Christ Through Us

All these things are from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). Amen.

The Wisconsin Synod began in 1850 with three pastors. By 1862, the new synod president, John Bading, recognized that for the Wisconsin Synod to continue growing and remaining faithful to the Scriptures, it would need to develop its own source of pastors in the United States. The mission societies in Germany had been sending money and pastors to the New World. They were appreciated. But President Bading noticed issues for this new, fledgling church body. The monies and numbers of men were inconsistent. Also, the mission societies intentionally wanted men who were trained to serve both Lutheran and Reformed congregations. Confessional Lutheranism was not something that interested those sending the men.

President Bading's plea to the 1862 convention was insistent: "Old synodical congregations have been standing orphaned for many months. … Requests for preachers coming from new congregations who had not as yet joined the synod could not be granted even a hearing. … We cannot and dare not rely on Germany. … We must dig a well in our country, in our Synod, that will supply the workers. If we expect to wait with the institution until we are well-fixed financially, it will never materialize (Christ Through Us, p. 31).

The Wisconsin Synod established its own seminary in 1863. This was the same summer the Battle of Gettysburg was fought on the campus of one of the oldest Lutheran seminaries in the United States. Classes began in September of 1863 in a house in Watertown, Wisconsin with one student. By November, another student arrived. Within a year several more students were taking classes. The seminary was off and running.

The synod purchased 5 acres of land and broke ground on their first building in 1864. By September 1865, the synod had a seminary, a college, and a preparatory high school all on the same campus. "For now, a well had been dug in the Wisconsin Synod. With God's blessing, the new institutions would produce well-trained pastors to proclaim Christ in and through the synod." (Christ Through Us).

Already at the first convention in 1850, it had been resolved that pastors should engage themselves in the education of the youth, conducting day schools in addition to Sunday School. Usually, the local pastor was the teacher of the school. Not every one of these was an all-day, Monday through Friday institution. Classes were held as the pastor's time allowed, and farming work kept many children home from school. By 1860 nearly half of the synod's congregations had a weekday school. Some of the larger congregations in Milwaukee and elsewhere soon called teachers to free up the pastors from these school duties. Since there was a desire for better trained teachers and a steadier supply of them, a teacher training course was added to the Watertown college in the mid-1870s.

Our church body was founded to continue preaching and teaching God's salvation in churches, classrooms, and living rooms. It was founded to put into practice the words of Moses in Deuteronomy 6: "Listen, O Israel, and be conscientious about doing those things, so it may go well for you and so you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your fathers, promised you. Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is one! Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words that I am commanding you today are to be on your heart. 7Teach them diligently to your children, and speak about them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deuteronomy 6:3-7).

Did you notice how intense Moses is here? He describes a way of life that is totally saturated with God's Word inside and out. Perhaps many today would consider Moses' intensity to be overkill.

God's Word should be so well known that it becomes internal – "on your heart" – on the hearts of you and your children. God's Word is to be an ever-present reality on the hearts, minds, and lips of God's people. It isn't something we just hear and read, pray and sing on Sunday mornings. God's Word should capture our conversations – "speak about them." It should absorb our actions – "when you sit and when you walk." They should thread through our thoughts – "when you lie down and when you get up."

How do you start your day? Do you grab your phone to start scrolling social media? That doesn't set a good precedence for the day. How do you end your day? Do you watch videos on your phone while lying in bed? That doesn't allow you to get a good night's sleep. These are also a waste of the precious, limited amount of time God has given you.

What might be a better use of your time? In his Small Catechism, Martin Luther suggests making the sign of the cross, repeating the Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer, and then praying his morning prayer. "Then go to your work with joy, singing a hymn, like one of the Ten Commandments or what your devotion may suggest" (The Small Catechism).

Gather your children together for prayer and a family devotion. Take 5 to 15 minutes a day in prayer, confession, and meditation on God's Word. Use online or written devotions from the WELS, read a portion of the Bible, and listen to podcasts of sermons, Bible studies, and discussions. (I think your pastor has a few podcasts you can listen to.)

Luther has similar advice for the evening. He again suggests making the sign of the cross to remind you of your Baptism, then reciting the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and his evening prayer. "Then go to sleep immediately and cheerfully."

Gather your children together for prayer in the evening. Read a portion of Scripture or a family devotion. Pray a written prayer and add your own prayers from the heart. Turn off the lights. "Then go to sleep immediately and cheerfully."

