The Burr in the Burbs

"I cling to my Lord Christ like a burr on cloth." – Katherine Luther

Archive for the ‘Theology’ tag

Jesus’ Tomb People Backtrack

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I am continually dumbfounded by how gullible people are when it comes to anti-Christian hype. Anyone who bothered to do five minutes of research could have debunked that ridiculous “Jesus’ Tomb” business from James Cameron recently. But we don’t want the facts to interfere with our Christian-bashing. Not surprisingly, now many of the [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 13th, 2007 at 8:11 pm

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"For the Joy Set Before Him…"

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We never stop looking at the cross, but sometime you have to look beyond the cross to see the empty tomb. A couple of years ago, I took a little survey after church one Sunday asking my congregation’s opinions about the movie about the Passion of the Christ. And one person wrote this comment: [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 8th, 2007 at 11:08 pm

Posted in Seminary

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Tre Ore

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Our church, together with a couple of neighboring Lutheran congregations, held a Tre Ore (“three hour”) service today. Why a church service three hours long? It is a custom to wait with Jesus from noon til three on Good Friday because it was during those hours that darkness covered the earth while Jesus hung [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 6th, 2007 at 8:35 pm

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Why Did Jesus Die on the Cross?

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If you went outside and conducted a poll asking the man on the street this question: “Why did Jesus die on the cross,” what kinds of responses do you think you’d receive? I think some people would say He died on the cross because one of His followers betrayed Him and the Jews and Romans conspired [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

April 6th, 2007 at 1:56 pm

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Hell is Real

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Hell and damnation are real, says Pope Benedict XVI. It’s not easy in this day and age to speak about these subjects. Few take the words of Jesus seriously. He tells us more about hell and damnation that any other figure in the Old or New Testaments. I’ve met Christians who may agree that hell [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

March 28th, 2007 at 5:20 pm

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Faith or Wishful Thinking

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What is the difference between faith and wishful thinking? Someone said to me regarding a specific desired outcome to a problem, “let’s trust God that this will happen.” Now that would have been good and pious if he’d meant, “I don’t know what will happen, but I believe that God is good and He will [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

March 7th, 2007 at 1:22 am

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Wrestling w/God

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I am always intrigued by the story from Genesis 32 of Jacob wrestling with the angel. Of course, this passage and Hosea 12 identify the mysterious stranger as the Lord God himself. What does it mean to wrestle with God? Jacob was always wrestling with someone. Even in his mother’s womb, he wrestled [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

March 4th, 2007 at 5:30 am

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Jim Carrey on Religion

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Actor and comedian Jim Carrey riffs on religion etc. here. Notice the dry, withered, old canard, “I’m not religious, but spiritual.” SHARETHIS.addEntry({ title: “Jim Carrey on Religion”, url: “http://www.burrintheburgh.com/2007/03/03/jim-carrey-on-religion/” });

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

March 3rd, 2007 at 7:04 pm

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Strange Cult in Florida

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This is the first time I’ve heard of this particular group, a cult calling themselves Growing in Grace. The leader has called himself everything from the reincarnation of St. Paul, to the antichrist to Jesus Himself. Many of his church members are so dedicated that give up to 40-50% of their incomes to [...]

Written by Pastor Scott Stiegemeyer

February 24th, 2007 at 7:25 pm

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