Blog posts – Let The Bird Fly!

He is risen! Alleluia!

Wade — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 17:00:23 +0000

Thank you to Pastor Tyler Peil, a guest and friend of the show, for sharing one of his Easter sermons with us. This sermon was for a sunrise service. +In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.+ Alleluia! He is risen! The unthinkable has happened: the dead …

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The Easter Sermon of John Chrysostom (circa 400 AD)

Peter — Sun, 21 Apr 2019 09:00:11 +0000

Are there any who are devout lovers of God? Let them enjoy this beautiful bright festival! Are there any who are grateful servants? Let them rejoice and enter into the joy of their Lord! Are there any weary with fasting? Let them now receive their wages! If any have toiled from the first hour, let …

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Philip Melanchthon

Wade — Sat, 16 Feb 2019 10:00:07 +0000

Today the Lutheran Church commemorates Philip Melanchthon, Luther’s colleague in Wittenberg. I debated whether or not I should even add that last part, “Luther’s colleague in Wittenberg.” Melanchthon was more than that. And yet, fair or not, this is how we know him. To be honest, too, I think that appendage, “Luther’s colleague,” is not …

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Released from the Law

Wade — Thu, 24 Jan 2019 12:00:18 +0000

Romans 7:1-6 “Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives?” And Paul is right. By your birth, you are under the law. You are bound by it. It has a claim on you. You are …

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New Wineskins

Wade — Wed, 23 Jan 2019 12:00:33 +0000

Luke 5:33-39 It wasn’t easy for some to jump on board with the gospel. At least not fully. It seemed to run against their entire religious upbringing. It seemed too fast and loose. Wouldn’t people use the gospel as an excuse to sin? How would the common people behave if they didn’t have to do …

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Grateful for the Messengers, United in the Message

Wade — Tue, 22 Jan 2019 12:00:56 +0000

1 Corinthians 1:10-17 Many of us know the deep gratitude and lasting connection we can develop for and with those who have brought us the gospel, whether when we came to faith or in the dark moments of despair. This is a beautiful thing. God puts a face on His message, on the absolution. And …

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The God Who Hides Himself…For Us

Wade — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 23:36:11 +0000

The college at which Mike and I teach recently suffered a great loss as a student’s time with us in this life came to an end. This devotion sprang from the conversations, Scripture study, and prayer that resulted from this news. It is being shared here because we know that we have many readers and …

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Martin Luther, Martin Luther King, Jr., and Freedom

Wade — Mon, 21 Jan 2019 12:00:40 +0000

“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery” (Galatians 5:1). There is a connection between Martin Luther King Jr. and Martin Luther, the German reformer, but it is more than the fact that King’s father (and subsequently …

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The Wedding at Cana (The Groom for the Groom)

Wade — Sun, 20 Jan 2019 12:00:34 +0000

John 2:1-11 Pastors are often asked to preach on the Wedding at Cana for weddings in their parish. It makes sense but not for the reason we might think. It is more than “Isn’t that nice, Jesus went to a wedding and we are at a wedding today.” Or “Jesus blessed the wedding as Cana …

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Deliverance from the Devil

Wade — Sat, 19 Jan 2019 12:00:36 +0000

Luke 11:14-28 Man, it must have been crazy back then, with all these demons and devils afflicting people, huh? It was really a different day, don’t you think? Thank God it’s not like that anymore, right? But is it so different? No, we don’t have a bunch of exorcisms taking place, but is the devil …

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Confession of St. Peter

Wade — Fri, 18 Jan 2019 12:00:55 +0000

Matthew 16:13-20 This confession will stand. It will stand forever. It is the confession. This is the church’s confession, spoken by Peter. In this confession the church will never perish. “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And He is. Jesus is the Messiah, the Anointed One. He is the Son of …

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Salvation Is Not for Sale

Wade — Thu, 17 Jan 2019 12:00:29 +0000

Acts 8:18-24 The things of God are not for sale. They are free. Shockingly free. Scandalously free. There was a word in church history that came from this episode: simony. Simony was the buying of church offices. You would buy a church office so that you could get the income from it and then hire …

