Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

The Song ends where Genesis began, under a tree in a garden with two people who are not ashamed. Solomon points us to Revelation 22, Eden restored, and the New Heavens and the New Earth. Love is as strong as death, Solomon writes, and it is the flame of the LORD Himself, which many waters cannot quench. Then brothers appear, worrying over a little sister too young to be spoken for, and they decide that if she is a wall, meaning she has kept herself pure, they will crown her in silver, and if she is a door, meaning she has not, they will board her up in cedar and put a stop to it. Faithfulness is not only a promise between husband and wife, but also the call to every Christian to be loyal to Christ and Him alone. The Rev. Donald Stein, pastor of St. Andrews Lutheran Church in Rockton, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 8:1-14. To learn more about St. Andrews Lutheran, visit standrewrockton.com. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Solomon describes his bride, beginning at her feet and moving up. He describes her "belly like a heap of wheat encircled with lilies," and her "neck like an ivory tower" and "nose like the tower of Lebanon." The comparisons sound strange to us. In Solomon's mouth, however, they are stately and reminiscent of a kingdom at peace. She answers him: "I am my beloved's, and his desire is for me." That word for desire appears twice more in Scripture, both times in Genesis, both a curse. Does this point us to the reversal of the curse of Eden through the Church's marriage to Christ? The Rev. James Peterson, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Curtis, NE, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 7:1-13.  To learn more about St. John Lutheran in Curtis, visit facebook.com/stjohncurtis. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

She has lost her husband and goes looking again, and the daughters of Jerusalem ask where he went so they can help her search. He turns up in his garden, grazing among the lilies, and tells her there are sixty queens and eighty concubines, but “my dove, my perfect one, is the only one.” And yet, 1 Kings says he finished with seven hundred wives and three hundred concubines, so this line is a confession as much as a compliment. How do we make sense of Solomon's not-so-exclusive love?  The Rev. Peter Burfeind, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Union City, Michigan, and Agnus Dei Lutheran Church in Marshall, Michigan, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 6:1–13.  To learn more about Our Savior and Agnus Dei Lutheran churches, visit facebook.com/oursaviorunioncity and agnusdeimarshall.com. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.

He knocks after midnight with his head wet with dew and asks her to open the door. She is already in bed and does not want to get up. By the time she does, hands dripping with myrrh, he is gone. She goes out looking for him, and the watchmen who are supposed to guard the city beat her instead and take her veil. When the daughters of Jerusalem ask what makes this man worth all that, she answers by describing her groom from head to foot: gold, ivory, alabaster, hair black as a raven, lips dripping with myrrh, altogether desirable. She says, "This is my beloved, and this is my friend." The Rev. Shawn Ethridge, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Fulda, Minnesota, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 5:1–16.  To learn more about St. Paul's in Fulda, visit stpaulsfulda.org. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.

The bridegroom stands in front of his bride on their wedding night and starts recounting her features. Her eyes, her hair, her teeth, her lips, even the way she holds her head. He goes on like that for six verses, smitten, and then he pronounces something she knows is not true: there is no flaw in you. The Hebrew word underneath "flaw" is the word Leviticus uses for the defect that keeps a priest away from the altar and keeps an animal off it. Solomon said to his bride, Jesus says it about His Church. The Rev. Steven Theiss, serving St. John Lutheran Church (AALC) in Pocahontas, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 4:1-16. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

She wakes to an empty bed, hunts the dark streets for the one her soul loves, and refuses to let go once she finds him, then charges the daughters of Jerusalem by the gazelles and the does of the field not to stir up love before it pleases. The scene shifts to Solomon's wedding procession coming up out of the wilderness in myrrh and frankincense, sixty armed men ringing the carriage, the king wearing the crown his mother set on him the day his heart was glad. Marriage is worth guarding and worth a parade, and the Church knows a Bridegroom who came up out of the wilderness, wore a crown on His wedding day, and takes hold of His bride so she is never left searching in the dark. The Rev. Scott MacDonald, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Meriden, Connecticut, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 3:1–11.  To learn more about St. John in Connecticut, visit saintjohnmeriden.org. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

