A while back a member asked me about an elevator pitch regarding what is it to be Lutheran. I was thinking about this question again the other day: How do we briefly, yet thoroughly and faithfully, describe to someone what it is to be distinctly Lutheran? Here’s what I think I’d say, in bullet point form:

• • Nothing is more important than the Word of God: the Holy Scriptures. That is, the entire Word of God – teaching, preaching, hearing, and trusting in all of it. [Hebrews 1:1-2; 2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:21]
  • This is because God in His Word teaches us what we can’t know on our own: 
    • Man is corrupted by Sin and we are all sinners, every one, and we can’t do anything about it. We justly deserve the eternal wrath and punishment of God, who is righteous and holy. [Ephesians 2:1-3; John 8:34; Romans 5:12]
    • And yet, our Sin is completely forgiven entirely by God’s gracious doing and giving. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, lived perfectly, took our sins and died under God’s wrath and punishment with them, all for us. God raised Him from the dead, showing us that sin is forgiven and death is defeated. God promises that He will raise all believers in Christ into eternal life with Him on the Last day. [1 John 4:10; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 3:25; 1 Peter 2:24; Romans 5:10]
  • We hold to this without compromise. Sin is sin. Forgiveness is forgiveness. If God says something is a sin, then it is. If God announces that Sin is forgiven, then it is forgiven. [1 Corinthians 15:22-23; John 14:19]
  • God gives us His Holy Spirit, who, richly dwelling in us, enables us to confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that Jesus is Lord. [Romans 10:8-13; 1 Corinthians 12:3]
  • In Holy Baptism (which is for every human being, no matter their age) the righteousness of Christ is given to us because the very Name of God is put on us in the water and we are made children and heirs of God in Christ Jesus. [Acts 2:38-39; Exodus 20:24; Matthew 28:19-20]
  • In this new life given to us in our baptism into Christ, God calls us to live according to His will, which is revealed to us by the Word of God. The Scriptures teach us how we are now to live. [Romans 6:3-13]
  • In the Lord’s Supper, the Body and Blood of Christ (“is” means is) is truly given to us to eat and to drink. By faith in Christ’s words, “given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins,” one receives the true Body and Blood worthily, to one’s help and salvation. Receiving them in unbelief (example reasons: not the Body and Blood; not for me; I’m not a sinner, etc.) one receives the true Body and Blood to one’s judgment and harm. Receiving the true Body and Blood together, we are united with Christ and with each other in the forgiveness of sins. [Matthew 26:26-29; 1 Corinthians 11:23-32; 1 Corinthians 10:16-22]
  • Christ calls men to be pastors in His Church, with the task of proclaiming the full counsel of His Word (all the Scriptures) publicly, that is, in the Divine Service and in individual pastoral care; especially the proclamation of the forgiveness of sins in the Absolution (chiefly individually, but also corporately). Pastors are also called to distribute the Sacraments (Baptism and Communion) according to Christ’s establishment and ordering of them in the Scriptures. [John 20:21-23; 1 Corinthians 4:1; Luke 10:16]
  • The Divine Service is ordered to reflect this reality and to convey it to us clearly. The two high points of the Service are the preaching of the Word in the readings and sermon and the forgiveness of sins given out to believers in the Sacrament of the Altar. The point of the Service isn’t chiefly to move people emotionally, or to convince them to believe, or to manipulate them in any way, but instead to make sure that they hear that even though we are dead in our trespasses and sins, we are made alive in the salvation won for us and given to us in Jesus Christ. [2 Timothy 4:1-5]

Above I said this is distinctly Lutheran. In fact, all this is simply, distinctly, Christian. All of this is from God’s Word. If we set part of it aside or change it, then we are unfaithful and the Lord is right to discipline us. He calls us to remain faithful to His Word, and we should make sure we attend a congregation that teaches and practices this rightly, and likewise avoid those which do not.

The greatest, most wonderful thing is that we have all this published in a tidy little book for any person to be able to read and see for themselves. In the Small Catechism we have this marvelous teaching of God simply spelled out. You and I should be daily reading in the Catechism, chewing on those words, pondering them, and teaching them to our neighbors.

Take some time and look up those passages above. Pull out your Small Catechism and start reading through a section each day along with your Bible.

In Christ,

Pastor Schuermann

I was mildly horrified to read an article in Sunday’s State-Journal Register that interviewed several Springfield-area pastors about the message of hope that is part of the Easter message. My horror was at the utter lack of clarity expressed as to what the source of our hope is: the Easter Gospel, Christ risen from the dead. Instead the pastors were quoted as expressing Good Friday and Easter as some sort of therapeutic release. For example (I’ve removed names, since that’s not my aim here):

“Ultimately, for every sad Friday, there is a glorious Sunday morning,” said [a pastor], referring to Easter, which most Christians celebrate today. “Whatever your Good Friday is — financial problems or a divorce — if you hold on, your Sunday morning is coming.

“But you have to continue on through (those tribulations) to get there.”

