Bible Study on Isaiah 6:1-3

                                                        Bible Study on Isaiah 6:1-3

March 22, 2017                                         Isaiah 6:1-3                                          Pastor Pautz

Morning Prayer: I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have kept us this night from all harm and danger; and I pray that You would keep us this day also from sin and every evil, that all our doings and life may please You. For into Your hands I commend us, our bodies and souls and all things. Let Your holy angel be with us, that the evil foe may have no power over us. Amen.

The text:

1In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple. 2Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3And one called to another and said:

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts;

the whole earth is full of his glory!”

Let us prayer: Blessed Lord, You have caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning. Grant that we may so hear them, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest them that, by patience and comfort of Your holy Word, we may embrace and hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life; through Jesus Christ, Your Son our Lord, who live and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Verse 1: In the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

In the year that King Uzziah died is more emphatic than the normal – and it came to pass. King Uzziah for part of a year, died, and then the next king came to power. Isaiah began his prophetic work while Uzziah was still king. Side note, Jerome notes that the year Uzziah died, Romulus was born and in a few years Rome is founded.

I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne, The Word of the Lord, Jesus, does not come to Isaiah by speaking, such as Jeremiah 1:1, or by dream, such as Jacob in Genesis 28:12. Nor is this a vision of the Lord in the temple created by Solomon, such as Amos 9:1. Rather, Isaiah is taken to the uncreated temple. So, Isaiah is awake and in the Holy of Holies in the uncreated temple and sees the Lord sitting on His throne in bodily form, like Ezekiel 1:26. The throne itself is the uncreated throne unlike the throne of Uzziah which is created. St. John boldly declares that this Lord is Jesus, John 12:41. The incarnation is the fulfillment of all appearances of the Lord as a man in the Old Testament. Here, the Lord transforms Himself into heaven and the temple for angels and saints to see with their eyes. Where is heaven? Heaven is where Jesus is. Where is the heavenly temple? The heavenly temple is the body of Jesus. In particular He is the cornerstone and you are apart of this temple, too.

high and lifted up; and the train of his robe filled the temple.

The Lord both manifest His glory and at the same time veils His glory. The Lord is seated on a throne which is high and lifted up to reveal His glory. The train of His robe fills the temple to hide His glory. One day, at the resurrection and beyond, His glory will be fully revealed to all. He wants you to see His glory. He also wants you to live. He will accomplish both.

Verse 2: Above him stood the seraphim. Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew.

Above Him stood the seraphim Above Him does not refer to His head, but His robe and train. They were above the floor to be seen by the saints, but below the head of the Lord to show that they too are created beings subject to the head. Standing above, is how Isaiah saw them. Isaiah saw them use their wings to stand or soar (Numbers 14:14). It is like the references to the sun, moon, and stars as bodies that stand in space (Job 26:7).

Each had six wings: with two he covered his face, and with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. Seraphim are six-winged angels. (Cherubim are another kind of angel.) With two wings they flew, seen by angels and saints. With two they covered their faces at the wonderfulness of the Lord's glory. With two they covered their feet at their understanding of how far the creatures of God stand below the Holy One.

Verse 3: And one called to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!”

And one called to another and said This is like how we speak the psalm before the Lord. I say one verse. The congregation says the second verse. In a fuller ceremony of the Sunday liturgy, this would be the role of the choir who represent the angels in our midst (who are high and lifted up – usually in the choir loft). A cantor sings one verse and the choir answers with a second verse. They face the altar, where the Lord is located. The congregation faces the altar too. However, the congregation would be in the role of Isaiah, witnessing what is happening. The pastor is in the “stead and by the command of the Lord” but is not the Lord.

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory!” The LORD is the Holy One. God's glory is His revealed/manifested holiness. God's veiled or hidden glory is also His holiness. All the work of God is to reveal His holiness to more and more people (Habakkuk 2:14). Even we, like Isaiah, are living at a time when God is working to reveal His holiness to all people. The whole earth is full of the glory of the Lord, but one day, all His glory will be revealed. We will see the fullness of the Holy One. Isaiah's favorite name for the Lord is, “The Holy One of Israel”. It occurs 29 times in the book of Isaiah. Twelve times in chapter 1-39. Seventeen times in chapters 40-66. Otherwise, it occurs three times in the Psalms (71:22; 78:41; 89:19) and twice in Jeremiah (50:29; 51:5) and each of those verses include a reference to Isaiah. Do the three uses of “holy” refer to the three persons of the one God? Yes.

