Declare and Defend: Quick Reference Handout

The following outline comes from the Declare and Defend seminar series at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Huntington Beach led by Pastor Mark Jasa of University Lutheran Chapel UCLA and Seminarian Mark Pierson. This is the first in a series of handouts from or inspired by this seminar on evangelism and apologetics that will be re-posted here for those who are interested. If you enjoy these resources, let me know. Thanks for reading and for contending for the faith (Jude 3). For audio of this phenomenal series please visit http://www.redeemer-lutheran.net/Media/AllMedia.aspx

• There are only 2 religions in the whole world.
• Free, and Not Free.
• Only Jesus claims to be your Savior, already having done everything necessary to secure your salvation.
• Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius, Moses, Joseph Smith, etc. don't even make the claim.
• All other religions are transactional, with the burden being on you to earn, achieve, ascend, etc.
• Everyone is dealing with one of two issues:
• What do I NEED? (Existential)
  • Death and guilt are universal problems.
  • No one is able rescue oneself from them.
• What is TRUE? (Intellectual)
• Are these reports about what Jesus did and said reliable accounts of history?
• Method must precede the conclusion.
• If Jesus rose from the dead, what would that mean?
• He is God in human flesh; He paid for the sins of the world; He has the power to rescue ME from death, which He promised to do.
  
  • Reverse the question: If Jesus did not rise from the dead, what would that mean?
    • Christianity is falsifiable, because it's based on facts.
• Everyone needs to hear either God's word of Law or Gospel.
  • Are they secure in their sins? Do they fear death or judgment?
  • Are they convicted, and looking for a solution?
• Remember, always steer the conversation (back) towards Christ's death and resurrection so that the Gospel is proclaimed even in the face of objections or obstacles.

Jesus is the Beatitudes and So are You

Note: In commemoration of All Saints' Day, 2010, here is the sermon from last year.

All Saints' Day – Nov. 1, 2009Text: Matthew 5:1-12 (esp. verses 3-6)

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit + Amen.

Navigation is essential to getting from point A to point B…just ask those two NW Airlines pilots. If Christopher Columbus had altered course, he would have discovered South, instead of North America. Even the slightest turn of the navigational dial sends the ship off course and lost at sea.

The same is true when reading the Sermon on the Mount, which begins Matthew 5 with the beatitudes and concludes in Matthew 7. The Beatitudes are probably some of the best known words in Scripture, the most frequently quoted by politicians and pop-stars, and one of the most abused, misused and confused parts of Scripture.
    If we misunderstand the Beatitudes, we'll be taking, as Bugs Bunny said, a left turn at Albuquerque. If we get the Beatitudes wrong, Jesus' Sermon on the Mount turns into one big lengthy list of what we must to be perfect followers of Jesus.
    The beatitudes are more than a "how-to" guide to become a super-Christian. These words of Jesus are something other than a recipe for making saints – 1 cup meekness, 2 cups of mourning and an extra helping of poor in spirit.
That is the way of the Law. And there's no comfort in the Law. When have we really thirsted for righteousness? When have we really purified our heart? Didn't we just confess our failure to live up to God's Law in thought, word and deed? If the Beatitudes are Law, we haven't done any of them right, not even remotely. You see, there's no comfort in the Law.
The Beatitudes are not rewards; they are Christ's blessing for you. They are Jesus' beautiful Words of Gospel, for you. Through these words, Jesus reveals the present condition of our life in Him. This is what life looks like in His Name as His baptized saint, even when life around us doesn't always match up.
Who exactly is Jesus talking about here – himself or us? The answer is yes! Jesus is the beatitudes and so are you. From the cross He blesses us. And by His Word we hear:
Through the Beatitudes Jesus blesses you, His saints, now and forever.
    The first beatitude sets the tone for the rest: "blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" (present tense!). Ours is the kingdom of heaven; despite our best efforts at remaining sinners, Jesus blesses us, His saints.
Poor in spirit…is not a prescription. Neither is "The poor in Spirit" a lesson in economics; no vow of poverty is required. Jesus looks to instill a more profound poverty.
    On his death bed, Luther said "before God we are all beggars, this is true." This is what it means to be poor in spirit: to come before God as beggars, realizing that we don't have anything to contribute to the heavenly reward. We can stake no claim on heaven. Before God we are sinful destitute beggars who deserve no reward. We come before God, like the paralytic lowered through the roof… incapable of doing anything to help ourselves and utterly dependent upon His mercy.
And yet He does not cut down the bruised reed; He does not snuff out the smoldering wick. "Poor in spirit" is exactly where His Word brings us. The moment we have failed, acknowledging our sinful condition we are left utterly dependent upon His mercy – that is exactly the moment where God's word of absolution comes to our rescue. Yours IS the kingdom of heaven. Right now.
The promises of heaven we long for are already ours in the Word, in the water, in the body and blood – in these earthen vessels of divine blessing. Our Lord invites us poor beggarly sinners, to his house, to hear His Word and to eat and dine with Him. In Christ, you are blessed, from the moment the water hit your forehead and the Word came to your ears, the Spirit is bestowing the blessings of the cross upon you. 

