July Newsletter
Freedom in Christ
We have truly been blessed with freedom and opportunity in our nation. Even in these days when it seems that many of the things we hold dear are under assault, we have a liberty that most people in the world have never experienced. Therefore, we ought to thank God daily for the freedom we have in our land. However, there’s an even greater freedom we have as Christians, one that isn’t enumerated in our Constitution: “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1).
St. Paul was writing to a congregation that had come to believe that Christ’s atoning work wasn’t quite enough to save. False teachers had appeared in Galatia after Paul, proclaiming to these Gentile converts that they needed to accept circumcision or their faith in Jesus wouldn’t be enough to save. The apostle wrote a scathing letter, reminding them that they had been set free by Christ—why would they ever want to be under the law?
Oddly enough, the old Adam in us wants to
be under the law, because when we’re under the law (either God’s holy Law or
something man came up with), we can measure ourselves and see how much better
we are than those around us. Being able to call someone out with your superior
righteousness is quite an adrenalin rush—I suppose that’s why it’s so popular.
But what does it mean to be “free in Christ”?
In 1520, Luther wrote
a tract called “On the Freedom of the Christian.” The first sentence in that
tract reads, “A Christian is an utterly free man, lord of all, subject to none;
a Christian is an utterly dutiful man, servant of all, subject to all.” That’s
quite the paradox, isn’t it? Or maybe it’s flat-out contradictory? How can we
be “subject to none” while at the same time “subject to all”? Well, how is it
that you and I are simul iustus et peccator—both perfectly
righteous in Christ and yet wretchedly sinful?
In way of explanation
the reformer, quoting the Bible, wrote, “…in I Corinthians 9 [:19], ‘For though
I am free from all men, I have made myself a slave to all,’ and in Romans
13[:8], ‘Owe no one anything, except to love one another.’ Love by its very nature
is ready to serve and be subject to him who is loved. So Christ, although He
was Lord of all, was ‘born of woman, born under the law’ [Galatians 4:4], and
therefore was at the same time a free man and servant, ‘in the form of God’ and
‘of a servant.’ [Philippians 2:6-7].”
So, as Christians, we
model our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, do we not? Yes, we are pale imitators
of Jesus who fail to live up to the examples He has set for us—this is most
certainly true. But we are called to serve our neighbors in love—even the
neighbors we don’t like very much. Mark recorded in his gospel account these
words of Jesus: “And Jesus called them to him and said to them, ‘You know that
those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great
ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But
whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be
first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be
served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many’” (Mark
10:42-45).
Jesus humbled Himself
for our sake; likewise, we as Christians oughtn’t insist on having our way all
the time; if it serves our neighbor—or even our enemy—then we freely do so. Not
to earn God’s favor, but out of love and gratitude for the favor we already
have in Christ.
Once more from “The
Freedom of the Christian”: “Here the works begin: here a man cannot enjoy
leisure; here he must indeed take care to discipline his body by fastings, watchings,
labors, and other reasonable discipline and subject it to the Spirit so that it
will obey and conform to the inner man and faith and not revolt against faith
and hinder the inner man, as it is the nature of the body to do if not held in
check. The inner man, who by faith is created in the image of God, is both
joyful and happy because of Christ in whom are so many benefits are conferred
on him; and therefore it is the occupation to serve God joyfully and without
thought of gain, in love that is not constrained.”
Faith—your faith which
has been worked in your heart by the Holy Spirit—is an active faith. Therefore,
good works are a part of the Christian life. No, not to save us—not even the
very best of us could ever earn their place before God. Besides, Christ has
already set us free. But it is an active faith; one that
serves his neighbor in love, because Christ has served His neighbors in love.
Even though they (and we) were enemies of God, Jesus set us free
through His sacrifice. So now you are free—because if the Son sets you free,
you will be free indeed (John 8:36). Enjoy your freedom—both in this nation,
and the eternal freedom won for you in Christ.
Rev. Kenneth L. Humphrey
by Rev. Michael Schuermann
“I thank you, my Heavenly
Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept me this night
from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep me this day also from
sin and every evil, that all my doings and life may please You. For into Your
hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel
be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen.”
Why does Luther bother providing a
whole section of daily prayers in his Small Catechism? There’s no doubt that,
as is usually the case, Luther relied on the overwhelming testimony of
Scripture as to the necessity and effectiveness of prayer in the life of God’s
people as a reason to teach and model the prominent place of prayer in the
Christian’s daily life. As he puts it in the Small Catechism, God the Father
“has commanded us to pray…and has promised to hear us.” (SC, Lord’s Prayer,
Conclusion)
What are some of these commands and
promises of God that Luther refers to?
And I tell you,
ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will
be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds,
and to the one who knocks it will be opened.” (Luke 11:9-10)
“If you then, who
are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your
Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:11)
“[C]all upon me in
the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.” (Psalm
50:15)
[P]ray without
ceasing, give thanks in all circumstance so for this is the will of God in
Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17-18)
Luther writes about the command and
promises, “You should say, ‘My prayer is as precious, holy, and pleasing to God
as that of St. Paul or of the most holy saints. This is the reason: I will
gladly grant that Paul is personally more holy, but that’s not because of the
commandment. God does not consider prayer because of the person, but because of
His Word and obedience to it. For I rest my prayer on the same commandment on
which all the saints rest their prayer. Furthermore, I pray for the same thing
that they all pray for and always have prayed. Besides, I have just as great a
need of what I pray for as those great saints; no, even a greater one than
they.'” (LC, III, 16)
St. Paul’s exhortation to pray
“without ceasing” highlights the importance of regular prayer in the life of
the Christian. Luther’s years of monastic life modeled a regulated daily life
of prayer. The various monastic daily prayer offices seem to have influenced
Luther’s teaching of prayer in the Small Catechism. Not only is a prayer for
morning provided, but Luther places that prayer within a simple liturgy: first,
the name of the Triune God is spoken and the sign of the holy cross is made, then
the Creed and Lord’s Prayer (two of the Chief Parts!) are spoken. Finally,
Luther suggests his little prayer may be said “if you choose.” Humbly, Luther
considers his own contribution optional and the handed-down texts of the Faith
essential.
