Issues Etc

TALK RADIO FOR THE THINKING CHRISTIAN...Tune in daily (M-F) to a radio talk show that engages the issues of the day from a distinctively Lutheran perspective.

Issues, Etc. is hosted by Lutheran Pastor Todd Wilken and is produced by Lutheran Public Radio.

You can listen 'live' on the Internet -- but it's during dinner time.....so you can listen on demand 24/7 or better yet, subscribe to the podcast and fill your ipod with good talk radio.

This is an example of a show entitled "Daily Prayers from Luther's Small Catechism" which aired on September 11th. Have a listen.

Friday, September 19

These are petitions to you Heavenly Father!

Adoration — This is an opportunity to praise God for who HE IS. No answer to prayer or prayer requests during this time.

Love is the fruit for September

Attribute: God is Love.

Definition: strong and intense affection, benevolence, kindness, and tenderness

We worship you, Lord Jesus, because you are love!

“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

1 John 4:7-10

Verses to read:

• Psalm 136:1-9
• Ephesians 3:16-19
• 1 John 3:1
• John 3:16
• Romans 8:38-39
• 1 John 4:16
• 1 john 4:10
• Isaiah 49:15-16
• Jeremiah 31:3

Supplication — This is our time to call on God for guidance and help, and to intercede for others.

For our children:

I pray that out of Your glorious riches You may strengthen _________ with power through his Spirit in _____ inner being, so that Christ may dwell in ______ heart through faith. And I pray that ________, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that __________ may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:16-19

For our school:

Lord, our Father, make our school bright, safe halls of learning. Fill it with health and joy. Furnish the tools necessary for good learning. Make Our Shepherd a place where children grow into the people You want them to be. Keep those who would injure our students far away. Give students and teachers deep love for one another and for their work together. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen (from Portals of Prayer, July-Sept)

For our teachers:

Lord, bless our teachers at the start of this school year and throughout the coming year. Pour love into teachers’ hearts, so that they will care for their students. Fill them with enthusiasm for their subjects, so that they may inspire eager love for learning. Through our teachers, train up our young people in the way they should go. Grant them wisdom in all they do. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen (from Portals of Prayer, July-Sept)

Specific Prayer Requests for our School:

• Unity with the teachers and staff
• Sufficient enrollment
• A successful October Community Connection
• Volunteers and ‘goods’ for the rummage sale and lots of sales
• Thanksgiving for all the helpers with the library book sale
• Generous giving to the Church and our budget
• Wisdom in spending
• A safe, fun and faith-filled Oktoberfest
• Successful start for some of the clubs at school -- The Drama Club, The Latin Club and the Technology Club

Prayer, the Heartbeat of Faith

“Prayer is inseparable from the spiritual life of the child of God; it is the heartbeat of his faith. Whoever has become a child of God desires to speak to his heavenly Father; he prays. The Christian worships God in prayer.”


Quoted from Light from Above by Alfred Koehler

BibleGateway

If you can't find your Bible or you want to type a Bible verse there is a great website on the Internet with the Bible in numerous translations ranging from the NIV to Chinese to Arabic to Icelandic to the King James and everything in between.

http://www.biblegateway.com

16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)

16 「 神 爱 世 人 ， 甚 至 将 他 的 独 生 子 赐 给 他 们 ， 叫 一 切 信 他 的 ， 不 至 灭 亡 ， 反 得 永 生 。 (Chinese)

What's the Collect?

Every Sunday in our liturgy the pastor reads a prayer called the Collect. It has a very rich history. It's changes weekly and reflects the theme of the day. It's printed in our weekly bulletin so that you can read it at home throughout the week as part of a personal devotion time.

But exactly what is the 'collect'?

The collect is the 'prayer of the day'. The collect begins with "Let us pray", inviting the worshipers to join their hearts in prayer with the pastor. The collect is a prayer that gathers request related to the Scriptures of the day. They have been used by the church for at least 15 centuries.

The parts of this formal prayer usually include:

1. Invocation - addressing God
2. Basis - why ask these things
3. Petition - our specific request
4. Purpose or benefit - desired result
5. Closing doxology - praise to God

Most Collects are addressed to God the Father and all close in Jesus' name, as Jesus instructed. John 15:16

The Collect of the Day for Sunday, September 14 which is the 18th Sunday after Pentecost:

"O God, your refuge and strength, the author of all godliness, hear the devout prayers of Your Church, especially in times of persecution, and grant that what we ask in faith we may obtain: through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever."

What is Prayer? The Small Catechism

Luther’s Small Catechism (as well as the Large Catechism) is a treasure trove when it comes to prayer. In the explanation of the Lord’s Prayer (1943 edition) it says:

“What is Prayer?”

Prayer is an act of worship wherein we bring our petitions before God with our hearts and lips and offer up praise and thanksgiving to Him.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer. "

Psalm 19:14

"And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. "

Matthew 6:7

"LORD, you hear the desire of the afflicted; you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear."

Psalm 10:17

"Before they call I will answer; while they are yet speaking I will hear. "

Isaiah 65:24

Ready to Listen Always

Last week was very eventful on many fronts. Barak Obama accepted the Democratic Nomination becoming the first African American to run for president. Senator McCain picked his running mate, Governor Sarah Palin from Alaska, making her the first Republican woman on a national ticket. Then today, Hurricane Gustav is slamming the Gulf Coast states. Not a boring week if you like to watch Fox News.

On a more personal level, we're been in school for a week. The routine for another year of learning is being created. Kids are seeing their friends again. Teachers are getting to know their new students. Parents are finding all kinds of volunteer opportunities.

The Lutheran Hour devotion for August 31 reminds me of the simplicity of prayer. So often we make prayer more complicated and the consequence is that prayer doesn't happen.

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"Ready To Listen"

August 31, 2008

But Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me and do not hinder them, for to such belongs the Kingdom of heaven." Matthew 19:14

People like pastors to pray with them. At least some people do. Maybe they think a pastor has a more direct line. We don't, but we do like to pray.

Some years ago, I was on the phone and talking with a friend. During the course of the conversation he asked me to have a prayer with him over the phone. I had just begun with, "Dear Lord," when my daughter came in.

Overhearing that "Dear Lord", she stopped in her tracks, and without any kind of smile said, "Is that God on the phone, daddy? If it is, don't let Him hang up when you're done, I've got a couple of things I need to talk to Him about, too."

Did you smile at that story? I'm glad you did. You probably smiled because you recognized that, as a little child, she believed God was really right there, and He really wanted to listen to her prayer.

Since that day, I've drawn a great deal of contentment from the knowledge that my daughter, without any kind of sophistication, had a better understanding of God than her daddy, the preacher.

She knew what I sometimes forget: God really is ready to listen. Maybe you've forgotten that, too.

Which is why, if you have felt that God is distant in your life, or if you think He has stopped paying attention to your prayers, I'd like you to think of my daughter.

Even more, because of Jesus and the reunion His life, death and resurrection have brought about, God is really there, and He is ready to listen to His children. Because of the Savior, your heavenly Father wants to know what you have to say.

The truth is: God doesn't hang up on you. If you've got something to say to Him, He's ready to listen to you.


From a devotion originally written for "By the Way"

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, thank You for always being ready to listen to me. I am comforted and strengthened in the knowledge that You will, because of Jesus, never hang up on me. In Jesus' Name. Amen.