Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Jonah 3-4. “But God said to Jonah, ‘Do you do well to be angry for the plant?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I do well to be angry, angry enough to die.’” Jonah had good reasons to be angry. The Assyrians were a thousand-year empire that eventually destroyed most of Israel—why would God betray H...

Rev. George Murdaugh, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Douglasville, Georgia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Ruth chapter 3 and 4:1-6. “But when he lies down, observe the place where he lies. Then go and uncover his feet and lie down, and he will tell you what to do.” What exactly is Naomi suggesting that her daughter-in-law do? Ruth maintains a respectful tone in everything she...

Rev. Dr. Alfonso Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul's Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Judges 2 and Judges 1:30-36. “There arose another generation after them who did not know the LORD or the work that he had done for Israel.” How could they just “forget” or “not know” God! It’s tempting to caricature the Israelites and dismiss Judges 2 as something that would...

Rev. Matt Zickler, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Western Springs, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Deuteronomy 32:48-52 and chapter 34. “You did not treat me as holy in the midst of the people of Israel. For you shall see the land before you, but you shall not go there.” What’s the big deal? Moses hit a rock with a stick—does that merit the death penalty? Holiness however isn’t...

Rev. Peter Bender, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 46. “Be still, and know that I am God. [...] The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.” Martin Luther based his hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” on Psalm 46. Like the Trinity, it presents three pictures of God side by side: a “trusty shield” to defend us, lik...

Rev. Jeremy Klaustermeier, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Warrenton, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 45. “Forget your people and your father’s house, and the king will desire your beauty.” Psalm 45 is a totally unique psalm, the only one called “a love song” in its title. A woman of a foreign nation joins herself to God’s people as she marries the king of Israel—a pictu...

Rev. Nate Ruback, pastor of Grace Lutheran Chapel in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Leviticus 9:22-24 and 10:1-20. “Such things as these have happened to me! If I had eaten the sin offering today, would the LORD have approved?” We often act like the world is full of good things and bad things, good people and bad people. And yet, if God is the Creator of al...

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Genesis 45-46:7. “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.” Perhaps no one in the Old Testament prefigures the resurrected Christ more clearly than Joseph. Like Genesis 45, Jesus would...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Job 1. “Does Job fear God for no reason? Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side?” Heaven’s courtroom hears the arguments of the Prosecutor General in Job 1. When he puts Job on trial, the most righteous man on e...

Rev. Dennis McFadden, pastor of Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 24. “Again the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel, and he incited David against them.” David was losing his grip on the North, and he wanted to remind them who was in charge. In chapter 24 God uses David’s sinful power play to bring His proud messiah and the whol...

Rev. Steven Theiss, pastor of Hanover Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 23. “He dawns on them like the morning light, like the sun shining forth on a cloudless morning, like rain that makes grass to sprout from the earth.” So is it cloudless, or are there rainclouds? David’s oracle frames the paradox of the entire 23rd chapter: David’s reign...

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John's Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 22. “Great salvation he brings to his king, and shows steadfast love to his anointed.” Instead of a lawyer, imagine going to a minstrel for your last will and testament! This is no victory chant; chapter 22 is David’s swan song looking back on how God has saved his life ti...

Rev. Dustin Beck, pastor of Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda, Texas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 47. You might say the Korahites had a legacy of objecting to monarchical power: “You have gone too far!” Korah accused Moses & Aaron. “Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” In collective repentance, the Korahite composer of Psalm 47 does not rebel like his...

Rev. Scott Adle, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 20. David tries to fire him, but Joab just won’t leave. His ruthlessness and cold calculation are on full display when he murders Amasa his replacement. But Joab isn’t one-dimensional, showing restraint with the wise woman of Abel, “Far be it from me, far be it, that I...

Rev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 19. “You love those who hate you and hate those who love you. For you have made it clear today that commanders and servants are nothing to you.” Joab’s not wrong. Although David’s grief reflects his unconditional love and forgiveness towards his children, in chapter 1...

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 18. “O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom! Would I had died instead of you, O Absalom, my son, my son!” David would’ve gladly given his life even for his son who tried to kill him. Chapter 18 is full of heart-wrenching irony: Ultimately, Jesus Christ became a second Absal...

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 17. “The LORD had ordained to defeat the good counsel of Ahithophel, so that the LORD might bring harm upon Absalom.” There was no way out for David—the strategy of his treacherous former advisor was perfect. “But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise.” Chapter 17 shows how no amount of wealth...

Rev. Benjamin Maton, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 16. “Behold, my own son seeks my life; how much more now may this Benjaminite! Leave him alone, and let him curse, for the LORD has told him to.” Israel was playing a life-and-death poker game, polarized between pro-David and pro-Saul/Absalom factions. In our own age...

Rev. Brian Thieme, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Columbia, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 15. “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the LORD, he will bring me back and let me see both it and his dwelling place.” Absalom repays his father’s kiss of peace with a kiss of betrayal, buying his way into the hearts of Israel. His actions...

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 14. “Then Absalom sent for Joab, to send him to the king, but Joab would not come to him. And he sent a second time, but Joab would not come. [...] So Absalom’s servants set the field on fire.” What kind of persuasive technique is that?! Chapter 14 shows the boldness of relat...

Rev. Doug Minton in Blaine, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 13. Are we in love with a person, or an idea? When King David’s son Amnon falls in love with his half-sister Tamar, it’s not self-giving unconditional love, but infatuation with an “impossible” forbidden fruit. Jonadab, “a very crafty” snake of a man, merely stirs the pot—like the serpent of Eden. Guilt rests squa...

Rev. Mark Jasa, pastor of Mt. Olive Lutheran Church in Pasadena, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 12. “As the LORD lives, the man who has done this deserves to die, and he shall restore the lamb fourfold, because he did this thing, and because he had no pity.” Nathan’s story touches a nerve with David in chapter 12—the poor shepherd boy from Bethlehem lashes out at the pit...

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v'Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 143. “Enter not into judgment with your servant, for no one living is righteous before you.” Our children’s failures are a painful reflection of our own faults. Prince Absolom sought to put his own father to death, but David acknowledges in Psalm 143 that he had no one to blam...

Rev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 11. “And the woman conceived, and she sent and told David, ‘I am pregnant.’ So David sent word to Joab, ‘Send me Uriah the Hittite.’” This one sin is the action around which the rest of 2 Samuel revolves; and it doesn’t remain one sin for long, evolving into murder and the...

Rev. Jacob Heine, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 2 Samuel 10. “When it was told David, he sent to meet them, for the men were greatly ashamed. And the king said, ‘Remain at Jericho until your beards have grown and then return.’” David might’ve said, “Grow thicker skin!” or “Shake those haters off!” and sent them back to Jerusalem, but instea...