Lutheran Spokesman

DEVOTION—RESURRECTION LIVING

The story was told by one of my former teachers of a time when the lower grade classroom of Messiah Lutheran School in Hales Corners was working on an art project. I was in second grade at the time, and my classmate, Gretchen, already having finished her project, walked up to my desk and Read More

DEVOTION—LORD'S SUPPER

A “Why is this night different from all others?” If you had grown up in a Jewish household, you would probably know the significance of this question. Each year, at each Passover, one of the children at the table would have asked this question of the head of the Passover meal. On the night Read More

COVER STORY – ASH WEDNESDAY

The custom of observing a time of fasting, prayer, and repentance leading up to the celebration of Christ’s resurrection began very early in the Christian church, but practices and customs varied among congregations in different areas. The First Council of Nicea (A.D. 325) unified the Read More

DEVOTION—LENT

At the beginning of the book of Ruth, we’re introduced to three widows: Ruth, Orpah, and their mother-in-law, Naomi. Naomi bids her daughters-in-law to go and find new husbands. Orpah does, “But Ruth said: ‘Entreat me not to leave you, Or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I Read More

DEVOTION—PRO-LIFE

Of all the political, social, and moral debates that have gone on for the past forty years, it would be hard to come up with a more sensitive topic than abortion. Since the U.S. Supreme Court decided Roe v. Wade in 1973, 60 million children have been ripped from the safety of their mothers’ wombs and Read More

DEVOTION—JOHN THE BAPTIST

Have you experienced the frustration that comes when you try to point at something exciting, only for your audience to miss it? This happens frequently in my family when we’re on the road. I will see something that I want my young children to see as well. I will point and exclaim, “Look over Read More

DEVOTION—CONGREGATIONAL OUTREACH

The beginning of our title should sound familiar, as they are the words of Jesus recorded for us in Mark 16:15. The second half of the title is also an encouragement from our Lord, but more on that later. I wonder how many of our readers have traveled in foreign lands? And of those who Read More

“Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you.” (1 Peter 3:15) In the early New Testament church, identifying yourself as a “Christian” (Acts 11:26) was all you needed to say to let others know what you believed. “I am a follower of ‘the Way.’” (Acts 9:2) “We preach Christ Read More

DEVOTION – THE LORD’S SUPPER

The Eucharist, Breaking Bread, Holy Communion, the Lord’s Supper—this sacrament has many names and, unfortunately, many misconceptions concerning it. We ask the Holy Spirit to open our hearts to His Word as we revisit this gracious gift of our Savior. At the outset we wish to establish Read More

DEVOTION – EASTER

We each bear a name that tells a lengthy story.

The longest name in recorded history belonged to a man who went by “Hubert B. Wolfe + 988 Sr.” This was merely a shortening of his full name which included twenty-six ordinary names followed by a 988-letter surname. I would guess Read More