Thank you for permitting me and funding me to attend the 28th annual symposium on Exegetical Theology and the 36th annual symposium on The Lutheran Confessions this past Tuesday, January 22nd through Friday, January 25th. It was a very great blessing to me and to our fellow Saint Paul’s member Mr. Joshua DeYoung who plans to apply to the seminary towards becoming a pastor in The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod.

I attended all of the offered papers (over 15) and took 89 pages of notes. This was my time to be fed and nourished and it was worth every dime. I was also lifted up in being able to worship in Kramer chapel on campus. I saw many former classmates, other fellow pastors I know, dear faculty members, and other friends at this event. It was absolutely inspirational.

The papers were very pertinent and addressed the realms of homosexuality, the sanctity of life, and the controversies surrounding marriage in the 21st century. All of these issues as you know are a great challenge to Christ’s Church in the 21st century and I feel as though I am now better-equipped to address these important matters with Christ’s love and Christ’s Word.

I was able to introduce Josh to several professors, we received an invitation to the president’s reception after the banquet at his home, Josh met with admission counselors, toured the seminary, worshiped in chapel (sat next the prominent Rev. Dr. David P. Scaer), and he also attended every paper offered. We are now home safely and glad to be home.

Tomorrow gives me the opportunity to address one of these very challenging topics. I hope you will view it as an opportunity to be further equipped and always, always empowered by the forgiving Gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Let me just say that much of this sermon is celebrating the gift, yes, the very great gift of children.

I hope to fill you with the Word, with Holy Absolution, and with the Holy Sacrament. Invite a friend. Let us gather together as the people of God.

Here are some additional reminders:

It is my great joy in the Lord to serve you dear Christian. I hope to see you tomorrow in God’s house!

In Your Service and To Christ’s Glory,

Pastor

Here is an excerpt from tomorrow’s sermon:

Sermon

“The Church – All of You – Are Christ’s Epiphany…

Especially For The Unborn”

Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa

Introduction: We’ve Been Talking “Epiphanies”…the Wise Men following the Star; The Baptism of Christ; The Holy Spirit in your life (last week); but there is another and it is our life together as the people of God, the body of Christ, the Holy Church esp. as we stand together to speak the truth in love — even if we are persecuted — in the face of evil in the world.

 

And it is important in this regard that we cut to the chase and speak of those things which are most difficult to address and stand against. Luther addressed this principle:

“Neither is it of any help if someone would say, ‘I will gladly confess Christ and His Word in every other article, except that I may keep silence about one or two that my tyrants may not tolerate…’ For whoever denies Christ in one article or word has denied the same Christ… [in] all the articles…” (Luther’s letter to Graf Albrecht von Mansfeld on June 3^rd, 1523, Concordia Journal/Fall 2009, p. 356f)

 

1. It is so easy to be silent about so many things nowadays!

 

2. Why is it so sinfully easy?

 

1. We like to avoid controversy, confrontation, and offense.
2. Closely related is that we want to be liked.
3. And frankly we all experience the gravitational pull of universalism in American religiously…the goal is to simply have a general “belief in God,” “to be a good person,” and to avoid absolutisms whenever possible. After all, if you do this, then you can maintain that you are not a “judgmental” person…after all, didn’t Jesus say, “Do not judge. (Matt 7:1a)”?! Answer: Jesus did, but He did not mean do not discern between good and evil OR do not take a stand against evil…He meant do not condemn (leave eternal destinies in the hands of God where they belong)…but on the other hand, you must take a stand…not in order to demonize people (for we are all sinners), but in order to be faithful to God and in order to truly love your neighbor!

 

3. How important is this?

 

Matthew 5:13: “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.”

 

4. Part of our problem, is that we let way too much time go by and just put things off…and tomorrow never comes! Like I have been putting things off as your pastor and it’s been bothering me.

 

5. For the first time in pastoral ministry and I’m sure only by the grace of God, I began to lead a “life-ministry” in my congregation at Living Word Lutheran Church, The Woodlands, TX while I served there from 2002-2010. We had a very simple and focused and pro-active approach: we participated in “40 Days of Life” with other Christian Churches (trans-denominational) in the Houston Area that organized to stand vigil at the local Planned Parenthood centers in the Houston area, including the largest complex of Planned Parenthood on the North American Continent in Houston, TX.

 

6. As many of you know Planned Parenthood was started by Margaret Sanger who was the greatest modern advocate and leader of abortion in America in the history of our country.

 

7. You know about the Holocaust and the 6 million Jews who were murdered by the Nazi’s. While I traveled in Germany recently, I saw a very large memorial to those Jews in Berlin…it was striking and commands an ongoing memorial so that the Holocaust would never be forgotten.

 

8. Well there are other things that mustn’t be forgotten nor ignored by the Christian Church if we are to be Christ’s light in this world. A lot happened last week: the country celebrated the contributions of the civil rights leader Martin Luther King, President Obama was inaugurated, but did you catch the significance of Tuesday, January 22^nd? It was the 40^th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, when legalized abortion in America became a reality. Again, we remember the 6 million Jews who were the murdered victims of the Holocaust, but we cannot forget, we must never forget either the 50…the 50 million unborn babies who had no defenders when they were murdered (think of all the people in the state of California plus millions more, murdered)…and make no mistake about that regardless of the most or least sophisticated reasons for conducting those abortions, innocent human beings have been slaughtered in the womb. Let it said plainly and simply: abortion is a crass violation of God’s 5^th commandment: “Thou shalt not murder.” As a country, we are without excuse.

 

I will continue this sermon tomorrow and lead us to the single, most important reason in Christ that we are moved by the Gospel to love the Lord’s gift of life beginning at conception.

Bless you dear Christian!

 

Dr. Espinosa