Lutheran Carnival XLVIII

We had a healthy number of submissions again! (It took me awhile to digest the last carnival—good stuff!) I don't really have a post of my own. I just returned from a quick trip to the states. I always resolve to do a lot of work on the 12-14 hour plane rides but often don't do more than catch up on the in-flight movies! (We miss out on a lot here, it's inconvenient to go to movies so I hadn't yet seen the latest James Bond—fun stuff!)

I planned to do some good blogging but ended up focusing on the tasks at hand. It was a good trip!

I will commend my Good Friday service to your viewing pleasure. The actual conversation with the devil starts about 6 minutes into the video.

Enjoy the Carnival!

Since When Did Divine Service Need an Appetizer?
Don't leave the steak in the freezer! Dan at Necessary Roughness challenges conventional LCMS wisdom that there is a time when a new mission church should only hold Bible studies without participating in actual Divine Service.


The Kingdom of Heaven is Like ...
What does an herb garden have to do with salvation? Heart, Mind, Soul and Strength remembers that Christ portrays the kingdom of heaven like many of the things around us. This is considered as a reminder of creation, a foretaste of heaven, and a blessing on the things around us.

A Trip Down Aardvark Alley
After setting up hosting for Lutheran Carnival XLVII, the Aardvark found plenty of work to do in his congregation but still had time to update the Big Blogroll O' Vark and cobble together a few posts on a various topics. Two of these touched on abortion, and Supremes Singing on the Babies' Side lauded the Supreme Court upholding the federal ban on partial birth abortions. Of course, whenever there's a commemoration from the LCMS calendar, Aardvark Alley tries to make sure we remember it, so we also get to read about Luther's pastor and fellow reformer Johannes Bugenhagen.

Why Aren't Christians Jews? and More!
The Rev. Walter Snyder of Ask the Pastor provided a pair of posts this time. In one, he responded to a person who is being drawn toward the Christian Faith but struggling to comprehend parts of Scripture, particularly the Lord's claim of being A Jealous God. He also examined Christianity, Judaism, and the Scriptures to answer the question Why Aren't Christians Jews?


Be A Saint: Donate To The VA Tech Memorial Fund

jWinters reflects on the Virginia Tech tragedy with a short devotion along with a way for people to act out in sanctification.

The Jesus Three
Nurse Ratched provides a modern parable in an unlikely place and circumstance.


Abduction?Confinement?Torture?Termination?IRRESPONSIBLITY
Spotlight on misplaced priorities and how several horror fans revolted against public snuff-movie imagery. Smoking is the least of my concerns. With photo editing lulz.

Talking About Death
Even though we are saved from sin, death, and the devil, Christians can still be uncomfortable when discussing death. Dan uses an Athanasius quote on incarnatus est to illustrate that Christians need not only not fear death but "tread it underfoot as nothing."

Commentary on an Old Favorite!
We were referred to a post at Susan's Pendulum wherein Susan makes the point that the song "This is the Day that the Lord has made" is more than a statement on how good today is.

Bibliography

http://necessaryroughness.org
http://weekendfisher.blogspot.com/
Aardvark Alley
http://xrysostom.blogspot.com/
http://nurse-ratcheds.blogspot.com/index.html
http://www.carolrutz.com

My Good Friday Service

I have posted a video of my Good Friday Service entitled "A Conversation With the Devil".

Check it out at http://livingsermons.com!

I also keep an archive of my sermon videos on that site.

Prayer Cards

I have recently added prayer cards to my ministry arsenal.

I give credit for the idea to Kelly Klages at her blog Confessional Lutheran Ecclesiastical Art Resources and this post: A Wierd Little Collection of Mine

One of the cards she previews on that blog is St. Patrick's prayer. Here is an example of a copy of that prayer in use in Iraq!



The person wearing the vest survived a shot to the chest. The doc asks, "was it the vest or the prayer that stopped the bullet?"



I hope someone develops the kind of cards about which Kelly blogged.

I found some cards with scripture verses and short meditative thoughts. I have been sharing them with our Airmen. I had a great opportunity recently. In an exercise we were waiting for hours for a fictitious plane. We couldn't wait for it to "arrive" for then we could go home and rest. (Some people had been working over 18 hours at that point.)

When the time came for us to go, the "airplane" was simulated "delayed" four hours! That's just my luck--I can't even have an imaginary flight leave on time!

In the midst of all that I was sharing my prayer cards. Everyone was tired and even a bit irritable! I found most people simply put the cards in their pockets (hopefully for future reference!) So I decided to take another approach. I began reading them out loud to a fellow chaplain and engaged him in spiritual conversation.

Before long, the people around us overheard our discussion and joined us asking questions about the Bible, faith, etc.

I always like it when people ask spiritual questions because I can then witness to them in a meaningful way.

Catholics have areally a powerful tool as they have a wide variety of this type of card. I'd love to see some distinctly Lutheran cards!