This is appealing in a certain way, is it not? After all, we have struggles and trials in our lives. We all want hope in the midst of the lows of our lives. And, certainly, Christ gives us hope. But it is not the hope of Scarlett O’Hara, that “tomorrow is another day.” Rather, our hope is that death is defeated, that Sin is ended, that our scarlet-stained-by-sin selves are washed white by the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Our hope is that even while we bear these trials, we know that all of it is just a raging against us by sin, death, and the devil, and that in Christ we are preserved for a new, eternal life; a life that He, being the first-fruits, already lives in and promises we also will fully live in, come the Last Day.

Let me be clear: I don’t write this to put down these people quoted. For the sake of best construction, perhaps they were led to say these things by certain leading questions; or perhaps the journalist who wrote the article pulled quotes which avoided the true confession of Jesus Christ. However, we must be clear as to what the Christian message is, what Christian hope is, and what is not. Also I want to you to rejoice in what you have: here in the Lutheran church we have a clear confession of the Gospel. It’s all about Jesus Christ, dying and rising for you.

On Easter Sunday, at the sunrise service, we heard clearly from St. Paul what the true Easter Gospel is. Please let me leave you with that text:

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 

For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. (1 Corinthians 15:1-10)

Pastor Schuermann

I want us all to read through Martin Luther’s shorter preface to the Large Catechism this month. Since we have three youth being confirmed on Palm Sunday, it is important that we recognize what is necessary to know in order to be prepared to receive the Sacrament. The multiple years of confirmation instruction can confuse us in this matter. All of that instruction is good, but it is more than our Lord commands us to know and believe in order to begin receiving the Lord’s Supper. Luther writes about this below.

Pastor Schuermann

———

This sermon is designed and undertaken to be an instruction for children and the simple folk. Therefore, in ancient times it was called in Greek catechism (i.e., instruction for children). It teaches what every Christian must know. So a person who does not know this catechism could not be counted as a Christian or be admitted to any Sacrament, just as a mechanic who does not understand the rules and customs of his trade is expelled and considered incapable. Therefore, we must have the young learn well and fluently the parts of the catechism or instruction for children, diligently exercise themselves in them, and keep them busy with these parts.

Therefore, it is the duty of every father of a family to question and examine his children and servants at least once a week and see what they know or are learning from the catechism. And if they do not know the catechism, he should keep them learning it faithfully. For I well remember the time—indeed, even now it happens daily—that one finds rude, old persons who knew nothing and still know nothing about these things. Yet they go to Baptism and the Lord’s Supper and use everything belonging to Christians, even though people who come to the Lord’s Supper ought to know more and have a fuller understanding of all Christian doctrine than children and new scholars. However, for the common people we are satisfied if they know the three “parts.” These have remained in Christendom from of old, though little of them has been taught and used correctly until both young and old (who are called Christians and wish to be so) are well trained in them and familiar with them. These parts are the following:

FIRST: GOD’S TEN COMMANDMENTS

1. You shall have no other gods.
2. You shall not take the name of the Lord, your God, in vain.
3. You shall sanctify the holy day.
4. You shall honor your father and mother ‹that it may be well with you and you may live long upon the earth›.
5. You shall not murder.
6. You shall not commit adultery.
7. You shall not steal.
8. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
9. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house.
10. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his manservant, or his maidservant, or his cattle, or anything that is his.

SECOND: THE CHIEF ARTICLES OF OUR FAITH

1. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth.
2. And in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried. He descended into hell. The third day He rose again from the dead. He ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty. From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead.
3. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Christian Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

THIRD: THE PRAYER, OR “OUR FATHER,” WHICH CHRIST TAUGHT

Our Father who art in heaven.
1. Hallowed be Thy name.
2. Thy kingdom come.
3. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
4. Give us this day our daily bread.
5. And forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.
6. And lead us not into temptation.
7. But deliver us from evil. [For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever and ever.] Amen.

These are the most necessary parts of Christian teaching that one should first learn to repeat word for word. And our children should be used to reciting them daily when they rise in the morning, when they sit down to their meals, and when they go to bed at night. And until they repeat them, they should not be given food or drink. Likewise, every head of a household is bound to do the same with his household, manservants, and maidservants. He should not keep them in his house if they do not know these things or are unwilling to learn them. A person who is so rude and unruly as to be unwilling to learn these things is not to be tolerated. For in these three parts, everything that we have in the Scriptures is included in short, plain, and simple terms. For the holy fathers or apostles (whoever first taught these things) have summarized the doctrine, life, wisdom, and art of Christians this way. These parts speak, teach, and are focused on them.

Now, when these three parts are understood, a person must also know what to say about our Sacraments, which Christ Himself instituted: Baptism and the holy body and blood of Christ. They should know the texts that Matthew [28:19–20] and Mark [16:15–16] record at the close of their Gospels, when Christ said farewell to His disciples and sent them forth.

BAPTISM

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. [Matthew 28:19]

Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. [Mark 16:16]

This is enough for a simple person to know from the Scriptures about Baptism. In like manner, in short, simple words, they should also know the text of St. Paul [1 Corinthians 11:23–26] about the other Sacrament.

THE SACRAMENT

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.”

