New post available: "Keep Fishing."
See the new post on the new version of the Electric Gospel website.
Also, note that a book was recently published via Kindle Direct Publishing: Sermons on Selected Psalms.
The Kindle version of the book can be read on Kindle devices or online using the Kindle Cloud Reader app. Reviews of the book are welcomed. A paperback version is available also if preferred.
Just published: Sermons on Selected Psalms.
I gathered some of my past messages, meditating on key themes from several psalms. From Monday, January 24 through Friday, January 28, the Kindle version of the book will be available for free download through Amazon, for reading on Kindle devices or online using the Kindle Cloud Reader app. Reviews of the book would be welcomed! A paperback version is available (for purchase) also if preferred.
If interested, for the week of January 23-28, two other books available on Amazon are offered for 99 cents:
For a blog post this week, here is an excerpt from the book, Sermons on Selected Psalms.
View also on new version of this website: https://theelectricgospel.com/the-lord-has-redeemed-you/
*********
An excerpt from sermon on Psalm 130:7-8
Israel, hope in Yahweh,
for there is loving kindness with Yahweh.
Abundant redemption is with him.
He will redeem Israel from all their sins.
People sometimes have asked me, “What if Jesus came back
today, and caught me in the middle of a sin when he came? Would I go to hell?”
My usual response to that is: “Tell me a day and a time when Jesus could come
back and not catch you in some sort of sin.” We are constantly wrestling with
sin in our souls, embedded with sin in our nature. We daily commit wrongdoings
and omit good things we could be doing. Even our most noble deeds are typically
tainted with aspects of selfishness. As Isaiah confessed for all of us, all our
own righteousness is “like a polluted garment” (Isaiah 64:6). Remember that the
word “sin” means to miss the mark, to come up short, to be fractured and
imperfect. It’s a description of the entirety of our lives. We always
come up short. We’re never perfect. There is always something we’re lacking.
Even if we were to sit in a chair and do absolutely nothing—trying to be
motionless and clear our minds of all thoughts—we could not avoid sin that
way. Even the holiest of monks who isolated themselves in the desert
struggled with sinful thoughts. And avoiding action could well be sinful in
itself, when there are other persons in the world around us who need our
action.
So the reality is, we cannot free ourselves from sin by our own power. We need Jesus at every moment. We need Jesus day after day. Only Jesus can complete us. We are not perfect persons, but Jesus is the “author and perfecter of faith.” He keeps us from growing weary, “fainting in our souls” as we keep “striving against sin” (Hebrews 12:2-4). Jesus makes us worthy of heaven. He fills in what is lacking for us. Jesus, who had no sin, was “made to be sin on our behalf, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In connection to Jesus, attached by faith to Jesus, we are made whole. Jesus comes to us and enters our hearts so that we are forgiven today and stay forgiven every day.
Bible quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).
A message about how God has manifested his grace at key
times in his people's history, and especially at Christmas, is shared this week
at the new home of The Electric Gospel.
See this week's post here:
https://theelectricgospel.com/christmas-reveals-gods-glory-to-us/
And while you're there, subscribe!
A new post was published yesterday for the 3rd Sunday of Advent. Find it on the Electric Gospel's new site location.
Here is a link to just the new post:
https://theelectricgospel.com/living-in-hope-though-life-is-difficult/
To review other recent (and older) posts, you can scroll through all material here:
https://theelectricgospel.com/posts/
To read the new post, go to this link:
https://theelectricgospel.com/the-resurrection-is-our-hope/
You can view all posts at the new site here:
https://theelectricgospel.com/posts/
While you're there, we encourage you to subscribe at the new site.
The Electric Gospel continues primarily now at its new home, https://theelectricgospel.com/
At this archival site, I've usually just been posting notices when new posts go online at the new site.
In case anyone is still accessing The Electric Gospel via email subscriptions on this older site, as a Halloween treat, I'll post the current 10/31/21 blog item in full here today. If you find the content valuable, consider subscribing at the new site for ongoing email updates.
