Thoughts for the New Year The most important thing in communication is to listen for the things not being said. Happiness comes through doors you didn’t know you left open. When someone says, “That’s a good question,” you can be sure it’s a lot better than the answer you’re going to get. Don’t expect God
by Rev. Jonathan C. Watt Read 2 Peter 1:16–18. He was an eyewitness. St. Peter said he saw the majesty of Jesus. The word majesty is a kingly word. It has to do with greatness and power. Glory is another word for majesty. That’s what Peter says he and the other disciples saw. He recalls
Despite its current economic or political clime, Bethlehem is still the place where Christ was born—where many still travel to remember a night long ago in this little town when the Light of the World came into its ‘dark streets.’
Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? —Matt. 6:26 ESV
I am commenting on the article “The Christmas Wars.” There are wars indeed to be fought over Christmas, but nothing so trivial as “Merry Christmas” versus “Happy Holidays.” No, this war is much bigger. This is the war on materialism and how it detracts from worshiping God. I fear I’m alone in this war, and
I received my December issue of The Lutheran Witness and was utterly appalled at the cover page. It belongs on the cover of a child’s publication. Why was there not a picture of the nativity or at least a picture relating to the birth of our Savior? The article “The Great Christmas Wars” could still
As a 75-year-old recently new-born Christian, I have so much to learn. “The Best Christmas Pageant Ever,” Dr. Reed Lessing’s December article on Matthew’s genealogy was a real blessing. It reminded me yet again of the depths beyond depth in God’s Word. Though I can never fathom them all, the story of those five women
My comment is for Diane Strzelecki who wrote “Bringing a Nativity Set to Every Home” (December). This is a great idea—I’m happy to see it publicized in The Lutheran Witness. In the past, I have included, along with the nativity set, a child’s book of Jesus’ birth and the story of Christmas to go along
In many respects, the issue of The Lutheran Witness you hold in your hands offers an international perspective. In these pages our authors range from Palestine (Bethlehem and the West Bank) to Brazil, Iran, and finally back to our own U.S.
Peculiar. Today, when we use that word in conversation, our implication is
often pejorative. But as Dr. Lawrence Rast Jr. points out in our cover story, there is an older tradition regarding the use of peculiar, too, a sense that means special, unique, and yes, different in a good way.
The dynamic Luther portrait on the cover of the October 2008 issue was never more penetrating because it cuts through the cults of power and pathogens that confront our world. Blessed by our Lord to have reached 75 years and having carried Luther’s legacy through his Catechism for about 70 years, I am convinced that
Within the Christian community, Lutherans are unique–peculiar–in the best sense of the word.