Martin Luther's Evening Prayer
"An Unchanging Faith for Changing Lives" describes the message of God for us in the turmoil of the 21st Century. This faith is taught at St. John's Lutheran Church of Taylor, Michigan, and other congregations of the Lutheran church-Missouri Synod. Rev. Dr. Richard Zeile, Pastor at St. John's, applies the Word of God to our everyday experiences. God's LAW always accuses, but God's GOSPEL shows where grace can be found, through Jesus Christ who died for our sin, but rose that we may have eternal life.
Martin Luther's Evening Prayer
Mark 7 LEGALISM
After the hymn based on John 3:16, Dr. Zeile discusses legalism. Often mistaken for an unfeeling application of law, it also encompasses the manipulation of the law through arbitrary definition or casuistry so that it reflects the will of men rather than the will of God. By imagining that they could manipulate the law so as to excuse themselves but not others, Jesus' opponents were guilty of a form of idolatry. This meditation is followed by a brief celebration of the Sacrament of Holy Communion in which Christ gives His broken body and shed blood for the forgiveness of our failure to live by God's law.