Is the Pen Really Mightier Than…the Sausage?
Will Schumacher on Mardi Gras, Lent…and Christian freedom
Proper 19 • James 3:1–12 • September 13, 2015
By William W. Schumacher The text of this passage from the Epistle of James is interesting both grammatically and lexically. The passage is rich in imagery, and the vocabulary is rather unusual. The preacher is invited to echo the colorful, creative language in a sermon that does not reduce the message to simplistic platitudes and ..
Insult of the Month
Keeping up with your languages doesn’t have to be tedious. Many regular readers of ConcordiaTheology.org already know and use tools for maintaining the edge on their biblical Greek and Hebrew (and if you don’t, just click over to The Lectionary at Lunch and subscribe to the podcast). But what about your German? Well, let me ..
Proper 8 • Jeremiah 28:5–9 • June 29, 2014
By William W. Schumacher On May 13, 1940, Winston Churchill addressed the British parliament as he was about to become prime minister. Hitler’s troops had already invaded Poland, and they had just begun their Blitzkrieg advance into France, Belgium, and the Netherlands. War was crashing upon the world as Churchill stepped into leadership. And unlike so many politicians, Churchill did ..
Proper 19 • 1 Timothy 1:(5–11) 12–17 • September 15, 2013
By William W. Schumacher The two alternatives for this pericope suggest rather different directions for a sermon, with the briefer reading perhaps lending itself to a clearer focus on the gospel and the longer risking a distraction by vivid depictions of sins. The shorter version (vv. 12–17) is preferred, in which Paul offers himself as ..
“Nones” on the Rise
They aren’t really all that interested in us; but we should be interested in them
May the Best Story Win
NPR just started what they promise will be a series of stories on “losing faith,” stories about people who were religious believers but no longer believe. The series began with a woman who was a Methodist minister until she “came out” as an atheist at an American Atheists convention. There are so many things to ..
Creation and Its Detractors
Can you imagine The New York Times printing a critique of scientific atheism? That fact alone might be taken as wry proof for the existence of God!
![Losing Face[book]](https://i0.wp.com/concordiatheology.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/No-Facebook-logo.jpg?fit=1224%2C1204&ssl=1){kind=logo}
Easter 7 • John 17:1–11 • June 5, 2011
By William W. Schumacher In the Heidelberg Disputation (1518), Martin Luther drew a stark contrast between a “theologian of glory” and a “theologian of the cross,” and that distinction may still make a Lutheran preacher reluctant to dwell on the glory of God in a sermon. But this present text, the first part of our Lord’s ..
Science: “Just” a Matter of Faith?
“Our imagination is stretched to the utmost”
Food for theological reflection
“Food is supposed to be sacred, not fast.”
Msafiri: African Lutheran Seminaries
I was hoping there would be a handy reference resource someplace where I could look up basic information for the Lutheran seminaries on the continent. A sort of Lutheran seminary yellow pages
Msafiri: Uganda
Lira is not a big town, not an important place by most measures. It’s not on the way to anywhere most people want to go (though a signpost in town points to Juba, well to the north in southern Sudan). Lira itself is not much of a tourist destination, being neither glamorous, nor exclusive, nor ..