Pastor David Nehrenz
tlcnormanpastor@gmail.com
FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK
Dear Fellow Redeemed,
Greetings in our Lord Jesus Christ during this Pentecost season.
The month of July is always a good time to remind ourselves of God’s institution of both the Church and the State. I share this every year with you during this month:
The State: Independence Day is July 4th and then later came the founding of our constitutional, democratic, federal republic- the United States of America. It was and is a great blessing for temporal life and grants us our civic freedoms.
God established the State as His “minister (servant)” as it says in Romans 13:1-7 ”The authorities that exist have been established by God…do what is right and he will commend you…he is God’s servant to do you good…he does not bear the sword for nothing…he is God’s servant (minister), an agent of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer…the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing.”
(The State is called “The Kingdom of the God’s Left Hand”- it has the office of the sword and rules by Civil Government)
The Church: Established by the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, it continues today in Word and Sacrament- the holy, universal, apostolic Church- and gives great blessings of eternal life and spiritual freedom.
God established the Church as His “minister” as it says in 2 Corinthians 4:1 “Since through God’s mercy we have this ministry…we do not preach ourselves but Jesus Christ as Lord….” and in 5:18 “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not counting men’s trespasses against them.” Also in 1 Corinthians 4:1 “Men ought to regard us as ministers/servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things (sacraments/mysteries) of God”
(The Church is called “The Kingdom of God’s Right Hand” – it has the office of the keys and rules by Word and Sacrament)
During this month, as we take time to recreate, we commit ourselves anew to the unique work of Christ’s great commission – bringing the Gospel to the nations and the nations to the church. Though we thank the Lord for the blessings we have in this country, we know that the Gospel is meant to be proclaimed to all nations. As we travel around the country during our summer vacations, we all marvel at the beauty of this land and nation. We can live free lives and faithfully proclaim the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ – from sea to shining sea.
May the Lord direct our paths to faithfully serve him in our congregation and district!
In Jesus
Pastor Nehrenz
Vicar James Bruss
tlcnormanvicar@gmail.com
From Vicar James Bruss No. 34
O little flock, fear not the foe, Who madly seeks your overthrow; Dread not his rage and pow’r. And though your courage sometimes faints, His seeming triumph o’er God’s saints, Lasts but a little hour. ~ LSB 666
“The gates of Hades shall not prevail against [the Church].” (Mt 16:18) That’s what Jesus said to Peter and the other disciples. In this long season from Pentecost Sunday until Advent, we may succumb to the temptation of believing the gates of Hades have already prevailed against the Church. Gone, for the moment, are the beautiful feasts that crowd the festival half of the church year and buoy our spirits. No more celebrations to mark the most important moments in the earthly life of our Lord Jesus and remind us of His presence among us.
But God, we must remember, works in mysterious ways. And sometimes those mysterious ways are so hidden or silent or humble that we might at first miss them. Take Robert Barnes (1495-1540). Have you ever heard of him? He’s not terribly famous and barely makes it into the history books. But you’ll find on page xiii of the Lutheran Service Book that our Missouri Synod pays homage to his memory on July 30 every year.
Barnes was a reformer, a near contemporary of Luther and, in fact, a friend and correspondent with him. Shortly after it began, the flood tide of the Reformation reached the shores of England. Pastors and professors of theology in the island kingdom began discussing the ideas of Luther and other reformers. For Barnes (as for others), Luther’s writings were the most persuasive.
But in the political and religious turmoil of 16th-century England, a position held comfortably one day might cost one his head another. So with Barnes. At times his views were tolerated, at others they sent him into exile. Finally, on July 30, 1540, he was burned at the stake along with two other English Lutheran pastors. (That same day three Roman Catholic priests were also executed. For the time, anyway, England tolerated neither Lutherans nor Roman Catholics.)
After 1540, however, an interesting thing happened. The Lutheran church continued in England. At first, the exceedingly sparse Lutheran population went underground, rarely, if ever, officially establishing churches. But in the 1660s, the Lutherans finally established a congregation. Eventually, the Lutheran church in England became a facilitator of Lutheran emigration (from Sweden, Germany, etc.) to America.
Even later, the English Lutheran church sought the assistance of the Missouri Synod to place pastors in its parishes. Today, it operates a seminary in Cambridge and the relationship with the Missouri Synod continues to bear fruit on both sides of the Atlantic.
The Church may take unexpected shape, suffer and shrink. But the gates of Hades shall certainly not prevail against it and seeds sown 500 years ago do indeed continue to grow in the most unlikely places. God be praised for the promises He never fails to fulfill.