- I will rejoice at Thy words like one who has found great spoil. Our every rejoicing is in the hope of things to come, and not in the reality of things present. For this reason we rejoice, because we believe the divine promises, and we hope for and love the things which He promises. For he does not say “I will rejoice at the riches of the world” but “at Thy words.” And it is the voice of the church living among persecutors. For all persecutors did this to lure the faithful to the vanities of the world and passing joys, so that they would either rejoice with them in the worst things, or at least fear them, if they were unwilling to rejoice. And so they attempted to force to joys through grief, to delights through afflictions, to pleasures through torments. (Luther’s Works, v. 11, p.518-519)
Author Archive: luther
Divine Service Holy Wednesday, April 13, 2022
Order of Divine Service I, p.136 Lutheran Worship
Hymn “Grant, Lord Jesus, that My Healing” LW 95
Readings: Isaiah 62:11-63:7, Revelation 1:5b-7, St. Luke 22:1-23:56
Hymn “Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted” LW 116, TLH 153
Sermon
–Michael D. Henson, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (Herrin, IL).
Service Bulletin: Holy-Wednesday-Divine-Service-for-Online-4-13-2022.pdf
Picture: The initial Letter “D” of The Second Book of Moses by Martin Luther for Das Alte Testament Deutsch, M. Luther, Wittemberg, 1523. The picture is God appearing on the mountain…. “These are the names of the children of Israel…” “Das sind die namen der kinder Israel…” From page XLVI = 46.
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For the Afflicted.
UNTO every Christian soul that is afflicted, or plunged into distress, grant Thou mercy, grant relief, grant refreshment; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. (Oremus, 1925, p.89).
Divine Service Holy Tuesday April 12, 2022
Order of Divine Service I, p.136 Lutheran Worship
Hymn “Grant, Lord Jesus, that My Healing” LW 95
Readings: Jeremiah 11:18-20, 1 Timothy 6:12-14, St. Mark 14:1-15:46
Hymn “Upon the Cross Extended” LW 121, TLH 171
Sermon
–Michael D. Henson, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (Herrin, IL).
Service Bulletin: Holy-Tuesday-Divine-Service-for-Online-4-12-2022.pdf
Picture: The initial Letter “A” of The First Book of Moses by Martin Luther for Das Alte Testament Deutsch, M. Luther, Wittemberg, 1523. The picture is of God creating the sphere of the world. “In the beginning God created the heaven and earth…” “Am anfang schuff Gott hymel und erden…” From page VII = 7.
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#27 The Church Stands in Awe of the Words of God
“But the princes, who are nevertheless powerful, threatening, terrible, and more to be feared than others, not only resorted to threats to scare me, but they persecuted in deed and showed all their terror. And behold, I still did not fear them, but rather stood in awe of Your words, so that I might conquer fear of them.” Therefore this is not the word of teenage girls, but of the bride herself. But when do we so despise ourselves (not to speak of princes) or the lowest men, that we do not stand in awe of them? Yes, we even quake before those who are not yet persecuting but only threatening a little bit, and we tremble at their word, but we are insensitive to the Word of God! But the church is not afraid of all the persecuting princes of the world, because she stands in awe of the words of God. This she would not do, unless, despising all things by faith, she savored eternal things alone. We would surely do the same, unless we were afraid that temporal things would be taken away, threatened, or not given. (Luther’s Works, v. 11, p.518)
Divine Service Holy Monday, April 11, 2022
Order of Divine Service I, p.136 Lutheran Worship
Hymn “Grant, Lord Jesus, that My Healing” LW 95
Readings: Isaiah 50:5-10, 1 Peter 2:21-24, St. John 12:1-43
Hymn “No Tramp of Soldiers’ Marching Feet” HS98 #826
Sermon
–Michael D. Henson, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (Herrin, IL).