This verse found its way into the historic service of the church in the Sanctus (which means holy):

Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabbaoth, heaven and earth are full of Thy glory.

Lord of Sabaoth Sabaoth is the Greek form of the Hebrew word for "armies," and is translated in the Authorized Version of the Old Testament by "Lord of hosts," "Lord God of hosts." In the mouth and the mind of an ancient Hebrew, Lord God of Sabaoth was the leader and commander of the armies of the nation, who "went forth with them" (Psalms 44:9) and led them to certain victory over the worshippers of Baal Chemosh. Molech, Ashtaroth and other false gods.

Let us conclude with the Lord's Prayer.

Bible Study Topic - Depression

                                                   Bible Study Topic - Depression

Sunday Bible Study        March 19, 2017        Topic: Depression    Pastor Pautz

Question: What does the church teach regarding depression?

The questions has been asked by a few people this last week. There have been two suicides in the community in the last few months. More than a few congregation members have family members dealing with clinical depression and other mental health issues.

Psalm 91:6 is a verse the desert church fathers discussed regarding what we call depression. The main point here is that depression is real. You may run into people that say depression is not real. You might run into people who hold to the myth that Christians should not be depressed. Or, if a Christian is depressed they hold to the myth that they lack faith. You might run into people who hold to the myth that depressed people are lazy. No, there is such a thing as depression. The question is how do we talk about it. The first step is to acknowledge the depression is real.

However, how would you respond if the question were "What does the church teach about cancer?" Cancer is a physical illness that takes the lives of our loved ones, too. The quick response is that they are not the same. But they are not all that different either.

It is written in Genesis 2:7, "Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature” or, as sometimes translated, a living soul. Adam cannot separate his physical health from his mental health. He is a creature of God. Adam is a whole person. And what will happen to all God's creatures in this fallen world? It is written in Romans 5:12, “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. What comes between sin and death? Well, physical illness and mental illness. I heard a report a few years ago that by 2020 the top three lethal diseases will be heart disease, cancer, and depression. How does depression kill? Suicide.

So, depression is real and it is deadly. Now what?

Some people don't want a diagnosis or a cure. Some people want to ignore what you see as a life threatening problem. Or, they may successfully keep you in the dark until it is too late. What can you do? Pray. Depressed people often cannot receive anything from others. They can't receive a thank you. They can't receive forgiveness. They probably don't want help or will refuse help if it is offered. But you can pray/intercede for others. You can ask God to give them a good gift. Ask that God extend grace and mercy to the depressed one. He will do it! It is then God's problem. Actually, it became God's problem when He baptized the depressed family member or friend.

Jesus is the answer. Jesus is the answer to heart disease, cancer, and depression because Jesus is the answer to sin and death.

The problem is that we don't like that answer. We don't trust God's promises which He had written that we may believe that Jesus takes even these problems through death to the resurrection (John 20:30).

What can a pastor help in such a situation? The pastor speaks God's Word. This brings up the Care of Cure of Souls. It is the special work a pastor does when a person has a physical or mental health issue. I will walk with the depressed person or their caregiver. I will listen. I will pray for them and with them. Often depressed people cannot read very well. It is too hard. So, the Psalms are great. They are short. They are packed with Gospel. The suffering soul is helpless and hopeless in a dark situation. Not a lot of time but frequent visits to listen. Then a short time to conclude with an appropriate prayer; or blessings; or absolution; or Christ's body and blood.

If a person wants help, how might he be helped?

A network of caretakers is best.

See a local doctor to rule out common causes of depressions.

Enter a drug and/or alcohol recovery program. Alcohol causes depression. Substance abuse decreases the ability to cope with stress, relate to other people, and solve personal and emotional problems.

A stress reduction program is helpful.

A good psychologist is a good addition. The psychologist will care for the persons mind by listening and listening and listening and providing tools and exercises to assist healing.