She calls herself a common wildflower; her beloved calls her a lily among the thorns. Scripture is not embarrassed to celebrate what God gave in marriage: a banner of love over the banqueting house, apples and raisins for a woman sick with love, a young stag leaping over the hills to call his bride out into the spring. The chapter also guards what it celebrates, warning about the little foxes that spoil vineyards in bloom and charging the daughters of Jerusalem twice not to stir up love before it pleases. Every husband and wife who has heard "arise, my love, and come away" knows the ache in it. So does the Church, whose Bridegroom washed her, called her beautiful, and made her so, and who will one day come over the mountains to bring her home for good. The Rev. David Boisclair, senior pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, Missouri, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 2:1–17.  To learn more about Our Redeemer in Overland, visit ourredeemerstl.org. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

The Song of Solomon is a book that can make people blush. It opens at the threshold of the bridal chamber with a woman desiring to be kissed by her husband. The forward poetic language doesn't hold back as the first chapter unfolds to reveal the God-pleasing intimacy between husband and wife. So why is this book in the Bible? For that, and for more than that. Through Solomon, God reveals something of the love He has for His Church in Christ, a bridegroom for His bride. You hear it by the end of chapter one, where a field hand with a sunburn and angry brothers is told by her bridegroom that she is the most beautiful among women, before she has changed one thing about herself.  The Rev. Jacob Hercamp, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Noblesville, IN, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Song of Solomon 1:1-17.  To learn more about Christ Lutheran, visit clc-in.org. The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

The Song of Solomon is a book of love poetry, a bride and her bridegroom singing to each other across eight chapters. God's people have sung it since Solomon's day, and Jewish congregations still read it at Passover. The Church has heard in it the voice of Christ and His bride, and Luther quoted the Song in The Freedom of a Christian to describe what happens when Christ takes a sinner as His own. Paul was working the same ground in Ephesians five, where he set marriage beside Christ and the Church and called it a great mystery.  This series works through the whole book verse by verse, from the kiss in chapter one to the seal on the heart in chapter eight. We hear what it says about the body, about desire, and about the marriage God instituted in the garden. We also ask where Christ is in it, since the Church has long heard in these songs the voice of the Bridegroom who gave His life for His bride. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Zephaniah turns his final woe on Jerusalem, describing the people as rebellious and defiled; a city that listens to no voice and accepts no correction. Judgment gathers the nations, and on the far side of it God purifies the lips of the peoples so that all of them may call on His name and serve Him together. Then He commands daughter Zion to sing and gives her the reason: The LORD her God is in her midst, a mighty one who will save, and He rejoices over His people with gladness and exults over them with loud singing.  The Rev. Christopher Maronde, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Hastings, IA, and St. Paul Lutheran Church in Oakland, IA, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Zephaniah 3:1-20. To learn more about St. John Lutheran, visit facebook.com/StJohnsLutheranChurchMoSynod. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

“Gather together, O shameless nation, before the decree takes effect, before the day passes like chaff.” Zephaniah pleads with Judah to seek the LORD while there is still time. To seek righteousness, seek humility. Why? “Perhaps you may be hidden on the day of the LORD's anger.” Then the oracle sweeps the compass, Philistia to the west, Moab and Ammon to the east, Cush to the south, and at last Assyria to the north, where Nineveh is described as nothing more than a lodging place for wild beasts.  The Rev. Matthew Kusch, pastor of King of Glory Lutheran Church in Elgin, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Zephaniah 2:1-15. To learn more about King of Glory, visit kogelgin.org. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

