Northwoods Table Talk

     Lection for Saturday after Trinity XII 2  Kings 2:19-25; 4:1-7        Ephesians 4:25-5:14 Did you pay attention to the Ephesians text? It starts like this, Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.   How about that for a plan, speak truth with one another and lay aside falsehood. Why? Because we are members one of another.   I suppose it would be good advice for the world at large, especially in the middle of the political season we are in. Can you imagine every candidate speaking the truth, and speaking only nicely of one another? Wow! It might even lead to people not minding campaign ads, but as it is now, those are the times to go channel surfing.   But this text is especially talking to those who are members of one another, that is, to the church. We are to speak (as it says a few verses later) wholesome words about one another.   It is amazing ...

    Lection for Friday after Trinity XII 2  Kings 2:1-18        Ephesians 4:1-24 In this text from Ephesians we read: “Be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”   Someone say that this means, “Let us put aside the differences that separate us; Christ wants us to be united. If I believe that God has given me the gift of being able to find love in the arms of more than one woman, who are you people to tell me it is wrong? God has given me this gift, I know it in my heart.”   “Be diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Someone else declares, “We must have unity at all costs, the differences between us are not great enough that they should cause us to go separate ways. So what if I believe God was feminine, and you don’t. Don’t you believe that God is big enough to embrace both our understandings of God?”   Is it acceptable to God to believe that Father and Son were actually mother and...

  Lection for Thursday after Trinity XII 1  Kings 19:1-21        Ephesians 3:1-21 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space over the span of a few ...

Lection for Wednesday after Trinity XII 1  Kings 18:20-40        Ephesians 2:1-22 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space over the span of a few ...

        Lection for Tuesday after Trinity XII 1  Kings 18:1-19       Ephesians 1:1-23 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space over the span of a ...

      Lection for Monday after Trinity XII 1  Kings 16:29-17:24        2  Corinthians 9:1-15 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space over the spa...

           Lection for Trinity XII 1  Kings 12:20-13:5, 33-34         2  Corinthians 8:1-24 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be i...

          Lection for Saturday after Trinity XI 1  Kings 11:42-12:19         2  Corinthians 7:1-16 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be...

        Lection for Friday after Trinity XI 1  Kings 11:1-26         2  Corinthians 6:1-18 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in the space...

      Lection for Thursday after Trinity XI 1  Kings 9:1-9, 10:1-13         2  Corinthians 5:1-21 On more than one occasion I have had people tell me, (or something like this) "Pastor, I really do not know how to pray. I know the Lord's Prayer, I know 'Come, Lord Jesus...' and I know 'Now I lay me down sleep...' but other than those, I truly don't know how to pray." I have found that the more familiar I am with the Scripture, the easier it is to pray - especially as I know the Psalms. I am too thick in the head to try and make up prayers. Rev. Martin Luther, way back in the 1500s had people coming to him asking him how to pray. My suggestion is to open up your Bible every day and read it. When you have read, pray! Pray what Scripture has taught you. Dr. Luther wrote something also very wonderful about prayer to Peter the barber. I am going to post what he wrote, "A Simple Way to Pray." But as it is rather long, it will be in th...

     Lection for Wednesday after Trinity XI 1  Kings 8:22-30, 46-63         2  Corinthians 4:1-18 How does God deliver, or bestow the forgiveness of sins? Yes, it was purchased on the cross! Yes, we know that it was won for us! Yes, by faith it is ours! It is however delivered to us that we the more readily believe and trust it. First it is our in Baptism, we also know that we receive it in the Lord’s Supper, but when I published the Catechisms a few weeks ago, someone came to be and said, “Pastor, we do not believe in Private Confession and Absolution, that is a Roman Catholic thing.   So, I thought I’d talk a bit today about the gift of forgiveness coming through the “Power of the Keys.” The “Power of the Keys” refers to the confession of sins and the proclamation of the Holy Absolution as the pastor exercises the “Office of the Keys.”   Sin is a part of everybody’s life. In fact, there are times that a sense of guilt over a ...

     Lection for Tuesday after Trinity XI 1  Kings 7:51-8:21         2  Corinthians 3:1-18 Two things are contrasted in the Corinthian text, the letter and the Spirit. The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Paul is talking about the fact that he, and all pastors, are ministers of a new covenant, one not of the letter but the Spirit.   Moses was given the covenant that was carved in letters on stone.   It was a glorious thing, it was most holy, for it was given by God Himself. There was no evil in it, no sin whatsoever.   It spoke of the perfect will of God for all people. It was a covenant given that said, “Do this all and you shall live.”     It was, however, a ministry of death. Why? For it brought to light the sinfulness that flowed forth from mankind. It functioned as a holy mirror to show people their sin and as such, although there was glory in the Law, it was a righteous glory that people could not a...