grammar lesson

Verbs has to agree with their subjects.

Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.

And don't start a sentence with a conjunction.

It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.

Avoid clichés like the plague. (They're old hat.)

...Also, always avoid annoying alliteration.

Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are (usually) unnecessary.

Also too, never, ever use repetitive redundancies.

No sentence fragments.

Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.

the joy of pot-luck

nice to see president harrison enjoying what some call the third sacrament ... the pot-luck dinner.

east coast earthquake damage

thanks for all the support ... hopefully with your help they can recover from the devastation of today's quake.

camping at the lake

one last camping fling with josh before he leaves for china. we'll miss ya bro...

koinonia - life together

Koinonia (fellowship, or life together) is perhaps the easiest as well as the hardest to describe in the church. 

As the church, we have fellowship and life together in our Savior Jesus Christ. Jesus shares His life with us in the church through the Word and the Sacraments. Gathered together in His name, we hear Him speak and preach His Word to us. Assembled around His supper, we receive His body and blood for our forgiveness and salvation. From this life together in Christ, the church expands outward to carry Jesus' life to the world.

hercules statue

(photo - Israel Antiquities Authority) 

A marble statue of Hercules from the second century has been uncovered in Israel around the Jezreel Valley.
Hailed as a rare discovery, the statue was part of the decoration of a bathhouse pool that was exposed during excavations. It is made of smoothed white marble and is of exceptional artistic quality.
The hero Hercules, of Greek and Roman mythology, was the son of the god Zeus. Hercules was considered the strongest man in the world, a symbol of power, courage and superhuman strength; one of the most famous legendary heroes of ancient Greece who battled the forces of the netherworld on behalf of the Olympian gods.

a god who loves sinners

The God that Jesus has come to reveal to us is a God of abounding grace and generosity, a God of unlimited mercy and forgiveness, a God who loves sinners, even in their fallen state.... who comes after them, searches for them, finds them, redeems them, saves them, and brings them to repentance.

happy birthday missouri

On this date in 1821 Missouri became the 24th state.

The name came from an Algonquian Indian word which means "river of the big canoes".

Missouri borders parts of 8 other states, tying Tennessee with the most.

State Motto:  Salus populi suprema lex esto  -  "The welfare of the people shall be the supreme law."

State song:   Missouri Waltz  

State Bird     Bluebird

The state animal   Missouri Mule

The state insect    Honey Bee

State flower    White Hawthorne

State Tree      Flowering Dogwood 

fred lange - circuit rider

It was a long and hot train ride for the young Rev. Fred W. Lange in July of 1861. The Civil War was raging; and it was prudent for him to take a northern jog on his journey from Ft. Wayne, Indiana, to his first assignment in Clarks Creek, Kan. He was the first traveling missionary sent to Kansas, the first of the traveling missionaries who became known as the "circuit riders".

As the locomotive chugged through the states of Illinois and Iowa (avoiding the dangers of crossing Missouri in a time of war), his mind must have been racing. Thoughts of the great adventure ahead, concerns about his first assignment as a Pastor, and a burning desire to proclaim Christ to the scattered German communities of northeast Kansas must have made for a short train ride to Iowa City. But it would be three long weeks of travel till he arrived in Clarks Creek where he would give his first sermon four days later.

He preached his first sermon in Kansas on August 17,1861. Based on John 3:16, the sermon was heard by four families and several single people. 

The Lutheran congregations planted by Rev. Lange and the other Circuit Riders have grown and prospered in the state of Kansas and throughout the midwest.

(from the Emporia Gazette)

mercy / diakonia

When people came to Jesus for help in the Gospels, they would say "Kyrie Eleison" (Lord have mercy).
And Jesus had compassion on them. He fed them, healed them, consoled them, and proclaimed to them that the kingdom of heaven was near. Like Jesus, when Christians hear the cries of their neighbors, they have compassion on them and respond by providing for their needs as well.

The greek word diakonia usually is translated as service or ministry. When associated with mercy, however, diakonia describes specific works like feeding the poor, taking care of the sick, and caring for orphans and widows. Diakonia is caring for our neighbors in concrete and effective ways because of what Jesus has done for us. As Christians we show mercy by serving our neighbor in Christ's love.

philip's tomb?

Italian archaeologists working at the site of Hierapolis in southwestern Turkey believe they have discovered the tomb of St. Philip, one of Jesus’ 12 apostles. According to excavator Francesco D’Andria, Philip’s tomb has traditionally been associated with the martyrium church built at the site, though no evidence of the ancient burial was ever found. Last month, D’Andria and his team located a smaller church less than 150 feet away from the martyrium that appears to contain the grave of the apostle.
“As we were cleaning out the new church we discovered a month ago, we finally found the grave,” said D’Andria. “With close examination, we determined that the grave had been moved from its previous location in the St. Philip Church to this new church in the fifth century, during the Byzantine era.”                         Excavation of the tomb will begin in the near future.


(from bibarch)

fresh sweet corn

"As we travel along on our earthly path
Through this beautiful world God has made
Tramping along at a stately pace
Like elephants on parade.
We discover the pleasure of grass and sun
And music and light and talk
And the joy when a day of hard work is done
And you’ve cleared five acres of rocks.
The joy as you climb in your bed at night
The joy of the brand-new morn
But of all these pleasures the greatest delight
Is a supper of fresh sweet corn.

O that fresh sweet corn that the Lord sent down
So we know how heaven will be,
No grief, no tears, just the young golden ears
Plenty for you and for me.
Though the road be hard and deep is the night
And the future we cannot see
Take my hand, dear Lord, and I’ll be all right
If you’ll save a few ears for me.

…We praise you Lord for this good good life
And praise you for the day we were born
And thank you for the gifts you have given,                                                                                          and this heavenly fresh sweet corn."

- from the Prairie Home Companion   

(ht internet monk)

martyria

The Greek word martyria is a courtroom term. It originally meant something like "eyewitness testimony".
In the New Testament, martyria is the eyewitness testimony by the apostles and others who saw and heard Jesus. This testimony about Jesus and His Gospel began with His apostles and then expanded to include all those who came to faith through their preaching and teaching. The church continues to bear witness to Jesus today - as every Christian testifies to Jesus through the vocations God has called them to.

Witness, Mercy, Life Together - Life In Christ for the Church and the World.