Sharper Iron from KFUO Radio

The darkness of idolatry will not defeat the LORD’s light. He promises to shine His light upon His people, even in the most war-torn areas of the land. There, the LORD will increase their joy, give them the spoils of war, and break their oppressor’s rod. As He alone won the victory over Midian in the book of Judges, so the LORD will once again be victorious for the sake of His people. He will win...

The LORD strengthens Isaiah for the task at hand. The prophet must not be filled with the false fear of the people, but Isaiah should instead fear the LORD and honor Him as the Holy One. He will be a sanctuary for Isaiah even as He is a rock of stumbling for those who do not believe. Strengthened by the LORD’s Word, Isaiah commands that His teaching be sealed up as the faithful wait for the LORD t...

Although Ahaz rejected the sign of Immanuel, the effects of the LORD’s promise would still be felt by Ahaz in his own day. Isaiah spells out how that rejected promise will bring judgment upon the LORD’s faithless people, even as the LORD promises that a remnant will remain. Through a Word from the LORD, Isaiah has a son whose name proclaims that the LORD will make good on His Word. Yet the reality...

During the reign of King Ahaz, the nations of Ephraim and Syria allied against Judah. As the king and all the people shook in fear, the LORD sent Isaiah to give His promise. The LORD would rescue His people from their enemies. King Ahaz did not need any foreign alliances for help. Instead, the king could simply wait quietly on the LORD. When Isaiah returned to Ahaz a second time, Ahaz chose faithl...

Isaiah recounts his call into the prophetic office. In the same year that King Uzziah died, Isaiah saw the LORD as the true King in the LORD’s heavenly temple. There, the six-winged seraphim sang the LORD’s praises, for His glory fills the whole earth. As the temple shook, Isaiah realized that his sin would mean death for him in seeing the holy God. Yet the LORD provided atonement for Isaiah’s sin...

Isaiah 5 begins with the prophet’s song concerning the vineyard of his Beloved. Although the LORD did absolutely everything for His people, they did not produce the good fruit of justice and righteousness. Instead, they produced the bad fruit of bloodshed and outcry. For that reason, the LORD tells Israel and Judah that judgment is coming, as the prophet speaks woe to them for their greed, drunken...

Isaiah returns to the hope that the LORD has for His people who trust in Him alone. Isaiah proclaims Christ as the glorious Branch of the LORD who makes His people prosperous through faith in Him. He cleanses His people from their sin and guilt to make them holy and to write their names in His Book of Life. He will lead them on a new exodus and be present with them to be their refuge and shelter f...

The LORD shows His people what their idolatrous trust in the strength of man will bring. The LORD will take away all capable leadership from His people, leading to chaos. Anyone and everyone will be offered the task, but no one will want to rule over the heap of rubble. This will happen because the people have become proud and shameless in their sin of idolatry. As the leadership will be taken awa...

After giving a glorious vision of the hope that the LORD has for those who hear His Word and stream to Him in faith, the prophet Isaiah proclaims the stark reality that the house of Jacob has done the exact opposite. Judah has indulged in the wealth and power of the surrounding nations and has put her trust in their idols, rather than in the LORD alone. In response, the LORD of hosts will come and...

Isaiah proclaims a ray of hope as he writes down the Word of God that he has seen. Mount Zion is topographically unimpressive, but it stands as the tallest of all theologically because that is the place where the LORD dwells among His people in His house. The LORD describes the days to come when He will draw all nations to Himself by the proclamation of His Word. As they learn His Word, they begin...

Isaiah’s prophetic ministry began during an economically prosperous time for the people of Judah, but the prophet saw the religious rot underneath. The first chapter of his book lays the groundwork for all of his preaching. Through Isaiah, the LORD calls His people to stand trial for breaking their covenant with Him. Their idolatry has made them rebellious children and left them sick from head to...

The prophet Isaiah’s ministry in Judah and Jerusalem spanned several decades during a tumultuous time in world history. The rise of Assyria as a dominant empire brought great trouble to the people of God in the southern kingdom. As Isaiah preached during the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, he urged the kings and the people alike to put their trust in the LORD rather than foreign alli...

