One of the complaints that is often leveled against conservative Lutherans is that we are much too polemical. “Polemic” comes from the Greek word “polemos” which means “war.” In plain English the contention is that we Lutherans spend too much time and effort fighting over doctrine when we should be doing other things. Perhaps you’ve… Read More »Why Lutherans Fight Over Doctrine Read More

“Thesis XVII–You are not rightly distinguishing Law and Gospel in the Word of God if you describe believers in a way that is not always realistic—both with regard to the strength of their faith and to the feeling and fruitfulness of their faith.” “You can always tell a German,” the joke begins. “You just can’t… Read More »Saints are Still Sinners Read More

It was the early 1500’s. As the story has it, a Swiss monk named Martin of Basel had made an astonishing discovery. He had come upon something that could have made the difference between life and death for thousands of his countrymen. Unfortunately, as far as we know, he kept the information to himself. He… Read More »Mission Work–God’s Work Read More

It was during the last Winter Olympics that some of us learned how a game-ending tie is broken in hockey. Unlike other sports where the outcome is settled in extra innings or in sudden death overtime, hockey breaks a tie by means of a shootout. In Olympic hockey, at least, the five best offensive players… Read More »Jesus Conquered Temptation–For You Read More

SHOUTING FOR JOY How much shouting do you do during the course of an average week? It might be more than you realize or care to admit. If you work in a shop where there’s a lot of machinery running and all your co-workers are wearing ear plugs, of course, it can’t be helped. You… Read More »An Ascension Meditation– Read More

Dedication Invitation Pastor James Sandeen writes: St. Paul Ev. Lutheran congregation of Lakewood (Denver), Colo. invites our sister congregations of the CLC to rejoice with us at the dedication of our new church on Sunday, February 18, in a 3:00 p.m. dedicatory service. The new church is located at 2470 Wadsworth Blvd. in Lakewood. A… Read More »Announcements Read More

Christian Love Reflects A Debt Forgiven The evangelist Luke calls her “a certain woman in that town who was a sinner.” But as she stepped into the room that day her reputation preceded her. She was possibly a prostitute who had sold her body and bargained away her soul. She was the talk of her… Read More »“To whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” — Luke 7:47 Read More

“Finding God on Flight 232” was the caption of an article that appeared in July of 1989. “232” was the ill-fated flight of a commercial aircraft that lost power from one engine, then had its hydraulic system fail at 37,000 feet. At that moment most of its passengers knew that a crash was inevitable. That’s… Read More »Taking God For Granted Read More

Foundation Work Sometime what you can’t see is really more impressive than what you can see. The Sears Tower in downtown Chicago is a good example. What you can see is an amazing building that reaches a quarter mile straight into the air, features 110 stories, and yet in the strongest of winds sways a… Read More »A Mother’s Day Meditation– Read More

The people who handle sweepstakes contests seem to know a lot about the way Americans celebrate Christmas. As you read this article, millions of entry-forms have already been addressed, bundled, and are now waiting to be fed into the stream of mail after December 26. Not before Christmas, when Third Class mail is impatiently tossed… Read More »CHRISTMAS IS A MYSTERY Read More

It was probably the most unlikely statement to be made during the entire Gulf War. Within hours after the cease-fire was declared, a badly beaten Saddam Hussein emerged from his bunker and announced his victory. Here was one of history’s most convincing and lopsided battles; seldom has an enemy been so largely out-gunned and handily… Read More »A COMPLETE VICTORY Read More

How would you feel about having one day each week when you had absolutely no work to do at all? No mowing the lawn or washing the car, no repair projects or doing the laundry. With each week came a 24 hour reprieve when no labor was demanded of you; in fact, none was permitted.… Read More »Remember The Sabbath Day Read More

If you could choose any one thing in the entire universe that would make 1998 a happy new year for you, what would it be? For a lot of folks the answer is this simple: “Just let the Sweepstakes van pull into my driveway at the end of this month. Yes, with that kind of… Read More »An Unshrinkable Faith Read More

In the lines below you will find a formula that will change your life. If you follow it, it will make you a happier person. Not only will it reduce the level of stress you face. It will eliminate every true worry you have. It is not a gimmick. While it costs you nothing, it… Read More »A Guaranteed Stress Reliever Read More

God’s Mathematics What kind of math were they teaching when you went to school? Was it the old math or the new math? Perhaps you went through the system at a time when they were teaching both kinds, so that you use both of them without knowing the difference. Either works, of course–if you’re figuring… Read More »An Epiphany Meditation– Read More

There had never been a football game quite like it. Not in all the years before; not in the 80-some years since. It was a dark and dreary day in 1916, the perfect setting for a matchup between the Yellow Jackets of Georgia Tech and their unlikely opponents from Cumberland. Under the leadership of John… Read More »Never A Day Like This One! Read More

Ray Johnson was not what you’d call a lukewarm Christian. If anything, he was a man of deep conviction. Each Sunday Ray, his wife, and their five kids would pile into the family wagon and drive several hours just to get to church. He wore a cap which read, “God said it; I believe it;… Read More »Convictions Only God Can Produce Read More

Do you think that miracles still happen in our world today? According to one poll, the vast majority of Americans, 82% of them, answered: Yes. Though one doesn’t know what some consider “miraculous,” the 82% are, nevertheless, correct. Everyday, perhaps without ever realizing it, we are witnesses to amazing miracles of God’s power. Just the… Read More »Christian Education — A Recurring Miracle Read More

You’ve probably seen them by now. They are small electronic devices that fit into the palm of your hand and make noises similar to those of a touch-tone telephone. They are called Virtual Pets and are available in a variety of animal sounds–anything from dogs to monkeys to dinosaurs. They’re actually pretty clever. They give… Read More »Genuine Gratitude Read More

What’s New With YOU? Updates from congregations around the Church of the Lutheran Confession “Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; Unless the Lord guards the city, The watchman stays awake in vain.” (Psalm 127:1) In one sense, there’s nothing new in Okabena. The same Lord Who was faithful… Read More »Saint John’s Evangelical Lutheran Church Okabena, Minnesota Read More