Tag Archives: quote

Satan and the Church

Here’s a brief selection from an essay by Dr. Naomichi Masaki entitled “Liturgy and Culture: Can the Liturgy Be Made to Reflect a Particular Culture?”

Satan does his best to diminish Christ’s incarnation in the church because he knows so well that the flesh of Jesus is life itself, and that through the ever-fresh baptismal water, the living voice of Jesus, and the reception of His very body and blood at the Eucharist, life itself is given out to the faithful with forgiveness and salvation. (pg. 135, Through the Church the Song Goes On, LCMS Commission on Worship, 1999)

Sailing with Christ

Lately I’ve been on a Johann Gerhard reading binge.  A few weeks back in Ft Wayne I picked up volume 2 of Gerhard’s “Postilla” and have been thoroughly enjoying his sermons.

Here’s a brief selection from Gerhard’s sermon for the Fifth Sunday after Trinity on Luke 5:1-11 (Jesus preaching to the crowd from the boat and the large catch of fish).

Peter’s small boat is a picture of the Christian Church.  For just as God’s Word resounds from Peter’s small boat is also how one hears Christ’s word in the Christian Church.  This makes Peter’s little boat much dearer and nobler than a great transport ship laden with gold, silver, precious stones, and other such perishable goods.

Just as a great haul of fish is caught here by the power of Christ’s word is also how many different peoples are gathered together into the Church by Christ’s Word.

. . .

The boat begins to sink; but, of course, since Christ is on board, it cannot sink completely.  Likewise, in the sea of this world, the Lord God knows how to protect His little ship against all danger, just as the ark, or ship, of Noah was preserved in the towering water of the Great Flood. (p.63-64)

What great comfort it is to be reminded of the power of Christ’s words — for it gathers and enlightens, forgives and sanctifies, and where there is forgiveness there is life and salvation.

Worship Is . . .

Worship is the gift of the gracious God through the incarnate and suffering Christ for his congregation which receives the gift by faith and so enters into fellowship with God.  Thus worship is a participation in the work of Christ.  — (Luther On Worship, Vilmos Vajta, pg 63)

Lutheran Musician Quote

One more reason to consider attending the Church Music Workshops in Fort Wayne this summer.

“The richer the background in Lutheran doctrine, mores, and music, the more nearly will the musician approach the true ideal of a Lutheran musician and servant of God in church.”  — Hugo Gehrke

Buszin on Church Musicians

I’m in the process of rereading the essays by Walter Buszin in the “Music for the Church” published by the Good Shepherd Institute.  It’s a great book and the essays, though written about 40-50 years ago, are still fresh and speak to our times today.

The following selection has resonated with me over the weekend.   Buszin reminds us that the musical aptitude is not as important as the musical and theological attitudes of the church musician.

The work of communicating the Gospel should emanate, therefore, not only from the pulpit, the cathedral, and the classroom, but also from the organ and the choir loft.  All unite to serve and disseminate the Word.  The task of the organist, choirmaster, and cantor has in many respects the same purpose as that of the preacher, the missionary, the teacher of religion, and the professor of theology.  Even for this reason great care should be exercised by congregations in selecting and appointing their choirmasters and organists.  It is more important that the church musician have the mind of the church, possess the necessary liturgical knowledge, and give unquestioned evidence of a salutary approach to the problems of Christian (Lutheran) worship than that he be an organist and/or choirmaster of superior ability. (Theology and Church Music as Bearers and Interpreters of the Verbum Dei – Walter Buszin)