Different Millennial Views

From the LCMS CTCR 

I thought this was so good, it was worth sharing. Also, it reminded me of a cartoon I saw.

The Holy Cross

The cross is the central symbol of Christianity.  It directs our thoughts, our eyes, our faith to Jesus’ sacrifice for us. Christ crucified is the central message of the Gospel and that which we proclaim to the world (1 Cor. 1:23).  It must always be remembered that we do not worship the actual cross, nor the symbol itself, but what the cross points and leads us to: Jesus Christ crucified for us.

As such, the cross or crucifix is the most important appointment (symbol or decoration) in the chancel.  The history of the use of the cross/crucifix in worship is long and complicated.  There are several different types, shapes, and sizes of crosses coming from different traditions, times, and places. The most recognizable in Western Christianity is the plain (Latin) cross †.  In the early church, a plain cross was used frequently.  The crucifix (a cross with the body of Jesus, called a corpus), began to appear more often in the early medieval period when there was an increased emphasis on the Passion of Christ.  Whether an empty cross or crucifix, both of which have a long and common history in Lutheranism the cross stands as a symbol of the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

Several crosses adorn most Lutheran churches today.  First and foremost is the main cross hanging on the chancel wall above the altar. This cross is front and center, serving as the focal point of symbols in the Divine Service.  It emphasizes the centrality of the Christ crucified in our preaching, teaching, worship, and life.  On Good Friday, this cross is commonly adorned with a black cloth symbolizing the death of Christ, while on Easter it is commonly adorned with a white cloth symbolizing the Resurrection.  Many times also, a crucifix stands upon the altar to direct our attention to Jesus’ sacrifice for us and give us a visible reminder that it is Christ's body and blood in the sacraments next to it on the altar.

The next most common cross inside the church is the processional cross, mounted on a staff and carried during various special Services.  As the name implies, this cross is used in processions.  When not being used during the Service, the processional cross often rests in a stand in the chancel.

Lastly, crosses adorn the exterior of most church buildings, giving witness to the reason why we are gathered.  In typical historical church architecture, a cross stands at the highest point of our building on top our steeple, calling people from far away to join us under the cross of Christ as He serves us through His Word and Sacraments.

Here are just a few of different types of crosses.  For a greater understanding of the meaning of each, please see appendix of Luther’s Small Catechism, or the book Symbols and Their Meaning by Rudolph F. Norden:

1.  Latin

2.  St. Andrews or Saltire

3.  Tau or St. Anthony

4.  Greek

5.  Celtic

6.  Chi Rho

7.  Ankh or Ansated

8.  Swastika

9.  Patriarchal

10. Patee

11. Potent

12. Moline

13. Russian

14. Maltese

15. Crosslet

16. Fleury

17. Botonnee

18. Calvary or Graded

19. Jerusalem

20. Ring

Symbols 2

 

In my last post, I discussed some common Christian symbols.  Here is Martin Luther's explanation of his seal and what it symbolized:

"The first should be a black cross in a heart, which retains its natural color, so that I myself would be reminded that faith in the Crucified saves us. "For one who believes from the heart will be justified" (Romans 10:10). Although it is indeed a black cross, which mortifies and which should also cause pain, it leaves the heart in its natural color. It does not corrupt nature, that is, it does not kill but keeps alive. "The just shall live by faith" (Romans 1:17) but by faith in the crucified. Such a heart should stand in the middle of a white rose, to show that faith gives joy, comfort, and peace. In other words, it places the believer into a white, joyous rose, for this faith does not give peace and joy like the world gives (John 14:27). That is why the rose should be white and not red, for white is the color of the spirits and the angels (Matthew 28:3; John 20:12). Such a rose should stand in a sky-blue field, symbolizing that such joy in spirit and faith is a beginning of the heavenly future joy, which begins already, but is grasped in hope, not yet revealed. And around this field is a golden ring, symbolizing that such blessedness in Heaven lasts forever and has no end. Such blessedness is exquisite, beyond all joy and goods, just as gold is the most valuable, most precious and best metal."

