Sharper Iron from KFUO Radio

Rev. Tim Koch, pastor at the Emanuel Lutheran Church in Milbank, SD, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Thessalonians 3:13-18. Paul strengthens weary Christians to continue in the good works God has given them to do. We can be confident that such works are good and pleasing in God’s sight, not based on how impressive they look to human eyes, but based upon God’s clear Word. The Christian res...

Rev. Sean Kilgo, pastor at the Northeast Kansas Lutheran Partnership, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Thessalonians 3:1-12. Paul begins to bring his second epistle to the Thessalonians to a close by commanding the Christians there to pray for his ongoing ministry. Christians ask the Lord to cause His Word to be preached purely and to bring forth fruit in the lives of His people. Such pray...

Rev. Jacob Dandy, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church and Crown Christian School in St. Francis, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Thessalonians 2:13-17. St. Paul makes it clear in this text that his preceding teaching concerning the end times has been for the Thessalonians’ comfort. He assures them that their salvation rests not on their own work, but upon God’s alone. God is the One who ha...

Rev. Philip Hoppe, pastor at Peace Lutheran Church in Finlayson, MN and St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Bruno, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12. St. Paul would have Christians take comfort in the true teaching concerning the Last Day when Christ returns. The Thessalonians had been shaken and alarmed by false teaching that had surfaced among them. Paul reminds them of...

Rev. Dr. Adam Filipek, pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church and Immanuel Lutheran Church in Lidgerwood, ND, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 2 Thessalonians 1:1-12. The second letter to the Thessalonians shares much of the same historical context as the first letter. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy write to comfort, correct, and admonish this young church. The first chapter is primarily a matter...

Rev. Jeff Hemmer, pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Fairview Heights, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 5:23-28. The first letter to the Thessalonians comes to a close with the comfort and assurance that sanctification is God’s gift and work to His people. If the bullet list of exhortations had left anyone in despair, Paul is quick to direct them back to the only One wh...

Rev. Adam Koontz, assistant professor of exegetical theology at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 5:12-22. Paul’s instructions to church in Thessalonica concludes with a series of memorable one-liners intended to encourage these young Christians to live in Christ in the midst of persecution. He begins with the relationship betwe...

Rev. James Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11. Though Paul has already taught the Thessalonians concerning the Lord’s return, he writes to them in order to nourish and reinforce their faith so that they will meet that Day with confidence and joy. The Day of the Lord will be unexpected, like a thief in the night. Th...

Rev. David Appold, pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Paducah, KY, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. Only Christians have true comfort in the face of death. While those who do not trust in Christ for salvation may attempt to avoid the subject of death or write it off as just another part of life, Christians grieve as those who have hope. Such grief acknowledges dea...

Rev. AJ Espinosa, adjunct professor of theology at Concordia University in Irvine, CA and host of KFUO Radio’s “Thy Strong Word,” joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12. Paul’s instructions for the Thessalonians cannot be separated from his praise for them. He encourages them to continue in the faith and faithful living that the Lord has given to them by His Word. Paul picks...

Rev. Michael Schuermann, pastor at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Sherman, IL, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 4:1-8. Having thanked God for the Thessalonians and recounted their faithful response to His Word, Paul now turns to matters of instruction. He encourages the Thessalonians to continue to walk in the ways they are already walking, as they have heard in his previou...

Rev. Andrew Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Guttenberg, IA and St. Paul Lutheran Church in McGregor, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13. Timothy’s visit to the Thessalonians yielded a good report to bring back to Paul. The Thessalonians were standing strong in the Lord in the midst of affliction. This was good news for Paul, the fruit of the Gospel in the...

Rev. Paul Pater, pastor at Shepherd of the Ridge Lutheran Church in North Ridgeville, OH and Hope Lutheran Church in Sheffield Village, OH, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5. Paul’s stay with the Thessalonians had been brief, probably only a month. Yet the Word of God had worked faith in them and had established a bond of love in Christ between them and Paul. Persecut...

Rev. Chris Hull, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Tomball, TX joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16. Paul’s thanksgiving for the Thessalonians continues. When they heard Paul preach, they knew they had not heard the word of man. They had heard the Word of God, the powerful Word filled with the Holy Spirit that works in believers. This same Word of God has been written dow...

Rev. Mark Barz, senior pastor at Crown of Life Lutheran Church in San Antonio, TX joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12. Although Paul, Silas, and Timothy only spent a short time in Thessalonica, their ministry among God’s people there was not in vain. The shameless treatment they received did not prevent God’s powerful gospel from doing His work. Their ministry was not lik...

Rev. Matt Ulmer, pastor at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Bishop, TX joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study 1 Thessalonians 1:1-10. The first letter to the church in Thessalonica is one of the earliest, and very likely the earliest, books of the New Testament. Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy wrote to the young church to encourage them to continue to stand firm in Christ even amidst persecution. Following...

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. 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. 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...

Rev. Jeremiah Johnson, pastor at Glory of Christ Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 9:11-15. Amos ends with two-hundred proof Gospel. Though it comes seemingly out of nowhere, Amos’ final preaching fits the LORD’s pattern of mercy throughout the Old Testament and serves as a reminder of the unmerited nature of grace. Once again, the day of the LORD comes u...

Rev. Ryan Ogrodowicz, associate pastor and headmaster at Grace Lutheran Church and School in Brenham, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 9:7-10. Israel is in a lot of trouble, to put it lightly. The LORD is about to bring them down from the high pedestal they think they occupy. Though the Exodus was His salvation for His people, the LORD reminds them that He is the Creator and Sustain...

Rev. Matt Wietfeldt, director of admissions and the Christ Academy program at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 9:5-6. The LORD alone is the Creator and Sustainer of all things. He has the authority and power to bring about the judgment He has declared upon Israel for their idolatry and injustice. As the Source of justice and righteousness...

Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor at Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 9:1-4. In Amos’ fifth and final vision, he sees the LORD Himself. The dead heterodoxy of Israel is about to yield its terrible result. The LORD has told His people to prepare to meet Him, and now He meets them, only not in grace, but judgment. He stands beside the idolatrous altar in B...

Rev. Stephen Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vinton, IA, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 8:7-14. The LORD continues His commentary on Amos’ fourth vision. He swears by Himself as the true Pride of Jacob, in contrast to their idolatrous boasting in themselves and their accomplishments. His oath is terrifying, as He promises that He will no longer forget the sins of His peopl...

Rev. Christopher Jackson, pastor at St. John Lutheran Church in Algoma, WI and St. Peter Lutheran Church in Forestville, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Amos 8:4-6. Amos proclaims the reason for the LORD’s condemnation against His people. They have not recognized the brotherhood that exists among the people of Israel. Instead, they have mistreated the poor, abusing them even to the point of...