In the same way also, He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying: “Drink of it, all of you; this is My blood of the new testament, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.”

Then we would have all together five whole parts of Christian doctrine. These should be taught constantly and be required learning for children. You should hear them recited word for word. For you must not rely on the idea that the young people will learn and retain these things from the sermon alone. When these parts have been well learned, you may supplement and strengthen them by also setting before them some psalms or hymns, which have been composed on these parts of the catechism. Lead the young into the Scriptures this way, and make progress in them daily.

However, it is not enough for them to understand and recite these parts according to the words alone. The young people should also be made to attend the preaching, especially during the time that is devoted to the catechism. Then they may hear it explained and may learn to understand what every part contains, so that they can recite it the way they have heard it. Then, when asked, they may give a correct answer, so that preaching may not be useless and fruitless. For the reason we exercise such diligence in preaching the catechism often is so that it may be taught to our youth, not in a high and clever way, but briefly and with the greatest simplicity. In this way it will enter the mind easily and be fixed in the memory.

I think at this time of year I always struggle a little bit. The big pastoral push of Advent and Christmas is done with, and there’s a lull before Lent, Holy Week, and Easter. We’ve had a high, and now we’re in the low before another big high. Besides this, there’s always my reflection on people I saw in the pews at Christmas whom I don’t expect to see again for many months; and also all those whom I had hoped to see at Christmas, at least, who didn’t darken the congregation’s door at all.

Besides that, as I age I’m finding I much prefer the sunshine and warmth of all the other seasons besides winter. I like getting outside, hearing the birds, smelling the soil, marveling at the beauty of the trees leafing out and the flowers pushing up to unfold their blooms, riding my bike and feeling the air 

Maybe you find yourself the same way? Katie always reminds me that it’s a blessing patiently to walk and wait through each season, because it’s a reminder that our Lord’s world keeps on going as He has ordered it. This is true, and it is a good reminder. It’s rooted in God’s promise made to Noah following the flood: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease.” This is right after God’s promise of never again sending a flood to destroy all life.

Perhaps another way to put it is like this: we live every day in the providence, blessing, and grace of God. I find, thinking in this way, I am able to greet each day with the joy and gladness that comes with knowing that Christ Jesus has taken away my sins, as far as the east is from the west. Instead of sending a flood to destroy all life, God sends His Son to redeem and save all life. Even you and me. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.” “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

We have so much to be thankful for and to rejoice in. Lent and Easter are coming. Please prepare yourselves to come and hear the Word and receive the Sacrament in this holy time. Ash Wednesday is March 6th; Divine Service with the imposition of ashes will be at 7 p.m. that night. We’ll have Lenten midweek services each Wednesday at 7 p.m. Please put them on your calendar. Each day during Holy Week (4/15-4/20) a service will be offered at 7 p.m. Please put these on your calendar, too; make hearing the Word and receiving the Sacrament a part of your life this year.

I’ve included in the newsletter this month a statement from Rev. Matthew Harrison, president of the LCMS, given in response to recent actions by the state government in New York as well as by Governor Pritzker here in Illinois to promote and even to celebrate abortion. Please give it a read, and pray. We live in the gray and latter days when great and terrible evil is celebrated as good. Lord, have mercy!

I’m praying for you. Please pray for me. God bless you.

Pastor Schuermann

It’s a new year: Happy new year! What does this mean? Well, in a worldly sense, it means it’s time to make all sorts of resolutions about your life and how you’ll live it during the next 365 days. “I’m going to lose weight.” “I’m going to devote more time to my wife, or children, or the whole family.” “I’m going to take up photography, or knitting, or bird watching, or bicycling.” “I’m going to spend time in the word of God every day.”

It is a good thing to seek to do better in your life. If you feel like you’ve let yourself go physically over the last year (or several), committing to a regimen of right eating and exercise is a salutary thing to do. If you’ve noticed that you and your spouse are just going through the motions, or the kids don’t act like you’re a big part of their lives anymore, it’s a very good thing to seek to build up those relationships through quality time spent building memories and experiences together. If you find your prayer life as nonexistent and your knowledge of God’s Word even worse, it’s quite commendable to resolve to keep to a schedule of personal or family devotion during the next 52 weeks.

But when you fail to keep the lofty goals which you’ve set (and I think this is a safe assumption to make), please don’t despair! Even though God wants you to nurture your relationships with your family, and take care of your body (His gift to you after all), and continue to come to Him and hear His word in your devotional time and the church service, He doesn’t expect you to do these things to be saved! His relationship with you is sealed in your baptism, where He gave you the fruits of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection. 

Remember that all these good works are those prepared beforehand by the Lord for you to do in serving your neighbor. You work out so that you can be healthy enough to care for others. You study God’s word so that you can be prepared to give an answer for the hope that is in you. You work on your family relationships so that you can gently lead your wife and children in a Christian way. But God has taken care of the salvation part – we’re saved by grace through faith, not by works! He is pleased by the Good Works that believers do – but not because they earn His favor. Rather, He loves the fact that they do them in faith – they work their works believing in Jesus’ salvation!

