• Baptism of our Lord • Genesis 1:1–5 • January 8, 2012

    by Jeffrey Kloha Perhaps no passage bears as much gravitas—and controversy—as Genesis 1:1. In our context, the text will immediately bring to mind the modernist “science vs. faith” controversy. The philosophical and cultural…

  • Visualizing the Anthropocene

    In the last post, I mentioned a few examples of human influence on earth that have prompted many to now speak of the Anthropocene Epoch, the age of human transformation of the…

  • Pre-Lenten Pastors Workshop – Jan 20, 2012

    Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, will offer a one-day pre-Lenten workshop for pastors on Friday, January 20, 2012 called “Seeing is Not Believing: The Passion Story in Mark,” with themes for mid-week Lenten…

  • Christmas 1 • Isaiah 61:10–62:3 • January 1, 2012

    by Henry Rowold Sometimes Christians find the prophetic writings strange territory because those writings seem to be an unending boiling and churning of divine wrath and horrifying judgment. The New Testament seems…

  • Christmas Day • Isaiah 52:7–10 • December 25, 2011

    by Paul Devantier Today, we wait for word of some important event by staying close to the television, the radio, the Internet, or to our cell phones. We sit in the waiting room…

  • Compassion, Mercy, and Diakonia

    What happens when we use the term “mercy” to describe our actions toward our neighbor or the church’s orientation to the world?

  • Advent 4 • 2 Samuel 7:1–11, 16 • December 18, 2011

    by Jeffrey A. Gibbs The reading offers, in its OT context, a strong example of the truth that “God’s ways are higher and greater than our ways.” Specifically, the reading presents a powerful…

  • And now…The Anthropocene Epoch, or The Age of Man

    We’ve done it. We’ve remade creation according to our own needs, desires, and vision. And so it is now different than it has ever been before

  • Advent 3 • Isaiah 61:1–4, 8–11 • December 11, 2011

    by William Wrede Behold Your Salvation The Season of Advent presents unique challenges not only for the preacher but for the congregation as well. While shorter than Lent, the pastor and the people…