Tribulation and Consolation

and the middle ground of repentance

Bryan Wolfmueller

Aug 15, 2024

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/ His Holy Name (Psalm 33:20-22)

/ Wednesday What-Not, An Update

Friends,

Thank you for your patience. There’s been very little Wednesday What-Nott-ing this summer, but there has been a lot of things happening.

First, I’m hoping that this fall will afford me a little more time to write and keep in touch. So you can expect to find more coming to you this way.

Second, if you are interested, I’ll offer a quick catch-up and a few reflections of this summer’s events.

We travelled with 46 of you to the British Isles in the beginning of June. It was a beautiful trip, very green! I was reminded of the difficulty of the Lutheran Church in England and the other countries, but we were encouraged to visit Our Savior Lutheran Church in Farnham, their pastor Tapani Simojoki, and meet the saints there (and drop off a few hymnals). We stopped in at the Westfield House in Cambridge, which is an amazing place. It was also wonderful to meet a number of families in Belfast, Ireland, who are studying our Lutheran doctrine. May the Lord grant that a Lutheran Church would be established for the first time in Ireland!
(I was reflecting on The Troubles, the fights between the Protestant and Catholics in Ireland, and wondering what the Lutheran place is. We are somewhere in between [something I reflected on in this video, “The Lutherans Don’t Fit IN”], resulting in animosity from both sides. But I wonder if there is a way that the Lutheran doctrine could capture the imagination of both the Catholics and Protestants in Ireland. God grant it!)
We had a great Catechism Retreat in the mountains of Colorado in the end of June.
In July I presented at the International Lutheran Deaf Association in Detroit. It was my first “speaking” engagement in ASL. I told the stories of the martyrs, and what it means for us. The story of Romanus’ cheeks being pierced with a sword really comes alive in sign. God be praised! Deaf ministry has been declining in the LCMS, but I think there is an opportunity for our church body to preach more with our hands.
I flew from Detroit to Chicago, and saw many of you at the Issues, Etc. Conference. My topic was “The Promises of God.” What a beautiful thing to consider. I published this book to go along with the presentation:
(I still haven’t updated the website with the book. I’ll let you know what I do, and you’ll be able to download a copy for free.)
We had three weddings at church in June! Praise the Lord for Peter & Hannah, Aaron & Rachel, and Harrison & Sarah!
At the end of July we hosted the Digital Catacombs. It was great to hear from all the presenters. I had two presentations on new media and the Gospel. I’ll try to turn them into a video or podcast. Mostly, I was articulating a playful use of technology.
(Here’s an excerpt on homo ludens from the preface of the Second Edition of Kenneth Minoque’s Alien Powers. That was the smart part of my presentation.
We didn’t record any of the presentations. This really was a “you had to be there” event.)
In the first week of August we hosted the first ever (that I know of) Lutheran Singles Cruise. It was a blast. You can read a little about it here.

/ Women’s Ordination

The Lutheran Churches in Australia and Germany are having troublesome conversations about women’s ordination.

Here’s my attempt to add something helpful to the conversation. If you know people struggling with this topic, please share it.

/ “Modern man is not a zombie…”

Pastor Flamme sent this quotation to me. He thought I would like it. He was right.

"Modern man is not a zombie or a monster, but a drifter with an unhappy conscience, because, having a right to everything, he is fulfilled with nothing, and due to this dissatisfaction, he does not even know the name of what he is looking for." -Chantal Delsol

/ One Page Psalm Sheets

Jonathan came home from the Worship Institute in Seward with a pile of these guys. What a great resource.

Download them all for free here.

/ Luther’s Chronology of the World

This came up yesterday in the Worldwide Bible Class. Martin Luther kept a timeline of the history of the world. It was a book with boxes down the middle of the page, one box per year, and he used it to sort out the chronology of the Biblical account.

It was published in 1541. You can download the PDF here.

(This would be a fun project to translate, if anyone has some free time.)

/ “This is the doctrine of the entire Holy Scripture…”

We also found this beautiful discussion from Luther in yesterday’s Worldwide Bible Class:

Our lives vacillate between tribulation and consolation according to God’s will. The troubles mortify and humble us, and the consolations comfort us and fill us with joy. This is the Lord’s work of Law and Gospel, keeping us in the joy of repentance.

You can read the entire Luther quotation here. It’s worth your time.

Please add your own theological recommendations in the comments.

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Thank you, again, for your time and attention, and for your prayers. Please keep in touch.

Christ is Risen!
Pastor Wolfmueller

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

www.wolfmueller.co