A good psychiatrist is another good addition. The psychiatrist will care for the persons body by listening and providing medication/needed nutrients to assist healing. A general doctor can introduce depression medication but the psychiatrist is trained and licensed to do much more.

Your pastor will care for the persons soul (mind and body) by listening to you, praying with and for you, and giving you God's Word and Sacrament to assist healing. It is wonderful when your psychologist, psychiatrist, and pastor are able to work together. That can happen when permission is given by the depressed person for the team to have a basic level of communication with each other in order to know things are going ok or not. But this can only be done with your permission and a general agreement.

And then Christian friends and loving family members extending kindness and love will help.

So, this is a little bit on a big topic that is close to us all.

In review,

1. Depression is real and it can be deadly.

2. Depression causes an inability to receive from others.

3. There is nothing you can do if the person does not want help.

4. But you can pray, and the Lord will listen and answer your prayers.

5. A network of caregivers is ideal. Help and Hope is always available.

6. Caregivers are easily worn out. Have your own network of caregives to help you too.

I am available to talk with you more individually as you desire.

Next Sunday we begin a study of the Gospel of John. We will start with the beginning verses of chapter 1. Also, this Wednesday morning we begin a study of Isaiah followed by a Lenten meal beginning at 5:30pm and a Lenten Service at 7pm.

Wednesday Bible Study - Ecclesiastes

                                                   Wednesday Bible Study - Ecclesiastes

Wednesday Bible Study - Ecclesiastes

March 1, 2017

Opening Prayer

Today we continued our journey through the Old Testament focusing on the book of Ecclesiastes. This book, located between the book of Proverbs and the Song of Solomon, is written by God through king Solomon. Solomon is the Preacher (1:2).

Remember who king Solomon is. He is the son of David and the third king of Israel. He became king as a very young man. When God asked what He could do or give to Solomon, Solomon asked for the widsom to properly rule God's people Israel (2 Chronicles 1:7-12). God is so impressed that Solomon didn't ask for the normal things young kings ask for, such as wealth, honor, the life of his enemies, or for a long life for himself. God gave Solomon great wisdom, greater than anyone had ever witnessed. God also gave Solomon all the other things that he thought Solomon would have asked for. So, king Solomon is the wisest, richest, most honored person in the world before God and man.

Solomon has everything a man could desire, and yet he is not content.

Solomon writes Ecclesiastes as complaint. He is not content with his life. Solomon's wisdom will die with him. His wealth will be divided up and lost among foolish people after he dies. His honor will be forgotten.

The message of Ecclesiastes is that without Christ all ambition and goals are chasing after the wind. Vanity. Meaningless. Purposeless. Creation is distorted and corrupted. All that you gain will be taken from you.

God's good and holy Law in this book should give you a good does of depression until you despair.

Where is the Gospel? You salvation is a gift. There is nothing you can do to earn it. The harder you work toward you salvation the farther you drive yourself away from God. The only to be saved from a corrupted creation and even your own corrupted nature, is to receive a good gift from God.

Jesus was sent to bare your corruption. Jesus had no corruption of His own rather He is holy God in assumed human flesh. Jesus' life and death is vanity if He did it for Himself. Rather, He takes on your corruption so you may have the fullness of His life.

Jesus delivers His uncorrupted life to you using common things found in His creation. First, preachers give solemn proclamation of God's Word. Today, king Solomon is our preacher. This book is Solomon's sermon to you. Better than that, this is God's sermon to you. It is God's message to you. A message that delivers meaning to your life through the death and resurrection of Jesus. And by hearing your belief.

Jesus delivers His uncorrupted life to you by adding His Holy Word to common water. Your Father no longer holds your corruption against you. He promises to restore this corrupted, meaningless creation to its original corruption including raising your glorious body from the dead.

Jesus delivers His uncorrupted life to you by adding His Holy Word to common bread and wine. Eat and drink His body and blood for the forgiveness of your corruption.

So what is Preacher Solomon saying to us who trust the Messiah who has come and is the Christ who is still among us?

With the Gospel firmly in view, Solomon gives some advice in Ecclesiastes 12: 13.

First, fear God. This means trust no one else by the God who created everything under heaven, which means all creation. This is faith. When God accuses you with His good and holy Law, say Amen, you are correct O Lord. When God proclaims you forgiven of all sin and corruption, say, Amen, you are correct O Lord. Keep hearing both these messages and keep adding your amen. Don't listen to anyone else. This is the fear of God.

