Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio
1,218 episodes - English - Latest episode: 9 days 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
Numbers 17: Aaron’s Staff Buds --- 2019/06/28
June 28, 2019 21:24 - 51.5 MBRev. Nabil Nour, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartford, South Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 17. God finally ends the rebellion in Numbers 17. He does so with a miracle, bringing Aaron’s staff back to life so that it even started growing fruit! Through this miracle, God affirms that Aaron is His sovereign choice for the priesthood. While it is true that the whole people of God function as priests of light to the rest of the dark world (Exodus 19), there is still...
Numbers 16: Korah’s Rebellion --- 2019/06/27
June 27, 2019 21:34 - 51.5 MBRev. Chris Biernacki, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Florence, Alabama, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 16. The rebellion isn’t over. Numbers 16 records the final episode in a string of mutinous events, now led by Moses’s cousin: Korah the Kohathite. Korah gathers disgruntled Levites and Reubenites to his cause, and eventually the entire congregation of Israel. Is Korah so wrong? He sounds so democratic. Isn’t God’s punishment too harsh? We sympathize with Korah beca...
Numbers 15: Laws About Sacrifices --- 2019/06/26
June 26, 2019 21:35 - 51.5 MBRev. Wayne Huebner, pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Affton, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 15. The whole nation has rebelled, and God has pronounced judgment on the older generation of Israel. To add insult to injury, they charged into battle against God’s command even after their punishment was pronounced. Numbers 15 answers the questions that naturally arise: What would happen now? Would they still be God’s people? Would God still forgive them? God speaks to the...
Numbers 14: The People Rebel --- 2019/06/25
June 25, 2019 21:09 - 51.5 MBRev. John Lukomski, retired pastor (currently) in Northfield, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 14. Moses has had his authority challenged time and again. Now in Numbers 14, the whole people of Israel joins together in mutiny, siding with the ten faithless spies out of fear of the Anakites. They try to stone him as they select a new leader to return to Egypt. Moses may not show effective leadership skills by our standards, but here he demonstrates God’s kind of leadersh...
Numbers 13: Spies Sent Into Canaan --- 2019/06/24
June 25, 2019 15:32 - 51.5 MBRev. Dan Torkelson, pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in North Prairie, Wisconsin, and 1st Vice President of the South Wisconsin District of the LCMS, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 13. Send in the spies! Numbers 13 recounts a recon mission, and twelve men are selected for the job. We notice immediately that the list of the twelve tribes is a bit different; they seem to come in pairs, with Judah’s pair immediately followed by Ephraim’s pair. Why are Judah and Ephraim, with the...
Numbers 12: Miriam & Aaron Oppose Moses --- 2019/06/21
June 21, 2019 22:41 - 51.5 MBRev. David Andrus, pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in St. Louis and Not-Alone.net Ministries, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 12. At first it was just the rabble, but now it’s his own family: Moses is undermined by his own sister Miriam, his big sister who protected him as a baby. She questions whether he is fit to lead Israel, and she vies for his authority, their brother Aaron by her side. Numbers 12 tells the short, challenging, and emotional story of God’s response...
Numbers 11: The People Complain --- 2019/06/20
June 20, 2019 20:58 - 51.5 MBRev. Steven Theiss, retired pastor in Frohna, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 11. Three days into the journey, disaster strikes. It had been nearly a year since leaving Egypt, and their food reserves were long gone. Despite God’s miraculous provision of manna, the ancient Israelites were getting tired of it. Be careful what you wish for: when God gave them all that they wanted, the result was death. In the midst of calamity, Numbers 11 tells us that God helps Moses, a...
Numbers 10: The Silver Trumpets --- 2019/06/19
June 19, 2019 21:36 - 51.5 MBRev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 10. The cloud over the Tabernacle rises, the trumpets sound the alarm, and Judah set outs first with the eastern camps: Israel is on the move. Chapter 10 describes the first movement in the ancient Israelite saga since they arrived at Mt. Sinai nearly twelve months prior. As always, God’s timing shows grace for even the least in Israel. Special detail is given to the pai...
Numbers 9: The Passover Celebrated --- 2019/06/18
June 18, 2019 22:11 - 51.5 MBRev. George Murdaugh, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Douglasville, Georgia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 9. The ancient Israelites celebrate the first Passover since leaving Egypt… in the wilderness? Yes, even while contending with the wildlife and the elements, they will celebrate the Passover in their tents. And God, in His grace, provides a way for everyone to celebrate the Passover, even under exceptional circumstances. God knows that, in the midst of the st...
