G r a c e N o t e s February 2017 Volume 65, Issue 2 The Lutheran Ethos ~ Sola Scriptura: The “Norming Norm” Strangely, the Augsburg Confession has no article “On Holy Rome has the Pope, Pentecostals claim direct inspiration by Scripture.” It only comes at the end of the Confessions, in the Spirit, the East claims the rule of faith in Tradition, his- the Formula of Concord’s “Summary, Foundation, Rule, and torical critics claim reason, and enthusiasts of various Norm,” in which it says, stripes claim an emotion or feeling within the heart. It’s all We believe, teach, and confess that the only rule and norm very confusing if the Scriptures merely contain the Word of according to which all teachings, together with all teach- God. Thankfully, our Lutheran Confessions are clear: Scrip- ers, should be evaluated and judged (2 Tim 3:15-17) are ture is the Word of God.

the prophetic and apostolic Scriptures of the Old and New Why’s it matter? So you could be certain of who He is and Testament alone. what He’s done for you. St. Luke opens his Gospel saying: “Rule and norm” are the words given to Scripture (Old and “Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of New Testament). Rules help us judge when something’s in the things that have been accomplished among us, just as those or out—a way of measuring, a guide, or standard. Norm, is who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and ministers of the short for normal. It determines what follows. At seminary we word have delivered them to us, it seemed good to me also, hav- learned the fancy, Latin phrase “Norma Normans Non Nor- ing followed all things closely for some time past, to write an mata,” or “the norming norm that cannot be normed,” or, Scrip- orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, that you ture is that which shapes and forms all Christians, confes- may have certainty concerning the things you have been sions, and churches, not the other way around. taught.” (Lk 1:1-4)

This aspect of the Lutheran Ethos is Sola Scriptura – Scripture And John closes his Gospel with the purpose for writing: alone. But it can be misleading. Sola = alone. Does that mean “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disci- no hymns, only Psalms? Do we skip preaching, reading the ples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so Bible only? Do we reject all creeds and confessions, having that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, the Bible alone? In a word: no. and that by believing you may have life in his name.” (John 20:30-31) For Lutherans, Sola Scriptura means two things: first, that all doctrine is plainly drawn from Scripture alone—in this way, Scriptures witness to Jesus. They preach who He is and the Church has no new teachings; secondly, that in any doc- what He’s done for us. And more than history, or telling trinal dispute, Scripture is the final arbiter and judge. the story, they actually draw you into the story of Jesus—

When Lutherans confess Sola Scriptura, they are NOT deny- “faith comes by hearing, and hearing through the Word of ing tradition (however that’s understood), nor are they re- Christ” (Rom 10:17). The Scriptures, as the Word of God, jecting liturgy, confessions, preaching, or hymnody. are “living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing Most simply: Sola Scriptura sets the whole faith (tradition, to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, liturgy, creeds, confessions, hymns, preaching, and how we and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb live) in accordance with the Scriptures as it’s rule and norm. 4:12)

Why? Because Lutherans confess that the Scriptures (Old Scripture is the “sword of the Spirit” (Eph 6:17). And like the and New Testaments) are the Word of God. Luther might’ve Spirit, takes what belongs to Jesus and declares it to you (Jn said it best: “Holy Scripture is God incarnate” (Scriptura sacra 16:15). The Word does what it says. est Deus incarnatus). Where His Word is, there He is; and Everything in our Church—every teaching and practice—is where He is, so goes His Word. Luther says in the Smalcald normed by the Scriptures. So every teaching and practice is Articles of our Confessions, normed by Christ. This is Sola Scriptura, Christ alone. “God does not want to deal with us in any other way than through the spoken Word and the Sacraments. Whatever is The Lutheran reformers saw Scripture as the rule and norm praised as from the Spirit—without the Word and Sacra- for everything they said and did. And they knew that if it ments—is the devil himself.” (SA III,VIII.10) accords with Scripture, it remains, “for the Word of the Lord

