[Amcasci]

A very fine resource that acts as a strong antidote to "New and fresh" is a little book titled "Ordinary" written by Michael Horton. The obsession with the "new and fresh" or "the next big thing" blinds one to the ordinary and obvious work of Christ that is ours each day. Our Lord has chosen to communicate His grace and mercy to us through "ordinary" means...preaching, baptism, holy communion, the mutual consolation of the brethren. When these are set aside for "praise bands", "O Lord Jesus" shouting, church growth techniques, etc.,we quickly become hounds chasing the wind and missing the great feast that Christ has plainly put before us. A simple sermon that properly distinguishes between Law and Gospel, a daily remembrance of baptism and faithful reception of the Lord's Supper...these are the tools that make us grow in godliness and not cranking up our emotions and craving novelty.

The only "movement" that has my attention these days is moving myself from my bed to the Divine Service where I hear the good news of forgiveness in Gospel preaching and receive the good news of forgiveness in the Body and Blood of Christ given to me in the Bread and Wine of Holy Communion.

Let me also add that at my ripe age I finally figured out that each day of my life is a miniature of my entire life. I rise in the morning, remember my baptism, present my body to Him, ask the Holy Spirit to enable me to serve my neighbor, give thanks for the day's bread both physical and spiritual and at the end of the day, I thank Him for the gifts, confess the sins of the day, receive absolution and put my head on the pillow and my sleep is a rehearsal for my rest in the grave. There you have my whole life in sum lived out each day. "Teach me to live so that I may fear the grave as little as my bed". (All Praise to Thee My God This Night).