“Common Callings and Ordinary Virtues deserves a wide reading if for no other reason than to help those of us who live in an age of hyperbole and what is purported to be extraordinary and unprecedented events to be simple people who follow Christ in the everyday and who excel at being boring in the best possible way.” Dr Joel Biermann from his review of COMMON CALLINGS AND ORDINARY VIRTUES: Christian Ethics for Everyday Life by Brent Waters
The physical, spiritual, and emotional rush of Holy Week is behind us now. It remains for me the best week of the year, every year, and having the privilege of serving a congregational vacancy afforded me one more time the absolute delight of direct participation in the delivery of the story and the promises to ..
In light of Dr. Smith’s plenary at this year’s Theological Symposium, Joel Biermann’s 2019 review of his Cultural Liturgies project
Hot off the press…on the doctrine of the two kingdoms and how Christians engage the world
Joel Biermann At first blush, the central theme of this pericope seems to be faith and its remarkable residence in a Gentile centurion. That motif fits well with the preceding context. The centurion distinguishes himself not only as a capable builder of synagogues, but he is also a competent builder of houses, clearly founding his ..
Letting virtue ethics out of the (academic) bag…with a free, five-part Bible study
By Joel Biermann This text hardly ranks among the most popular or familiar of those gathered in the pericopes; but with its stern warnings, emphasis on Christian responsibility, and explicit OT imagery, it serves nicely as a representative of the entire book, and offers some interesting opportunities for the preacher. These vital points can be ..
Thanks to a generous grant that covers all travel costs, Joel Biermann is now available to lead seminars based on his book “A Case for Character.”
Can Lutheran doctrine and character formation go together?
By Joel Biermann Israel, God’s rebellious son, God’s adulterous bride, remains always the unexpected recipient of God’s greatest giving. He even intervenes for Israel as a Savior who chooses to suffer affliction for the sake of his chosen people. In response to such extraordinary loving kindness, Israel, of course, rebels… and then yet once more remembers her saving Lord. ..
What is a pastor? In this season of ordinations, an ordination sermon from Joel Biermann
By Joel Biermann True to form, Paul uses the first verse, bluntly to declare his point: you received Jesus Christ the Lord, so walk in him. The rest of the pericope simply unpacks the admonition in a Colossian context—one with more than its share of threats to Christian faith and a life walking in harmony ..
By Joel Biermann Opportunities to preach on the Apocalypse are rare enough, but when presented with a text as powerful and beautiful as this, one should not pass it up. Not only is the imagery rich and vivid, but the gospel impact of the text is overwhelming. Deftly employing potent rhetorical tools, the narrative of ..
Joel Biermann’s Lay Bible Institute Video Files
by Joel Biermann This is a difficult text. Not that it is difficult to understand. In fact, it is altogether too easy to grasp the meaning, which is precisely what makes it difficult. There is no question about the message Jesus intends to convey with this poignant parable. There is no dodging the impact of the ..
