Sometimes we refuse to acknowledge the truth because the consequences are horrifying. The lie is easier and more comfortable.

The Office of the Holy Ministry: Thesis XI part one— September 28, 2025 Thesis IX — To the preaching office there is due respect as well as unconditional obedience when the preacher uses God’s Word. Yet the preacher has no dominion in the church. Therefore, he has no right to introduce new laws or arbitrarily to establish adiaphora or ceremonies in the church. The preacher has no right to inflict and carry out excommunication alone, without the preceding knowledge of the whole congregation.

You cannot serve God and mammon. One gives death, the other gives life. One enslaves, the other frees. One deceives, the other tells the truth. One ends in the grave, the other opens the grave to eternal life. So do not despair. Do not lose hope. The world may cling to mammon, but Christ clings to you. He is not letting go. He has fought for you, He still fights for you, and He will not stop until you are safe in His kingdom. And in the end, that is all that matters.

Have You Herd? In this episode, we continue our reading of The Captivation of Will, discussing the problem of God, the death-ride of morality, scandalous election, the dilemma of sin and freedom, and the singular calling of Christ’s preachers.

Christians well-versed in the Scriptures aren’t shocked by anything. There is nothing new under the sun.

Step 1: Prepare the environment by spreading Theory (prepare) Step 2: Wait for or manufacture a precipitating incident (activate) Step 3: Polarize the environment (divide) Step 4: Insert demands and push them (conquer)

"Democracy" today means rule by a self-identified elite, or people endorsed by that elite. As Sam Francis wrote back in 2004, "What they mean by 'democracy' is nothing more than the system of dominance that came to prevail in the United States and the Western world in the last half of the last century. That system has nothing to do with elections, opposition parties, civil and political rights, or 'liberty,' nor does it have anything to do with political theory, ancient or modern. 'Democracy,' as the neocons and the President and most others who are enthusiastic about it use the word, means the centralized leviathan state under the firm and unqualified control of the managerial bureaucracy and those political forces able to influence it."

Jesus Prays for His Enemies—Luke 23:33-43 https://youtube.com/live/5scdj_WE49A

So when Jesus touches the leper, He gives a preview of the cross. There, He Himself will become the leper. He Himself will be numbered among the unclean. He Himself will be cut off, forsaken, and condemned. He will cry out, not “Unclean!” but “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” And in that moment, He bears your uncleanness so that you may be clean. That is what He gives you even now. Jesus still reaches out and touches you. He does it in the means He has appointed—His Word and His Sacraments.

St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church

"Oh, for the touch of Jesus! For you, it means forgiveness!" Wednesday of Trinity 14 2025 — St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church

So when Jesus touches the leper, He gives a preview of the cross. There, He Himself will become the leper. He Himself will be numbered among the un...

Bless Those Who Curse—Matthew 5:33-45 https://youtube.com/live/__DbxxInG14

Jesus Comes to Zacchaeus’s House—Luke 19:1-10 https://youtube.com/live/P9022QSAkP8

Abram Gives Lot the Choice of the Land—Gen. 13:1-12 (13-18) https://youtube.com/live/JJ-24UCsqx0

What one generation accepts, the next will expect, and the following will embrace and defend.

Everyone seems to agree that the rhetoric of public leaders can be dangerous. No one agrees on what constitutes dangerous rhetoric, though.

Christian Education: Jesus Blesses the Children—Luke 18:15-17; Deut. 6:4-15 https://youtube.com/live/RI8-PP0raPQ

A careful study of the book of Acts will reveal that the Spirit prevented centralized authority among the Apostles and their successors. At best, regional authorities are established and as need arises, councils are convened. Sound familiar?

Thesis VIII — The preaching office is the highest office in the Church, from which flow all other offices in the Church.

The call was not complicated. It was simple: “Follow me.” No explanation, no conditions, no delay. And Matthew rose and followed. That is how Christ works. He does not wait for the righteous to come to Him. He comes to the unrighteous. He does not gather the clean, but the dirty. He does not call the healthy, but the sick. He calls sinners. And when He calls, His Word creates what it commands.

“The accumulation of all powers, legislative, executive, and judiciary, in the same hands, whether of one, a few, or many, and whether hereditary, self-appointed, or elected may justly be pronounced the very definition of tyranny.” James Madison, Federalist No. 51, 1788.

Big kudos to Reznor and Ross for the deep Carlos queues and nods to Daft Punk on the TRON: Ares soundtrack. Even a bit of Vangelis for fun.