Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio
1,271 episodes - English - Latest episode: 1 day ago - ★★★★★ - 73 ratingsThy Strong Word reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations.
Thy Strong Word is hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, and graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation.
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Episodes
1 Samuel 11: Spirit Fills Saul/☧ to Unite & Save God's People
September 14, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 75.5 MBRev. David Andrus, pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in St. Louis and Not-Alone.net Ministries, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 11. Why is the king of Israel working in the field with his oxen? Even though Saul was proclaimed heir to Israel’s throne in the previous chapter, Saul doesn’t actually ascend to kingship until he leads the tribes to a crucial victory in chapter 11. When Saul heard of the Ammonite incursion, the Spirit of God “rushed upon” him and sent him into ...
1 Samuel 10: Son of Kish/Joseph/God? 1st ☧ Hidden in Saul
September 11, 2020 17:00 - 56 minutes - 52 MBRev. Scott Adle, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 10. “What has come over the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?” Saul’s anointing as messiah in chapter 10 is met with skepticism and even scorn. As it would be with the Lord Jesus, the mockers unwittingly testify to God’s truth: Saul is not merely the “son of Kish,” but the “son of God.” God “gave him another heart,” he “turned into another man,” and “...
1 Samuel 9: Lil' Benjamin to Feast as ☧, God's Flawed Tools
September 10, 2020 16:00 - 55 minutes - 31.8 MBRev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 9. Underwriter of Thy Strong Word “See, what was kept is set before you. Eat, because it was kept for you until the hour appointed, that you might eat with the guests.” No one except Samuel knows that God has chosen Saul to be Israel’s king—not even Saul! Chapter 9 is full of dramatic irony as we see connections to Joseph, David, St. Paul, and especially Jesus ...
1 Samuel 8: Saul over Joel, "Reasonable" Pick, Merciful ☧
September 09, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.3 MBRev. John Shank, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 8. “Yet his sons did not walk in his ways but turned aside after gain. They took bribes and perverted justice.” Chapter 8 tragically begins with history repeating itself, Samuel’s sons falling the way of Eli’s sons before him. Top that off with the powerful enemy forces all around, and Israel’s request for a king—a general to direct their various armies as one force—see...
1 Samuel 7: ☧ the Humble Ebenezer, Reform w/ Repentance
September 08, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBRev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 7. “So the people of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtaroth, and they served the LORD only.” Although chapter 7 narrates everything so simply, these are massive transitions that took place over years. The Ark stays in Kiriath-jearim for 20 years before the people are ready to get rid of their pantheon of foreign gods and goddesses, and Samuel’s work as a reformer would occupy the rest of his life. His...
Psalm 113: God Most High ⇨ Mary's Little One, ☧ the Word
September 07, 2020 17:00 - 53 minutes - 49.4 MBRev. Christopher Maronde, pastor of St. John-Bingen in Decatur, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 113. “Who is like Yahweh our God, who condescends to us from on high!” … Pardon? The old sense of condescension, referring to a superior graciously coming down to help a subordinate, captures the middle of Psalm 113, which says that God “looks far down on the heavens and the earth.” The great mystery is that the true God is infinitely higher than all our false idols, and yet He...
1 Samuel 6: ☧-Ark Misunderstood, Moved to Multiply Mercy
September 04, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRev. Robert Paul, pastor of Memorial Lutheran Church & School in Houston, Texas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 6. Why would God let the Philistines literally cart around His holy ark like some kind of magical plague box? The Philistines made a “box” with images of the mice and buboes sent from God, possibly sculpted into the box itself. So they sent this box of their own design alongside the Ark of the Covenant—not one box, but two—just to be sure that it wasn’t all “by coinc...
1 Samuel 5: Hallowed in Hand Humor, ☧'s Ark Sent Away
September 03, 2020 17:00 - 53 minutes - 30.6 MBRev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 5. “Dagon had fallen face downward on the ground before the ark of the LORD, and the head of Dagon and both his hands were lying cut off on the threshold.” Luther says in the Catechism that “God’s name is certainly holy in itself”; God will hallow His name with or without us, “among us” or elsewhere. In chapter 5, even after the Israelites have profaned God’s name as on...
