Quote for the Day

"Obey your leaders and submit to their authority. They keep watch over you as men who must give an account. Obey them so that their work will be a joy, not a burden, for that would be of no advantage to you."

-Hebrews 13:17  

Which family ought we focus upon?

"Your family can never be a lasting source of peace."

-Roger James

What would James Dobson tells us to focus upon?  Judging from the Focus on the Family web site, he probably would not point us to Jesus Christ crucified upon the cross.

My pastor's sermon on Sunday (16 minutes) has me thinking about the idolatry of family or 'family values' among American churches.  

Praise God that Jesus is a Savior who divides and offers us true peace!

Pastor Stuckwisch: Catechesis, Confession, and Admittance to the Holy Communion

"...In any case, I am more and more convinced that admittance to the Holy Communion has to be a function of active pastoral care, including the conscientious exercise of church discipline across the board. Such pastoral care ought to mean the communing of those who are baptized and being catechized in the one true faith, whereas church discipline should not require the exclusion of those disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ from His Table."

Read the whole thing.

October 5-7 Youth Retreat in Marshall, Michigan!

One way we are honoring the office of holy ministry is by organizing youth retreats for our congregation under the authority of our pastor. We have been very careful every step of the way to get our pastor's approval for what we're doing and how we do it. Most pastors don't have the time to organize such events. Ask your pastor what you can do to help him. Perhaps one way is simply by helping to organize the youth of your congregation to attend our retreat!

For all the information on this year's retreat, go to our retreat blog.

Roman Catholic Bishop tells us to...

Call God ‘Allah’ to ease relations!

'Allah' is the word for 'God' in Arabic and I assume Arabic-speaking Christians use the word, but the idea of non-Arabic speaking believers in the Triune God using the word seems foolish, as imprudent as supposedly Lutheran pastors participating in the Yankee Stadium affair. The 'allah' of Islam is not the one true God.

Once again, Roman Catholicism seems to join C.S. Lewis is suggesting that Tash is Aslan and Aslan is Tash.

Ministers of the Gospel, please remember what a wiser Roman Catholic, G.K. Chesteron, once told wrote: "Tolerance is the virtue of the man with no convictions!"

Tash, the Inexorable

Issues, Etc. Coming to Detroit

...along with Angus Menuge and Jeff Kloha for an Apologetics Conference at Emmanuel-Dearborn on September 23. Free admission. More information at http://emmanueldearborn.org/. Click on the poster to enlarge it a little.

Sound Bite: Korah's Rebellion Today

Pastor Roger James on attacks against the Office of Holy Ministry 

(4 minutes, 31 seconds)

Pastor Roger James: Bible Class on Acts 11 & OHM

Today, my pastor taught on Acts 11 and discussed what a biblical elder is (verse 30) and explained, among other things, the qualifications of an elder (pastor) and the importance of the Office of Holy Ministry. 

Towards the end of class, I asked him what is at stake today as the Office of Holy Ministry is attacked, as Korah attacked Moses in Numbers 16:3:

You have gone far enough, for all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is in their midst; so why do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?

Here is an mp3 of Pastor James' Bible class, one part of this week's podcast, Law & Gospel at Zion.