Greetings
all past and future post from the institute can be found in a much easier format at
splctn.360unite.com/blog-archive
Goodby Blogishpear it was fun
Blessings to all
Pastor Robert Portier
Friday, December 21, 2018
Wednesday, October 10, 2018
Dear 3 followers,
It has been 10 years since I joined the blogusphere and I think it is time for a new approach.
Smoky Mountain Reflections is not going away it is moving.
in the past 7 years I have had here over 8000 page views from over 10 countries but I would like to make these articles a little easier to find because that was the original reason for doing this.
Many of these articles are designed to address specific concerns
I will continue to work on the Pastor what is the difference question
That all being said my next post will have a link to a web site with all these articles arranged by topic.
Blessings to you all and have a blessed day
In Christ Pastor Portier
It has been 10 years since I joined the blogusphere and I think it is time for a new approach.
Smoky Mountain Reflections is not going away it is moving.
in the past 7 years I have had here over 8000 page views from over 10 countries but I would like to make these articles a little easier to find because that was the original reason for doing this.
Many of these articles are designed to address specific concerns
I will continue to work on the Pastor what is the difference question
That all being said my next post will have a link to a web site with all these articles arranged by topic.
Blessings to you all and have a blessed day
In Christ Pastor Portier
195, 196, 197
Smoky Mountain Reflections #195
Every 3
years our church body holds a convention to conduct its business. This will
take place next year in Tampa Florida when around 1200 pastors and laymen
representing our 600 circuits will gather for that purpose. In preparation for
that event a theme is chosen, and much important parliamentary correspondence will
flow between our congregations and the Synod offices. In the year preceding the
convention all 35 districts conduct their conventions for the same purpose. The
office our synod president produced a report for those conventions to held
everyone prepare for next years convention. This is a 45-page document with a
lot of very valuable information so I am going to try to give you a reader’s
digest version of this report over the coming months. Here is the first
installment.
The theme
of our Synod convention in 2019 is “Joy:Fully
Lutheran” 1 Thess 5:16-24. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give
thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for
you. Do not quench the Spirit. Do not despise prophecies, but test everything;
hold fast what is good. Abstain from every form of evil. Now may the God of
peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and
body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you
is faithful; he will surely do it.
“Rejoice always.” St. Paul wrote
these words to the Thessalonians, who had “received the word in much
affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:6).1 In the face of a
world that moves from one tragedy to the next, and in a church body full of
saints who happen every one to be sinners too, being “Joy:fully Lutheran” might
seem a pipe dream. Not so. In what follows president Harrison makes the case
for the beautiful nexus of being “Joyfully” and “Fully” Lutheran. The Gospel is
a joyful message that takes sin away and produces joyful saints. This blessed
Gospel of Christ’s free forgiveness enlivens every teaching, every aspect of
being Lutheran. “Joy:- fully Lutheran” is not a program but a divinely wrought
attitude, born of the Word of God, which brings repentance. A portion of this
report takes up the demographic challenge of The Lutheran Church—Missouri
Synod. The facts are elucidating. If we don’t know the facts — that is, why we
face what we face — our response will not only miss the target, but we may also
be led into unhealthy, unbiblical and negative attitudes that will only
exacerbate the challenges, weaken our biblical Lutheran convictions and rob us
of joy in Christ and each other. After describing the statistical material, I
offer some “answers” along the way. We must focus on being biblical, on knowing
the Scriptures and acting in accord with the Word of God. We must focus on being
Lutheran, on knowing our own confessing documents and the fabulous strength and
joy they afford us. Being Lutheran Christians is our gift, our witness and our
vocation in this world — for the sake of the Gospel in the world! We have
blessings aplenty. Seminaries, The Lutheran Women’s Missionary League (LWML)
and the International Lutheran Laymen’s League (Int’l LLL) are vibrant, The
Lutheran Church Extension Fund, The Lutheran Federal Credit Union, The LCMS
Foundation, Concordia Plan Services, Lutheran Schools, universities, Concordia
Publishing House (CPH), We have some 15,000 people Synod-wide trained in
disaster response. Our church is known far and wide for the excellence of its
relief work. World Relief and Human Care continues to provide mercy far and
wide. Much more could be noted. A multitude of congregations, church workers,
mission societies and institutions of mercy serve millions in the name of
Jesus. Our Lutheran Center for Religious Liberty (LCRL), under the direction of
the Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, is up and running in Washington, D.C.
