As autumn approaches, I want to remind you that you can listen to sermons and church conversations on your travels by subscribing to the Shepherd’s Voice Podcast.

While the podcast has primarily been a mission for the members of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, you never know how God’s Word might work in the heart of someone who stumbles across our little podcast and is led to church. If that happens, praise God!

This Sunday marks our annual Oktoberfest, offering a fantastic chance for food and fellowship.

While we await the brats to be cooked, we will have our normal opening of Bible Class, where we will sing the hymn of the year, “Built on the Rock.” The hymn of the year is new this year, but it is meant to provide us with focus as we sing, praise, and look to our Savior. This is what we should always desire and wish for the children of the congregation.

However, Christians do not avoid arguing, debating, or conflict in the strictest sense and we should look to Scripture to learn how and why we enter into these arenas.

St. Peter reminds Christians that they are called to give a defense for their faith, to argue and debate, but to do so with gentleness.

This Sunday, we observe the martyrdom of St. John the Baptist. But why do we remember so many saints’ days? Is there something wrong with this practice?

We celebrate and observe the saints’ days because they strengthen our faith and provide examples for us to look to. We give thanks to God for such wonderful and strong witnesses of the Christian faith, that we might follow them into eternity—even if we, too, are called to shed our blood.

A brother pastor, Rev. Christiopher Thoma, from Heartland, MI, recently shared the following observations from 32 years of teaching Confirmation Classes to the young people of his congregation, and I believe his words are an incredible reminder for all of us.

What one should take away from these observations is that the parents have the greatest influence in teaching their children the faith.

One of the main topics we focused on was an overview of different translations of Holy Scripture. You can see from the image below how translations can range from a paraphrase to a thought-for-thought, and finally to a word-for-word translation.

As the LCMS celebrates twenty years of the Lutheran Service Book, the synod now uses the English Translation Version of Scripture throughout the hymnal. The ESV is a more literal translation, similar to the KJV, but with more modern language. For this reason, the confession of the LCMS is returning to a more narrow and grounded foundation, which is a good thing because the words of the liturgy are the words of Scripture.

This past week, I read a fascinating article in Christianity Today about hymnals. While Lutherans have traditionally been hymn-singing people, there has been a consistent push over the years to move away from hymnals and display hymn lyrics on screens, even in Lutheran churches.

But why are churches going back to hymnals? Because of their permanence, their durability, and quality of lasting a Christian's lifetime, serving as the Christian’s songbook, with ink on paper.

As I reflect on my attendance at the synod convention last week, I wanted to share information about some of the matters debated there.

Overall, it was a fantastic week. Many resolutions were enthusiastically embraced, demonstrating our unity as a synod. Additionally, the music and liturgies we prayed each day provided wonderful nourishment for the soul.

Greetings from Phoenix, AZ, where it hasn’t been as hot as I expected. I'm here to attend and represent our circuit at the LCMS Synod Convention. The purpose of the synod convention is to handle the business of the synod.

Every congregation goes through periods when people enter the flock and when people depart the flock. While we all know how to welcome newcomers, we don’t often speak of how we ought to support those who move away or transfer to a new congregation. So, what should we do in situations like this?

We started our summer Family Nights. The theme this year is stewardship, and throughout the month, we hope to learn about the many ways God entrusts us to care for the people, items, and possessions He has given us.

Last Sunday, we discussed Irenaeus of Lyons and his conflict with Bishop Victor, who excommunicated individuals wanting to celebrate Easter on a different day. Now, I’m oversimplifying the issue between Irenaeus and Victor, but it led to a conversation about excommunication, what it is, and whether there are different kinds of excommunication.

Last week in Bible Class, we covered topics like miscarriage, IVF, and surrogacy. Although these topics weren’t planned for discussion, I received a question about miscarriage just before class and thought discussing it would be helpful for everyone.

If you have been affected by topics such as miscarriage, IVF, or surrogacy and would like to discuss them further, I invite you to reach out to me.

As summer arrives, many of you will be traveling. When you travel, I encourage you to look for churches near your destination where you can attend, hear God’s Word, and receive the gifts of forgiveness.

Scripture tells us a wife is “a good gift.” A man who finds a wife receives a good gift from his God and Father in heaven because marriage is a gift for both man and woman. It’s an arena for a man to sacrifice himself for his wife, as Christ did for the Church, and for a woman to love her husband as the Church loves Christ. (Ephesians 5:22-33)

One aspect of Confession and Absolution that we have discussed has sadly been forgotten over time and fallen out of use: the practice of Private Confession and Absolution. First, to be clear, Private Confession and Absolution should be viewed as a gift; therefore, no one is required to receive it.

Luther is expanding on St. Paul’s words that describe the Church as our mother, where we are reborn through God’s word and the forgiveness earned for us by Jesus on His cross. 

As Mother’s Day approaches, let us give thanks for the earthly mothers we have received, but let us also remember to gather in God’s church, a mother that sustains us as we journey through life and are led to eternal life.

One of the main ways every parishioner comes in contact with the pastor is through the preaching of God’s word. So we took some time to read over and discuss an article entitled, “How to Listen to a Sermon — Even When It’s Hard.”

We are starting a new study on Sunday mornings about church history. Studying church history helps us understand the scriptures more deeply by examining the people and controversies of each era.

Why do the Elders wear robes, especially during the distribution of the Lord’s Supper? This is a good question about a practice rooted in the Scriptures and our Lutheran Confessions. Let me walk you through some of the discussions the elders and I had after we received our robes from the church closing outside Chicago.