This Really Makes Me Mad!

I think it is absolutely "Theologically-Incorrect" that Miss USA finalist, first runner-up Carrie Prejean, couldn't give a solid "Theologically-Correct" answer to the question that she was asked by "gay judge" Perez Hilton, on whether or not gay marriage should be legalized in all fifty states, without being attacked by half the audience and by the liberal media.

When she stood her "theologically-correct" ground--Perez Hilton--looked at her in disgust. Then, later in an interview, Hilton said, and I quote, "She lost, not because she doesn't believe in gay marriage, Miss California lost because she's a 'dumb bitch.' If I was Miss California, with half a brain, I would have said, hmmm, Perez that's a great question! That's a very hot topic in our country right now, and I think that is a question that each state should decide for itself, because that's how our forefathers designed our government..."

Hmmm! Perez, if you had half a brain, you would know that our early forefathers used to throw gay men in jail as nuisances to society--putting some of them to death for crimes of sodomy!

The Scriptures are also clear in the fact that "homosexuality" is an "abomination in the eyes of the Lord" (Levitcus 18:22), and in Rom. 1:26-27,   "Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion."

Again, as I have said, in an earlier post on this blog, it's so funny how the liberals attack good, honest, Biblically moral Christians for simply holding fast to their beliefs. Nobody was attacked with Carrie's comment about marriage "being between a man and a woman." She was simply answering from her biblical point of view. She should not be condemned for answering honestly.

As a pastor of a church, if I got upset every time someone disagreed with my viewpoint on Scripture, theology, or even things going on in society, I would be out of work. You just have to listen other people's opinion, thank them, pray for them, give them Jesus, and send them on their way. Life is too short to get all up in a tizzy over a "theologically correct" comment. That is, unless, of course, you are yourself--"Theologically-Incorrect" Mr. Perez Hilton! Maybe you're all upset because you've known all along that you are "Theologically-Incorrect" yourself, and a guilty conscience can make a person lash out irrationally. My advise to you--Chillax--and get off Carrie's back! Pay attention to the Gospel--repent and receive Christ's forgiveness!

Carrie's a winner in my view because she has what it takes to stand up for what she believes in, regardless of whether or not she took the cheap crown of Miss USA. She's got a diadem of MUCH greater value coming to her in the next life! Jesus said, "Be faithful, even unto death, and I will give you the crown of life" (Revelation 2:10b).

Carrie Prejean, the true Miss USA, keep up "Theologially-Correct" good work!

This Really Makes Me Mad!

I can't believe what my eyes are seeing and what my ears are hearing! I can't believe the liberal media--make that radically liberal media--who has nothing better to do than find dirt on good, honest, excellent, moral, loving Christian people. I'm talking about what the liberal media is doing to Governor Palin and her family.

I find it absolutely humorous to see that the liberal media is calling the kettle black. Liberal Hollywood is so fast to let people like 16 year-old Jamie Lynn Spears off the hook because it's just normal Hollywood behavior to get pregnant before you're married. It's also normal liberal Hollywood behavior to get divorced over and over and over again.

And what's more, to discredit her husband for getting a D.W.I. when he was 22 years old. This is funny, too, when countless, I mean countless, Hollywood superstar actor and actresses get busted for D.W.I.'s all the time. Talk about a double standard. Talk about THEOLOGICALLY-INCORRECT!

It's funny how the liberal media sweeps under the carpet that Barak Obama was doing cocaine back when he was 21 years old. If we're going to point fingers in this political election time, let's remember that there is always three fingers pointing back.

It's funny to think how often the liberal media says how "judgmental" the Christians are today, but when it can feed their liberal agenda, they sure become judgmental themselves! Since when did the liberal media all of a sudden grow moral values, or even a conscience for that matter? All I can say is that you have way too much time on your hands. Pretty sad if you ask me! Leave Governor Palin and her family alone and let the Republicans win outright because you can't trump the McCain/Palin ticket!

This Really Makes Me Mad!

