Sermon Tone Analysis

Prayer

1. Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning.

Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn, and take them to heart that, by the patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life.

… through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.

Religion and Crime - Gene Veith

The worst criminals tend to be very religious.

In fact, they often use religion to rationalize their misdeeds.

Of course, in doing so, their theology is horrendous.

Nicholas C. DiDonato reports on some research that studied  How criminals use religion to justify their crimes.

The researchers had noticed a rather odd finding in the field of criminology: on the one hand, criminals tend to have a problem with delayed gratification, but, on the other hand, most have strong religious beliefs.

Religions often emphasize the afterlife and the consequences of evil deeds, and so the researchers puzzled over how the same group of people could accept the long-term consequences of their actions in the afterlife, and yet at the same time fail to take seriously the long-term consequences of their actions in this life.

To investigate this problem, the criminologists surveyed and interviewed 48 serious street offenders in the Atlanta area.

Of the 48 criminals, 45 expressed religious conviction.

Through interviews, the authors hoped to figure out how criminals reconciled their short-term thinking (crime) with their long-term beliefs (religion).

As it turns out, the criminals did so rather easily.

As the researchers put it, “…the hardcore offenders we interviewed are able to exploit the absolvitory (forgiveness) tenets of religious doctrine, neutralizing their fear of death to not only allow but encourage offending.”

That is, the criminals relied on the fact that their religion (overwhelmingly Christianity) uplifts forgiveness and absolution, and so the criminals reasoned they would be forgiven too.

Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/geneveith/2013/06/religion-and-crime/#xC79fk5Zl11Sizuz.99

Taking Stock - The End of the Church Year

What have we accomplished?

Staying alive

Maybe not larger, certainly not smaller

Staying Confessional

We still look and sound Lutheran

We are studying to be more effective as a Lutheran Witness

Staying faithful

We might not have much.

Are we being faithful with what we have, or are we digging holes in which to bury our witness?

Other congregations have become supporters of the work that we are doing here, both prayerfully, materially, and financially.

Are we as excited about our mission as they are?

Where we stand

Under the shadow of the Cross

Living faithfully, even without evident glory

In the fount of living waters

receiving and bestowing forgiveness

In the Confessional truth of the Reformation

Knowing who we are, we live out our heritage as the oldest Church in the Region by being an example in Word and Doctrine, and being faithful to God and to our neighbor.

What Lies Before Us

What God has revealed; what He keeps hidden.

The wages of sin; the reward of the righteous.

What God has done; what He has promised.

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