-----------------------------------------------
October 31, 2021
Doing some closet cleaning, I rediscovered a box of my father’s sermon manuscripts. Donald C. Sellnow (1928-1999) served in ordained ministry from 1954 to 1998. When I think of my parents’ faith, I can’t help humming in my head the hymn, “Faith of our Fathers.” Frederick W. Faber, who wrote “Faith of our Fathers” in 1849, was a Roman Catholic priest in England. His lyrics were penned to honor Catholic martyrs who endured persecution in the 16th century, when the Church of England was being established under Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
Faith of our fathers! Living still,
In spite of dungeon, fire, and sword:
Oh, how our hearts beat high with joy
Whene'er we hear that glorious word.
Faith of our fathers! Holy faith!
We will be true to thee till death.
My father and mother, who were rigorous Lutherans all their lives, might object to having a Roman Catholic song in mind while remembering them. But Protestants have adopted the hymn, too, and adapted it. Faber himself had a fondness for hymns by English Protestant writers such as Charles Wesley, John Newton, and William Cowper, and he applauded the Protestant project that produced the King James Version of the Bible. When we recall the faith of those who went before us, we understand that all men and women of faith have had strengths and weaknesses. We honor their godly beliefs and consider their foibles with a forgiving spirit—the same way we hope others will regard us in our own practice of faith. Constantly seeking truth is vital. Striving to impose one’s own view of religious rectitude onto others by force is never a gospel-oriented goal.
I’ll share here a condensed version of a sermon my father preached in October 1973, in observance of Reformation Festival.
by Donald C. Sellnow
Such an attitude of faith was expressed by the apostles Peter and John. They had been jailed for proclaiming Jesus as the crucified and risen Savior in the temple courts at Jerusalem. On the next day, they were told by community leaders to shut up about this Jesus of Nazareth, or else. The leaders thought themselves the guardians of their culture; they knew that any concession to the apostles’ testimony would mean an overthrow of their entire religious system. They knew it would mean reformation, and the last thing they wanted was a reformation.
Peter and John answered the threats aimed at them with this courageous testimony: “Whether it is right in God’s sight to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge; for we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:19,20). By the power of the Spirit, they had been led to trust in Jesus as their only Savior from sin and death. In his gospel they had found peace for their souls and strength for their lives. They had seen Jesus’ miracles and heard his teaching. They had looked and listened as Jesus lived and suffered and died, then rose from death and ascended to heaven. Through what they had seen and heard, the Spirit of God worked faith in their hearts to place all their trust in Jesus, to cling to him as their priceless treasure. And in such God-given faith, they were compelled from within to share Christ and his good news with others. They knew that is what their Savior wanted, and what he willed became their will and desire. They simply could not keep still. They could not deny the Savior who had redeemed them. They had to confess his truth and share his blessings with others—no matter what the cost. They let it be known by word and deed that they had been with Jesus.
As it was with the apostles, so it was also with Martin Luther. In pre-Reformation Europe, the vast majority of the people understood little of what the Christian faith is all about. They were steeped in superstition. Shrines displayed what claimed to be wood from the cross of Christ, bits of hay and straw from Bethlehem’s manger, wine from the wedding at Cana. These are but a few examples of supposed relics that were to be adored by the faithful. Confused doctrines, like that of purgatory, were embedded in fearful hearts. The gospel of Christ frequently was obscured by man-made rules and regulations.
Martin Luther was born into such religious conditions, and he grew up as a faithful servant of the church as it was. In his earnest searching to find certainty about salvation, he looked to the high church authorities for guidance and direction. He gave up studying to become a lawyer in order to enter a monastery, hoping there to find relief for his troubled conscience. He tried to do diligently all the works prescribed by the church. He later reflected, “I kept the rule so strictly that I may say that if ever a monk got to heaven by his sheer monkery, it was I. If I had kept on any longer, I should have killed myself with vigils, prayers, reading, and other work.” But the more Luther worked, the more miserable he became and the more his sins tormented him. When one day his Augustinian mentor, John Staupitz, counseled him to love God more, Luther burst out, “I do not love God! I hate him!”