However, in the coming months we
will look at a number of challenging matters, presented by the office of the
president. It is my prayer that these articles derived from that report will
encourage and strengthen you as a spiritual priest. I pray, that as we face
challenges with the Word of God, we will continue to grow together in unity,
ever more “diligently joined in unity of doctrine, faith, sacraments, prayer,
works of love and such” (SA II IV, 9).2 And all of this so that “our joy may be
complete” (1 John 1:4).
Pastor Matthew C. Harrison Palm Sunday 2018
Edited and reduced by
Pastor Porter Saint Paul Lutheran Church Sevierville TN
Wednesday, July 18, 2018
#193
Smoky Mountain Reflections #193
Another
busy summer. As I write this the next 6 weeks carry a lot of busyness for us
here at St. Paul Lutheran Church in the beautiful Smoky mountains.
-
Tomorrow begins our Community Service Rummage Sale. This
is growing into a large event that serves a lot of people.
-
Next week I will be in Memphis to serve as chair of our
District Missions Floor Committees.
-
The following week: VBS! “Splash Canyon”.
-
The following week: Robin Brown and I will represent
our congregation in Memphis at the Mid-South District convention.
-
July 1st is our Red, White & Blue Sunday.
-
July 4th at Patriot Park in Pigeon Forge we
will be selling lots of Shave Ice to Support the Woman’s Care Center.
-
The following week I join our Youth at Camp Linn Haven.
-
After that Science Camp.
Just as we need to take one in
seven days to rest (not to mention it is a commandment) you should
Also take some time during the busy summer to rest. Take a
vacation. The list of busy things we have going on here is not unique; band
camps, music camps, science camps, sports camps and many other things compete
for the family’s summer time.
Do not let
the busy-ness of the summer take your eye off of what is important. Make sure
you have regular time in worship wherever you are. The LCMS has a great app
that can help you find a church on vacation. Make sure you have time or make
time to keep your family relationships healthy. Spend regular time around a
table, sharing a meal (without any electronic glowing screens in view). Take time
to enjoy the blessings of God in worship in family in community.
Have a safe and not so busy summer 😊
In Christ,
Pastor Portier
Wednesday, June 13, 2018
#192 Gender Madness
Smoky Mountain Reflections #192
I sadly had
to write this email response to a Boy Scout Troop that has used our facilities
in the past but sadly things have changed much in the BSA since then. I wrote
Mr. Moore, It is with a heavy heart that I must inform you we have decided not
to host your troop. This is not reflection on what good guest you all were on
your last visit. Because you were very good guest. This is not in any way a
condemnation of you or your troop. We have every reason to believe you all to
be fine upstanding individuals. However, It is a sad reality that our church
cannot associate itself with a national organization that publicly calls sin a
lifestyle choice by its policy’s. Because by such an association we would
indirectly affirm what God condemns. This is not a God pleasing option for the
bride of Christ. If in the future you are able to affect changes in your
association with or the policies of the Scouting BSA organization. we would
then be able to reconsider your request. My regards and prayers for you and
your troop to have a safe and blessed summer, In Christ Pastor Portier
During the same week also wanted to
communicate to the world via Facebook that I will not be participating in the
Gender Madness that our society is currently engaged in. I used a piece of art
work showing colorful gender options with the word NO scribbled over it. as an
attention grabber. It did get some attention and as of this writing about 30
people have made over 60 comments in the current thread. Unfortunately, in a
world of identity politics speaking for the truth makes us a bad guy. I have
these online conversations because it helps others see that we can speak the
truth in love especially since Scripture and Science is on our side.
One of the
commenters said that calling Gender Madness and using that art work was not
Christian way to speak the truth in love and said I was attacking others. I
disagree and here is how I responded. “Note my comment is not on the
individuals it is against our societies affirming confused behaviors. So my
critique is of our SOCIETIES GENDER MADNESS. not poor confused individuals who
we should encourage, helped and prayed for as we help them to carry their
cross, while carrying next to them our own.”
