If guns kill people, do pencils misspell words?
‹anonymous›
Atlantis: the domain of the Stingray
30Nov
2014
Sun
18:21
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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Ad Te Levavi

Matthew 21:1-9

Ad Te Levavi 2014 Wordle
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The closing words we heard Jesus speak last week were, “Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming.” (Matthew 25:13) Therein lies the promise and prediction of Jesus’ second Advent—His second appearing on earth, coming in judgment. Jesus would not have told His followers to watch were He not intending to return—that’s His promise. And the prediction is that no one will know either the day or the hour of His return; even Jesus doesn’t know, as He said elsewhere. (cf. Mark 13:32)

The word that follows, “Watch,” is, “Prepare.” It’s the ensign for this season of Advent. We’re at the time of year when we prepare to celebrate, once again, the first Advent of the Son of God, ever mindful of His impending second Advent; preparing—or, more properly, being prepared, by receiving from Him all that He has to give, watching and waiting for, anticipating and expecting Jesus to return and judge the world.

29Nov
2014
Sat
22:22
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did This Week, no. 48

gobble gobble

This week is Turkey Week. It makes for a short work week, though I did have to extend it a bit compared to Turkey Weeks past. While I work Thanksgiving, we were able to get away for a bit; well, we got out of town and enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner courtesy of church members and friends. So, rather than sum it all up in this intro, let’s get to the meat of the post.

27Nov
2014
Thu
18:01
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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National Day of Thanksgiving

catechetical instruction

National Day of Thanksgiving 2014 Wordle
In the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever.” Five times the Psalmist wrote those words (Psalms 106:1; 107:1, 118:1; 118:29; 136:1), adding an additional, “Oh give thanks to the LORD.” (Psalm 105:1) Then, there are countless other passages of scripture that command or encourage thankfulness or demonstrate thankfulness for the reader and hearer, including those which were read today.

Then we have the instructions from Dr. Luther’s Small Catechism, as you recited this morning. I believe that God has made me, given me everything that I have, and defends me from all dangers, “for all which it is my duty to thank and praise, to serve and obey Him.” God gives daily bread to all without our prayer—everything that is needed to support body and life—“but we pray in this petition that He would lead us to know it, and to receive our daily bread with thanksgiving.”

23Nov
2014
Sun
17:43
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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Schoolhouse Rock: Executive Order

c/o SNL

22Nov
2014
Sat
22:28
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did This Week, no. 47

busy, busy, busy

Little office time, but lots of work; that phrase exemplifies this week. There was a shut-in visit and a meeting up north. In all, I got two days in my office, and though I’ve fared well with so little time in the past, it didn’t work out too well for me this week. Still, it all worked out, and it was a pretty good week, I’d say.

16Nov
2014
Sun
18:31
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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Twenty-Sixth Sunday after Trinity

Matthew 25:31-46

Trinity XXVI 2014 Wordle
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The law is very natural for humanity. Man views the law favorably, even if, at times, he does not always like what the law has to say. By the law, man interprets his surroundings. By the law, man understands the way things are supposed to work. Through the law, man relates to all of creation. Do this; don’t do that. It’s simple, and as he understands it, it is manageable.

By contrast, the Gospel is completely foreign to him. That what man has he receives from outside of himself, apart from his work or merit, from another, completely by grace is difficult or even impossible to understand. In fact, it is even offensive: to be told that you receive something that you do not deserve is insulting—on the one hand, you are being told that what you have done is not enough, not good enough, to earn what you have; on the other hand, it completely contradicts the notion that you have to do something to earn something.

15Nov
2014
Sat
21:52
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did This Week, no. 46

Another Birthday, and We Told Molly We'd Leave Her with the Monkeys

This was a bit of an unusual week. Well, at least the back end was. A big reason for that was that it was Mikaela’s birthday, and the celebration is spilling out over a few days. A big reason for the spilling out is other plans that were made, even if they involved a little miscommunication, and the cancellation of another plan.

9Nov
2014
Sun
19:08
author: Stingray
category: Sermons
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Twenty-Fifth Sunday after Trinity

Luke 17:20-30

Trinity XXV 2014 Wordle
In the name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.

The Pharisees are looking forward to the coming of the Kingdom of God, so they ask Jesus when it would happen. They were anticipating the time when God would come to His people and restore the kingdom to Israel. They were looking for something to happen; they expected to see something happen.

“The kingdom of God does not come with observation; nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is [among] you.” The coming of the Kingdom of God is not the type of event that they expected to see, Jesus says. It does not come with close observation, as if you could tell the time was at hand by reading the newspaper headlines. In fact, the Kingdom of God was among them.

More to the point, the Kingdom of God was standing right there talking to them.

8Nov
2014
Sat
18:51
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did This Week, no. 45

is the pox back?

So, it seemed at first as if chicken pox had made their return to our house. Robert announced that he had found spots on his torso. So, while he and Genevieve and Tirzah missed church on Sunday, later in the week we decided that he must not have chicken pox. For other news, you’ll have to read the rest of the entry.

1Nov
2014
Sat
20:45
author: Stingray
category: My Ramblings
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What I Did This Week (and Last), nos. 43 and 44

another two-fer

It’s another late update, and another couple of busy weeks. So, this entry is another two-week entry. The problem is trying to remember what happened in week 43, but I’ll give it my best shot. Week 44 shouldn’t be as difficult.