Luther found the love of the Lord he was missing through studying Scripture. Assigned to teach Bible interpretation at the University of Wittenberg, Luther was led into an intensive study of God’s Word. In God’s Word, Luther saw the pure and simple truth of the gospel, so long hidden and obfuscated, that a person is justified by faith alone in Christ without the deeds of the law. The answer to sin was to be found not in what you did to correct yourself but in what Christ has done perfectly and completely for you. The way of salvation is not in human righteousness, which falls far short of divine law’s requirements, but in the all-sufficient goodness of Christ. When Luther, by God’s grace, came to see and believe this central truth of justification by grace through faith, the Reformation was born.
Once Luther understood the truth, he could not help but speak about the things he had seen and heard in God’s Word. He could have saved himself a lot of trouble had he just pondered these things in his own heart. But he could not keep quiet. The love of Christ which had captured his heart compelled him to share the good news. As he continued to search the Scriptures and see God’s truth with increasing clarity, he kept on speaking out. When religious authorities, as well as kings and princes, told him to shut up and to retract everything he had written, Luther appealed to the Word of God as the highest authority. At a meeting of the leaders of the Holy Roman Empire in the city of Worms, Germany (1521), Luther boldly asserted: “Unless I am convinced by Scripture and plain reason—I do not accept the authority of the popes and councils, for they have contradicted each other—my conscience is captive to the Word of God. I cannot and I will not recant anything, for to go against conscience is neither right nor safe. God help me. Amen."
Like the apostles, Luther was impelled by the power of the gospel to confess the gospel. He needed to share the blessings he had found with others. And share these blessings he did, through preaching and teaching, through tracts and writings, through hymns and catechisms, and through his translation of the Bible into the language of his people. Like the apostles, he also proclaimed what he had seen and heard in God’s Word by the life which he led—a life of humble faith, of thankful love, of joyful service. The life of Luther, like that of the apostles, bore unmistakable testimony to the fact that he, too, had been with Jesus.
As it was with the apostles, and as it was with Luther, dear friends, may it be so also with us. As in the apostles’ day, as in Luther’s day, truth is clouded and obscured for the many in our day. Many do not honor God or give thanks to God (Romans 1:21). “They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of their ignorance and hardness of heart” (Ephesians 4:17). By the grace of God—and by his grace alone—the gospel of Christ has been revealed to us. We have seen the truth that sets us free—free in our consciences in the present time and free to live for all eternity. When the veil of spiritual ignorance is removed, we are guided by the Spirit. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Corinthians 3:17), a freedom that invigorates us to serve God in thankful love and seek to bring the same freedom to the souls of others.
God has given us the freeing truths of his gospel not just to be heard in our own hearts, but also to share. We don’t keep the gospel’s joy to ourselves but give good news also to others, so that their joy and ours may be full. Filled with the joy of Christ, we will talk about the Savior. We will demonstrate by our words and actions that we have been with Jesus. We will support Christian education in our congregations and study the Word diligently in our own homes. We will give toward the work of missions that strive to spread hope and truth in other communities and around the world. In the same spirit as the apostles and the spirit of the Reformation, we will not be timid or silent. Indeed, “we cannot keep from speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20). God help us all to hold fast to his truth and share it richly with others, no matter what the cost. Amen.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard
Version Bible, copyright © 1989 National Council of the Churches of Christ in
the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved
worldwide.
About a week ago, a new post was published on the current Electric Gospel site, looking at the dilemma of homelessness and the looming possibility that more persons soon will find themselves without a home.
Check it out here:
https://theelectricgospel.com/no-place-to-lay-their-heads/
A new Electric Gospel post was published this week.
Find it at the new version of this site:
While you're there, please subscribe or contact us at the new site also.
"Our Life and Protection are in Christ" looks at how we are armed against evil and ready to go forward with God's truth.
You can also find the whole archive of posts at the Electric Gospel site here. (The page you are on now is no longer where new content is posted.)
Most recent posts that you can access at the new site:
You are encouraged to subscribe to receive new post alerts at the new site and use "Contact Us" if you have any questions or suggestions.
At the end of 2019, The Electric Gospel began transitioning to a new website location: TheElecricGospel.com. If you had been a subscriber to this original Electric Gospel blog and haven't subscribed to the new site over the past year and a half, you've been missing out on email alerts to new posts. You can subscribe at this link.
Here are direct links to some of the blog posts you've missed in the past few months:
We hope you'll consider subscribing at the new site.
