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Help Support the Stephens Family and Lutherans in Africa
Lutherans in Africa (LIA) is an organization which trains and educates Lutheran pastors in Africa, providing confessional Lutheran materials in the languages of the people so they can have access to wonderful resources such as hymnals, The Book of Concord, Luther’s Small Catechism, and more. The Lutheran church in Africa is growing so rapidly that in many cases one pastor serves 12 parishes and these pastors desire more training than they have received. Recently, LIA purchased a plot of land to build a seminary on to better serve these needs. Jason Stephens and his family learned about the work to build the seminary and soon realized he had the skills and…
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Psalm 6 Domine, ne in furore tuo arguas me
O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, a Psalm of David The emotions of the Psalmist David are powerfully expressed. We can likely all recall times during which the weight of our sins is equally great. Right away in the first few verses God’s anger is referred to as hot displeasure. We can understand the troubled bones and soul that cry out for God’s help. O Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger, Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure. Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak; O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled. My soul also is greatly troubled; But You, O Lord—how…
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Good Friday 2016
By Amanda Markel Good Friday 2016 gives us a unique opportunity for a rare glimpse at the church year coming full circle, because this year, Good Friday’s movable date falls on the same date as one of the principal feasts of Christ: The Annunciation. Too often, we separate the Jesus of Christmas from the Jesus of Good Friday. We don’t want to think of the baby swaddled in the manger dying, and when we picture Jesus suffering on the cross, the image of a tiny, helpless baby is far from our minds. But that baby, whose coming was announced first to Mary in Nazareth, was born to save us…
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Psalms for Holy Week
By Mary Abrahamson In the Christian church, seven Psalms have historically been classified as the Penitential Psalms. These psalms focus on our sin and our need for a Savior. Some show how a particular sin or sinful lifestyle can eat at us. Others meditate more generally on sinful nature or sin in the world. On repentance and salvation, too, some are more specific and others more general. These Psalms have been used in a variety of liturgical devotional ways throughout the history of Christianity. Some traditions use them during all of Lent; others use one Psalm a day during Holy week. The Eastern church uses them in specific liturgical rites…
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Incarnation: A Meditation
By Mary Abrahamson Furthermore it is necessary for everlasting salvation that one also believe faithfully the incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right faith is that we believe and confess that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; And man of the substance of His mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a rational soul and human flesh subsisting. Equal to the Father as touching His Godhead and inferior to the Father as touching his manhood. Who, although he is God and Man, yet He is not two…
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Katie’s Bookshelf– Pew Sisters Review & Giveaway!
Life’s busy, really too busy to waste time on bad books, and The Sisters of Katie Luther are here to help! Feel free to eavesdrop on Sandra Ostapowich, Holly Scheer, Bethany Kilcrease, Tabitha Moldenhauer, and Ellie Corrow as they use technology available to regularly e-chat about books we’ve chosen to read and discuss together. These reviews are informal, probably slightly snarky, but always informative, and designed to help you determine what is worth your consideration. Pull up a chair, a cup of tea, or something else, if you prefer, and help yourself to our conclusions, as we explore what is on offer. Our book this time is “Pew Sisters” by…
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It’s Not All About You… or Me
By Vanessa Rasanen Whatever your social media of choice — be it Facebook, twitter, instagram, or whatever — you are likely inundated with friends, acquaintances, perhaps even complete strangers sharing tidbits of themselves through opinions, thoughts, memories, or general goings-on. Given the incredibly narcissistic time in which we live – there’s even a book about it – it shouldn’t be surprising how often these tidbits feel like a slap in our face. I remember reading my friend’s post about being a stay at home mom last year. I read about her joy of “making memories” and somehow twisted it all into meaning my not being home meant I was NOT making memories. Because, you know,…
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Homesick
By Mary Abrahamson When I was young I pined for a home. A place to be from. Before I graduated high school my family and I had lived in five different houses. This was not a ton, but still quite a bit a change. New friends, new neighbors, new ways of organizing possessions. I remember telling my mom once that I was NEVER going to marry a pastor. “Pastors don’t have homes and I want a home. I want my kids to have a place to look back on as home, and have sentimental memories about. And I want them to know where everything is and who all…
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On Lenten Worship with Children
By Shelley Mielke Last night’s midweek Lenten worship. Full of pondering and solemnity and introspection and a deepening understanding of what our Savior did for us on the cross. Yes? Yes it was. There many times during the service when I closed my eyes and soaked up the words I was hearing and singing. More than once my heart was stirred. But did I mention I also (re: always) attend church with my five children? Yessiree! I wouldn’t have it any other way, of course, because worshiping with my children is hands-down one of the best things I can do with them. Raising them in the faith is the single-most important…
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What Moms Need to Hear
By Vanessa Rasanen I see them often, and I’m sure you have, too — those pretty memes and pictures on Facebook, Pinterest, and all across social media. They’re bent on inspiring and encouraging, lifting you up on those really crappy days when your own screams rival any your little ones have belted. They tell you it’s okay. You’re doing just fine. You’re a good mom. You’re awesome. You’re enough. Oh, sure, those make us all warm and fuzzy inside. We smile and sigh, patting ourselves on the back before pouring ourselves a glass of wine. We aren’t as rotten as we act. The internet told us so. Or maybe a…