I can't believe that Amendment 2 passed in Missouri! I can't believe that people want to destroy life in order to so-called "save life." The liberals are always screaming about how they want the war to end because they are tired of their loved ones being killed in action. However, they seem to have no problem killing our unborn children--hmmm! It seems like there is a contradiction here! In my opinion, anyone who voted for Amendment 2 is simply put--"Theologically-Incorrect." You can't destroy life in order to save life! You can't have your cake and eat it, too! The Bible tells us very clearly that God knows us before we are even conceived in our mother's womb (Jer. 1:5). The Bible tells us that we are knit together in our mother's wombs by God Himself (Psalm 139:13). Life begins at conception! I know this is a stumbling block for many, but God's ways are not our ways. The judicial or critical use of human reason is absolutely out of place with respect to divine truths. We must, therefore, not "correct" the Scriptures according to our ideas and logical deductions, but we must correct our thoughts and ideas according to the Scriptures.

I agree that their needs to be certain kinds of stem cell research. Why not use adult stem cells which can be harvested from discarded placenta, umbilical cords, etc. These adult stem cells have even been proven to show positive results when used.

I'm saying this, even when my grandmother suffered herself from Parkinson's disease. I'm saying this even though my uncle died at age 17 from bone cancer. I'm saying this even when my other uncle, the last one's brother, who is 44 years old, is dying of cancer as I write this post. I'm all for finding cures--just not this way.

God will always provide a way! His ways are not our ways! Our cure for these illnesses will come in God's time. We need not play God in our decisions and in science. I'm afraid that with the passing of Amendment 2 this is exactly what's happening! God decides who lives and who dies--we don't! God have mercy on us all!

I have some friends in my LCMS church who believe that the supernatural gifts of the Holy Spirit are still available to us today (miracles, healing, p

Yes, I agree with your question about whether or not Scripture supports the giving of spiritual gifts today. I think that miracles happen all the time in church--every Sunday as a matter of fact. If you have ever witnessed a child being Baptized, you have just witnessed one of the greatest miracles you can behold with your eyes on this side of eternity's curtain. If you come to the Lord's Supper each Lord's Day, you are also experiencing a miracle as the Pastor places Christ's Body and Blood in your mouth. You are receiving the Resurrected and Living Christ--and along with Him, forgiveness, life, and salvation. You become as close to Christ in the Supper as were the disciples of our Lord. Can there be any greater miracle?

As to prophesy and tongues and other gifts, I agree that these gifts are still given today. I am skeptical, however, as to how those gifts are used. These can be abused as can any gift we are given. If they are used in a spiritual fashion and in accord with how they are used in Scripture then, okay. However, if they are used to help fund-raising in the church by speaking in tongues and then somebody jumping up and saying, "I know, I know, what he said, 'He said we need to raise a million dollars to build a new church!'" then the "so called gift" is abused. Also, some of our Pentecostal/Assemblies of God brethren have abused the gift of tongues by trying to teach their people how to speak in tongues and this, too, is theologically-incorrect! God gives the gifts according to His own good pleasure.

Do we really need to confess our sins in worship?

Is this a rhetorical question? I am disgusted at a fellow colleague who told a church member of his congregation that we don’t need to confess our sins when we come to church. He said, “Do you come to church with some sin that burdens you, and if you do, why?” He said that all of our sins are forgiven—yesterday, today, and always. There is no reason for us to come to church and feel sorry over our sins because it has already been forgiven. He said, "God doesn't want you to come to church so that He can bash you down with your sins--He is just so happy to have you there because He has restored you and forgiven you because of what Jesus has done for you on the cross. Why bother with a confession when all is forgiven anyway. It's a waste of time."

I concede the fact that our sins are forgiven yesterday, today, and forever. I concede that God does not want to bash us down because of our sins. But what about passages like 1 John 1:8-9? “If we say we have no, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. But if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” Our God, is a God that likes to be reminded of His forgiveness and loving-kindness. By our confessing to Him our sins, we are reminding Him of His loving kindness and forgiveness and we are reminding ourselves that our forgiveness is complete in Christ Jesus.