Well, that all sounds great we might say, but right now life doesn't look so blessed…the world is full of sorrow. We mourn over the lives lost in war, we mourn with the victims of terrorism and violence; we mourn over a world that continues to reject the Gospel & persecute the Church. We mourn over the struggle of the Church on earth, plagued by false teaching from within and villains of the Gospel from without.
The life of the Church on earth is the life of the cross. God's people live in the shadow of the cross and suffering, indeed we suffer with Him, for the sake of His Son who has suffered all for us. Our crosses are never self imposed, which is why they are the hardest to bear. And so we also mourn over the trials in our own lives…I've lost my job and can't find work to support my family…I have loved ones in the hospital, my relationship with family and friends or spouse is strained or worse. Life sure doesn't look like blessed, we might say.
And on a day like All Saints' Day, we look to the saints in heaven, thinking, "they sure have it made – no more pain or struggles, no more bad economy and hardships, no death or sin. But there really is only one difference between the saints described in Revelation 7 – although it seems obvious - they have passed from death to life through Christ. God's promises to us have not changed. You are clothed in the same baptismal garments as they. You are given the same Word of salvation as they, fed with the same body and blood as they, worship the same Lamb of God as they. Salvation belongs to this Lamb, and He gives it away to sinners and beggars so that He can call us His saints and His dear children.
Blessed are you, His saints, poor in spirit, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. Revelation 7 tells us who we already are in Christ. You are blessed in Christ despite the world and its tribulations.
You are God's Church. Yes, He locates Himself in this place called Redeemer where the Word is taught and His gifts distributed, but you are His people. Your parents or neighbors or friends may have brought you here to church, but they are only God's masks, through which He is working as He does in all of us. You are Christ's body. You are the temple of the Spirit. Not an afterthought, not plan B, - chosen in Christ, by Christ, through His cross to be members in the holy Christian and apostolic church joined with saints on earth and in heaven.
We look through the cross of Christ into heaven, just as John in Revelation, and we see the saints gathered in praise, but we also see ourselves gathered there.
From the Sermon on the Mount to the Mount of Calvary, Jesus fulfills the very words He preaches. In the Crucified One, we find the true meaning of the word blessed.
Blessed is He who became poor in spirit, humbled himself unto death on a cross to bless you; yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed is He who mourned the condition of our sinful lives, through him we are given eternal comfort.
Blessed is the Meek One, through His cross we inherit the earth.
Blessed is He who hungered and thirsted after our righteousness, satisfying the wrath of God and our greatest need.
Blessed is the Merciful One, through Him we receive mercy.
Blessed is He who is pure in heart, in Him we see God, in human flesh.
Blessed is He who brought peace between God and man, that we are called the children of God.
Blessed is He who was persecuted for our sake, clothing us in His righteousness. 

Even in this life through the trials and crosses we bear, we look to the cross.
Lord willing the unemployed find jobs, but maybe not, God doesn't tell us how He will provide His daily bread for us and yet He does. While you are hunting the want ads and going to school or helping around the house you are blessed; yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Lord willing, our loved ones return to health, come home from the hospital in rest and recovery, but what if they don't? Has God's promise disappeared? Even in the midst of death and illness we have One who bore our human frailty, carried our griefs and diseases, and faced death for us. In the midst of death He says to us – you are blessed, yours is the kingdom of heaven.
Lord willing our relationships are sheltered from pain and sorrow, stress and strain or worse. Or maybe not; God doesn't tell us how our needs for relationships are met. We may yet endure heartbreak, fractured homes or divorce. But His relationship with us never fails; His blessing from the cross of Christ is yours. Blessed are you, for yours is the kingdom of heaven. You are the community of the blessed. The community of the Crucified. The communion of saints. Today and every day, we join their endless praise. 

In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit + Amen.

A Tale of Two Men

22^nd Sunday after Pentecost – October 24^th, 2010

Redeemer Lutheran, HB

 

In the Name of Jesus + Amen.

2 men go up to the temple. But only one goes home justified. One has all the religion; he's the spiritual super hero. The one everyone wants to be - helping old Galilean women with their groceries, the picture of perfect piety.

