A Baby, A Bath, and Dinner - Kristi L.

Kristi writes:

Lots of gifts are given at church.  Yesterday a baby was bathed in the waters of Holy Baptism.  I witnessed the sponsors confess the Lutheran faith into which this child was to be baptized.  I silently confessed my own sins and was given the comfort of the cleansing of my sins as the baby was given that same forgiveness.  The baptized child is now a member of the body of Christ.  I am joined to this child in the Christian faith.  I will pray for this child and encourage the parents as they teach their child the Christian faith.

Later in the service dinner was served.  The crucified and arisen Lord’s Body and Blood were eaten for the forgiveness of my sins.  This precious gift was given to me and my fellow believers at the table.  I shared in the wondrous blessings that are given freely by our loving God.

No need for dessert.  I’m cleansed, fed, and full.

Image by © Royalty-Free/Corbis

Dort Preus posting on Steadfast Lutherans

I'm happy to learn that Dort Preus is posting on Steadfast Lutherans. Her first post can be found here. Also last summer I posted a link to a wonderful paper she wrote here. I think we can all be blessed by her wisdom and experience as a wife and mother.

A little about Mrs. Preus from Steadfast Lutherans:

Associate Editor’s Note:  With this post we introduce Dort Preus as the regular writer for “Steadfast Moms”.  She will be contributing much from her years of experience in raising children in the fear of the Lord.  This post is to be paired up with her husband Pastor Rolf Preus’ posts under “Steadfast Dads”.  

  

We are glad to have their valuable experience to provide good resources to our readers.  A little more about Rev. & Mrs. Preus:

Rolf and Dorothy (Dort) Preus met at Concordia Lutheran Junior College nearly forty years ago, fell in love, got married, and were blessed by God with twelve children and twenty two grandchildren (so far).  Pastor Preus was ordained in 1979 and has been a Lutheran pastor in Minnesota, Wisconsin, and North Dakota.  He received his STM from CTS in Ft. Wayne in 1987.  Dort received her B.A. in elementary education from Concordia, St. Paul in 1975, and learned how to teach from teaching her children at home.  The Preuses presently live in Mayville, North Dakota.  Pastor Preus serves First American Lutheran Church in Mayville, First Evanger Lutheran Church in Fertile, Minnesota and Grace Lutheran Church in Crookston, Minnesota.

Her husband, Rev. Rolf Preus is posting there as well, his post can be found here.

Prayer Request from BethAnn S.

 BethAnn writes:

Please pray the Hansen family...my sister, brother-in-law, and nephews. My sister is trying to heal from a C-section from my new nephew. They are both healthy. However, my older nephew has special needs and having a hard time adjusting to the changes. And to top it all off...Robert had  his annual review at work which was very unprofessional and two months late. And this has caused even more friction between his boss and himself...He is also waiting for a yea or nay for a job interview from another company because he is having a hard time working with people who constantly lie and communicate in an unprofessional manner.

God's love and my smiles,

BethAnn

EVE Getaway

Hello ladies!

Our EVE Getaway is just around the corner (April 22-23) and the registration deadline is THIS Saturday, March 10th. If you have not received an email with the Registration Form you can get one HERE.

See you there!

Aubri

They Will See His Face – Chapters 6, 7, and Conclusion

Kristi writes:

True healing comes to us in the Divine Service.  Here God gives to us His Holy Word and His Holy Sacraments.  In the divine service, we hear of our sin and our salvation.  In the divine service, we see the body and blood of Christ and the cleansing water.  In the divine service, we touch and taste the body and blood of Christ for our forgiveness.  It’s all there in the divine service.  Christ comes to us and heals us.

Chapter 6 focuses on the prayers of the church and the healing of sickness.  Make no mistake – God heals the believer and the nonbeliever.  Our prayers do not change God’s mind as to whether or not to provide healing.  Our prayers are based upon our faith in God, who will do as He deems best.  We sinners like to think that our prayers are what heal people.  Rather, it is God who heals.  That’s why our prayers always include the phrase, “Thy will be done.”

So then why pray for the sick?  As one who has been prayed for, it is comforting to know that others are praying for the Lord’s will to be done in my life.  In prayer, we also acknowledge that true healing will come from God alone.  It is He who enables the medical workers to diagnose correctly.  True healing is not of man’s accord but of God’s design.  And, finally, we pray for the ultimate cure of our sin-sickness: the God-man Christ Jesus.  We are healed of our illness through the cleansing blood of Jesus.

Chapter 7 continues with more healing, this time the healing of our intellect.  In our sinful nature, we claim to know all.  We are in constant conflict with the will of God because we sin.  It is important to remember that man’s intellect is subjective; Jesus Christ is the only absolute Truth.  In the Divine Service we confess our sin of self-idolatry; we are thick with sin and need cleansing.

The Creeds do a beautiful job of reminding us that we are created, redeemed, and sanctified.  We humans can accomplish none of those things on our own; it’s impossible.  God the Father creates us; God the Son redeems us; God the Holy Spirit sanctifies us.

Eyer wraps up the book with a packed conclusion.  He gives us good reason to continue using the liturgy in the Divine Service.  He says: Liturgy conveys the essence and meaning of our worship of God.  Worship is more than personal piety and personal expressions of faith.  It is the experience of God’s acting in our behalf so that we might act in His behalf in this world. [page 117]  The Divine Service is all about what God does for us.

Another awesome quote from Eyer: Liturgy may change over the centuries, but the change is in the matter of detail, not of substance.  [page 116]  These words comfort me.  When people change the substance of the liturgy to fit their “personal style,” then other groups of people are abandoned.  When we stay true to the Word of God within the liturgy, God’s Law and Gospel is clearly presented for all.

I highly recommend Eyer’s book.  The Divine Service is a gift to God’s people from God Himself.  Thanks be to God for His grace and healing presence among us.

They Will See His Face by Richard Eyer – Preface

They Will See His Face by Richard Eyer – Chapters 1 and 2

 
They Will See His Face by Richard Eyer – Chapter 3

They Will See His Face by Richard Eyer – Chapters 4 and 5