Understanding Hosea's Marriage to Gomer
The Lord and Israel are major characters in the Book of Hosea, but the drama of their relationship is acted out in the persons of Hosea and his unfaithful wife, Gomer. She bore him three...
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Support for the Pastor’s Wife and Family: Bust the Fishbowl Mentality
I never wanted to marry into the ministry.There. I said it. Whew.The life that corresponds to marrying a church worker—whether pastor, chaplain, missionary, or so on—is messy and...
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Digging Deeper into Scripture: Matthew 2:1–12
When I work with couples in premarital counseling, there is a point at which we discuss leaving and cleaving, based on the creation account. “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his...
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Athanasius on John 10:30
Given the high status the Gospel of John gives to Jesus, it is not surprising that certain passages from this Gospel would play important roles when questions arose concerning Jesus’...
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Shedding Light on Themes in Daniel
Daniel is best known for the story of the fiery furnace and the lion's den, but he is known amongst scholars for different reasons. Putting aside differences in receiving the text, here...
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Digging Deeper into Scripture: James 5:7–11
I am dating myself to share that I was five years old when the movie Star Wars came out. Mind you, this was 1977. At this point, there was only Star Wars without the context of The Empire...
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Ezekiel: An Overview
Applying Ezekiel to one's own life can be a difficult process. The following chapter-by-chapter breakdown of Ezekiel from The Lutheran Bible Companion helps the reader apply knowledge from...
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How God Uses Questions in the Bible
Questions are at the heart of the Bible. Many of the major events—in the Old and New Testament alike—are marked with a question. God uses these questions to reveal important truths about...
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Digging Deeper into Scripture: Malachi 4:1–6
There is a danger to adopting an attitude toward the end of the world that falls at one extreme or the other. One person may be so unconcerned about the return of Jesus Christ, allowing...
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Digital Citizenship in Church Work: An Interview with Trevor Sutton
Digital technology is a part of daily life and our collective life together. I sat down via Zoom with Rev. Trevor Sutton, a pastor, speaker, and coauthor of Redeeming Technology: A...
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Understanding the Book of Lamentations
The Book of Lamentations is often skipped over. But it reveals a lot about God’s love and faithfulness. The following was adapted from the Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 1: Introduction...
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Digging Deeper into Scripture: Luke 18:1–8
Luke 18:1–8 is a parable that the Lord uses to encourage His disciples to pray persistently.
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How to Pick the Right Church Management Software
There’s a good chance that “How to Pick the Right Church Management Software” wasn’t a class you or your pastor took in college or seminary. Every church has its own unique needs, so every...
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What Is Eternal Life?
Theologians throughout the ages have had many theories and thoughts on eternal life. In this excerpt from On Eternal Life, read Johann Gerhard’s thoughts on the matter of heaven and...
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An Overview of Jeremiah
We have a lot to learn from Jeremiah and his mixture of Law, Gospel, and doctrine. The prophet, best known for his extreme demonstrations, gives abounding examples of God's correction,...
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Three Keys to Building Biblical Fluency
One concern I hear a lot of pastors and other church workers talk about is a lack of biblical literacy or biblical fluency in their congregations. People do not seem to be as familiar with...
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Why Did God Harden Pharaoh’s Heart?
When studying Exodus, we may ask: “Why did God harden Pharaoh’s heart?” Read what Martin Luther said about this difficult question in the post below.
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