And then there's the tax collector; less like the IRS and more like a creeper drug dealer preying on the innocent; a traitor to everyone he knows; a man who sold his soul, pride and wallet to Caesar just to make a buck at the expense of fellow Jews.

As Jesus everyone expects The Pharisee to be the one Jesus praises, but the shocking part is, the tax collector, the scum of the earth…the sinner – he goes home justified, saved, rescued by God.

The key to understanding Jesus' teaching is to understand why he tells this parable, to understand that Jesus is teaching and preaching against all who would try to justify themselves before God, but cannot because of their sin…as Luke 18 says, "to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteousness and treated others with contempt."

With one little word, Jesus teaches cuts to the heart of Christianity: How are we justified? Justified, this - declared righteous, saved, rescued, forgiven by God - word. So much depends on that little word, justified; it really is the difference between heaven and hell. Justified is how we, who were enemies of God, unholy and unrighteous sinners by nature, can stand before a holy, righteous God without our smithereens being blown to smithereens.

Who goes home justified, the Pharisee basking in the glory of do-it-your-self-religion?

Or, the tax collector who despairs of himself and believes in Him who justified the ungodly (Romans 4:5)? 2 men. 2 prayers. 1 answer: Jesus is on the death road to Jerusalem where everything foretold of Him in the prophets will be accomplished; He will be betrayed, mocked, shamed, spat upon, flogged and killed and on the third day He will rise from the dead – this is how you are justified.

The way you pray says volumes about what you believe. Listen to the two prayers. Count the pronouns.

How do I love me? Let me count the ways. God, I thank you that I am not like these other men: money-grubbing extortioners, unrighteous, sexual immoral or even like this tax collector. I praise you that I am good and holy. I fast twice a week. I give tithes of all I possess. I lift up my eyes to the heavens and I thank you… for me.

This Pharisee appears very righteous. Don't try to be more righteous than Jesus. You simply can't get any more righteous than you are when you are clothed with Christ's righteousness, declared forgiven by His cross, justified by His sacrifice for you.

Aren't you glad you don't have theology like that? Thank God, we're not like those Pharisees.

Lord, be merciful to me a preacher…..a hearer. It's far too easy to hate the Pharisee – a man for whom Christ also died. What really angers us about the Pharisee isn't that he is so different from us – but that we're more like him than we care to admit. That's the painful irony in accusing someone of being, "Holier than thou." You can't make that accusation without being guilty of it, but then of course, we would never say anything like that. In condemning him, we become the Pharisees' Pharisee. It takes one to know one.

Jesus' parable reveals our hypocrisy. Mirror, mirror on the wall, who's the greatest sinner of all? Me. Apart from Christ we're Blind. Paralyzed. Dead. Sin isn't just something you possess, but rather, something that possesses you – like a man who falls off a ladder, breaks his neck and says, "I feel fine" – we don't really know how bad the injury is. We need a proper diagnosis of our condition. For a person's greatest need is one he does not by nature feel, namely the need for the righteousness that comes from God through faith in Jesus Christ. God's Law gives the diagnosis. Jesus humbles those who exalt themselves.

And yet he exalts those we who are humbled. He bears the punishment we - Blind. Paralyzed. Dead. – deserved. Lord, be merciful to me, the sinner. This is the tax-collector's prayer. It also our prayer. I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength - or prayers, or wrestlings, or tithes or righteousness - believe in Jesus Christ my Lord…

Can a blind man restore his own sight? Can a paralytic make himself walk? Can a dead man raise himself out of his grave? No, but Christ can. Christ has. Christ does, for you. To heal the blind the Father closed His eyes while His Son suffered. For paralyzed sinners, Christ walked the bloody road to Jerusalem where his weary legs were nailed to a tree for you to walk in newness of life. To raise the dead in sin Jesus died our death and was laid to rest in our tomb. Lord, have mercy on me, the sinner, the Pharisee, the Tax collector. And he does. His Gospel is the medicine of life. Christ humbles Himself to death so that you might be exalted in His life. He kills and makes alive. In His death you die and dying, you live.

It all seems rather absurd, but infinitely glorious and joyous. This is the blessed irony of Christianity. Those who are free from sin, those who are Baptized and are children of the Heavenly Father – such as you and the believing tax collector – feel your sin. We are free from sin in Christ and yet sin hurts. It causes great shame and vice. We struggle; we do not do the good we want to do.

But those who are in sin – who embrace it and seek to justify themselves – they are satisfied and comfortable. That is how God's Kingdom works; it is full of irony and reversal: God becomes man to save man from the rejection of God. Life became death and Jesus' death gives life. He who knew no sin became sin for us. An execution tool made of dead wood becomes the Tree of Life. The Good Shepherd dies for His sheep. Blood atonement is made for people who can't repay Him. Jesus dies for the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, even for you.