This is far different from the claim that Scriptures contain the remains forever” (1 Pet 1:25). The Latin for this became their Word of God. Sadly, it’s this that separates the LCMS from motto: Verbum Domini Manet in Aeternum. These letters, the ELCA. If the Scriptures merely contain the Word of God, VDMA, were sown on flags and official court robes under who determines which is the Word of God, and which isn’t? Frederick the Wise in 1522. We, too, should regain such a When that’s the case, you need some other authority. love and certainty in the Scriptures, as the Word of God. Yours in Christ, the Word made Flesh, Pastor Boyle

“But pastor, that man’s sermon was great. I heard him condemn sin and praise only Jesus as the way to salvation. How can he be a false prophet?” Now read these words. Do you know the orator, the preacher? I see him, but not near: a star shall come out of Jacob, and a scepter shall rise out of Israel; it shall crush the forehead of Moab and break down all the sons of Sheth. Edom shall be dispossessed; Seir also, his enemies, shall be dispossessed. Israel is doing valiantly. And one from Jacob shall exercise dominion and destroy the survivors of cities. Sounds good, doesn’t it. True doctrine. Pure teaching. A believer in the coming Messiah Jesus would have had his heart gladdened and his faith strengthened. Yet, these words, sent by God, came from the mouth of a false prophet. The Lord used this false prophet to speak truth, yet the children of God were not to follow nor praise this man. The words came from the mouth of Balaam. You can read the entire “oracle” in Numbers 24. The words indeed were “divine communication, an utterance of God.” The man was not divine, not holy, not a true prophet, even though the oracle, his words, his “sermon” were so good and so right. If this was all we had heard from Balaam’s mouth, we might indeed be fooled. Just as we might be fooled upon hearing only one ser- mon from a neighboring “Christian” pastor. Balaam’s words in Numbers 24:15-24 were God’s truth even though Balaam was not “God’s man.” Balaam was a heathen diviner. He was famous, probably wealthy too (Num 22:7). When the Israelites encamped in Moab, perched to enter their Promised Land, King Balak sought “spiritual” help from the “prophet” of the land, Balaam. The Holy One of Israel intervened. He came to false prophet Balaam and told Balaam not to curse the Israelites. Stubbornly he obeyed and gave the oracle of God regarding the star and scepter, kingly royalty invested ultimately in the Messiah. But Balaam was a hireling. He was influenced more by gold and silver than he was by truth. His name appears three times in the New Testament (2 Peter2:15; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14) as a false prophet and bad example. After Balaam spoke God’s oracle against King Balak, he had an evil influence on Israelites. He influenced thousands of Israel’s men to lust (Num. 31:16) after Moabite women. To what end? Just marriage? Just children? No. That these families bowed down to the gods of the country of Peor. These men believed like their wives and taught their children to yoke themselves to Baal. Balaam certainly must have gloated in getting this “revenge” on the God of Israel. Beware of false prophets, like Balaam. Some of them predict the day or year of Jesus’ return (Pat Robertson, Hal Lindsey, Benny Hinn) Others predict the end of the world (Charles Taze Russell [founder of Jehovah’s Witnesses]). Others predict a new and better world around a New Jerusalem (Joseph Smith [founder of Mor- monism]) or even a new world order of government and society. Beware of those who date-set for Jesus, those who forecast doom and those who prophecy all-is-good-and-getting-better. You, beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. Let the true prophet follow this course: first preach rebuke; know sin, hate sin. Then let him preach sweet consolation, Jesus, sin’s cure. Luther remarks that the prophet who preaches “gently” at first, does so in order to deceive, “then he leaves a foul stench behind. God first terrifies and leads to hell; then He exalts. This is the method of the divine Word and work: destruction precedes construction. Satan inverts the order” through false prophets.

Pastor Brockman

April 29-30, 2017 Where Isn’t Christ in the Old Testament? Rev. Brian Kachelmeier Redeemer Lutheran Church Los Alamos, NM

Oratio, Meditatio, Tentatio (Theological Reading Group) Typical Schedule: Locations: 9:00 – 9:45 am Matins Grace Lutheran Church 9:45 – 11:45 am Reading Discussion 3310 E Pawnee, Wichita, KS 11:45 am – Noon Prayer Trinity Lutheran Church Noon – 1:00 pm Lunch 611 S Erie, Wichita, KS

2017 Reading Schedule:

February 21 (Trinity, Wichita) Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Creation and Fall. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1997. (207pp)

March 21 (Grace, Wichita) Loehe, Wilhelm. Three Books about the Church (1845). Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1969. (180pp)

April 18 (Trinity, Wichita) Vilmar, August Friedrich Christian. The Theology of Facts Versus the Theology of Rhetoric: Confession and Defense (1857). Fort Wayne: Lutheran Legacy, 2008. (127pp)

May 16 (Grace, Wichita) Chemnitz, Martin. Church Order for Braunschweig-Wolfenbuttel: How Doctrine, Ceremonies, and Other Church-Related Matters Shall (By God’s Grace) Be Conducted Henceforth (1569). St. Louis: CPH, 2015. (286pp)

June 20 (Trinity, Wichita) Krauth, Charles Porterfield. The Conservative Reformation and Its Theology (1913). St. Louis: CPH, 2007. (830pp – Assigned: 1-328) July 18 (Grace, Wichita) Gerhard, Johann. On The Ministry Part Two (1625). St. Louis: CPH, 2009. (488pp – selected chapters)

August 15 (Trinity, Wichita) Lang, Paul H.D. What an Altar Guild Should Know. St. Louis: CPH, 1964. (128pp)

September 19 (Grace, Wichita) Harrison, Matthew C. At Home in the House of My Fathers (1841-1939). Fort Wayne: Lutheran Legacy, 2009. (826pp – selected readings) “Loehe on Walther’s Doctrine of the Office of the Ministry and the Walther/Wyneken Visit, 1853” (113-118) “The Pastor’s Responsibility for Care for the Physical Needs of Members of His Congregation, 1872” (164-170) “When Should an Orthodox Lutheran Flee a Corrupt Church?” (176-179) “Counsel to Remain in a Corrupt church: Make Them Throw You Out?” (180-182) “How Can the Synod Remain United?” (376-388) “Letter from Wyneken to Walther on Anfechtungen, Depression, Doctrine, and Polemics, 1863” (423-427) “The Offense of Divisions in the Church, 1905” (632-634) “The Fruitful Reading of the Writings of Luther, 1930” (686-692) “On the Lutheran Confessions” (771-775) “Revitalization of the Synod Shall Come from Neither Missions nor More Synodical Power: The Word Is the Only Remedy” (pp794-799)

October 17 (Trinity, Wichita) Luther, Martin. “The Freedom of a Christian (1520).” LW 31:329-77. St. Louis: CPH, 1963. (48pp).

November 21 (Grace, Wichita) Bucher, Richard P. The Ecumenical Luther: The Development and Use of His Doctrinal Hermeneutic. St. Louis: CPH, 2003. (161pp)

December 19 (Trinity, Wichita) Von Schenk, Berthold. The Presence: An Approach to the Holy Communion. New York: Ernst Kaufmann, Inc., 1945. (181pp)

FIRST SEASON DATE FESTIVAL EPISTLE GOSPEL HYMNS READING Feast of the 1 Samuel Hebrews Luke EPIPHANY Feb. 2 Purification of 332 519 624 544 1:21-28 2:14-18 2:22-40 Mary The Exodus 2 Peter Matthew Feb. 5 585 413 639,618,627 417 Transfiguration 34:29-35 1:16-21 17:1-9 of Our Lord

Exodus 1 Corinthians Matthew PRE-LENT Feb. 12 Septuagesima 566 555 627, 639, 618 683 17:1-7 9:24-10:5 20:1-1611

Isaiah 2 Corinthians Luke Feb. 19 Sexagesima 420 824 618, 627, 639 577 55:10-13 11:19-12:9 8:4-15

1 Samuel 1 Corinthians Luke Feb. 26 Quinquagesima 421 846 639, 618, 627 438 16:1-13 13:1-13 18:31-43

Pre-Lent The “Gesima” Season

Our liturgical preparation for Easter takes place through three distinct, but not separate times: Pre-Lent, Lent, and Passiontide. The first, Pre-Lent, is also called “the Gesimas,” because each week has “gesima” in the Latin title.

Septuagesima (meaning “about 70 days”) Grace is undeserved. The Collect for this Sunday implores God to graciously hear us, who are justly punished for our sin, so that we may be delivered by God’s goodness. The goodness of God is emphasized in the parable (Mt 20:1-16), where all the laborers receive the reward because of the goodness of the landowner. So we too, receive the reward of eternal life, because God is good, and Another has borne the heat and burden of the day for us that we might have it.

Sexagesima (meaning “about 60 days”) Grace is passively received. In the Collect, we put not our trust in anything we do, but pray to the God who mercifully defends us by His power. In the parable of the sower, the seed of God’s Word is passively received in good and noble hearts.

Quinquagesima (meaning “about 50 days”)

Grace is not easily understood. In the Gospel, Jesus predicts His passion and the disciples “understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.” (Luke 18:34).

The three Gesima Sundays only mildly take on the character of Lent. The “Alleluias” and Greater Gloria are dropped, but the color is green, flowers may adorn the Altar, the organ plays, and crucifixes remain unveiled. This grace- focused, preparatory season provides a gradual progression and gentle easing into the more intense ceremonies and denials of Lent and Passiontide. Our fasting begins Ash Wednesday and carries through the forty days of Lent.

The Reformation Open your average world history book, and you’ll find but a paragraph or two on the Reformation. The event appears a small drop on the timeline, but the Christian Church knows better. Over the next several months, we will be featuring a different “Face of the Reformation” in each issue of Grace Notes. Follow along and discover anew the rich history of the Reformation.

See more at: http://lutheranreformation.org/history

LIVING AS STEWARDS February 2017 We’ve all heard that stewardship is giving to the church of our time, talents, and treasure. This alliterative trinity helps us see that giving is not just about money, but about our whole lives. For God has given us everything we have and enjoy as we confess in the meaning to the First Article of the Apostle’s Creed. And what we confess first among those is that God gives us “our body and soul, our eyes, ears, and all our members, our reason and all our senses.” Only then do we confess that he gives us material things. Thus the time, talents, and treasure trinity places before our eyes the fact that we are to give something of all of these things toward the mission of the church in thanksgiving for what God has provided. For everything we have and indeed everything we are comes from God’s fatherly divine goodness and mercy.

The problem with this alliterative trinity comes when we replace one little word with another little word—when we replace the word and with the word or. It is always written with the and, but when we read it, we read it with the or. Thus this quite helpful trinity, which extolled that everything that we have and are is a gift from God and which is to be pressed into the service of God in His church, turns into a trinity that we can pick and choose which of the trinity we use into the service of God. The giving of our time, talents, and treasure turns into the giving of our time, talents, or treasure.

Then the question arises: Can we give of our time and talents instead of our treasures? Or perhaps it is the other way round: Can we give our treasure and not of our time and our talents? But these are the wrong questions. The right question is, can we give of our time and our talents in addition to our treasure? Yes, indeed, we are called to give of all three. The things that God gives us are not to be pitted against one another. They are given to us and we are to press them all into God’s service for benefit of His church and our neighbors in need.

Thus we give all three. We give our treasure in the form of a generous, first-fruits, proportion of our income. We give of our time in generosity for the benefit of Christ’s holy church. We give of our talents in the same manner. Since God gave us all these things, we are called to give generously of all these things in faith toward Him and in fervent love to our neighbors.

