It warmed the hearts of the call committee to see such a wonderful turnout on Wednesday Evening's Call Service.

Reading around in the Lutheran literature, Bible studies, catechetical material, etc., you will inevitably bump into the term “means of grace.”

The way Lutherans worship is traditional; the orders of service in our worship book preserve the best of our worship tradition.

My Bibles are a mess; but not all of them.

As you can imagine a Lutheran pastor has a number of Bibles, in various translations.

The ones that are well used, written in, highlighted, and whose spines are falling of are the ones I’m writing about. The last one whose spine is about to give way i itself a replacement.

Repeatedly the Children of Israel disregarded the words of the Lord God and the instructions handed down to them through his servant, Moses. “Repeatedly” might be an understatement.

By the time you read this you will notice that the altar is decked in green, as it will be through-out the summer, unless a festival falls on a Sunday. This year September 29th falls on a Sunday; that’s the feast of St. Michael and All Angels. The assigned color is white.

The hymns in Lutheran Service Book are not about us, and very seldom about our feelings and wants. Our hymns lift up the Gospel of Jesus Christ and set our sights on heaven. That’s as it should be.

Christ Is Risen I was once a naïve freshman at Concordia College, New York. Back from Easter break everyone was shouting, “Christ is risen.” It was as if a verbal case of measles gone rogue. Someone kindly explained it to me.

On Easter, we gather to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Easter is our victory festival. Sin, death and Satan could not keep Jesus in the grave.

Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, and yes, we all know it’s also Valentines Day. We’ll assume you all know how to tell that certain someone that you love them.