Mere Christianity

     Greetings to you in the name of our Lord.  Sunday was Pastor Naasz's farewell and Godspeed ceremony.  We had one service Sunday morning instead of our usual two and it was really nice to see the church that full.  Communion took forever, but that is a great thing.  To see so many people all receiving the Lord's body and blood was a beautiful sight.  Then we had a lunch and a reception type program where several people spoke and presented gifts to Pastor Naasz and Arlene.  During the lunch they had made a slide show of pictures from Pastor Naasz's 32 years of service and it was fun to see.  In 32 years he had over 200 baptisms, over 300 confirmation students, over 100 weddings, and over 200 funerals.  It was a really nice reception honoring all the years and work he put into his ministry.  Then we had the farewell service in the afternoon.  Again the church was packed full with over flow seating filled too.  He had a really cool sermon all about how he tried his hardest over 32 years to preach the Gospel in it's truth and purity, but his main point of the sermon was that even though he was serving God he also had so much fun just being with the people.  He gave examples of having fun with the confirmation kids and Sunday school kids, men's club and LWML, and many other groups and opportunities in the church that he had to really enjoy being with the people of his congregation.  It was a really cool sermon and I think was a pretty accurate summary of his ministry.  You could tell by all the tears as people gave him hugs on the way out that he was not only a good pastor but a dear friend to so many people.  Then we had cookies and coffee after the service where many of the people stayed around to talk to Pastor and Arlene.
     Monday morning we had about ten guys from the congregation show up to help pack up Pastor and Arlene into two trailers and they were on the road shortly after ten headed to Pierre where they have a 20 acre farm to now call home.  Today we began the prep work for the remodeling of the kitchen in the parsonage and tomorrow they start tearing down walls and getting the place dirty.  I have decided upon pastor's suggestion to keep living with the family I have been living with instead of moving into the upstairs of the parsonage while they remodel it.  I actually love living with them and they have been so amazing to me; I just did not want to even flirt with overextending my welcome.  However, they told me they are happy to have me and told me to stay as long as I need.  I am going to stay until at least all the destruction is done at the parsonage and see how the construction is going before making any changes.  I truly have been blessed here by everyone from the church taking such good care of me.
      My thought for the day is really more of a suggestion.  I know this may blow some people's minds away but I recently read the book Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis.  I highly recommend every one to read it at least once in their life, if not once every couple of years.  He starts out kind of trying to "prove" God has to exist and actually does a really good job of it.  His whole basis is on the fact that morality exists among all people of all times.  Now it is much more detailed than that, but that is his main thrust.  Then he goes on to show how morality actually should look in the Christian perspective.  He does such a good job of explaining the life we should be living as Christians and how far off we truly are from living that way.  I would like to quote the entire book on here but that would take far too long.  One thing I did find funny enough to actually laugh out loud as I was reading it was the idea that Christ did the unexpected.  He died and the enemies thought they had won, but then He did the unexpected and rose again.  He goes on to show this is really how the Christian church has always functioned.  Enemies of the church have been trying to kill it and it's growth for all of time.  So he goes on to say that every time a persecution of the church or something major like that happens, just when the enemy thinks Christianity is dead and buried for good it springs back to life.  I laughed at his final comment which was "No wonder they hate us so much."  We just keep coming back.  It's like the game whack-a-mole.  You hit one down and two others pop up.  But there is truth to it too.  God has not let His church die from the beginning of creation.  Through all the trials, self-divisions, bad publicity, and persecutions (even the persecution of Christ), the church remains alive today.  God is with His church and will not let sin, death, or the devil overcome Him.  He is in control of all things and no matter how powerful the devil is, he will never be strong enough to overcome the reign of Christ.
      However, the most valuable part of Lewis' book to me was the way he showed that the entire reason we are living this life is to be the creation of God.  God made us.  He fearfully and wonderfully made us and for the entire purpose of being His people who live a life of being His people.  We have our vocations and our unique personalities.  We are all made with strengths and weaknesses and will all live very different lives.  But the point is that no matter what, no matter who we are, we are His and we need to live according to that truth.  This does not mean we all have to be pastors or church workers or give up our careers for full time charity work.  While all those things are noble and pleasing to God, so is being a nurse, insurance sales person, banker, grocery store clerk, farmer, teacher, or roofer.  We are all different and all have many different vocations.  Even besides careers there is mother, father, sister, brother, neighbor, wife, husband, grandma, grandpa, club member, friend, citizen, voter,etc.  All of these vocations are important and make you who you are, but the most important thing to remember is that above all of these vocations, above every vocation you will ever have, you are first and foremost a creature of God.  You were made by Him and given the very life you have by Him in order to have all your vocations.  Then through the gift of faith in His Son by the power of the Holy Spirit we are children of God.  We are creatures because He made us, but we are children because He adopted us.  Through the work of His Son on the cross and through the empty tomb, He has made us His children and gives us eternal life as our inheritance.  So yes we are very different people, but we are all united in the one body of Christ.  Paul makes this same point in Corinthians 12 where he states that all believers are the one true body of Christ.  There are many different parts but all one body.  You cannot have a body of all ears or you would not be able to see.  We are such different people and yet we are all here on this earth, all living this life here in the now for one main purpose: to be the children of God.  That is the entire purpose of life.  We strive everyday to be the faithful people of God, filling our vocations to the best of our abilities in a Christian, faithful, God-pleasing way.  Then we have the gift of forgiveness when we fail to live as the people of God. We have His grace and mercy which allows us sinners to remain as the children of God and strive to live for Him again tomorrow.  I hope I was not too repetitive, but to me this is so important.  Our true identity, our entire purpose of life and reason for being here, is given to us in our relationship with the one true God.  That is pretty awesome and fearful all the same time.  This is why Luther writes "we must fear, love, and trust in God above all things" as the explanation of the first commandment.  I must here note that Lewis is a much better writer than I am though so I truly do want to recommend you read his book.  All praise be to the one true God who made us His creatures, all different, but yet who made us His children by adopting us all into the one body of Christ, His Son, our Savor, who has won for us the gift of forgiveness and eternal life.  Amen.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
Thank you so much for being our Father, our Maker, and our Redeemer.  You have given each of us our own talents and gifts and for that we praise You.  We ask that You give us Your Spirit to guide us to use those gifts and talents for the highest good.  We ask that You give us the strength to live each day as Your creation honoring You and as Your children worshipping You in everything that we do.  Thank you so much for giving us Your Son as our Savior, to bring us all untied into the one body of His.  Let us be the one true body of Christ, living and working together to help that body grow and to bring the good news of Your gifts of forgiveness and eternal life to all people.  And keep us in the one true faith of Your name as long as we live.  In Christ's name we pray. Amen.  

