by Rev. Matthew Lorfeld The vocation of a Soldier, Marine, Seaman, Airman or Coastie carries a unique set of joys, struggles and burdens. This is especially true for troops with families. Deployments take spouses and parents from a service member’s family. Combat brings the duty and honor of serving one’s nation and brothers-in-arms, but it

by Rev. Joshua Hayes Newer is better. We want our devices to be cutting-edge and fast and highly personalized. When it comes to the things of God, however, the Scriptures teach us that newer is not always better, nor should we each have a personal version of the faith. Rather, we are to share and

by Rev. Joshua Hayes We believe that Christ “ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty.” For 40 days after He rose from the dead, Christ appeared to the apostles and preached to them about the kingdom of God (Acts 1:3). He was then “taken up into heaven and

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. by Rev. Joshua Hayes The Scriptures model for us a certain kind of prayer called a Prayer of Thanksgiving. Myriad examples can be found throughout God’s Word (Luke 10:21; John 11:4142; Eph. 1:314; Phil. 4:46). A Prayer of

by Rev. Matthew Zickler Our culture is a culture of consumerism. We do not need to look any further than television commercials, maga- zines and webpages to see the obsession we have with our stuff. No matter where we look, we are barraged with advertisements for stuff. Even the secular world understands this. The comedian

by Rev. Matthew Zickler Upon His resurrection, Christ appeared to His disciples and sent them with a particular, unique sending, making them apostles. However, as He did this, He also instituted the apostolic office that we still recognize in the Office of the Holy Ministry (see John 20:1923; Matt. 28:1620; Mark 16:1416; Luke 24:4649). Under

by Rev. Matthew Zickler With the start of the New Year, we celebrate the season of Epiphany. Epiphany comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, which is an appearing or appearance and, according to Danker’s Greek-English lexicon, can relate to “a visible and sudden manifestation of a hidden divinity.” An epiphany occurs “in the form of a

by Rev. Dr. Andrew Steinmann Perhaps the greatest irony of December is that as we celebrate the coming of the Savior to free us from sin and death, Christmas has become one of the most stressful times of the year. Many merchants feel pressure to make sales, knowing that their profit for the year is

by Rev. Dr. Andrew Steinmann It is not unusual for November’s television shows to include Thanksgiving holiday scenes as part of their story lines. Usually a family and friends are around a table with turkey and other popular fall festival foods. At one point, the diners start speaking about things in their lives for which

by Rev. Dr. Andrew Steinmann In American culture, the month of October is highlighted by Halloween celebrations that have grown increasingly elaborate. In fact, Halloween has become the fastest growing annual celebration in our culture. Sales of Halloween costumes for adults have skyrocketed. It is not unusual to see yards decorated with ghosts, spiderwebs and

by Rev. Dr. Dennis J. Goff Each year on September 29, the church remembers the minor festival known as St. Michael and All Angels day. The 29th day of September is closest to the first Sunday following the autumnal equinox. From now until the following March when the spring equinox occurs, the hours of darkness

by Dr. Dennis J. Goff It’s not a season you will find on your church’s liturgical calendar, but it is a season of life that affects many families: graduation. Many young people will be heading out this month to commence their college education. Often times graduation exercises are referred to as “Commencement.”  However, to commence