I completely understand and agree with the LCMS stance on homosexuality. But I constantly wondering where does the church expect gay people to worship.

We know that every person in the pew on a Sunday is a sinner. We know that many (most?, some?) in the pews are actively engaged in sinning knowingly. That they can be involved in habitual sin whether alcoholism, compulsive deceit, or infidelity etc. Yet they are in the pew worshipping. Does their attendance show that the church is condoning or supporting their sin? It's often said we do not want to be supportive or condoning of homosexuality. How do we welcome people into our churches yet not show support of the sin and yet exclude others?

I've attended many Lutheran Churches in my life, but never one that offered a contemporary service or called its worship contemporary. In my mind, when I hear contemporary worship I think of baptist style worship where the pastor doesn't wear vestments and more modern songs are sung, and the liturgy isn't really used. But that doesn't seem to be the case in a lot of LCMS churches I've seen online that offer a contemporary service. So what is usually meant by contemporary that distinguishes it from a traditional service?

Have you ever had any heated conversations with their family or friends when you try to talk about Lutheran doctrine?

I was baptized and confirmed into the LCMS last year after having been mostly agnostic for most of my life. The church I grew up in labeled itself as “non-denominational” after it broke up with the Assembly of God (Pentecostal) church. But I left church altogether when I was a teenager because I just couldn’t reconcile myself with what I saw at church and what I was taught to think about the Bible. I admit it was mostly a me problem.

Fast forward twenty years, one wife and two kids later and I finally had a great conviction to get my family into church and to follow God again. I spent quite a long time looking into church history and the theological positions of different traditions in trying to figure out the best church to raise my family in.

I had no idea how different all these traditions were when you really look into how they interpret scripture, so I began to feel that it was even more important to find what seemed like the truth. I also started to discover how some of the things I was taught as a kid were just completely wrong and I felt cheated because many of them were some of the things that drove me away.

With a near brush with the Roman church I finally found out about the Lutherans and all of a sudden all of the pieces started falling together, and the Bible and the Gospel started to make sense in a way that I never understood before.

Naturally this made me excited to learn more and more, and of course when you find something good you want to share!

So one day when my brother and his family (who regularly attend a Calvary Chapel) were visiting me from their home 12hrs away I asked if they wanted to come to church with my family on Sunday. Seems like a natural thing to do with your brother who is also a Protestant, and I was excited to show him my new church.

“Do you have open communion?” He asked. Of course I said no, and tried to explain why, but he wasn’t even willing to listen to what I had to say.

Since then I’ve on perhaps two or three occasions tried sending him a video or a podcast dealing with the Lutheran view on the Lords Supper or Baptism. Regarding the supper maybe nine months ago he said “Sounds like some pagan cannibalism rituals” uhhh, okay? Dang. Then he continued to lambast me with Bible verses about not questioning your fellow Christian or something.

Then yesterday I thought maybe I’d try again so I sent him a Wolfmueller video on Baptism. It was much the same response as the last time. He said that “Christians don’t need to argue about dinner etiquette while dining at the same table” Citing Romans and Corinthians in his defense.

So I pushed him on it a bit asking “Hey man, why do you get so defensive when I bring this up? Just trying to show you something that means a lot to me”

Then he laid into me about Lutherans and Catholics damning everyone to Hell who doesn’t join their church and do their perfect song and dance rituals trying to please God.

I tried telling him that’s not at all how we view the sacraments, but idk if he even believes me at this point. And he closed the conversation by saying again that Christians shouldn’t argue.

So I guess I won’t bring it up again. But it just feels pretty crappy.

Wondering if anyone else has dealt with something like this and how you handled it?

Hi everyone. I just wanted to share my first ever experience attending a traditional, congregational church. I've been wanting to stray away from non-denominational churches for quite a while, and I eventually decided to try Lutheranism, specifically an LCMS church. After doing some research into many different Christian denominations, it attracted me for several reasons, but the Holy Spirit also seemed to specifically be pointing me towards this denomination, so I thought I would give it a try. I did have some questions, mainly about communion and a few other things about Lutheran traditions that I'm hoping I can get answered as well.

I attended with my parents, who like me, were also raised non denominational. I explained to them that a Lutheran church would be far more traditional and a little different than the typical non-denominational churches we usually attend and they understood.