First Week on the Job!

       Greetings to you in the name of our Lord.  I am happy to say I have survived my first week as a vicar.  Monday I went with Pastor Naasz (the retiring pastor) on some visits and shut in calls.  It was a powerful day.  He told each one that this might be the last time on earth they would see each other, but then reminded them of the hope in the resurrection that we will all be together again one day on that last day.  The reason it was so powerful was because he got a little emotional with some of them.  It was powerful for me because it showed the deep and caring relationship he had with these people as their pastor.  It gave me the reassurance that being a pastor is so rewarding.  Even though the job comes with so many, many, many challenges and frustrating days; it also comes with so many, many, many rewarding days.  These deep, caring relationships between Christians is one of the most rewarding things, and the fact that it's hard to say goodbye because you do genuinely care so much, showed me how deep these relationships can be.  I also got to learn the history of the church which will help me very much and I wish I would have already known for one incident.  You have to know where someone has been to truly know who they are now.  So it was a great day.  Then Tuesday I spent the day rearranging my office and unpacking all my stuff.  I want to paint my office but am going to wait a while before I ask to do that.  It is a nice office.  In fact it used to be pastor's office, but Pastor Wurm (the new pastor and my supervisor) liked the traditionally vicar's office better so he took it and gave me pastor's old one.  Then the rest of Tuesday, all day Wednesday, and most of today I have been working in my office trying to figure out all the old files, programs, paperwork, and systems for the campus ministry.  I am slowly getting everything organized in the way that it makes sense to me.  I know there will be very few weeks like this one where the majority of my time will be in the office, so I am trying to enjoy it while I can.  I am trying to get as much as humanly possible done before the students actually get here for classes in August.  Once they come back, I know I will officially be swamped.  In fact I have had several people tell me if I make it to October, then I can sigh and breathe again.  However, I am not worried about it and no matter how busy it gets, God is still the one at work so I must praise Him for it.  You will see this theme again below.
     I have also been fed lunch and dinner every day this week by a variety of people.  Members have been taking me out for dinner or inviting me into their homes for a home cooked meal.  It is great because I not only get a good meal, but get to know a lot of people faster too.  Plus I am not spending any money!  The people here have been amazing to me and just so over welcoming.  I truly feel blessed here and know God knew exactly what he was doing in placing me here.
     This Sunday is Pastor Naasz's farewell reception and service.  Then Monday we will be helping him move all of his packed up stuff onto the truck so he can move out to his farm to retire.  It will be sad to see him go because in only a week I have been able to see he is a very faithful man and good pastor.  However, I have no doubt Pastor Wurm (who was a vicar under Pastor Naasz) and I will not only get alone great, but he will teach me many important things and be a huge positive impact in my formation.  Then Tuesday I will move into the upstairs of the parsonage, while they remodel a majority of the main level.  The family I am staying with right now is an amazing family.  They have two kids, Carl who is 10 and Johanna who is almost 7.  Carl is a very smart kid and we have been playing a lot of cards.  I taught him cribbage and he picked it up very fast.  Johanna is the cutest little blonde pigtail'ed girl.  She tells me almost every day, "I really like you Vicar Richter."  The second day I was there they came up with the tongue twister "Mr. Vicar Richter."  It is taking me a while to get used to everyone just calling me "Vicar".  But as I said everyone has been so kind and friendly.
      My thought for the day is going to be my August newsletter I had to write this week.  So you will actually get to see it before it comes out to the congregation.  I will normally wait until after it is out to put it on here but I wanted to make sure I gave you something theological this week.  So here it is, enjoy and blessings.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth!  Serve the Lord with gladness!  Come into his presence with singing!  Know that the Lord, he is God!  It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” Psalm 100:1-3

