Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Steven Theiss, Retired pastor in Frohna, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Haggai 1. This “minor prophet” says so much with so little. In chapter one he gives us the date in terms of Israel’s leaders: Darius the king, Zerubbabel the governor, and Joshua the high priest. Through names and ancestry, the last two figures point ahead to Jesus the Christ. Yet through the first name, w...

Rev. Dr. Steve Schave, Director of Urban and Inner City Mission and Cahurch Planting with the LCMS Office of National Mission, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 24. Hear Dr. Schave on on the monthly Mission Field: USA podcast on church planting. Find episodes at kfuo.org/missionfieldusa or on your podcast app. “As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” Joshua’s famous words from t...

Rev. Dennis McFadden, pastor of Emanuel Lutheran Church in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 23. Perhaps as many as 25 years later, God gave Israel another brief rest from battle. In chapter 23, Joshua—110 years old—takes the opportunity to summon the leaders of the twelve tribes. He preaches gospel and law, preparing them for the covenant renewal ceremony of the fina...

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 23. “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.” These famous words of Psalm 23 are so easy to misunderstand. Written by David, they point to how a shepherd boy was made shepherd over the whole kingdom of Israel. Time and again, God not only aided David, but He also blessed Him...

Rev. Doug Minton, pastor in the Twin Cities, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 22. Joshua sends the troops back home; God has given them rest from war. But in chapter 22, that seems far from obvious. This rest is only a temporary respite, with powerful enemies remaining in most of the tribes’ allotments. And peacetime begins to look truly fleeting when the western tribes decid...

Rev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 21. Everything unfolds according to plan in Joshua 21. Eleazor & Joshua make good on the promises given through Moses and Jacob: the Levites are given cities, scattered throughout Israel. Yet even while Levi is punished like Simeon, God mercifully allows each Levitical...

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 20. God speaks, and more promises are fulfilled as Joshua 20 begins the final section of the book. The inheritance has been divided up—but will it remain holy, or will it fall into pollution? God uses the cities of refuge to restrain humanity’s thirst for violence and vengeance...

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 19. In rapid succession, all the remaining tribes receive their inheritance in Joshua 19. Although the territories are assigned by lot, the process is not up to fate, but the will of God. As these historical events are narrated, God reveals His purposes and keeps His promises. Connections to Jacob’s blessing from...

Rev. Doug Nicely, pastor of Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 18. For the first time in Joshua, the Tabernacle and the Ephraimite city of Shiloh are mentioned here in chapter 18. The image is the partial fulfillment of creation, when God’s holy presence commanded His people to subdue the earth. The casting of lots is deep with meaning....

Rev. Nabil Nour, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartford, South Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 17. God does not show partiality. As Ephraim showed in the last chapter, God’s love and mercy and are not restricted by birth order. Neither are they restricted by gender, as Manasseh shows here in Joshua 17. Even Joshua, God’s representative, shows no partiality towards his fe...

Rev. Rolf Preus, pastor of Trinity-Sidney and St. John-Fairview, Montana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 16. This short little chapter about Ephraim says so much about God. Joshua 16 says that after the tribe of Judah, the lot fell to the people of Joseph. By God’s providence, a seemingly random process unfolds according to His will, abundantly blessing Joseph as promised by his fathe...

Rev. Kevin Martin, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 15. Like the apostles who testified to the resurrection, Caleb & Joshua were God’s witnesses who testified to the conquest of Canaan: God was giving them the same land they saw 45 years ago. In chapter 15, the names of the borders and cities are like the nail marks and sp...

Rev. Dr. Alfonso Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 14. Did you know that Joshua and Caleb were old men during the wars of Canaan? Caleb was 85 years old after the northern campaign, and yet he says “I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me.” In both confidence and humility, he asks for Joshua’s...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 24. David was a celebrated warrior and commander. He was king over both Judah’s territory in the South and over the people of the northern tribes. But in Psalm 24, He gives all the glory to Yahweh, saying that the whole world and all people belong to...

Rev. Lucas Witt, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Baltimore, Maryland, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 13. Chapter 13 begins with a problem: the land is still full of enemies to defeat, but Joshua is old—really old. What’s God’s solution? “I myself with drive them out from before the people of Israel.” Does that mean that Joshua’s work is done here? It may seem odd to us, but God...

Rev. Marcus Zill, Chancellor of LCMS U (lcms.org/lcmsu), joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 12. After conquering the bulk of Canaan, Israel takes a moment to recount the faithfulness of God. God has blessed them with a massive amount of land, so much that chapter 12 breaks it down into two: the land to the east of the Jordan river, conquered by Moses, and the land to its west, conquered b...

Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 11. Joshua’s worst fear has been realized: the northern Canaanites have entered into a powerful alliance, and they muster a force of chariots and mounted warriors to confront Israel at Merom. God had spared them thus far, but now He finally answers their prayer with...

Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 10. “Thus the LORD will do to all your enemies!” With that, Joshua executed the five kings that had conspired against Israel. Joshua 10 seems like a brutal chapter of the Old Testament, but it’s important to understand that violence is not at the center of God’s purpose here. God wants there to be peace in the lan...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 9. Has the total destruction of Ai backfired? In chapter 9, the Canaanites unite in their refusal to make peace with Israel. That is, except for the Gibeonites. They dress up like poor foreigners from a distant land, and they fool Joshua into making...

Rev. Chris Matthis, pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Castle Rock, Colorado, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 8. This time in chapter 8, Yahweh of Armies speaks the battle plan. Although the total destruction of Ai and Bethel seems ruthless, the plan shows signs of God’s mercy as He takes their sin and weakness into account. He protects His people from a hostile alliance and defends...

Rev. Ingo Dutzmann, LCEF Ambassador in Boston, Massachusetts, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 7. After six chapters of obedience to Yahweh, chapter seven begins, “But the people of Israel broke faith.” When his troops lose a battle they should have easily won, Joshua knows that there is a problem between them and God. In faith, he turns to God for the solution, acting as a priestly int...

Rev. Mark Jasa, pastor of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in Pasadena, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 6. “Joshua fit the battle of Jericho, and the walls come a-tumbling down.” This folk song speaks to the popularity of this story from chapter 6. Although everyone remembers the horns blasting, the people shouting, and—yes—the walls tumbling down, the story isn’t really about t...

Rev. Dr. Mark Birkholz, pastor of Faith Lutheran Church in Oak Lawn, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 5. The situation was urgent. Israel had crossed into the land inhabited by the Amorites and Canaanites. But the problem wasn’t Israel’s enemies in Joshua chapter 5; the problem was the threat of sin and disobedience. God has them make flint knives and circumcise the new genera...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 33. Psalm 33 has no title in Hebrew, no superscription saying who wrote it or what kind of psalm it is. While this a little uncommon by itself, it really stands out because Psalm 33 occurs in the middle of several “of David” psalms. And not only does...

Rev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 4. Chapter 4 concludes the crossing of the Jordan River. Everything fits together still in the same theme of continuity: before the priests leave the river, Joshua calls the twelve representatives back into the Jordan to pick up twelve stones as a memorial, that their childr...