I was asked how any of this harmed
me and I pointed out that this is an issue is harmful to our society. “I
further said “ Do you not see how
anything that harms the family harms us all? I am a Pastor but my call to
witness is no greater or less than yours. I must carry myself in all public and
private forums in a way that reflects well on my lord and savior. It is not
really my Job to lead people to Christ that is the Holy Spirits work. It is my
call as it is the call of every Christian to speak the truth in love. this is part
of the witnessing conversation. today at least a dozen if not dozens of people
I would not have otherwise today had the opportunity to share the gospel with
have at least at some level been exposed to it. There is no sinful desire or
activity that Christ did not die for (He loves and forgives ALL) but If the Church
or Christians tell people that their desires which are clearly called sin in
God’s word are OK, (of course being confused is not sinful but having sinful
desires is) (affirming sinful behavior is also sin) then they will think they
do not need God or His forgiveness and that is a much worse fate than being
offended by a post that might get their attention long enough for the Holy
Spirit to work repentance and faith, Lord let it be so.
There was also a comment but an old
ship mate of mine from National Geographic that was a propaganda piece for
Gender Fluidity. Here was my response to that. “There is no science in this
anecdotal propaganda piece. Science is based on evidence (what someone feels
them self to be is not evidence) on that Logic if I choose to feel like a book
can I really be a book? of course not. Gender is a non-biological construct
connected to behaviors. The science of Biology teaches that Homo-sapiens are
Binary. Male and Female, no other genetic category exists. Anomalies and
mistakes in the genetic code can and do produce defects such as hermaphrodite
but those who have such a condition are to be loved and cared for and until
just a few years ago encouraged to choose to function as male or female for
their psychical and mental health and hormone treatment was used to help with a
defect. Now our society says if you an athlete you will be fined and excluded
from participation if you take hormones to boost your performance because it is
harmful to your health this is good because it is good for the health of all.
in the same way it is madness to say it is good to give a little boy estrogen
if he thinks he is a girl.....MADNESSS! Those who have any confusion about
their biology should not be butchered and medicated to shorten their lives.
THAT IS EVIL MADNESS! They should be loved and cared for by being told how to
live in a healthy affirmation of their biology.”
I know this is a little long, but I
want to help others see by my example we can speak the truth in love, by
calling a thing what it is but at the same time being as winsome and kind as
possible. There is one last part of the conversation I would like to share with
you. I asked one of the detractors how I might better get peoples attention to
speak this truth and he said start with scripture and how it speaks to the
issue. That is not a bad idea in one on one conversation but in open
conversations when people of many view are reading or listening I responded in
this way. “I find when speaking or writing in a public forum. people who do not
believe in scripture see citing it for authority as annoying and unproductive
so starting with scripture will not start a conversation with them. And People
who do know scripture fall in two categories people who agree with Gods word
which on this topic is very clear God created them male and female….and every
aspect of human existence is couched in the context of a binary male / female
reality and anything that violates it is sin. (So that group does not need
scripture for any convincing) And those who know what it says but play a game
of words, obfuscating and equivocating to try to say Gods word dose not condemn
anything associated with a gender fluidity view. So, they are either dishonest
or ignorant and serving their agenda. So, starting with scripture is actually
counterproductive them. Especially when all of Biology & any and all
medical and psychological science is on our side. (excluding of course some
aspects of that have been highjacked and are not ignoring scientific fact to
join in the Lie Parade). So, I will continue to point out the fact that Biology
is clear, and I will continue to be called a bigot by bigots.” OK enough on
Identify politics already I hope some of this has been helpful. Hopefully I can
find something a little more pleasant to reflect on next month until then have
a blessed summer
In Christ
Pastor Portier
Wednesday, May 16, 2018
Smoky Mountain Reflections #191
Last month
we discussed identity politics from a perspective of marriage and the 6th
commandment. This month I would like to continue that theme but focus on our
role as members of the world we live in. In 1 John chapter 2 we are admonished
to remember that we are to be in but not of the world. This can
be a difficult proposition in the face of intense persecution, as has been
common to Christians around the world throughout history and in the present.
Today we find ourselves in a society which used to view Christians as virtuous
and trustworthy, but increasingly paints us as mean, bigoted, “homophobes”.
