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"I AM The Resurection and The Life"
April 2017
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PASTOR'S MESSAGE
Dear friends in Christ,
Jesus said, "I Am the resurrection and the Life." This month we will celebrate the victory that Christ Jesus is risen; He is risen indeed!
As the Prince of Life, Jesus willingly shed his blood on Mt. Calvary for us and for our salvation. Although Satan, the prince of darkness, seeks to rule you, lead you from sin to sin, and finally drag you to eternal death, because of Christ Jesus, Satan has no power over you. Peter once told the Jews in Jerusalem: "You killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead" (Acts 3:14-15). Entrust yourself in faith to Jesus, the Prince of Life. He has won the victory over death for you. By the power of His Holy Spirit He has given you life that you might walk in newness of life now, and for eternity.
Pastor James Kroonblawd
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LUTHER'S WORDS
"The Prince of Life, who died, is alive and reigns."
Martin Luther
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RESOURCES FOR PARENTS
Family Shield Ministries, founded in 1994, is an independent and self-supporting Recognized Service Organization of
The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod
. Partnerships with like-minded ministries, including Lutheran Hour Ministries, allow FSM to do more with less. Learn more.
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FROM MARTIN LUTHER
When Sin attacks righteousness, What happens?
Righteousness is eternal, immortal, and invincible. Sin, too, is a very powerful and cruel tyrant, dominating and ruling over the whole world, capturing and enslaving all men. In short, sin is a great and powerful god who devours the whole human race, all the learned, holy, powerful, wise, and unlearned men. He, I say, attacks Christ and wants to devour Him as he has devoured all the rest. But he does not see that He [Jesus] is a Person of invincible and eternal righteousness. In this duel, therefore, it is necessary for sin to be conquered and killed, and for righteousness to prevail and live. Thus in Christ all sin is conquered, killed, and buried; and righteousness remains the victor and the ruler eternally.
Luther, M. (1999). Luther's works, vol. 26: Lectures on Galatians, 1535, Chapters 1-4. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 26, pp. 280-282). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
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FROM MARTIN LUTHER
Christ is not idle; He is working through His Word
We must hold that He is working. We must believe that He rules and fights, that He has a throne and scepter, preserving and bestowing righteousness, and that He does all this daily with great power in the church. We see the Scriptures being studied and expounded, and people living according to them as far as our inherent weakness permits. All the statements in the Scriptures about Christ say that He Himself does all things.
Whoever is protected from sin, from the fanatical spirits and other evils, is protected by Christ, who does these things in us and through us. If He were not in us, we could not speak even one word about Him, as Paul states (1 Cor. 12:3): "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord' except by the Holy Spirit." Therefore Christ is not idle.
The kingdom of Christ, therefore, is really this, that He rules in this life and after this life will fully confer righteousness and eternal life. However, He does this in the following way: After we have been baptized and enlightened by the Gospel and have begun to trust and cling to this King, there still remain remnants of sin in our flesh. Innumerable darts of the devil (Eph. 6:16) break forth, evil practices, sects, and weakness, because Christians are negligent in works as well as in the Word and do not wrestle valiantly. Here the throne and office of Christ are most clearly seen, in that He purges out the old leaven and increases His kingdom and overcomes the evil that has grown back again. This is divine righteousness, which continually increases, so that if someone falls, he is raised up-unless he wants to be excommunicated, to have the wrath of God pronounced on him, and to be denied the fellowship that is in Christ. All these things serve this purpose: that faith might increase; that we might grow in the knowledge of God; that our body might be subjected and preserved in chastity, patience, and the other Christian virtues; and that we might fight against the dregs of sin. All these things, however, are the office of Christ.
Luther, M. (1999). Luther's works, vol. 12: Selected Psalms I. (J. J. Pelikan, H. C. Oswald, & H. T. Lehmann, Eds.) (Vol. 12, pp. 232-233). Saint Louis: Concordia Publishing House.
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FROM GOD'S WORD
"Your Throne O God is forever and ever."