Here’s a word from our Lutheran Confessions on Good Works:

“First, there is no controversy among our theologians about the following points in this article: it is God’s will, order, and command that believers should walk in good works. Truly good works are not those that everyone does himself from a good intention, or which are done according to human traditions, but those that God Himself has prescribed and commanded in His Word. Also, truly good works are done not by our own natural powers, but in this way: when a person is reconciled with God through faith and renewed by the Holy Spirit. Or, as Paul says, a person is “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” (Concordia : The Lutheran Confessions, p. 547)

I am praying for you in this new year! Please remember me in your prayers, too.

Pastor Schuermann

I recently read a story about a letter to the editor that once appeared in a small town’s newspaper. A churchgoer wrote and complained that it makes no sense to go to church every Sunday. This person wrote: “I’ve gone to church for thirty years now, and in that time I have heard something like two thousand sermons. But for the life of me, I can’t remember a single one of them. So I think I’m wasting my time and the pastors are wasting theirs by preaching sermons at all.”

As you can guess, the letter proved controversial. For several weeks responses showed up on the Editorial page. Finally, someone wrote in with this response: “I’ve been married for thirty years now. In that time my wife has cooked, by my calculations, some thirty thousand meals. But for the life of me, I cannot recall the entire menu for a single one of those meals. But I do know this: They all nourished me and gave me the strength I needed to do my work. If my wife had not given me those meals, I would be physically dead today. Likewise, if I had not gone to church for nourishment, I would be spiritually dead today!”

Now is this a true story? Who knows? It’s just as likely to be a modern parable, a very helpful illustration of a very good and true point. On the one hand, people who neglect to attend church or refuse to go to church at all (and this includes a bunch of people who are “members” of a church) miss out on the nourishment that keeps them spiritually alive. And on the other hand, those who faithfully attend the Divine Service receive rich nourishment in God’s forgiveness, and Christ’s salvation and life, even if they struggle to remember the details of every sermon (or even any part at all).

King Solomon prays at the dedication of the Temple in 1 Kings 8. In his prayer we hear expressed the purpose of the Church. Solomon praises God’s steadfast love, confesses that it is awesome that God would truly dwell on earth, and then pleads with God to hear the prayers of His people as they prayed in that place. “And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.” (1 Kings 8:30)

Solomon then goes on to repeatedly pray for God’s forgiveness for a whole variety of sins. If a man sins against his neighbor; If God’s people are defeated in battle due to their sin; When there is no rain because of the people’s transgression: “Hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your people.” (v. 34) “Hear in heaven and forgive the sin of Your servants.” (v. 36) “Hear in heaven Your dwelling place and forgive.” (v. 39)

We sinners need forgiveness: every man, every woman, every teenager, pre-teen, toddler, every infant; from Eden after the Fall, to Old Testament Israel, to the current-day Church. Feeding on God’s forgiveness for us sinners in Christ is always our nourishment when we “go to church.” According to Scripture, everything in Christ’s Church–from the pastor’s sermons to Sunday School and Scripture Study, from Holy Baptism to Holy Communion, from the conversations in the narthex or in the Parish Hall over donuts to works of mercy to private pastoral care sessions–everything is designed to communicate God’s forgiveness of sins through Jesus Christ, so that we will be spiritually nourished.

Luther write in his Large Catechism: “Everything, therefore, in the Christian Church is ordered toward this goal: we shall daily receive in the Church nothing but the forgiveness of sin through the Word and [Sacraments], to comfort and encourage our consciences as long as we live here.” (LC II 55)

Peace in Christ! I do pray that we’ll see one another regularly in the Divine Service.

Pastor Schuermann

I want to share with you this month a wonderful portion of sermon preached by Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the famous German Lutheran of the early 20th century who was an outspoken opponent of Nazism and Adolf Hitler. He preached this sermon in 1933 in Berlin, on the Gospel text of Matthew 16:13-18.

I especially want to share this as an ongoing reminder to us of what we are given to do: we are given faith and lips which are to confess Jesus Christ as the Savior of the world from Sin. Using this, Christ builds His Church. We don’t look to how things are going in any sort of worldly sense; instead we merely ask ourselves, “are we confessing Jesus Christ and His Word to each other and the world?” If yes, then we are doing what God has given us to do. As Bonhoeffer says below, “Christ builds.”

Peace in Christ,
Pastor Schuermann

…Jesus himself puts the decisive question, for which the disciples had been waiting: “Who do people say that the Son of man is?” Answer: “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” Opinions, nothing but opinions; one could extend this list of opinions as much as one wanted…some say you are a great man, some say you are an idealist, some say you are a religious genius, some say you are a great champion and hero, who will lead us to victory and greatness. Opinions, more or less serious opinions–but Jesus does not want to build his church on opinions. And so he addresses himself directly to his disciples: “But who do you say that I am?” In this inevitable confrontation with Christ there can be no “perhaps” or “some say,” no opinions but only silence or the answer which Peter gives now: “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Here in the midst of human opinions and views, something quite new suddenly becomes visible. Here God’s name is named, here the eternal is pronounced, here the mystery is recognized. Here is no longer human opinion, but precisely the opposite, here is divine revelation and confession of faith. “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church.”

