Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Christopher Maronde, pastor of St. John - Bingen in Decatur, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Luke 8.“Nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.” Luke gives us the keys to understanding chapter 8: the Parable of the Sower is not a cute object lesson about different reactions to our evangelism efforts. The strong Word of God is a word of judgment, its light exposing what kind of soil we are, distinguishing between those with spiritual eyes and those who are spiritually blind—despite appearances to the contrary.The different reactions of fear & faith and rebuke & healing teach us not about ourselves but about Jesus, the one who restores to life the twelvefold people of God. His life and power are 100% effective, but the word goes out selectively, only on His terms: in humility and love, not power and pride.

Rev. Dan Eddy, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Beloit, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 102.“You will arise and have pity on Zion; it is the time to favor her; the appointed time has come. For your servants hold her stones dear and have pity on her dust.” Amidst the “smoke” and smoldering ashes of Jerusalem, the remnant of God’s people cry out as one. The “prayer of one afflicted”—none of the other 149 psalms has such a title. Out of the depths of death, the beautiful lament of Psalm 102 dares to hope for resurrection: “that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.” Because of Christ, amidst tears of repentance we too hope for restoration at the resurrection of all flesh at the appointed time of the Last Day.

Rev. Steven Theiss, pastor of Hanover Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Esther 7.“If I have found favor in your sight, O king, and if it please the king, let my life be granted me for my wish, and my people for my request. For we have been sold, I and my people, to be destroyed, to be killed, and to be annihilated.” Queen Esther prefigures Jesus Christ Himself. Her selflessness enables her to be faithful both to God as well as to her pagan husband King Ahasuerus.Esther’s delays aren’t just for dramatic effect. By publicly raising the stakes, she allows her husband to save face when she makes her big revelation. Like Esther, we might feel stuck, unable to go to the Judah we long for. Yet in Christ we are kings and queens, and there’s no limit to how much good God can work—even through the least of us.

Rev. Doug Nicely, pastor of Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Nehemiah 6 and 2:1-6.“Should such a man as I run away? And what man such as I could go into the temple and live? I will not go in.” Nehemiah humbly risks his safety time and again to ensure the wall’s completion. Why were Jerusalem’s walls so important?Cyrus and Nehemiah were the least-expected instruments: a pagan emperor and an unclean eunuch. And yet, God was commanding all things for the most unlikely re-establishment of Judah. Nehemiah’s humility made him bold, even as Jesus Christ’s own humility led Him to boldly establish the church with His own body. We too offer “arrow prayers,” boldly seeking God’s will even when we lack allies or prestige.

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Chronicles 34 and 36:1-6.“[Zedekiah] also rebelled against King Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God.” Ever since Ahaz, the kings of Judah were in a difficult position: they had sworn allegiance to foreign powers as vassals, but God had prohibited such corrupting alliances. And yet, God tells Judah to serve out their terms of servitude in repentance.Young King Josiah heeds the words of Zephaniah to be faithful with what he’s been given, not unlike young Mary centuries later when faced with the news from Gabriel. The unconquerable Jesus Christ rules over His church today with life and forgiveness, always granting His church ways to be faithful—no matter who is in power among mortals.

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Zephaniah 2.“Seek righteousness; seek humility; perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the anger of the LORD.” Like John the Baptist, Zephaniah prophesied that disaster was inevitable—God’s judgment was about to fall on Gentile and Judahite alike. Repentance can’t buy God off.And yet, when King Josiah heeded Zephaniah’s words, Judah enjoyed the gospel’s light as it re-discovered the Bible amidst the darkness. It was only for a short while, and it didn’t stop the Babylonians from coming, but God showed mercy to a generation that humbled itself. Zephaniah’s message foreshadows Jesus Christ, who was the Light amidst the darkness, founding the church amidst disaster in Judea, and showing grace to His “remnant” today.

Rev. Shawn Kumm, pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Cody, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 101.“Morning by morning I will destroy all the wicked in the land, cutting off all the evildoers from the city of the LORD.” For a psalm about mercy, we expected something more like “Morning by morning new mercies I see”! But Psalm 101 actually complements the hymn “Great is Thy Faithfulness” as well as Exodus 16:21 “Morning by morning they gathered [the mana], each as much as he could eat.” The Catechism says that “good government” is included with “daily bread,” and also that God “breaks and hinders every evil plan and purpose.” Government cannot be just without mercy, nor can it be merciful without justice. Although we are constantly tempted to complain, we have hope in the perfect administration of the new David in the new Jerusalem in Christ, where justice & mercy come together.

Host Rev. AJ Espinosa studies Habakkuk 1.“Is he then to keep on emptying his net and mercilessly killing nations forever?” Habakkuk boldly pours forth his complaint to God, but who is he talking about? It turns out that Habakkuk and Jonah have a lot in common: Jonah didn’t want God to give the Assyrians time to repent, and Habakkuk wants the Chaldeans to come overthrow the Assyrians right away.But God says “If it seems slow, wait for it. [...] The righteous shall live by his faith.” He assures Habakkuk that God’s righteous people—Israel—will not be wiped out; they will survive Assyrians. And in Jesus Christ, they do more than survive: they come back to life.

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Kings 16.“I am your servant and your son. Come up and rescue me from the hand of the king of Syria and from the hand of the king of Israel.” When Judah makes a deal with the devil, they sign up for everybody’s gods. In 2 Kings 16 we see how Judah becomes even worse than Israel, effectively signing the North’s death warrant as Ahaz sacrifices his own son—to become Assyria’s son, instead of God’s son.There is no separating the religious and the political, the spiritual and the economic. But even if we have sacrificed family and faith for career and success, God still offers forgiveness, just as He did for Judah. Grace comes from Jesus Christ, not merely “King of the Jews,” but “King of kings.”

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Kings 17 and 16:29-34.“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” We don’t even know it, but we are constantly being commanded by God, we along with everything around us. God’s Word is the powerful glue that holds everything together.God normally commands His people to feed widows and the fatherless—not the other way around. But here in 1 Kings 17 the Word shows His power, reversing the weather, reversing fortunes, and reversing death itself. When God’s people fail in their calling, the rest of the world suffers. But God’s Word is strong to raise up children for Abraham from the sea of the Gentiles, and to give Abraham’s children an even greater resurrection in Jesus Christ.