COVER STORY – ALL SAINTS The celebration of All Saints Sunday has been largely abandoned by many Christian denominations. Because of a problem. A poll would quantify or establish the problem. Ask one hundred people to define the word “saint” and most would probably get it wrong. If asked to name a saint, most would… The Problem of “Saints” Read More

COVER STORY – THE DIVINE CALL Carrying out the Lord’s kingdom work under a divine call is a truly awesome privilege. It is, at the same time, both enormously gratifying and profoundly sobering to recognize that God Himself has elected you to the office you hold. The Holy Spirit through Paul communicated the weight and… Workers in the Word, Called by God Read More

COVER STORY – MAUNDY THURSDAY The devil had a dilemma. In the Lord’s Supper, God had just bequeathed to mankind a gift that held the potential to cripple the devil’s plans for mankind’s eternal destruction. Perhaps man didn’t yet realize the power of the gift, but Satan did, and he immediately set to work. What… The Great Maundy Thursday Disinformation Campaign Read More

“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more,… A Dwelling Place Worth Dwelling On Read More

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6 ESV) Bible words and phrases are routinely tainted by secular usage. Christians hear one thing, the unregenerate hear another. The challenge is to prevent their misunderstanding… The Mediation of Christ: A One➜Way Street Read More

COVER STORY – Lent I’ve never found myself in a situation where I felt I needed to refuse a gift. Some obviously have. No honorable woman would ever, for example, accept a diamond ring while refusing a marriage proposal (as much as she might like to). Others may have found it necessary to refuse gifts… Will You Accept the Gift of Lent? Read More

COVER STORY – THE REFORMATION Recently I came across the name of yet another Christian denomination that was new to me. I now don’t even recall what it was, but that led me to wonder just how many Christian denominations exist today. I was astounded by the answer. According to the two-volume World Christian Encyclopedia… The Goal Was Unity, Not Division Read More

COVER STORY – GOOD SHEPHERD Jesus was many mutually exclusive things that, humanly speaking, He couldn’t be. He was the God of Sabaoth, and He was the Prince of Peace. He was Lord and Master, and He was the humble Servant. He was “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,” and He was a… Both Shepherd and Lamb Read More

Jesus was many mutually exclusive things that, humanly speaking, He couldn’t be. He was the God of Sabaoth, and He was the Prince of Peace. He was Lord and Master, and He was the humble Servant. He was “true God, begotten of the Father from eternity,” and He was a mortal man Whose life left… Both Shepherd and Lamb Read More

COVER STORY – NEW YEAR Sometimes more is less and less is more. Consider the word resolve. The word mostly conjures up positive images. To resolve is to make a firm commitment to fix a problem or to fill a deficiency. From the same Latin root comes our word resolute—also basically positive. Someone who is… Resolutions Worthy of Resolve Read More

COVER STORY – ASCENSION Ascension is actually not our holiday, is it? Not really. It belongs, for the most part, to our Lord Jesus. Think of it. If you were Jesus, wouldn’t you be eager to return to heaven to be with your Heavenly Father and to exist in the perfect bliss of paradise—especially if… Pause, Consider, but Then Move Forward Read More

COVER STORY – EPIPHANY If we could travel back in time, one of the many things that would no doubt surprise us would be the changes that have occurred in ecclesiastical emphasis. Virtually all Christians today would, for example, list Christmas, Good Friday, and Easter as our greatest Christian celebrations. Yet church historians tell us… The Celebration of God’s One-Way Path Read More

COVER STORY – CHRISTIAN EDUCATION It’s just a loaded, emotive phrase, isn’t it? “Back to school.” Individual reactions vary wildly, depending on your station in life and how you are wired. Kids who love school get excited, those that don’t, not so much. Some parents tend to hear the phrase with relief, others with a… “Back to School” Read More

Communication requires two things: a sender and a receiver. The most powerful transmitter in the world is worthless if no one turns on a radio, and all of the radios in the world are of little use if no one is broadcasting. The same holds true with human interaction. Someone has to send, someone else… Jesus, the Good Shepherd Read More

A SLICE OF LIFE IN THE CLC SNAPSHOTS OF CONGREGATIONS FROM AROUND THE CHURCH OF THE LUTHERAN CONFESSION Snow on the prairie often comes early—and sideways. Once it finally reaches the ground it keeps tumbling and swirling until it finds a low spot or depression, and there it finally comes to rest. In the late… St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church Bismarck, North Dakota Read More

While that’s probably not the way you would normally see that sentence spelled (“The eyes have it”), it might well be the way Pastor Juan José Olvera would spell it these days. Pastor Olvera is a foreign affiliate of the CLC currently working in the Juárez area south of El Paso, Texas. He, like the… “The Eyes Have It” Read More

Following the Light The things we take for granted—like light. During our last mission visitation to Torreón, Mexico, CLC Board of Missions Chairman Todd Ohlmann and I were privileged to join some of the members of the Iglesia Luterana Confesional (ILC-Mexico) in an evening worship service. The service was conducted by Pastor Juan José Olvera,… Iglesia Luterana Confesional—Mexico Read More

It is hard to deny that our celebration of Epiphany has fallen on hard times. For most Christians, both the day itself (January 6th) and the season of the church year that follows pass largely unnoticed. A reevaluation is in order, if for no other reason than that this was not always so. Church historians… Reconsidering Epiphany Read More

Eligible For Call Upon completion of the re-entry process, Pastors John Schierenbeck and John Klatt have recommended that Rev. Karl Stewart be declared eligible for return to the active clergy roster of the CLC. Upon this recommendation, Rev. Stewart is declared eligible for call into the ministry of the CLC. –Daniel Fleischer, President, Church of… Announcements Read More

Great Lakes Pastoral Conference Sept. 29-Oct. 1, 1998 Saginaw, Michigan Agenda: * Eschatology of Daniel -- Paul F. Nolting * A Review of Basic Hermeneutical Principles -- Pastor Mark Bernthal * Church History, Council of Nicaea or Post Nicene Era -- Pastor John Johannes * When is a Catechumen Ready for Confirmation? -- Pastor Arthur… Announcements Read More