Unfortunately, it is difficult to discuss this topic without being accused of
lobbying for some “rights group”, “victim group”, or the evil “status quo
group”. So, let me make clear that this pastor believes and teaches that God’s
word is clear from front to back that there is one human race. ALL are created in God’s image and as such,
are priceless beloved members of God’s created human race. Differences in size,
shape, ability, color, height, width, disability, intelligence, etc., are all
differences that God designed either to show his great creativity or to give us
multiple opportunities to love and care for each other while experiencing His
love in all the relationships he blesses us with. All are of EQUAL value to
God. He bled and died to redeem all!
A large
“machine” of sin exists in this world, and it divides us from peaceful,
harmonious God pleasing relationships. It does so by isolating us from God and
each other; divorce, loneliness, depression, greed, envy, and revenge are just
some of the cogs in this machine that our sinful world and flesh, it has as its
fuel and oil our sinful nature. That being said, I set before you one example
of information that sinners on all sides of the discussion will continue to use
to divide instead of to point out that we are all the same as sinners loved by
God. (Or, as I used to say in my Navy days, we are all in the same boat, and
infighting only endangers our peace and safety.) We must speak the truth in
love; that is what those called to be in but not of the world do.
Back in
March, I posted on Facebook a 13-minute video of Tucker Carlson revealing some
interesting facts about the supposed “patriarchal privileged male” in America.
Let me touch on a few highlights (or lowlights). The average male lifespan is 5
years shorter than females’, men are twice as likely to be addicts, the
majority of overdose deaths are males, and 77% of all suicides are committed by
men. Between 1997 and 2014, there was a 43% rise in suicide deaths among middle
aged American men. The rates are highest among American Indian and white men,
who kill themselves at about ten times the rate of Hispanic and black women.
Over 90% of inmates are male. More girls than boys graduate high school, women
outnumber men in graduate school, earn the majority of doctoral degrees, and
are the majority of new enrollees in both law and medical schools. There are
now seven million working age American men who are no longer in the labor
force. They’ve dropped out. Nearly half of them take pain medication on any
given day; that’s the highest rate in the world. 20% of American children grow
up in fatherless homes, and 70% of prison inmates grow up in those homes.
Single women buy their own homes at more than twice the rate of single men.
Tucker Carlson also cited many other mental, financial and physical realities
for American men that show how they are as a group failing, in body, mind and
spirit.
He claims that this a crisis, but
our leaders pretend it’s not happening. While there may be some truth to that
statement, what ails American men is what ails us all; we are suffering
collectively and individually from our sins and the sins of others, life in a
cursed and broken world. While he may have cited some things that are a cause
for concern and action by those in positions of power, influence, and responsibility,
establishing another victim group is not the answer. We need to do away with
the concept that our society can gather around to right the wrongs of the past
by getting our pound of flesh from the hide of the oppressor. “Vengeance is
mine, says the Lord.” We are called to love God and our neighbors as best we
can with his help, and that includes being forgiving towards those who have
offended or harmed us or our “group identity”. Christ bled and died for all
those offenses; we need not carry the burden of fixing a world that cannot and
will not be fixed. Jesus said that the poor will always be with us. Let us cast
aside the ideas of identity politics and “us versus them”. Let us act like the
baptized children of God that we are and treat the whole human race created in
God’s image with the love, dignity, and kindness that our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ would have us treat them with.
Your neighbor in Christ,
Pastor Portier
Tuesday, April 10, 2018
#190
Smoky Mountain Reflections #190
“Consent”
has become the new golden standard for our society. If you can establish
“consent” between two or any number of adults, then anything they choose to do
is thought of as being their business alone, as long as their activities do not
negatively affect anyone else. However, this is a very subjective standard for
a society. It becomes nearly impossible for anyone to keep themselves clear of
the danger of “negatively affecting” others, because the terms are subjective.
There are many who like this because it means they can make their own rules to
suit their desires, even twisting reality (like attempting to argue that the
words “male”, “female”, or “marriage” mean something other than what they
always have as defined by scripture, science and common sense). “Consent” can
become coercion, derision or some other form of manipulation depending on who
defines the word. “Adulthood” is a biological concept which the medical
community generally agrees is not reached mentally until the mid-20s or even 30
years old, but even now, there are pedophiles arguing that children can be
considered adults, and that as consenting adults, they too can do anything they
want.
