Radical Grace/The Lutheran Difference

The difference between the definitions of the word "faith" that many churches and church bodies have adopted are extremely subtle.  On the one hand, many people take faith as "being optimistic", having a good attitude and such.  I remember years ago I had one of my first bosses tell me "attitude is everything", and he pretty much expected his employees to live and work by that advice.  Being young...

First up?  2012! Well, that this notion of an ancient prophesy from Mayan Culture has any bearing on...  Anything.  But what does matter is that atheists are trying to use the Bible and human reason to undermine Christian faith.  Take for instance, how atheists use Mark chapter 7 verses 24 and following to "prove" that Jesus is a mean guy.  What we learned in this program is that ELCA professors a...

In the aftermath of the event at Fort Hood this past Thursday, November 5th, we're joined by Pastor Ron Meyer of Faith Viera Lutheran Church to discuss the kind of theology that gives great comfort in times of intense grief.  When I saw the reports that afternoon concerning Fort Hood and the devastation wrought by a lone gunman, someone in the room with me asked "where was God in all of this?"  In...

In this Episode, on All Saints Day, we talk about the Church Triumphant and the Gospel of Jesus Christ...  When don't we talk about the Gospel of Jesus Christ? But in the first half we talk about the Roman Catholic Church making overtures to Anglican and Episcopal congregations allowing them to come into communion with Rome, the Anathemas of Trent, the Book of Concord, and the Thirty-nine Articles...

Greetings everyone, and welcome to the 2009 Reformation Day Special. Last week we spent a fair amount of time talking about Indulgences and the effect they had on the Medieval Church.  This week we talk about the Reformation in the first half hour, and in the second half hour we talk about the "radical Reformation" and how this has effect modern evangelicalism.

Let's compare:  Indulgences were a special absolution given often times for money, for the purpose of releasing a soul from Purgatory.  In Evangelicalism, people are encouraged to tithe, send seed money, and do good works to get greater blessings from God. Aren't we appalled that they think they can buy off God like that?  It's the worst form of bondage.  Listen to this week's show.  It's in prepa...

John Haggee wrote a book called "in Defense of Israel", where he says that Jesus didn't come to be the Messiah, that the Jewish people can't be blamed for rejecting what was never offered to them, and that the Jewish people are still saved under the old covenant.  So we're making this program "in Defense of Jesus", because Jesus most emphatically is the Messiah.  Listen to this one, it's important...

On October 6th, 2009, LCMS inc. sold off KFUO FM, 99.1 in St. Louis.  The station is the counterpart to KFUO AM, that is the Christian Broadcasting side of the ministry.  We talk about the potential lost by this deal as well as the potential impact. Click here to read the report in the St. Louis Dispatch http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/tvradio/story/7E33989A3E2B2A8786257...

What is it about Christians these days believing that the Jews are still saved under the old covenant while we are saved by Christ?  And what is it with Christians and this infatuation with Modern Israel as the fulfillment of prophecy.  I thought that Jesus was the fulfillment of all of this? Maybe I'm wrong? 

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio, we learn that the founding fathers all seemed to have shared a common religion:  Freemasonry.  Therefore, the United States must be a Masonic Nation.   Doesn't that logic follow?  It the same logic that many people use to show that the United States is a Christian Nation.

Is it possible that bad preaching of the Law is what is actually causing the apparent increase in corruption in the United States? Here is a brief list of topics we talked about today. 1.  Contradictory statements made in Christian circles.  One Preacher tells us on the radio that God has made peace with us in Jesus Christ and that we should rest in that peace, another wants to sell you a self hel...

Pastor Gary drops a bomb...  Your prayer life is a lot like your sex life.  Yes, it really is.  Riddled with the same issues.  But how to you fix this kind of problem?  Can anyone tell me how!? Ok, we had way too much fun on this episode.  Yes, it's a bit irreverent to talk about your Prayer life and your sex life, but there is a lot that both of these have in common.  The same problems that imped...

On the way up to the station, we saw a bumpersticker that said, "Pray the Rosery to end abortion".  You know we couldn't resist talking about that on the air.  We also talk about crossing your fingers when passing through an intersection on yellow. 

After last week's show on the ELCA's decision to bless the ordination of homosexual clergy, we had one caller who strongly disagrees with our stance on the issue.  We'd like to think William for being the kind of caller who, even though he disagrees with us, was kind and considerate.  Afterwards we talked about the difference between putting a burden on people (such as many believe we want to burd...

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, the most liberal Lutheran Church Body in the United States, has voted to abandon the Word of God and support both Same Sex Marriage and Rostered Gay Clergy.  In this edition of Radical Grace Race, we talk about the ramifications of this move, about how the media has portrayed Lutherans during this point in history, and how an incident with a Tornado that...

In this Edition of Radical Grace Radio, we talk about the Healing of Naaman and talk about how Baptism is understood through this healing.  This episode was taped last week before ELCA convention, and as soon as it's available a second special edition will be made available where we talk about the ramifications of the decisions made by the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America.

Did you know that married couples can learn something about how to live out their marriage by learning about Baptism and what it means?  I was surprised.  I never would have thought about this, ever! Also, we listen to some clips from some of the very first podcasts of Radical Grace when it was known as "the Lutheran Difference". 

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio we talk about how when people think of Baptism under the Law, they often count Baptism as a work.  However, Baptism is not a work, but rather a gift from God in which he gives us Christ and all his benefits. 

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio we talk about the doctrine of "Once Saved Always Saved", which is hard sometimes because it seems to some people that we are trying to take away the assurance of Salvation?  But we learned from one caller that taking this on can be beneficial and can bring even greater comfort when the believer is pointed to Christ and His Completed work.

In this Edition of Radical Grace Radio Pastor Greg Lesieur and I talk about what Paul might mean by "fighting the good fight".  Does Paul mean fighting the fight to Holiness?  Or does he mean something else?

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio we talk about Pop Psychology and how the "Gospel" of Pop Psychology has worked it's way into the nearly every corner of the church at large.  This show was recorded over a year ago, but is still relevant for people in desperate need of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Have you ever wondered about the free will that man is supposed to have when it comes to choosing Christ as your personal Savior?  Have you ever wondered about your own will, which seems bent on rejecting Jesus?  This show is for you. 

Sometimes, when we talk about Law and Gospel to people, there comes a point where someone says "so what".  What that means is they aren't getting how the scriptures not only contain both Law passages and Gospel passages, but that often we have a tendency as sinful, fallen people to misread Gospel passages as Law, and often get these two distinct teachings mixed up.  In this edition of Radical Grac...

The opening theme for Radical Grace Radio, in it's entirety.  No, this isn't necessarily what Sunday morning worship music should sound like.  I remember getting the idea to do an upbeat version of this old Advent Hymn when I heard the Choir at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis do it as though it were a march...  The impression I got was it's a song you sing as you're carrying the Good News to "Thos...

In this edition of Radical Grace Radio, we're taking some time to talk about Law and Gospel, a bit of a primer on this distinction that the Formula of Concord calls "that special brilliant light that serves till the end of the age that God's Word may be rightly divided".  Pastor Gary also asked an interesting question:  Law is to Gospel as ________ is to Grace?  What would you put in the blank? Li...