The Lutheran Witness Podcast

Rev. Roy Askins, Managing Editor of The Lutheran Witness, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching the Scriptures” feature in the November 2022 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “A Profound Mystery” on Ephesians 5:22-33. This year, “Searching the Scriptures” will study the book of Ephesians, so stay tuned each month for the next Bible study. Follow along and search the Scriptures with us!Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.Ephesians 5:22-33Wives and Husbands22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.[a] 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.Read full chapterFootnotesEphesians 5:27 Or holy and blamelessEnglish Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org

Rev. Roy Askins, Managing Editor of The Lutheran Witness, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching the Scriptures” feature in the October 2022 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “Walk in the Light” on Ephesians 5:1-21. This year, “Searching the Scriptures” will study the book of Ephesians, so stay tuned each month for the next Bible study. Follow along and search the Scriptures with us!Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.Ephesians 5:1-21Walk in Love5 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them. 12 For it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. 13 But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, 14 for anything that becomes visible is light. Therefore it says,“Awake, O sleeper, and arise from the dead, and Christ will shine on you.”15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. 18 And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, 19 addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, 20 giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 21 submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.Read full chapterEnglish Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.org

Lisa Clark, Senior Editor of Curriculum Resources at Concordia Publishing House, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about Sunday School through the years, including when it first began, how it made its way to the United States, concerns about this method of teaching at the beginning of the practice, and how Sunday School has changed in the LCMS in the last 50 years. Read Lisa and Deaconess Anna Johnson's article "Teaching the Word: Sunday School Through the Years" in the September 2022 Lutheran Witness. Find Sunday School materials from CPH at teachthefaith.cph.org/enduring-faith.See what is included in the September 2022 issue of LW at witness.lcms.org/2022/lutheran-witness-september-2022. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.The Coffee Hour is underwritten by Concordia University Wisconsin. Live Uncommon. Learn more at cuw.edu.

Rev. Jason M. Braaten, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Tuscola, Illinois, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the history of Vacation Bible School, as he wrote about in the September 2022 of The Lutheran Witness, including the concept of the first Vacation Bible Schools in the United States, how these programs were vastly different depending on the location of the students, how Vacation Bible School has chanted over the last 50 years, and how a locally developed program may be very beneficial to individual congregations and their children.See what is included in the September 2022 issue of LW at witness.lcms.org/2022/lutheran-witness-september-2022. Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.The Coffee Hour is underwritten by Concordia University Wisconsin. Live Uncommon. Learn more at cuw.edu.

Rev. Roy Askins, Managing Editor of The Lutheran Witness, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching the Scriptures” feature in the September 2022 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled "Walk in Love" on Ephesians 4:17-32. This year, "Searching the Scriptures" will study the book of Ephesians, so stay tuned each month for the next Bible study. Follow along and search the Scriptures with us!Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.Ephesians 4:17-32The New Life17 Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. 18 They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. 19 They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. 20 But that is not the way you learned Christ!— 21 assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, 22 to put off your old self,[a] which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, 23 and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, 24 and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.25 Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor, for we are members one of another. 26 Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and give no opportunity to the devil. 28 Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need. 29 Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.Read full chapterFootnotesEphesians 4:22 Greek man; also verse 24English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.orgThe Coffee Hour is underwritten by Concordia University Wisconsin. Live Uncommon. Learn more at cuw.edu.

The Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, pastor and evangelist of Trinity Lutheran Church in Denver, Colorado, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about his article in the August 2022 issue of The Lutheran Witness titled "Four Accounts: One Truth, The Baptism of Jesus," including some misunderstandings regarding events recorded in Scripture in multiple accounts or by multiple writers, how to best approach these sections of Scripture, how each Gospel writer delivers the account of Jesus' Baptism, and how this can be beneficial for us as we digest God's Word. Read Dr. Koontz's article at witness.lcms.org/2022/four-accounts-one-truth.Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.The Coffee Hour is underwritten by Concordia University Wisconsin. Live Uncommon. Learn more at cuw.edu.

Rev. Roy Askins, Managing Editor of The Lutheran Witness, joins Andy to talk about the “Searching the Scriptures” feature in the August 2022 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled "United in the Bond of Peace" on Ephesians 4:1-16. This year, "Searching the Scriptures" will study the book of Ephesians, so stay tuned each month for the next Bible study. Follow along and search the Scriptures with us!Find online exclusives of the Lutheran Witness at witness.lcms.org and subscribe to the Lutheran Witness at cph.org/witness.Ephesians 4:1-16Unity in the Body of Christ4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ's gift. 8 Therefore it says,“When he ascended on high he led a host of captives, and he gave gifts to men.”[a]9 (In saying, “He ascended,” what does it mean but that he had also descended into the lower regions, the earth?[b] 10 He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) 11 And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds[c] and teachers,[d] 12 to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood,[e] to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. 15 Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.Read full chapterFootnotesEphesians 4:8 The Greek word anthropoi can refer to both men and womenEphesians 4:9 Or the lower parts of the earth?Ephesians 4:11 Or pastorsEphesians 4:11 Or the shepherd-teachersEphesians 4:13 Greek to a full-grown manEnglish Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. esv.orgThe Coffee Hour is underwritten by Concordia University Wisconsin. Live Uncommon. Learn more at cuw.edu.

This June, the Rev. Roy S. Askins, managing editor of The Lutheran Witness, was asked by the LCMS Kansas District to speak on their convention theme, “Proclaim, Teach, Share,” based on 1 Peter 2:9–10. This podcast is the second 45-minute presentation that looked at those who describe themselves as religiously “None,” and how we might work on our witness into the home. Listen to Part 1 of these presentations at kfuo.org/2022/07/05/lutheran-witness-podcast-kansas-district-convention-part-1-the-churchs-witness.For more information on The Lutheran Witness or to subscribe to the magazine, please visit witness.lcms.org. Sound effect obtained from zapsplat.com.

This June, the Rev. Roy S. Askins, managing editor of The Lutheran Witness, was asked by the LCMS Kansas District to speak on their convention theme, “Proclaim, Teach, Share,” based on 1 Peter 2:9–10. This podcast is the first 45-minute presentation that addressed the theme verse and how this has been interpreted by The Lutheran Witness throughout its 140-year history. Part 2, to be published next week, looks at the religiously “None,” and how the church can work to more effectively witness in the home. For more information on The Lutheran Witness or to subscribe to the magazine, please visit witness.lcms.org. Sound effect obtained from zapsplat.com.

In this article, the Rev. Dr. Jason Lane, professor of theology at Concordia University Wisconsin, explains why God’s pronouns are important and how the move to stop using masculine pronouns grows out of a feminist theology that rejects a biblical view of God.You can read the article on The Lutheran Witness website.For more information on The Lutheran Witness or to subscribe to the magazine, please visit witness.lcms.org. Sound effect obtained from zapsplat.com.