Several times I have listened to sermons about the prodigal son and have been disappointed that the older son’s reaction is either ignored or taken to such an extreme it is hard to personally relate to his reaction toward the return of his younger brother. Once again, in June’s “Searching Scripture,” the older brother was …
Regarding “Degrees of Glory” (“Q&A,” June/July): Jesus’ parable, “Laborers in the Vineyard” (Matt. 20:1–16), does not support the response to the question. See verse 12: “‘These men who were hired last worked only one hour,’ they said, ‘and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden of the work and the …
God Bless the Jack Karches in our midst! EMT, chaplain, pastor! I can’t imagine a better combination for this day and age. What a thought-provoking essay, so much so that I ask for a sequel by Rev Karch. Regarding the last incident he mentions, I want to know how he would respond to those parents …
As you read these lines, we will have traveled this summer with both Luther and Paul, visiting Rome and Turkey, where our New Testament churches took root and grew. The June/July Lutheran Witness projects a Martin Luther exhibiting a rock-like determination to read the apostolic words of Paul, who indeed was knocked down on the …
I’m finally writing a letter of thanks for the wonderful Lutheran Witness. We have been getting it for years. We read other people’s responses, so it’s good we are finally responding. I saved a 20-year-old Witness—not quite so fancy paper in those days. I gave it to our former young pastor, and he was so …
In the June/July Lutheran Witness article, “How Good Is Good Enough,” the sign posted by Shepherd of the Hills in San Antonio, Texas, got my attention. It speaks to the doubts so many have and addresses with clarity why faith in Christ is what is necessary for our eternal salvation. There is so much misinformation …
I was excited to receive the June/July Lutheran Witness. I flipped open the cover only to see four elderly women in bathing suits prancing in ocean water. There is a time and a place for that sort of advertising and a magazine of this caliber is not it. Thankfully, when I turned the next page …
In “Does Everything Mean Everything?” Rev. Jack Karch shares a dramatic real-life story of God’s goodness to him and his family. I thank God for the great outcome. The ending, however, puzzles me. I am choosing to put the “best construction” on that last paragraph—that Rev. Karch did not intentionally suggest that his boy was …
During her mission trip to Kenya, author Susan Senechal experiences first-hand the joy in the hearts of local worshipers and learns the true meaning of the word “safari”.
When you take away the hype, the poor scholarship, and the overblown misinterpretations, all that remains of many biblical “discoveries” is “more junk on Jesus.”
The “Jazz Song” Christians sing–The Gospel–preaches a more powerful sermon than any silver-tongued orator ever could.
by Paula Schlueter Ross Brenda Johnson (at right in above photo), the head cook at Camp Restore, New Orleans, invites just about every volunteer group at the camp to stop by her house, which had five-and-a-half feet of floodwater post-Katrina and now “is gorgeous,” she says. Thanks to Lutheran volunteers, Johnson got back into her …