Second, keep His commandments. How does a Christian keep God's commandments? In Christ. When He says be baptized in my name, be baptized. When He says be instructed in all the things I have said, read the Bible and sit at the feet of someone who understands it better than you. I once heard a Mormon missionary say, 'Every verse in the Bible has a hundred interpretations.' Then I heard another gentleman rightly say, 'Yes, and one is correct and 99 are wrong'. When He says be forgiven in My name, be forgiven in His name. When He says eat and drink My body and blood, given and shed for you, which is in, with, and under the bread and wine for the forgiveness of your sins, then eat and drink. And where there is the forgiveness of sins you will also find salvation and eternal life.

Close with the Lord's Prayer

Song of Songs is next week. God bless.

Pastor Pautz

Sunday Bible Study Recap on the Office of the Holy Ministry & Stuff

                             Sunday Bible Study Recap on the Office of the Holy Ministry & Stuff

Sunday Bible Study Recap on the Office of the Holy Ministry & Stuff

We are continuing to look at the handout printed at the bottom of this post.  However, the focus of today's discussion after an opening prayer focused on 1 Timothy chapter 3 and the requirements of Bishops and Deacons. A question was asked with how our congregation uses the word elder.  It is important to note that the term "pastor" that we use in our congregation is from Latin, not Greek, and means "shepherd".  1 Timothy 3 uses a number of different terms that really mean "pastor".  For example, "overseer" and "elder" and "bishop" are other words that mean "pastor".  So, 1 Timothy 3:1-7 is written about the requires our Lord has established for those who want to become and remain a pastor in the Lord's church.

A question came up about our "elders" since we have a board of elders.  What the the Bible have to say about what we call "elders".  1 Timothy 3 uses the word "deacons" as a term separate from what we call "pastors".  1 Timothy 3:8-13 describe the requirements for those who want to be "deacons".  A deacon is essentially someone who could be accepted to become a pastor but who have a different calling from God, such as businessman or engineer or farmer, etc.  This group also includes those who are seminarians.  So, we have a Board of Elders to which capable men serve as assistants to the pastor who holds the Office of the Holy Ministry.  These men should be selected on the basis of 1 Timothy 3:8-13.  But elders are not pastors.  They are the first ears of the congregation to support and pray for both the pastor and the congregation.

Another question that came up, "Why do some congregations let women read the Old Testament and Epistle Lessons during the public service while leaving the Gospel for the pastor to read?"  I don't think this congregation has ever had women readers but we have had congregational elders read the lessons, but no longer.  Why?  I encourage you to read 1 Timothy 4:11-16 but especially verse 13.  The Apostle Paul is writing to the young pastor Timothy, encouraging Tim in Paul's absence.  "Until I (Paul) come, devote yourselves to the public reading of the Scriptures, to exhortation, to teaching".  We will probably address this more next week.

Another question, "Do we have to go to private confession or as we call it individual absolution, or not"?  Public and Individual Absolution give the same gift - the forgiveness of sins.  What about Holy Baptism and Holy Communion?  They also deliver the forgiveness of sins.  The Lord generously gives His forgiveness in multiple ways.  So, if public and private absolution both give the forgiveness of sins, then what is the difference? Public Absolution is general.  It is all true and delivers the forgiveness of all sins.  Private Absolution is either general or specific.  Private Absolution has unfortunately been delegated to Christian counseling.  Psychology is helpful and I have a few psychologists that I will refer.  But good psychology is about coping with God's law.  The counsel is not authorized to forgive your sins.  In private absolution with a pastor, the pastor will listen to you too.  The purpose for going is to be forgiven - for a specific sin or general.  He may give some general advice to encourage you to hear and receive from your Savior.  As a side note, a major contribution to emotional disorders is when an individual is unable to receive from someone else.  They believe Jesus and His promise of forgiveness, but they might be unable to receive that forgiveness.  In such a case, it is good to meet with a medical doctor or psychiatrist to address physical issues, a psychologist to assist you with how to cope with emotional  problems, and a pastor to assist you to deliver the gifts of your Savior and help you to receive them in case their is a blockage.  In each case, your privacy is protected by Iowa law and ordination vows.  So, you receive more personal spiritual care when you meet one-on-one with your pastor.

