October 5, 2017 by Pastor Tim
This month we commemorate the 500th Anniversary of the Protestant Reformation of Western Christianity during the period of transition from the Late Medieval timeframe into the Renaissance timeframe. For Lutherans and Catholics, this commemoration is one marked by sorrow for past sins against one another and by deep gratitude for the spiritual gifts we now offer to one another through Christ our Lord and Savior.
As we are 21st Century reformational Christians, I offer you the following two areas of reformational do’s and don’ts: Continue Reading »
Posted in Devotional, Inter-Faith Relations, Lutheran Church | Tagged 500th Anniversary of Reformation, Annunciation, Apostles, Baptismal Covenant, Body of Christ, Buddhism, Catholic Church, Charitable Service, Children of God, Christ, Christian Church Relations, Christianity, Church, Communion of Saints, God, Grace and Truth, Heavenly Father, Hinduism, Holy Communion, Holy Spirit, Holy Trinity, Image of God, Interfaith Relations, Islam, Jesus, John 1, Lord and Savior, Luke 1, Lutheran Church, Martin Luther, Mary the Mother of our Lord, Mashiach, Messiah, Orthodox Church, Pentecostal Church, Pope Francis, Pope Saint John XXIII, Protestant Church, Protestant Reformation, Reformation 500, Resurrection Hope, Saint Mary, Seeds of the Word, Sikhism, Son of God, Yeshua |
September 1, 2017 by Pastor Tim
We walked into Jerusalem’s Old City at the Jaffa Gate through its ancient high fortified walls. We walked to Greek Catholic Patriarchate Street and turned left onto this street. When we came to St. George Alley, we turned right onto this alley and soon came to a shop in an ancient building along the alleyway that has a sign above it which says the following: “Razzouk Tattoo: Tattoo With Heritage – Since 1300.” Continue Reading »
Posted in Devotional, Inter-Faith Relations, Lutheran Church | Tagged Bethlehem Star Cross, Catholic, Christian Church, Christian Faith, Christian fish, Christian Persecution, Christianity, Coptic, cross of Christ, ecumenical, Ecumenicalism, Ecumenism, First Corinthians 12, High Priestly Prayer, Holy Baptism, Holy Church, Holy Land, Hope, Invisible Mark, Israel, Jaffa Gate, Jerusalem, Jerusalem Cross, Jesus, John 17, Love, Lutheran, Marked with the Cross, Messiah, Old City, One Body, One Church, Orthodox, Pilgrimage, Protestant, Savior and Lord, Tattoo, Tattooing, Tattoos, unity in diversity, Yahweh, Yeshua, YHWH |
May 3, 2017 by Pastor Tim
I love the changing of the seasons of nature, and I love living in a part of the country where all four seasons are fully manifested. In other words, our Fall is very Fall-ish, our Winter is very Winter-ish, our Spring is very Spring-ish, and our Summer is very Summer-ish. Continue Reading »
Posted in Devotional, Lutheran Church | Tagged 1 Peter 1, Alleluia, Atonement, Autumn, Christ, Christ is risen, cross of Christ, crucifixion, Empty Tomb, Everlasting Life, Faith, Fall, Fiddler On The Roof, First Peter, Forgiveness of Sins, Four Seasons, Grace and Truth, Grace of God, Hallelujah, Happiness and Tears, Jesus, Joy, Life and Death, Life of Christ, Light of Christ, Living Hope, Lord and Savior, Love of God, Messiah, Peace, Redeemer, Redemption, Resurrection, Risen Lord, Seasons of Life, Seasons of Nature, Shalom, Son of God, Son-rise, Son-set, Spring, Summer, Summertime, Sunrise, Sunset, Times and Seasons, Winter, Wintertime, Yeshua |
March 31, 2017 by Pastor Tim
As we approach the holiest time of year for Christianity, I am thinking more about the absolute necessity of prayer for our Christian life. Basically, Christians believe that the human soul is literally made by God for connection and relationship with God. In addition, because so much of this world is set against the grace, truth and purposes of God, prayer is even more essential to strengthen and keep us in the faith, hope and love of Jesus Christ our Savior and Lord. So to that end, we hear the Apostle Paul sharing God’s Word about prayer in the biblical Letter to the Ephesians, writing as follows: Continue Reading »
