Concerning Congregational and Choral Song
Below is a translated excerpt from August F.C. Vilmar’s “Textbook of Pastoral Theology” (Lehrbuch der Pastoraltheologie) from 1872. Vilmar was an influential figure…
Author: Pastor Ryan Loeslie
Rev. Ryan Loeslie is pastor of the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Dimock, South Dakota. He is a graduate of the University of Minnesota and Concordia Theological Seminary - Fort Wayne, having also studied at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Oberursel, Germany. From 2009 to 2017, he served as pastor of the Immanuel Lutheran Church of Merna, Nebraska.
He enjoys his family, rural ministry, the Psalms, catechesis, Lutheran hymnody, and South Dakota pheasants. He and his wife Valerie live in Immanuel's beautiful country parsonage and are blessed to be raising four children.
The Magi, Their Treasure, and Church Hopping
This past Sunday our churches observed the Epiphany of Our Lord. Epiphany has a fixed calendar date of January 6. As I would…
“Was” Versus “Is” in Catechesis
Having been to a good number of circuit meetings and pastors conferences in my ministry by now, I often hear pastors make a…
Psalm 128 – Spiritual Weapon Against Fornication
One word increasingly lost on our culture today is fornication. It has a simple definition, the voluntary sexual intercourse of two persons who…
Eleventh Sunday after Trinity – The Historical Gospel
The Eleventh Sunday after Trinity August 31, 2014 “The Historical Gospel” 1 Corinthians 15:1-10 Click the link below to…
How To Catechize Children – Part 3, The Benefits
Parts 1 and 2 of this series “How to Catechize Children” are probably most important. They lay out a catechetical method and plan…
How To Catechize Children – Part 2, The Process
In Part 1 of this series “How to Catechize Children,” I laid out the method of catechesis. It is simply question and answer. …
How To Catechize Children – Part 1, The Method
In recent years much headway has been made in emphasizing how the Small Catechism is a book for the home. It had been…
Broadening Your Devotion With Lutheran Hymns
Sometimes I get the vibe that Lutherans are dissatisfied with their own devotion and piety, as if it were too narrow or restricting. …
Your Family As Impetus For Daily Prayer
Throughout my twenties, I remained unmarried. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. I was able to pursue my education without other distractions. Serving…
Demystify Your Pastor With The Small Catechism
We all know pastors can be a bit mystifying sometimes. Growing up in a small congregation with fairly high pastor turnover, that’s what…
The Bottom Of The Page – A Trick For Identifying Good Hymns
I remember when I was a boy how my mother received a small gift once from a friend. It was a keychain. On…
The Most Memorable Sunday School Lesson Ever
After my parents, one of my heroes of the faith growing up was a man named Frank Knoll. Growing up at Immanuel Lutheran…