Luther’s modeling of prayer seems
deliberately designed to avoid the type of praying that Jesus warns against:
“And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they
think that they will be heard for their many words.” (Matthew 6:7) With many words
comes much work; Luther aims at a simple liturgy of prayer that can be adopted
in the daily lives of Christians both in his time and in our present day.
“But the Christian’s prayer is easy,
and it does not cause hard work. For it proceeds in faith on the basis of the
promise of God, and it presents its need from the heart. Faith quickly gets
through telling what it wants; indeed, it does so with a sigh that the heart
utters and that words can neither attain nor express. As Paul says (Rom. 8:26),
‘the Spirit prays.’ And because He knows that God is listening to Him, He has
no need of such everlasting twaddle. That is how the saints prayed in the
Scriptures, like Elijah, Elisha, David, and others—with brief but strong and
powerful words. This is evident in the Psalter, where there is hardly a single
psalm that has a prayer more than five or six verses long. Therefore the
ancient fathers have said correctly that many long prayers are not the way.
They recommend short, fervent prayers, where one sighs toward heaven with a
word or two, as is often quite possible in the midst of reading, writing, or
doing some other task.” (AE 21:143)
Scripture teaches us
to bring our needs to the Father in Christ’s name. Luther likewise models this
in the opening sentence of the morning prayer, “I thank You, my heavenly
Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son…”, confident that what a Christian
asks will be heard and provided by the Father. As Philip Melanchthon put it in
the Apology of the Augsburg Confession, “So prayer relies upon God’s mercy,
when we believe that we are heard for Christ’s sake. He is our High Priest, as
He Himself says, ‘Whatever you ask in My name, this I will do, that the Father
may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it’
(John 14:13–14). Without this High Priest we cannot approach the Father.” (AP V
(III), 210-212 [331-333])
The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod
LCMS Stewardship Ministry Newsletter article – July 2021
As you are all aware by now, there is an escalating series of
scam emails being sent out impersonating President Hill, our Pastors, and you
probably even get some from your friends and relatives. These ‘attacks’
(and they are attacks) are getting more and more sophisticated to where the
recipient actually believes they are receiving a legitimate email; even Rev.
Bart Day, President of LCEF, sent an email today reminding folks he is not
soliciting for gift cards. Six other district have also been targeted of
late, Synod’s IT department has also been affected, so the Wyoming District is
not alone.
The recent round of scam emails in the district this week had a
layman loose $400. Last year another lost $100. Another almost lost
$400 but was stopped by a cashier. I’ve also learned last week that an
elderly LCMS layman here in Casper has lost $250,000 (yes you read that
correct.) I’m sure you know others in your congregation. They are preying
on our elderly and our trusting nature as Christians.
Pres. Hill and I ask that if you can find the time to talk about
this with your people, volunteers, and staff, we all need to be educated and be
vigilant. Whether it be verbally, personally when you visit someone, or
in your newsletters, we should do what we can to help, as Luther explains in
the Small Catechism for the Ninth Commandment, “We should fear and love God so
that we do not scheme to get our neighbor’s inheritance or house, or get it in
a way which only appears right, but help and be of service to him in
keeping it.” We do this out of love for our Lord and for his
redeemed.
I do thank you all for alerting us when an email scam appears so
I do not discourage you from doing this in the future, however, we will not be
able to send warning every time this occurs. Each one of us will need to be
alert and cautious, and take the time to talk about it with others and ensure
they do not fall victim. If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to
call us.
Jeffrey
Snyder, Business Manager
Wyoming
District – LCMS
2400
Hickory Street
Casper,
WY 82604
(307)
265-9000
Trinity will be celebrating its 75th Anniversary in 2021. The planning committee has set Sunday, October 24 as the celebration date.
If you would like to be in the choir
contact Susan Williams. If you have any suggestions, know old members and have
their address, please contact Virgil Ritz, Chairman of the Anniversary Planning
Committee
Volunteers are needed for a successful Vacation Bible School. It will be July 20, 21, and 22 from 5:30 pm until 8:00 pm. Still needed are: Leader and helpers for games, helpers for crafts, 2 class room helpers, 1 teacher, and registration help. There is a sign up sheet in the fellowship hall if you are willing to help. All area children age 3 years to 6th grade are invited to attend, so let’s get the word out and have a great VBS!
DATES TO REMEMBER FOR JULY
July 1 Janet Ewald Baptismal
Date
July 1 Lloyd and Sandy Heine Anniversary
July 4 Levi Bowlin Birthday
July 5 Tristina Neumann Birthday
July 14 Bob Boorman Birthday
July 18 Gloria Gibbs Baptismal
Date
July 24 Joyce Warnke Baptismal
Date
July 26 Ken & Roxane
Humphrey Anniversary
July 27 Susan Williams Baptismal
Date
July 28 Bob
Boorman Baptismal Date
July 31 Dave & Michelle Hill Anniversary
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