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Full of Light, Eyes Aright

Wade — Wed, 16 Jan 2019 12:00:06 +0000

Luke 11:33-36 We are Christ’s lamps. He is our light and He has enlightened us. He is our sanctification, first to last. He sanctifies all of us. There is no part of us dark. Our whole body is full of light. In the ancient world you set a lamp in a prominent place, high, so …

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Eternal Life You Have

Wade — Tue, 15 Jan 2019 12:00:15 +0000

1 John 5:13 Isn’t it easy to forget it, that we have eternal life? We often don’t feel like. In fact, we sometimes feel like we’re already in hell. We don’t always look like. We don’t need other people to remind us how far we fall short, if we’re honest, but because we fall short …

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Baptism of Our Lord (II)

Wade — Mon, 14 Jan 2019 12:00:36 +0000

This is the second part of a two-part series. Luke 3:15-17, 21, 22 When Jesus was baptized he was inaugurated, in a way, into the office of Christ. Think of the Presidency of the United States. It is an office. Not the Oval Office, of course, but a position that is filled by a person. …

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Baptism of our Lord (I)

Wade — Sun, 13 Jan 2019 12:00:36 +0000

This is the first part of a two-part series. The Baptism of Our Lord Part I Luke 3:15-17, 21, 22 The baptism of Jesus is a curious thing. Even for John, the one who baptized Jesus. The obvious question is “Why?” It is the question John asked of Jesus, “I need to be baptized by …

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Spiritual People

Wade — Sat, 12 Jan 2019 12:00:17 +0000

1 Corinthians 2:14-16 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit because the natural person does not receive them. The natural person is not a gospel person. Gospel people are made. God makes them, creates them. The natural person, the person on whom the gospel has not yet gone to work, who …

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The Logic of the Cross

Wade — Fri, 11 Jan 2019 12:00:43 +0000

1 Corinthians 2:1-10 Preaching has power. The power is from the Spirit. It is why we preach the gospel instead of preach about the gospel. The Spirit reveals the mystery to us. It could not come from us. There is no searching the depths of human wisdom to find wisdom. In the depths of human …

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Free for Our Neighbor and the World

Wade — Thu, 10 Jan 2019 12:00:10 +0000

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 God didn’t call us because of who we are. God called us. God didn’t choose us because of who we are. God chose us. We aren’t righteousness, sanctified, redeemed, because of who we were, but that is now who we are, because of Him. We are in Christ Jesus. He is our …

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He Rules from Sea to Sea

Wade — Wed, 09 Jan 2019 12:00:55 +0000

Psalm 72:8-9 And He does have dominion from sea to see, our Epiphany King. He came not only to save His own, even though they did not recognize Him, John tells us, but to save all. He is Savior of the Nations. This is the great epiphany, God made man, not for some, but for …

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Long Live the King!

Wade — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 12:00:23 +0000

Psalm 72:1-2 Long live the King! And He does live. He is risen, He is risen indeed! And He is endowed with justice, with righteousness. He is the Righteous One. He will judge the living and the dead. He will judge the people in righteousness. They will have His righteousness or they will not be …

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That’s Not Who You Are

Wade — Mon, 07 Jan 2019 12:00:51 +0000

Ephesians 4:17-24 That’s not who you are. That’s who you were. That is essentially what Paul is saying here. Something has changed. You have changed. God has changed you. Change talk is tricky, though. We love change in 2018 America. New phones, new streaming services, new, new, new, most of it welcomed with open arms, …

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Epiphany

Wade — Sun, 06 Jan 2019 12:00:58 +0000

Matthew 2:1-12 Most of us were not invited to the first Christmas. It was a Jewish event. Jewish parents, a Jewish child, and Jewish shepherds witnessing the incarnation. If you are not Jewish, it was not for you…not yet anyway. Then there came wise men from the East. Gentiles. And they made quite a stir …

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Born of God

Wade — Sat, 05 Jan 2019 12:00:17 +0000

John 1:10-13 Jesus is God. John is saying it as clear as day. There was nothing created that wasn’t created through Him. There is still nothing created that isn’t created through Him. You are God’s creature. Any children you might have, they are, too, even if you spent the time in labor. God created and …

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Holy, Holy, Holy!

