Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Scott Adle, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Mark 3. “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save life or to kill?” In Mark 3, Jesus ☧ heals a man’s atrophied hand in the middle of the synagogue on the Sabbath, putting the Pharisees’ hypocritical non-answer on public display. He remains tight-lipped, thou...

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Mark 2. “The Son of Man is lord even of the Sabbath.” In Mark 2, Jesus ☧ uses the term “Son of Man” for the first time, confusing His opponents more than answering their questions—and they have a lot of them: Why does He presume to forgive sins? Why does He associate with sinners? Why...

Rev. Daniel Olson, pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church in Luxemburg, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Mark 1. “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” Mark chapter 1 might strike us as a strange starting place, beginning with John baptizing the Lord in the Jordan and skipping over the little town of Bethlehem. But Mark leaves out the...

Rev. Rolf Preus, pastor of Trinity-Sidney & St. John-Fairview, Montana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 22. “On either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month.” As the final chapter of the Bible, Revelation 22 takes us back to the beginning. By the tree of the Cross, Eden’s tree of life is restored in the heavenly Jerusalem....

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 21. “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” Revelation 21 gives us the most vivid picture of “heaven” in...

Rev. Waldemar Vinovskis, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Macungie, Pennsylvania, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 20. “And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.” Revelation 20 re-introduces “the bottomless pit” of the abyss. Unlike chapter 9 where the angel opened it up, this time the angel imprisons Satan...

Rev. Chris Matthis, pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Castle Rock, Colorado, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 19. “Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war.” In Revelation 19, the Lord Jesus descends upon the earth, defeats the beast and the false prophet, and slays His en...

Rev. Peter Bender, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 18. “Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins.” Revelation 18 takes a pastoral and catechetical focus on the idolatry of Babylon. “Babylon” does not refer to geography per se, but to the apostate element of Israel, particularly concentrated in Jerusalem. Even w...

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 17. “The woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” In Revelation 18, John sees a rich and powerful woman. We might quickly think of Rome, but she is said to commit sexual immorality with the “peoples and multitude...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 16. “God remembered Babylon the great, to make her drain the cup of the wine of the fury of his wrath.” In Revelation 16 seven “bowls” of wrath are poured out in quick succession, reminiscent both of Old Testament drink offerings as well as the f...

Rev. David Andrus, pastor of Abiding Savior Lutheran Church in St. Louis and Not-Alone.net Ministries, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 118. “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.” “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.” “This is the day that the LORD has made.” Psalm 118 feels like a Bible verse hall of fame! These verses are so well known because they w...

Rev. Michael Morehouse, pastor of Catalina Lutheran Church in Tucson, Arizona, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 117. The shortest chapter in the entire Bible, the two verses of Psalm 117 are easy to overlook. This psalm however is totally unique and profound. It occurs in the exact middle of our modern 1,189 chapters, with a theme that is right at the heart of Scripture: “all nations” sh...

Rev. Kevin Martin, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 15. “Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues.” Revelation 15 hits the reset button, restarting the seven-part sequence. Yet, we also find some overlap with and even the conclusion to the previous chapters. The bloodshed th...

Rev. Nate Ruback, pastor of Grace Chapel in Bellefontaine Neighbors, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 14.

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 13. “Let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.” Does this beast and its mark foretell a dystopian future? History never fails to repeat itself, but the two beasts of Revelation 13 likely refer...

Rev. Mark Jasa, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Pasadena, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 12. “Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels fighting against the dragon.” Chapter 12 introduces a ferocious dragon. Like the Seleucid beast of Daniel, it has ten horns, symbolizing earthly authority and force of power. Unlike any other beast though, it has seven c...

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 11. “I will grant authority to my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” Before the seventh trumpet blast, chapter 11 describes two witnesses who sound a lot like other biblical figures: like Moses & Elijah, they turn rivers to blood and summon drought. Like Joshua and Zer...

Rev. Mark Birkholz, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 10. “Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.” In chapter 10, John is commanded not to write down this mysterious message for us. Why mention it at all? He is then given “a little scroll” which he is commanded to eat. It tastes “sweet as honey,” but...

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Revelation 9.

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 100. “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise!” Psalm 100 isn’t a short summary psalm, but a profound insight into a very specific situation: walking through the temple gates into the courtyards. Such holy places can only have so many people there at once...

Rev. Jaime Nava, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Maplewood, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 22. “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” No other psalm is more tightly connected to the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus than Psalm 22. Yet, for all the allusions and fulfillments, this psalm is first of all about David. He went from popular warrior to despised “worm...

Rev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 116. “I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD.” Psalm 116 is used in so many ways in church tradition: during Easter, before communion, at funerals, and on Maundy Thursday. What ties it all together? God’s people speak as one voice, as God’s...

Rev. Stewart Crown, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Palo Alto, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 43. “Send out your light and your truth.” This pair of themes occurs all over the Bible, but how is it supposed to rescue this son of Korah here in Psalm 43? The Hebrew word for “truth” doesn’t focus on facts and figures, but rather God’s truth-telling integrity. On the one ha...

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 42. “As a deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.” This psalm’s beautiful opening line is well known and has found its way into contemporary music. What does it really mean though? What was the psalmist going through when he sang these words? This psal...

Rev. Tim Droegemueller, pastor of Living Faith Lutheran Church in Cumming, Georgia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 34. Psalm 34 paints a beautiful image: “Those who look [to the LORD] are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” And yet, this psalm is from when David “pretended to be insane in [the Gathites’] hands and made marks on the doors of the gate and let his spittle ru...