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… Read More »“The Eyes Have It” Read More

(Don’t miss the shocking conclusion!) Online media providers know exactly what to promise the public to draw them in. “Don’t miss the shocking conclusion” is especially effective bait in that it not only compels the public to bite, it encourages that visitor to chew longer—increasing something known as “session duration.” Online income is directly related… Read More »THE MARRIAGE OF THE KING’S SON Read More

Before reading on, take a moment to read the Parable of the Laborers in the Vineyard in its entirety (Matthew 20:1-16). Having done so, can you determine the singular truth that your Savior was communicating in the parable? If your answer is “Salvation is by grace alone” you would, of course, be right. Yet if… Read More »THE LABORERS IN THE VINEYARD Read More

“The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.” (Matthew 13:44 ESV) Even in things secular, quantity of words is a poor indicator of quality of message. The speech that… Read More »THE HIDDEN TREASURE Read More

So much that is truly real we never really stop to consider. The fact that you are reading or hearing these words means that you are a sentient human being, which in turn means that God Himself gave life to your mortal body at your conception. Your conscious thought is not the sum and substance… Read More »WHAT DOES A DISCIPLE LOOK LIKE? Read More

It will likely come as no great surprise (for any Christian paying attention) that God’s plan for families is being threatened on virtually every front. In its most basic form, God’s plan does not require children. Children enhance and expand families; their arrival does not create them. God’s family plan began in the perfection of… Read More »THE DIVINE PLAN FOR FAMILIES Read More

To read with detachment the accounts of the calling of Jesus’ apostles is a mistake. Christians today rob themselves when they read those Bible accounts as idle spectators rather than intimate participants. How sobering for Jesus’ apostles to recognize that they had been chosen by God Himself, long before they were ever born, to be… Read More »Calling of the First Disciples – Making Fishers of Men Read More

How ironic that God’s blessings can actually serve to obscure His blessings! More than that, there is a danger that we allow His blessings to cause us to fail to fully comprehend or appreciate all that we read in His Word. When we read, for example, of how people in Bible times waited anxiously for… Read More »The Power and Authority of Light Read More

The short answer to “What’s new?” is “God’s steadfast love and mercy, which are new every morning.” So wrote the Prophet in Lamentations 3:21-23: “ This I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the L ord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every… Read More »Saint Paul Lutheran Church – Bismarck, North Dakota Read More

Christians understand that true science is the humble study of God’s creation, together with the internal interactions of that creation. True science is therefore a good thing, but it can never fully comprehend the God Who exists beyond, or outside of, His creation. Our godless society, however, seeks to transform and elevate the study of… Read More »Our Triune God-Glorious, Incomprehensible Read More

Installation In accord with our usage and order, Jay Hartmann, who was called by Peace Lutheran Church of Mission, S.Dak. and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church of White River, S.Dak. to be their pastor, was installed on December 6, 1998. Assisting were Pastors George Dummann, Michael Schierenbeck, Steven Sippert, Timothy Wheaton, and Michael Wilke. –Pastor Michael… Read More »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… Read More »Announcements 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… Read More »Announcements 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… Read More »Reconsidering Epiphany 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,… Read More »Iglesia Luterana Confesional—Mexico Read More

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… Read More »The Problem of “Saints” 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… Read More »St. Paul Evangelical Lutheran Church Bismarck, North Dakota 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… Read More »Jesus, the Good Shepherd 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… Read More »“Back to School” 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… Read More »The Celebration of God’s One-Way Path Read More