He loves. He gives. Christ goes to the cross to shed His atoning, justifying, innocent declaring, righteous covering, raising from the dead, blood – to sacrifice Himself in mercy for you. In Christ the guilty are set free. Terrible, horrible, no good, very bad sinners are let off the hook.

Christianity is all about receiving. Worship is what you receive. Jesus is what you receive. Baptism – you receive Jesus. His Word – you receive Jesus. The Lord's Supper – you receive Jesus.

Just like those little children in Luke 18; just like these little children here. They are the children you must become. Even here there is irony…for we have as much to say about being a child of God as we did a child of our parents. The disciples rebuke Jesus. We're always trying to justify ourselves. But our good works will not help us stand in righteousness before God – that's about as effective as a baby before its mother, working its own righteousness into a diaper.

It's not about you; it's about Jesus for you. "Let the children come to me and do not hinder them for to such belongs the kingdom of God." Receive the kingdom of heaven like a child. Receive…Receive…Receive God's great reversal: the blind see, the paralyzed walk, the dead rise. The sinner becomes a saint and you are His children of the Heavenly Father – by grace, through faith in Christ. That's Christianity wrapped up into two simple words: FOR YOU. Christ lives perfectly, for you. Christ prays, for you. Christ teaches, for you. Christ goes to Jerusalem, for you. Christ dies, for you. Christ rises, for you. God's Kingdom for you. God's Mercy for you. Jesus, for you. And you go home justified.

In the Name of Jesus + Amen.

The Buried Life

 

WARNING!!!  This post contains extremely violent language that your old sinful nature will find offensive - even down right homicidal - and one quotation that employs a slang term for a female dog (sorry kids).

And now for something completely different.  The Buried Life.  Maybe you've seen it on we-don't-really-play-music, Music Television (MTV).  Now in its second season, the boys of the Buried Life travel around the country in Penelope (their big purple bus) with the slogan: 1 Question. 4 Boys. 100 Things to do before you die.  They've done everything from #18 - telling a joke on late night television to #59 asking out the girl of your dream (part 1 and 2), living up to those famous words from Dead Poet's Society, Carpe Diem; you know, live like you were dying (and no, I am not a country fan).  So, if they show up in your town you know what they'll ask you: "What do you want to do before you die."  This is what the boys have come to call the buried life.

Sure, it's a quasi-profound question dealing with priorities, interests and existential needs.  But that's not really the question that comes to mind when I watch the show.  No, I'm not thinking of the infamous Evangelism Explosion question: "What would happen to you if you died tonight; where would you go?"

The more I thought about the title of the show the more I couldn't help but think about Baptism: The real Buried Life.  So, perhaps a better question to ask is: "Until you are buried, what can you do before you die?"

We all know water gives life.  Over 75% of the earth's surface is covered in water.  The human body requires vast amounts of water to survive and function properly.  In many ways water gives life.  So, got water?  But water also causes death and destruction - Indonesia, Mississippi River, Katrina.  Water is death.  Just ask Pharaoh and Noah's neighbors.  Water destroys and yet water saves - just ask Jonah.  It's true in daily life just as it's true in Scripture.  Check out Luther's Flood Prayer if you still aren't convinced.  Baptism is a burial.  It is the watery grave of your old sinful nature.  For we pray, that through this saving flood all sin in him, which has been inherited from Adam and which he himself has committed since, would be drowned and die.  This is life by drowning.  This is the buried life.  Dying and rising.  And dying, we live.  For it is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me.

"Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.Do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death?  For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection" (Romans 6).

Baptism takes our old sinful nature (the Old Adam, the sinful flesh) which, according to Scripture is fallen (Romans 3:23), unrighteous and unholy before God (Romans 3:11ff) dead (Ephesians 2) and constantly seeking to justify ourselves before God (Luke 18:9-14) and drowns it.  Glub. Glub. Glub. Our old nature must die.  And even though your old Adam tries to be a regular old Michael Phelps, Baptism is always present tense - I am Baptized.  And the gold-medal winning sinner in each of us is drown through daily divine water-boarding: preaching of the Law, working contrition and repentance.  Yes, Baptism is instantaneous and daily death and it is instantaneous and eternal victory for us in Christ.  And every good battle deserves a victory song, for I will sing unto the Lord for He has triumphed gloriously, the horse and his rider He has thrown into the sea (Exodus 15).

Sin, disturb my soul no longer:
I am baptized into Christ!
I have comfort even stronger:
Jesus' cleansing sacrifice.
Should a guilty conscience seize me
Since my Baptism did release me
In a dear forgiving flood,
Sprinkling me with Jesus' blood?