Wade — Fri, 04 Jan 2019 12:00:10 +0000

Isaiah 6:1-8 (John 3:1-15) You hear a lot about God’s presence. Sometimes people will talk about feeling God’s presence in some event or service. In some sense, that can be understood correctly. For instance, if someone almost dies in a car crash, surely that person, if he or she is a Christian, will recognize God’s …

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Lamps Uncovered

Wade — Thu, 03 Jan 2019 12:00:13 +0000

Luke 8:16-18 The writer to the Hebrews tells us, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all …

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Wisdom from Above

Wade — Wed, 02 Jan 2019 21:47:56 +0000

James 3:13-18 The world is full of wisdom. There are offers of wisdom from about everywhere you turn, and devices and methods to help in your pursuit. For all of that, though, we are perhaps awash in information like never before but witnessing a famine of wisdom—both temporal and spiritual. For all that technology has …

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Dressed, Named, Worn

Wade — Sun, 30 Dec 2018 05:41:19 +0000

Isaiah 61:10-62:3 Did you unwrap all your presents? Did you get what you wanted? What was your favorite present? Did you get the one from the LORD? Yes, you did. In fact, you’re wearing it today. It looks good on you. It definitely looks better than what you had on before. He must be planning …

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An Ugly Baby?

Wade — Sat, 29 Dec 2018 12:00:12 +0000

Hebrews 1:1-4 What I’m going to say may shock, maybe even scandalize you: There is such a thing as an ugly baby. Trust me, I’ve seen one. Whose baby was it? I’ll tell you; It was…. no, I am just kidding, none of you have had ugly babies; of course, I am talking about other …

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More than God

Wade — Thu, 27 Dec 2018 12:00:02 +0000

Why is this Child who was born so important? Why gather to celebrate His coming? Is it because He is God? Is that what makes this Child so important? I hardly think that is it, for God is most surely important for the simple reason that He is God. God, by definition and necessity, is …

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St. Stephen’s Day

Wade — Wed, 26 Dec 2018 12:00:22 +0000

St. Stephen Acts 7 December 26th Why did they stone St. Stephen? Was it because of a mob mentality? Did he offend them? Did he attack the core of their religion? What it because he spoke the truth? We could answer yes to all of these questions. How does a group of people become so …

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A Christmas Inheritance

Wade — Tue, 25 Dec 2018 12:00:03 +0000

Galatians 4:4-7 What’s your inheritance? What does that question make you think of? Maybe what you’ll receive when a relative dies. Maybe what you’ll leave behind to your relatives when you die: a house, car, jewelry, furniture, heirlooms, etc. Inheritances are important things. Even at a young age we may already scope out some of …

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Stop It Already, It’s Christmas

Wade — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 19:56:13 +0000

For about as long as there’s been Christmas, there’s been people trying to use it and this Child. This has manifested itself in a variety of ways, but in the end it’s all the same thing: law or lawlessness (which is really more law). Today the festival draws near. With the sunset we sing some …

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Beautiful Feet

Wade — Mon, 24 Dec 2018 07:56:31 +0000

Isaiah 52:7-10 When most of us think of beautiful feet, we think about size, proportion, grooming and painting. Isaiah could care less about any of that. The feet in our text are beautiful because of what they bring: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.” St. Paul quotes these words in …

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Blessed Is the Fruit of Her Womb

Wade — Sun, 23 Dec 2018 19:47:26 +0000

Luke 1:39-55 How many of us when we get something new or accomplish something even rather insignificant can’t help but prance like the peacock with feathers in full regalia? How often aren’t pastors like myself a little too concerned with the number of “nice sermons” we get after the service? How often don’t we as …

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Now Don’t Lose It

Wade — Sun, 16 Dec 2018 12:00:06 +0000

Hebrews 2:1-4 “Now don’t lose it.” Remember Mom speaking those words to you when you were young? It was almost always after she had placed some treasure in your hands. Mom had entrusted you with it. It was her gift to you. And now you had one task: don’t lose it. It probably bothered you …

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God Grant Us Ears and Take Us by Them

Wade — Sat, 15 Dec 2018 12:00:02 +0000

Acts 3:22-26 God grant us ears. God take us by them. Faith come from hearing and we live by faith. “The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. You shall listen to him in whatever he tells you.” Jesus is that Prophet. Jesus is the Word of God …

