“We do not deny that we are geared up to retain the external worship service as it has long been retained for centuries by the ancient Lutheran Church…”

Fr. Mark BradenDecember 29, 2022 Comments

The Lord Is for You and for Your Children

As before in the history of God’s people, another Joseph now brings his Father’s family into Egypt, lest they perish, in order to preserve the world from death. But as this story is unfolding, in the middle of the night, St. Joseph has no way of knowing what the outcome of these events will be. He has nothing to guide him or go by except the Word of the Lord, His warnings and His promises. With that, he goes in faith, and everything ensues and is fulfilled according to the Scriptures. Which is really to say that his situation then was not so very different from your own.

Blessed Are Those Who Hear and Receive this Word

What St. John and his fellow Apostles saw and heard and even touched and handled — the only-begotten God, the Word-made-Flesh, the incarnate Son of the Father, your Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ — no less than He is manifested and communicated to you in the apostolic Scriptures, as these have been written and as they are proclaimed within the Church. As the Father has spoken His Word to us in the Person of His Son, so is He now spoken to you in the apostolic preaching of the Gospel, whereby you have entered into the joyous friendship and glorious company of the holy Apostles, and into the fellowship of the Lord Jesus Christ, His Father, and His Holy Spirit.

After the Pattern of Christ Jesus

Stephen knew and trusted that he had a dwelling place with God, because God had made His dwelling place with Stephen in Christ Jesus. The holy martyr knew that he would be with Christ, with the Father in heaven, because the same Lord Jesus Christ was with him in his suffering and death. He knew that heaven was his home, and that heaven had been fully opened to him by the Cross and Resurrection of the incarnate Son of God. The Lord has just as surely done the same for you, as well. He has become Flesh for you. He has given Himself for you, even unto death. He has risen from the dead and ascended into heaven for you, also. And yet, He also remains with you here in His Church on earth, in His very own Flesh and Blood, with His Word and Holy Spirit. Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with you here.

On St. Thomas's Confession

On this Feast of St. Thomas, I remembered an incident that happened a few years ago.

Larry BeaneDecember 21, 2022 Comments

What If You Didn't Believe?

Let’s do a thought experiment. Let’s say you didn’t believe in the Bible and/or the Book of Concord. What would your life look like? What would worship look like?

Larry BeaneDecember 17, 2022 Comments

Of Christmas Pageants and Little Lambs

I think there’s a very fine line between pandering to parents and the real essence of the Gospel when toddlers are on display at Christmas. Woe unto the pastor who cannot draw that line.

Burnell EckardtDecember 17, 2022 Comment

Out of Order

When you see an “Out of Order” sign posted, you know that something doesn’t work. It’s broken. It could be that it simply needs a new part or component, and supplying it puts things back into working order. It could be that it needs to be filled with something—fuel or lubricant for an engine or product for a vending machine—and supplying that which is lacking puts it back into working order. In this way, out of order indicates a static and inactive thing. It’s broken, so it just sits there, until someone does something to fix it.

BibleJason BraatenDecember 15, 2022Titus, Order of Creation Comments

Ember Wednesday Advent (Week of Gaudete) Sermon

A Lutheran sermon about Mary’s response to the Annunciation and the centrality of Joseph in the life of Christ with applications for the importance of fathers in the home and the Church as family.

Did You Make It Through the Holidays?

Because it’s busy in its own way for everyone, you might have been asked the question I remember being asked by another pastor last year. He called on the third or fourth day of Christmas and asked, “Did you make it through the holidays?”

John BussmanDecember 13, 2022 Comment

Super Winkel! Jan 16 2023 Ft. Wayne

This is a common game for rock aficionados. Who would you put in your own fantasy supergroup? We aren’t playing that game and it isn’t a fantasy. Even better!

David PetersenDecember 7, 2022Comment

Fr. Anthony Installed as Headmaster of Bethlehem Lutheran School, Ossian, Indiana

Your heavenly Father has ordered His creation in love for the preservation of His creatures in both body and soul. In the diversity of calls and the particularities of one’s station in life God is at work for the good of the world, even when you do not see it, even when we may see quite the opposite. No matter the seeming insignificance that one may feel in their place in life, no matter the short-comings and weaknesses that beset us, we are His creatures and it is our duty to thank, praise, serve, and obey Him.

Rick StuckwischDecember 6, 2022 Comments

Stay With Us, Lord, and Keep Us True

In today’s New Testament reading from the Treasury of Daily Prayer, St. Peter warns us about “false prophets” and “false teachers” who confess particular kinds of “destructive heresies” that are sensual and sexually deviant in nature (2 Pet 2:1, 6-10).

Larry BeaneDecember 5, 2022 Comments

Jesus Is Not a Cartoon Character

Here’s a concern that has been rattling around in the recesses of my brain for some time; it comes to mind this time of year when familiar Christmas stories are read and portrayed, though it’s something of a wider concern.

Burnell EckardtDecember 3, 2022 Comments