"I will utterly sweep away everything from the face of the earth," declares the LORD. In the days King Josiah, Zephaniah speaks God's Word of judgement. Focusing on Judah, he admonishes the worshipers on rooftops bowing to the stars, priests swearing to the YHWH in one breath and by Milcom in the next. His prophecy is clear: the great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast, a day of wrath, distress, and thick darkness, and neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them.  The Rev. Greyson Grenz, pastor of Community Lutheran Church in Flat Rock, MI, and Trinity Lutheran Church in Monroe, MI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Zephaniah 1:1-18.  To learn more about Trinity in Monroe, visit tlcmonroe.org. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Woe to the bloody city, all full of lies and plunder! Nahum's last chapter moves like the assault itself, the crack of the whip, the rattle of the wheel, the galloping horse and bounding chariot, and then a question: are you better than Thebes? That Egyptian city sat secure behind her waters, and Assyria herself dragged the people of Thebes (No' ‘Amon) into exile. For Nineveh there is no easing of the hurt and no healing of the wound, and the book's last line explains why the nations clap when the news arrives: “upon whom has not come your unceasing evil?” God's judgment has come upon them as Law, but as comfort to those the Assyrians terrorized.  The Rev. Dr. Keith Haney, Assistant to the President for Missions, Human Care, and Stewardship in the LCMS Iowa District West, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Nahum 3:1-19. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Nahum walks Judah through the fall of Nineveh before it happens: red shields at the wall, chariots flashing through the squares, the river gates thrown open, the palace melting away. Assyria styled her kings as lions and their capital as the den where the prey was dragged home; Nahum asks where the lions' den is now. Behind all the poetry stands the one sentence that decides the outcome: "Behold, I am against you, declares the LORD of hosts." The city that tore the nations apart is torn apart, and the LORD restores the majesty of Jacob.  The Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Nahum 2:1-13.  To learn more about Trinity in Edwardsville, visit trinitylutheranministries.org. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Nineveh heard Jonah preach and they repented, but over a century later the cruelty was back in force. So Nahum opens with who God is: jealous and avenging, slow to anger and great in power, one who will by no means clear the guilty, whose way is in whirlwind and storm. In the middle of the storm stands verse 7: the LORD is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him. The chapter ends with a runner on the mountains bringing good news of peace, a line Isaiah also carries, and Paul applies to the preaching of Christ.  The Rev. Mark Duerr, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Monroe, MI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Nahum 1:1-15. To learn more about Trinity in Monroe, visit tlcmonroe.org. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

God gathers the nations into the valley of Jehoshaphat and reads the charges: they scattered His people, divided His land, cast lots for captives, traded a boy for a prostitute, and sold a girl for wine. Then a line every listener knows arrives in reverse: beat your plowshares into swords and your pruning hooks into spears. The LORD roars from Zion, the heavens and the earth quake, and in the same breath He is a refuge to His people. Joel ends with sweet wine dripping from the mountains and a fountain flowing from the house of the LORD.  The Rev. Robert Smith, pastor emeritus in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Joel 3:1-21.  Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Verse 18 reveals, “The LORD became jealous for His land and had pity on His people.” Grain, wine, and oil come back, and with them God's promise that He will restore the years that the swarming locust has eaten along with the fields. The promise then expands: “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy; and everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.” When the Pentecost crowd asked what was happening, Peter stood up and answered with this text.  The Rev. Ryan Kleimola, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Toledo, OH, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Joel 2:18-32.  To learn more about Trinity in Toledo, visit trinitylutheran.org. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound an alarm on my holy mountain. The army Joel saw in chapter 1 now darkens the whole horizon, and at the head of it the LORD utters His voice; the swarm turns out to be His. That is what makes the appeal in verse 12 possible: return to me with all your heart. Rend your hearts and not your garments, for He is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. Everyone is summoned, elders and nursing infants and the bridegroom from his chamber, while the priests weep between the vestibule and the altar: spare your people, O LORD.  The Rev. Dr. Curtis Deterding, pastor emeritus in Fort Myers, FL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Joel 2:1-17. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

The book of Joel begins in a year everyone in Judah would remember. Locusts had come through in wave after wave and eaten the harvest down to nothing, and the priests had no grain and no wine left to bring to the altar. Joel summons the land group by group: drunkards to wake and weep, farmers to wail over the wheat, priests to spend the night in sackcloth. Then he calls all of them to the house of the LORD to cry out. He tells them to remember this year and to make sure their grandchildren hear about it, because he has seen what the swarm points toward.  The Rev. John Lukomski, pastor emeritus and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Joel 1:1-20. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Obadiah addresses Edom, the nation descended from Esau. When Babylon sacked Jerusalem, Edom stood at the crossroads and watched his brother burn, then gloated, looted, and cut down the refugees who ran. Safe on the high rock, Edom asked, "Who will bring me down to the ground?" God, through the prophet Obadiah, answers him. The answer widens past Edom to every nation and ends on Mount Zion, where the kingdom belongs to the LORD.  The Rev. Dr. Richard Davenport, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Fort Smith, AR, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study the prophet Obadiah.   To learn more about Our Redeemer in Fort Smith, visit OurRedeemerFortSmith.360unite.com. Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Edom stands at the crossroads and watches his brother Judah dragged off in chains, and Obadiah announces that the day of the LORD is coming for the bystander, too. Joel sees a locust swarm strip a nation bare in a single season, calls the people to rend their hearts and not their garments, and promises a Spirit poured out on all flesh. Nahum returns to Nineveh a century after Jonah's revival, and this time the superpower does not repent. Zephaniah spends two chapters on the day of wrath and then ends with the Lord singing over the people He has rescued. This series on Thy Strong Word works through these selected books of the so-called "minor" prophets verse by verse, showing how the Lord judges the nations while also keeping his promises to gather His people home.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

