Lutherandom Musings Along Memory Lane (Saturday 12/28/2013)

Remember when Saturday mornings used to be so much fun when you were a kid?

For me, I'd usually stay up as late as I could the night before (after what I thought was such a "hard" and "long" week at school), and then sleep in as late as I wanted to on Saturday morning.

The best part? Whether Dad would make us breakfast or not (his French Toast!), the even better part of my Saturday mornings growing up was plopping myself down in front of our TV to watch cartoon after cartoon! You know, the kind that were only on once-a-week and not available in an instant through YouTube and/or Netflix?

I thought about that recently and decided it might be cool to come up with a new weekly tradition of sorts for us adults to enjoy each and every Saturday morning now that we're all grown up (ok, at least some of us more than others anyway). I mean, isn't it time for us to look forward to Saturday mornings again?

Besides, it will be good for us to recall that childlike faith in fun and laughter if only for a few moments each week. You'll remember that laughter was for Luther a sign of divine grace and also an antidote against the devil too.

From the very beginning, humor had been a theological topic for Martin Luther, embracing the dramatic scope of his whole world view. He himself explained: "When I was unable to chase away the devil with serious words of with the Scripture, I often expelled him with pranks." And so this unique concept is born! Ok, so it's really not all that "cool" or "original" or "fun" to be sure, but it will be our new tradition here, and I'll try to make it worthwhile too. So who's with me then?

Please keep in mind, it won't be flashy, and it will hardly grab and hold your attention like a classic episode of the Care Bears, G.I. Joe, Thundercats, or Voltron would, but these "Lutherandom Musings Along Memory Lane" should satisfy the Confessional Lutheran's appetite for a balanced breakfast that includes your VDMA Vitamins like Vitamin A (Amusement), Vitamin B (Best of the Blogs), Vitamin C (Confessional), Vitamin D (Doctrine), and Vitamin E (Everything Else).

Each Saturday morning, God willing, I'll do my best to share some of the things I remember coming across in my unpredictable journey through Cyberspace during the week (hence, the "Along Memory Lane" part). Of course, this is also where the things you send me via email (if any) will show up too.

Ok, enough with all the commercials! Let's get the show started already, shall we?

8:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN A (AMUSEMENT): If you haven't seen the latest Christmas-themed video from The Lutheran Satire, then here it is for your viewing pleasure. It's called "Horus Ruins Christmas" and it's an instant classic!


9:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN B (BEST OF THE BLOGS): "John’s baptism was for sinners, so when Jesus was baptized, He began His work as our substitute. In our baptism, we are united with Him in His death, burial, and resurrection (Romans 6:3-11). Thus, the Holy Spirit descends on us. We have by adoption what Jesus has as the Father’s only begotten son, so that the Father can say of us, 'You are my beloved son.' And because Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us, the Father can say of us, 'with you I am well-pleased.'" You can read more about "The Importance of Christ's Baptism" particularly if you're a non-Lutheran, and especially if you're an ex-Evangelical like me, because this emphasis on Baptism is one thing that makes us Lutherans distinctive from other denominations.


9:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN C (CONFESSIONAL): "There is no greater sin against the Second Commandment than using God's name to preach, teach, and spread false doctrine ... By faith, our hearts and our mouths honor God by confessing Him and His Word purely." [Large Catechism Part I. The Ten Commandments, The Second Commandment]


9:30AM DOSE OF VITAMIN D (DOCTRINE): Christ crucified is God's power and wisdom. 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (ESV) "18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, 'I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.' 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards,b not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human beingc might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31so that, as it is written, 'Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.'" From the Lutheran Study Bible: "Those who see only foolishness in the cross deny its power to save them from eternal destruction. The cross is the instrument of God's salvation. Human wisdom cannot lead to God, who reveals Himself in the message of the cross. God's ways appear foolish to those who do not understand them. Though Jesus' death appears shameful and foolish, it is the only basis of our salvation. We should avoid pride and boasting about anything we do for God or for others. We bring nothing but sin into our relationship to God, but receive all good things from Him. Heavenly Father, give your people grace to recognize that all praise belongs to You alone. Amen."


10:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN E (EVERYTHING ELSE): This is a few months old, but I wanted to reference it here since I'm starting to hear more and more of this kind of defense whenever I attempt to merely discuss doctrine with someone else. It's the "That's Your Interpretation" defense and Pastor Tom Reeder briefly examined this defense mechanism from an historical Lutheran perspective.

Sorry, but that's all I have for you this week.

In a Lutheran Layman's terms, now that your belly's full and you're wide awake, and you have the whole day in front of you, just go outside and play, but play nice and never, ever bend the rules just to get along or to be liked (Galatians 1:10; Jude 1:3).

Grace and peace to you and yours!

[NOTE: As you know, I am a newly converted Confessional Lutheran who recently escaped American Evangelicalism. That being said, please contact me ASAP if you believe that any of my "old beliefs" seem to have crept their way into any of the material you see published here, and especially if any of the content is not consistent with Lutheran doctrine -- in other words, if it's not consistent with God's Word -- so that I can correct those errors immediately and not lead any of His little ones astray. Thank you in advance for your time and help. Grace and peace to you and yours!]

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