Lutherandom Musings Along Memory Lane (Saturday 2/22/2014)

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): You wanna know why I have a problem with "Contemporary Worship (CoWo)" in the LCMS Church? Because of things like this -- Worship Satire: "Your Identity" or, as I like to call it, the type of thing I hear each and every week during our "Contemporary Worship Service" at church. When your "Contemporary Worship (CoWo) Service" sounds like this intentionally satirical worship song, then there's a big problem, my dear friends.


8:30AM DOSE OF VITAMIN B (BEST OF THE BLOGS): I just discovered another great Lutheran blog! The Flying Scroll ~ Musings And Poetry By Chad Bird is definitely worth a visit. I particularly loved the imagery and phrasing he used in yesterday's post titled "Look Who I Found In The Grave" and I think you'll enjoy it too.


9:00AM DOSE OF VITAMIN C (CONFESSIONAL): "In the second place, since we know now what Baptism is and how it is to be regarded, we must also learn why and for what purpose it is instituted. We must learn what it profits, gives, and works. For this also we cannot find a better resource than Christ's words quoted above, 'Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved' [Mark 16:16]. Therefore, state it most simply in this way: the power, work, profit, fruit, and purpose of Baptism is this -- to save [1 Peter 3:21]. For no one is baptized in order that he may become a prince, but, as the words say, that he 'be saved.' We know that to be saved is nothing other than to be delivered from sin, death, and the devil [Colossians 1:13-14]. It means to enter into Christ's kingdom [John 3:5], an to live with Him forever." Large Catechism, Part IV Baptism, Paragraphs 23-25


9:30AM DOSE OF VITAMIN D (DOCTRINE): Mark 16:16 says, "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned." My Lutheran Study Bible has this to say about this verse: "Faith is a gift from God, which He bestows through the Word and through Holy Baptism." The Augsburg Confession IX 1 says, "Concerning Baptism, our churches teach that Baptism is necessary for salvation [Mark 16:16] and that God's grace is offered through Baptism." Finally, the Apology of the Augsburg Confession XXIV 18 states, "Baptism is not a work that we offer to God. It is a work in which God baptizes us. In other words, a minister baptizes us on God's behalf."


10:00AM DOES OF VITAMIN E (EVERYTHING ELSE): My guess is that there's someone out there who will need to read this today. It's from Pastor Todd Peperkorn and it's a piece titled "Things That Time Cannot Mend, But Jesus Can" and I pray it's helpful and hopeful to you.

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

In a Lutheran Layman's terms, you've been fed and, hopefully, you're wide awake by now.

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 our Confessions and 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. Finally, you might discover that some of the earlier pieces I wrote on this blog definitely fall into that category since I was a Lutheran-In-Name-Only at the time and was completely oblivious to the fact that a "Book of Concord" containing our Confessions even existed. I decided to leave those published posts up only because we now have this disclaimer and only to demonstrate the continuing work of Christ and the Holy Spirit in my life. Thank you for stopping by and thank you in advance for your time and help. Grace and peace to you and yours!]

Share|