From Cradle Catholic to Lutheran Pastor (w/ Dr. John Bombaro)

https://youtu.be/ho786JTGX_M?si=7mBKRxdKyIH4TAl-

Just remembered this banger❗️

“2 Cor. 5:6: ‘While we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord’; v. 7: ‘for we walk by faith, not by sight.’ The apostle infers in this way: we are absent from the Lord, we are not yet present with him, because we walk by faith. The adversaries infer in the opposite way: we walk [that is, eat] by faith [in the Supper]. Therefore, we are present with the Lord.” - Johann Gerhard, De Sacra Coena, ch. 11, §107

"Abraham himself before receiving circumcision had been declared righteous on the score of faith alone: before circumcision, the text says, 'Abraham believed God, and credit for it brought him to righteousness.' Why then, O Jew, do you place great store by circumcision? Learn that before it many people proved themselves good. Abel, for instance, made his offering from faith, as Paul also says: 'Through faith Abel made a greater offering to God than Cain'; Enoch was taken away, Noe escaped that dreadful flood on the score of great goodness, and Abraham before this was commended for his faith in God. Thus right from the very beginning the human race gained salvation on the. basis of faith. The reason, of course, that the loving Lord permitted sacrifices to be offered to him was that, when our nature was still in an imperfect condition, it might be able to express its gratitude and at the same time completely avoid the harmful practice of worshipping idols." - St. John Chrysostom (Hom. 27 on Genesis)

“[When] it is advantageous to [the Papists], they themselves change the institutions of the Fathers. Later they cite the Fathers’ authority against us.” - Philip Melanchthon, Apology of the Augsburg Confession, Art. XXIV.8

Registration will be closed tonight at 9:00 PM

From https://www.youtube.com/@ScholasticLutherans

“The blessed Isaiah said: 'One of the Seraphim was sent to me holding a coal in its hand which it had taken in a pair of tongs from the altar. And it came to me and touched my lips and said: Behold this has touched your lips and taken away your transgressions, and purged your sins' (ls.6.6-7). We say that the coal supplies a type and image for us of the incarnation of the Word. For if he touches our lips, 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘸𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘩𝘪𝘮, then he renders us purged of all our sins, and free of our ancient transgressions.” - St. Cyril of Alexandria, Scholia on the Incarnation (ch. 9)

“Honor all people. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.” - St. Peter, I Pet. 2:17 NKJV

The Importance of Memory

At first glance, Luther's first stage may appear to be nothing more than a form of mindless rote learning. But his concern and approach reaches well back into the early church. In presenting the Creed to the catechumens, the church fathers universally exhorted the catechumen to learn it by heart. For example, Cyril urged his students, "This is what I want you to retain verbatim, and which each of you must carefully recite, without writing it on paper, but by engraving it by memory in your hearts" (Cyril, Catechesis V,12).

Augustine emphasized the same theme:

Receive, my sons, the rule of faith, called the Creed. On receiving it, write it in your heart, and every day recite it among yourselves. Before you fall asleep, before you proceed to anything, gird yourselves with your Creed. No one writes down the Creed just to be read; he stamps it on his soul, lest forgetfulness should lose what diligence had given him. Your book is your memory.

Augustine continues: "Say it on your beds; ponder it in the streets, do not forget it during meals; and even when your body sleeps, keep watch over it in your heart."

The emphasis on memory in the church fathers as well as in Luther reflected an intersection of pedagogical realities (oral learning and high illiteracy among the people) and theological concerns (that the word take deep root in the heart).

WE'RE BACKK

Dear "Christian Nationalists", this is a reminder that we all are pilgrims on this earth.

"These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth."

#itsthattimeagain