A common mistake people make about the Bible is to forget that the Bible is not about us! The Bible is not a set of rules that we are to obey (Love your neighbor as yourself, for example) so that we can earn God’s favor. The Bible is about Jesus Christ who is our Savior. And while the Bible does talk about how to live our lives in a God-pleasing way, that’s not where it starts with us. The first message of the Bible to humanity (you) is about sin! We have failed God and cannot possibly save ourselves. Once we realize the reality and depth of our sins, the message of Jesus Christ is exactly what we need. By his death and resurrection, sin was paid for. Through faith in him, you receive the full benefit of his work as your Savior. So the real message of the Bible points to Jesus as our Savior. In Jesus’ day, the Pharisees had it totally upside down — they thought the Bible was about them. Don’t fall into the same trap. Instead, put your hope in Jesus, not yourself. The Bible will make more sense and, most importantly, will give you the comfort that God intends for you to have.

"You diligently study the Scriptures because you think that by them you possess eternal life. These are the Scriptures that testify about me." John 5:39 (NIV)

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling

God only comes to us through his Word. He has never promised personal revelations and so to expect those is misguided. Many false teachings and religions have arisen from those who think they know better than what the Bible teaches or who think they have received a person revelation from God.

Knowing this makes hearing God’s Word of vital spiritual importance for the Christian! Worship, Bible Class, and personal time in God’s Word are a source of strength against the assaults of sin and the devil because God’s Word connects us to Jesus as our only Savior.

Romans 10:17 (NIV) "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ."

Below is a section from The Smalcald Articles by Martin Luther. In this section he reminds us of the importance of hearing God’s Word and the danger of anything that doesn’t come from the Bible.

In issues relating to the spoken, outward Word, we must firmly hold that God grants His Spirit or grace to no one except through or with the preceding outward Word. This protects us from the enthusiasts (i.e., souls who boast that they have the Spirit without and before the Word). They judge Scripture or the spoken Word and explain and stretch it at their pleasure, as Münzer did. Many still do this today, wanting to be sharp judges between the Spirit and the letter, and yet they do not know what they are saying. Actually, the papacy too is nothing but sheer enthusiasm. The pope boasts that all rights exist in the shrine of his heart. Whatever he decides and commands within his church is from the Spirit and is right, even though it is above and contrary to Scripture and the spoken Word.

In a word, enthusiasm dwells in Adam and his children from the beginning to the end of the world. Its venom has been implanted and infused into them by the old serpent. It is the origin, power, and strength of all heresy, especially of that of the papacy and Muhammad. 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.
Smalcald Articles
Part III, Article VIII:3-4, 9-11

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling

In Hebrews 13:7–9 we read:
7 Remember your leaders who have spoken God’s word to you. As you carefully observe the outcome of their lives, imitate their faith. 8 Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. 9 Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by foods, since those involved in them have not benefitted.

Each of the verses above may seem like a separate point. It may seem that each point is important but not connected to the others. But look more carefully.

God would have us listen to the leaders in the church and also pay attention to the example they set by putting God’s Word into practice in our lives. The preaching and teaching of God’s Word is to be highly valued by believers! Verse 8 is connected to that: Jesus remains the same! He guided the past leaders and Christians; he will do the same for us. Some of the Christian leaders you may have known are now in heaven. That is because Jesus carefully guided them on the path to eternal life. Whether the leaders are still with us or in heaven, the message they proclaimed is salvation through Jesus.

And since Jesus is the same, be on the lookout for any teaching that is new or innovative. The message of the Bible hasn’t changed for 21st Century Christians. It is the same, timeless message: trust in Jesus for forgiveness of your sins and put that faith into practice by following the will of God as revealed in the Bible. Customs may change, but the Word of God has not changed.

Be sure to make time for God’s Word — in worship, Bible Classes, and in your home. The Savior you see on the pages of the Bible will always protect and comfort his people, including you!

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling

Why should you go to the Lord’s Supper regularly? This section of Luther’s Large Catechism addresses that question.

But if you say, “What, then, shall I do if I cannot feel such distress or experience hunger and thirst for the Sacrament?” Answer, “For those who are of such a mind that they do not realize their condition I know no better counsel than that they put their hand into their shirt to check whether they have flesh and blood. And if you find that you do, then go, for your good, to St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. Hear what sort of a fruit your flesh is: “Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies and things like these.” [Galatians 5:19–21]

Therefore, if you cannot discern this, at least believe the Scriptures. They will not lie to you, and they know your flesh better than you yourself.

In the second place, look around you. See whether you are also in the world, or if you do not know it, ask your neighbors about it. If you are in the world, do not think that there will be lack of sins and misery. Just begin to act as though you would be godly and cling to the Gospel. See whether no one will become your enemy, and, furthermore, do you harm, wrong, and violence, and likewise give you cause for sin and vice. . . .

Besides this, you will also have the devil about you. You will not entirely tread him under foot [Luke 10:19], because our Lord Christ Himself could not entirely avoid him. Now, what is the devil? Nothing other than what the Scriptures call him, a liar and a murderer [John 8:44]. He is a liar, to lead the heart astray from God’s Word and to blind it, so that you cannot feel your distress or come to Christ. He is a murderer, who cannot bear to see you live one single hour. If you could see how many knives, darts, and arrows are every moment aimed at you [Ephesians 6:16], you would be glad to come to the Sacrament as often as possible. But there is no reason why we walk about so securely and carelessly, except that we neither think nor believe that we are in the flesh and in this wicked world or in the devil’s kingdom.
Large Catechism, Part V:75-82

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling

As we celebrate the freedoms we enjoy in our country, it is good for us to remember that a God-given responsibility for Christians is to honor our government leaders and pray for them. The Biblical principle applies to all government leaders – not just the ones we like or who pass laws we like.

1 Peter 2:13–17 (NIV) "Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men: whether to the king, as the supreme authority, or to governors, who are sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to commend those who do right. For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorant talk of foolish men. Live as free men, but do not use your freedom as a cover-up for evil; live as servants of God. Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king."

Martin Luther wrote extensively about Christians and government. Here is one of the comments he made:
Respect for a governmental official is a very necessary requirement in a state. Therefore, we should pray to God for the officers of the state; for they can very easily become corrupt, since “honors change morals, never for the better” [an old Latin adage], and they are easily turned into tyrants. What Luther Says, p. 590

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling