YOU ARE IMPORTANT TO GOD

This Christmas season we hear again what the angel said to the shepherds, “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy for all people: To you is born this day in the City of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.”  The fact that God would make an announcement like that to some shepherds helps us understand the true meaning of Christmas.  For no one thought much of shepherds.  Shepherds lived out in the fields – with animals.  Shepherds had no power and no prestige.  And yet God’s messenger-angel came with the greatest of announcements to some shepherds.  

A Savior was born for some shepherds.  The announcement of His birth was first given to shepherds.  What can that mean for us today?  I can think of three things.

1. YOU MATTER

The fact that the good news of the birth of Jesus was first given to some shepherds means that no matter how insignificant you may feel and think you are, still you matter to God.  All throughout the Bible we see God’s honoring and blessing and using people whom the world would overlook and ignore.

For example, five thousand men, plus women and children, had stayed all day to listen to Jesus.  At the end of the day they were hungry, but no one had thought to bring any food, except for one young boy who had five small rolls and two small fish.  It was not much, but it was enough.  Jesus took that small amount and from that small amount fed the many.  And God is always doing that, isn’t He?  He takes what we give to Him and then makes it into more than enough.

When God wanted a mother for His Son, He went to a small, insignificant village called Nazareth where he found a young peasant girl.  And when God’s Son was born, He was born not in one of the best of hospitals, surrounded by a team of the best medical professionals.  Rather He was born in a cave.  And then He was wrapped in swaddling cloths and laid in a manger.

And when God made His birth announcement, it was first made to some shepherds.  Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “If God cares about sparrows and lilies, then He certainly cares about you.”  If God values shepherds, then He certainly values you.

And we need to hear that, don’t we?  That God cares about us and values us.  That we matter to God.  People who are lonely and/or depressed during this holiday season need to hear that they matter to God.  People who are spending their first Christmas alone – without a certain loved one – need to hear that they matter to God.

We all need to hear that we matter to God, for we all have known feelings of rejection.  We all have experienced being put down and left out.  But at Christmas time God says, “I made My announcement to some shepherds, and I make My announcement to you.  A Savior is born for you because you matter.”

2. LIFE MATTERS

I can imagine those shepherds sitting around their campfire many nights wondering if their lives mattered and were worth anything.  “What difference does it make,” they might have asked themselves and each other many times, “whether we take care of our sheep or not?”

And maybe you also wonder, “What difference does it make whether I get up in the morning and go to work every day and/or do the things I do every day?”  Do you feel like your life is just one endless cycle of things that really do not matter?  Do you wonder whether your life is really worth living?

But when God comes and makes His announcement to some shepherds, He is also saying to you, “Life matters; your life matters; your life is My gift to you.”  Therefore, live every moment of it to the fullest.  Your life does matter to God.

And every life matters to God.  It is impossible to live – even for a few moments on this earth – and not influence somebody in one way or another.  We are all always influencing somebody – either for good or for bad. 

Life matters.  Your life matters.  Lives of kings and lives of shepherds all matter.  We all matter and are important to God.

3. FAITH MATTERS

I believe that these shepherds were men of faith.  In fact, I believe that they had a deeper faith than many of the religious leaders of the day who went to the synagogue or to the Temple every day.  I believe that these shepherds believed in and were looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. 

When things got especially tough.  During times of poverty, enslavement, trial, and exile, I believe that these shepherds, along with many others in Israel, would think about the Messiah and would remember God’s promise that some day the Messiah would come.

And so they would pray over and over again, “God, may the Messiah come, and may he come today.”  They prayed that prayer for hundreds of years.  And many times they must have wondered, “Is our faith really worth anything?  Does God really hear our prayers?  Does God remember and keep His promises?  Is the Messiah ever going to come?”

Down through the years there must have been some who quit praying, who quit believing.  But when the announcement of the angels came to some shepherds, God was saying, “Faith matters.  Your faith is not in vain.  I am a God who hears and remembers and keeps His promises.  And now the Messiah has come.  I have kept My promise.”

And how about us?  Sometimes we grow weary.  Sometimes we wonder if it is worth it to go to church and to work so hard in the work of the church.  Especially when so many others, including many members of our own family and many of our friends and neighbors, do not go to and are not involved in church.

But then we think of the faith of the shepherds, and the faith of so many others of God’s people down through the ages and at the time of Jesus’ birth, and with them we say, “Amen, come, Lord Jesus.”

Yes, you matter, life matters, and faith matters.  The announcement of the angels tells us that, like the shepherds, we are important to God.  Hark, can you hear the angels sing? 

* * * * * *

VIDEO MINISTRY

VIDEO BOOK REVIEW – “THE SURPRISING REBIRTH OF BELIEF IN GOD”

BY JUSTIN BRIERLEY  

Many thanks to ELCA pastor Kevin Haug for his review of Justin Brierley’s book, “The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God.”  Every day we are reminded of all of the chaos in our world and of the total inability of the human race to live in peace, so this video is a most needed and appropriate review for December, when we celebrate the birth of the Prince of Peace.  A link to Kevin’s video can be found HERE.  A link to our YouTube channel, which contains nearly four dozen videos, can be found HERE.

 Kevin writes – Host of the Unbelievable podcast on YouTube, Justin has noticed a change in those whom he invites on his show.  Very few militant atheists engage anymore, and they have been replaced with atheist/agnostics who are very sympathetic towards the Christian faith.  Not only that, many of them argue that the Christian worldview provides the basic foundation for Western Civilization.  Some have even converted to the Christian faith. These include scientists, artists, journalists, and scholars.  Brierley wonders if the outgoing tide of Christianity is about to change – that people will start returning to the church because it has the capability to provide what secular culture cannot: meaning, purpose, and a comprehensive view of reality.  Brierley ends with some pertinent advice for the church.

* * * * * *

May the Lord bless you with His hope, love, peace, and joy during this Christmas season.

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com

Dear Friend in the Savior-King:

For me one of the most inspiring, encouraging, and strength-giving passages of Scripture is John’s vision of heaven in Revelation 7: 9-17, which was the First Reading for All Saints Sunday. There are five elements in John’s depiction of the Church as having survived – as having “come out of the great ordeal” (verse 14). In the words of the beloved hymn, “Great Is Thy Faithfulness,” these elements give “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.”

1. A gathered throng
John writes in verse 9, “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages.” They are “robed in white, with palm branches in their hands.” We all are concerned about aging and diminishing congregations. We are all alarmed over the pastoral shortage crisis. But here John describes the church not just as having survived, but as celebrating.

2. An occupied throne
Verse 9 – That multi-racial, multi-ethnic church is “standing before the throne.” They have not been deserted. They are not spiritually orphaned. Rather the God who is with them at the end has also been with them all the way through.

3. A slain lamb
Also in verse 9 – The church is “standing before the Lamb.” The contemporary Christian group Casting Crowns has a song entitled “Scars in Heaven.” It is about a loved one who has died after going through many painful experiences in life. Some of the words are as follows –
“I know you’re in a place where all your wounds have been erased,
And knowing yours are healed is healing mine. . . .
The only scars in heaven are on the hands that hold you now.”
The church is standing before the Lamb, who bore all our pain, died for our sins, is with us through all our suffering, and who overcame what frightens and threatens us the most.

4. Worshipping angels
Verse 11 – “And all the angels stood around the throne . . . they fell on their faces . . . and worshiped God.” The angels have seen it all – the rebellion of Satan, the fall of the human race, the rejection of the prophets, the death of Jesus, the suffering of the church. They have seen it all, and now they see how it will end. So, in the words of verse 15, “They are before the throne of God and worship him day and night.”

5. Springs of living water
Verses 16-17 – “They will hunger no more, and thirst no more; the sun will not strike them, nor any scorching heat; for the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their shepherd; he will guide them to springs of the water of life, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” We all need relief from the things that strike us down. We all need the refreshment of living water and someone to wipe away our tears.

Yes, knowing how it will end – knowing the outcome – gives us strength and courage in the meantime.

But for me it is so sad when I see, hear, and read of so many pastors and congregations who do not give God’s people “strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow.” Rather they merely lay on the people the heavy burdens of what they need to do – whether it be more and more deeds of compassion or relentless demands to become more involved in the latest issues of social justice activism.

Everything is at stake. We will continue to keep you posted on the work of the ELCA’s Commission for a Renewed Lutheran Church. As we have written in previous communications, because we know the makeup of the Commission, we can be certain of the outcome of their work – social justice activism as the prime purpose and mission of the church, LGBTQ+ ideology, and diversity, equity, and inclusion as the primary value system of the new church. On the day I am writing this letter I saw the first posting regarding follow up to another action taken by the ELCA’s 2022 Churchwide Assembly – reviewing the 2009 human sexuality social statement. The ELCA is now in the process of forming the task force that will reconsider the whole issue of bound conscience – which is ELCA language for eliminating the provision by which traditional views have a place of dignity and respect within the church. Again we will keep you posted on what will certainly lead to a massive breach of trust and the ELCA’s saying to those with traditional Biblical views, “You are not welcome here.” We will also keep you posted when the list of keynote speakers for the 2024 ELCA Youth Gathering becomes available.

During 2024 we will continue our work of providing such things as –

• Warnings regarding ways in which the historic Christian faith is being rejected by and within the Church
• Resources such as suggested prayers of the church, daily devotionals, and weekly lectionary based Bible studies
• A support group for young adults, including seminarians
• Support for the NEXUS program at Grand View University (Bible study, theological reflection, and vocational discernment for high schoolers); cross-generational, inter-denominational mission trips; and our Spanish-language/bi-lingual ministries Encuentro
• Video reviews of books of interest and importance and videos on topics related to Biblical studies, Lutheran theology, ministry, and the Christian life

Please select a button below to designate a year-end gift towards our regular operating expenses as we work to be a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans. Please also let us know how we can be praying for you. Thank you for your partnership in the Gospel, especially at this critical time when everything is at stake.

In Christ,

Dennis D. Nelson
Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

Please join me in praying for Elizabeth Eaton, presiding bishop of the ELCA.  A recent news release from the ELCA reported that her request had been approved by the Church Council Executive Committee for a four to six month leave of absence effective November 17.  I strongly disagree with so many ways in which she is leading the ELCA, but I still recognize her as a sister in Christ and a very capable (though misguided and misguiding) leader in the church.

I wish the news release had said more and I am surprised that they did not say more.  But I can only imagine the kind of stress she has been under.  Any one of us would have become physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted because of all the issues in the ELCA. 

I also realize that hers is a situation that she helped create.  She feels the need to address multiple political and global issues rather than mind her own store.  For years – also before Elizabeth Eaton became presiding bishop – the ELCA has enabled, encouraged, and empowered disruptive forces that would be more than happy to tear the organization down.  The ELCA has been like parents who raised an out-of-control child who are now dealing with an out-of-control young adult who would be more than happy to destroy the family business and burn the house down.  And with the ELCA’s prime emphasis being dismantling systemic racism, which is not the main mission of the church, she is leading an organization that is seeking to solve enormous problems with merely human resources. 

I think of times in my own ministry when I ran into – or was run into by – a crisis.  Often the crisis happened because of the actions of others.  But I know that sometimes I contributed to the crisis – through such things as an unwise response or poor judgment.  Looking back I realize that often it was during those times of crisis that I learned and grew the most – that I realized that I needed to do things differently.

I think of what the apostle Paul wrote in Galatians 1: 17.  After meeting Jesus on the road to Damascus, he “went away at once into Arabia.”  Because there are fewer distractions in the desert, the desert is a great place to face yourself and really think through what you have been doing.  I see Paul going out into the desert to try to figure out how he could have been so wrong about Jesus.

I pray for rest, renewal, and rejuvenation for Bishop Eaton.  But I also pray that she will think through and come to terms with why it was that leading the ELCA is so stressful and what she now needs to do differently. 

With pastoral concern,

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

The following is an excerpt from the October Letter from the DIrector of Lutheran Core, Dennis Nelson.

In my Summer Letter from the Director I gave a very detailed account of how Bishop Yehiel Curry of the ELCA’s Metropolitan Chicago Synod committed egregious acts of abuse of power, threatening, bullying, and intimidating against a retired pastor rostered in another synod and lay leaders of a congregation in that synod. 

As I communicated in my August Letter from the Director, on March 15 I wrote to Ms. Judith Roberts, senior director for ELCA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and co-convenor of a task force for addressing the disciplinary concerns of leaders of color. A press release dated March 10 had told of how her task force had made a presentation to the February 28-March 4 meeting of the ELCA’s Conference of Bishops. I told her about the situation with Bishop Curry and St. Timothy Lutheran Church. I described how leaders who are not people of color had been bullied by a synodical bishop, who is a person of color. A leader of color had been the perpetrator rather than the victim of harassment and discrimination.

The next day she wrote back. She said, “Thank you for sharing your concerns, and we will certainly take them into account. The Churchwide Organization takes misconduct complaints against synod bishops seriously; if you believe that a synod bishop has engaged in misconduct, please direct that concern to the Presiding Bishop.”

I knew that I could not write to Bishop Eaton right away. I had to wait until after the three sons of the former pastor who had been maintaining the property and providing leadership and stability for the congregation were safely out of the parsonage. When they were safe, I sent an account of the events at St. Timothy to five ELCA leaders – Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton; Imran Siddiqui, vice president of the ELCA; Tracie Bartholomew, chairperson (at the time) of the Conference of Bishops; and the two members of the task force who made the presentation – Judith Roberts and Bishop Paul Erickson of the Greater Milwaukee Synod. I never heard from any of them.

After an October 4 news release told about a follow up report from the task force to the September 26-30 meeting of the Conference of Bishops, I again wrote to Ms. Judith Roberts. I told her why I had not written right away and then said, “I never heard from anyone, even though you said that ‘the Churchwide Organization takes misconduct complaints against synod bishops seriously.’ And now that Bishop Curry has been elected chairperson of the Conference of Bishops, I doubt that there is any chance that I will be heard.”

I then added, “The only conclusion I can come to is this. Even though the ELCA claims to be an organization that pursues justice, it does not wish to hear and will not hear anything other than the preferred narrative. Even though the ELCA says that it wants to reach out to those on the margins, it will not reach out to those whom it has marginalized. Even though the ELCA desires the role of speaking truth to power, it refuses to realize where it is the power that truth needs to be spoken to.”

I concluded, “The October 4 news release said that your task force has ‘considered a process for community healing and grief.’ The ELCA has caused great grief. It does not seem to have any concern or interest in helping to bring about healing. The recent events in the Sierra Pacific Synod give the impression that it is only if enough people are able to create a big enough groundswell for long enough that the ELCA will stop and take notice and deal with where it has caused great grief, pain, offence, and damage.” I then thanked her for hearing my concerns.

I am very glad to be able to share that on October 12 I received a very cordial response from Ms. Roberts. She said again, “Any concerns related to a synod bishop and issues of abuse are to be directed to Bishop Eaton.” Therefore I will write – again – to Bishop Eaton. Stay tuned.

SINCE GOD IS FOR US

I am a Phoenix Symphony groupee. I feel very fortunate to live in a metropolitan area that has a symphony orchestra of the quality of the Phoenix Symphony. On September 30 I went to a performance which featured Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.” HERE is a link to a video of that composition.

Even if you are not a fan of classical music, I am sure you recognize its dramatic opening, entitled “O Fortuna.” It has been used dozens of times in movies, TV shows, commercials, and even football games. The major theme of this mighty work is the unpredictability of life. The Roman goddess Fortuna and her “wheel of fortune” make sure that the outcome is always outside of our control. The text is based upon a manuscript by the same name that was compiled between the eleventh and thirteenth centuries. The concert notes for the evening said that the theme “clearly resonated with the medieval authors who lived in a violent, disease-ridden world over which they had so little control, just as it resonated in Orff’s Germany in the grips of the Nazi regime on the march toward war, and still resonates amid today’s disorienting turbulence.” The piece ends with the same pounding timpani and spine-chilling choral harmonies as it began. “O Fortuna” – the fateful wheel of fortune is still spinning recklessly and out of control. It is a profoundly moving and disturbing musical composition.

