Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Aaron Stinnett, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Smithfield, RI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 15:1-11. It all happened according to the Scriptures. In this first part of chapter 15, St. Paul now turns from the topic of orderly worship to the object of that worship: Jesus Christ. Specifically, the gospel which proclaims that Jesus died to save us from our sins,...

Rev. Nabil Nour, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartford, SD and fourth vice president of the LCMS, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 14:26-40. “God is not a God of confusion, but of peace.” (V.33) Disorderly conduct is unbecoming in most situations, but it should be unheard of in worship. Sometimes people think that the liturgy is rigid and confining, and yet its structure...

Rev. Bryan Wolfmueller, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church and Jesus Lutheran Church of the Deaf in Austin, TX, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 14:1-25. St. Paul continues his admonishment that the Corinthian Christians act out their faith in love toward one another. This time, he turns his attention again toward spiritual gifts. In chapter 12, he spoke at length of the diversi...

Rev. Dan Eddy, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Beloit, WI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 13. Believe it or not, this chapter has nothing to do with weddings, although it’s a very popular passage for the occasion. Instead, St. Paul is speaking to a deeply conflicted congregation and reminding the Corinthians Christians of their duty to one another: love. Love is more than...

Rev. Adam DeGroot, pastor of Calvary Lutheran Church in Rio Rancho, NM, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 12:12-31. St. Paul had firmly established that spiritual gifts are all from the one and same God through the Holy Spirit. He urged the Corinthian Christians not to pride themselves on their particular gifts, but to use those gifts in service to one another. In this section, h...

Rev. Joshua Frazee, associate pastor St. John's Lutheran Church, Mayville, WI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. St. Paul turns to spiritual gifts in this part of his letter to the Corinthian Christians. Although he’ll go into greater detail in chapter fourteen, his main focus here is to point his hearers to the source of all spiritual gifts: the Holy Spirit. Undoubtedly...

Rev. Jason Schockman, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Oconomowoc, WI, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 11:17-34. “Don’t you have houses to eat and drink in?!” (v. 22). St. Paul is predictably frustrated with the Corinthian congregation’s unchristian behavior, but dishonoring the Lord’s Supper is especially egregious. The Apostle admonishes them for their frivolous behavi...

Rev. Larry Beane, pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Gretna, LA and Chaplain in the U.S. Air Force Auxiliary (CAP) joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 11:1-16. Why is it improper for men to wear hats in church but not women? Where does this custom come from? In part, from this part of St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. In the first century it was about more than manners, it was...

Rev. Brian Davies, pastor of Lord of Glory Lutheran Church in Grayslake, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 10:23-33. “All things are lawful!” What a misunderstanding of Christian freedom. Because of the forgiveness of Christ, the Corinthian Christians mistakenly thought that they could live any way they please. St. Paul addresses this error by reminding them that while Christ...

Rev. John Lukomski, co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 10:1-22. Find Wrestling with the Basics at kfuo.org/WrestlingWithTheBasics. The Corinthian Christians held up their participation in the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord’s Supper as proof that they couldn’t be led astray, at least not easily. And yet: Idolatry. Sexual immor...

Rev. Ben Dose, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Arcadia, IA, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 9. Have you ever heard anyone say that pastors shouldn’t get paid? That they should do their work for the sake of the gospel? Many pastors have heard these sentiments. In this part of his letter, St. Paul is defending his work as an apostle. He also points out that being an apostle sho...

Rev. Phillip Fischaber, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Walnut, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 8. “Well, actually...” You can just hear the mature Christian lecturing a recent convert that he’s foolish for avoiding the foods in the marketplace sacrificed to idols. “You know idols aren’t real, right?,” the more knowledgeable Christian lectures. In this part of his...

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, FL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 7:25-40. God had not given St. Paul any specific commands to pass down regarding those who were unmarried, whether they should remain that way. But in view of food shortages in Corinth, the multitude of spiritual problems in the congregation, and the Apostle’s belief that Ch...

Rev. Keith Weise, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church and chaplain of the Good Shepherd Community in Sauk Rapids, MN, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 7:17-24. The Corinthian Christians, not unlike many today, were obsessed with self-improvement and getting ahead in life. St. Paul turns the tables on that idea and tells them, “Let each person lead the life that the Lord has...

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, IL, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 7:1-16. The Corinthian Christians did not have a healthy understanding of sexuality. God calls Christians to self-control, while the world urges people to give in to every desire. It’s no wonder then that at least some in Corinth thought it would be best to avoid sexual activ...

Rev. Doug Griebenaw, Mission Advocate at KFUO joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 Corinth was dotted with temples and shrines to many pagan gods and idols, but these all paled in comparison to the temple of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love and sexuality. Worship practices around her cult included temple prostitutes. In fact, sexual deviancy was fairly normal for Corinth...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in Pine Lawn, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 6:1-11. Are Christians permitted to bring other Christians to court? While there were many virtuous aspects to Graeco-Roman culture, there were many things that were not consistent with the Christian faith. One of these was about how to handle disputes. In part...

Rev. Christopher Gillespie, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church, Random Lake, WI joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 5. Sexual immorality is a common sin today, but it was no less pervasive back in the first century. Corinth was known for its loose morals, and some pretty grievous behavior had crept into the Corinthian congregation. The Holy Spirit inspired St. Paul to admonish the...

Rev. George Murdaugh, pastor emeritus, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 4. The Corinthian Christians, like most, were heavily influenced by their culture. They lived in a time when wisdom, wealth, and power were highly valued—not unlike today! So how were the Apostles regarded? Probably as powerful and influential by the Corinthian Christians, holding a position to aspire to. St...

Rev. John Lukomski, co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 3. Find Wrestling with the Basics at kfuo.org/WrestlingWithTheBasics. Cliques. Personality cults. Jealousy. Favoritism. These all add up to division, and the Corinthian church was experiencing this in spades. Some preferred the leadership of Apollos, others Paul, and still ot...

Rev. Larry Beane, pastor of Salem Lutheran Church in Gretna, LA and Chaplain in the U.S. Navy Auxiliary (CAP) joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 2. St. Paul boasts he did not influence people to become Christians through “lofty speech or wisdom” (v. 1), but spoke only of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. The power of salvation lies not in the delivery but the content of the word. On...

Rev. Scott Adle, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church, Imperial, NE joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 1:18-31. What a joke! That’s what the world might say of God’s plan to save us through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. If you’ve ever felt like society mocks the beliefs of Christians, St. Paul reveals why in this part of his Corinthian letter. The wisdom of God makes littl...

Rev. Doug Griebenaw, Mission Advocate at KFUO Radio in St. Louis, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 1:1-17. The road-weary Apostle Paul gets news that the Christians in the Corinthian congregation, which he had planted less than a decade prior, were already steeped in division. As it unfolds, St. Paul’s letter will tackle issues of false prophets and wrong doctrine, sexual si...

Rev. James Hopkins, pastor of First Lutheran in Boston, MA and Chaplain in the U.S. Navy Reserves, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Romans 16. A list of nearly unpronounceable names concludes St. Paul’s letter to the saints in Rome. The people he mentions in his personal greetings may not be familiar to us, but their names here in Scripture remind us that the Apostle is writing to real people...

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’ Shalom in St. Louis, MO, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study Romans 15:14-33. St. Paul finishes chapter 5 with an appeal to his God-given authority to call the Gentiles to faith and obedience in Christ. Interestingly, the Apostle notes he is careful to preach only where someone has not already proclaimed the gospel. “Lest,” he says, “I build on s...