I honestly had a wonderful experience overall. Upon entering the building we were greeted by a very warm, polite and genuine woman. I really loved the stained glass, the altar, and I especially loved the setup with the crosses and the cloth that was draped over them. Everything was so pretty and quite a bit different than the churches I grew up attending.

There was also a vicar present during this service that gave one of the most powerful sermons I've ever heard in real life. He spoke about the devil and about temptations and I really felt the presence of the holy Spirit within myself and the room as he spoke.

As stated in the beginning of this post, I did have some questions regarding how LCMS churches do communion. From what I understand, LCMS churches take communion very seriously. And correct me if I'm wrong, they also believe that the body and blood of Christ are also present during communion?

My family and I decided to take communion despite this being our first time at the church. I'm not sure if new attendees are encouraged to do this or not, but we felt that sitting out would draw more attention to us and subsequently cause us anxiety. My father and I both suffer from an anxiety disorder, and we really didn't want to stand out very much by sitting out. We basically just got in line and tried to do what everyone else was doing.

However, when it was my turn to take communion, in my angst I stupidly took the wafer out of the man's hand when he offered it to me, instead of allowing him to put it in my hand like everyone else. After I realized what I did wrong I started to feel a little embarrassed. I'm sure it was pretty obvious that I was a new attendee, as it seemed that everyone else waited to have the wafer placed in their hands.

Overall I still left church feeling fulfilled and I really enjoyed everything overall, despite my anxiety and confusion regarding communion. I am definitely going to be attending again this Sunday, but I was hoping I could get some pointers as to what I should be doing differently next time. Was I wrong to take communion, considering this was my first time attending the church? Was I supposed to say something specific before receiving the body of Christ? If anyone else has any advice for me I would really appreciate it, thank you.

Hello everyone. I am a baptized and confirmed LCMS Lutheran from the southern US (Baptist country, yes lol). I unfortunately drifted from church during my adolescent years because my parents split up and the family more or less quit on their church, and that was that. About two years ago I began attending a large, contemporary LCMS church in the Houston area. "Contemporary" as in there is no liturgy, no traditional service offered, and no vestments of any kind. Praise/worship band, no traditional music; every once in a while you might hear a "sampled" hymn from the LSB within a song, but for the most part, they stick to modern worship music. Lights, noise, etc. You get the idea.

Lately, I've been starting to question all of it and the motivations behind it. Why no liturgy? Why no hymns? Why no vestments of any sort? The reason I say all of this is because this past Sunday, I went to a slightly smaller (but still very large in the context of the LCMS) church that has a traditional liturgical divine service. I loved it. The organ, liturgy, choir, everything about it. People always have argued that "modern" churches have to have contemporary praise bands these days because the young people don't like the old style of worship, but I didn't see any evidence of that. There were young couples, older folks, families with children, and everything in between. There were probably 400 or so people there (for a service that started at 8:15 in the morning, by the way), way more than I anticipated. Now granted, this church does have a later contemporary service, but even it still follows the classic divine service flow, just using a band with instruments rather than a pipe organ or piano and choir.

My conflict is this. My current church (the contemporary one) has great people, great pastors, and everyone is very nice and inviting, it's just the contemporary feel of everything, and a lack of a true obvious Lutheran identity is beginning to concern me. I know it's not particularly important to everyone, but it is starting to be for me. I don't want to just jump ship and change churches, but they (obviously) are not going to change their style of worship because one twenty-something out of a thousand parishioners might prefer a more liturgical style of worship.

Thank you all in advance for any potential input or advice.

I’m a reformed Anglican reading a book written by a Baptist called “The New Guidebook for Pastors” written by James W. Bryant and Mac Brunson in which half way through it they say Lutherans affirm consubstantiation and even go as far to say Calvinists affirm “replacement theology”.
I searched it up and I see mixed answers on whether or not Lutherans affirm consubstantiation so I’m not too sure anymore.

Before Mass this Sunday, I was visiting our local parish church library and was able to speak with the librarian, we got to wondering how many other local parishes within the LCMS have church libraries. Do you?

Then we got to thinking, are there inter-library loans within Synod? We're trying to figure that out, and if it doesn't exist then we are thinking about figuring out how that would work practically to implement it. But it would require participating parishes to opt their church libarires into such a system, so I thought I would start my reserach here.

