Going Green

Semrau makes the point of his essay clear when he says “Please consider joining me.” The way Semrau keeps information from the reader definitely helps the intent of the essay. His intent is to persuade the reader to consider giving their body as a cadaver once they die. Semrau begins by discussing what it means to reduce, reuse, and recycle. Then he tells about his life and the different jobs he has worked. Only near the end of the article does he reveal his point. I think this method is very effective because it makes the reader curious where he is going by giving all this information that appears random. Then he starts talking about how he plans to go to go to Harvard’s Medical School and the reader most likely wonders how he would get in at such an old age. At this point, Semrau finally reveals his purpose for writing the article and all the previous topics make sense. In the beginning of the article Semrau says he likes to focus on the reuse part of going green. Then, after he reveals that he plans to give up his corpse for studying purposes, it makes sense why reuse applies the most to him.

Savior of the Nations Come

Martin Luther’s theme in the hymn, “Savior of the Nations Come" is salvation through Jesus Christ who humbled himself to come to Earth, then triumphed over the devil, and will return one day to take all believers with Him to paradise. One language tool Luther uses in the hymn is description. This method is very effective in supporting his theme. The entire hymn focuses on Jesus, yet the actual name is not mentioned. Instead Luther describes Him as Savior, Virgin’s Son, Word of God, the Father’s only Son, God the Son, and our King. The adjectives pure and fresh are also used to describe Jesus. One could summarize the first three verses simply as Jesus was born of a virgin and not conceived by people, but by the Holy Spirit. However, Luther goes into much greater detail and adds that though the whole world disowned Him, He will still be enthroned in heaven. It is very important that Luther does not stop with Jesus being born of a virgin, but finishes the story by explaining how he overcame death and won the victory so we can spend eternity with Him in heaven if we have faith, through the Holy Spirit.

Law vs. Gospel

Rev. Borghardt's Sermon

    Christ is mentioned about 37 times.

     The verbs Borghart mentions Christ doing are: makes us holy, was slain, took on our sin, died for us on the cross, lives again, died our death, rose, now reigns, put on our flesh and blood, took on our dieing, makes us alive to die no more, set us apart, put His holy name on our forehead, wants us, makes this a place of blessing, is with God, reigns on the throne with the Father, died for us, lives for us, and reigns for us!

The theme found in Rev. Borghardt's sermon is the complete opposite of that found in Jonathan Edward’s sermon. Edward’s whole message declares that those who are not part of God’s grace will face His wrath and be damned to hell. His law filled sermon only mentions salvation through Christ twice at the end. Borghardt’s point is much different in that he preaches mostly the Gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection. His main points are that Jesus has done everything for us and all who believe in Jesus will live for eternity with all the saints in heaven.

Law Loosened

     The state of Michigan might change the law regarding items hanging from rearview mirrors and allow small objects to dangle. Many people are unaware that this law even exists and policemen do not enforce it.

      "Unless it's large and an obvious obstruction, it's just silly for police to pull somebody over for that. People aren't hurting anybody and they're not causing any danger." I like this quote because he makes a good point in saying it's not hurting anyone to hang a small object from your rearview mirror. Police should worry more about distractions such as texting or putting on makeup while driving because these actions are very dangerous and more likely to cause crashes than simply having something dangle from your rearview mirror. 

     I agree with this ban because I was unaware that this law even existed, until I read this article, and feel that if Michigan has that law they should make sure people know about it and enforce it. Also I see no harm in hanging prayer beads, or whatever it may be, from your rearview mirror.

It's not always about race

    Mitch Albom wrote this article about Lebron James to point out that reporters should not ask the question regarding whether race played a role in certain decisions. I agree with Albom and think he makes a very good point about the fact that race does not come up when good things happen like James being voted MVP, but as soon as something goes wrong ,whether or not race had a role in why it happend, is the first question asked. Albom also makes a good point about James' big ego. Race disregarded, anyone who makes a TV special about deciding to switch teams and phrases their choice in the way James did, has a very big ego. Albom concludes by saying Lebron's ratings have drastically dropped. This is not due solely to white people disliking him, in the same way that his popularity was not just black fans. I agree that the question about race should not be brought up when it does not have to be.