by Rev. Dr. Greg Wismar Many events in the worship life of every congregation happen on a regular basis. Each year, it can be expected that Christmas, Easter, Pentecost and the other major festivals will be celebrated as they occur on the annual Church Year calendar. The weeks from the First Sunday in Advent to
Richard Wetzel, Ph.D., is a neuropsychologista neuropsychologist with a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis.
404 ErrorAfter the Divine Service ended on New Year’s Day, I greeted the four-year-old great-granddaughter of a member of my congregation. “I have a purse,” she told me. I responded, “That’s wonderful. All I have is a wallet and a couple of pockets.” She then observed, “Yeah, but you’re wearing a dress!” Rev. Philip HouserPapillion,
I wholeheartedly agree with President Harrison’s point that we need Advent and its message of repentance (December 2011). Rev. Karl A. FrinckeFort Wayne, Ind. Read More Letters to the Editor Send letters to Letters, c/o The Lutheran Witness, 1333 S. Kirkwood Road, St. Louis, MO 63122-7295; or send them via e-mail to Lutheran.Witness@LCMS.org.
by Rev. Matthew Zickler Upon His resurrection, Christ appeared to His disciples and sent them with a particular, unique sending, making them apostles. However, as He did this, He also instituted the apostolic office that we still recognize in the Office of the Holy Ministry (see John 20:1923; Matt. 28:1620; Mark 16:1416; Luke 24:4649). Under
Thank you for the magnificent artwork on the cover and pages 1013 of the December issue. The unique poetic meditation by Pastor Neugebauer was excellent, particularly linked with the artwork of He Qi. Can you feature more of his work in a future issue? Thank you again. Christmas was made more blessed for me because
by Dr. Debra L. Grime A new prenatal blood test called MaterniT21 can now evaluate the DNA of a baby before he or she is born and determine if the child has Down Syndrome with 99 percent accuracy. But now that the option is available, will more women opt for such tests? And more importantly,
I love The Lutheran Witness magazine. The articles are great, and the illustrations are great. I would like to know the artist or photographer who did the pictures for the December issue on the article “A King Pronounced.” They are so vibrant, and to me, the colors would be so like the night our Savior
by Rev. Christopher Hall He formed our inward parts. He knitted us in our mothers womb (Ps. 139:13). God has created each and every person. But God creates and forms the inward parts of every insect, each and every bird, each and every microbe. What makes human life sacred? What makes Christians defend the born
I found the brief article “Building a Liturgical Church” (December 2011) very interesting. Mr. Melde is correct that it is near impossible to replicate the art and masonry of past eras. However, LCMS congregations might want to explore church antique dealers and other groups that rescue and restore organs, stained glass, altars, pulpits, fonts, and
Residential seminary education provides a wealth of opportunities for future pastors.
Two LCMS educators explain the philosophy behind a distinctly Lutheran education.