Satan, hear this proclamation:
I am baptized into Christ!
Drop your ugly accusation,
I am not so soon enticed.
Now that to the font I've traveled,
All your might has come unraveled,
And, against your tyranny,
God, my Lord, unites with me!  (LSB 594)

Baptism also gives life.  The early church catechumens descended into the font, into death, but walked out of the font in newness of life, the new creation of Eden, covered in the righteous robe of Christ and anointed, holy.  Out of the waters of Baptism a new man daily comes forth and arises, who lives before God in righteousness and purity forever.  Baptism is your, "Today you will be with Me in paradise."  "For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.  When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory" (Colossians 3:3-4).  This is life as we know it, in Christ.

There is nothing worth comparing
To this lifelong comfort sure!
Open-eyed my grave is staring:
Even there I'll sleep secure.
Though my flesh awaits its raising,
Still my soul continues praising:
I am baptized into Christ;
I'm a child of paradise!  (LSB 594)


What else is there to say but Amen, drown me, Lord Jesus!?  That's something even the misfits of the folksy, Oh Brother, Where Art Thou, can understand as Delmar rejoices in the gifts of Baptism:

(Here it comes, kids cover your ears!)

Pete: Well I'll be a sonofabitch. Delmar's been saved.
Delmar O'Donnell: Well that's it, boys. I've been redeemed. The preacher's done warshed away all my sins and transgressions. It's the straight and narrow from here on out, and heaven everlasting's my reward.
Ulysses Everett McGill: Delmar, what are you talking about? We've got bigger fish to fry.
Delmar O'Donnell: The preacher says all my sins is warshed away, including that Piggly Wiggly I knocked over in Yazoo.
Ulysses Everett McGill: I thought you said you was innocent of those charges?
Delmar O'Donnell: Well I was lyin'. And the preacher says that that sin's been warshed away too. Neither God nor man's got nothin' on me now. C'mon in boys, the water is fine.

Indeed, the water is fine.  Welcome to Paradise where all is well in the Buried Life.  What else could you possibly need before you die?  You are free to live and splash in the waters of the Buried Life.  So, what do you want to do, now that you have died?

The Longer the String...The Lower the Pitch

Seriously, there are 2-5 year old children at Redeemer Lutheran Preschool who say this kind of thing on a regular basis - driving their teachers crazy, mystifying their parents , and teaching their friends on the playground, not to mention putting most adults to shame for saying absurd things such as,  "kids are too young to learn music and old hymns from your grandpa's church."  Redeemer Preschoolers also happen to say things like: "No daddy, this is my number 5 finger;" they  know I am Jesus' Little Lamb by heart and their older siblings, ages 5-8, are learning Built on the Rock for hand-bells (who said we can't teach hymns to children?).  Why?  Well, I'll get back to that in a minute.  It's cliche but true, kids say the darnedest things.  They also say the things we teach them.  We are always teaching our children something; the question is what are we teaching them?  This is just as true at church as it is at home.  For now, let's stick with the former.  For at church, we are always confessing something; the question is, what does our doctrine and practice confess?  Consider the following ways we teach our children:

Example #1:The hymn of the day ends and a saccharine sounding announcement, somewhere along these lines, springs forth, "Hello children; come follow Ms. Had-Too-Much-Coffee-This-Morning to kids' church while your parents listen to the sermon."  This way the parents are fed with the sermon while their children are fed with veggie-tales, Davey and Goliath or some other modern equivalent.  But just for the sake of argument, let's assume that this children's church actually does teach something other than moralism clothed in animation and a few words of Scripture taken entirely out of context.  We have still taught our children - and in this case I would argue - poorly.  And maybe poorly isn't a strong enough word.  Jesus said it would be better to use a millstone if anyone leads His little ones astray.  You see, kids are smarter than we give them credit.  They see right through this charade.  That's why children's church is rarely structured (in style and substance) and almost always a 15-20 minute zoo; to say it's like herding cats is offensive to cats, in particular and herding in general.  But I digress; we have taught them first of all, that the sermon (and by extension the entire Divine Service) really isn't for them at all.  We've taught them nothing about the place of God's Word in the Divine Service - even if they can't understand every word of the sermon - they are still learning.  Instead, we've taught them that the sermon isn't for them; it's for the adults.  We've taught taken them out of the Divine Service instead of drawing them into it.  We've given them a confession to grow out of instead of into as they mature in the faith.  We've trained them up in the way they should go.  Why not leave them in the pews.  If they need to eat some cheerios and color on the children's bulletin (kudos to CPH's recent efforts at this btw) that's fine.  Children learn by doing and being and seeing the activities in their environment, not by being taken out the very Divine Service we want them to remain in their entire life.  We do this in every other aspect of life (crossing the street, riding a bike, walking, talking, the way husband and wife relate, etc. etc. etc.), so why should it be any different at church?  Parents, raise your children up in the way they should go.  When you fold your hands, show them how to fold their hands.  When you make the sign of the cross, show them how and tell them why Christians make the sign of the cross.  When you sing, show them where you are singing in the hymnal.  When you kneel at confession and the Lord's Supper, show them kneel how to with you and so on throughout the service.  But if we take our children out of the service how will they learn and hear?  There's a lot to be said for routine; through the liturgy, the minds and faith of children are being shaped as they are prepared for the future.  This is all part of the parent's vocation in the pew.