            Greetings to you all in the name of our Risen and Triumphant Lord.  With summer rapidly coming to a close and the school year right around the corner, this time of year can be one of the busiest times for all of us.  However, as our Psalm for the first Sunday of the month reminds us, we are the people of God and we a have very important aspect of our vocation as His people that we must not forget.  Make a JOYFUL noise!  Serve Him with GLADNESS!  Come in SINGING!  We are His people whom He has made.  He formed us in the womb of our mothers, washed us of all unrighteousness in our baptism, and has made us heirs of His eternal life through the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus.  He has freely given us His forgiveness and salvation through His grace and mercy.  We are His people and even in the busiest of times He gives us His Spirit to allow us to live a life of joyful noise, glad service, and loud singing.  I hope that the rush of life never causes you to forget this wonderful news or keep you from living a life of joy and gladness. 

            I am singing my songs of praise to our good Lord for the blessing He has given me in bringing me to Brookings and Mount Calvary.  I want to thank each and every one of you for making me feel so welcome here my first couple of weeks.  It means so much to me to have the opportunity to serve, grow, and learn in a church family that is as faithful and loving as this congregation.  My prayer is to faithfully serve both the congregation and the college students to the best of my abilities with the help and guidance of the Lord.  I look forward to working with both groups and hopefully bringing both groups together quite often.  Being the one body of Christ, I hope to see us all serving and worshipping together joyfully!  Again, I just cannot say enough how much I give thanks to Him and bless His name for the wonderful place He has led me.  The Lord is good and His steadfast love endures forever!

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!  Give thanks to him; bless his name!  For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.” Psalm 100:4-5

In Christ,

Vicar Kevin Richter

Vicar Richter!