It’s like another colleague said to me, “You wouldn’t tell you wife on your wedding day that you loved her and then say, I won’t ever tell you this again because I’ve told you once and it’s good for all time.” I don’t know about your wife, but that wouldn’t work with mine! I don’t think God thinks to favorably on the idea of His people never recognizing His loving forgiveness, and we recognize His love and forgiveness by confessing our sins.

And if that isn’t enough, we simply need to hear the healing balm of the Gospel—you are forgiven, go in peace! Would like some feedback.

New Stained-Glass Windows at St. John's

We are happy to report that as of Sunday, June 18, 2006, we now have our stained-glass windows installed at St. John's Lutheran-Monett, MO. This has been a project that was planned for our congregation 10 years ago when the new sanctuary was built. We now have this task accomplished. We invite anyone in the area of Monett to stop by and see the beautiful addition it has made to the church. I will post one photo on the blog, but you may visit the St John's website any time you would like to see all of them. The theme is the Six Chief Parts of Martin Luther's Small Catechism. At this time, only Chief Parts 4, 5, and 6 are complete, with the addition of the Luther Seal. The others are in production as we speak. They should be ready in about six months. Look forward to them also!

Pastor, Why do we not have women pastors in the LC-MS?

There is a new pastor in my town who belongs to the Disciples of Christ (or also known as the Christian Church). This is nothing out of the ordinary, pastors come and go all the time. However, this new pastor is a female pastor. It is sad to see this trend happening all around us in various denominations today. Unfortunately, this is simply "Theologically-Incorrect." Let me explain.

There was a time not too long ago that this practice of ordaining women into the Office of the Holy Ministry was virtually unheard of. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's, which church body I'm affiliated with, prohibibtion against women clergy has very little to do with tradition, however. Neither is it because we are made up of a bunch of male-chauvinist pigs who have the opinion that women are not able to perform the duties of a pastor as well as a man. The reason that the LC-MS does not ordain women is Biblical. Simply put, and on several levels, the Scriptures forbids it.

First, we have the very explicit words of St. Paul in 1 Corinthians 14:34: "Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak, but to be submissive, as the law also says." What kind of speech is St. Paul talking about? Authoratative speech. Pastor's speech. Likewise, St. Paul instructs St. Timothy in 1 Timothy 2:12: "I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man..." Again St. Paul is talking about teaching authoritatively in the church, that is, in the worshipping assembly.

Second, we have the Biblical reason behind St. Paul's prohibibition. St. Paul mentions that it is forbidden by the law. Which law is he speaking about? The law which is implicit in the very Order of Creation established by God Himself in Genesis 2. Here the Lord gives man authority over every other creature that He has made. He makes Eve, not to rule over Adam, but to be his helper, a position of authority over the rest of creation, but not over man. The one helping to exercise dominion is, of course, under the authority of the one she is helping, that is the man.

This truth is stated explicity in Genesis 3:16, which is little more than a restatement of the natural order to which the woman must submit: "He, [that is, the man or husband] shall rule over you [that is, the woman or wife]." Therefore, the concept of a woman pastor, someone who is acting with God's own authority over and in service to men and women alike, is contrary to the roles God Himself established for men and women.

Third, we must consider the Christological character of the Office of the Holy Ministry itself. The Scriptures describe Christ as being the Bridegroom and the Church as being His Bride. Pastors stand "in the stead" or "in the place of" Christ as His represetatives to the Church. A female cannot, in a Christian congregation, play Bridegroom to the Bride. The Office of the Holy Ministry is masculine by its very nature. It is an Office of giving, of implanting the Seed of God's Word, while the Church's role is explicitly feminine, that of receiving the implanted Word and giving birth to and nourishing the faithful. A woman will never be able to "plant the seed"--she is only a receiver of the seed. A woman in the role of Bridegroom is, simply put, "Theologically-Incorrect" and a perversion of this relationship and a mis-representation of Christ.

What About Cremation?

