There is a great need to understand the vital relationships in Scripture and Christian theology regarding THE singular call, bestowing grace for people becoming baptized children of God leading to a life marked by a living faith; and furthermore, how this life relates to the several and even many calls (plural) in which the Christian serves the neighbor in the world. Moreover, these take place in specific arenas ordered by God, namely, the Family, the Church, and the State. These estates are complementary and the Christian lives in all three 24/7. In addition, the spiritual estate or the estate of love — not so much a fourth estate, but the chief, overarching estate — runs through them all. Every Christian is a priest of God serving the neighbor in love in each unique context of family, church, and state. Love is manifest differently in each estate, but in every case the neighbor is helped and served.

This past weekend I sent the finished manuscript to Concordia Publishing House of my upcoming book to be published this year, 2023.

Visit the Faith & Culture Blog

The post Faith & Culture – the Blog first appeared on St Paul's Irvine Lutheran Church.

Good morning fellow servants of the Lord Jesus! It is good to be here with you! Let me begin by clarifying the words in our title, “Engaging with The Word in Our Changing World.” First, we will look at the word “engaging,” then “with The Word,” and finally, “in Our Changing World.”

When I say “engaging” as I do similarly in the book Faith That Engages the Culture (CPH, 2021), I don’t mean what some disappointed online Amazon shoppers who ordered the book thought I meant: engagement before marriage; thinking my book to be about preparing for holy matrimony. What I do mean is that sharing the life-giving Gospel of Jesus Christ is not about living in a preoccupation of our self-conscience efforts to make the right pitch, to sell the Gospel correctly, or find a way to manipulate or at least finesse a situation successfully so that the Holy Spirit can finally be effective to change hearts for Jesus Christ. No, I don’t mean that.

Read More

The post Engaging with The Word in Our Changing World first appeared on St Paul's Irvine Lutheran Church.