What is the difference between Peter and the others? Is he of such heroic nature that he towers over the others? He is not. Is he endowed with such unheard of strength of character?  He is not. Is he gifted with unshakable loyalty? He is not. Peter is nothing, nothing but a person confessing his faith, a person who has been confronted by Christ and who has recognized Christ, and who now confesses his faith in him, and this confessing Peter is called the rock on which Christ will build his church. Peter’s church–that means the church of rock, the church of the confession of Christ. Peter’s church, that does not mean a church of opinions and views, but the church of the revelation; not a church in which what “people say” is talked about but the church in which Peter’s confession is made anew and passed on; the church which has no other purpose in song, prayer, preaching, and action than to pass on its confession of faith; the church which is always founded on rock as long as it remains within these limits, but which turns into a house built on sand, which is blown away by the wind, as soon as it is foolhardy enough to think that it may depart from or even for a moment neglect this purpose.

But Peter’s church–this is not something which one can say with untroubled pride. Peter, the confessing, believing disciple, Peter denied his Lord on the same night as Judas betrayed him; in that night he stood at the fire and felt ashamed when Jesus stood before the high priest; he is the man of little faith, the timid man who sinks into the sea; Peter is the disciple whom Jesus threatened: “Get thee behind me Satan”; it is he who later was again and again overcome by weakness, who again and again denied and fell, a weak, vacillating man, given over to the whim of the moment. Peter’s church, that is the church which shares these weaknesses, the church which itself again and again denies and falls, the unfaithful, fainthearted, timid church which again neglects its charge and looks to the world and its opinions. Peter’s church, that is the church of all those who are ashamed of their Lord when they should stand firm confessing him.

But Peter is also the man of whom we read: “He went out and wept bitterly.” Of Judas, who also denied the Lord, we read: “He went out and hanged himself.” That is the difference. Peter went out and wept bitterly. Peter’s church is not only the church which confesses its faith, nor only the church which denies its Lord; it is the church which can still weep. “By the waters of Babylon, there we sat down and wept, when we remembered Zion” (Ps.137:1). This is the church; for what does this weeping mean other than that one has found the way back, than that one is on the way home, than that one has become the prodigal son who falls to his knees weeping before his father?  Peter’s church is the church with that godly sadness which leads to joy.

It does indeed seem very uncertain ground to build on, doesn’t it? And yet it is bedrock, for this Peter, this trembling reed, is called by God, caught by God, held by God.  “You are Peter,” we all are Peter; not the Pope, as the Roman Catholics would have it; not this person or that, but all of us, who simply live from our confession of faith in Christ, as the timid, faithless, fainthearted, and yet who live as people sustained by God.

But it is not we who build. He builds the church. No human being builds the church but Christ alone. Whoever intends to build the church is surely well on the way to destroying it; for he will build a temple to idols without wishing or knowing it. We must confess–he builds. We must proclaim—he builds. We must pray to him–that he may build. We do not know his plan. We cannot see whether he is building or pulling down. It may be that the times which by human standards are times of collapse are for him the great times of construction. It may be that from a human point of view great times for the church are actually times of demolition. It is a great comfort which Christ gives to his church: you confess, preach, bear witness to me, and I alone will build where it pleases me. Do not meddle in what is my province.

Do what is given to you to do well and you have done enough. But do it well. Pay no heed to views and opinions, don’t ask for judgments, don’t always be calculating what will happen, don’t always be on the lookout for another refuge! Let the church remain the church! But church, confess, confess, confess! Christ alone is your Lord, from his grace alone can you live as you are. Christ builds.

And the gates of hell shall not prevail against you. Death, the greatest heir of everything that has existence, here meets its end. Close by the precipice of the valley of death, the church is founded, the church which confesses Christ as its life. The church possesses eternal life just where death seeks to take hold of it; and death seeks to take hold of it precisely because it possesses life. The Confessing Church is the eternal church because Christ protects it. Its eternity is not visible in this world. It is unhindered by the world. The waves pass right over it and sometimes it seems to be completely covered and lost. But the victory is its because Christ its Lord is by its side and he has overcome the world of death. Do not ask whether you can see the victory; believe in the victory and it is yours…

I’m writing this month’s article at the same time that the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee is conducting a special hearing about sexual assault allegations made against Judge Brett Kavanaugh. That’s not what this article is about. However, the entire situation is a clear example to us of the importance of a good name and reputation.

God has set up the 8th Commandment to guard and protect the reputations of all people: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor.” This means that the Lord commands His people not to “tell lies about our neighbor, betray him, slander him, or hurt his reputation, but defend him, speak well of him, and explain everything in the kindest way.”

You’ll recall that this teaching about the 8th Commandment is from Luther’s Small Catechism. I want to provide a lengthy quote from Luther’s Large Catechism. You should read it, and take this teaching to heart. A harmed or lost reputation is just as harmful to a person’s life as physical harm. We ought always to guard our tongue from lies, gossip, and slander, with God’s help; at the same, and also with His help, we should always be ready to defend our neighbor and counter lies, gossip, and slander from others.