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Wrapped up in Christ

Wade — Fri, 14 Dec 2018 12:00:15 +0000

Colossians 1:15-23aa You are holy and blameless. Hard to believe, isn’t it? We know we are anything but, and we’re right. We have done what is wrong and failed to do what is right. And that is why Christ came. That is why the very image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, …

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More Than What Could Have Been

Wade — Thu, 13 Dec 2018 12:00:50 +0000

Haggai 2:1-9 In their weakness, God told His remnant to be strong, not because the outlook was bright in the eyes of the here-and-now, but because through eyes of faith they could see God’s work as good as done. Be strong! I don’t know what your horizon looks like now, but I do know that …

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God’s Expectant Temples

Wade — Wed, 12 Dec 2018 12:00:13 +0000

Zechariah 2:10-13 Zechariah was a prophet in Judah around the time the temple was being rebuilt. God’s people had suffered the destruction of all they held dear, exile, and less-than-human treatment by their enemies. All this was because of their sins, their rebellion against God’s covenant with them and His warning to them through the …

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Free to Plant a Tree

Wade — Tue, 11 Dec 2018 12:00:11 +0000

Colossians 1:9-14 I used to wonder if I would be scared at Christ’s coming. I still do at times. The conclusion I have come to is: yes and no. Yes, I will probably be frightened by the great show of might that will accompany His coming with thunder and lightning and trumpets and so forth. …

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And So We Wait

Wade — Mon, 10 Dec 2018 12:00:01 +0000

Habakkuk 2:1-4 Waiting is one of the hardest things for a person to do. From little on, we hate waiting. Think of Christmas Eve, waiting to open your presents. Think of, “Are we there yet?” Think of watching the clock at work. Think of waiting for your next vacation. Think of waiting in the drive …

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The Sun of Righteousness

Wade — Sun, 09 Dec 2018 19:14:11 +0000

Malachi 4:1-6 Malachi means “my messenger.” Malachi’s message, together with Genesis, forms the bookends of the Old Testament. Malachi’s is the last prophet’s voice we hear until John the Baptist. As the Old Testament began with a promise of a Savior to crush the serpent head, so it closes with Malachi’s promise of the Messiah …

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Pay Attention to the Signs

Wade — Sat, 08 Dec 2018 21:38:15 +0000

Luke 21:25-36 (Romans 15:4-13) Luke and Beth were ecstatic. The doctor had just told them the news. They were pregnant. Soon, he said, they’d be able to listen to the heartbeat. Soon, he said, they’d even be able to see Junior on the ultrasound screen. Luke and Beth were ecstatic. Their first child was on …

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April’s Fools: Holy Saturday

Wade — Sat, 31 Mar 2018 05:00:33 +0000

Holy Saturday can be an odd day. For many Lutherans, it seems like a break from the services of Maundy (Holy) Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. It’s a day away from church. Thankfully, I think this is becoming less the case with the resurgence of the Easter Vigil among Lutherans. The truth is that …

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Good Friday: One Word

Wade — Fri, 30 Mar 2018 06:00:36 +0000

+In the name of Jesus.+ John 19:1-42 One word. One word in the Greek language that sums it all up, tetelestai. It means “it is finished.” It is the word Jesus spoke on the cross announcing to the world, to His people, and to His devilish enemies that His mission was accomplished. One word that …

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Maundy Thursday

Wade — Thu, 29 Mar 2018 19:37:14 +0000

Thank you to Pastor John Bortulin, a frequent guest and friend of the show, for letting us share this Maundy Thursday sermon. This was adapted from a preaching outline, so please forgive anything we missed in converting it. + In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit, …

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Advent: New Year, New Life

Wade — Sun, 03 Dec 2017 01:31:27 +0000

Happy New Year, people! That’s right, the Christian Church doesn’t wait for the rest of the world to celebrate the new. We live in the new. We are new people. We await a new heaven and a new earth. We walk in newness of life. We have been given new birth into a living hope. …

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A Social Club with a “T” on Top

Wade — Fri, 24 Nov 2017 22:56:38 +0000

Check out Wade’s latest post over at 1517. The Legacy Project: https://www.1517legacy.com/1517blog/wadejohnson/socialclub

What You’ve Gotta Do to Get Saved: A Simple Guide

Wade — Mon, 20 Nov 2017 16:55:00 +0000

What’s It Gonna Take to Make You Happy?

