The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

This issue of the Lutheran Witness focuses on the Christian church as a confessing community. 1 Peter 4:7–19 teaches how we confess our faith through words, works and, perhaps surprisingly, through suffering as Christians (1 Peter 4:16). Jesus had promised this would happen to His followers: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world...

How did the Rev. Dr. Andrew Melendez become the first speaker of the Spanish Lutheran Hour, and what is that legacy today? Prof. Lori Siekmann, Professor and Theatre Department Chair at Concordia University Irvine, and granddaughter of the Rev. Dr. Andrew Melendez, joins Andy and Sarah during our Hispanic Heritage Month series to share her stories of Grandpa Melendez, including her memories of vis...

How does Project 24 care for children with the love of Christ? John Kissinger Nyang'au, Director of Project 24, and Zach Schnare, LCMS Mission Advocate and Liaison to Kenya, join Andy to talk about the struggles that many children face in Kenya, how the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Kenya (ELCK) and the LCMS are meeting the needs of these children through Project 24, stories about the children se...

How has the Center for Hispanic Studies formed men and women for church work vocations over the years? The Rev. Dr. Ely Prieto (Associate Professor of Practical Theology and Director of the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary) and the Rev. Paul Flo (Assistant to the Director of the Center for Hispanic Studies at Concordia Seminary) join Andy and Sarah during our Set Apart to Serve se...

We’re celebrating 100 years of God’s blessings on KFUO Radio with a special series featuring guests from KFUO’s long history! In Episode 11, we are joined by Dr. Gerald Perschbacher, who served as editor of The Lutheran Layman (a bimonthly publication of Lutheran Hour Ministries) for 35 years, is the Founder of The Lutheran Laymen’s League Research Center, and is also the author of "A Voice for th...

How is Bible translation done today? The Rev. Dr. Rich Rudowske (Executive Director of Lutheran Bible Translators) joins Andy and Sarah to talk about how many translations of the Bible exist today, current Biblical literacy across the globe, how early Bible translations into the vernacular paved the way for Bible translation today, where Lutheran Bible Translators is working, and the process of Bi...

What does Hispanic Ministry look like in the Indianapolis area? The Rev. Daniel Fickenscher, Associate Pastor at St. Paul Lutheran/Iglesia Luterana San Pablo (Columbus, IN) and Missionary Pastor at Trinity Lutheran/Iglesia Luterana La Trinidad (Indianapolis, IN), joins Andy and Sarah during our Hispanic Heritage Month series to talk about how he became involved in Hispanic ministry, the communitie...

Earlier this year, southern Brazil suffered historic flooding, affecting many Lutheran churches and members of our sister church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil (IELB). The Rev. Dr. Ross Johnson, Director of LCMS Disaster Response, and the Rev. Airton Schroeder, Vice President of the Igreja Evangélica Luterana do Brasil (Evangelical Lutheran Church of Brazil) working in the Mercy Area,...

The Rev. Peter Deberny (Pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Mastic Beach, NY) joins Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve series to talk about his journey into pastoral ministry, who influenced him to consider becoming a pastor, what gives him joy in his vocation of pastor, how he has experienced the community around him in New York, how he is sustained when the vocation becomes challenging, an...

We’re celebrating 100 years of God’s blessings on KFUO Radio with a special series featuring guests from KFUO’s long history! In Episode 10, Mrs. Norma Schroll (wife of the late George Schroll, former KFUO On-Air Host and Engineer) joins Andy, Sarah, and guest co-host Joanie Harwell to talk about how she and George met, his career plans when they met, his interest in broadcast journalism and how j...

How did Luther's 1522 translation of the New Testament impact the church and society? Rev. Dr. Gerhard Bode (Professor and Chairman of the Department of Historical Theology, Director of the Center for Reformation Research at Concordia Seminary, St Louis) joins Andy and Sarah to talk about Martin Luther's translation of the New Testament in 1522, including the translations that existed prior to thi...

What does ministry look like along the U.S.-Mexico border? The Rev. Dr. Karl P. Heimer, who served with Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care for over 40 years, joins Andy and Sarah during Hispanic Heritage Month to talk about his background and what brought him to the United States, what first moved him to pursue ministry among the Hispanic community, how Ysleta Lutheran Mission Human Care first sta...

How do grief and loss affect us? Dr. Mark Vande Braak, PhD, FT, MT-BC (Director of Grief, Loss, and Trauma with Lutheran Family Service) joins Andy and Sarah for Mental Health Monday to talk about thanatology and the study of grief, how we experience grief, the difference between grief and loss, and what is important to understand when speaking with or caring for someone who has experienced a loss...