I told her that she should be careful with listening to them, because some Pentecostal preachers aren’t even Trinitarians. For example, some are oneness pentecostals. I would classify them as more than just heretical almost pagan. She simply told me to mind my own business. What irritates me is that some Pentecostal preachers pose as evangelical Born Again believers.

Can someone explain the terms

Orthodox Lutheran and evangelical Catholic

And what those who use the titles mean to convey about themselves?

I am working on getting my three young kids and family to church sooner than later. My wife works a lot of Sundays, so this is a challenge. I come from a non-denominational/megachurch/evangelical side. What is the LCMS Position on tithing? Is it required we give 10%? Will the pastor spend like 15 minutes discussing what happens if we don’t give and guilt trip us into hitting the ATM or pulling up a QR code? I’m not exaggerating by the way, this was a big deal for my wife and I.

I just don’t want to get bombarded with prosperity gospel where trickle down tithing is going to be a thing. This isn’t me being heretical, it’s what we’ve actually been taught. If you give a bunch of money, you’ll have a bigger house in Heaven. You’ll have more stuff in Heaven than someone else.

For instance, I really want to help folks with studying, especially high school students in social studies (I was captain of the social studies academic team in HS). I really enjoy helping kids and adults understand history is more than dates. It’s about choices, and when I tell people that, they become more interested in it.

I…I am sorry for this rant. I’m just nervous I’m going to be stuck in a bad spot.

This article in today's WSJ in an interesting article of pastors who use AI to write sermons.

While AI can be a very useful tool for research and editing, it is no substittuon of the actual thinking, research and writing required. I'm not a pastor by a management consultant where AI is being used more and more.

What are your thoughts?

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/pastors-using-ai-to-help-write-sermons-grapple-with-where-to-draw-the-line-97dcd1f9?mod=wknd_pos1#comments_sector

Our church has been wanting to start a small group that is focused on family discipleship. We have many newer families that have gone through membership class but are having trouble understanding the concepts and how to apply them. Many are not familiar with the the small catechism. I have considered using the small catechism as the primary resource to use in a family discipleship group, but I am concerned that it may be too intimidating for many of the newer families that are not familiar with Lutheranism. Many of these families have gone through parts of the catechism in new members classes but that was years ago. I recently purchased a new book on this topic, but it seems to be written for families that are already strongly familiar with Lutheran concepts. I am having a hard time with breaking it down so that it can be practically used in a small group setting that can help families learn how to practically apply Lutheran concepts. That would be concepts like law/gospel, confession and absolution, table of duties and vocation and how to apply these to every day life. Has anyone had success with small groups that are focused on helping families understand basic Lutheran teachings? If so, what resources did you use and how effective was it towards reaching its goal?

I write fiction. In fact, I enjoy writing so much that I earned my MFA and plan to make this a lifelong hobby (I work in a different field for my day job). Obviously, I want to use my talent to glorify God. However, I struggle with reading religious fiction, let alone writing it, and I prefer J.R.R. Tolkien's approach over C.S. Lewis's approach when it concerns inputting Christian themes into a narrative.

To the fiction readers in the subreddit: where do you see LCMS theology communicated well in fiction? Are there particular plots, character quirks, or themes that make you sit back and say, "Yep, that's Lutheran," and read more? Are there particular genres that you believe are more well-suited to an "LCMS story" than others?

I look forward to reading about everyone's experiences.

When is it ok to stop fighting for confessional doctrine and to just transfer to a congregation that explicitly follows our confessions? I’ve been dealing for about two years with open communion, women assisting with communion, a Pentecost Sunday where a Presbyterian minister was invited to preach from our pulpit, and a complete inappropriate use of using our lay “deacons” as substitute pastors. One of our members is incarcerated at the moment, he told them to take Communion by the hand of a Roman priest, his reasoning was it was ok because our member “believes the truth in his heart”.

There is a small contingent of people trying to get this thing on the rails with the help of God but for the sake of my family I feel as though this is going too far. My pastor even asked if I can :

“Please prayerfully consider the possibility of being the assigned proclaimer on a Saturday night service.

If you are interested, please review the readings for that week and let me know what text you might be preparing to speak about.”