The Israelites were to obey God's laws. "Now this is the body of commands, and these are the statutes and the ordinances that the Lord your God commanded me to teach you, so you may carry them out in the land to which you are crossing over to receive as a possession, so that you may fear the Lord your God by keeping all his statutes and his commandments, which I am commanding to you, as well as to your children and grandchildren, all the days of your life, and so that your days may be long" (Deuteronomy 6:1-2). Not only were they to listen to them, but they were to take them to heart. They were to put them into practice.

What is one of the best ways to learn how to do something? By teaching it to somebody else. Who better to teach than our children and grandchildren? But what do we do? Probably not that.

Take the time right now to bow your head. Confess to God how you fill up your heart with nonsense and the unimportant, instead of filling up your heart with what is important, essential, and eternal.

Silence for private confession.

Children of the heavenly Father, Jesus Christ has forgiven you. St. Paul writes, "God made him, who did not know sin, to become sin for us, so that we might become the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus made a Great Exchange. Because you fail to love God with your whole being, Jesus loved God above all things. Because you don't set aside Sunday as your Sabbath rest in the Lord, the Son of God worshiped the Triune God in the synagogue on the Sabbath. Because you fail to meditate on God's Word, Jesus is the Word made flesh to reconcile you to God. Because you fail to pray, Jesus went off to pray on his own, and taught his disciples to pray the Lord's Prayer.

The Pew Research Center released a study two years ago that found that only 35% of parents said that it was either "extremely" or "very" important to them that their children have beliefs similar to their own. 22% said it was "somewhat" important. While a shocking 43% said it was "not at all" or "not too" important that their children share religious beliefs similar to their own. They consider Moses' intensity to be overkill.

Another study found that 23% of Christian parents are worried their little ones might be rejected by their classmates if their faith becomes a public thing. God has laid out a plan in Deuteronomy 6 to pass the faith to the next generations. But sadly, there are many parents and grandparents who have devised their own plan – if kids don't know anything about their faith, they won't say anything about their faith; and if they don't say anything about their faith, no one will pick on them. Their logic is flawless … if the greatest duty of parents is to make sure their offspring have playmates. On the other hand, if you are concerned about seeing your children and grandchildren in heaven, then you will be sharing Jesus' salvation story when you are sitting at home, walking on the sidewalk, getting ready for bed, and getting ready for the day.

Parents and grandparents, there is no substitute for you. We are blessed at Lord of Lords to have active Sunday School teachers to train our little ones. We will be starting a youth group soon for regular Teen Bible studies and activities. Lord willing, we'll be making a trip next summer to the WELS International Youth Rally.

We are blessed to have 362 early childhood ministries, 284 Lutheran elementary schools, 29 area Lutheran high schools, 2 Preparatory schools, Martin Luther College, and Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary in the WELS. You support this Christian education in our church and church body with your offerings, prayers, efforts, and encouragement.

But the primary responsibility for the spiritual education and edification of children continues to reside with parents and grandparents. Not putting God's Word into the hearts, souls, and minds of your children is like sending your kids to school with no shoes, no lunch, and no lunch money. They are unprepared for the world.

Your children and grandchildren are little lambs in Christ's flock. Christ is the Great Shepherd of the sheep (Hebrews 11:20). He has assigned you to be his under-shepherds in the pasture of your home. The Devil is a roaring lion roaming around, seeking to devour your little lambs (1 Peter 5:18). He is the Enemy who seeks to rip faith from your child's soul.

Swing the sword of the Spirit against the lion's neck. Strike the lion against the cheek with your Catechism. Save the lambs from the lion's mouth by reminding them of their Baptism. Call upon God's angelic warriors for protection with your prayers.

As you read God's Word together, have spiritual discussions of how to put God's Word into practice. Discuss school events, political events, and current events with a Christian worldview.

Talk about your faith regularly and how it influences the decisions in your life. This allows them to know Christianity is not confined to one day a week. It influences every activity whether walking or talking, in the morning, afternoon, or evening.

Model your faith. Demonstrate repentance. Accept Christ's forgiveness. Joyfully serve the Lord in all you do. Your kids and grandkids will notice. Then they'll want to emulate you.

In the words of President Bading, a well has been dug in our synod. Now it's up to you to saturate yourself and your family in God's Word – inside and out. We thank the Lord of the Church for digging this well of the Water of Life with our Seminary, colleges, high schools, prep schools, elementary schools, and Sunday Schools. But you parents and grandparents are on the front lines. Research confirms you are the most significant influence on your young people's spiritual development. What you do now will influence the rest of their lives. This is Christ working through you. "Teach them diligently to your children, and speak about them when you sit in your house and when you walk on the road, when you lie down and when you get up" (Deuteronomy 6:7). Amen.

God has entrusted to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, inasmuch as God is making an appeal through us (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). Amen.