Posted in Devotional, Lutheran Church, Public Sphere | Tagged 1 Peter 4, Apostle Paul, Apostle Peter, Christ the Victor, Christian Faith, Christianity, Confess Sins, Cosmic Powers, Easter Sunday, Ephesians 6, Ephesus, Fighting Battles, First Peter 4, God, Gospel of Christ, Grace of God, Happy Easter, Holy Bible, Holy Week, hospitality, Human Soul, James 5, Jesus Christ, Kindness, Laity and Clergy, Let Us Pray, Lord, Love, Messiah, once and for all, Palm Sunday, Petitions, Pray, Pray in the Spirit, Prayer, Redeemer King, Resurrection, Resurrection of our Lord, Savior, Spiritual Assault, Spiritual Attacks, Spiritual Victory, Spiritual Warfare, Supplications, Word and Sacrament, Word of God, Yeshua |
March 2, 2017 by Pastor Tim
As I write this newsletter article, our nation has just seen a spike in anti-Semitic activity with a wave of bomb threats at Jewish community centers and desecration of Jewish cemeteries throughout the country, including right here in Milwaukee. And this comes after many years of growing anti-Semitism on college campuses throughout the USA as well, both among faculty and students alike. Continue Reading »
Posted in Devotional, Inter-Faith Relations, Lutheran Church, Public Sphere | Tagged All Peoples, Amazing Grace, anti-Semite, anti-Semitic, anti-Semitism, Bigotry, By His Wounds We Are Healed, Christ, Christianity, College Campuses, Desecration, ELCA, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Good News, Gospel, Hatred, Human Dignity, Isaiah 53, Jesus, Jewish Cemeteries, Jewish Community Centers, Jewish People, Jews and Christians, Judaism, Lord and Savior, Lord's Prayer, Lutheranism, Messiah, Messianic Jews, Redeemer, Resurrection, Salvation, Son of God, Temple, Universal Healer, Wondrous Love, Yeshua |
February 2, 2017 by Pastor Tim
Saint Valentine is a Christian saint of the Third Century AD who is widely celebrated on February 14th and commonly associated with romantic love. Although not much of St. Valentine’s life is reliably known, it is highly agreed that St. Valentine was martyred and then buried on the Via Flaminia to the north of Rome in or around the year 273 AD. Continue Reading »
Posted in Devotional, Inter-Faith Relations, Lutheran Church | Tagged 1 John 3, 1 John 4, Agape, Almighty God, Birds and Bees, Christian Faith, Christian Marriage, Christian Martyr, Christian Persecution, Christianity, Church Universal, Emperor Claudius Gothicus, Emperor Claudius II, Engaged Couples, Eros, Evangelism, February 14, Greek, Happy Marriages, Holy Trinity, Jesus Christ, John 15, Lord and Savior, Love, Ludus, Lutheran Church, My Valentine, New Testament, Pagan Emperor, Philautia, Philia, Pragma, Proselytism, Religious Conversion, Roman gods, Romance, Romantic Love, sacrificial love, Saint Valentine, Son of God, Tough Love, Valentine's Day, Yeshua, Your Valentine |
December 31, 2016 by Pastor Tim
We have five Sundays in January for this Year of our Lord 2017, and after Epiphany (always January 6th) we observe the annual commemoration called Baptism of Our Lord Sunday that falls this year on Sunday January 8th. Although Jesus did not need baptism, because he was and is without sin, he nevertheless received baptism in order to properly fulfill all possible requirements of righteousness and religious faith. And as I contemplate the baptism of Jesus, I am led by the Spirit to contemplate the sacredness of water and our own baptismal covenant in, with and through Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. Continue Reading »
Posted in Devotional, Lutheran Church, Public Sphere, Science & Religion | Tagged 2017, Baptism of Our Lord, Body of Christ, born again, Christ, Christian, Church, Clean Air, Clean Water, Covenant, cross of Christ, crucifixion, Death, Earth, Ecology, Environment, Epiphany, Faith, Global Warming, God, Grace of God, H2O, Happy New Year, Holy Baptism, Holy Spirit, Holy Water, Hope, Humanity, Jesus, Life, Light, Love of God, Lutheran, Matthew 28, Messiah, Nature, New Testament, religious faith, Resurrection, Righteousness, Romans 6, sacrament, Sacred Water, Salvation, Savior and Lord, Sin, Spiritual Life, Titus 3, Water Services, Water Sources, Word of God, Yeshua |
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