there is still good reason for any descendents of Abraham to rejoice, but for anyone else, no dice.                 Christmas is really for the Jews, not for Gentiles, as most of us are.   We see this repeatedly in the Gospel readings following Christmas.   There are the Jewish shepherds on Christmas night, the people of Bethlehem, Simeon and Anna in the Temple.   What do all these have in common?   They all have the same ancestors, the same pedigree.   They were on the inside track for salvation.   They were Jews.                 But tonight is different.   It is startlingly different.   Epiphany is not for the Jews.   It is for gentiles, and not just any gentiles, but the worst kind that you can t...