Example #2: The so-called, "Youth Service."  I'll try to keep this brief.  The same points made above are applicable here as well.  Part of the logic behind the "youth service" comes from statements like these: "we have to make the liturgy more relevant to attract our youth; we need to involve our youth more in the service so that they'll stick around after they graduate high school; pastor, you just don't understand, when I was in youth we had these great services where the youth did everything and they were just so meaningful, etc."  All of these statements fail the logical smell test.  Not to mention, whenever we exchange the Historic Liturgy (form and content) for relevance, we lose both, not to mention the youth.  Because we've taught them once again that there's something about the regular Sunday Service that isn't for them and somehow doesn't cater to their "needs."  We've also set them apart as a congregation within a congregation, setting them up for future disappointment when the church doesn't catch up with the latest trend.  Rather than diluting the liturgy to a childlike level that renders it obsolete (or involving youth where they have not been given the vocation to serve) the church ought to support efforts that incorporate youth into the life of the church, drawing them into the Divine Service rather than shaping it around them and the culture.  A particular shining light in the Lutheran Church is the Higher Things youth organization, that aims to do the very thing our youth desperately need with their emphasis on the three W's: Worship - Liturgical and faithful, Word -studied an applied to their life with the Scriptures and the Catechism and of course real Fun.  Here's the link http://www.higherthings.org/.  You won't be disappointed.

Example #3: And now for something completely different: a positive example.  Another shining beacon in the church, the soon to be Redeemer Lutheran Music Academy.  Currently it is a private business by one of our members, who we'll call Ms. Dingaling (trust me, that's not a pejorative; it's quite appropriate since she teaches music to our little ones here at RLC).  Ms. Dingaling teaches hand-bells, music theory, rhythm, piano, flute-o-phone, recorder, violin - and any other instrument she can get her hands on - to children ages 2 and up.  Yes, you read that right; 2 year olds are learning music theory, sight reading, counting, finger position and notation.  And she's doing it all using the Lutheran Service Book (and some theory books of course too).  Any given given day, the sounds of children singing, Children of the Heavenly Father and I am Jesus' Little Lamb, fill the make-shift classroom in the fellowship hall.  These children don't know that adults think the hymns they are learning are "too hard" for them.  And frankly, they don't care.  One parent recently complained (jokingly of course) that their little girl would not stop singing these hymns over and over and over.  I simply smiled.  They sing because they are taught.  They sing because they know that Jesus died on the cross for them.  They sing because they have faith.  That's what faith does; it sings...out of the mouth of babes!  Faith cannot help but sing God's praises.  The joy of the Music Academy is the joy of the Gospel and the joy of the Gospel, Christ Crucified for you, is the very heart of the Liturgy, where this Crucified and Risen Christ is present for us and comes to us, not just in His body and blood, but in hymn and chant and high thanksgiving, in water and Word and absolution, from invocation to benediction.  It's remarkable, our hymnal stock is sold out.  They're being sent home preschool families (most of whom are not members and many of whom are not Christian).  Luther was right.  Music really is the handmaiden of the Gospel.  Let's teach our children accordingly.

The Great Pumpkin & Other Silly Arguments against Christianity

Every year when All Hallows Eve comes around I look forward to It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown. Clever wit. Humor and fun-loving characters. Nostalgia. Charlie Brown has it all. But it's not all tricks and treats when it comes to this cartoon classic.

The Great Pumpkin also happens to be a great illustration for evaluating and making truth claims, something all world religions, and even atheists, make on a regular basis. The Great Pumpkin has been used by some as an argument against Christianity. This is what I call a "charact-ature" of Christianity, where a character is used or contrived in order to paint a caricature of Christianity. Here are just a few of these "charact-atures": Antony Flew's parable of the "Gardener," the various manifestations of Grilled Cheesus and the Flying Spaghetti Monster.

