The Coffee Hour from KFUO Radio

Rev. Merritt Demski, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Waterloo, Illinois, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about a few seasons common during the "Green Season," or the season after Pentecost or Trinity. These hymns are: LSB 708 "Lord, Thee I Love with All My Heart," LSB 722 "Lord, Take My Hand and Lead Me," and LSB 729 "I Am Trusting Thee, Lord Jesus." This is a rebroadcast from August 27, 2019.

Rev. Dr. James Baneck, Executive Director of the LCMS Office of Pastoral Education, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the Church Worker Recruitment Initiative, including the roles pastors and auxiliary offices carry out in our Church today, why the church needs pastors and other auxiliary workers, how God raises up church workers, and how the Church Worker Recruitment Initiative will help encoura...

Rev. Stephen Oliver, Serving the Lord in Taiwan and the Asia Region as a theological educator at China Lutheran Seminary in Hsinchu, Taiwan, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about life at the seminary, what he teaches there, translation projects he's working on, how the coronavirus pandemic has affected life at the seminary, and family life in Taiwan. Read his story and how to support his work at lcms...

Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Luverne, Minnesota, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about his recent article in the local Rock County Star Herald about fear and faith, including how divisions manifest among us today, what we're really fearing these days, how Satan uses fear, whether we continue to consume inflammatory media, the true antidote to our fear, and what Scripture...

Rev. Doug Griebenaw, pastor of Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church in El Centro, California, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about what makes science fiction intriguing for him, what role science fiction like Start Trek plays in the life of a baptized child of God, the place of allegory in fiction, and if there's conflict between being a Trekkie and a Christian.

We complete the Lord's Prayer in this episode. Regarding the 6th Petition, consider sources of temptation and God's promises in the face of temptation. In the 7th Petition, learn how it is a prayer against Satan and where our help against evil comes from. In the Conclusion, hear whether the conclusion to the Lord’s Prayer is original, if it is faithful and appropriate for Christians to pray this d...

Rev. Roy Askins, Managing Editor of The Lutheran Witness, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the “Searching the Scriptures” feature in the August 2021 issue of the Lutheran Witness titled “From thence He will come to judge the living and the dead” about this last phrase of the Second Article of the Apostles’ Creed. Follow along and search the Scriptures and Apostles’ Creed with us! Find online exc...

Coach Jody Token from The Great Flip joins Andy and Sarah to talk about her homeschool self-defense curriculum, the skills that school-age children and their parents will learn, what families need to be successful using this program, and how to implement it in their homes. Find the program details and sample videos at thegreatflip.com.

Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, President of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the contentious situation concerning new Bishop Juhana Pohjola of the Evangelical Lutheran Mission Diocese of Finland and Member of Parliament Päivi Räsänen, how church bodies worldwide have stepped up to defend their right to free religious speech in Finland, and Bishop Pohjola's rece...

Barb Rebentisch, serving the Lord in Taiwan, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about her role as a translator and interpreter, how she is able to build relationships with others, the challenges that the last year has presented, and how the Lord has provided for her and the rest of the team in Taiwan. Contact her for information about the Bach lectures or her work at barb.rebentisch@lcms.org. Read her s...

Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church and Jesus Deaf Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas, joins Andy and Sarah on the commemoration of the destruction of Jerusalem and the martyrdom of St. Lawrence to talk briefly about the destruction of Jerusalem, and then to discuss society and the church at the time of St. Lawrence, what we know about his life and service to the Church, what...

Chris Shearman — Founder and Executive Director of Lutheran Development Group in St. Louis, Missouri, and Harry Stevens — Director of Operations for Lutheran Development Group, join Andy and Sarah to talk about the needs in St. Louis that Lutheran Development Group aims to meet, how they are able to build up communities, the impact of this work to help people invest in their neighborhoods, and the...

Deaconess Dr. Kim Schave — Executive Director of Humanitri, and Lorri Holtgrieve — Director of Development and Communication with Humanitri, join Andy and Sarah to talk about how Humanitri serves the homeless population of the greater St. Louis area with help and hope, the reality about homelessness in St. Louis today, the motivation to serve people with love, and the upcoming Cycle for the City e...