When we try
to establish behavioral norms without God’s word and guidance, we resign
ourselves to a whole sea of often contradictory information and to the whims of
our sinful desires. God’s word on the other hand, is objective and inerrant,
and provides clear guidance for all. If we follow his word, we will never be in
danger of offending God or even our neighbor, unless our neighbor seeks to act
counter the word (in which case we should side with God and let the chips fall
where they may).
Parents,
grandparents, and Christian communities have as part of their vocations
training up their children in the way they should go. If they are doing that,
the children will be taken care of no matter their needs, and whether their
brains are fully developed or not. If a child is brought up in God’s word, then
the confusion of the opening paragraph is avoided by simply following the 6th
commandment. Marriage is the only
fitting form of consent. When consent is defined as marriage, then rather
than there being ambiguity there is an objective reality which binds two
individuals together for life. If they are blessed with children, those
children have parents who are legally bound to them, and the whole community
has a framework to help that union and family succeed. Without these simple
pillars holding up the family, history teaches us that society will collapse.
Many things
in the adult world can be compared to fire. When used properly, as fire in the
fireplace, they provide warmth and comfort for all. When taken out of their
proper contexts though, they can be incredibly damaging, like fire climbing up
the wall. Heterosexual monogamous marriage is the fireplace God has made for
sexual activity. When a different standard is applied, the fire is removed from
the fireplace and the house burns down.
Sexual
activity in any context, whether it produces children or not, has physical
(think oxytocin & STDs) and mental effects on both the individuals involved
and the entire community. When it is in one-man, one-woman marriage, consent is
solidified with a ring and a verbal and/or written contract to provide support,
protection, mutual love, and encouragement. This provides for the needs and
concerns of all in the community by supporting what communities are made of:
people belonging to families. When “consent” becomes the only standard, our
sinful emotions and desires remove the fire from the fire place, and everyone
has to endure the pain and suffering that that brings, like depression,
loneliness, STDs, abandoned children, poverty, and abuse. The community carries
the emotional and financial cost of these things, and in our day we see it
perpetuated and sanctioned to support the whims of a society that affirms
things which scripture condemns.
Let’s keep
the fire in the fireplace so we can all be warmed and comforted by the results
of God’s design for intimacy and our families. Let’s acknowledge the biological
reality of the clear binary sexual system which God created. Let’s seek to love
and serve those who suffer from dysphoric anomalies that are a part of the
crosses they bear but do not define who they are. Politics based on race,
color, gender, or sexual preference only divide and harm our society. We are
all children of the all-powerful and loving God who gave his son to suffer and
die for the whole human race (one race). No matter what we struggle with, he
invites us to leave it at the foot of the cross and trust in him for eternal
salvation.
In Christ,
Pastor Portier
Wednesday, March 7, 2018
#189
Smoky Mountain Reflections #189
As we enter
the month of March, we do so with the mantle of the Lenten season draped over
all of our thoughts and activities. In this time of worship and reflection I
often feel a personal need for a deeper understanding of what we believe teach
and confess; to dig deeper into the meaning of all the things we say and do to
teach the faith, learning to apply all the great gifts God gives us in and
through his word and sacraments. It can be helpful to start with a broad
overview, such as orienting yourself on a map. Start with the big picture, then
slowly work your way down to the place where you are, and you may gain a fuller
understanding both of where you fit in the grand scheme of things and how this
functions in your immediate surroundings. That being said, let’s take a little
deeper look at why we do what we do in worship.