1 Samuel 4: Silver Bullet Slogans, Ichabod's Heathen Heart
September 02, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Mark Birkholz, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 4. “Then Samuel’s word befell all of Israel, and Israel went out to meet the Philistines on the battlefield.” The Hebrew opens ominously in one of the most tragic chapters of the Bible. 1 Samuel 4, like Judges 20, begins with Israel wanting to make itself great in its own eyes. But God isn’t a magical insurance policy, a useful app, or “on demand” episodes of The Office—an...
1 Samuel 3: Sure You Really Want to Hear? In ☧, Here He Is
September 01, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Mark Femmel, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Maryland Heights, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 3. Have you ever wished that God would call out to you like He did to Samuel, so you could say “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears”? Be careful what you wish for. Chapter 3 shows that prophecy is a grave responsibility (especially when it’s overdue!), one that even Eli the High Priest shirked, to the peril of his whole family for generations. It means saying what no ...
1 Samuel 2: Old Hannah Asks for Saul, Mary Gets Priestly ☧
August 31, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRev. Charles Henrickson, pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Bonne Terre, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 2. “My heart exults in the LORD; [...] He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” Hannah sets a good example of thanksgiving after supplication, but why talk about an anointed king before there was any such thing? Chapter 2 continues to point ahead, building on wordplay between Samuel and Saul, who would be the first king anointed ...
1 Samuel 1: Cake & God, Life on Loan, Fluid Samuel ⇨ ☧
August 28, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Paul Cain, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheridan, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 1. “And she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the LORD. [...] Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.’” How should Christians wield political power? The stories of Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon all begin here in 1 Samuel chapter 1 in this very “fluid” situation. We are introduced to priests and Lev...
1 Corinthians 16: Grow Up & Support ☧'s Body, Brother Apollos
August 27, 2020 16:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBRev. Gregory Alms, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Catonsville, Maryland, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 16. “Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.” After everything he’s written in response to the pro-Apollos faction in Corinth, why would Paul want Apollos of all people to go back? Paul shows in his final chapter that...
1 Corinthians 15: ☧ Really Raised, Humble Faith of Love Endures
August 26, 2020 17:00 - 55 minutes - 51 MBRev. Brian Davies, pastor of Lord of Glory Lutheran Church in Grayslake, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 15. “And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. [...] Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” With your arguing and divisiveness, you live as if Christ were still dead. Paul levels this heavy charge against the Corinthians in chapter 15 because, ultimately, everything he’s been talking about is just a s...
1 Corinthians 14: ☧'s Orderly Prophecy, Love from the Whole Mind
August 25, 2020 17:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBRev. Andrew Yeager, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Decatur, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 14. If “all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” While Paul never says that ecstatic speech is categorically evil, he slams the breaks on the Corinthians’ enthusiasm for such “manifestations of the Spirit” in chapter 14. Love is more concerned about saying something “intelligible” that “builds up” ot...
1 Corinthians 13: Speak Charitably in ☧ || Angelic Truth Temporary
August 24, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50 MBRev. Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 13. “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way.” Paul isn’t talking about the unique character of falling in love—he’s talking about talking to people from church! Although chapter 13 is popular at weddings, Paul here contrasts speaking in a patient and humbl...
1 Corinthians 12: ☧ Gives Up Preferences to Honor Weak in Spirit
August 21, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRev. Mark Preus, pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church & Campus Center in Laramie, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 12. “It is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Hang around a church long enough, and people will start talking about spirituality, spiritual gifts, spiritual maturity, and the rest. What does it even mean to be “spiritual”? Paul’s big idea in chapter 12 is that spiritual...
1 Corinthians 11: Heavenly Hats, Intimacy of the Body in ☧
August 20, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 49.8 MBRev. Steven Theiss, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 11. “The head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” What do head coverings have to do with the Lord’s Supper? Does Paul intend in 1 Corinthians 11 for women to pick up hats on their way into church on Sundays, even today? Paul speaks these words right after talking about eating together and “building up” each other. The point is that the Lord’s supp...
1 Corinthians 10: Church Repents Daily in ☧, Not with Demons
August 19, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Dr. Kevin Golden, pastor of Village Lutheran Church in Ladue, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 10. “You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” The Corinthians thought they were being spiritual and full of faith as they ate meat in pagan temples, confessing the irreality of false gods and looking down on their “weaker” and more sensitive Christian brothers. In chapter 10...