Dr. Mark Bender, retired teacher and minister of music at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, Missouri, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about how hymn planning for Divine Services is done, the collaboration that happens behind the scenes, the resources available for pastors and church musicians, and how pastors and church musicians decide how these hymns will be placed within the service. Read h...

Rev. Christian Tiews, who serves the Lord in Germany as a missionary pastor through the LCMS Office of International Mission, joins Andy to talk about the community where he serves, his background that led to serving in Germany, the focus of his service as a missionary pastor with the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church (SELK), the challenges he and his family have faced during this transition...

Esther Dunlop and Rachel Hillman, previous Young Adult Volunteers (YAV) for the LCMS Youth Gathering and currently on the Planning Committee for LCMS Gathering 2022, join Andy and Sarah to talk about why they became volunteers with the Gathering, the role that YAVs play at the Gathering, why they always wear orange, and how young adults can apply to be YAVs at the 2022 Gathering. Learn more and ap...

Deaconess Heidi Goehmann, LCSW, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about generations and mental health, including what "generativity" is and how we approach this term, why caring about the generations to come is important for our mental health, and what scripture says about God's love for all generations. Hear Mental Health Mondays each Monday at 9am CT! Find all episode with the tag "Mental Health Mond...

It's Bach Week on The Coffee Hour! Today, Dr. Maurice Boyer, professor of music at Concordia University Chicago and director of the American Kantorei (a group dedicated to the performance of J.S. Bach’s music), joins Andy and Sarah to talk about Bach's theology in his sacred chorale cantatas. Hear about the place of the cantata or passion in the liturgy of a Sunday morning, how these cantatas foll...

It's Bach Week on The Coffee Hour! Today, Matthew Gerhardt, Kantor-elect at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, Missouri, joins Andy and Sarah to unpack J.S. Bach's Orgelbuechlein, or "Little Organ Book." Learn about what this book of chorale hymn preludes contains, why Bach wrote it, and the familiar tunes you've probably heard before! Find links to all of the preludes mentioned in the follo...

It's Bach Week on The Coffee Hour! Today, Dr. Martin Dicke, who serves the Lord as a missionary in Papua New Guinea, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about his experiences with Bach growing up on the mission field in Papua New Guinea, the role of Bach in his studies and formation as a church musician, the influence of Bach in the cultures where he has served, and how the Lord has used the work of J.S....

It's Bach Week on The Coffee Hour! Today, Benjamin Kolodziej — member of Faith Lutheran Church in Plano, TX, highly active church organist and composer, and contributor to the Lutheran Service Book Hymnal Companion, joins Sarah to talk about how congregational singing was a priority of J.S. Bach, how he was different from other composers of his time, how he viewed the relationship of work as a mus...

It's Bach Week on The Coffee Hour! Today, Chaplain Brian Hamer, Chaplain in the US Marine Corps, joins Sarah to talk about J.S. Bach's original contract in Leipzig in 1723, the differences between popular music and high art music, how these music forms differ from sacred music, how Bach's music fits into these music forms, what sets Bach's music apart from all other music, and how Bach ultimately...

Karen Ludwig, Director of MyLife Medical and Resource Center in High Ridge, Missouri, joins Andy and Sarah to talk about the needs of the people MyLife serves, how great the need is for compassionate care for women with unexpected pregnancies, the difference ultrasounds make for expecting parents, and how MyLife is able to generously serve neighbors with these free resources. Learn more about MyLi...

Rev. Michael Meyer, Director of Disaster Training with LCMS Disaster Response, joins Andy to talk about the latest updates from LCMS Disaster Response, how Christ is shared with those dealing with disasters, the new LERT website and what visitors will find, and the upcoming disaster trainings. Learn more and disaster response and trainings at lcms-lert.org.

Rev. Dr. Walter and Robyn Steele, who serve the Lord in Kenya with the LCMS Office of International Mission, join Andy and Sarah to talk about the students and community at Matongo Lutheran Theological College, what they are called to do in Kenya, what they've learned about the culture in their community,  and how the Lord has provided for them over the last year and a half. Read their story and h...