My wife often accuses me of anticipating the “worst possible scenario.” I told her that “Carmina Burana” is worst possible scenario on steroids. But then, because I am a Lutheran pastor, it got me to thinking of the way that Martin Luther viewed God and the world before he discovered the Gospel. If God is an angry judge whom I am completely unable to satisfy, then how could I have a view of life and the world that is any less frightening and any more hopeless than the perspective of “Carmina Burana”?

But fortunately Martin Luther found in the writings of the apostle Paul the Good News that we can be “justified by (God’s) grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus” (Romans 3: 24). Instead of feeling and fearing that the world is against me, God is angry with me, and life is out of control, I can say with the apostle Paul, “If God is for us, who is against us?” (Romans 8: 31). None of the powers of this world “will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8: 39). Therefore, we can be “steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord” because we can know for sure that our labor in the Lord is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15: 58).

I am thankful to God for the Reformation. Because of the Gospel and Martin Luther’s rediscovery of the Gospel I do not have to approach life with the attitude of “Carmina Burana.”

* * * * * * *

ABUSE OF POWER IN THE ELCA’S METROPOLITAN CHICAGO SYNOD

In my Summer Letter from the Director I gave a very detailed account of how Bishop Yehiel Curry of the ELCA’s Metropolitan Chicago Synod committed egregious acts of abuse of power, threatening, bullying, and intimidating against a retired pastor rostered in another synod and lay leaders of a congregation in that synod. A link to that letter can be found HERE.

As I communicated in my August Letter from the Director, on March 15 I wrote to Ms. Judith Roberts, senior director for ELCA Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and co-convenor of a task force for addressing the disciplinary concerns of leaders of color. A press release dated March 10 had told of how her task force had made a presentation to the February 28-March 4 meeting of the ELCA’s Conference of Bishops. I told her about the situation with Bishop Curry and St. Timothy Lutheran Church. I described how leaders who are not people of color had been bullied by a synodical bishop, who is a person of color. A leader of color had been the perpetrator rather than the victim of harassment and discrimination.

The next day she wrote back. She said, “Thank you for sharing your concerns, and we will certainly take them into account. The Churchwide Organization takes misconduct complaints against synod bishops seriously; if you believe that a synod bishop has engaged in misconduct, please direct that concern to the Presiding Bishop.”

I knew that I could not write to Bishop Eaton right away. I had to wait until after the three sons of the former pastor who had been maintaining the property and providing leadership and stability for the congregation were safely out of the parsonage. When they were safe, I sent an account of the events at St. Timothy to five ELCA leaders – Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton; Imran Siddiqui, vice president of the ELCA; Tracie Bartholomew, chairperson (at the time) of the Conference of Bishops; and the two members of the task force who made the presentation – Judith Roberts and Bishop Paul Erickson of the Greater Milwaukee Synod. I never heard from any of them.

After an October 4 news release told about a follow up report from the task force to the September 26-30 meeting of the Conference of Bishops, I again wrote to Ms. Judith Roberts. I told her why I had not written right away and then said, “I never heard from anyone, even though you said that ‘the Churchwide Organization takes misconduct complaints against synod bishops seriously.’ And now that Bishop Curry has been elected chairperson of the Conference of Bishops, I doubt that there is any chance that I will be heard.”

I then added, “The only conclusion I can come to is this. Even though the ELCA claims to be an organization that pursues justice, it does not wish to hear and will not hear anything other than the preferred narrative. Even though the ELCA says that it wants to reach out to those on the margins, it will not reach out to those whom it has marginalized. Even though the ELCA desires the role of speaking truth to power, it refuses to realize where it is the power that truth needs to be spoken to.”

I concluded, “The October 4 news release said that your task force has ‘considered a process for community healing and grief.’ The ELCA has caused great grief. It does not seem to have any concern or interest in helping to bring about healing. The recent events in the Sierra Pacific Synod give the impression that it is only if enough people are able to create a big enough groundswell for long enough that the ELCA will stop and take notice and deal with where it has caused great grief, pain, offence, and damage.” I then thanked her for hearing my concerns.