Keep me in your prayers that my voice continues to heal and we will continue this topic next week.  Pastor Pautz

THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY MINISTRY
 
CONFESSIONAL LUTHERANISM IS MARKED BY PASTORS AND LAYMEN WHO: 
 
3. In accord with the Scriptures and the Lutheran Confessions, hold that there is one divinely instituted, divinely mandated pastoral office in the Church and that this office is not occupied by every member of the congregation but by those men well prepared for it and properly called to it. Therefore, any public proclamation of God’s Word in worship should and ought to be done only by such pastors called to the task. We reject as unbiblical the postChristian trend in some denominations to allow homosexual clergy. Confessional Lutherans affirm the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers and encourage Christians to practice this priesthood in their homes and vocations but it is not to be confused with the office of pastor in the Church.  (Matthew 16:18-19; Acts 14:23; Acts 20:28; I Corinthians 4:1; I Timothy 3:15; Titus 1:4-5; I Peter 5:1-3) (AC XIV; AP XIII, 11-13; AP XVIII, 13-14; TR 60, 74) 
 
____________________________
 
 
What are the Issues in Contention Today? 
 
THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY MINISTRY: 
 
1. Holy Scripture, in such passages as Romans 10:15; Hebrews 5:4; I Corinthians 12:28; Numbers 16; Jeremiah 23:21; and Acts 1:15-26, and the Lutheran Confessions declare in Augsburg Confession, Article XIV: “Our churches teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church, or administer the Sacraments, without a rightly ordered call.” At the Synodical convention in Wichita, Kansas (1989) the unbiblical category of “lay ministers” was established. This has resulted in laymen, neither ordained nor rightly called, errantly serving LCMS congregations. Even now some Lay Ministers continue to serve in Word and Sacrament “ministry” to the congregations of Synod.  This error has never been corrected and the practice of utilizing laymen who are not called to the Office of Word and Sacrament continue to serve as “pastors” within The LCMS.  
 
2. While there may be different routes to prepare a man to serve in the pastoral office, this violation of Augustana XIV was furthered by the establishment of Distance Education Leading to Ordination (DELTO) in which laymen not properly called and ordained continue to provide Word and Sacrament Ministry to LCMS Congregations. This error has never been corrected and the practice of utilizing laymen who are not called to the Office of Word and Sacrament continue to serve as “pastors” within the LCMS. 
 
Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions insist in Article XIV that the administration of the Sacraments be retained only by those properly called to administer them. The only means for “licensing” a man to serve as minister of Word and Sacrament is the divine call to the Office of the Holy Ministry and nothing else. Today many vicarage supervising pastors of the Synod illicitly insist that their vicars consecrate and administer the Lord’s Supper to home bound members of their parishes and even in Divine Services. The consciences of many vicars are thereby burdened by this demand. This error has never been corrected and the practice of utilizing vicars who are not called to the Office of Word and Sacrament continue within The LCMS. 
 
Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions, as well as Dr. C.F.W. Walther, clearly teach that the Office of the Holy Ministry and the royal priesthood of the baptized are distinct from one another. The notion promoted by some that “everyone is a minister” distorts both the use of the term “ministry” in the Lutheran Confessions as well as the royal priesthood of the baptized so that
Office of Ministry (Pastor Bolland; 07/08/2010)  2
what any Christian does is measured against the ministry of Word and Sacrament, and the doctrine of vocation is lost.  This error has not been corrected within The LCMS. 
 
_____________________________
 
 
The Witness of Holy Scripture
 
MATTHEW 16:18-19
 18  And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven."  
 
JOHN 20:22-23
 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you."  22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld."  
 
ACTS 14:23
 23 And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.  
 
ACTS 20:28
 28 Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.  
 
I CORINTHIANS 4:1: 
 1 This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God.  
 
TITUS 1:4-5
 4  To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5  This is why I left you in Crete, so that you might put what remained into order, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you— 
 
I TIMOTHY 3:1-5
 1 The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Therefore an overseer must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, 3  not a drunkard, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. 4  He must manage his own household well, with all dignity keeping his children submissive, 5 for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for God's church?  
 