Wade — Sat, 18 Nov 2017 21:51:22 +0000

I spent a lot of time working in restaurants before I went to seminary. I liked it, too, for the most part. There was one time, though, that really got under my skin. I was in college, nearing the end. There was a guy who used to come in where I worked almost every day …

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Melancholy and Angst

Wade — Wed, 15 Nov 2017 02:37:18 +0000

Luther talked about Anfechtung. Kierkegaard talked about Angest. All manner of philosophers and theologians have put it in different ways. Ultimately, though, what they are driving at is something similar: life in a fallen world isn’t easy, and it plays with your psyche, your nerves, your gut. Anxiety is a terrible thing. It can shut …

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The Black Geneva Piety of the Wisconsin Synod by Rev. Dr. Mark Braun

Peter — Sat, 21 Oct 2017 00:39:47 +0000

On Episode 29 of Let the Bird Fly! Rev. Dr. Mark Braun returned to talk about an essay he wrote entitled The Black Geneva Piety of the Wisconsin Synod. We are grateful to The Lutheran Historical Conference for granting us permission to share this article. So if you’ve listened to the episode and were itching to get …

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A Classical Education Conference

Peter — Sat, 23 Sep 2017 18:28:52 +0000

In episode 18 of Let the Bird Fly! we were privileged to have Dr. Jason Merritt on to discuss Classical Education. For our listeners who found that discussion interesting, and who in the Milwaukee area, we thought you might like to know of a free conference on Lutheran classical education that is being held this Friday …

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Total Solar Eclipse – Dr. Kuehn Geeks Out

Peter — Wed, 30 Aug 2017 15:09:42 +0000

For those who might be interested, our guest from Episode 6, Dr. Kerry Kuehn, posted some pictures he was able to capture of the total solar eclipse. You can find them on his website along with some of his commentary and technical information. Enjoy! (And if you haven’t listened to our episode with him yet, …

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A Confessing Church

Wade — Thu, 10 Aug 2017 01:23:56 +0000

We mentioned Wade’s piece on a Confessing Church on our last episode. It came out at 1517. the Legacy Project today. You can find it at the link below. You can find the episode at https://www.letthebirdfly.com/2017/08/05/episode-19-confessing-church/ https://www.1517legacy.com/wadejohnston/2017/08/a-confessing-church/

A Jesus for the Anxious

Wade — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 02:56:06 +0000

August is always a stressful month for me now. It’s not August now, but the second half of July is usually even worse, because, well, I’m a worrier. I look to the future and concoct a virtual Choose Your Own Adventure book of possibilities, and guess what I gravitate toward, the happy or unhappy endings? …

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I’ve Had Enough! More than Enough!

Wade — Fri, 30 Jun 2017 03:29:23 +0000

I miss living in rental properties and a parsonage. I miss, when something breaks, calling a landlord or a trustee and knowing someone who knows how to do something will do something and that will be it. I miss not fretting about how much repairs cost and how long I have until the next whatever …

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Galatians 3:21-22

Wade — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 20:55:25 +0000

Law and gospel are two different words. They bring different news. This is for sure. Paul notes, however, that this does not make them incongruous or contrary. They have a chronological and logical relationship to each other in the lives of believers. They each serve a purpose. One diagnoses, the other heals. One exposes, the …

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Galatians 3:19-20

Wade — Thu, 29 Jun 2017 02:50:05 +0000

The law is God’s will. It is unchangeable. It is good. And yet, as sinners, our relationship to it this side of heaven is forever tied to our fall, to our sinful nature, to our transgressions. While the law was written on human hearts, it was written on stone as well to curb sin, to …

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Galatians 3:15-18

Wade — Sun, 25 Jun 2017 01:51:05 +0000

God wants us to take Him at His Word. He wants us to hold Him to His promises. As sure as Jesus hung on the cross, so surely God means what He’s said in the Scriptures. And yet, as fallen human beings, trust doesn’t come easy for us. We’re used to people breaking promises. We …

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A Great Guy but No Saint

Wade — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 02:19:51 +0000

When I teach the two kinds of righteousness (Don’t worry, we’ll get there), I usually draw the same picture on the board. It’s not a very good drawing from an artistic standpoint, but it seems to help the students. Here’s what it depicts. Joe Unbeliever is walking down the road in the winter, with his …