However, I always wondered if there were more to him choosing a rose, so I did some research into its use in Christianity. The rose was the emblem of the god Horus in ancient Egypt.  Later, the Greeks and Romans translated the god's Egyptian name Har-pa-khered (meaning "Horus the Child") as Harpocrates and regarded him as the god of silence. The association of Harpocrates with silence and secrecy originates from a misunderstanding of Egyptian depictions of the god. Heru-pa-khered was represented as a naked youth with a finger-to-mouth gesture--in Egyptian artwork this gesture imitates the hieroglyph for "child" and is used to represent youth, but was misunderstood by later Greeks and Romans as a gesture for silence.  In Greek mythology, Aphrodite (Venus) gave a rose to her son Eros (Cupid), the god of love; he, in turn, gave it to Harpocrates, the god of silence, to ensure that his mother's indiscretions (or those of the gods in general, in other accounts) were not disclosed. Paintings of roses on the ceilings of Roman banquet rooms were also a reminder that things said under the influence of wine (sub vino) should also remain under the rose (sub rosa). In the Middle Ages, a rose suspended from the ceiling of a council chamber similarly pledged all present (those under the rose) to secrecy. In Christian symbolism, the phrase "sub rosa" has a special place in confessions. Pictures of five-petalled roses were often carved on confessionals, indicating that the conversations would remain secret. Early Christians identified the five petals of the rose with the five wounds of Christ.

Other symbols that I like are the shield explaining the relationship of the trinity and the VDMA:

Symbols 1

There are many symbols in Christianity that serve to point us to Christ and His atoning work. These are not mere decorations in the church building, or elsewhere, but rather they serve the specific purpose of being a visual proclamation of God’s Word. As we hear the Word of God proclaimed to us in worship, we also see God’s Word portrayed through symbols and pictures.  Pictures and symbols can often portray meaning better than words, and hence, the décor within our church serves the purpose of promoting the Gospel for the glory of God.  A fuller explanation of common symbols used in the Lutheran Church can be found in the appendix of the maroon edition of Luther’s Small Catechism.  Several symbols are common, some of which are regularly used in congregations:


note: post adapted from my brother's writings

False Teachers

Warnings

1. The Bible is full of warnings to be on guard against false teachers, explaining that they will rise up in the Church (Matthew 7:15, Acts 20:29-31, 2 Peter 2:1)
2. Untaught Christians will twist the scripture and lead others astray (2 Peter 3:16-17)
3. A "little bit" of bad teaching should not be tolerated, as previously described here.
4. False teachings can prevent salvation (Matthew 15:9)
5. Christians will sinfully want false teachers and try to convince others of their false teachings (Colossians 2:8, 2 Timothy 4:3-4)
1. J.W. Baier: “[T]he unity of the Church is disturbed by syncretism, or the religious union of dissenting parties in a brotherly and ecclesiastical fellowship in spite of dissension, so that either the errors in doctrine on the part of the dissentients or at least the erring persons themselves are tolerated within the communion of the Church and the latter are regarded as brethren in Christ and coheirs of eternal life. Either class of tolerance, however, is sinful.”

How do we be on guard against false teachers?

1. You will know them by their fruit (Matthew 7:15-16)
2. Test everything that is taught from all teachers (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22)
3. Test or weigh against scripture to see whether it is compatible with Gods word (Acts 17:11) 
4. Test what they confess about Jesus (1 John 4:1-3)
5. Weight things with he help of other Christians when it gets hard (1 Cor. 14:29)
   

In Galatians 5:7-12, Paul gives six identifying marks that can guide us identify false teachers.

1. They distract Christians from obeying the truth of the gospel (v. 7). 
2. They replace the call of God with their own deceptive persuasiveness (v. 8). 
3. They gain control over the whole church (v. 9). 
4. They cause confusion and discouragement (v. 10).
5. They spread false reports about spiritual leaders. (v.11)
6. They emphasize works that you have to do, such as circumcision (v.12)
1. This sounds harsh, but Paul is saying that if they really want to rely on rituals, they might as well go the whole way and emasculate themselves! Here he is referring to a ritual that actually took place in his day in Galatian pagan temples.

In 2 Peter 2:1-3, Peter gives a great treatise on False teachers.

1. False teachers will arise both outside and inside the church
2. The false teachers bring themselves and their followers to destruction
3. False teachers bring reproach against the true saints
4. False teachers are not always easily spotted, they are very deceptive
5. They can be recognized by their morals and motives
6. They can be recognized by their methods
7. They can be recognized by their message
8. In these latter days, anyone who claims to be a "prophet" is a false teacher.
1. Peters language switches from prophets in early days to teachers in verse 1. The witnesses of Christ (the apostles) were the last to prophecy and when their work was complete, the inspired Bible was complete, so there are no more words from God needed and no more prophets.
2. Anyone claiming to be a prophet should be judged as one, as explained in Deuteronomy 13:1-5 and 18:20-22:

If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a sign or wonder, and if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,” you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The Lord your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul. It is the Lord your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him. That prophet or dreamer must be put to death for inciting rebellion against the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery. That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you....

But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death.” You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the Lord?” If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the Lord does not take place or come true, that is a message the Lord has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously, so do not be alarmed.