Poor Linus; he anxiously waits, hoping to finally see the Great Pumpkin rising out of the pumpkin patch, bearing gifts of candy and toys for all the children. How does Linus approach the truthfulness of the Great Pumpkin? How does he know the Great Pumpkin actually exists? On what basis does Linus determine the truthfulness of his claim that the Great Pumpkin will come to the pumpkin patch he sits in? Listen to his explanation:

"Each year, the Great Pumpkin rises out of the pumpkin patch that he thinks is the most sincere. He's gotta pick this one. He's got to. I don't see how a pumpkin patch can be more sincere than this one. You can look around and there's not a sign of hypocrisy. Nothing but sincerity as far as the eye can see."

Unfortunately for Linus, sincerity of faith does not determine truth, religious or otherwise. One can be very sincere about many things but that does not in and of itself mean that it is true. What is of the utmost importance is the object of one's faith. I may zealously believe that one of the Redeemer's Preschoolers could drive me safely from Huntington Beach to the Grand Canyon. But, my faith would be terribly misplaced. Or, on the other hand, I may have serious doubts that Martin Luther really did write the Ninety-Five Theses and start the Lutheran Reformation. In either case, however, neither my faith nor my doubts change the underlying facts.

Religious truth claims are a dime a dozen. And you can find as many methods for determining the answer to "what is true?" as you can find people making truth claims. Here are a few popular ways of arguing for the truthfulness of a statement:

• Common sense and intuition. Common sense isn't really that common. Not to mention people who believe incompatible things all claim to have common sense on their side. And if intuition were a suitable source of truth, then this article wouldn't need to be written because we would all have the same religious convictions.
• Authority. Be careful. Just because you make a claim to an authoritative source doesn't mean it's true. Many people use this argument to their detriment: "fill-in-the-blank holy book is the Word of God because it says it's the Word of God;" that's circular reasoning. Another example: try citing Wikipedia in your scholarly journal paper. The trustworthiness of the source of authority needs must be evaluated.
• Religious experience. This usually involves some kind of subjective experiential or testimony-drive claim to truth. Experience and sincerity are kissing cousins; they both require no objective means of investigation or evaluation. There's no way to tell if you had a vision of the Holy Spirit or just bad sushi at lunch. Another example: "Go ahead. Try the kool-aid; you'll have a religious experience."

So, how does one evaluate truth? How do you know what you know? The highfalutin word for this is epistemology; and now you can impress all your friends. When it comes down to it, there are three main categories of truth claims: analytic, synthetics and nonsensical/meaningless.

1. Analytic truth claims. These truth claims are true by definition, like a math equation, 2+2=4. Or, "all unmarried men are bachelors." There really isn't any need to test the truth claim. Why? They are by definition true, 100% certainty. Religious claims do not fall into this category of truth claims.
2. Synthetic truth claims. Here, claims are considered to be true of false after the facts have been examined, the evidence weighed and the case deemed probable or improbable. This is how you do simple things like, cross the street and more complex things such in the fields of science, history and law. For example: Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7^th, 1941; The tallest man in the world is 9 foot 11 inches. There is one religious truth claim in this category. Care to guess?
3. Nonsensical/meaningless truth claims. This does not mean, "It has no meaning to me." Rather, it lacks content or substance. These claims to truth are neither true nor false. There is no way of proving or disproving them. For example: all evil and illness are an illusion; Santa Claus (sorry, kids); the Flying Spaghetti Monster, the Great Pumpkin (sorry, Linus), and phrases like: "it's Tuesday so it must be Belgium." This is where atheists want to place all religious truth claims. Are they right? Well, yes and no. Every religion, save one, falls into this category.

And yet there are many Christians who fall prey to this same type of logic. Christians need answer one basic question: what would make you stop believing in your religion? And then, ask people of other religions the same question. How would you answer? "Nothing. I'll have faith no matter what they say." Really? Even if you are well intended, you've just placed Christianity in the one category it doesn't belong, the meaningless, nonsensical category of truth claims. This is where atheists bring up the worn out parable of the Flying Spaghetti Monster. "There's an invisible flying spaghetti monster on the other side of this wall and he really wants you to believe in him or else he's going to throw beef meatballs at you. You see, it's nonsense. Therefore, you shouldn't believe in a god much less be a Christian."

