Signature Doctrines of Lutheranism: God Does it All – Divine Monergism

I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith. 

Martin Luther, Small Catechism 2.3

What did God do?

 

Ephesians 1:3–10

 

 

1 Peter 1:3–6

 

Why Can’t We Help?

Ephesians 2:1–10

 

 

Colossians 2:13–15

 

 

John 3:1-8

 

 

John 6:44 

 

 

John 8:31–37

Fasting, Eye as Lamp of the Body, the Two Masters…

This morning’s contribution to the “HIS Story: How God Saves the World” covered the Lord’s instructions on fasting, the analogy of the eye as the lamp of the body. I took a moment (OK 15 moments) to reset the context. We’ve been on a discursion on Holy Week and the Empty Tomb, with several weeks away for Easter, Confirmation and my trip to Bloomington.

I included 1 Peter 1, the fifth question on the Lord’s Supper from the Small Catechism concerning fasting. paraphrased Matt Harrison quoting Luther to the effect that Katie Luther complained that Dr. Luther gave away too much money and Luther replied: “God made hands with fingers so the gold would slip through them.” You know, I should look up and memorize the thing if I’m going to use it…

Next week: The Birds of the Air and the Flowers of the Field.

The Tomb is Empty Bible Study

The Empty Tomb

Why is it Important?

1 Corinthians 15:12–19

Romans 4:24–25

1 Thessalonians 4:13–14

2 Peter 1:16

Crime Scene

Red and blue lights flash from units along the road near yellow tape barring access to a house. Dozens of uniformed and plain clothes officers, medical personnel and firemen wander around gathering evidence and waiting to do their jobs. In the living room everything is scattered about, tables are overturned, blood everywhere and places where the bodies lay outlined in chalk. You’ve seen this kind of images in police, mystery and crime dramas before. How do the investigators figure out what happened and solve the crime?

Historians and Investigation

Historians look at the past the way modern investigators look at today’s events. Archeology looks at the physical remains from the time of the event. They look for direct, hard evidence from the scene or from the culture around it. Primary Sources are the accounts of eyewitnesses or people close to the event. The closer the writing is to the event, the greater the value historians attach to it. Finally, they look for the impact of the event. For example, people behave very differently when they believe a loved one is dead than if they are convinced he or she is alive.

Eyewitness Accounts

Matthew 27:57-28:15

Mark 16:1-8

Luke 23:50-24:12

John 20:1-18

Secondary Sources

Flavius Josephus, Antiquities, 18:63-54

“At this time there was a wise man called Jesus, and his conduct was good, and he was known to be virtuous. Many people among the Jews and the other nations became his disciples.  Pilate condemned him to be crucified and to die. But those who had become his disciples did not abandon his discipleship. They reported that he had appeared to them three days after his crucifixion and that he was alive. Accordingly, he was perhaps the Messiah, concerning whom the prophets have reported wonders.

Trypho in Justin Martyr, Dialogus 108. Gives explanation for the empty tomb.

Toledoth Jeshu, a discredited Talmudic tradition, has a story of a gardener stealing the body of Jesus and selling it to the High Priests.

The Empty Tomb Explanations

The stolen body

But: The tomb was guarded

Wrong tomb

 

But: Mary Magdalene and the Other Mary observed carefully where the body was laid. Peter and John went straight to it. And, when the talk of a resurrection spread, the High Priests could just produce the body.

The lettuce theory

But: What about the guards?

The swoon theory

But: Romans were incredibly efficient at crucifixion. The flogging, the spear in the side, etc. all can lead to death alone. Then, if it happened, how could he convince his disciples that he had risen from death itself?

The Hallucination theory

But: Up to 500 people at a time saw him. Mass visions like this just do not happen.

He is risen!

The Tomb is Empty

This Sunday, I have both Bible classes  together at Our Hope Lutheran Church in Huntertown. At the request of my class, I’ll be going through the resurrection accounts in the Gospels and doing a bit of apologetics. The basic idea is to work through the objections to the claim of Scripture that the tomb was empty on Easter morning because Jesus rose from the dead. If all goes well, I’ll share my thoughts here. Feel free to weigh in and share thoughts.

Initial Experiments with Blog/Facebook Bible Study

It’s been a few months now since I put this blog together. The first experiment here with Q & A format Bible study did not work at all. Perhaps it was because I kept it locked up to try. Anyway, my son Lucas convinced me to try on Facebook. This worked a bit better, but participation was slow there, too.

So, for now, I’m going to switch over to just sharing things I discover as I prepare Bible studies. As we go along, please let me know what you think. I really would like to see interactive Bible study reach critical mass on the internet.

Of Blogs and Bible Study…

Busy people, busy lives, bustling schedules. 21st Century Christians are constantly on the move. Even those who attend worship weekly find it hard to make group Bible studies. It can even be difficult to find a time when a few church members can get together.

There is a place where most of us go where we can get together — the Internet. This is an experiment to see if a blog-based Bible study. I’ve invited you all to see what you think. Let me know if you think it will work.