1 Corinthians 9: Duty to Concede, Members Boast to Point to ☧
August 18, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Stewart Crown, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 9. “Nevertheless, we have not made use of this right, but we endure anything rather than put an obstacle in the way of the gospel of Christ.” God gives us rights that we may give them up for others, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9. Although he had more rights than most as an apostle, he did not consider these rights his due “compensation” for the work of the gospel:...
Psalm 50: We Don't Feed God; Faith in ☧ to Feed & Save
August 17, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 50. "If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine." God doesn't need our help—but even if He did—He wouldn't ask us. Psalm 50 humbles us as it calls on both God’s own “people” as well as the “God-forgetters” to repent. There is no getting away with sin, as David himself found out. He confessed his sin with Bathsheba in Psalm 51 which imm...
1 Corinthians 8: Love over Rights, Brother Worth ☧'s Blood
August 14, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Lane Burgland, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Churubusco, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 8. A lot of churches are talking about their rights these days. “If food makes my brother stumble, I will never eat meat,” Paul says in chapter 8. Paul shows the Corinthians that love comes before freedom. While our fellow Christians may be “weak,” immature, or even incorrect on certain issues, it’s more important to preserve their souls than to enjoy our rights—rega...
1 Corinthians 7: ☧'s Marriage Fundamentals Amid Distress
August 13, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBRev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 7. “Those who marry will have worldly troubles, and I would spare you that. This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short.” Is Paul for or against marriage? In chapter 7 the Apostle charts a middle course, not for the sake of compromise, but with a view to both the present circumstances as well as the unchanging fundamentals. Marria...
1 Corinthians 6: Law of Bodies, Made Whole Only in ☧, Not Suits
August 12, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 6. “To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong?” What we have in the body of Christ is more important than our own rights, wealth, or property—what a different perspective Paul gives in chapter 6! But it’s the consequence of seeing our fellow Christians as extensions of our own body. How can the body be made wh...
1 Corinthians 5: Not Woke, Mourn Sin of ☧'s Body as Your Own
August 11, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 5. “Deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” The sexually immoral should be kicked out, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6. But how is that loving? Like us, the Corinthians were proud of themselves for being so tolerant and open-minded. Church discipline however is not done wi...
1 Corinthians 4: ☧ Reviews Fr. Paul, Corinth Shamed but Loved
August 10, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Doug Nicely, pastor of Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 4. “Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?” Paul’s sarcastic and almost threatening language in chapter 4 may seem un-apostle-like, but Paul speaks to the Corinthians with the familiarity and intimacy of a father to his children. And a good parent calls out their child’s shameful behavior—not so that they would perpetually feel “...
1 Corinthians 3: ☧ Cultivates Spiritual Perspective, Not Users
August 07, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRev. Ryan Fehrman, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Wausau, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 3. “I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.” We sometimes talk about being “spiritually fed” as if we were the ones managing our spiritual diet. But Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 says that we’re like children, plants, or buildings—someone else manages the diet or project. As Christians we are called to a spiritual perspective, not to a natural (“fle...
1 Corinthians 2: God's Mind || Pagan Ideas Hidden in ☧ian Words
August 06, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBRev. Andrew Jagow, pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Virginia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 2. “The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, [...] but we have the mind of Christ.” People use a lot of the same words that Christians use: love, faith, spirit, heaven—but do they use them with the same meaning? In 1 Corinthians 2 Paul builds on his argument against conventional wisdom and power, re-defining the...
1 Corinthians 1: Not Prestige, ☧'s Humble Cross Cures Disunity
August 05, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRev. Rolf Preus, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sidney & St. John Lutheran Church in Fairview, Montana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 1. “Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” Paul shows pastoral care and brilliant rhetoric from the very first words of 1 Corinthians. He names the overarching problem of disunity among the Christians in Corinth, but Paul sl...
Exodus 40: Moses Unable, ☧ Enters to Create Israel's Time
August 04, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Ingo Dutzmann, retired LCMS pastor in Sebascodegan Island, Maine, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 40. “Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” Although prior to Exodus 40 Moses had spoken to God “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend,” here in the final chapter God inhabits the Tabernacle in all His glory, such that no one—not even Moses—could enter and live. This reveals the sin...