--Psalm 45:6
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THE LIFE OF GOD IN YOUR CHURCH
Every congregation exists to give away life. In worship and communion we receive the life Jesus gives. We feed on Him and live through Him who gives Himself for us in Word, and in water, bread and wine connected to the Word. But this life of God is not meant to be kept to ourselves. God has put you and your congregation where it is located in order to give life to your community and beyond. Baptized into Christ, we are called to grow in this life as well as to bring others into this life.
Read full LC-MS blog
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DIGGING DEEP
Read John 11:17-27 and 38-44
- Some believe there will simply be a spiritual resurrection of the dead, and not a bodily resurrection. What do the following passages have to say about this: 1 Corinthians 15:42-49 (note 'natural' and 'spiritual' are qualifiers while 'body' is the noun) and Philippians 3:21?
- Review 11:23-27. Martha sees Lazarus' resurrection as an event that will eventually happen in the future, but look carefully at what Jesus says in 11:25 - 26 and meditate on the evidence for resurrection life happening the moment a person believes.
- Christians we know that Christ has "fully given Himself" up for us, sinners who have deserved nothing. But Christ did not only die for us, he lives for us as well. How important is the bodily resurrection of Christ as opposed to simply the 'idea' or 'memory' of Christ living on? Read 1 Corinthians 15:13-14
- When considering question 3 above, why is it so difficult for us to give ourselves fully for Him, the One who loves us more than anyone?
- Read John 11:21-23 and John 11:32-33. Compare Martha and Mary's reaction to Jesus' delay; arriving after Lazarus had already been in the tomb 4 days. Do you think the Bible illustrated both of their reactions for a specific reason? Would you have reacted more like Martha or Mary? Why?
- Have you ever been hopeless, sad, or even angry with God for allowing something bad to happen that you felt He could have prevented. How do you feel about it today?
- When Jesus restored physical life to Lazarus, everyone noticed. When Jesus gives spiritual life to one who believes in Him, how do other people notice?
I Am series. St. John's Lutheran Church, Orange, Calif.
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"For this we declare to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, shall not precede those who have fallen asleep."
--1 Thessalonians 4:15
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DID JESUS REALLY VISIT HELL?
IF YES, WHY?
In the Apostles' Creed (and also the Athanasian Creed), we confess that after Jesus died He descended into hell. Where in the Bible is this taught? Why did Jesus go there?
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REVIEW OF BEAUTY AND THE BEAST
By Ted Giese
Bill Condon's adaptation/remake of "Beauty and the Beast," starring Emma Watson, is a live-action version of the 1991 Disney musical-animated fairy tale of the same name.
It's the story of a spoiled, vain prince (Dan Stevens) who is cursed by an enchantress (Hattie Morahan) to live his life as a beast in an enchanted castle as a lesson about making value judgments based on appearance alone.
The curse can only be lifted if someone loves him despite his beastly appearance before all the petals fall off the gift of a single red rose the enchantress, disguised as a poor old woman in need, had attempted to give him in payment for lodging in his castle during a storm. and the Beast," starring Emma Watson, is a live-action version of the 1991 Disney musical-animated fairy tale of the same name.
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ENCOURAGING FUTURE CHURCH WORKERS
Tune in to President Matthew Harrison's message about praying for and encouraging someone you know to consider full-time ministry.
Click here.
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ENJOY SOME CARTOONS FROM ANSWERS IN GENESIS!
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FACES OF THE REFORMATION
Explore the past through the people who lived it! In the months leading to the 500th Anniversary to the Reformation, you will meet 25 men and women passionate about the Reformation re-discovery of the Gospel-either for or against it. Each person is an unforgettable face of the Reformation era.
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| click to meet Johannes Bugenhagen |
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EDITOR'S NOTE
TLO Disciple, with a topical study in each issue, is distributed primarily via email on the first of every month. Print copies are available by contacting the TLO Church office at
651-454-7235 or the
Church Office via email.
Calendars, volunteer information, serving groups and the like will accompany the TLO Together, on the last Wednesday of the month. Click here to subscribe to TLO Together . This publication is also mailed upon request.
Soli Deo gloria
2950 Highway 55
Eagan MN 55121
p:651-454-7235 f:651-454-0109
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