I am very glad to be able to share that on October 12 I received a very cordial response from Ms. Roberts. She said again, “Any concerns related to a synod bishop and issues of abuse are to be directed to Bishop Eaton.” Therefore I will write – again – to Bishop Eaton. Stay tuned.

* * * * * * *

VIDEO MINISTRIES

HERE is a link to our You Tube channel. In the top row you will find both our Video Book Reviews as well as our CORE Convictions Videos on various topics related to Biblical teaching, Lutheran theology, and Christian living. You will find these videos in the order in which they were posted, beginning with the most recent. In the second row you will find links to the Playlists for both sets of videos. Many thanks to Pastor Nathan Hoff for his CORE Convictions Video, which we are featuring this month. A link to his video can be found HERE.

A SIMPLE WAY TO PRAY

by NATHAN HOFF

Martin Luther described a simple way to pray in a letter to his barber, Peter. It is a spiritual treasure: https://ms.fortresspress.com/dow…/R2R_ASimpleWaytoPray.pdf.

In this video Pastor Nathan Hoff gives us a tutorial in the Way of Word and Prayer, which is part of the spiritual practices at his congregation, Trinity Lutheran Church in San Pedro, California. As very young children we learned to speak by listening to our parents. In the same way Pastor Hoff and the people of Trinity Lutheran use the Moravian Daily Text to respond to God’s Word in prayer. In this video he shows us how he used the Scriptures passages for September 20 as an example of first hearing the Word of God and then praying. The Moravian Daily Text can be found at www.groundupgrace.com.

Eugene Peterson encouraged this form of praying when he said, “Prayer is answering speech.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer agreed when he added, “We do not pray from the poverty of our own hearts, but from the riches of God’s Word.”

In addition to serving as pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church, Nathan has taught extensively at such places as Mount Carmel Ministries in Alexandria, MN, Canadian Lutheran Bible Institute, Master’s Institute Seminary, The Awaken Project, and the World Mission Prayer League.

More information regarding Trinity’s Rule of Life, which includes a commitment to the Way of Word and Prayer, can be found at www.trinitysanpedroorg/rule of life.

Grateful for the Gospel,

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

dennisdnelsonaz@yahoo.com

Certainly one of the most complex, difficult, and volatile situations in the world today is the
relationship between Israel and its neighbors. The Jewish people suffered horribly during the
Holocaust. After World War II they needed a homeland – a place to live where they would be
safe. The problem is that there were people who were already living there and had been for
hundreds of years.

I do not agree with everything that the Israeli government has done over the years, just as I do
not agree with everything that the U. S. government has done over the years. There are many
ways in which the Palestinian people have been suffering and we need to be deeply concerned for our fellow Palestinian Christians. But the Israeli government needs to be able to protect its people, just like every government needs to be able to protect its people. The Israeli government and the Israeli people need our prayers and support as they fight off the most violent and deadly incursion in decades.

I believe that the promises of God were fulfilled in Jesus, not in the creation of the modern state
of Israel in 1948. I do not agree with those who believe that the Kingdom of God would be
advanced if the Dome of the Rock were to be torn down and a Temple were to be built in its
place. But still, as I read the Bible, the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob
played a major role in God’s plan for our salvation. The Lord said to Abraham, “I will bless
those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse; and in you all the families of the
earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 12: 3). And the apostle Paul wrote about his people, the Hebrew
people, “To them belong the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the
worship, and the promises; to them belong the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh,
comes the Messiah” (Romans 9: 4-5).

The best article I have found regarding how we American Christians should view and why we
should stand with Israel under attack was written by Russell Moore, editor in chief of
“Christianity Today” magazine. Here is a link.

https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/october-web-only/israel-hamas-middle-east-war-christians.html

I urge you to join with me in praying for Israel under attack – for its government, its people, the
wounded, the dying, those who have lost loved ones, those who live in fear and constant great
danger.