This feels like a completely different denomination. Illuminate me if I’m wrong please. No matter how many times I push back on this all it falls on deaf ears

Hi! I hope you're all doing well!

I know Lutheranism is generally known for its opposition to legalism and its emphasis on Christian freedom. With that in mind, I'd like to ask how Lutherans—especially confessional ones like the LCMS—approach the following question (it may sound trivial, but I promise it's a genuine one):

Is it sinful to go to or hang out at nightclubs? Are clubs and raves considered off-limits in Lutheranism?

I understand that other groups, like Baptists and Presbyterians, are generally opposed to them. How do you Lutheran brothers and sisters view this?

Today is day 0. Amazed at how shockingly fast they set up the main events center. Organ, stage, screen, assigned seats all done in a single day in a massive room on the third floor. It seems to be a partioning off of an even larger room (like the vendors venue room). The vendors area also set up in a single day. I am amazed by the incredible logistics with setup just yesterday and today.

Tons and tons of cardboard boxes, I'm not sure where they dispose of it. I would like to know how do they fulfill such large capacity of trash/recycling volume.

Weather is much cooler than anticipated, due to the record El Nino driving the first large monsoon event of the year. Air conditioning is very strong in this convention center, ironically I brought a jacket.

Tomorrow is the main day people will arrive, but even today parking in West Convention parking garage already got filled as there are other events co-occuring simultaneously in this convention center. I suggest either ridesharing Uber or taking Valley Metro Lightrail. I took lightrail today, its very nice. Be advised that the app cannot reload your fare, you must do so either on the website or at the kiosk. Another confusion is the lightrail stations are only unidirectional in this area where the convention center is.

I saw them preparing a security checkpoint this afternoon, I assume they will be utilizing it tomorrow? Potential reminder to empty pockets and don't forget to leave behind your pocketknives for tomorrow.

Phoenix is known for Sonoran food. I had a birria today for dinner; best meal I've had all week. There's also a Grateful Spoon Gelato nearby with Arizona cactus flavor. I highly recommend it.

Excited for Divine Service tomorrow. Really cool that they brought an organ.

Theres some kind of martial arts event there too. I'm very curious what those people are up to.

Other logistics, the convention is mainly located in the north complex, but they interconnect on skybridge across 3rd street on the third floor. A lot of people got lost there today. Also a lot of escalators were closed today; unsure if they will be opened tomorrow.

For all of the threads on Eastern conversions from Lutheranism, there is little focus on the reformed anymore. There are Lutherans like me completely unconvinced of a church that lacks any rule of faith or reason or unified confession in what they believe in. First write down your theology and then substantiate and ground it.

I am a convert from the Roman church who left for Scriptural reasons. Ever since my conversion, and speaking with and engaging with Christians of all kinds, the reformed are by far the ones I am most dragged towards. They are the kindest, most faithful, knowledgeable in history and Scriptures, and I love their systematics. Their fruit is beyond measure in evangelism and living to serve God in the 10 commandments. Unfortunately there are some things holding me back. But I cannot get past the Lutheran versus Reformed reading of essential election passages such as Romans 9. I cannot discern whether or not I am denying my faith in God's Word when I read it. I am inclined to say I am.

Is there any modern apologetics on what they say in regards to icons, election, and the sacrament? I feel left out with all this rave about the Eastern church.

And yes, my pastor is well aware of this. He is helping me to nourish my faith.

I was just talking with the founder of this website, it is kind of like an updated version of our Church's Encyclopedia: https://cyclopedia.lcms.org/.

The guy behind LutheranAnswers.com is AALC, so they are in fellowship with us, and he said they are looking for others within the communion who can help write articles. I thought it would be great to have some LCMS folks pitch in and help him out.

God bless the LCMS!

https://youtu.be/uMyDoQIcNmY
A really good discussion on pastoral formation and the resolutions that will be debated at convention this week.

I’m reading Acts right now, and in chapter 19 Paul lays his hands on some disciples so they can receive the Holy Spirit. Why don’t we do this today? I know there are other places in Acts where people receive the Holy Spirit without the laying on of hands. However, one could argue that those instances are exceptions (similar to how the thief on the cross was saved without being baptized.) If Acts 19 presents a normative pattern, why has the laying on of hands for receiving the Holy Spirit largely disappeared from Lutheran practice?

