I was very impressed and encouraged by your article “It’s Not All Downhill!” in the February Lutheran Witness. Small churches need the encouragement to know that there is an alternative to declining attendance and membership. Most rural churches, especially in Middle America, are small, and many are declining. In some cases, they may be the
I’d like to comment about the February issue of The Lutheran Witness and about rural ministries. I went to a one-room school with eight grades, and I’m probably telling my age, so I’ll tell you it was a small farming community at Lutherville, Ark. I’m not advocating going back to this type of education, but
Reconstruction (spin) is not putting the “best construction” on historical figures such as Philip Melanchthon (the February Lutheran Witness). Let’s accept the fact that Melanch-thon excessively yielded to the political pressures in his later years. He did devalue the words that defined the precious Real Presence of Jesus in the Sacrament. Let’s also acknowledge that
Congratulations on your February article, “Word of God, Speak!” It was written for us “pew-sitters.” Every trade and profession has its own unique expressions understood only by their own. Example: What does “The pump lost its prime,” mean? Is it proper grammar? Or, “The rose boxes in holds 2 and 4 were stopped up.” We
by Dr. Jerald C. Joersz In John 11, Jesus raised Lazarus from death. Did Lazarus die a second time? Do the Scriptures answer this question? Only the Gospel of John gives us any information about Lazarus, including brief mention of him after Jesus raised him from death. In chapter 12, John tells us that after his
by Theresa M. Shaltanis My daughter will graduate from high school in June. She’s a good kid, but doesn’t help much around the house. It seems I am either nagging her or picking up after her. She’ll go away to college next year, and I know I’ll miss her terribly. How do I balance the
Not Really a Secret It was that time of the year, late April, and my Sunday school class of 15, including my own girls, Jeannie, 14, and Cindy, 8, were with me, walking along the side of a road and picking up a winter’s worth of litter. Our trash bags were almost full when Cindy
In Isaiah, we find not only a warning of universal judgment but also a foretaste of Easter’s resurrection joy and a promise of the glorious eternal banquet that awaits in heaven.
by Rev. Donald Anthony The Resurrection by Gustave Doré Each Sunday, our church was providing bookmarkers with information about people from our history. On the opposite side of the marker was a brief excerpt from our church history. Our members looked forward to and enjoyed receiving the markers, which were being designed and donated by
Christmas might be our favorite holiday, but Easter is the queen of Christian festivals, the culmination of God’s plan of salvation and the reason our faith is not futile.
How joyous it is to recall that above all else, Easter, the festival of our Lord’s resurrection, gives us the assurance of eternal life in Jesus Christ and the certainty of our own resurrection.
What are kids thinking these days? And why are they thinking the way they do?