Congregation at Prayer

Catechesis Notes for the Week — This Week’s Bible Stories from St. Luke – At the beginning of Luke 10, the evangelist records Jesus’ Sending out of the Seventy and the instructions He gave them. They were to begin this ministry with prayer that the Lord would send out laborers into the harvest field. Even before they began their work, they were to understand that others would take over after them and that the ministry of the Gospel would expand throughout the life of the Church. He taught them total dependence upon Him and His Word, and that there would be a sacrificial character to their ministry as they would be treated like lambs among wolves seeking to devour them. Ultimately, the message of the Gospel is one of peace with God. The kingdom of God is near wherever the Gospel is preached. Those who receive the Gospel will provide for those from whom they received it. But for those who reject the Gospel in impenitence and unbelief, the judgment will be even more severe for them than it was for Sodom. The ultimate strength and comfort for Christ’s ministers is contained in Jesus’ promise: “He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me.” The Seventy Return with Joy and rejoice to be witnesses to the power of the Gospel to save and deliver sinners from the clutches of Satan. Jesus encourages His ministers and every Christian to find our ultimate joy in the promise that our names are written in heaven. Jesus Himself rejoices to reveal the mystery of God’s grace, not to the so-called wise and prudent, but to baptismal babes who have no standing in this world but who rejoice to know and receive His love. The Parable of the Good Samaritan teaches the nature of God’s grace as the Samaritan befriends a man who would have considered him to be his enemy. In the same way, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us and paid whatever was necessary for our redemption. Our Lord brought us to the inn of His Church where we are cared for and nurtured back to health. In the account of Mary and Martha, the simplicity of being a disciple of Jesus is revealed in Mary who sits at Jesus’ feet to receive the “one thing needful”—Jesus’ Word of life, comfort, and peace. St. Peter and St. Paul, Apostles is celebrated on Wednesday where Peter and Paul labor together at the Jerusalem Council to clearly set forth the doctrine of the justification of the sinner before God by faith in Christ alone apart from the works of the Law. This first controversy in the fledgling Church continued to be the fundamental issue that the Church would contend for throughout her history.CP220626

Catechesis Notes for the Week — Ordination to the Office of the Holy Ministry. This week marks a milestone in our congregation as Pastor-elect Brennick Christiansen is ordained to the Office of the Holy Ministry. “Ordination takes place at the beginning of a man’s service in the Office of the Holy Ministry, after he has received a divine call. The rite takes place in the Divine Service of the Church, after the sermon and before the Lord’s Supper. It involves both clergy, who lay their hands on the head of the ordinand, conferring upon him the promise of the Holy Spirit through the Word, and the laity, who witness his confession and the laying on of hands, and join in prayer on his behalf. The address to the congregation and candidate for ordination defines the nature of the office and how it is that this man has come to be ordained. The minister-elect promises that the administration of his office will conform to the apostolic and prophetic Scriptures, and to the ecumenical creeds and confessions of the Lutheran Church because they are in agreement with the one Scriptural faith. This is called confessional subscription. His ordination vows also require him to do the work of the ministry, to keep the seal of the confessional absolute, and to adorn the Office of the Holy Ministry with a holy life. A minister is called by God through the Church…According to apostolic tradition, the laying on of hands by fellow ministers of the Word is the way that a man is placed into the Office of the Ministry (1 Timothy 4:14; 1 Timothy 5:22). The Word of God carries the promise of the Holy Spirit. Every minister who administers his office according to the mandates of Christ has the promise of the Holy Spirit. It is customary that fellow ministers each lay their hands on the head of the ordinand and speak a word or blessing from the Scriptures, thereby conveying the promise of the Holy Spirit to the man being ordained into the Office of the Ministry…The minister’s stole represents the yoke of the Office of the Holy Ministry that has been conferred upon him. The chasuble, emblematic of the sufferings of Christ, is the traditional vestment worn by the ordained minister who presides at the Lord’s Supper. A man is ordained to the Office of the Holy Ministry in the one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. The congregation in which he is ordained receives him on behalf of the whole Church.” – Excerpted from Lutheran Catechesis, p. 162ff.CP220619

Catechesis Notes for the Week — The Gift of Baptism for Every Day— Christians should look to their Baptism every day for their identity and strength.  Our Baptism means that we are the children of God; Christ’s death for sin and His resurrection for our justification is ours; Christ’s righteousness clothes us and makes us acceptable to the Father; the Holy Spirit has been poured out into our hearts through Christ; and faith has been created in our hearts. What God has made us and given us in our Baptism also becomes the strength by which we live our lives, repent of sin, resist Satan, and enjoy the testimony of a clean conscience.CP220612

Catechesis Notes for the Week — The Feast of Pentecost celebrates the person and work of the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father and the Son and with the Father and the Son is worshipped and glorified as God and Lord.  The Holy Spirit is sometimes called the Spirit of love for it is by the Spirit that we are drawn into the fellowship of the love of the Holy Trinity.  The Holy Spirit is always the Spirit of Christ who shines upon the person and work of our Savior, calls us to repentance and faith, and bestows upon us every blessing that Jesus won for us.  The Spirit’s means or instruments by which He does His work are the Gospel and Sacraments of Christ.

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