Psalm 94: ☧ of Vengeance, No Cliques in Humble Justice
August 03, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Delwyn Campbell, domestic missionary and pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church & Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Gary, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 94. Learn more about Pastor Campbell and how to support his work at lcms.org/campbell. “O God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!” Does the Bible really say that? Yes it does, in Psalm 94. Vengeance however doesn’t mean rubbing it in people’s faces t...
Exodus 39: ☧ Remembers Aaron’s 12 Gems in Paradise
July 31, 2020 17:00 - 43 minutes - 39.6 MBRev. Ned Moerbe, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Blackwell, Oklahoma, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 39. “Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.” It was heaven on earth—like the paradise of Genesis, a place where God was intimately present among His people. Exodus 39 describes the Tabernacle as a new creation that anticipates the resurrection. The 12 tribes are engraved on precious stone...
Exodus 38: ☧ Cast in God's Image, $160M in Sacred Space
July 30, 2020 17:00 - 55 minutes - 50.4 MBRev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 38. $160 million dollars’ worth—that’s how much gold “was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary.” What does Exodus 38 teach us? It’s not about money or precious metals as much as God’s image. Whatever we “pour” our hearts into and “cast” our aspirations on should represent God and His design. Charitable spirituality vs. adorned sacred space is a f...
Exodus 37: Gold Rightly for God, ☧'s Light, Scent, Presence
July 29, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 37. “He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense.” Does this worship smell right? Exodus 37 continues the review of two things that went wrong at the golden calf festival: the misuse of gold to build an idol, and the immoral actions of its fertility cult. God is the creator of all; there are no bad things—only bad purposes. 75 pounds of pure gold wer...
Exodus 37: Gold Rightly for God, ☧'s Light, Scent, Presence
July 29, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 37. “He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense.” Does this worship smell right? Exodus 37 continues the review of two things that went wrong at the golden calf festival: the misuse of gold to build an idol, and the immoral actions of its fertility cult. God is the creator of all; there are no bad things—only bad purposes. 75 pounds of pure gold wer...
Exodus 36: ☧'s Forgiveness as Riches, Free to Give Freely
July 28, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 49.5 MBRev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 36. “So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.“ For all the details that are exactly the same, this stands out as a tremendous difference in Exodus 36. Before the people reluctantly parted with a mere sampling of earrings, but now they bring their precious metals by the truckload d...
Exodus 35: Real Rest, Blue Collar & All Jobs by ☧'s Spirit
July 27, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 35. “You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.” This isn’t about whether you’re allowed to start your car or reignite your pilot light. Exodus 35 begins with the gracious announcement that God really gives His people true rest—they don’t even have to be “on call.” The contributions are wide-ranging not to be deman...
Exodus 34: ☧ Fasts for 40 on Sinai, Promise Stays & Shines
July 24, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Chris Biernacki, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Florence, Alabama, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 34. “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Even after everything that happened, God is still willing to put the same offer before Israel, writing down the very same Commandments with His finger. But first, Exodus 34 tells us that Moses fasts for 40 days and 40 nights, repenting on behalf of ...
Exodus 33: Proto-Tabernacle, ☧ Blows Off Steam with Moses
July 23, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 75.1 MBRev. Kevin Martin, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 33. “Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Ouch. Exodus 33 can come off pretty harsh, but this needs to be understood in light of the intimate relationship between God and Moses—it’s as if God is blowing off steam “as a man speaks to his friend” (v 11). Their ba...
Exodus 32: A Reasonable Calf? ☧ Forgives Amidst Plague
July 22, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Joe Cox, Theology teacher at Lutheran High School South in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 32. “So they gave [their gold] to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” Aaron’s attempt to shift the blame only heightens the drama in Exodus 32. As reasonable as their action was—Moses was presumed dead, the idol was meant to represent Yahweh, and the bull was an anti-Egyptian Canaanite symbol—they should’ve known better. “Well we have to do s...
Exodus 31: Judah & Dan at Work, ☧'s Sabbath Refreshes
July 21, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRev. Paul Cain, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheridan, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 31. If the church is Israel, why don’t Christians observe the Sabbath? It’s the worship practice “above all” others, for all “generations, as a covenant forever.” This is how Exodus 31 concludes God’s explanation of Israel’s worship, even prescribing the death penalty for its violation. Yet the Sabbath is not about a day, but about life. Just as the sons of Judah and Dan would...
