Radical Grace/the Lutheran Difference

We have a mystery! The Game is Afoot! How did Simeon know where to find the baby Jesus? Did he have a mystical experience? It appears that, unlike Zecharius and Mary, Simeon had no supernatural visits... How could he have known? We'll let Super-sleuth and Lutheran Pastor Gary Held lead us through the clues that reveal the truth behind Simeon's knowledge of the Messiah's whereabouts! Ban on angels, stars on county Christmas trees Pakistan Christians celebrate Christmas in fear, Past attack, threats leave minority group feeling especially vulnerable Gazan Palestinians to celebrate Christmas in Israel

Poison. That's right. Poison poured into the mouths of Children... And children exposed to wild animals! Oh wait, what this means is Pastor Greg LeSeiur is back on the program and is on top of his game, and in rare form. We also spend some time talking about "spiritual malpractice". Just let your mind grasp that for a bit and listen to the show! Children made to sing "Allah is God" while the Christian part of the program is so vague as to leave out any reference to Jesus altogether Mass. Father Defends Claim That Boy, 8, Was Sent Home From School for Jesus Drawing Evangelist Oral Roberts dies in Calif. at age 91

There's a group out there called Conservapedia, that thinks that the Bible we have today is too liberal.  So they want to change it.  Where have we heard this before?  Also, the Chinese government has had enough of Rogue Christians who refuse to worship in the state sanctioned churches, so much so that they attacked the only mega church in China, arrested the pastors and put the worshipers in the hospital.So, we decided to talk about the parable of the unjust judge, which Pastor Gary believes is mistitled.  Chinese mega church attackedhttp://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,579979,00.html?test=latestnewsConservative Bible translation...  these people think the bible is just too darned liberal.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34270487/ns/us_news-faith/Church selling Tiffany Stained Glass window to help fund mission.http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34291880/

There are two natures at war in the members of your flesh.  One is the old Adam, who thinks he just fine and capable of doing good that will please God, and the new man who screams out "Put on the Brakes!  I am not worthy, capable, or even remotely performing like one who bears the Image of the Almighty God!"This is Romans Chapter 7 Stuff.  It's also Sanctification stuff, and so against modern Evangelical ideals that it makes your head spin. 

On the way up to the station today, we we're delayed due to two accidents on I95, involving what looked like ten vehicles.  Praise God it looked like no one was seriously hurt in either accident, but it sparked a conversation that we had on the air...  About how God blesses us even when things don't go like we planned, and how our physical and spiritual needs are met.We were going to have a conversation about online church, but all the show prep went out the window when we were delayed.  We'll have the conversation next week.

The difference between the definitions of the word "faith" that many churches and church bodies have adopted are extremely subtle.  On the one hand, many people take faith as "being optimistic", having a good attitude and such.  I remember years ago I had one of my first bosses tell me "attitude is everything", and he pretty much expected his employees to live and work by that advice.  Being young, in my very early twenties, I had no idea that life would come along and dash that advice to pieces.  Failure often comes even when we sincerely believe we'll succeed.I recently looked at an article on Wikipedia on Fear, and there was some interesting information listed there.  The single most surprising thing I found was that teenagers these days fear, in order of most important, the following things:  terrorist attacks, spiders, death, being a failure...  being a failure?  They actually fear failure!  It's second only to death, and if we could examine the raw data I'm sure we would find that it's actually second o

First up?  2012!Well, that this notion of an ancient prophesy from Mayan Culture has any bearing on...  Anything.  But what does matter is that atheists are trying to use the Bible and human reason to undermine Christian faith.  Take for instance, how atheists use Mark chapter 7 verses 24 and following to "prove" that Jesus is a mean guy.  What we learned in this program is that ELCA professors and pastors also use this text to try and prove that Jesus was a sinner!  So today, with Law and Gospel as our guide, we look closely at this text to find out what Jesus was really up to.Here's a request to our listeners.  Do you have particular texts you find difficult to understand?  Or texts that seem to say that Salvation is by works rather than by faith?  If you do, give us buzz at RadicalGraceRadio.com, email us at Lutherandifference@gmail.com, or call our listener comment line by going to the website and visiting our "contact us" page. 

In the aftermath of the event at Fort Hood this past Thursday, November 5th, we're joined by Pastor Ron Meyer of Faith Viera Lutheran Church to discuss the kind of theology that gives great comfort in times of intense grief.  When I saw the reports that afternoon concerning Fort Hood and the devastation wrought by a lone gunman, someone in the room with me asked "where was God in all of this?"  Indeed, where was He?  We answer that question, talk about just vs. unjust wars, and we talk about a grief stricken savior, weeping over the death of his dear friend, Lazarus. 