     Greetings to you in the name of our Risen Lord!  I am excited to announce I am officially a vicar now.  I was installed this morning at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Brookings, South Dakota.  I suppose I should change my blog name to ChurchVic (Church Vicar) since Seminary Student became Semstud, but that doesn't sound as cool so I will just leave it.  I know I have not been very good about blogging this summer, but now that I will have a normal weekly routine again I am going to try blog at least once a week.  I thank you to everyone who has stuck with me and apologize for the lack of effort I have put forth.
     Brookings seems like a nice small city and the people from church are wonderful.  My installation was during both services this morning and everyone at both services made me feel very welcome.  Mom and Dad left home at five this morning to make the four hour drive up here for the late service.  It was nice to have them here for it.  I will be letting you know more of what my vicarage all includes as the weeks go on. My first real action as vicar was to attend the freshman orientation as South Dakota State University where I will be doing campus ministry.  There will be a couple more of these as the new students come in waves.  One of  the older college students who is involved with our group was there to help me.  We set up our board at a table and most people walked past us without paying much attention.  However, I did get a few people to stop and talk to us and even guilted a few into taking our pamphlets and information cards.  I did get one contact card filled out and returned so I will be emailing him this week to make sure I stay in contact with him.  It got me excited to have the chance to reach out to these college kids and hopefully bring a few more into our group.
      I want to fill you in about the past couple of weeks.  I spent the end of June just working on campus and hanging out with friends and Erin as much as possible.  Then on June 30th, Erin and I made the 13 hour drive to her parents house in Pennsylvania.  That Sunday her mom, her, and I went to church.  Then after church she drove me through the Gettysburg battlefield, since her home town is only about 10 miles from Gettysburg.  We did not really get out and do anything because it was packed with people for the 150th anniversary celebration.  However, it was so neat to get to see it and I cannot wait to go back sometime when we can spend more time actually seeing it.  Then that afternoon we spent the day with her parents, her aunt and uncle, and her grandma and her new husband Dean.  It was a fun afternoon and good to get to know her family. During the week days her parents still had to work so Erin and I would hang around the house or go run errands or things like that.  I did do some tree trimming, bush trimming, and mowing for her dad which he appreciated.  Then Monday night we went out to eat with her half sister and her husband and daughter. Tuesday night we went to the county club they belong to for a good dinner and fire works for the 4th.  Then on the actual 4th we cracked Maryland crab.  I had never done this before but you literally pull an entire cooked crab covered in Old Bay seasoning out of the bag, start ripping legs and claws off, and then crack open the body to dig out the meat.  It was fun to do, but a lot of work for the meat.  Then the rest of the day we played cards and just had a nice day with her parents.  Friday morning her mom and dad had taken the day off so all four of us went golfing.  The girls only played nine and then went shopping but her dad and I played all 18.  It was another fun day. Then that next weekend Erin and I made our way down to Memphis so she could start her clinical there.  She will be there ten weeks total so nine left.  She is living with three of her classmates and good friends so it should be a fun time for her.  I spent a few days in Memphis checking out the town and just relaxing.
     Then this last Wednesday I left Memphis at 6:30 in the morning and rode the Megabus to St. Louis.  It was my first time taking public transportation long distance like that. It was interesting but actually not that bad.  It only cost me six dollars for two seats because I had to buy a second ticket for my golf clubs.  Then when I got back to St. Louis I packed up the last of my things and drove home to Adair.  Thursday morning I went and picked up my new car.  I bought a 2004 Saturn Ion from a family in Adair because my other car was slowly falling apart.  This one is five years newer and almost half the miles as my old one.  It is a nice little car, but little is the key word.  So I had to get it licensed and registered.  Then I spent the rest of the day going through everything I own that has been stored at mom and dads deciding what I needed to take and what could be left behind.  It should have been about a week job, but I busted my tail and got it done in one day.  I only brought one car load up with me to start since I am house jumping until I can move into my house for the year.  However, I left one giant pile of stuff and furniture that mom and dad will bring up to me once I am in my house.  Then Friday I played a round of golf with dad and then drove up to South Dakota.
     Saturday Pastor Wurm, my supervisor, took me golfing with one of the elders, and then we worked the men's club apple crisp and ice cream booth at the Arts Festival in Brookings.  It was a fun day.  That brings us all the way up to today and pretty much fills you into what I have been doing the last couple of weeks.
      I start tomorrow at 8:15 in the church office and my year is already ticking by.  I will try to do another blog with my thought for the day later this week, but for now I just want to fill you in and get another blog up.  I know I am so blessed to be here growing in both my faith and my education through this opportunity and I thank the good Lord for how good He is.  I kindly ask you all pray for me as I continue through this year so that I may be the best servant of the Word I can be to faithfully bring the gospel to more people.  All praise be to Him who gives us our salvation as a fee gift, and gives us His Spirit to bring the good news of this gift to others.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
Please be with me as I begin my year as a vicar.  Please use me in this position to bring Your Word and Your faith to the people of both Mount Calvary and the students of SDSU.  Give me Your Spirit so that I may always act faithfully according to Your Word and that all I do and say may be for Your glory.  I also pray for all who read this blog, that wherever they may be and whatever stage they may be at in their lives, You would be with them and keep them in the one true faith also.  Let us all be Your faithful children living a life that serves and honors You.  In the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.  

