Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Mark Femmel, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Maryland Heights, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 3.Have you ever wished that God would call out to you like He did to Samuel, so you could say “Speak, LORD, for your servant hears”? Be careful what you wish for. Chapter 3 shows that prophecy is a grave responsibility (especially when it’s overdue!), one that even Eli the High Priest shirked, to the peril of his whole family for generations. It means saying what no one wants to hear, sacrificing our own hopes & goals, and even disappointing our own family—something Eli could not do with his sons. Still, even with Eli, God is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. Despite how we have ignored Him, God Himself shows up for us and says “Here I am, for you called me” through Christ. In Him, the true successor of Eli, we have greater access to God’s Word even than Samuel did.

Rev. Charles Henrickson, pastor of St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Bonne Terre, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 2.“My heart exults in the LORD; [...] He will give strength to his king and exalt the horn of his anointed.” Hannah sets a good example of thanksgiving after supplication, but why talk about an anointed king before there was any such thing? Chapter 2 continues to point ahead, building on wordplay between Samuel and Saul, who would be the first king anointed by Samuel because Israel “asked for him from the LORD.” Samuel connects ancient figures like Jacob’s son Joseph and Aaron’s sons Nadab & Abihu to Elizabeth’s son John and to Mary’s son—Jesus the Christ. Old age is God’s gift, contrasted here between old survivors who mourn what’s been lost to corruption and old forerunners who anticipate in faith a fuller realization of God’s promises, a “faithful priest” and the son of all Israel’s hopes & prayers.

Rev. Paul Cain, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheridan, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Samuel 1.“And she called his name Samuel, for she said, ‘I have asked for him from the LORD. [...] Therefore I have lent him to the LORD. As long as he lives, he is lent to the LORD.’” How should Christians wield political power? The stories of Samuel, Saul, David, and Solomon all begin here in 1 Samuel chapter 1 in this very “fluid” situation. We are introduced to priests and Levites who seem generally faithful to Yahweh, but they want to have their cake and eat it too. Samuel however as a name is an acknowledgement that everything in this life, including this life itself, is a loan from God, meant to be given back to God. God demonstrates this complete self-giving through His Son, foreshadowed by Samuel as one who holds the offices of prophet, priest, and king all at the same time.

Rev. Gregory Alms, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church and School in Catonsville, Maryland, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 16.“Now concerning our brother Apollos, I strongly urged him to visit you with the other brothers, but it was not at all his will to come now. He will come when he has opportunity.” After everything he’s written in response to the pro-Apollos faction in Corinth, why would Paul want Apollos of all people to go back? Paul shows in his final chapter that Christ’s Spirit makes us “grow up” and put childish divisions behind us. Spiritual maturity means humbly following others’ examples of love and service, not childishly acting like we’ve invented our own brand of Christianity. Offerings collected in worship to support the international church are not an optional afterthought, but a celebration of our one baptism into Christ.

Rev. Brian Davies, pastor of Lord of Glory Lutheran Church in Grayslake, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 15.“And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile, and you are still in your sins. [...] Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.” With your arguing and divisiveness, you live as if Christ were still dead. Paul levels this heavy charge against the Corinthians in chapter 15 because, ultimately, everything he’s been talking about is just a spelling-out of “the gospel” itself. The creed Paul presents shows that Christianity isn’t about unique brands of doctrine or cults of celebrity personality. Living life like the resurrection is real means rejecting the way of this world. Although the way of humble love & service seems like an insufficient legacy, Christ’s resurrection ensures that our “labor is not in vain.” We don’t have to invest our lives in impressive knowledge and renowned wisdom which will pass away. We stick to the universal creeds given to the whole church, because God’s investments of love through humble faith will be brought to full form on the Last Day.

Rev. Andrew Yeager, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Decatur, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 14.If “all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?” While Paul never says that ecstatic speech is categorically evil, he slams the breaks on the Corinthians’ enthusiasm for such “manifestations of the Spirit” in chapter 14. Love is more concerned about saying something “intelligible” that “builds up” others, rather than saying something impressive and proving itself. Speaking in tongues is really an extraordinary sign, like miracles, that God gave in places of unbelief to authenticate the Apostles; believers are meant to “prophecy” and speak with their “minds.” Not only are we to speak with meaning, but we are to mean what we say—both the heart and the head, the full mind of Christ incarnate for us in love.

Rev. Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 13.“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way.” Paul isn’t talking about the unique character of falling in love—he’s talking about talking to people from church! Although chapter 13 is popular at weddings, Paul here contrasts speaking in a patient and humble way with both speaking in tongues as well as speaking in a stern and proud way. The last quotation in 12:21 was the proud eye to the weak hand: “I have no need of you.” No matter how world-saving, no matter how profound, no matter how beautiful, the spiritual gifts of faith and hope are only temporary. Ultimately, they are useless without that which is eternal: the charity and kindness of Christ.

Rev. Mark Preus, pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church & Campus Center in Laramie, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 12.“It is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.” Hang around a church long enough, and people will start talking about spirituality, spiritual gifts, spiritual maturity, and the rest. What does it even mean to be “spiritual”? Paul’s big idea in chapter 12 is that spirituality is not cause to be proud of ourselves. All Christians are spiritual by mere faith, and the highest spirituality is humble, loving service towards others. God is glorified when we, like Christ, empty ourselves of our own interests and preferences for the sake of others. “Discernment” is not exclusivistic or spiritual refinement, but a way of patiently guiding our “weaker” brothers while humbly honoring them.

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 11.“The head of every man is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God.” What do head coverings have to do with the Lord’s Supper? Does Paul intend in 1 Corinthians 11 for women to pick up hats on their way into church on Sundays, even today? Paul speaks these words right after talking about eating together and “building up” each other. The point is that the Lord’s supper is an intimate act, as intimate as husband and wife. Because public worship reflects what happens in heaven with God and the angels, we ought to build each other up with the way we dress and behave. Husbands and wives must do whatever is appropriate in their culture to reverently reflect the intimacy of Christ and His bride the church, made spotless and without blemish by His faithful and sacrificial love.

Rev. Dr. Kevin Golden, pastor of Village Lutheran Church in Ladue, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 10.“You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons. Shall we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than he?” The Corinthians thought they were being spiritual and full of faith as they ate meat in pagan temples, confessing the irreality of false gods and looking down on their “weaker” and more sensitive Christian brothers. In chapter 10, Paul pulls the rug out from under them—they aren’t antagonizing weak-minded Christians, but Christ Himself! Like Israel, we are not saved by entering into a spiritual structure or learning a certain amount of doctrine. The church’s life is daily repentance and constant participation in Christ, to the glory of God and the benefit of the neighbor.