I have often been asked by members of the congregation, "Pastor, what is the Church's view on cremation?"

The Church once had the view that cremation was inappropriate. It felt this way because back in the early church, many of the pagans would burn the bodies of their dead in spite of the Christians belief in the physical resurrection of the body in the Last Day. So to counter the pagans burning of the bodies, the Church decided that it would not participate in cremation.

Out of this stand on cremation, many supersitions and false beliefs about it have surfaced and unfortunately still exist today.

However, today, there is nothing wrong with cremation. The pagans, though many still exist in our world today, are not into burning their dead to spite the resurrection. So, if you wish to choose cremation over a regular casket burial, it is perfectly normal. Many choose cremation for financial reasons, even though cremation can get quite costly itself.

If you still have questions about it, consider talking to your pastor about your options. The Lord be with you!

See the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod's official position on cremation by pushing the link provided for you.

The Blessings of Weekly Communion

Now Available! The Blessings of Weekly Communion -- at pricing for multiple quantity orders.

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The Lord's Supper is at the heart of Christ's promised presence for Christians and also at the heart of the weekly worship of God's gathered people.

In The Blessings of Weekly Communion (15-5068WEB), author Kenneth W. Wieting focuses on the gifts of this Holy Meal-forgiveness of sins, life, and salvation-and its importance in the life of the believer.

From the ancient church to the recovery efforts of the Reformation, the opportunity to receive the Lord's Supper each week has been central to worship through the centuries. Wieting explores this ongoing emphasis on the Sacrament with special concern for its continued celebration as a part of every Divine Service.

Your Price: $23.99
Author(s): Wieting, Rev. Kenneth
Format: Paperback

View this book at Concordia Publishing House. Site includes pdf viewable sample of the book.

This Really Makes Me Mad

You know what really makes me mad? When actors like Ian McKellen (more affectionately known as "Gandalf" in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy) make blasphemous comments about the Bible and how it should have a disclaimer at the beginning saying that it is fiction. This "theologically-incorrect" individual needs Jesus more than anyone I know! See his comments at the following link on the Today's Show on May 17, 2006. The link: Newsbusters

The "Theologically-Incorrect" da Vinci Code

On May 19th the movie version of Dan Brown novel, The Da Vinci Code, will open at local theaters.

It is estimated that more than 25 million people have read this fictional novel which questions many of the foundational beliefs of Holy Scripture and the life of Christ. Although most of us will probably not be standing in line to be the first on our block to see the movie, many of our friends and acquaintances will be and the questions generated by this novel and movie will give us all an opportunity to talk about our faith and basic beliefs.

In an interview, Ron Howard, the director of the film, reminds us as does the author of the novel, Dan Brown, this IS FICTION. The movie is filled with mystery, suspense, danger, controversy, and legend. That this story pretends to be a legitimate conspiracy is more of a brilliant marketing scheme than a significant attack on history.

We have to remind people where they found this book: in the fiction section.
It's a good lesson for all of us about telling the truth all the time because if you blend any part of the truth with a story, it all becomes fiction, and no one knows how to separate the truth from the lie.

May I remind you of the words of our Lord himself, "I AM the way and the TRUTH and the life, no one comes to the Father, but by me"(John 14:6). "Sanctify us, O Lord, by Thy Truth; Thy Word IS TRUTH!" John 17:17
The Lord be with you!

Ask Freely!

If you have a question that you would like to have answered on this site, please submit your question to the comment section under this post or email me directly at revcody@mac.com and I will address it as quickly as I can. Happy asking!

This Really Makes Me Mad

I am a Missouri-Synod Lutheran Pastor and I just received the other day a CD which was put outside the church door entitled "Give to your Pastor". I began listening to it and realized this was a CD put together to blast certain clergy in the community in which this "other church" did not agree. It was telling all who listened (primarily clergy) that we were leading people straight into hell because of our grace by faith theology! The problem with this theologically incorrect individual was the fact that he is in fact leading his sheep right into hell with his works-righteous comments! What say you?