
Lutheran Witness: December 2009
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.
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
We were blessed by President Kieschnick’s clear explanation of a biblical stance on homosexuality in his “Our Synod and Recent ELCA Actions” article in the October Lutheran Witness. We have shared this article with church friends confused by headlines about “Lutherans and homosexuals” in the media. It is both a source of “truth telling” and
This is a response to Pastor Michael Brockman’s October letter regarding distrust in the Missouri Synod. Over the years, I consistently told the people in my congregation that one of the great things about the Missouri Synod is that regardless of where they worshiped, they will never hear false teaching from an LCMS pulpit. Therein
I received my copy of the October Lutheran Witness today and was skimming through the articles. Seth Long’s “Foolish Things of the World” caught my eye, and I began to read the story. I got to the line that all understanding is trivial as long as we come to understand those six simple words: “Jesus
As someone living with Asperger’s syndrome, I feel compelled to write a few words regarding the “Foolish Things of the World” article in the October Lutheran Witness. Autism is a spectrum disorder, with degrees of severity and variance. This means that many of us can understand deep theological concepts, although one’s level of communication may
The Lutheran Witness’ October stories on “Mission Multiplication” and the Reformation surfaced online on a Norwegian cruise ship during a recent holiday. The ship carried about 2,000 people from 60 countries. After visiting about a dozen countries and historic places such as Ephesus, my wife and I were struck with the possibilities of doing Christ’s
Dr. Mark Press penned a touching article in the August 2009 issue of The Lutheran Witness. He tells of being with his mother in the final moments of her life and the privilege he and his family members had of “singing her into eternity.” I could not help but reflect on the passing of my