I PETER 5:1-3
 1  So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: 2  shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; 3  not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock.  
 
Office of Ministry (Pastor Bolland; 07/08/2010)  3
 
The Witness of the Lutheran Confessions
 
LUTHER’S SMALL CATECHISM: 
 
What is the Office of the Keys?  The Office of the Keys is that special authority which Christ has given to His Church on earth to forgive the sins of repentant sinners, but to withhold forgiveness from the unrepentant as long as they do not repent. 
 Where is this written?  This is what St. John the Evangelist writes in chapter twenty:  “The Lord Jesus breathed on His disciples and said, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit.  If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” (Jn. 20:22-23) 
 What do you believe according to these words?  I believe that when the called ministers of Christ deal with us by His divine command, in particular when they exclude openly unrepentant sinners from the Christian congregation and absolve those who repent of their sins and want to do better, this is just as valid and certain even in heaven, as if Christ our dear Lord dealt with us Himself. 
 
AUGSBURG CONFESSION – Order in the Church, ARTICLE XIV
 
Our churches teach that no one should publicly teach in the Church, or administer the Sacraments, without a rightly ordered call. 
 
APOLOGY OF THE AUGSBURG CONFESSION – The Number and Use of the Sacraments, Article XIII, 11-13
 
But if ordination is understood as carrying out the ministry of the Word, we are willing to call ordination a Sacrament.  For the ministry of the Word has God’s command and has glorious promises,…For the Church has the command to appoint ministers, which should be most pleasing to us, because we know that God approves this ministry and is present in the ministry that God will preach and work through men and those who have been chosen by men.  It is helpful, so far as can be done, to honor the ministry of the Word with every kind of praise against fanatical people. 
 
APOLOGY OF THE AUGSBURG CONFESSTION, ARTICLE XXVIII, 13-14
 
 “Therefore, the bishop has the power of the order, that is, the ministry of Word and Sacraments.  He also has the power of jurisdiction.  This means the authority to excommunicate those guilty of open crimes and again to absolve them if they are converted and seek absolution. [John 20:23].  But their power is not to be tyrannical, without a fixed law. Nor is it to be regal, above the law.  Rather they have a fixed command and a fixed Word of God, according to which they should teach and exercise their jurisdiction…They have the Word, the command, and how far they should exercise jurisdiction if anyone did anything contrary to that Word they have received from Christ.” 
 
TREATISE ON THE POWER AND PRIMACY OF THE POPE – The Power and Jurisdiction of Bishops, 60, 74
 
 “The Gospel assigns those who preside over Churches the command to teach the Gospel [Matthew 28:19], to forgive sins [John 20:23], to administer the Sacraments, and also to exercise jurisdiction (i.e., the command to excommunicate those whose crimes are known and to absolve those who repent.)…Certainly, the common jurisdiction of excommunicating those guilty of clear crimes belongs to all pastors [I Corinthians 5] 
 
 
OTHER COMPLICATING ISSUES REGARDING THE OFFICE OF THE HOLY MINISTRY
 
1. The establishment of the Specific Ministry Pastor (SMP) within The LCMS: 
 
 At the 2007 Synodical Convention in Houston, Texas, Resolution 5-01B, “To Establish Specific  Ministry Program” was passed.   This program permits men interested in becoming pastors to  take a total of eight seminary classes (almost entirely on-line, with only one week per year on a Office of Ministry (Pastor Bolland; 07/08/2010)  4 seminary campus required), prior to ordination.  Once ordained, the SMP is required to take an  additional eight classes.  This credit total is about half of that required by what is now termed   “General Ministry” seminary students.   
 
At a time in our culture when the orthodox Christian faith is under severe criticism, in a society that often rejects any kind of absolute truth, and at a time when many Christians (inclusive of LCMS Lutherans), often “mix and match” doctrines with those of other denominations and sometimes other non-Christian religions; it is the worst possible time to inadequately prepare our pastors thus inevitably inadequately feed God precious sheep on Word of God and the Sacraments.  
 
2. In various districts in our Synod, “Deacon Schools” have been opened which are taught  by local pastors in which it is often true that men and women are trained to conduct Word  and Sacrament ministry in congregations which already have pastors!