How can a family culture encourage children to consider church work vocations? Cheryl, Phillip, and Evan Magness join Andy and Sarah for our Set Apart to Serve series to talk about their family culture. Evan, junior at Concordia University Chicago, shares where he is in his formational journey, when he decided to consider studying to become a pastor, the experiences in high school and college that...

We’re celebrating 100 years of God’s blessings on KFUO Radio with a special series featuring guests from KFUO’s long history! In Episode 9, Rev. Dr. Stanish Stanley (Executive Director of Christian Friends of New Americans) joins Andy, Sarah, and guest co-host Joanie Harwell to talk about how he came to St. Louis, his experience listening to KFUO, his first time as a guest on KFUO, how KFUO and CF...

How can you have fun golfing while supporting the important work of Christian Friends of New Americans (CFNA)? Mike Albers (CFNA volunteer) and Kerry Pozaric (CFNA Business Manager) join Andy and Sarah to talk about how they've seen CFNA showing love and mercy in the name of Jesus to refugees and immigrants in St. Louis this year, why they are personally involved with this Gospel-driven work, the...

It's almost time for Advent and Christmas! Elizabeth Pittman (Director of Public Relations for Concordia Publishing House) joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the exciting offerings from CPH for this Advent and Christmas season, including the beautiful Enduring Grace: A Church Year Journal, the Enduring Grace journal for kids, and this year's Advent and Christmas package for congregations titled "H...

What makes a hymn a hymn? Dr. John Behnke (Organist at Trinity Lutheran Church of Southwest Florida, Composer, and Professor Emeritus of Concordia University Wisconsin) and Rev. Stephen Starke (published hymnwriter and retired Pastor of St. John Amelith Lutheran Church in Bay City, MI) join Andy and Sarah to talk about the upcoming "A Day with Hymnwriter, Rev. Stephen Starke" happening on January...

Concordia University students studying to become church workers had the chance to share about church work vocations at Higher Things Conferences this summer. In Part 2 of 2, Young Adult Representatives (YARs) Hannah Weaver, Jakob Nath, and James Pape join Andy and Sarah to talk about why they wanted to serve as YARs, stories about their experiences talking with Higher Things participants at all th...

We’re celebrating 100 years of God’s blessings on KFUO Radio with a special series featuring guests from KFUO’s long history! In Episode 8, Rev. "Jolly" John Lukomski, co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins Andy, Sarah, and guest co-host Joanie Harwell to talk about how he began working with KFUO Radio, how Wrestling with the Basics began, the impact he has seen while sharing th...

Most of Peter’s First Epistle is straightforward in meaning, but this month’s reading contains two difficult passages: 1 Peter 3:18–20 and 4:6. Consulting a faithful and reliable resource such as The Lutheran Study Bible is advisable when you are faced with challenging texts. For the first difficult passage, one should ask, “What else could this refer to other than Christ’s victorious descent into...

What makes teaching 5th grade at a Classical Lutheran School a unique experience? Mrs. Brittany Wilber, Fifth Grade Teacher at Faith Lutheran School in Plano, TX, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about what she loves about being a teacher at Faith Lutheran School, what is unique about teaching 5th grade, how catechesis is included in the curriculum, how classical education forms young adults in the Lu...

Josh Douglas, Gift Planning Advocate with LCMS Mission Advancement, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about why he joined LCMS Mission Advancement, what a Gift Planning Advocate does, how he builds relationships with people across Synod as he helps them plan their giving, why joyful giving matters, and how to start the process of a long-term gift for the LCMS. Learn more at giftplanning.lcms.org. This...

What does a Christ-centered understanding of vocation look like in daily life? Deaconess Kristin Wassilak (Dean of the College of Theology, Arts & Humanities; Program Leader for Deaconess Studies and Classical Lutheran Education), Rev. Dr. Chad Kendall (Assistant Vice President for Mission & Identity; Associate Professor of Theology; Supervisor of the Office of Church Relations) and Rev. Simeon Ra...

We’re celebrating 100 years of God’s blessings on KFUO Radio with a special series featuring guests from KFUO’s long history! In Episode 7, KFUO's Lead Producer Jenny Williams joins Andy, Sarah, and guest co-host Joanie Harwell to talk about her many years with KFUO Radio, how she's seen technology changed during her time with KFUO, some of her favorite memories over the years, and why she's loved...