On this Free-Text First Friday we take up translation and the teaching of Scripture, with Nehemiah 8 as our guide. Ezra reads the Torah aloud, and thirteen Levites go out into the crowd to give the sense so the people understand. That same work continues today through the Lutheran Heritage Foundation, which puts the books of our confession into the languages people actually pray in. And all of it is aimed at one end: the multitude of Revelation 7, out of every nation and tribe and people and language, standing before the throne.    The Rev. Mark Moss, mission engagement associate with the Lutheran Heritage Foundation in Macomb, MI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to discuss biblical translation.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

In this last chapter of Acts, Paul comes ashore on Malta and is bitten by a viper while putting wood on a fire, and the islanders conclude he is a murderer getting what he deserves. When he does not die they decide he is a god. He winters on the island, heals the father of the leading man there, and sails for Italy in the spring. He reaches Rome in custody and spends two years in a rented house at his own expense, receiving anyone who will come and making the case for Jesus out of Moses and the Prophets.  The Rev. Caleb Adams, senior pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Bend, OR, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 28:1-31. To learn more about Trinity in Bend, visit trinitylutheranbend.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Most of us know the feeling of being on a course we cannot change, watching the storm get worse, wondering if anyone is in control. The sailors around Paul had already thrown the cargo overboard and given up hope, until the prisoner stands up and tells them that not one life will be lost, because the God he serves has promised it. The ship breaks apart on the rocks, and every single person reaches shore alive, a sermon in itself about how God keeps people through disaster rather than around it. When life falls apart in ways you never chose, the same Lord who held that crew holds you.  The Rev. Dan Eddy, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Beloit, WI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 27:21-44. To learn more about Messiah in Beloit, visit mlcbeloit.com. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Paul sails for Rome in chains. The timing couldn't be worse: it's in the autumn of the year when the seas are treacherous. Paul warns the centurion that the voyage will cost cargo, ship, and lives, and the centurion trusts the pilot and the owner instead. Then the northeaster hits. Sailors haul the gear in, throw the tackle overboard, and watch the sun and stars disappear behind the clouds for days. By verse 20 every man aboard has been robbed of all hope of salvation... but Paul has some good news for them!  The Rev. Dr. Steve Hokana, assistant director of the LCMS Ministry to the Armed Forces, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 27:1-20.  The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Paul gets one more hearing, this time before a king who actually knows the Scriptures, and he makes the most of it. He lays out his old life as a persecutor, what happened on the road to Damascus, and why the prophets and Moses point to a Christ who suffers and rises. Festus interrupts and calls him insane. Agrippa is smoother about it. Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian? Then he stands, agrees that Paul has done nothing worth death, and walks out. Paul could have been set free, but the Holy Spirit was leading him to appeal before Caesar.  The Rev. Timothy Barkett, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Kingman, AZ, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 26:1-32.  To learn more about Good Shepherd in Kingman, visit goodshepherdlckingman.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Paul has now been in custody for two years, shuffled between governors who would rather make the problem disappear than deal with it. When Festus tries to do the local leaders a favor, Paul plays the one card a Roman citizen could play and appeals to Caesar, and what looks like a legal maneuver is really God steering an innocent man toward the heart of the empire. Few of us will ever stand trial, yet most of us know what it is to be caught in systems that treat us as an inconvenience. The comfort here is that delay and injustice did not mean God had forgotten Paul; he was being carried, by ordinary means, exactly where the Lord intended him to go.  The Rev. Max Phillips, pastor of Christ Lutheran Church in Bouton and Zion Lutheran Church in Ogden, Iowa; Executive Director of Lutheran Family Service; and CEO of Perry Lutheran Homes, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 25:1-27. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

The Jews' hired lawyer lays out their case against Paul and he responds, not with apologies, defensiveness, or counterattacks, but with a confession about Jesus, the Way, and the resurrection. The trial should have been open and shut, but the governor keeps him around for two years because Felix is hoping for a bribe, and he's alarmed by Paul's teaching about judgement day. At the end of his political term, rather than converting to the faith, Felix leaves Paul—a man he knows to be innocent by this point—in custody as a favor to the Jews.  The Rev. Kevin Yoakum, pastor of Christ the King Lutheran Church in Riverview, FL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 24:1-27.  To learn more about Christ the King Lutheran, visit ctklcms.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