The basic problem with this parable is that it fails to take the Christian truth claim seriously. Christianity is unique. It is a synthetic truth claim (point #2 above) because it hinges on one event that occurred in history, in reality, approximately 2000 years ago. And that means it can be investigated. This is what St. Paul is does in 1 Corinthians 15; the Christian faith stands or falls on the Jesus' death and resurrection from the grave. This is what separates Christianity from the Flying Spaghetti Monster, Grilled Cheesus or the Great Pumpkin, or Islam or Mormon Jesus or Brahman. Christianity centers around the fact that God entered time and space; He became tangible. God took on human flesh in the person of Jesus (John 1). "That which was from the beginning, which we have HEARD, which we have SEEN with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have TOUCHED—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life" – 1 John 1:1. This is the Christian truth claim. Your Christian faith does not rest on meaningless claims, silly cartoons, or even emotional feelings, as good as they can be; it's founded on the fact of Jesus' substitutionary death for you on the cross and His glorious resurrection from the dead. So, have a blessed All Hallows Eve and Reformation Sunday. No tricks or treats here, just the facts, ma'am or sir.

Bilbo's Nunc Dimittis

"Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and awaiting the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him" (Luke 2:25).

Consolation.  Tolkien writes of consolation in his epic work, On Fairy Stories.  "But the “consolation” of fairy-tales has another aspect than the imaginative satisfaction of ancient desires. Far more important is the Consolation of the Happy Ending. Almost I would venture to assert that all complete fairy-stories must have it. At least I would say that Tragedy is the true form of Drama, its highest function; but the opposite is true of Fairy story.  Since we do not appear to possess a word that expresses this opposite—I will call it Eucatastrophe. The eucatastrophic tale is the true form of fairy-tale, and its highest function." (Tolkien, On Fairy Stories).

Failure to understand this work of Tolkien results in failure to understand the majority, if not the corpus, of his life's work.  Recovery, Escape and Consolation.  It is consolation that unites the Song of Simeon - the Nunc Dimittis for all you Latin and/or liturgical experts out there - and Bilbo's Last Song.  Bilbo's Last Song has been called the epilogue to the great Lord of the Rings trilogy.  Perhaps that is a fitting description.  However, Bilbo's song is much more than an epilogue haphazardly tacked on in a posthumously published book.  It summarizes the sum and substance of the hope of middle-earth, namely, the Undying Lands and the journey that leads one there.  Therein lies the correlation between the Song of Simeon and Bilbo's song: hope, consolation.  In this harmony of song, however, one must distinguish tale from history, story from reality, fantasy from non-fiction.  To accomplish such is to read Tolkien's work as he intended.  That is to say, to read the fairy story knowing that it is based in the world of "primary art" (the real world) as he says in Fairy Stories.  And yet, there are not only literary, but theological crossroads between these two songs.  Perhaps Tolkien had the Nunc Dimittis in mind when he wrote this, perhaps not.  Either way, the former helps you understand the latter.  

It had been revealed to Simeon that he would not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ, the Messiah, the Promised One.  And when Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple on the 8th day (no coincidence by the way), Simeon took the Christ child in his arms and sang a song of faith.  A song that we too sing as we hold Christ in our own hands, as He comes to us in His own flesh and blood of the supper.  For Simeon, it is safe to die.  Here is consolation incarnate.  Here is Jesus in the flesh and blood of His own humanity. for you.  Now, we - like Simeon of old - may depart in peace according to His Word as we await the consolation of the Last Day and the hope of the new creation, God's truly Undying Lands.  Which is why we join Simeon in this song of faith.

"Lord now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to Your word; for my own eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Your people Israel" (Luke 2:29-32).

In Bilbo's song, he sings a sorrowful farewell to middle-earth and yet a joyful anticipation of reaching the shores of the West.  This is where the elves are headed in LOTR and in the Return of the King this is where the book draws to an end, as Bilbo boards the ship.  Bilbo is departing in peace; his eyes will soon see the salvation of the Undying Lands.  There is nothing left for him but to die in peace and yet he dies to live for the road goes ever on.  Here is Bilbo's Last Song:

Day is ended,
dim my eyes,
but journey long
before me lies.
Farewell, friends!
I hear the call.
The ship beside
the stony wall.
Foam is white
and waves are grey;
beyond the sunset
leads my way.
Foam is salt,
the wind is free;
I hear the rising of the sea.
Farewell, friends!
The sails are set,
the wind is east,
the moorings fret.
Shadows long
before me lie
beneath the
ever-bending sky.
But islands lie
behind the Sun
that I shall raise
ere all is done;
Lands there are to west of West,
where night is quiet and sleep is rest.
Guided by the Lonely Star,
beyond the utmost harbour-bar.
I'll find the havens fare and free,
and beaches of
the Starlit Sea.
Ship, my ship!
I seek the West
and fields
and mountains
ever blest.
Farewell to Middle-earth at last,
I see the Star
above your mast!

(J.R.R. Tolkien, Bilbo's Last Song, London: Hutchison Book, 1990)