Service Bulletin: Holy-Monday-Divine-Service-for-Online-4-11-2022.pdf
Picture: The initial Letter “D” of the Foreword by Martin Luther for Das Alte Testament Deutsch, M. Luther, Wittemberg, 1523. The picture is Moses (in red) with horns, and Aaron the priest (in blue) with the Lord speaking to Moses. “Das alte testament halten ettlich geringe…” “The Old Testament retains some unimportant things …” From page II. = 2.
Pictures of Moses with horns (or rays of light). “A curious feature of medieval and renaissance depictions of Moses is that quite a few paintings and sculptures imagine him as horned. Indeed he looks a lot like a Pagan horned god in many of them.
Many scholars believe this was due to a mistranslation in the Vulgate, the Latin translation of the Hebrew scriptures completed by St. Jerome. The key verse is Exodus 34:29-30, which in the New International Version of the Bible reads as follows: “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai with the two tablets of the covenant law in his hands, he was not aware that his face was radiant because he had spoken with the Lord. When Aaron and all the Israelites saw Moses, his face was radiant, and they were afraid to come near him.”
The problem is this: the phrase “was radiant” is a translation of the Hebrew word “karan” which can also mean “was horned”. Only one Greek translation available to Jerome – that by the Jewish convert Aquila – understood “karan” to mean “had become horned.” Nonetheless, that is the definition that Jerome chose to go with.” (https://curiouschristian.blog/2019/08/12/the-horned-moses-in-medieval-art/)
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Before Holy Communion for the Sick.
ALMIGHTY God, heavenly Father, since I can be well pleasing unto Thee only in Thy dear Son, my Lord Jesus Christ: So sanctify my body and soul, and grant that I receive His blessed communion in this Holy Supper with truly believing desire and thanksgiving, so that comforted again by Thy eternal blessings and love toward me, and strengthened in my faith, I may patiently suffer according to Thy will, obediently live, and when Thou wilt, blessedly die; through the Same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who livest and reignest with the Father and the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. Amen. (Oremus, 1925, p.84).
Miriam’s Sunday School Class #73: Sunday, April 10, 2022
Today’s class examines The Second Trip to Egypt in Genesis 43.
Handout 1: Text-for-Chapter-43.pdf
–Michael D. Henson, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (Herrin, IL).
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Divine Service Palmarum Sunday, April 10, 2022
Order of Divine Service I, p.136 Lutheran Worship
Palm Sunday Procession (Matthew 21:1-9)
Hymn “All Glory, Laud, and Honor” LW 102, TLH 160
Readings: Zechariah 9:9-12, Philippians 2:5-11, St. Matthew 26:1-27:66
Hymn “The Royal Banners Forward Go” LW 103, TLH 168
Sermon
Communion Hymns: “Hosanna, Loud Hosanna” LW 106, TLH 161
“Ride On, Ride On in Majesty” LW 105, TLH 162
“Lamb of God, Pure and Holy” LW 208, TLH 146
“Grant, Lord Jesus, that My Healing” LW 95
–Michael D. Henson, Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church (Herrin, IL).
Service Bulletin: Palmarum-Divine-Service-for-Online-4-10-2022.pdf
Picture: The Cover Page for Das Alte Testament Deutsch, M. Luther, Wittemberg, 1523.
(https://collections.museumofthebible.org/artifacts/25085-luthers-pentateuch?&tab=description).
Martin Luther published his initial Old Testament translation in 4 parts. Although this first portion was entitled “The Old Testa-ment German,” it contained only the first five books of the Bible.
Luther: “I have made a great effort to make Moses so German that no one would guess that he was a Jew.”
In the Preface Luther wrote: “It is the principal teaching of the Old Testament to proclaim the law, to reveal sin, and to further the good….For Moses can do no more by the law than tell what man ought to do and ought not to do. But he cannot give the power, the strength, and the ability to fulfill it.” Large portions of this Preface are contained in Willem Jan Kooiman, Luther and the Bible [Philadelphia: Muhlenberg Press, 1961], p. 135-144. (https://gruber.lstc.edu/luthers_bible/1523_1533.php)
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