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
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.
A trip to a hometown ‘holiday’ celebration creates an opportunity to share the good news of Jesus’ birth.
A number of Christmas hymns are associated with Martin Luther. Here are the most familiar.
‘This is all I have to give you,’ she said sadly. What a wonderful gift! It reminded me of Mark 12:42.
by Dr. Jerald C. Joersz Some TV evangelists and writers of popular religious books promote a view of the end times called “dispensationalism.” What is dispensationalism? How does it differ from how Lutherans understand biblical teaching about the end of the world? Dispensationalism (or “premillennial dispensationalism”) is a teaching that divides biblical history into seven
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