Also in the Smalcald Articles we read:

“Therefore, we must constantly maintain this point: God does not want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. Whatever is praised as from the Spirit—without the Word and Sacraments—is the devil himself.”

Lastly,

A Little Bit of Bad Stuff (or Don't Eat the Poop Brownies)

This is an awesome high school age Bible Study that makes an impact. Disclaimer: I don't actually like chocolate anyway, so I have problem with this. To prepare, make brownies with dog poop in them. Set them out in front of the group during discussion as a “treat" at the end. It is also a good idea to make a good batch and hide it to actually give them so they don't get too disappointed at the end.

Start off with asking questions:

• What do you think of the media?
• What kind of t.v./music do you like?
• Why do we (society) condone so much today?
• How much do these things affect us?
• Do you pick up bad habits/words from people.

We are so ready to accept a little bit of bad language, one or two sex scenes, violence in a movie.  We “listen to the beat” of a song that doesn’t glorify God.  We say these “little things” don’t make a difference, that we can “block them out” and they won’t change anything.  The brownies will not have a different taste and would not hurt you, why doesn’t anyone ever eat them? A bad apple really does ruin the whole bunch. Once a fruit starts rotting, it spreads quickly to all the other fruit around it.

Bible Verses:

"You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is." -Galatians 5:7-10

"As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus so that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine." -1 Timothy 1:3

But avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness, and their talk will spread like gangrene. -2 Timothy 2:16-17

Dr. Robert Kolb in his book The Christian Faith has a great analogy:

"[C]ompare the doctrine of the Scripture to a human body. The body of doctrine cannot exist if Christ the head is decapitated. It dies without the heart of our understanding of how we become right with God pumping away—although the heart, the doctrine of justification, may be partially diseased and still pump, it is true. This was evident in the medieval church, where preachers put a high but false premium on good works and still pointed people to Christ’s saving blood. We see this in contemporary Christians who empathize the contribution of our own personal decision in coming to Christ and still try to cultivate trust in his grace.

"If an arm, the doctrine of Baptism, for example, is severed, the body may be able to survive. But it may hemorrhage and die. If the leg of the doctrine of the church become paralyzed, the body may survive, but it will be crippled at best, and it may fall down in a heap and crack the head, too.

"So the question, “How much doctrine must be pure if one is to remain a Christian?” is simply a wrong kind of question. The whole of our conveying of biblical teaching needs to be accurate and on target—both because believers need to know what God wants us to know and because God’s Word is true. Nonetheless, sinful doctrinal error does not always break our relationship with the Lord even though it makes it more tenuous."

Exodus 20:1-18 - The Decalogue

I.)  Verse 1 – Establishing His authority, origin of what is to follow.  God is setting this up.

II.)  Verse 2 – Suzerainty Treaty (AKA Royal Treaty Format)
     A.)  This is called a historical prologue or preamble to the treaty.  It has two purposes.
          1.)  In the first part, the king identifies himself.
          2.)  Secondly, the he tells the history of how the people got there.
               a.) In this case God takes credit for how they got there.
     B.)  God is in control as a king is. He has the credit for getting them where they are.
     C.)  Why does God set it all up in this way?
           1.)  For us.  So we can understand.

III.)  Verse 3-17 – Lays out the terms of the treaty.
     A.)  Since God did it all, then grace established the relationship.
     B.)  The relationship is set up in terms of laws just as secular kingdoms.
     C.)  Since grace established the relationship, why does it take the form of laws? -or- 
            Grace is associated with freedom, so why did God make these laws/any laws for his people?
     D.)  For us.
          1.)  Ten Commandments are NOT a way to get to heaven.
          2.)  With freedom comes responsibility. 
               a.)  Same in society:  taxes, laws, voting.
          3.)  How we should have relationships with other people.
          4.)  For our spiritual welfare and relationship with God the Holy Spirit uses the law in 3 ways:
               a.)  Curb – Keeps us in the road/narrow way/path/not straying.
               b.)  Mirror – shows us sin and how bad we are
               c.)  Ruler – Guide us, tells us what we should be doing and where we should go.
     E.)  For the world
          1.)  These laws are to make the people holy.
               a.)  Not made righteous, or even more righteous, by keeping them.
               b.)  Holy means set apart.
          2.)  These laws are meant to keep God’s people from living by the world’s standards and morals.
          3.)  We don’t have to obey, we get to obey.
          4.)  We get to show the world what it means to live under God.
               a.)  Pledge of allegiance, God Bless America meant to do just that.

IV.)  Verse 18 – Why does God make such a spectacle?

     A.)  A trumpet and fanfare announces a king.
     A.)  To establish his power

          1.)  They would constantly doubt.  Look at history.  See verse 20.