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMSModVtPT0

Gospel According to Matthew, 13:24–43 (ESV):

The Parable of the Weeds

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”

The Mustard Seed and the Leaven

He put another parable before them, saying, “The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

He told them another parable. “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and hid in three measures of flour, till it was all leavened.”

Prophecy and Parables

All these things Jesus said to the crowds in parables; indeed, he said nothing to them without a parable. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet: “I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world.”

The Parable of the Weeds Explained

Then he left the crowds and went into the house. And his disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.” He answered, “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed is the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the reapers are angels. Just as the weeds are gathered and burned with fire, so will it be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all law-breakers, and throw them into the fiery furnace. In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

Transcript

(ChatGPT was used to polish transcript and find references.)

Hello. Today, let’s talk about what to do with evil.

The text before us is from the Gospel of St. Matthew, the thirteenth chapter, verses 24–43. (Matthew 13:24–43)

Introduction: Joe and the Blended Family

Joe was a child of a blended family. His sister and brothers had the same father, but their father had had a couple of different wives. Some of the kids felt inferior. Some were angry. One was even violent.

Joe was one of the youngest. By the time he was growing up, the family was absolutely dysfunctional. Joe was picked on, belittled, and abused. He loved his moments of solitude whenever he could be alone by himself. But he hated when all of the family got together. Family or not, they just did not seem to be very nice people.

Can you imagine what holidays were like for Joe? Family celebrations were anything but joyful. Like Macaulay Culkin in the movie Home Alone, I’ll bet that there were times when Joe said, “I wish I never had a family.”

Admittedly, this is not a very nice thing to say, but sometimes this may be our response when facing inconsiderate people, or insensitive people, or just plain mean people. We may feel that way about certain politicians, or popular religious figures, or our neighbors, coworkers—yes, even people in our own family.

In fact, this is what is going on in the Gospel lesson for today. Jesus tells a parable, recorded in Matthew chapter 13, about a farmer who sowed some seed. But while he was sleeping, an enemy sowed tares, or weeds, in that same field. As the crop began to appear, it was obvious that the wheat and the weeds were coming up together. The servants came to the farmer and offered a solution: “Let us tear up the weeds. We can pull them out. We can get rid of them.” (Matthew 13:24–30)

Jesus explained the meaning of the parable in this way: “The one who sows the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the whole world. The good seed stands for the sons of the kingdom. But the weeds are the sons of the evil one. And the one who sowed them is the devil.” (Matthew 13:36–39)

Point One: What Shall We Do with Evil?

The very normal reaction to evil is to want to get rid of it. “Let’s just get rid of them. Let’s pull them up and get them out. I wish I never had a family.”

But the Lord counsels against such action. Why? Well, doesn’t He know how hard it is to live with these people? Of course He does. He knows better than you do what evil people are like and what evil people do. Look at the direct results of evil men as they crucified the Son of God.

But God’s ways are not our ways (Isaiah 55:8–9), and He counsels us not to pull them up or get rid of them.

First, God would remind us that we cannot separate ourselves from evil people. Jesus said, “As long as you are in the world, you will have trouble. But I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)

On this earth, we cannot escape evil, evil people, and painful and unfair situations. This is the nature of our lives on this earth.

Second, we cannot eradicate or destroy evil. It is beyond our ability to get rid of evil. Instead, we must learn that we can trust God. He has all power and all authority. (Matthew 28:18) We must trust Him that He is over all and governing all. He alone is sovereign, and all things are answerable to Him. He will deal with evil in His own way and in His own time.

God is watching evil, but God is also watching us. He is doing what is best, because all things work together for good for those who love the Lord and are called according to His purposes. (Romans 8:28)

Third, remember that the weeds are not able to stop the wheat from growing and bringing forth their grain. The weeds cannot steal the nutrients from the wheat. In fact, I think that it is because of the weeds that we are able to recognize the wheat for what it is. It is even more clearly wheat when we see it in contrast with the weeds.

In other words, as the Bible says, the trials and sufferings of this life actually help us by purifying our faith and increasing our reliance upon God. (1 Peter 1:6–7)

Point Two: Judgment Is Coming

In all of this, we have only been looking through human eyes. But what about God’s perspective? What does God see?