"The Fifth Evangelist” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through Isaiah 1-39. The prophet proclaims to the people of his day and throughout history that the Holy One of Israel alone is exalted. Those who put their trust in the strength of man will be brought low, but those who trust in the LORD will see that He is their Immanuel. Jesus is God with us who reigns over the kingdom of God forever...

Rev. Sam Wirgau, pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, IN joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Luke 17:11-19. Samaria was not a place where many Jews of Jesus’ day ventured, but that is exactly the route Jesus took to Jerusalem and His cross. There Jesus encountered ten lepers. These men not only suffered greatly physically from this terrible illness. Even more than that, they were sepa...

Rev. Harrison Goodman, pastor at Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church in San Antonio, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Deuteronomy 8:1-10. Before the LORD brings Israel into the Promised Land, Moses invites the people to reflect upon the goodness of the LORD’s commandments. This is no romanticized memory; rather, they recall the dirty details of their wilderness wanderings in which the LORD humbl...

Psalm 147 not only reminds us that it is good to sing and give thanks to God alone, but it also gives us good reasons why. First, we give thanks to God as the One who redeems His people: past, present, and future. Second, we give thanks to God as the One who cares for His creation according to His steadfast love. Third, we give thanks to God as the One who speaks His Word to bring His peace and bl...

Although human wisdom suggests that we ought to exalt ourselves and lift ourselves up to God, such attempts only leave us far from Him. Instead, those who recognize their humble estate and cry out to the LORD in their lowliness find that the Exalted One comes down to be near and help them. Psalm 138 helps us to give thanks to the LORD for preserving our lives in this way.  Rev. Shawn Linnell, past...

The antiphonal nature of Psalm 136 is seen in the repeated second half of every verse: “His steadfast love endures forever.” This psalm helps us to give thanks to the LORD for His steadfast love shown forth in His work of creation, redemption, and His ongoing care for His people. For these reasons and more, we give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!  Rev. David Vandercook, pastor at Trinity Luthe...

Psalm 111 is an acrostic poem that makes use of every letter of the Hebrew alphabet to show us the fullness of the LORD's steadfast love for which we give Him thanks and praise. The LORD’s works are great and majestic as He exercises His power to show us sinners His mercy. We remember His wondrous works that He has accomplished because He has remembered His promises to us. By His faithfulness and...

Psalm 107 gives thanks to the LORD for the deliverance He gives to His people when they cry to Him. Wherever they may be and whatever their distress, the LORD hears and answers His people. Whether such trouble comes upon us because we live in a world full of sin or the trouble is the sin of which we are guilty, the LORD shows mercy and grace to those who call upon Him in faith. Although some may s...

Psalm 106 brings us to give thanks to God for His enduring steadfast love, shown to His people even in their sin. This psalm recounts both the LORD’s mighty works for Israel and Israel’s acts of rebellion. Israel’s history is littered with their rebellious idolatry, all the way from Egypt through the wilderness and into the Promised Land. Nonetheless, the LORD gave them intercessors like Moses and...

The superscription of Psalm 100 identifies its purpose: to lead us into thanksgiving of the one true God. We join our voices to all creation when we make a joyful noise to the LORD, not only in our daily vocations, but especially in the Divine Service. We sing to Him because He has created us and saved us as our Good Shepherd. All of the LORD’s work for us comes from the reality that He is good, a...

Psalm 95 calls us to come and worship the LORD as the great God and King who has created all things and has shepherded His people. In His presence in the Divine Service, our voices break forth in song and our bodies bow in humility. To hear God’s Word in His presence is not a gift to be taken for granted, as the Israelites did in the wilderness, thus earning the LORD’s wrath. Instead, when we hear...

"Psalms of Thanksgiving” is a series on Sharper Iron that looks to several psalms to help us give thanks to God. The LORD gives blessings to His whole creation, even all evil people. As we pray the psalms, He teaches us to receive all His gifts with thanksgiving, knowing that He is good and His steadfast love endures forever.  Sharper Iron, hosted by Rev. Timothy Appel, looks at the text of Holy S...

The leaders of the tribe of Manasseh come to Moses with a follow-up question regarding the inheritance for the daughters of Zelophehad. What happens if these daughters marry outside the tribe of Manasseh? Will Manasseh’s inheritance, a gift from the LORD, be taken away from them? The LORD answers this faithful question graciously; He delights when His children ask Him to help them apply His Word....