One sentence about the resurrection turns Israel's high court into a shouting match, and by nightfall Paul is alone in a cell with forty men swearing to kill him. Just when things seem darkest, the Lord Jesus shows up. He doesn't spring Paul from custody nor does he remove the danger. Instead, He gives him His presence and tells Paul to take courage, because he is going to Rome. That same Christ still comes to us where we are weakest, in the preaching of His Word and in His own body and blood at the altar, saying "take courage" to everyone who thinks tomorrow might undo them.  The Rev. Kelly Krieg, pastor of Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Brenham, TX, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 22:30-23:35.  To learn more about Bethlehem in Brenham, visit bethlehemwmpenn.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Standing on the barracks steps with an angry crowd below him, Paul does something disarming: he tells his story. He was once the most zealous opponent the church had, holding coats while Stephen died, certain he was doing God's work, and the man now preaching grace had to be knocked flat on a road before he understood it. Personal testimony still carries a weight that argument alone cannot, because no one can dispute what Christ has actually done in a life. This episode invites the listener to consider what their own before-and-after looks like.  The Rev. Mitchell Gowen, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Aiea, HI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 21:37-22:29. To learn more about Our Savior in Aiea, visit oursaviorhawaii.com. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Friends weep; a prophet ties his own hands with Paul's belt to warn him of an upcoming arrest; and even Luke and others urge the Apostle to not go, and yet Paul still sets his face toward Jerusalem despite the possibility of chains waiting for him there. He was ready to be bound and even to die for the name of Jesus. Was Paul being hardheaded or faithful by ignoring the pleas of his fellow Christians? We discuss both possibilities while acknowledging that, at the end of the day, God used Paul to proclaim the Gospel in any and every circumstance.  The Rev. Dr. John Rickert, pastor emeritus in South Carolina, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 21:1-36.  The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Gathered with the believers on the first day of the week, and leaving the next morning, Paul preaches late into the night. A young man named Eutychus, sitting in a third-story window, sinks into a deep sleep and falls to the ground below, and is picked up dead. Paul goes down, takes him in his arms, and life returns to him. Then Paul climbs back up, breaks bread, and talks until daybreak. The weight of the chapter comes later, at Miletus, where Paul says goodbye to the Ephesian elders he served for three years, warns them of wolves coming after he leaves, and tells them they will not see his face again.  The Rev. Steven Theiss, serving St. John Lutheran Church (AALC) in Pocahontas, MO joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 20:1-38.  The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Money sets off the riot in Ephesus, when a silversmith realizes the gospel is bad for the idol business. He dresses up his profit motive in religious language, the crowd picks up the chant, and soon the whole city is roaring for two hours without most of them knowing why they came. Underneath the noise sits a real claim: the message about Jesus was actually changing how people lived and spent, and the gospel still disturbs the arrangements we have built our security on. This episode looks at what happens when the truth touches someone's bottom line.  The Rev. Dr. Adam Koontz, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Oakmont, PA, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 19:21-41.  To learn more about Redeemer Lutheran in Oakmont, visit redeemer-oakmont.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