Psalms 114–115: Outdoor Exile Liturgy, ☧ Over Idols & Freedom
July 20, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 114 & Psalm 115. Have we been idolizing freedom? Has God driven us outside? Psalms 114 and 115 as we know them work together as a single “hallelujah” song, with refrains of taunting and triumph. These times are not unprecedented, because we see the pattern in God’s Word. The Word drives us to repent and give thanks for the past we too easily forget, not with a random samp...
Exodus 30: ☧ Teaches w/ Holy Scent, Comforts the Senses
July 17, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. George Murdaugh, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Douglasville, Georgia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 30. “You shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. [...] Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.” The LORD’s exclusive brand of cologne? Exodus 30 deals with the reality that we humans need tangible and sensory reminders not to treat ...
Exodus 29: Ordained in ☧, Blood on Ear, Thumb, and Toe
July 16, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 49.9 MBRev. Steven Theiss, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 29. “You shall kill the ram and take part of its blood and put it on the tip of the right ear of Aaron and on the tips of the right ears of his sons, and on the thumbs of their right hands and on the great toes of their right feet.” Ordination ceremonies just aren’t the same anymore! Exodus 29 describes a massive seven-day feast full of smoke, water, and blood. The emphasis however is not adherence to a list...
Exodus 28: Gems on ☧'s Heart, Aaron's Garb Speaks God
July 15, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Joel Shaltanis, pastor of Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 28. “Aaron shall bear the names of the sons of Israel in the breastpiece of judgment on his heart, when he goes into the Holy Place, to bring them to regular remembrance before the LORD.” It’s not all about the priests. Exodus 28 shows that worship is an activity of the whole people of Israel, and that through the high priest, every one of the twelve tribes enters into the...
Exodus 27: ☧’s Blood on the Bronze Altar-Path to God
July 14, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 27. “The altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits. And you shall make horns for it on its four corners; its horns shall be of one piece with it, and you shall overlay it with bronze.” That’s a really big portable grill, but it had to be for oxen! Exodus 27 shows how, at every turn, the details of the Tabernacle are practical, because G...
Exodus 26: ☧'s Sanctuary of Rest, Royal Tabernacle Supper
July 13, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.1 MBRev. Richard Mittwede, pastor of University Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 26. “You shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen and blue and purple and scarlet yarns; you shall make them with cherubim skillfully worked into them.” God does not endorse slavery, but He did redeem it in Exodus 26. God takes the workmanship and knowledge that the Israelites gained from their long stay in Egypt and transforms it into holy service...
Exodus 25: ☧ w/ His Guards to Descend on Ark, Table, Lamp
July 10, 2020 17:00 - 3 minutes - 4.13 MBRev. Scott Adle, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 25. “The cherubim shall spread out their wings above, overshadowing the mercy seat with their wings, their faces one to another; [...] There I will meet with you.” This is what the Garden of Eden looked like. Far from old-school IKEA directions, Exodus 25 actually describes in detail the physical location where God became physically manifest in the heart of the Isra...
Exodus 24: Sinai's Covenant Drips ☧’s Blood, Feast of Grace
July 09, 2020 17:00 - 55 minutes - 50.5 MBRev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 24. “They saw the God of Israel. There was under his feet as it were a pavement of sapphire stone[...]; they beheld God, and ate and drank.” Exodus 24 is one of the most blessed and mysterious chapters of the Bible. And it drips with grace—not legalism. God graciously sends Moses down the mountain to reveal His truth not to the elite but to the whole people, and t...
Exodus 23: ☧'s Sermon on Love & Care to Moses on Sinai
July 08, 2020 17:00 - 54 minutes - 50.2 MBRev. Mark Birkholz, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 23. If you meet your enemy’s ox or his donkey going astray, you shall bring it back to him.” All the talk of oxen and donkeys in Exodus 23 sounds ancient, but the ideas here are timeless: God wants us to help even the people who want to do us harm, ultimately pointing to Christ’s sacrifice for those who hated Him. God’s sermon on the Commandments here connects theft & slande...