For God has provided all these things to us. Out of His fatherly, divine goodness and mercy, He gives us each time, talents, AND treasures as a means to bless those around us. We serve our neighbors with these things, blessing them with the blessings in which God has blessed us. We give of our time, talents, and treasures to our families, our society, and to our church, our local congrega- tions. And we do this because we know that we are not our own. Rather, we belong to God. We have been bought with a price— with the holy precious blood and innocent suffering and death of our Lord Jesus Christ. He gave everything—His time, His talents, and His treasure,—to have us as His own and to live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, inno- cence and blessedness. We have these things as gifts and blessings from God. Let us then press them all into service for the sake of His love—time, talents, and treasures together.

reprinted from LCMS Stewardship Resources

2017 OFFERING ENVELOPES are now available in the Narthex. They are sorted alphabetically. If you do not see your name on a box please contact Susan in the Church Office.

END OF YEAR 2016 GIVING STATEMENTS are now available in the Narthex. Please pick yours up today. If they don’t match your records, please see Roxanne Gird our Financial Secretary.

BIBLE CLASS/

SUNDAY SCHOOL Ginny Doesken Wayne Harris Bible Class/Sunday School is at Lorraine Koch Ginger Manchesian Grace during the month of February Ruth Ann Meyer Julia Ruble Anna Ruckle

JOINT PARISH CHOIR

Dakota Bennett will lead us beginning Wed. February 8th. Practices will be held every Wednesday from 6-7pm at Trinity. Hope to see lots of your smiling faces there! All ages are welcome to attend! Contact Dakota at [email protected] with any questions

PLEASE SIGN UP IN THE NARTHEX IF INTERESTED

Join us for Game Night, Friday, February 17 at 6pm in Trinity’s old Chapel. Pizza will be ordered but feel free to bring drinks or snacks. All ages welcome!

ALTAR FLOWERS for 2017 Beginning January 1, 2017 we will still have the opportunity to place flowers in the Church however, anyone who is wanting to place flowers will need to purchase and place them themselves. We still have the Bunco will be held THURSDAY, flower chart in the Narthex to select a date on which February 16 at Trinity. All ladies are you would like to place the flowers and you may also write the occasion so they can be acknowledged in the welcome to join. Please RSVP to the written announcements. Please contact the Church Trinity Church office at 685-1571. office is you have any questions. Thank you...

The Food Pantry at Grace Lutheran Church asks for SOAP PRODUCTS (dish, bar, and laundry) during the month of February. Please bring these items to Church on Sundays and place in the collection crate located in our Narthex. Many thanks for your help and service Grace/Trinity Lord’s Diner to the poor in our neighborhood. Tuesday, February 7 at 5:30pm

2017 UPCOMING FOOD HANDLER CLASSES:  Saturday, February 25, 2017 at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Church  Saturday, April 8, 2017 at Church of the Magdalen

BANANA DELIVERY PERSON NEEDED! For many years Glen Rolf has been the person from Grace who shopped and delivered bananas each week to the homeless shelter downtown. The money for this was supported by the congregation through the Board of Social Ministry. Glen deliv- ered bananas (40 lbs) once a week, every Wednesday morning by 7:00 a.m. If you would care to volunteer to do this please tell Susan in the church office and someone from the Board of Social Ministry will contact you and help make the arrange- ments.

Daniel & Kathryn Conrad Daniel & Amy Johnson

Roy & Elisa Askins Peter & Kristie Kolb

Joel & Clarion Fritsche & their Children

The Lutheran Student Center

The Lutheran Student Center (LSC) is a Campus Ministry at Wichita State University. We are joyfully owned and operated by the Lutheran churches in the Wichita area. We are located at 3815 E. 17th St. directly across from the WSU campus.

