Take the Quiz!
Curled up in my inbox a while back was an email from the District requesting that I complete the online Congregation Life Cycle…
Month: June 2015
Notes from the Mission Field: Persecution, Preaching, Teaching, and Translating
Originally published by Lutherans in Africa: Sudanese Refugees Last month, I began the newsletter talking about the situation in Dadaab Refugee Camp which…
It’s Convention Season…
My classmates are agreed to a man that dogmatics in the mid-1950s was a completely undistinguished enterprise. That’s a polite way of saying…
Luther’s Notes on the Sunday Gospel: Trinity 3 -The Lost Sheep
Evangelism: Luke 15:1-10 New King James Version The Parable of the Lost Sheep and The Parable of the Lost Coin 15 Then all…
A few more peeves…
Oh, where to begin? Okay, how about this… I’m going to put my tongue into my cheek, lean into a little different perspective,…
Great Stuff — The surprising history of Romans 6 and baptism in the early Church
Another great post found over on Pr. Mark Surburg’s blog: The doctrine of Holy Baptism believed by the one holy, catholic and…
Great Stuff — Four things Lutherans believe about the Law that are false … and true
Posted originally on Pr. Surburg’s Blog: In our study of Scripture we return to the same texts, yet we often do not…
Sermon — Pr. Tony Sikora — Broken, Common, and Small
There’s nothing special about Ezekiel’s branch. It’s just a twig. And there’s certainly nothing extraordinary about a farmer sowing his seed. Farmers have done that for thousands of years. Nor is there anything especially attractive about a mustard seed. Mustard seeds are small, very small. Yet each of these are used by the Lord in our text to teach something quite extraordinary – for each of these reveal the Kingdom of God. You see the Kingdom of God isn’t about the mighty, the extraordinary or the attractive.
Fear Not, Little Flock
Despair and consternation may surround us. We fret over the onslaught of Islam. We see our rights ebbing away in the United States….
FiveTwo: Movements and Gifts
One of the problems with FiveTwo is that it is a movement. The thing about movements is that they move (or at least…
unLutheran Worship
If you were to visit 5 different LCMS congregations, there’s a good chance you’d witness 5 very different approaches to worship. Hopefully you would…
Why I Quit the Gideons
Associate Editor’s note: this is the first of what will hopefully be many posts by Joseph Klotz. He’s the author of the forthcoming “Lutheran Book…
Luther’s Notes on the Sunday Gospel: Trinity 2 -Invitation: The Great Supper
Invitation: Luke 14:16-24 New King James Version The Great Supper 16 Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper…
The Call Process Primer
Calling a new pastor is a great and glorious occasion. It can however be a hard time as well. Your congregation is going…
Luther’s Notes on the Sunday Gospel: Trinity 1 -Dives and Lazarus
Historic Series Trinity I: Luke 16:19-31 New King James Version The Rich Man and Lazarus 19 “There was a certain rich man who…
God’s Little Puppet Show
“Now the blind world, because it does not know God and his work, concludes that it is owing to its own cleverness, reason,…
“Different Opinions about Jesus–and His Followers” (Sermon on Mark 3:20-35, by Pr. Charles Henrickson)
“Different Opinions about Jesus–and His Followers” (Mark 3:20-35) In the Holy Gospel for today we encounter people expressing a couple of different opinions…
Intimidation: A Needed Reminder from 1884
October 3, 1884, CFW Walther introduced his fourth evening lecture on the Proper Distinction Between Law and Gospel with the following remarks on…
District Conventions Updates…. Post them here
District Conventions have begun and are currently at a frenzy. Feel free to give news in the comments of interesting resolutions, speakers, and…
Sermon — Pr. Tony Sikora — Strong through Weakness
Our text this morning says that Jesus came to a house, not necessarily his house, but He came to house. This house is like any other house. This house is like our house. And just like our house there’s more to this house than just the walls and the roof, the windows and the door. There’s people in this house. There’s people in your house, people you love very much, people Jesus loves very much, that’s why he comes to a House in the first place.
“Trinitarian, Born Again, Christian” (Sermon for Trinity Sunday by Pastor Rolf Preus)
There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said…
Great Stuff — What the Supreme Court Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage Will Mean for Confessional Lutherans
Great Stuff found over on ELS.org: Back in 2014 the three judges of the 7th Circuit Court ruled that Wisconsin and Indiana…
FiveTwo’s Wordless, Bloodless, and Christless Theory of Sacrament
FiveTwo recently published an article by Jim Marriot titled, “The Sacramental Nature of Music.” At the outset he claims: “I believe music has…
Is Missouri Lukewarm?
Has fidelity to the institution become more important than doctrine in the Missouri Synod? There are deep doctrinal divisions in the Missouri Synod…
Same-Sex Behaviors and Desires: God Speaks to Both
Matters of same-sex behaviors and desires have become commonplace in our sexually super-charged and pleasure-obsessed culture. Pop-culture doles out regular helpings of such…