Over and above our own body, spouse, and temporal possessions, we still have another treasure—honor and good reputation [Proverbs 22:1]. We cannot do without these. For it is intolerable to live among people in open shame and general contempt. Therefore, God does not want the reputation, good name, and upright character of our neighbor to be taken away or diminished, just as with his money and possessions. He wants everyone to stand in his integrity before wife, children, servants, and neighbors…

In the third place, which concerns us all, this commandment forbids all sins of the tongue [James 3], by which we may injure or confront our neighbor. To bear false witness is nothing else than a work of the tongue. Now, God prohibits whatever is done with the tongue against a fellow man. This applies to false preachers with their doctrine and blasphemy, false judges and witnesses with their verdict, or outside of court by lying and speaking evil. Here belongs particularly the detestable, shameful vice of speaking behind a person’s back and slandering, to which the devil spurs us on, and of which much could be said. For it is a common evil plague that everyone prefers hearing evil more than hearing good about his neighbor. We ourselves are so bad that we cannot allow anyone to say anything bad about us. Everyone would much prefer that all the world should speak of him in glowing terms. Yet we cannot bear that the best is spoken about others…

So you see that it is directly forbidden to speak any evil of our neighbor. However, the civil government, preachers, father, and mother are not forbidden to speak out. This is based on the understanding that this commandment does not allow evil to go unpunished… For in matters of justice necessity requires one to speak of the evil, to prefer charges, to investigate, and to testify. This is no different from the case of a doctor who is sometimes compelled to examine and handle the private parts of the patient whom he is to cure. In the same way governments, father and mother, brothers and sisters, and other good friends are under obligation to one another to rebuke evil wherever it is needful and profitable [Luke 17:3].

The true way in this matter would be to keep the order in the Gospel. In Matthew 18:15, Christ says, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” Here you have a precious and excellent teaching for governing well the tongue, which is to be carefully kept against this detestable misuse. Let this, then, be your rule, that you do not too quickly spread evil about your neighbor and slander him to others. Instead, admonish him privately that he may amend his life. Likewise, if someone reports to you what this or that person has done, teach him, too, to go and admonish that person personally, if he has seen the deed himself. But if he has not seen it, then let him hold his tongue.

You can learn the same thing also from the daily government of the household. When the master of the house sees that the servant does not do what he ought, he admonishes him personally… Look, that would be acting quite brotherly, so that the evil would be stopped, and your neighbor would retain his honor. As Christ also says in the same place, “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” [Matthew 18:15]. Then you have done a great and excellent work. For do you think it is a small matter to gain a brother?…

Further, Christ teaches, “But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses” [Matthew 18:16]. So the person concerned in this matter must always be dealt with personally, and must not be spoken of without his knowledge. But if that does not work, then bring it publicly before the community, whether before the civil or the Church court. For then you do not stand alone, but you have those witnesses with you by whom you can convict the guilty one. Relying on their testimony the judge can pronounce sentence and punish. This is the right and regular course for checking and reforming a wicked person. But if we gossip about another in all corners, and stir the filth, no one will be reformed…

All this has been said about secret sins. But where the sin is quite public, so that the judge and everybody know about it, you can without any sin shun the offender and let him go his own way, because he has brought himself into disgrace. You may also publicly testify about him. For when a matter is public in the daylight, there can be no slandering or false judging or testifying… Where the sin is public, the rebuke also must be public, that everyone may learn to guard against it.

Now we have the sum and general understanding of this commandment: Let no one do any harm to his neighbor with the tongue, whether friend or foe. Do not speak evil of him, no matter whether it is true or false, unless it is done by commandment or for his reformation. Let everyone use his tongue and make it serve for the best of everyone else, to cover up his neighbor’s sins and infirmities [1 Peter 4:8], excuse them, conceal and garnish them with his own reputation. The chief reason for this should be the one that Christ declares in the Gospel, where He includes all commandments about our neighbor, “whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” [Matthew 7:12].

Even nature teaches the same thing in our own bodies, as St. Paul says, “On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and on those parts of the body that we think less honorable we bestow the greater honor, and our unpresentable parts are treated with greater modesty” (1 Corinthians 12:22–23). No one covers his face, eyes, nose, and mouth, for they, being in themselves the most honorable parts that we have, do not require it. But the most weak parts, of which we are ashamed, we cover with all diligence. Hands, eyes, and the whole body must help to cover and conceal them. So also among ourselves should we clothe whatever blemishes and infirmities we find in our neighbor and serve and help him to promote his honor to the best of our ability. On the other hand, we should prevent whatever may be disgraceful to him. It is especially an excellent and noble virtue for someone always to explain things for his neighbor’s advantage and to put the best construction on all he may hear about his neighbor (if it is not notoriously evil). Or, at any rate, forgive the matter over and against the poisonous tongues that are busy wherever they can to pry out and discover something to blame in a neighbor [Psalm 140:3]…

There are included, therefore, in this commandment quite a multitude of good works. These please God most highly and bring abundant good and blessing, if only the blind world and the false saints would recognize them. For there is nothing on or in a person that can do both greater and more extensive good or harm in spiritual and in temporal matters than the tongue. This is true even though it is the least and weakest part of a person [James 3:5].