A full month in the blink of an eye!

      Greetings to you all in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. I know it has been exactly a month since I have last posted on here, but it has been a very busy and fast pace month. I survived finals and papers and am officially done with two years of my seminary career. I am enjoying what little summer I have before I leave for South Dakota in the middle of July. I will be installed up there on July 14th.
      I spent the last two weeks of May after classes were out working on campus, hanging out with friends, and spending time with Erin. It was a nice two weeks. Then I went to my friend Joe's wedding in Adair on June 1st. It was a blast because I got to see a lot of my old friends from high school. Then I spent a couple days in Adair and played a couple rounds of golf. Then I went to Nebraska for the rest of the week. I got to see Bill and Jami and the kids which is always good, but I also got to see a lot of my friends from college and working at the state. Then Friday I drove back to St. Louis. Saturday, Erin and I drove from St. Louis to Maryville for my cousin's wedding. It was fun day and she got to meet a lot of the Richter family. Then Sunday we went to church in Adair, Grandma fed us breakfast after church, and then we drove back to St. Louis. So now I am back on campus working and trying to get my deer antlers mounted. I am pretty excited but they are going to be a lot of work yet.
     The only exciting news I have is that I bought a new car. My car is just old, got a lot of miles, and slowly wearing out. A family in Adair was selling this car which is in great shape for a good price so I didn't feel like I could pass it up. I have not been able to get it yet, so I am still driving mine around, but hopefully before the end of the month I will be able to get it. I will post pictures of it when I get it.
      I guess I never told you that the Sunday when I did the whole service went very well. Attendance was kind of low since it was memorial day weekend. My sermon went well even though I did not have it as well known as I normally do. Then after the service I gave just a short thank you to everyone for a great two years of field work. As I shook hands with everyone after church, I got a lot of compliments and farewells. My sermon was my parable sermon from Homiletics II on Luke 8. I know I posted it on here before. The best part was though that now I know what it is like to do a whole service and it was not as bad as I thought it would be. I am actually excited for the chance to do more on vicarage.
     My thought for the day is trust.  So much of my life is going to change in the next couple weeks and when I let myself think about it all I could easily let myself freak out.  However, I put my trust in the Lord that everything will work out, be just fine, and most of all He will be with me.  The Devil tries to use our own lives against us, to worry us or scare us, but we must remain faithful and trust in our God above all things at all times.  I know I have told you before Matthew 6 is one of my favorite passages but to repeat it again, "Who can add an hour to his life by being anxious?"  When out faith and trust remains in His we are able to keep our focus on the right things and all of a sudden life isn't scary anymore. All Praise be to Him who is with us at all times and is bountifully gracious to us His children.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
Please be with us at all times and give us the strength to remain faithful to You.  Give us your Spirit to keep our trust in Your name in all we do.  In the name of Your Son we pray. Amen.   

        

Theological Paper

     Greetings to you in the name of Christ Jesus.  I had an amazing weekend with the Kyle clan.  Erin's parents were in town for the weekend.  We went to the Cardinal's game yesterday, it was perfect weather out for it, and the Cards won.  I think I survived with a passing grade, and they definitely are cool in my book.  Of course, they raised Erin and I think she is pretty neat.  I also got to see some old college friends who were in town for the game today.  We spent a good half hour reminiscing about the old days in Seward.  Memories from freshman year made us laugh and feel old all at the same time.  Aaron Sailor, one of the two guys, gets a special shout out because he told me he was still a faithful blog follower, which made my day.  All of you who read this do mean a lot to me, hence why I take the time to keep writing, but it put it in a more personal perspective to hear him tell me he still reads it.  Thank you for that Aaron.
    Speaking of thinking Erin is pretty neat, we celebrated our six month anniversary today.  It has actual been longer since we met and first started talking, but we made up an "official date" to go by.  She has been wanting to learn to play the guitar for quite some time and since her birthday is not until October and we only have a short time together left, I took her to pick out a guitar.  She picked out a good starter one that fit her well and is already working on learning to play it.  Today we were running errands and she told me she wanted to go to Golf Galaxy.  We went and she told me to pick out the wedge I have been wanting for some time now and she got it for me.  I got the Titleist Vokey Spin-milled 54 degree wedge.  She is definitely a keeper.  The funny part was she found it funny that when she said she wanted to go to Golf Galaxy I never questioned why.  I told her a golf or hunting store will never be questioned simply visited as quickly as possible.  She did not find it as funny as I did when we got back out to the car and I told her to get in back so my wedge could be buckled in up front.  We also went out for dinner this evening and it was a great day together.  I cannot believe it has been six months already, but only because it has been such an amazing six months.
      I told you I would post my theological paper on here when it was done.  It was done on Thursday, but I just have not had time to put it up yet.  However, here it is.  Again, the issue is trying to show that a fetus is a human being, only this time was all theological reasons.  I have not gotten either one back yet or graded so if I do and they are wrong, I will let you know.  Otherwise enjoy:

