A Famine Not of Bread

This is the message I shared as part of the opening devotion at today's quarterly meeting of the South Dakota Lutherans For Life board of directors. “A Lutheran pastor, a Jewish rabbi, a Baptist minister, and a Roman Catholic priest walk into a hearing…”   It sounds like the setup for a bad joke, doesn’t it?   But it was anything but a joke.   LCMS President Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison joined the Most Reverent William E. Lori of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Dr. C. Ben Mitchell of Union University, Rabbi Meir Soloveichik of Yeshiva University, and Dr. Craig Mitchell of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in speaking in defense of religion and conscience before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in Washington, D.C on Thursday, February 16, 2012. Expressing concern over the January 20 th U.S. Health and Human Services ruling regarding health-insurance plans and the recently required coverage of contraceptives, ...

Here is the devotion, adapted from a sermon by Rev. John T. Pless that I will be sharing at the Annual Meeting of Lutherans For Life of SD. The text is Epistle for Epiphany 3 that many of our congregations will be using on Sunday, January 15, 2012: 1 Corinthians 6:12-20: “All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are helpful. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be enslaved by anything. “Food is meant for the stomach and the stomach for food”—and God will destroy both one and the other. The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. And God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, “The two will become one flesh.” But he who is joined to the Lord becomes...

Here is the message I prepared for the opening devotions at our October 1, 2011 Lutherans For Life of SD board of directors meeting based upon Ephesians 2:1-10 There’s a very basic doctrine of Christianity that your sinful flesh wars against.   The truth is that God is merciful to you solely because of who He is, not because of who you are or what you do.   And that’s a good thing because you’ve done nothing to deserve God’s mercy, nor could you, because mercy is, by definition, not treating someone as harshly as they deserve.   Spiritually speaking, you were a still birth.   You were born dead in your trespasses and sins.   You were sinful from the moment your mother conceived you.   You were unrighteous, an enemy of God, altogether worthless, unable to do good, unwilling to understand, unable to seek after God.   Such was your desperate plight, and really the universal plight of mankind.        Whether they are ope...

"Monroe" is part of a series of ads being run by Lutherans For Life of South Dakota.  “Life: A Better Choice” is an educational advertising campaign sponsored by Lutherans For Life of South Dakota. We would like to continue to broadcast, on statewide television, a series of ads that deal with important life issues honestly, but sensitively and tactfully. to encourage individuals and to influence our culture to make a better choice when it comes to life issues. to create an awareness of the mission and work of Lutherans For Life. to share the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ with those who are experiencing the guilt and despair associated with past sins related to life choices. to raise $50,000 each year, which could purchase more than 7,500 ads on statewide broadcast television. Please send donations to: Lutherans For Life of South Dakota PO Box 132 Lesterville, SD 57040 Or make a secure online donation through Paypal