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Galatians 3:10-14

Wade — Sat, 24 Jun 2017 01:38:45 +0000

Have you been a good Christian this week? I like to ask my students that sometimes. Where their minds go reveal a lot. Almost always, their minds go to their works, to their behavior, to the law. And that’s not bad. We should examine ourselves. That’s a most Christian and confessional thing. We do so …

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Galatians 3:7-9

Wade — Thu, 22 Jun 2017 01:45:38 +0000

Christ saves. Christ justifies. And yet He does so through faith. Faith, however, is not our work, but His gift. Faith is the beggar’s hand that receives unearned merits, divine charity. Faith is not our decision. We do not become children of God by human will, as we are reminded in John 1. Faith is …

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Galatians 3:1-6

Wade — Wed, 21 Jun 2017 04:26:37 +0000

The Galatians made a good start. They had been properly taught and rightly believed that they were saved, forgiven, justified, only for Christ’s sake. And yet with the infiltration of false teachers and the arrogant nagging of the old Adam, they wavered. Yes, surely they were saved by grace and through faith in Christ, but …

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A Father by Grace with and in the Father of Grace

Wade — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 05:00:18 +0000

Being a father comes with a lot of responsibility. I am expected to provide, protect, love, forgive, teach, correct, model, and all manner of such things. I mean, at least, I expect myself to do so, and my own father’s selfless love for me has set a pretty high bar. Add to that my heavenly …

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Galatians 2:17-21

Wade — Mon, 19 Jun 2017 03:50:51 +0000

In other words, if you could have saved yourself, there was no need for God to be on a cross. But God was on a cross, wasn’t He? Why? To save you, because you could not save yourself. And so we do well not to believe, live, or proceed as if God were not on …

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Galatians 2:15-16

Wade — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 11:00:58 +0000

Harsh much, Paul? We were Jews from birth and not Gentile sinners? Well, isn’t that good for you, but what of the Gentile sinners? Who were the Gentile sinners? They were the very people whose freedom in Christ and whose justification by grace, through faith, without the works of the Old Testament Mosaic law, he …

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Ivan’s Folly

Wade — Fri, 16 Jun 2017 06:06:50 +0000

One of the books I have some of my students read each semester is actually not a book, but a section from a much larger novel. It’s The Grand Inquisitor, which is from The Brothers Karamazov, a wonderful novel, though long, by Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Though no fan of Western Christianity, a devotee of Russian Orthodoxy, …

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The Danger of the SNOOT

Wade — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 19:58:45 +0000

David Foster Wallace wrote an essay entitled “Authority and American Usage,” which I have the students read in one of the early Ethics classes of the semester. It is basically a review of a dictionary, which he uses to make some bigger points about life, as he is wont to do in his essays. In …

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Galatians 2:11-14

Wade — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 11:00:18 +0000

Didn’t we just discuss how a church ought to conduct itself, how brothers and sisters ought to address possible differences in love? And now what do we have here but Paul acting unlovingly? Or was he? Why didn’t Paul take Peter (Cephas) aside privately? Why embarrass him in front of everyone? That doesn’t sound very …

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A Life Well-Died

Wade — Thu, 15 Jun 2017 05:35:25 +0000

One of the questions philosophers have wrestled with, from the beginning, has been “What is a life well-lived?” It’s a Christian question, too, at least if you’ve been to a Christian bookstore. They’re often full of books on Christian living, although not Christian living in a very Lutheran sense. No, they’re often full of books …

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Galatians 2:1-10

Wade — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 11:00:41 +0000

Here we have a good example of how the church ought to conduct itself. There was a concern that there was contradiction in the doctrine and practice of the churches of Christ. What did they do? Did they ignore it in the hope that it would just go away? Did they excuse any possible aberrations …

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Do We Want Sinners in Heaven? I Sure Hope So.

Wade — Wed, 14 Jun 2017 03:09:39 +0000

I’m not going to lie, I want sinners in heaven. I have a personal, very vested interested in that. I’ll go even farther, I want impenitent sinners in heaven. In fact, I think that’s sort of the point of evangelism. I’ll also admit, my statements couldn’t be more biblical (I should want these things), but …

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Have You Made It?

