#Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

[buggie-hagen]

Finally, there is the thorny question of rebaptism. Probably nothing else causes such anger and mistrust between divided Christians. From a Lutheran perspective, any baptism that is done by a Christian community with water and in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is a legitimate baptism and must not under any circumstances be repeated. This is because Lutherans understand baptism to be God's act, not merely a human one. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 58.

[wesleyhill]

Jesus recapitulates Moses.

But at the very same moment, Jesus recapitulates someone else.

Here’s how Matthew introduces the Sermon on the Mount: “Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him.”

Why does Matthew make a point of saying that Jesus sat down? Not, presumably, because Jesus knew his Sermon was going to be a long one and his legs would give out before he finished.

No, Jesus sits down on the mountain the way a king sits down on his throne. He occupies the topmost spot on the mountain and takes possession of it, so that when he preaches, proclaims, and promulgates, he does so not merely as a mediator of someone else’s words. He speaks his own words, greater than Solomon’s, but also greater than Moses’s.

Jesus on the mountaintop recapitulates the Lord God of Israel on Mt. Sinai. Jesus is both: he is Moses the man and mediator, one of the people, their spokesman and intercessor; at the same time he is the Lord, the God of Israel, their savior and true king. Hence the Sermon’s conclusion: “And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority.”

— Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

[teresaschultz-author]

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“Righteousness is not something that we generate from within ourselves and then offer to God. Righteousness is something that God gives to us—and this is exactly why we may trust in and grow to love God.  Our faith begins with the Holy Spirit graciously coming to us. The Spirit’s work is to bring the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ to bear on our own biographies and circumstances, beyond all limitations of time and space... In a right understanding of justification, there is no competition between “the faith in Christ” and “the faith of Christ.” They are the same reality.” (excerpt from “What’s His Becomes Ours” By Sarah Hinlicky Wilson) “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭3:23-24‬ ‭NIV‬‬ “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” ‭‭Romans‬ ‭5:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬ “It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.” ‭‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭1:30‬ ‭NIV‬‬ “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” ‭‭Galatians‬ ‭2:20‬ ‭NIV‬‬ #Easter2018 #youversion #journeytothecross #SarahHinlickyWilson #christianitytoday ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ #mythoughts We all continually fall short, yet God declares us innocent, not guilty, and acceptable to Him. He gives us the gift of salvation and eternal life by His precious, underserved, gracious favor, and through the penalty payed for our sins by Jesus Christ. There is nothing we can do to justify ourselves. His grace is laid open for us through His death and resurrection, which is the proof of God’s love for us. He revealed His plan of salvation to us and made us holy and set apart. He is our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. He is all we need.   Jesus not only frees us from the guilt of sin, but He also delivers us from the power of sin... #teresaschultzauthor #unrelentinggraceministries

[bonewoodandstone]

The saints live out sola scriptura in a vivid way. They are often seized by a portion of the Scripture and take it with utmost seriousness, challenging us to take Scripture with equal seriousness. The results can be profound, as in the recent revelation of Mother Theresa’s vocation to fulfill the words of Jesus, “I thirst,” not only in her missionary work among the poorest of the poor but also in her own intense spiritual suffering of thirst for God’s presence; or in the way Martin Luther King Jr. lived the book of Exodus and the prophetic exhortation to let “justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like a mighty stream” (Amos 5:24) to such an extent that he exposed and transformed the injustice in American society; or in St. Anthony the Great’s devoting his whole life to Jesus’ invitation, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me” (Matthew 19:21). The results of living sola scriptura can also be weird: Alexander the Sleepless heard the words “Keep awake” as uttered by Jesus and strove his whole life to do exactly that. Profound or weird, the impact is something that biblically-centered Lutherans can only rejoice in: an abject commitment to the Scriptures as words of life from God. Instead of writing exegesis, or preaching exegesis, the saints become exegesis. Even if some of them zero in on a small part of Scripture in an unbalanced way, as a whole group taken together, they become the living interpretation of Scripture. And the saints must be taken together; that is the whole point of the “communion of saints”!

Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, “Saints for Sinners”. 

[buggie-hagen]

Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, one of the living theologians and pastors I admire, and dare I say at this point--a friend of mine...has a Kickstarter for a book on the Transfiguration. Check it out:

[buggie-hagen]

Books I've read in 2023:

On First Principles by Origen. Translated by John Behr.