           The entire argument for the abortion controversy comes down to one issue, if the fetus is a human being, then abortion is murder, but if the fetus is not a human being then abortion is not murder.  When looking at God’s Word in the scriptures it is almost undeniable that a fetus is a human being.  There are multiple examples of the fetus being a human being, and there are multiple ways the Bible speaks of this idea.  This makes it very hard to see the fetus as anything other than a life given by God to the parents. 

             The first way the Bible talks about life before birth is through the idea that God actually forms the fetus in the womb of the mother.  The most well known scripture that speaks this way is in Psalm 139:13 which reads, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.”  The imagery of God “knitting” us together inside the womb actually works quite well.  We know it takes a sperm cell to fertilize an ovum cell, but we still do not know exactly how these two cells coming together is able to begin a new life that will develop and grow into an infant that will grow and develop into an adult.  I am six feet tall and weigh 280 pounds, and yet at the point of conception I was a single cell that only a microscope could see.  God “knits” that single cell into a living being that is able to grow and develop into the man I am today.  Another place the Bible speaks this way is in Isaiah 44:2 where he says, “This is what the Lord says- he who made you, who formed you in the womb.”  Again in Isaiah 49:5 he says, “And now the Lord says- he who formed me in the womb to be his servant.” Isaiah is stating that the Lord expressed to him, that it is God’s work that is able to form the fetus which starts as a single cell, into the fetus that will be the infant that is born.  The fetus is formed by God and is a living human being in the womb.  The other well known Bible verse that fits in this category is Jeremiah 1:5 which reads, “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you.”  This shows us God knew us before He formed us.  Even as a single cell fetus, that does not look like a human and is much smaller than a human, God knew us and knew He would continue to form us in the womb.  So these verses show us that God is the one who forms the fetus in the womb, making it a human being well before it is actually born. 

            However, this still does not answer the question of exactly at what point is the fetus a human being.  The second way the Bible speaks about this topic is by connecting the life of the child to starting at conception.  In Genesis 29 and 30, when Jacob is having his twelve sons through Leah and Rachel, each time a new son is born it uses the same phrase of “she conceived and gave birth to a son.”  Each time a new child is born, it always includes conception, showing that the life of the child began at conception.  This same phrase is used throughout the Bible.  Isaiah 8:3 again includes “she conceived and gave birth to a son,” when Isaiah made love to the prophetess.  In Hosea 1 it is Gomer who conceives and gives birth to a son.  And this is true for daughters too.  In Hosea 1, Gomer again conceives and gives birth to a daughter.  Then of course the most obvious use of this phrase is when Jesus is born of the Virgin Mary.  In Isaiah 7, he prophesies that the virgin will conceive and give birth to a son.  Then in Matthew 1, the angel who comes to Joseph tells him what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.  Then Matthew writes that this was so in order to fulfill Isaiah 7.  In Luke 1, the angel tells Mary she will conceive and give birth to a son.  Even Jesus, who was born of a virgin, is still conceived showing that life truly begins at the point of conception. So we know God is the one who forms us in the womb starting at conception.  We are His precious creatures that He gives to our parents as a blessed gift.  With this being the way the Bible speaks about life before birth, it makes is clear a fetus is indeed a human being.  

     Happy Mother's Day to all mothers.  I especially thank my mom for successfully raising four children, (including me which is saying a lot).  You may drive us crazy at times, but it is only because you do everything you can to make sure we are safe, healthy, and in the true faith.   

      My prayers are with all pregnant woman who are not sure about being a mother and also to all woman desiring but struggling to be mothers.  Put your trust in the Lord at all times and know He is in control of all things. 

