Sharper Iron from KFUO Radio

Rev. Dr. Adam Filipek, pastor at Holy Cross and Immanuel Lutheran Churches, both in Lidgerwood, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 8:1-13. St. Paul turns to another matter that the Corinthians have brought to his attention: eating meat sacrificed to idols. The Corinthians have boasted concerning their knowledge, but the Apostle directs their attention to using that knowledge...

Rev. Andrew Jagow, pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Alexandria, VA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 7:25-40. Without binding consciences, St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of the gifts that God has both for the married and the celibate. He instructs the congregation in light of the fact that the Lord is coming soon. For that reason, they ought to live in the midst of the th...

Rev. Jason M. Kaspar, pastor at Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in La Grange, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 7:1-24. St. Paul begins to address the matter of marriage as he starts answering questions that the Corinthians had asked in previous correspondence. He upholds the goodness of both God’s gift of marriage and God’s gift of celibacy. If a person has not been given the...

Rev. Tom Eckstein, pastor at Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 6:12-20. St. Paul addresses some of the slogans being thrown around among the Corinthian Christians. The freedom of the Christian is not the only governing principle. Instead, Christians should shape their actions according to what is helpful and what will not enslave. Chri...

Rev. John Bussman, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Cullman, AL joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Philippians 4:6-20. The church at Philippi had seen the Apostle Paul go through highs and lows during his ministry. As he writes his letter to them from prison, he proclaims to them the joy that remains theirs in Christ regardless of their circumstances. Because the LORD’s return is near,...

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. Andrew Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in New Haven, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 6:1-11. St. Paul continues the theme of judgment within the Church by addressing the matter of lawsuits among fellow Christians. St. Paul is amazed that the Corinthians dare to stoop to such a low, for they ought to have the mind of Christ. If they will one day judge angels a...

Rev. Zelwyn Heide, pastor at St. Peter Lutheran Church in Hannover, ND and Zion Lutheran Church in New Salem, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 5:1-13. St. Paul turns to a report he has received concerning a case of sexual immorality happening among the Corinthian Christians. Although the particular sexual immorality would make even pagans blush, the Christians in Corinth ar...

Rev. Shawn Linnell, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Blair, NE, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 4:1-21. St. Paul tells the Corinthians that they must regard him and all faithful Christian preachers, not as leaders who are gathering their own followers, but as servants of God and stewards of His mysteries for the sake of bringing sinners to salvation in Christ. He is the On...

Rev. Mike Newman, president of the Texas District of the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 3:1-23. St. Paul laments that he is not able to address the Corinthians as people living by the Spirit. Their divisions show that they are living according to the flesh. Rather than understanding different preachers as leaders of different factions, the Cori...

Rev. Rick Jones, Chaplain and Vice-President of Spiritual Life at the Dakota Boys and Girls Ranch in Minot, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 2:1-16. St. Paul reminds the Corinthians of his time among them. His preaching was focused on Christ and Him crucified so that the Corinthians would not place their faith in the wisdom of the preacher, but in the power of God. This doe...

Rev. Matt Wietfeldt, Assistant Vice President of Admissions and Director of the Christ Academy Program at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. St. Paul lays out a key thesis for his letter to the Corinthians. Christ crucified is the power and wisdom of God for the salvation of sinners. Although both the cross and its preachi...

Rev. Dr. Christian Preus, pastor at Mount Hope Lutheran Church and School in Casper, WY, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 1:10-17. St. Paul sets the stage for all of the matters of faith and life that he will address with the Corinthian Christians by calling them first to unite in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Factions have arisen within the congregation following after a...

Rev. James Uglum, pastor at Chapel of the Cross Lutheran Church in St. Peters, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Corinthians 1:1-9. The epistle we know as 1 Corinthians is a part of ongoing correspondence between St. Paul and the Christian church at Corinth. St. Paul had stayed there for a lengthy period of time during his second missionary journey, and he now writes to them while he is...

“Nothing But Christ Crucified” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through the epistle of 1 Corinthians. In response to correspondence from the Christians in Corinth and reports about matters arising in the congregation, St. Paul writes to address various matters of Christian faith and life. Throughout it all, he directs our attention to the power and wisdom of God for our salvation: Christ cruc...

Rev. Mark Squire, pastor at Immanuel Lutheran Church in St. Ansgar, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 13:20-25. The author of Hebrews bestows God’s blessing upon the congregation who has heard his sermon. Because God has raised Jesus from the dead, Christians truly have His peace. Jesus is our Lord and Good Shepherd who has sacrificed Himself to shed His blood and establish God’s...

Rev. Nate Hill, pastor at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Winchester, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 13:1-19. The author of Hebrews begins to draw his sermon to a close as he shows his congregation what the holiness that God gives to them in the Divine Service looks like in their lives. Because Jesus is our Brother, we show love to each other within the Christian Church. That...

Rev. Sean Kilgo, pastor at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Lawrence, KS, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 12:18-29. The author of Hebrews tells his congregation that they have not come to the things of the old covenant, in which the people could not bear to hear the presence of God in terror on Mount Sinai. In the new covenant, they have been brought into the presence of God on the true...

Rev. William Terjesen, pastor at the Lutheran Church of Our Redeemer in Peekskill, NY, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 12:3-17. The author of Hebrews continues to fix the eyes of his congregation upon Jesus. The Lord’s endurance in the face of hostility is the source of strength for Christians in the midst of their suffering. When Christians experience the trials of this life, they...

Rev. Dr. Ryan Tietz, Associate Professor of Exegetical Theology and Dean of Students at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 12:1-2. The author of Hebrews now draws an important conclusion from his hall of faith chapter and from the entirety of his sermon so far. The saints who have gone before us surround us as a cloud, reminding us that...

Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller, pastor at St. Paul and Jesus Deaf Lutheran Churches, both in Austin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 11:32-40. As the author of Hebrews draws his list of saints to a close, he says that there is not enough time right now to list everyone. As he moves quickly through the time of the judges and kings and prophets, the author then begins to describe a wide r...

Rev. Philip Hoppe, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Colby, KS, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 11:23-31. The author of Hebrews continues his list of Old Testament saints who lived by faith by taking us into the days of Moses. Moses’ parents saw their son as God saw him and so hid Moses in faith. When Moses was grown, he chose to be mistreated along with the people of God over th...

Rev. Tim Storck, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Chesterfield, MI, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 11:8-22. The author of Hebrews continues his list of Old Testament saints who lived by faith by discussing Abraham. Although Abraham did not know where he was going, he went to the land promised to him by God. He lived there in tents, looking forward to the eternal city that...

Rev. Stephen Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vinton, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 11:1-7. The author of Hebrews launches into a long list of examples of those who did not shrink back from their confidence but instead lived by faith. The faith of the Old Testament saints was certainty in the promises of God, even though they did not see them. Before naming any spec...

Rev. Andy Wright, pastor at St. John’s Lutheran Church in Topeka, KS, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Hebrews 10:26-39. The author of Hebrews puts instruction and admonition together in this section as he warns his congregation against contined deliberate sin. He calls to their memories the consequences for those who set aside the Law of Moses under the old covenant in order to impress upon...