Our Savior Lutheran Church
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod

Week of 9/8 Our Savior Weekly Update

Announcements

Altar Guild Meeting

               The Altar Guild will be meeting on Tuesday September 24th at 6:30 to plan the year. If you are looking for a way to volunteer at church they would appreciate more people to help!

Matthew Reading Plan

               This year I am supplying the catechism students with a reading plan and guide for the Gospel of Matthew. I will also post this guide on the website and put out some printed copies. I encourage everyone to participate along with them and dig just a little deeper into Matthew, which will also be the Gospel readings in 2024-2025. I tell you to read the Bible and here is my way of giving you a little guidance to help with that!

Sunday Morning Bible Study: Historical Heresies

               Sunday morning Bible study is looking at some heresies that have arisen in the Christian church throughout history. We define a heresy as a false teaching that arises from within the church that causes division. Satan is the ultimate source of false doctrine. He hasn’t gone away, and sometimes these heresies that troubled the church haven’t actually gone away either! The purpose of the study is to fill in some historical knowledge and to sharpen our understanding of the clear teaching of God’s Word.

               The first heresy we looked at we find already in the pages of the New Testament! We read in Acts 15:1: Some men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised according to the law handed down by Moses, you cannot be saved.” We call these the Judaizers. Paul wrote the Letter to the Galatians in large part to refute this heresy. They were adding on works of the law to what Jesus had accomplished in his death for the salvation of all nations.

               In our day we see this heresy expressed a little differently. Here in America many Christian churches adhere to something called Christian Zionism. It says that Jews to this day are God’s chosen people and all Christians should support the state of Israel as part of their religious practice. Jews should not even have the Gospel preached to them because God will save them because of their birth as Jews! Paul writes in Galatians 3:26-29: 26 In fact, you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 Indeed, as many of you as were baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. 28 There is not Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, for you are all one and the same in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants and heirs according to the promise. To be God’s chosen people requires not blood descent from Abraham, but to share the faith of Abraham in God’s promise!

               This means that Jews by blood who reject Jesus as the Savior have rejected God the Father as well. They need to hear the Gospel as much as any other unbeliever! It also means that we can be certain of our status as God’s chosen people through the faith that the Holy Spirit has granted us as precious gift. It also means that we don’t need to go back to Jewish practices to have a truly authentic Christian faith.