First, our
church year is arranged according to the insights of thousands of years of
Christian worship practices, holding on to and treasuring the best and most
edifying ways of teaching the faith. This framework teaches two things very
clearly: Jesus’ life and his teachings. The first half (or feast
half) of the year teaches the life of Christ; anticipating his birth (Advent),
celebrating that birth (Christmas), revealing who he is and what he came to do
(Epiphany), anticipating his fulfillment of God’s promises with 40 days of
reflection on his journey to the cross (Lent), and celebrating his resurrection
(Easter). At the end of the Easter season we kick off the second half of the
church year with the celebration of Pentecost. In this half of the church year,
we methodically go through the teachings of Christ, seeking the fullest
coverage of all that he taught. This pattern of textual rotation is used to
direct and focus the liturgy and hymns of our worship. And on top of all that
we have special days with feasts and festivals that celebrate heroes of the
faith (historic saints) who we hold up as examples of a Christ-centered life as
well as other key events in Christ life. These feast and festivals fall on
specific calendar dates such as the traditional date of a saint’s martyrdom for
confessing the faith.
We get a
similar focus on Christ life and teachings in every worship service hitting all
the high points of that are mentioned above in the feast half of the year while
also singing, speaking, confessing and hearing His teaching.
When we
teach about the faith as Lutherans, we use Luther’s small catechism. When we
begin or transfer membership in the church we publicly confess our faith in
accord with this catechism. In every part of our Divine Service we are focusing
on the six chief parts of the faith, as outlined in the catechism.
The Ten Commandments: Every time any
part of the liturgy, preaching, singing or praying in the service convicts you
of your sinful nature or any particular sin, this is the commandments at work
in the service.
The Historic Creeds: After the
proclamation of the Gospel whether through reading or preaching, we confess our
faith together using the Apostles’, Nicaean, or Athanasian Creeds. Any part of
the service that sings, says or proclaims the triune name of God is also a
confession of his triune nature.
The Lord’s Prayer: After we have
prepared ourselves in the liturgy to receive the Lord’s Supper and before
hearing his words spoken over the elements, we pray together the prayer he
taught us.
Baptism: This is the only thing that we
do not do every time we worship, and because it is a once in a lifetime event,
we celebrate it greatly when we do. Many people, however, remember their
baptism at numerous places in the service by crossing themselves, remembering
they were baptized into God’s triune name. The rubrics (red words in the
hymnal) suggest the times in the service this can be done.
Confession and Absolution: We do this
at the beginning of every service, because we daily sin much and need to
confess that truth to hear God’s sweet words so absolution spoken to us. This
gives us great comfort as we enter into the Divine Service, washed clean.
The Lord’s Supper: Almost every time we
worship here at Saint Paul we receive our Lord’s precious body and blood, in,
with, and under the elements of bread and wine, given and shed for us to eat
and drink for our forgiveness.
Every time
we participate in the Divine Service, we are participating in a short one-hour
catechism class as well, and are having our bodies and souls fed and nurtured
for this life and the next. God created us with five senses and uses all five
of them to assure us of his love and forgiveness for us, in and through the
word and sacraments.
Have a blessed Lenten season,
In Christ,
Pastor Portier
Thursday, February 8, 2018
#188
Smoky Mountain Reflections #188
Sometimes
things line up in very unique ways, and you find yourself scratching your head,
saying, “Isn’t that interesting?”. We have such an occurrence this year, and it
will reveal where people’s priorities lay, when the differing calendars of the
world and the church clash.
It begins
this month on the day that we celebrate romantic love. February 14th
(which many know as Valentine’s day) is a day filled with heart-shaped with red
boxes full of fancy chocolate, not to mention the flowers, balloons, cupids,
and other pink and red reflections associated with romantic love. The
traditions now associated with Valentine's day were first written of in
Geoffrey Chaucer's “Parlement of Foules”
published in the late 1300s. They were set in the fictional context of an old
tradition, and did not really even exist before Chaucer! Prior to that, the
church simply celebrated him as a martyr for the faith. We as Lutherans (and
for that matter, most Christians) who celebrate saints do not even consider
this a feast day, but simply a day of commemoration in which we remember his
sacrifice for the gospel as a reminder for us to be strong witnesses for the
faith. That being said, Ash Wednesday is a much more important day in the
church’s calendar, and this year, it falls on February 14th! Ash Wednesday is
almost certainly one of the top five most important days in the year for most
Christians, even though many American Christians do not even know what it is. So
while most of our society will be swimming in pink hearts and chocolates, the
faithful will be attending church to have ashes applied to their foreheads and
being reminded that they are created from dust, and to dust they shall return.
I am not saying, however, that this is an “either/or” proposition; you can
celebrate both on February 14th this year, just not at the same time.
