For me, the beginning of the new year is always exciting. What will the ensuing months bring? Where will I fail? Where will I succeed? How will I grow? Coupled with looking ahead, I always make it a practice to look behind. To reflect on the closing year, to remember, and to ask, “What has God been up to in my life?”
by Dr. Leslie (Jack) Fyans I have lived in the upper Midwest all my life but have always dreaded the winters. The gloomy weather depresses me. Do other people have this problem, or is it just me? All of us are affected by our natural environment, and our bodies seem to be especially sensitive to
Say What? Leaving church one Sunday morning not long ago, my niece and her husband asked Kiera, their 3-year-old daughter, what she had learned in Sunday School. “Jesus was boring,” she responded proudly. Relieved she wasn’t overheard by someone, they proceeded straight to their van. Once again, Mom and Dad asked the question: “What did
by Rev. Timothy C. Cartwright The Celestial Surgeon If I have faltered more or less In my great task of happiness; If I have moved among my race And shown no glorious morning face; If beams from happy human eyes Have moved me not; if morning skies, Books, and my food, and summer
I have come joyfully and thankfully to cherish the words, “This is My body and blood, given and poured out for you for the forgiveness of sins.”
by Martin S. Sommer Editor’s note: Along with Prof. Theodore Graebner, Prof. Martin S. Sommer shared the editorship of The Lutheran Witness for 35 years, from 1914 to 1949. This column is from 75 years ago, Jan. 1, 1935, in many respects, a time not unlike our own–economic uncertainty, high unemployment (more than 20 percent
At the heart of it all, as so vividly expressed by Luther’s famous Christmas hymn, “From Heaven Above to Earth I Come”—the focus of two of our stories this month—is the birth of God’s Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
by Theresa M. Shaltanis I lost my wife three years ago the week after Thanksgiving. Since then, this time of year has felt empty to me. Friends have told me it’s time I get over this, but I just can’t. What can you suggest that might make this time less melancholy? The death of a
by Rev. William Weedon Have you ever noticed how the theme of joy trumpets through the Church’s hymns at Christmas? “Joy to the World,” “O Rejoice, Ye Christians, Loudly,” “Rejoice, Rejoice This Happy Morn,” “All My Heart Again Rejoices.” And those are just the opening lines of a few hymns! Whence this Christmas joy? Read
‘Jesus came to bring sunshine to a dark world. What a great picture! Shine on us, O Lord!’
Thank you for the most salubrious article on Luther’s hymn, “Ein feste Burg,” by Dr. Albert Collver. I view the church as a MASH unit, so I especially relish that particular hymn as care to those whose fortresses have fallen. When your job is gone, when your home is gone, when all things that you
Dr. Albert Collver’s October Lutheran Witness article, “A Mighty Fortress,” clearly pinpoints why we should be deeply thankful to call ourselves “Lutheran.” This is not because we follow Martin Luther as someone more than a man, but because we share in Luther’s firm stand on the holy Word of God and the comfort it brings