In our Advent services this year we have been focusing on the three ingredients which Martin Luther said that God uses to grow theologians. Those three ingredients, or three disciplines, if you will, are: meditation, prayer and testing. Or as they are sometimes called by their Latin names: Meditatio, Oratio and Tenatio. (Wait a minute. […]
Download Life Guide Today I’d like to begin with a quiz. Can anybody identify this man? Raise your hand if you can tell me who this is. Let me give you a hint. His name is Bhomibol Adulyadej (pronounced Pooh me pon Ah doon yah day). Still don’t know who it is? Don’t feel bad. […]
Download Life Guide Every so often, sometimes once or twice in a lifetime, a person gets to be a part of something really big. Something that kind of lifts our sights above the ordinary routine of life. Something that allows us to somehow serve a greater good. Something that we could not do by […]
Download Life Guide The year was 1986. The place, Mequon Wisconsin. The event, call day at Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary. My bride-to-be and I sat in the auditorium waiting to hear where in the world I would be assigned to begin my career in the Pastoral Ministry. As you might expect, there were some nervous jitters. […]
Download Life Guide Tell me, have you ever thought about how your life today has been impacted by wars that were fought hundreds or even thousands of years ago? Do you realize how different your life would be if just one or two military battles somewhere in history had gone a different way? For example, […]
Download Life Guide The past few weeks, our sermon series has been focusing on God’s wisdom for your family. We’ve looked at the first family, the perfect family, we’ve looked at our church family. Today we turn to one of the relationships inside the family, namely, the relationship between parents and children. And so my […]
Download Life Guide Tell me, if I were to ask you for a description of the perfect pastor, what would you say? What qualities would you look for in the ideal minister of the Gospel? Recently a survey was conducted asking people for the traits of the perfect pastor. All the results were compiled […]
Download Life Guide Just for a minute, I want you to imagine reading this ad in the newspaper or on Craigslist. For sale. 1997 Toyota Corolla. 285, 000 miles. Some rust. Needs brakes. AC does not work. Missing a fender. Won’t start. $5,000, firm. Tell me, does that sound like a car you’d want to […]
Download Life Guide Tell me, have you ever been frustrated by your own lack of faith? You feel like you’re kind of in a rut. Your spiritual life isn’t what you want it to be. You’ve kind of fallen back into some bad habits. And you’re thinking, “Man, how do I get back on track? […]
Download Life Guide Tell me, have you ever been in a situation where you knew you were in trouble with someone in authority? You broke the rules and you knew you would have to face the consequences. And the whole matter left you feeling a little sick to your stomach. I expect that we’ve all […]