Sisters of Sophia

Harriet Beecher Stowe FOR WOMEN ONLY WHEN: February 21st WHERE: at Eighth Day Institute at The Ladder (2836 E Douglas Ave) CONTACT: Nyleen Lenk · [email protected] Dear Sisters, If you aren't familiar with the Sisters of Sophia, we walk with women of wisdom as we learn from their lives. We meet every third Tuesday of the month. Our gathering of ladies is both challenging and refresh-ing, as is the camaraderie along the way! HALL OF MEN 6:15 Doors Open at The Ladder, EDI headquarters 6:30 Food and Fellowship 7:30 Eighth Day Convocation and Lecture on Harriet Beecher Stowe by Barb Orsi FOR MEN ONLY - 8:15 Q&A and Closing Prayer Please come to break bread with us, learn with us, or both! We will end promptly at A local fellowship 8:30, but women are welcome to chat long after that! Supper is gratis, provided by hall where the men volunteer attendees. Water and iced tea will be available. Adult beverages are break bread, tap the available on a donation basis. Please feel free to invite friends through FB! Childcare keg, and toast their not available. - heroes. See more at: http:// www.eighthdayinstitute.org/sisters_of_sophia

2nd and 4th Thursdays of the month at Eighth Day Institute at The Ladder (2836 E Douglas Ave) Doors open at 7:00pm. Food is served at 7:30pm, and eve- ning events officially begin at 8:30pm with a hymn, the Nicene Creed, and a lecture on a hero whose life inspires us to live more authentic lives and to fight for the renewal of our culture. As usual, doors at The Ladder open at 7 pm. Food is served around 7:30 pm. At 8:30 pm we'll prepare for the lecture with the Eighth Day Convocation: hymn, patristic and scripture readings, and the Nicene Creed. Then a great lecture followed by good ques- tions and discussion, The Lord's Prayer, good fellow- ship, and just possibly a few good smoke rings.

St. Andrews Lutheran Church, 2555 N Hya- cinth Ln, Wichita, KS (I-235 bypass & 25th St. N.) will began a new 13-week GriefShare Group on January 8th and meets every Sun- day afternoon from 2-4 p.m. through April 9. Any adult who has experienced the death of a family member or friend, whether recently or in years past, is invited to attend our Grief- Share series. A $15 registration fee covers the cost of the workbook. (scholarships avail- able) Each week’s material is “self- contained” so a person can catch a missed ses- sion when the next series begins . Please call St. Andrews office at 316-838-0944 to register. Grace Lutheran Church, LCMS 3310 East Pawnee ~ Wichita, KS 67218 Pastor: Rev. Geoffrey R. Boyle Associate Pastor: Rev. Michael C. Brockman Office Phone: 316-685-6781 Office Hours: 8:30 am - 4:30 pm Tuesday-Thursday Closed on Mondays and Fridays Email: [email protected]

COME WORSHIP WITH US 8:00 a.m. Sunday Morning Divine Service 2:00 p.m. Misa en Español 3:15 p.m. Youth Catechesis 5:00 p.m. Sunday Afternoon Divine Service 9:00 a.m. Matins (Monday-Friday) 11:00 a.m. Wednesday Divine Service

www.gracelutheranchurch-wichita.org

Grace Elders Warren Balke Michael Blanchard Aaron Hastings Kyle Nelson 01 - Brigit Boyle Tom Nickel Ireland Gibson 07 - Theresa Brockman 02 - Destani Silver 08 - Erin Kenny 03 - Brigit Boyle 09 - Melissa Meyer 13 - Ryan Johnson 11 - Ruth Ann Meyer 14 - Audrey Rolf 12 - Janet Kenny 16 - Tiara Standifer 16 - Jason Bartel 19 - Cynthia Hutter 22 - Erin Kenny 18 - Devin Mefford Oliver Stacey 21 - Jerry Silver 26 - Theresa Brockman 26 - Les Howard 28 - Connor Sultz

02 - Leon & Fannie Fortine 14 - Dane & Ashley Janney