Dear Heavenly Father, 

We pray a prayer of thanksgiving for all the wonderful mothers who have raised us and taught us to live in your faith.  We pray that You be with all woman who are mothers of unborn children.  Please be with them, give them Your strength to bring their child safely into this world, letting them put their trust in You knowing that with You all things are possible.  We also pray that You be with all woman who wish to be a mother and are having difficulties.  Keep their hearts bold in You, that they know it is Your timing and will that is best.  Give them comfort and peace as they continue to cling to You as the giver of all life.  Keep us all in the one true faith that we may live our lives in a way that is pleasing in Your sight.  Through the name of Your Son we pray. Amen.  

Genetic Paper

      Greetings to you all in the name of Jesus.  Now that all the rush and excitement of last week has settled I am back to trying to finish this quarter.  I am down to two and a half papers and three finals.  I am trying to get the papers done this week and then finish the finals next week.  The last day of classes is next Thursday, which means I am officially homework free for a year and three months next Friday!!! This weekend is kind of a big deal as I will meet Erin's parents for the first time.  Nervous is not the word I would use to describe how I feel, but in the back of my mind I do realize this is kind of important to make a good impression.  I think it will be a great weekend though.  We are going to the Cardinals game on Saturday so I'm praying for nice weather.
      I am still talking to both my supervisor and the president of the congregation about my housing situation In South Dakota.  Since for the first week all three of us, retiring pastor, my supervisor, and myself, will be at the church we cannot all fit into two houses.  Then even after the retiring pastor moves out, they are going to remodel the parsonage.  So I think the latest I heard was I will be living with the president for two weeks, in an apartment for a month, and then finally able to move into the varsonage (vicar house) for the rest of the year.  It is kind of a hassle but I really do not mind and am just excited to be there.  I am however going to try to enjoy every moment with Erin that I can while we are still together.  We have two months together before we start our two years of long distance.  The first year while I am on vicarage, she will be on clinics in Memphis and Arizona, and then finishing classes in St. Louis.  Then when she graduates she will go back to Pennsylvania to work for a year while I finish fourth year here at the seminary.  It will be long and rough, but I have no doubt we can make it.
     My thought for the day is a bit more controversial then I tend to like to talk about.  For our Genetic Science in Christian Perspective class, our paper for the class has two halves.  The first half is to argue for why a fetus is a human being using only non-theological reasons.  The second half is to argue for why a fetus is a human being using only theological reasons.  I have the first half done and will post it on here.  I am not trying to start any blog wars or major debates, I am simply letting you read the paper I wrote for class.  I also want to point out that while I do believe abortion is killing a human being, I do not hate woman who have them or doctors who do them.  I am willing to tell them what they are doing is wrong, but I am a sinner too and try my hardest to show everyone the love of Christ.  This means that I would not walk up to any doctors who perform abortions and tell them they are wrong.  I would want to ask him or her questions, build a relationship with him or her, and then try to show him or her that I do not approve their actions because it is harmful for their eternal salvation.  I truly believe hate or anger does not give the Spirit a fair chance to work through you, but it is important to remember that it is the Spirit working through you.  Just show everyone the love Christ showed as He is our example and pray that the Spirit does indeed work through your actions.
     Before I post the paper, I want to highly recommend the book I used for most of my arguments for this paper.  The book is titled The Unaborted Socrates.  It is a book written by a philosopher who wrote it as if Socrates had come back to present day and used logic and the Socratic Method to bring a doctor, philosopher, and psychologist to the main issues at hand with abortion through dialogue.  I found this book phenomenal and read the entire thing in one evening.  If you are interested in this topic that is so prevalent in our society, I again encourage you to find a copy of this book and read it.  It is a very quick read.  With that said I will post my paper on here and hope it makes sense to you.  It could only be 800 words so it is fairly blunt and to the point at some places that I would have liked to more fully flush out.  Again, this one is the non-theological one trying to use logic and science to show that a fetus is a human being.  When I finish the theological half of the paper I will post it on here too.

             The topic of abortion is so highly controversial because one side says it is murder, while the other side says it is not.  The entire argument for this controversy comes down to one issue, and that is whether or not the fetus is a human being.  If the fetus is a human being, then abortion is murder, but if the fetus is merely property and not a human being then abortion is not murder. 