So we see how our Lord would have us guard and protect our neighbor’s reputation. As in all things, this also serves for our own reputations and good names to be upheld. We do not have to worry about ourselves. God will care for us and uphold us through our neighbors. As in all good works, we strive to do what we can in our weakness, knowing that our Lord Jesus covers over our infirmities with His perfection and righteousness.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Schuermann

As we prepare to occupy and compete the construction of our new Education Wing, I think it proper that we hear a bit from the blessed Dr. Martin Luther on Christian education. I’m going to simply lay out some short cuttings of his writings below. Please read, enjoy, and give some thought to what Luther is saying. Though some of his own particular societal context guides his words, generally his thoughts apply even to our context today. I especially want to point out that it would do us all quite a bit of good to understand better the fundamental need to have explicitly Christian teaching and the Holy Scriptures be at the center of our children’s education; and frankly, at the center of our lives in general. Enough of me. Here’s Dr. Luther:

The number of books on theology must be reduced and only the best ones published. It is not many books that make men learned, nor even reading. But it is a good book frequently read, no matter how small it is, that makes a man learned in the Scriptures and godly. Indeed, the writings of all the holy fathers should be read only for a time so that through them we may be led into the Scriptures. As it is, however, we only read them these days to avoid going any further and getting into the Bible. We are like men who read the sign posts and never travel the road they indicate. Our dear fathers wanted to lead us to the Scriptures by their writings, but we use their works to get away from the Scriptures. Nevertheless, the Scripture alone is our vineyard in which we must all labor and toil. (AE 44, p. 205) to nobility

Above all, the foremost reading for everybody, both in the universities and in the schools, should be Holy Scripture–and for the younger boys, the Gospels. And would to God that every town had a girls’ school as well, where the girls would be taught the gospel for an hour every day either in German or in Latin. Schools indeed! Monasteries and nunneries began long ago with that end in view, and it was a praiseworthy and Christian purpose…. Is it not right that every Christian man know the entire holy gospel by the age of nine or ten? Does he not derive his name and his life from the gospel? (AE 44, pp. 205-206)

Oh, we handle these poor young people who are committed to us for training and instruction in the wrong way! We shall have to render a solemn account of our neglect to set the word of God before them. Their lot is as described by Jeremiah in Lamentations 2 [:11-12], “My eyes are grown weary with weeping, my bowels are terrified, my heart is poured out upon the ground because of the destruction of the daughter of my people, for the youth and the children perish in all the streets of the entire city. They said to their mothers, ‘Where is bread and wine?’ as they fainted like wounded men in the streets of the city and gave up the ghost on their mothers’ bosom.” We do not see this pitiful evil, how today the young people of Christendom languish and perish miserably in our midst for want of the gospel, in which we ought to be giving them constant instruction and training. (AE 44, p. 206)

I would advise no one to send his child where the Holy Scriptures are not supreme. Every institution that does not unceasingly pursue the study of God’s word becomes corrupt…. I greatly fear that the universities, unless they teach the Holy Scriptures diligently and impress them on the young students, are wide gates to hell. (Ae 44, p. 207)

For you should know that God’s word and grace is like a passing shower of rain which does not return where it has once been. It has been with the Jews, but when it’s gone it’s gone, and now they have nothing. Paul brought it to the Greeks; but again when it’s gone it’s gone, and now they have the Turk. Rome and the Latins also had it; but when it’s gone, it’s gone, and now they have the pope. And you Germans need not think that you will have it forever, for ingratitude and contempt will not make it stay. (AE 45, pp. 352-3)

The third consideration is by far the most important of all, namely the command of God, who through Moses urges and enjoins parents so often to instruct their children that Psalm 78 says: How earnestly he commanded our fathers to teach their children and to instruct their children’s children [Ps. 78:5-6]. This is also evident in God’s fourth commandment, in which the injunction that children shall obey their parents is so stern that he would even have rebellious children sentenced to death [Deut. 21:18-21]. Indeed, for what purpose do we older folks exist, other than to care for, instruct, and bring up the young? It is utterly impossible for these foolish young people to instruct and protect themselves. This is why God has entrusted them to us who are older and know from experience what is best for them. And God will hold us strictly accountable for them. (AE 45, p. 353)

I love reading Luther. I hope you do, or will learn to, too. If you’re interested in giving some slither a read, let me know and I’ll get you started on some of his more accessible works. We have a large selection of Luther’s Works in the congregation’s library. 

Love in Christ,
Pastor Schuermann

I was blessed in July to spend 5 days with Betsy and some of the high school members of the congregation at Higher Things in Minnesota. I also was blessed to spend 10 days on vacation with my dear wife. I’m also thankful to have been able to spend a few days at the Bugenhagen Conference, which  brought together pastors from throughout the country to hear some presentations and talk much about various aspects of pastoral care and practice.

In the midst of all that, I attended the Central Illinois District Convention as the congregation’s pastoral delegate (Corey Wiegand was the lay delegate). I want to update you on the matters that took place there.