Next, the
very highest day on the church’s calendar, Easter, will fall on the day that
many Christians joke is the holiday for atheism, April 1st. That is right,
April Fool’s Day and Easter come together this year. But don’t worry, I do not
think atheists will stop hiding eggs or petting bunnies on Easter (which of
course we know is what Easter is all about…wink, wink, nod, nod). No! Easter is
about Jesus and his resurrection from the dead, in which he proved his victory
over sin, death and the devil, and there’s nothing foolish about that.
Finally, if
I told you that many protestant Christians would be canceling their worship services
on a Sunday this year you might accuse me of being ridiculous. However, it is
true; thousands of churches will close their doors this year on a Sunday in
December, canceling their services so their members can stay home and celebrate
our national day of materialism. You guessed it, Christmas day falls on a
Sunday. We here at Saint Paul will have our regular 8:30 & 11 AM services
on that day, but sadly, many churches will be closed entirely. In fact, many
churches do not have Christmas day services even in other years, because it is
regarded as “a day for family” (as if gathering to celebrate the holy family
and the birth of our savior precluded that).
Worry not,
however; 2018 will not be good or bad based on calendar conundrums. The Lord is
faithful; he will be with you always, and He will continue to care for and
nurture God’s people whenever they gather around His gifts of word and
sacrament. So have a worry-free, blessed 2018.
In Christ,
Pastor Portier
#187 sorry for the late post
Smoky Mountain Reflections
December 2017 #187
(Warning:
German contained in the following sentence:)
Advent, Advent, ein Lichtlein brennt. Erst eins, dann zwei, dann drei, dann
vier. dann steht das Christkind vor der Tür.
Translation: Advent,
Advent, one candle burns. First one, then two, then three, then four. Then
stands the Christ child before the door.
Translation is not one of my
better skills, so I will claim poetic license in my translation. This is a poem that is often heard about this
time of year in Bavaria Bethlehem
The
retailors bypassed Halloween & Thanksgiving this year and kicked off the
Christmas shopping before fall even
arrived. The full commercialization of
Christmas on an American scale has never taken a complete foothold in the
European culture. But there is a sad
reality in the backdrop of this beautiful cultural story. Europe with
its rich Christian heritage is referred to by most experts today as a post
Christian society. By some estimates,
less than 5% of Europe’s population attends church on a regular basis. Why do I share this sad truth with you at
such a joyous time of anticipation? As
we prepare for Christmas during this Advent season, we should keep all of God’s
creation in our prayers. There are some scary
similarities between the America of today and the Europe of only 20 or 30 years
ago. If you look at Europe ’s
church attendance numbers from the 1950’s, you will find over 50% attended
church regularly. Currently a little
over 50% of Americans claim to attend church somewhat regularly if you include
the CME's (Christmas, Mother's Day & Easter). The actual numbers float
under less than 20% of Americans attend church on any given Sunday. But we, like Europe, are on the decline and reasons
for the decline are many and various. However,
we need not fret over these sad truths—just be aware and pray about them. And
remember that God is in charge.
Advent is a
time of preparation, and prepare we will this year. We will enjoy an Advent series produced by
Pastor Dettmer Beginning November the 29th @ 7 PM with the theme of Hope and Colossians 1:3-14, Then Dec
the 6th Peace and Isiah
66: 1-14, Then Dec 13th Joy and Isaiah 55: 1-11, and Finally Dec 20th
Love and Micah 6:6-8. Make time in
your busy schedule to attend this year. As we venture back in time to celebrate
the birth of our Lord and savior.
So, as you
prepare your hearts during this blessed Advent season, make use of some form of
daily devotion. It will enrich your Advent
experience. During your daily devotion,
pray that your family, your friends, your neighbors, our fellow citizens, and
people of all nations, who don’t know and who linger in darkness, that the
scales which block faith would fall from their eyes and they would be blessed
with the promise that the Christ child came to fulfill, and be filled with the
assurance of eternal salvation that only faith in the promised Christ Child can
provide.
For anyone who
reads this reflection outside of a certain understanding of your eternal
existence, I invite you specially to receive this Christmas, the gift that the
Christ child came to give you.
In Christ, Pastor Portier
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