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Worship and Eternity
By Elisabeth Urtel He handed each student a Lutheran Service Book, and instructed us to open it to a random page. “Try to find a hymn that doesn’t end up in heaven.” Each of us in the church music class tried, but every example we landed on mentioned eternal life in some way. Finally, a student thought she had found one, but as a class we located a heavenward reference in a middle verse. My professor then used this to explain one mark of a strong Lutheran hymn: it recognizes that the singers are not only the Church Militant, but also the future Church Triumphant. Go find your hymnal, and try…
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Fear Not the Foe
By Holly Scheer 0 little flock, fear not the Foe Who madly seeks your overthrow; Dread not his rage and power. What though your courage sometimes faints, His seeming triumph o’er God’s saints Lasts but a little hour. Death is coming for us all. Unless the Second Coming arrives before the end of our days– we will all die. That little baby sleeping sweetly in your arms, your grandparent, your spouse, you, me– all of us. Death is coming closer daily. But Death is not the end, sister. Death is an end, but it is the end of our suffering and separation from God. Death has been overcome by Jesus–…