Wade — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 06:22:13 +0000

From time immemorial, human beings have been obsessed with fame. People have wanted to be head of the tribe, mayor of the village, or the best whatever. People want to be important. People want to matter. People want to make it. Here’s the thing, though. People are important. People do matter. People don’t make it. …

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Galatians 1:11-24

Wade — Tue, 13 Jun 2017 04:43:04 +0000

St. Paul’s gospel was not his own, and he did not preach it to please men, but Christ, whose approval was paramount, for it was the gospel of Christ that Paul of which Paul was a minister. And the gospel is still not any man’s gospel, not man’s gospel at all. No man could have …

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Galatians 1:10

Wade — Sat, 10 Jun 2017 11:00:03 +0000

And right there you have the problem with the much of the American church today, and much of the church of history: striving for the wrong approval and working to please the wrong person. Was St. Paul cold-hearted or indifferent to the needs of others? Surely not. He didn’t purposefully offend. Far from that, he …

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Galatians 1:6-9

Wade — Fri, 09 Jun 2017 11:00:37 +0000

“If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Most of us are familiar with the saying, and the saying gets said for a reason: we love to tinker, and our tinkering often leaves things worse off than they were before. The gospel isn’t broken. It never has been and never will be. And yet in every …

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Galatians 1:3-5

Wade — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 14:00:18 +0000

Love and wholeness, isn’t that what most people want? Write a book on those topics and it’s going to sell. As human beings, we are born with a yearning for love and wholeness, we are born, in essence, with a hole in our heart that we then spend our days trying to fill. The bad …

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Galatians Devotions (Getting Started)

Wade — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 01:43:50 +0000

We are hoping to start offering somewhat regular devotions here on the website. To get us started, Wade is going to be offering some devotions he wrote in the parish on the first half of St. Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians. If he has time, he will write more to get us through the entire …

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The Blessing of Brothers

Wade — Wed, 07 Jun 2017 04:49:48 +0000

I am guessing most of what I have to say in this post would apply to our sisters, too, but I can only speak to my own experience as a man, so while this isn’t just for the guys out there, please forgive me if my experience and perspective is somewhat narrow. That being said, …

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Beware the Fearmonger

Wade — Tue, 06 Jun 2017 03:19:50 +0000

It seems like the sky is falling every other day now. From politics to culture to religion to about anything else, there’s one purported cataclysm after another on the horizon. Thankfully, there are plenty of people willing to tell us about them, to give us quick answers, to point the way, to give shallow analysis …

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Why the Church Year (Episodes)?

Wade — Fri, 02 Jun 2017 17:37:43 +0000

Sometimes people, extremely well-meaning people, even and especially those who have grown up in historic churches who observe the ancient church year and its propers and festivals and all that, will ask a very innocent question, “Why observe the church year?” Also sometimes, people, not so well-meaning people, especially those who have grown up in …

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Pentecost from the Pew

Wade — Wed, 31 May 2017 14:47:25 +0000

For ten years I was a Lutheran preacher. That was my vocation. And that’s what I did, preached, a lot. And Pentecost was always an interesting Sunday. As much as I hate to admit it, it’s hard to read an account like that without questioning one’s ministry. I mean, just once, couldn’t I have a …

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Lessons on the Diamond

Wade — Mon, 29 May 2017 05:02:18 +0000

I know a lot of people don’t get club sports. I know a lot of pastors don’t like them. I’ll admit, we become a Thursday, Saturday, Monday church family once the season kicks into gear. I’ll also note, though, that we’ve made it work, even when I was the pastor and my wife was the …

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Christ’s Ascension Is Our Ascension

Wade — Thu, 25 May 2017 05:36:01 +0000

If you haven’t yet, check out our episode on the Ascension with Pastor Tyler Peil, which can be found here: LetTheBirdFly.com/9 THE ASCENSION OF OUR LORD 2 Kings 2:1-11 Bible trivia time. The Bible only reports two men ever having gone to heaven without dying. We have one before us in this reading. Do you …

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When the Last Becomes First, and the First Becomes Last