First, elections:

• • • Rev. Mark Miller was re-elected to serve another 3 years as District President.
    • Rev. Rick Milas and Rev. Mark Eddy were elected as Vice-Presidents of the District.
    • Rev. Michael Mohr was re-elected as District Secretary, and Rev. James Stuenkel re-elected as Assistant Secretary.
    • Mr. Dale Dirks was re-elected as District Treasurer, and Mr. James Frazee elected as District Financial Secretary.
    • Rev. Jason Braaten, Rev. Michael Burdick, Rev. Pablo Dominguez, Rev. Michael Schuermann, Mrs. Jill Gerberding, Mr. Nathan Landskroener, Mr. Tom Blessman, Mr. Wayne Dietrich, Mr. Roger Garlisch, and Mr. Larry Wachtel were elected to the CID Board of Directors.
    • Rev. Peter Glock, Rev. Michael Koschmann, Mr. Shawn Hoffman, Mr. Dan Yagow, Mr. Tom Blessman, and Mr. Matt Putnam were elected to the 2021 District Nominations Committee.
    • Rev. Timothy Hahn, Rev. Kent Umbarger, and Mr. Ed Schoenbaum were elected to the Congregational Constitution, Bylaws, and Handbook Committee.

Second, Resolutions:

There were a total of 20 Resolutions considered by the Convention. Many were of the sort to commend individuals or organization for their work. I particular want to highlight two of those, for Mr. Glenn Goeres and Rev. Joel Cluver, both long-time District workers (Education and Congregational Life; and Missions, Evangelism, Human Care, and Stewardship, respectively). Rev. Cluver has retired and moved away, and Mr. Goeres retired but quickly became ill and has since fallen asleep in our Lord Jesus Christ. I encourage you to offer a prayer of thanksgiving to God for their faithful service to His Church in this place.

Several of the Resolutions were about financial stewardship or about careful stewardship of the resources that our Lord has blessed us with in the District. We as a congregation will spend some time talking about stewardship in the coming months as we move into a new phase in our construction and building updating/upkeep process. As we do that we will also need to discuss how we, a member congregation of the Synod, will keep striving to send some of our gifts on to the District and national Synod for use in mission and outreach efforts here and throughout the nation and world.

At the same time, the District will also be looking into some ways that we can work with another District, the Southern Illinois District, in providing some congregational services. This will be a bit of an experiment during the next three years.

There were several administrative resolutions having to do with updating certain District bylaws, the District Articles of Incorporation, and the Camp CILCA Articles of Incorporation. There were also some other miscellaneous overtures. The Late Overture that Good Shepherd submitted, asking the 2019 Synod Convention to consider appointing a Task Force to take another look at the structure of the Synod, failed by two votes after much discussion.

Finally, there was one contentious resolution considered by the District Convention: “To Address the Role of Laity in the Church Specific to Lay Readers/Lectors in the Public Service.” The essence of the Resolution was to 1) Ask the District President and Pastors of the District to study together what Scripture teaches about women’s participation in the reading of Scripture in the Divine Service or other public Services of the Church; 2) Following that study, for the Pastors of the District to study the same with their congregations; and 3) To ask the Synod in Convention to direct the LCMS Commission on Theology and Church Relations to study the same, and to reconsider a previous Synod overture that seems to be permissive in regard to lay reading of Scripture in the public Services of the Church.

This Resolution was defeated, 58% to 42%. This is not good, for a couple reasons. First, the discussion of the Resolution made it clear that study is needed as we are apparently quite divided on this teaching in the District. Amongst some of the pastors, discussion has already taken place as to bringing a request to the Fall Pastors’ Conference for studying this topic together in a year’s time. Hopefully this will happen. A second reason this is not good is that Scripture is quite clear on this matter being contrary to God’s order and will, and the Resolution laid out the clear Scripture passages.

In my experience and discussions, I don’t think this is an issue here at Good Shepherd, for which I’m very thankful to our Lord. You dear Christians hear the word of our Lord and gladly receive it, even when it is hard. This is wonderful! At the same time, I know many of you travel and when you attend some other LCMS congregations you will encounter the practice of women reading the Scriptures in the public Service. Scripture teaches us that a little leaven leavens the whole lump. As you encounter false practices, they can harm you, especially by indoctrinating you into thinking that it is OK for some practices to be contrary to the Word of God.

Also, the distinctiveness of men and women in general is under attack in our culture. Any differences or particular roles that are given to men or women are often downplayed if not denied outright. Sometime in the next year, I will teach on the Scriptural doctrine of Vocation. As part of this teaching we will talk about men and women and how we are the same and how we are different according to the Word of God. This won’t be the sole topic, but it is fundamental to the Created Order of our world. In the meantime, I’m happy to answer any questions you might have about this topic. Please call or email, and we can make an appointment to sit down and chat. I also highly recommend the books Ladylike and Man Up!, both published by CPH, for faithful teaching on this topic. Several copies of each of these books are in Good Shepherd’s library.

Love in Christ,
Pastor Schuermann