“He will command his angels to guard you in all your ways.  They will bear you up in their hands so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.”  (Psalm 91: 11-12) 

Dear Friends:

I experienced the truth and power of that promise last month.  I do not have a good sense of balance so I take precautions.  For example, I do not ride escalators, especially in airports when I have luggage and my carry on.  But after I arrived at the Oklahoma City airport on my way to the NALC Convocation, as I left the gate area the escalator down to baggage claim was straight ahead and I did not know where the elevator was, so I foolishly did what normally I no longer do.  I took the escalator. 

As I remember, a little way down the step jerked.  I lost my balance, fell to the side, and badly cut my upper left arm – I believe on the metal edge of the step.  People were so concerned and so kind.  They brought paper towels to wrap up the blood and called the airport fire department triage team, who retrieved my luggage, called an ambulance, and I was taken to the emergency room of a hospital not too far from where the convocation was taking place.  My laceration was treated and I was released. 

Afterwards I was thinking about how fortunate I was that I did not fall forward or fall down the escalator and how much more serious the injury could have been (though the escalator did leave tread marks on my upper left arm).  I was also very glad when I heard the announcement that first aid was available during the convocation at the volunteer central room.  There I found kind people who would change the dressing.  It is hard to change the dressing on your own upper left arm. 

And then I got to thinking about what people can do – show concern, wipe up the blood, retrieve luggage, get me to emergency, treat the wound, and change the dressing – but what only God can do – command His angels to watch over us and give our bodies the amazing ability to heal. 

I am very sad whenever I hear preachers and Bible study leaders reduce the Christian message to what we do – whether it is doing works of compassion, advocating for justice, or what is now the dominating emphasis in some church circles – dismantling systemic racism, white supremacy, and male dominance.  I think of the account of the raising of Lazarus in John 11.  The people could move the stone and unwrap the grave clothes, but only Jesus could raise the dead.  We of Lutheran CORE are committed to preserving and proclaiming the full and pure Gospel message – not of the far-left political agenda but of the gifts that God gives as He forgives our sins, makes us new creations, calls us to service, and commands His angels to watch over us. 

We have promised to keep you posted regarding the work of the commission that will be developing the plan to remake and reconstitute the ELCA.  The thirty-five members of the commission have been appointed and have held their first meeting.  Biographical paragraphs of the members are now available.  We will be analyzing the makeup of the commission and will share our analysis in the September issue of our newsletter, CORE Voice.  The makeup of the commission should be cause for great concern.  As they say, When you know the makeup, you know the outcome.

Also in the September issue of our newsletter a couple members of our young adult group – both of whom are students at the North American Lutheran Seminary – will be writing about their experiences serving as mentors at NEXUS this past summer.  A ministry of Grand View University in Des Moines, NEXUS is a week of Bible study, theological reflection, and fellowship for high schoolers, where they are challenged to become involved in Christian ministry and consider attending seminary.  Thank you for your gifts, which make it possible for Lutheran CORE to be one of the sponsors of NEXUS.  Ethan Zimmerman, one of the seminarians who again served as a mentor this past summer, wrote about his experiences –

“This summer’s NEXUS Institute was the best NEXUS I’ve been to in my five years of being involved!  The Holy Spirit was moving in and amidst everyone, from the high school student participants, to the young adult mentors, all the way to the adult chaperones!  Everyone’s faith was deepened and broadened in such a fantastic way, and speaking for myself, I will forever be changed for the better because of my involvement as a mentor.  The NEXUS Institute is one of the premier places for high school students to grow and learn more about their faith, and to see what a calling and vocation from God truly looks like!”

I am writing this letter the week after the devastating fires on the island of Maui.  Having visited that beautiful island, I have a hard time imagining what it must be like now.  We are continually reminded of tragedies and natural disasters that are happening to people.  But the greatest tragedy of all is what sin, death, and the devil have done to God’s creation.  People need to know and be in right relationship with a God who loves, forgives, calls, empowers, and is with them, and who commands His angels to watch over them.

Thank you for your ongoing prayers and gifts to Lutheran CORE, which enable us to continue our work of being a Voice for Biblical Truth and a Network for Confessing Lutherans.  Thank you for your prayers for us.  Please click here to print a form that you can use to let us know how we can be praying for you.

Blessings in Christ,   

Dennis D. Nelson

Executive Director of Lutheran CORE

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