Low Anthropology: The Unlikely Key to a Gracious View of Others (and Yourself) by David Zahl

Luther's Outlaw God, vol. 1: Hiddenness, Evil, and Predestination by Steven Paulson

Luther's Works, vol. 23: Sermons on the Gospel of St. John, Chapters 6-8

Boys and Oil: Growing Up Gay in a Fractured Land by Taylor Brorby

Theology is for Proclamation by Gerhard O. Forde

Luther's Outlaw God, vol. 2: Hidden in the Cross by Steven Paulson

The Annotated Luther, vol. 4: Pastoral Writings ed. by Mary Jane Haemig

Call Me By Your Name by André Aciman

Atomic Habits: An Easy and Proven Way to Build Good Habits and to Break Bad Ones by James Clear

Who is the Church?: An Ecclesiology for the Twenth-first Century by Cheryl M. Peterson

Messianic Exegesis: Christological Interpretation of the Old Testament in Early Christianity by Donald Juel

Luther's Outlaw God, vol. 3: Sacraments and God's Attack on the Promise by Steven Paulson

Ragged: Spiritual Disciplines for the Spiritually Exhausted by Gretchen Ronnevik

The Early Versions of the New Testament: their origin, transmission, and limitations by Bruce Metzger

The Graveyard Book by Neil Gaiman

Confessing Jesus: The Heart of Being a Lutheran by Molly Lackey

Adamantius: Dialogue on the True Faith in God translated by Robert A. Pretty

The Annotated Luther, vol. 5: Christian Life in the World, edited by Hans Hillerbrand

The End is Music: A Companion to Robert W. Jenson's Theology by Chris E. W. Green

Codependent No More: How to Stop Controlling Others and Start Caring for Yourself by Melodie Beattie

The Church Unknown: Reflections of a Millenial Pastor by Seth Green

Reading While Black: African American Biblical Interpretation as an Exercise in Hope by Esau McCaulley

A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans by Sarah Hinlicky Wilson

Daily Grace: The Mockingbird Devotional, vol. 2

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Not listed are some books that I chose not to finish and some books that I have yet to finish.

[buggie-hagen]

The Confessional documents were never meant to be a substitute for the holy Scriptures. They were not even meant as a substitute for the Creeds. Both Bible and Creed rate higher, in Lutheran estimation, than specifically Lutheran documents...The Confessions were meant to be a guide to the right reading and understanding of the Scripture and the Creeds. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 23-4.

[buggie-hagen]

May we all be strengthened in the Spirit to seek out God's will for our communities and together proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ so that the world may believe. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 131.

[buggie-hagen]

As noted earlier, many Pentecostals came from a strongly anti-Catholic background and so adopted, without much consideration, the belief...that the Supper is a purely memorial act. This is a bit ironic, really, since Pentecostals' main conviction about worship is that "the Lord is present": present everywhere, apparently, but in the bread and wine! Some Pentecostal theologians have begun to reconsider sacramental theology along lines more amenable to Lutherans, and we may hope for mutual growth in this regard. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 129.

[buggie-hagen]

Regardless of theology or history or structure, the biggest felt difference between Lutherans and Pentecostals lies in their respective worship styles. Most often people judge other churches by the appearance of difference in worship, rather than by the substance of Who is worshipped and what is said about Him. We need to be more discerning interpreters of all liturgy and worship--both within our church communities and without. And in the end, our goal should be the ability to join together in worshiping the one God our Father, Who sent His Son and gives His Spirit. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 128.

[buggie-hagen]

No human experience can invalidate the gospel. But it will be God's business, in the end, to confirm His own promises and save His people. The gap in between is filled by faith. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 124.

[buggie-hagen]

To be an idolater is to be enslaved to a mute, dead, unresponsive thing instead of in a lifegiving relationship with the lifegiving God. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 110.

[buggie-hagen]

Wealth without social justice is an abomination in the eyes of the Lord. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 109.

[buggie-hagen]

As long as divided churches insist on seeing each other as rivals for a limited number of church members or converts, the disputes will continue. And as long as all churches seek to secure their own power--whether through legal precedent or sensational attractions--they will live at odds with the Lord who laid down his life for them, refusing the privileges of his own almighty power. A more excellent way is demanded of all churches that bear the name of Jesus Christ. ~Sarah Hinlicky Wilson, A Guide to Pentecostal Movements for Lutherans, 100.