Truthfully, we cannot know all that God sees when He looks at a field of the world filled with both wheat and weeds. Honestly, we would have to acknowledge that there is some pretty persistent weed growth even in our own lives. If God were to pull up all of the weeds on the earth, surely He would be pulling out a significant part of Curtis Leins.

But thankfully, God is merciful, and God has a bigger plan. Jesus explains that there is not going to be a separation of weeds and wheat until the Day of Judgment. Yes, all of this is leading to a Day of Judgment. On that day, weeds and wheat will be separated. On the day of God’s wrath and judgment, there will be a separation of weeds from wheat. (Matthew 13:40–43)

And although you and I justly deserve God’s present and eternal punishment, God has determined that He will place the penalty and punishment of all the sin of all believers onto His one and only Son, Jesus Christ, upon the cross. (Isaiah 53:5–6)

And for that reason, on account of our faith in God’s Son, our Savior, we can face the Day of Judgment knowing that we will receive God’s mercy. This is not because we are not sinful or evil ourselves, but because God has given us faith in Jesus Christ. And because of faith in Christ, we are counted as righteous. (Augsburg Confession, Article IV)

We are forgiven. We are cleansed. We are redeemed.

There is only one name by which we can be saved. There is only one Savior who can forgive sins and provide the gift of eternal life. And that one is Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12)

You see, that puts all of the other people and all of their anger and their evil into a bigger picture. Judgment is coming. Because of our faith in Jesus, we will be forgiven and saved. But there are many who do not know Him. They will face God’s judgment and wrath as weeds gathered and thrown into the fire. (Matthew 13:40–42)

Admittedly, we do not like to hear this kind of language. The problem is, this is the language of the Son of God, the Savior who cannot lie. This is the Word of Jesus Christ. There will be judgment.

Do not try to eliminate or destroy evil. Leave that to God. Instead, trust God. He is at work in ways that you cannot know or understand.

Trust God. He has His eye on you and upon your life. He is at work in your life, using you not only for your good, but for greater and bigger good that you cannot yet understand.

Trust God and grow wheat. Grow as God uses you to share the Gospel and bring in the harvest that you may not even know. It is God’s plan that you are to share the love of Jesus and the forgiveness of Jesus with those who do not yet know Him or have faith in Him. It may well be that God is planning to use you to bring an unexpected brother or sister into the family of God.

Conclusion

We began with a story about a boy named Joe from a blended family. You want to know what happened to Joe?

Surely there were times when Joe wished that he never had a family. In fact, there came a time when Joe was sent away from his family. It was for his own good. Joe was sent to another place, a city he did not know. He became part of another family. Eventually, he married and had his own wife and children.

It was only after many, many years that Joe became reconnected with his siblings. Circumstances had changed. His father was old and tottering. His brothers were older too. The family farm had fallen on hard times, and his family came to him for help.

Imagine that. The boys who hated him were coming to him for help.

This is the story of Joseph and his brothers, the sons of Jacob. (Genesis 37–47) Joseph, who was now ranked second only to Pharaoh in all of Egypt, received his brothers and gave them food and possessions and fertile land. He forgave them of their evil deeds. They wept together and were restored as a family, with affection for one another. (Genesis 45:1–15; Genesis 47:11–12)

Joseph declared that what the enemy meant for evil, the Lord used for good. (Genesis 50:20)

Did you hear that? What the enemy meant for evil, the Lord used for good.

Beloved, we will have evil with us always. But what evil has done to you, leave to God. Let Him deal with it in His own way, in His own time. In the meantime, trust God. Trust God and be at peace.

God’s eternal judgment—well, it is coming. So act like God’s good seed and bear good fruit. Trust God, who can use even the likes of you and me to bring in a great harvest of unexpected brothers and sisters into His heavenly family.

Amen.

Rev. John Bombaro made another appearance on the On the Line podcast this week. The discussion focused on the Virgin Mary. Any thought on the recent appearance?

I know St. Mary had been discussed many times on this sub, but I am interested to hear people’s opinions on this podcast episode.

I have read that the reason that it is not included in the Protestant Bible is because although it was included in the Septuagent that was widely used by the early Christians and quoted from by Rabbi Yeshua it was thought not to be found in the Hebrew cannon. However, it was found to be in the dead sea scrolls. Comments?