              This topic, even though it comes down to one main issue, is still so highly controversial because this issue of what exactly a fetus is, is not an easily proven issue.  There are many arguments for both sides that try to prove that it either is or it is not a human being.  In order to try to answer this core issue one must look at these arguments and decide what the truth of this issue is. 

            I do not want to bring theological arguments into this article because I want this article to purely look at the scientific and logical understandings of the fetus.  It is much easier to look at the reasons for why a fetus is not a human being. 

            The first argument for a fetus not being a human being is because some claim that it is part of the mother.  If this is true, then the fetus is the property of the mother with which she may do what she pleases.  It would be no different then if she wanted to remove a wart from her body.  However, if a fetus is part of a mother, then the fetus’s parts are the mother’s parts.  This means once the fetus develops feet the mother now has four feet.  Also, if it was part of the mother, the DNA would match the mother’s DNA.  However, the fetus has its own genetic code in its DNA, which means it is its own individual part, not part of the mother.  These two logical reasons prove the fetus is not part of the mother. 

            The second argument for a fetus not being a human is that it is a potential human.  A fetus starts out as a tiny group of cells that is not developed.  For the first portion of its existence it does not even look anything like a human.  However, a child is not fully developed compared to an adult, so how developed must one be before it is a human being?  Where do prematurely born babies fit into this category?   Also, even as an adult, a human being is still just a group of cells, just billions more in larger form.  Additionally, is not potential energy still energy that is just not being used?  So if a fetus is a potential human, does this not mean that the fetus is still a human that is not being used?  How is a potential human not a human?  Others include in this category that the baby must be able to live on its own in order to be a human.  If you give birth to a fetus prior to viability, it cannot survive outside the mother and therefore must not be a human being.  All the same though there are many infants and adults who cannot live on their own with medical or parental support.  Does this mean that a person whose lungs have collapsed or who has a fake heart valve and could not survive without medical technology are merely potential humans because they are not living completely on their own? 

            The third argument is asking the tough question of when does a human become a human.  Even if it is as a fetus, at what point during its time in the womb does it become an actual human.  Is it when it looks like a human in form?  However, there are many babies born without arms or legs or the definite form of a “normal healthy” adult.  Is it when it is viable? Again the argument above refutes that by the use of adults who are not viable.  Is it at conception?  This is when the sperm cell and the ovum cell come together and the new cell has its own unique genetic code. 

            My final point of this article is that the exact moment that a human becomes a unique, individual, actual human being has not been answered scientifically to an exact point.  However, because it is not answerable to an exact point, is it not better to be over protective and claim it is a living human too early versus too late?  If we cannot be a hundred percent certain that a fetus is a human from conception, is it not better to say it is and protect its life versus saying it is not and kill it?  

My prayer is one day every person realizes that a fetus is a human being that should be brought to life.  We live in a present evil age where sin flourishes, but we cling to our faith knowing one day in the new creation sin, death, and the Devil will be no more.  While we live in this present evil age, we try to live a life in the faith and through our faith that is an example to others and stands up for those who cannot protect themselves, including fetuses.
Dear Heavenly Father, 
Every child is a blessing from You, please help to remind us of the wonderful gifts they are.  Please be with and protect all children still in the womb, and help those who are considering abortion to hear Your word and know what precious blessing you have given them.  Please be with all women who have had an abortion.  Let them know the fullness of Your forgiveness, that they may know through Christ all sins are forgiven. Remind us all that through You all things are possible, even the end of abortions.  Use Your faithful children to be beacons of Your light in this dark world and let all we do be for Your names sake.  In the name of Christ who died and rose to make death no longer an enemy, Amen.  

South Dakota!!!!

For all of those who were not able to watch the live stream, I got my vicarage placement today.  The joke of our class for the past few weeks has been that there was one vicarage in South Dakota and I am now the butt of that joke.  However, in all honesty, I could not be more excited.  I have heard great things about the church and the supervisor I will be working under.  The Lord has blessed me in so many ways to bring me this far and I have no doubt He will continue to lead me and work through me in the wonderful land of South Dakota.  I will be at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in Brookings, South Dakota.  Bring on the hunting, fishing, winter snow, and faithful people of God and His church.  All prayers are appreciated as I finish out this quarter, work through the summer, and begin my first year in the ministry next fall.  He is good, He is good indeed, Praise Him name. Amen.