New believers in Ephesus do something striking: they haul their expensive books of magic into the open and burn them, torching a small fortune in front of everyone. These were people who had spent years trying to control their lives through spells and secret names, and meeting the real power of God in Christ made the counterfeit worthless to them. Most of us carry our own quiet superstitions and backup plans, the things we trust when we are not sure God is enough. This chapter asks what you would be willing to put on the fire.  The Rev. David Boisclair, senior pastor at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Overland, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 19:1-20.   To learn more about Our Redeemer, visit ourredeemerstl.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Paul arrives in Corinth tired and apparently discouraged, and God meets him through ordinary friends and ordinary work sewing tents before any vision comes. We also meet Priscilla and Aquila, a married couple who quietly pull a gifted preacher aside and fill in what his theology was missing. Not everyone in the kingdom stands on a stage; much of the work that matters happens at a kitchen table. This chapter is good news for anyone who has wondered whether their behind-the-scenes service counts.  The Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 18:1-28. To learn more about Trinity in Edwardsville, visit trinitylutheranministries.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Paul walks into Athens, a city stuffed with idols and clever talkers, and instead of being impressed he is grieved. Rather than condemn the crowd, he starts with an altar they had built to an unknown god and tells them he has come to make that god known, even quoting their own poets on the way to the resurrection. Together with the Bereans, who checked everything Paul said against Scripture, these scenes model how to speak the gospel into a skeptical culture without watering it down. This is a chapter for Christians who feel surrounded by unbelief and are unsure how to begin.  The Rev. Dr. Matthew Tassey, pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Shawnee, OK, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 17:1-34.  To learn more about Redeemer Lutheran, visit redeemershawnee.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Paul and Silas get beaten and thrown in the deepest cell for the crime of freeing a girl from the spirit that made her owners rich. At midnight, backs raw and feet in stocks, they are singing hymns loud enough for the other prisoners to hear, when an earthquake opens the doors and Paul stays to keep the jailer from taking his own life. By morning the man who locked them up is washing their wounds and bringing his whole household to baptism. It is hard to read this chapter and keep believing that any situation is past hope.  The Rev. Matthew Kusch, pastor of King of Glory Lutheran Church in Elgin, IL joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 16:16-40.  To learn more about King of Glory, visit kogelgin.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Two great missionaries get into an argument sharp enough to end their partnership, and the subject is whether to give a young man named Mark a second chance. Out of that painful split, two mission teams go out instead of one, and the work spreads further than it would have. God keeps building his church through imperfect people and even through their disagreements. This episode is honest medicine for anyone who has watched a falling-out in the family of faith.  The Rev. Dan Torkelson, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Madison, WI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 15:36-16:15.  To learn more about Mount Olive Lutheran, visit molc.us. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

The first major fight in the church came down to a single question: is grace really enough? Some insisted that new Gentile believers had to take on the old law to truly belong, but the apostles land squarely on the gospel: we are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they are. Every generation finds new ways to add requirements to the finished work of Christ, and this chapter keeps pulling us back. It is a study for anyone who has ever quietly feared they have not done enough to be accepted by God.  The Rev. Dr. Adam Filipek, pastor of Holy Cross and Immanuel Lutheran Churches in Lidgerwood, ND, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 15:1-35.  To learn more about Holy Cross and Immanuel Lutheran Churches, visit hcilc.com. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

In a single chapter the crowds try to worship Paul as a god and then turn around and stone him nearly to death, which tells you everything about the fickleness of human approval. When the people of Lystra want to offer sacrifices to him, Paul is horrified and points them away from himself to the living God. Ministry that chases applause will be destroyed by the same crowd that gave it, yet Paul gets up from the stoning and walks right back into the city. This episode is a clear-eyed look at why we cannot build our faith on what people think of us.  The Rev. John Lukomski, pastor emeritus and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 14:1-28. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

Few things expose what is really in a person's heart like good news they did not expect. Paul preaches a sermon tracing the whole story of Israel straight to the forgiveness of sins through Jesus, and the town splits down the middle, the Gentiles overjoyed and others filled with jealousy. Rejection in one place simply pushed the gospel on to the next, and the messengers shook the dust off their feet and left full of joy rather than bitterness. This chapter speaks to anyone whose witness has been met with a closed door.  The Rev. Gem Gabriel, pastor of St. Peter Lutheran Church in Norwalk, CT joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 13:26-52.  To learn more about St. Peter Lutheran, visit stpeternorwalk.org. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.

The church at Antioch is worshiping and fasting when the Holy Spirit says, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul." They pray, lay hands on the two men, and send them off to proclaim the faith. From there the word runs into a sorcerer on Cyprus and into a synagogue in Pisidian Antioch, where Paul preaches the God who kept His promise and brought Israel a Savior from David's line.  The Rev. Robert Smith, pastor emeritus in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Acts 13:1-25. The book of Acts picks up where the Gospels leave off. Jesus has risen. He has ascended. And now what? Acts answers that question. Luke tells the story of how the Holy Spirit built the Church from a handful of frightened disciples in Jerusalem into a movement that reached Rome itself. Along the way, you get Pentecost, the first sermons, the first martyrs, the conversion of Paul, the first church councils, shipwrecks, riots, and the persistent, stubborn work of God through Word and Sacrament even when His people didn't have a plan. If you've ever wondered how we got from Easter morning to the Church you sit in today, this is the book. Tune in for this new series on Thy Strong Word with Pastor Phil Booe and guest pastors as we open up the Book of Acts.  Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God's Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: thystrongword@kfuo.org.