Concord Matters from KFUO Radio

We are transitioning from the 10 Commandments to the Apostles' Creed in the Small Catechism. The 10 Commandments teach us God’s good and holy will, and thereby “always accuse us” because we see our sin is ever before us and ever preventing us from being the solution to the Separation Syndrome. So, where does help come from? The protoevangelium (“the first Gospel”) from Genesis 3:15 leads us to find our answer to the separation syndrome that we demonstrated from Genesis 3 in “the Fall”. Was the Gospel silent for thousands of years until the fullness of the protoevangelium promise in Christ? The Solution to the Separation Syndrome that leads us to Christ, which is the 2nd Article of the Creed.Rev. Mark Bestul, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to discuss the solution to the Separation Syndrome in the Apostles' Creed.

Complete the catechism lesson on the 10 Commandments today. Regarding the 7th Commandment, consider how this commandment teaches us how God feels about personal private property and how we reconcile our understanding of the 7th Commandment and different socioeconomic theories. Regarding the 8th Commandment, think about how much does reputation matter in our lives, how this commandment instructs us in patience and love toward our neighbors, and where the popular phrase "Judge not lest you be judged" plays into all of it. Regarding the 9th and 10th Commandments, learn about why we have two commandments on coveting, the finer points of these two commandments, and how these two commandments bookend the 10 Commandments along with the 1st Commandment.Rev. Mark Bestul, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Elgin, IL, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to discuss the 7th, 8th, 9th, and 10th Commandments.

We have arrived to the middle of the commandments, studying the 5th and 6th on this episode. Regarding the 5th commandment, hear what the 5th Commandment teaches us about our bodies on this earth and our nature as created beings, how the commandment still convicts us even if we haven't intentionally physically harmed our neighbor, where we see examples of the 5th Commandment being broken and upheld in Scripture, how the 4th and 5th Commandments work together in application within our vocations, and how can we rightly apply the 5th Commandment in our COVID-19 pandemic times. Regarding the 6th Commandment, learn what the 6th Commandment is actually defending, how our Biblical view of marriage and dating run in the complete opposite as what the world tells us, how marriage teaches us about God's relationship to His Church, and how marriage as the highest estates looks in daily living.Rev. Mark Bestul, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to give a catechetical lesson on the 5th and 6th Commandments.

The 3rd and 4th Commandments transition us from the 1st Table to the 2nd Table of the Law. What does it mean to rest in the Lord, and how is everything made holy by the Word of God? How does the 4th Commandment relate to the 3rd and transition to the 2nd Table? Where does authority come from, and what are the various estates of authority according to the 4th Commandment?Rev. Mark Bestul, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church Elgin, Illinois, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to discuss the 3rd and 4th Commandments in our daily lives.

How does understanding the Separation Syndrome help one's initial response to the opening of the Ten Commandments? The First Commandment teaches us to have no other gods. Do we generate false gods or idols for ourselves? What is the joy of the First Commandment? What does the Second Commandment teach us about our God? Rev. Mark Bestul, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to discuss the first table of the Law.

If we believe that God's Word is true history and that God created everything "according to its kind" and is "good" in His eyes, how did we get the mess we live in today? How does the Fall, as recorded in Genesis 3, result in separations in multiple domains such as theological, psychological, sociological, ecological, and physiological? How are these separations addressed? How is the depth of sin thoroughly understood? Rev. Mark Bestul, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to discuss separation as a result of the Fall.

As Lutherans, we confess the truths we find in our Catechism, but we also live in a world that has a hard time accepting the notion of objective truth. Why are Jesus’ claims of “Truth” an important fundamental principle for Christian defense of the Scripture — and thus our entry into the Catechism? What do we learn from the true story of creation in Genesis 1 & 2 that help us understand the Catechism more fully?Rev. Mark Bestul, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to discuss the place of the catechism in our daily lives as Lutherans.

As Lutherans we love our hymnody, but what makes hymns particularly Lutheran? How do hymns point us even more to Scripture, and how can we use them devotionally? And, on the creative side, how does a Lutheran hymnwriter create a hymn that is both beautiful poetry and also doctrinally rich?Rev. Stephen Starke, Lutheran Hymn Writer of over 200 hymns (including 32 in the Lutheran Service book) and retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to discuss our heritage of Lutheran hymnody and what makes it unique.

We sing hymns every Sunday, and hopefully throughout our daily lives. But, what actually is a hymn? Is it just a fancy word for song? Hear this delightful conversation about the purpose of hymnody, where we find scriptural basis for singing hymns in worship services, how we use hymns in the life of the congregation, how music and text work together in hymnody, and what makes our Lutheran hymnody so unique and wonderful.Rev. Dr. Jon Vieker, Senior Assistant to the President of the LCMS and Former Assistant Director for LCMS Commission on Worship, joins host Rev. Sean Smith to discuss why concord matters for Lutheran hymnody.

This entire show is about the Lutheran Confessions, and we encourage you to study and learn them. Today we ask, why and how? Why are these Lutheran Confessions so important to us? How can we incorporate them into our daily lives, and what are the benefits of taking these Confessions to heart?Rev. Dr. Matthew Harrison, President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod; Rev. Mark Bestul, Pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois; and Layman Mr. Tim Matheny join host Rev. Sean Smith during this special Sharathon edition of Concord Matters to talk about using the Confessions devotionally.