Last week, four of us from the Admission Office hopped into a packed twelve passenger van and headed out for Indianapolis. We went to Indy for NATIONAL 08, the National Lutheran Youth Workers Conference hosted by the LCMS’s Office of Youth Ministry.
Gathered together for the sake of the young men and women of our church, over 200 volunteer and full-time youth workers descended upon the Westin in downtown Indianapolis to learn, grow, and be rejuvenated and refreshed by the word of God, prayer, laughs, and interaction in a community with a common identity and purpose. The theme for the week was [something better], coming from the Book of Hebrews.
We were there to offer help and support for the godly work these men and women do for the young men and women of our church. We were there to lend ears and bear witness that we are here to help them meet the challenges of today, not aggravate and compound them. We were there because we live in challenging times, and this can be especially true for the young men and women of our church and world.
Oftentimes, these young men and women are seen as the future of the church, which is true, they are the future. But they are much more than that. They are members of the church even now, they are every much a member of the body of Christ as those who have attained their majority. And we, as teachers and leaders in our churches, have been given the task as their brothers and sisters in Christ not only to prepare, enrich, and teach them for their future life and service in and for the church and world, but also to listen and learn from them today. We listen because they are full members of the body of Christ. And they offer keen insight into a culture that longs for authenticity and integrity in a world fragmented and fractured by sin and death. And it is precisely this that the rich heritage of the Lutheran Church offers in the proclamation of Jesus Christ’s life-saving and life-giving cross. This proclamation in word, deed, and sacrament gives meaning and significance to the empty, and creates order and wholeness amid the world’s manifest chaos.
So, our hats are off to the folks we met in Indianapolis, and we will keep them in our prayers, even as we know that we will be in their prayers.
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I remember as a young boy,watching the Lutheran hour, and enjoyed it very much. I am now 60 years old,go to a Pentecostal Church. We believe that Martin Luther believed and taught, that salvation was by faith in Jesus Christ alone, Ephesians 2:8,9 [show]Ephesians 2:8
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For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (ESV)
Ephesians 2:9
not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (ESV)
Our good works play no part in salvation,and one can have Assurance of their salvation by Trusting in Jesus Christ that He laid down His life for us. When we take Communion we repent of any sins we committed,knowing that the LORD, is just and willing to forgive. Now I will add,that I am not saying we can intentionally sin, or that Luther taught that we could.
Would I be correct in Luther’s teaching on salvation. He taught ” salvation by faith in JESUS CHRIST, not by works”.
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