Orphaned No More (Sermon)

Rev. Dale Krueger Editor’s Note: It is fitting that this sermon by Rev. Dale Krueger, an emeritus LCMS pastor who lives in Kalamazoo, Michigan, is paired with Dr. Edmund Schlink’s classic essay, “Christ and the Church.” Pastor Krueger studied with Professor Schlink in Heidelberg in the 1957-58 academic year. Pastor Krueger lived in the Ecumenical…
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Christ and the Church

Dr. Edmund Schlink Editor’s Introduction: Dr. Edmund Schlink (1903-1984) was one of the most important Lutheran theologians of the twentieth century. After serving as a Lutheran pastor and seminary professor in Germany in the 1930s, he was called to be a professor of dogmatic and ecumenical theology at Heidelberg University in 1946. He taught there…
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Hope for a Time Like This (Sermon)

By Matthew L. Becker “Christ Jesus was chosen before the creation of the world but was revealed in these last times for your sake. Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.” – First Peter 1:20-21 Hope is in…
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Apocalypse, Jubilee, and Church

Some Theological Reflections on the Pandemic By Robert Schmidt The death toll is staggering. The four horsemen are almost visible as they sweep through Wuhan, Milan, and New York, leaving in their wake makeshift morgues and deserted funerals. But they ride on through the slums of Delhi, Kenya’s Kibera, and the streets of Ecuador now…
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Ship of Fools

Paul Emmel September 2019    Unique in the sea of bitter-cold space The good ship called Earth orbits its place. Its oceans and air that once were all clear Are lost and gone creating great fear. Waters are rising and flooding the lands Fires are raging and getting out of hand. People are fleeing in perilous escape, But…
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Evangelism of the Kingdom

Robert Schmidt* Introduction Yes. there is  the Lutheran “Law and Gospel” approach,”  Campus Crusade’s “Four Spiritual Laws,” and Evangelism Explosion’s question, “How do you think you can get into heaven”?  But now, hesitant to make evangelism calls, we recently have tried to make the church more attractive to others. If they come, they will hear…
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Sanctity of Life: The Complexities of the Abortion Issue

Dr. Norman Metzler Emeritus Professor of Theology Concordia University, Portland, Ore. The abortion issue has become central to much of what is happening in our nation politically, morally and spiritually. Many would contend that it is one of the top issues, if not the single most influential issue, behind our presidential election, the selection of…
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Is This a Bonhoeffer Moment?

By Pr. Eugene Brueggemann A Bonhoeffer moment is a moment of truth. It is a time of urgent necessity that is calling the church to bear witness to the truth when it is under prolonged and intense attack. Many American Christians, impressed with Bonhoeffer’s role and writings in the Nazi era, see parallels between then…
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