In this Episode, on All Saints Day, we talk about the Church Triumphant and the Gospel of Jesus Christ...  When don't we talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ?But in the first half we talk about the Roman Catholic Church making overtures to Anglican and Episcopal congregations allowing them to come into communion with Rome, the Anathemas of Trent, the Book of Concord, and the Thirty-nine Articles.  Can anyone be expected to compromise on the Gospel of Jesus just to be in Communion with Rome?Rome Expects us to.  In fact, any congregation going this route is giving up more than they think they are.

Greetings everyone, and welcome to the 2009 Reformation Day Special.Last week we spent a fair amount of time talking about Indulgences and the effect they had on the Medieval Church.  This week we talk about the Reformation in the first half hour, and in the second half hour we talk about the "radical Reformation" and how this has effect modern evangelicalism.

Let's compare:  Indulgences were a special absolution given often times for money, for the purpose of releasing a soul from Purgatory.  In Evangelicalism, people are encouraged to tithe, send seed money, and do good works to get greater blessings from God.Aren't we appalled that they think they can buy off God like that?  It's the worst form of bondage.  Listen to this week's show.  It's in preparation for next week's program on the Reformation.

John Haggee wrote a book called "in Defense of Israel", where he says that Jesus didn't come to be the Messiah, that the Jewish people can't be blamed for rejecting what was never offered to them, and that the Jewish people are still saved under the old covenant.  So we're making this program "in Defense of Jesus", because Jesus most emphatically is the Messiah.  Listen to this one, it's important stuff, as the Gospel always is important.Questions asked:Is Jesus the Messiah?  What happens to the Gospel when Jesus isn't the Messiah?  What's worse;  Killing 6 million Jews?  Or refusing to preach Christ and Him Crucified to them?

On October 6th, 2009, LCMS inc. sold off KFUO FM, 99.1 in St. Louis.  The station is the counterpart to KFUO AM, that is the Christian Broadcasting side of the ministry.  We talk about the potential lost by this deal as well as the potential impact.Click here to read the report in the St. Louis Dispatchhttp://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/tvradio/story/7E33989A3E2B2A87862576470047C8E1?OpenDocument#tp_newCommentAnchorhttp://www.kfuo.org/

What is it about Christians these days believing that the Jews are still saved under the old covenant while we are saved by Christ?  And what is it with Christians and this infatuation with Modern Israel as the fulfillment of prophecy.  I thought that Jesus was the fulfillment of all of this?Maybe I'm wrong? 

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio, we learn that the founding fathers all seemed to have shared a common religion:  Freemasonry.  Therefore, the United States must be a Masonic Nation.   Doesn't that logic follow?  It the same logic that many people use to show that the United States is a Christian Nation.

Is it possible that bad preaching of the Law is what is actually causing the apparent increase in corruption in the United States?Here is a brief list of topics we talked about today.1.  Contradictory statements made in Christian circles.  One Preacher tells us on the radio that God has made peace with us in Jesus Christ and that we should rest in that peace, another wants to sell you a self help tape series that teaches you how to make peace with God.2.  How did we get here?  With the ACORN scandal in the news, the age old question about 'the good ol' days' comes back to haunt us.3.  Is the United States a Christian Nation?4.  Were our founding fathers actually Christian?@RadicalGrace on twitterRadicalGrace@live.comwww.radicalgraceradio.com

Pastor Gary drops a bomb...  Your prayer life is a lot like your sex life.  Yes, it really is.  Riddled with the same issues.  But how to you fix this kind of problem?  Can anyone tell me how!?Ok, we had way too much fun on this episode.  Yes, it's a bit irreverent to talk about your Prayer life and your sex life, but there is a lot that both of these have in common.  The same problems that impede intimacy in a married couples relationship also impede us in prayer.  Give a listen.

On the way up to the station, we saw a bumpersticker that said, "Pray the Rosery to end abortion".  You know we couldn't resist talking about that on the air.  We also talk about crossing your fingers when passing through an intersection on yellow. 

After last week's show on the ELCA's decision to bless the ordination of homosexual clergy, we had one caller who strongly disagrees with our stance on the issue.  We'd like to think William for being the kind of caller who, even though he disagrees with us, was kind and considerate.  Afterwards we talked about the difference between putting a burden on people (such as many believe we want to burden homosexuals unfairly by calling their lifestyles sinful) and what it means when Jesus tells us in Luke chapter 4 when he quotes from the scroll of Isaiah:"The Spirit of the Lord is on me,       because he has anointed me       to preach good news to the poor.    He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners       and recovery of sight for the blind,    to release the oppressed,     to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor."It's one thing to try and do away with God's Law and do away with the condemnation of sin.  It's another thing entirely to be set free!

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the most liberal Lutheran Church Body in the United States, has voted to abandon the Word of God and support both Same Sex Marriage and Rostered Gay Clergy.  In this edition of Radical Grace Race, we talk about the ramifications of this move, about how the media has portrayed Lutherans during this point in history, and how an incident with a Tornado that struck the Convention Center where the ELCA were meeting to discuss these issues may have been a sign from God...