Dr. Cameron Mackenzie gives a lesson on the history of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod from Germany to America.

Scripture: Genesis 6,

Scripture: 1 Samuel 10:1-11:15, Samuel, to satisfy the demands of the Israelites for a king, secretly anoints Saul as the king-designate, and the Holy Spirit changes Saul. Saul was later, reluctantly anointed king publically. But Saul did not assume his responsibility as king until a threat by Nahash, the Ammonite, prompted him to rally the people for a holy war. Saul, being led by the Holy Spirit, acts boldly and strategically and the Israelites are victorious. Now Israel unites in worship and praise, thanking God for the victory and accepting Saul as their king.

Scripture: 1 Samuel 8:1-9:25, With a desire to be like other nations, Israel's elders ask Samuel for a king. The Lord tells Samuel to agree to the request for a king, but to warn the people about what a king will do. Saul is anointed as Israel's first king, but the Lord will still achieve His objective, the redemption of the world. The events of our lives are never accidental but always providential.

Scripture: Genesis 5:1 - 6:6, Chapter 5 of Genesis provides the genealogical summary of early humanity. Cain's descendants increasingly participate in the evil that overwhelms God's creation, preferring their own inclinations toward beauty and power over God's clear will for their lives. God, recognizing that the human heart is a continual source of evil, is about to give way to judgment, yet He also has a plan for mercy. Noah, a descendant of Seth, finds favor in the eyes of the Lord. Through Noah will come the promised Savior. Genealogies teach that God perseveres in the fulfillment of His promises.

Scripture: Titus 2:11-3:15, Our lifestyle, relationships, and behavior must not discredit the Gospel. God trains us for the present time and gives us hope for the future. He redeems and purifies us to make us His children by bringing us out of sin and into new life in Christ. This begins with the cleansing and rebirth He gives in our Baptism. Our words and behavior must be checked against Scripture. Those who stray away from God's truth, and stir up division, must be disciplined by the Church.

Scripture: Genesis 4:1-26 Hebrews 4:11, Genesis 4 begins with a murder of Abel, a shepherd who bring his offering to God in faith. Cain deals with Abel in a violent way. This shadow of violence lengthens until Lamech perverts marriage by taking two wives and boasting that he is 77 times more violent than his murderous ancestor Cain. But we also learn of the birth of Seth, through whom God's promise in Genesis 3:15 will continue. God's plan is not stopped by murder. God appoints another through which the seed of the woman carries the promised action of God forward until it is realized at the cross.

Scripture: Titus 1:1-2:10, Chapter 1 of Titus teaches what kind of man a bishop, or pastor, ought to be, namely, one who is pious and learned in preaching the gospel and in refuting the false teachers of works and of man-made laws. Chapter 2 teaches the various estates for those Christ has won by his death; the older, the younger, wives, husbands, masters, and slaves"how they are to act.

Scripture: Genesis 3:17-24,

Scripture: 1 Samuel 5:6-7:17, The idol-worshiping Philistines experience the captured Ark, not as a means of blessing, but as a means of judgment. Not only is their chief god, Dagon, humiliated before the ark, but all the Philistine cities that house the Ark experience the "hand" of the Lord in the form of plague. If we despise the means of God's grace, we, too, stand under God's judgment. After seven months in Philistine territory, the Ark was returned to Israel, but not to Shilohbecause of the desecration there done by Eli's sons. The Ark was returned to the house of Abinadab in Kirath-jearim, nine miles NE of Beth-shemesh. The Ark remained there for twenty years, during which, with Samuel's encouragement, the people of Israel turn to the Lord and cry out for mercy. This marks the beginning of a new era, under the leadership of Samuel the judge, in which the people of Israel subdue the Philistines and have their land restored.