Psalm 36: How Precious is Your Steadfast Love --- 2019/06/17
June 17, 2019 20:41 - 51.5 MBRev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 36. David was a prophet, not just a king. Here in Psalm 36, David prophecies about the evil of humanity. His words condemn the godless in particular, but these words of law convict all of us, since we all share in the sinful posture of pride. In pride, we say “Chief of sinners though I be, so-and-so is worse than me.” It’s all about making comparisons. The comparison oug...
Numbers 8: The Seven Lamps --- 2019/06/14
June 14, 2019 21:48 - 51.5 MBRev. Tom Park, Assistant Professor of Theology at Concordia University Irvine, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 8. Numbers 8 starts by talking about menorahs, the lampstands that you seen around Advent and Christmas when Hanukkah is celebrated. Only, these menorahs are a little different: they have seven lamps which can be pointed in different directions within the dark Tabernacle. What’s that about? Why are there seven lamps, anyway? The chapter continues with the dedication of...
Numbers 7: Offerings at the Tabernacle’s Consecration --- 2019/06/13
June 13, 2019 21:54 - 51.5 MBRev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 7. The first part of Numbers picks up where Leviticus left off, describing the roles of the Levites and the priests, concluding with the priestly blessing. Numbers chapter 7 goes back one month to where the book of Exodus left off, describing the big-picture experience of the Israelites as a whole. This chapter is all about how every tribe gets to participate in...
Numbers 6: The Nazarite Vow --- 2019/06/12
June 12, 2019 18:47 - 51.5 MBRev. Stewart Crown, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 6. Fasting, detox, and multi-day cleanses are part of our modern vocabulary. In the world of ancient Israel, these things were done for spiritual reasons as well as the physical. Numbers chapter 6 gives instructions for a special kind of fast or cleanse. Among other things, you had to give up grapes, which included many sweet foods, since the ancient Israelites used ju...
Numbers 5: Unclean People --- 2019/06/11
June 11, 2019 22:19 - 51.5 MBRev. John Lukomski, retired pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 5. Numbers chapter 5 is one of the strangest and most foreign parts of the Bible from our modern Western perspective. What is leprosy? Why did people with leprosy have to live in quarantine outside of the Israelite camp? Besides this passage about disease, most of the chapter deals with suspicions and accusations of adultery. But what is this “water of bitterness that brings the curse”? Some modern readers have ...
Numbers 4: Duties of the Kohathites --- 2019/06/10
June 10, 2019 21:22 - 51.5 MBRev. Darrin Sheek, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Anaheim, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 4. So what exactly did the Levites do, anyway? Numbers chapter 4 lays it out in detail, because lives are on the line. Only the priests can handle and look upon the most holy things; if a Levite touches or looks at something he shouldn’t, he will die. This is the paradox of the Tabernacle: because of our sinful condition, we need God’s holy presence to have life....
Numbers 3: The Sons of Aaron --- 2019/06/07
June 07, 2019 20:52 - 51.5 MBRev. Dr. Alfonso Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 3. Nadab and Abihu ate and drank with God on Mt. Sinai and beheld the otherworldly sapphire at His feet. They were the eldest sons of Aaron, the original high priest. And yet, as Numbers 3 reminds us, they were executed for their disobedience. Human sin is serious, and it will be dealt with seriously in the encampment around the Tabernacle. Thus the priesthood ...
Numbers 2: Arrangement of the Camp --- 2019/06/06
June 06, 2019 21:40 - 51.5 MBRev. Heath Curtis, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Worden & Zion Lutheran Church in Carpenter, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 2. Numbers chapter 2 begins with two big signs that point ahead to our Lord Jesus: the tribe of Judah and the sunrise in the east. Like the Garden of Eden with its tree of life, the Tabernacle faced towards the east. As God’s people looked to the sunrise to find salvation on the shore of the Red Sea or in the Lord’s empty tomb, so the east...
Numbers 1: A Census of Israel’s Warriors --- 2019/06/05
June 05, 2019 22:38 - 51.5 MBRev. Tim Ostermeyer, pastor of Hope Lutheran Church in St. Ann, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 1. Although Numbers begins in chapter 1 with a census, the book is much more than factoids and figures. As its Hebrew name “in the wilderness” suggests, Numbers actually tells the 40-year story of Israel’s wilderness wandering, through plagues, espionage, and miraculous events. It picks up right where Leviticus left off, one year after the Exodus. Although the census is vita...