Wade — Sat, 13 May 2017 02:14:30 +0000

Check out Wade’s new piece over at 1517 as Ascension Day quickly approaches: https://www.1517legacy.com/wadejohnston/2017/05/when-the-last-becomes-first-and-first-becomes-last/

Tales from the Crypt(ographer)

Peter — Thu, 11 May 2017 17:48:48 +0000

Our guest on episode seven, Dr. Kristi Meyer, has been kind enough to write a post on cryptography for our listeners. So, here it is; and if you haven’t listened to Dr. Meyer on episode seven, do yourself a favor and check it out here after reading her post. Tales from the Crypt(ographer) by Dr. …

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The Shepherd’s Voice, the Sheep’s Life

Wade — Sun, 07 May 2017 01:42:42 +0000

CHRIST OUR GOOD SHEPHERD Ezekiel 34:11-16; 1 Peter 2:21-25; John 10:11-16 There was a story I stumbled upon in a German newspaper a few weeks ago. 67 sheep died in Germany when two dogs chased them toward a freight train. The driver of the train tried to stop, but he couldn’t in time, and so …

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Wade’s New Blog Post over at 1517

Wade — Fri, 05 May 2017 20:11:47 +0000

Wade’s latest contribution over at 1517.the Legacy Project is now up. You can check it out here: https://www.1517legacy.com/wadejohnston/2017/05/the-lords-dogs-arent-too-proud-to-beg/ Check out the shop, too, if you’re looking for some good books. Among others, Wade’s An Uncompromising Gospel can be found there. Lord willing, in the not-so-distant future, another book by Wade will be available with NRP, …

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Where’d the Theology and Philosophy Go?

Wade — Fri, 05 May 2017 02:40:33 +0000

Episodes 6 and 7 aren’t quite what the previous ones have been, and, we think, marvelously so. In this week’s episode we discuss physics, while next week’s covers cryptography and mathematics. Both include fun interviews with PhDs in those fields (so don’t worry, you don’t have to listen to Wade prattle on about physics or …

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The Wounds that Cast out Doubt

Wade — Sat, 29 Apr 2017 22:52:04 +0000

As the Easter season continues, and our celebration of Christ’s resurrection and our justification with it, here’s a sermon Wade preached in 2010, back when he still used to write out manuscripts. SECOND SUNDAY OF EASTER 1 John 5:4-10; John 20:19-31 The Wounds of Jesus The other day, I’m not sure why—I’m guessing because of …

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Braun: Lord, Keep Us Steadfast in Your Word

Peter — Fri, 28 Apr 2017 22:45:29 +0000

We were honored to have Dr. Mark Braun as our guest on episode 5 of Let the Bird Fly!, where Dr. Braun discussed the intertestamental period, which is the topic of his book The Time Between the Testaments: Connecting Malachi to Matthew. While we certainly hope to have Dr. Braun on again in the future, …

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Stepping Outside the Fortress

Wade — Sat, 22 Apr 2017 01:18:13 +0000

We no longer live in a day where the pastor is perhaps the most educated guy in the town. We no longer live in a day where the pastor is perhaps the most educated guy in the parish. We live in an age unparalleled when it comes to information, inundated with philosophies and theologies and …

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Christ is Risen! …Our Accuser is a Defanged, Venomless Serpent!

Wade — Sat, 15 Apr 2017 23:00:29 +0000

(Mark 16:1-8; 1 Corinthians 5:6-8) Luther preached on this festival of the resurrection: “We are not preaching anything new, but always, without ceasing, about the man who is called Jesus Christ, true God and true man, who died for our sins and rose for our justification. Yet even if we were again and again to …

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Look at What We’ve Done; We’ve Killed God!

Wade — Fri, 14 Apr 2017 05:06:10 +0000

Does it bother you? The crucifix—does it bother you? I don’t mean this crucifix. I mean the crucifix the holy evangelists set before us today. Does it bother you? Does it seem too gruesome, too depressing? Does it bother you? Look at what we’ve done. We’ve killed God. Who will be God now? Will you …

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Mark 16:1-8 “In a Garden”

Wade — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 03:06:13 +0000

It started in a garden with a woman faced with death, her man cowering behind, waiting to see what would happen. It ends in a garden with women faced with death, their men cowering behind, in this case in a locked room, to see what would happen. It started in a garden as peace with …

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