Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Chris Biernacki, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Florence, Alabama, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 105. The story of the Old Testament is our own story. When God looked at His people Israel, He saw you and me, so He acted to protect us even before we were born. Psalm 105 says that, even in the days of Abraham, God saw all His “anointed ones” and “prophets”—He saw the who...

Rev. Matt Tooman, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wahpeton, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 48. Israel stands to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory. God has opened the way home to Judah through Cyrus of Persia, but the exiles have become comfortable in Babylon! In Isaiah 48, God criticizes His people for being Israelites in name only and for becoming as dense as...

Rev. John Lukomski, retired pastor in Darmstadt, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 47. Babylon thought she was invincible. True, she was God’s weapon of justice against His own people, but she went too far. She forgot her place, she became merciless and oppressive, and she relied on her own charms and enchantments instead of giving glory to God. Like Cinderella, she went from a...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 46. “Bel bows down; Nebo stoops; their idols are on beasts and livestock.” No god is like Yahweh the true God, and in Isaiah 46 the prophet names the false gods of Babylon. All they do is weigh you down: you have to carry them around until someone el...

Rev. Joel Shaltanis, pastor of Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 45. After five chapters of preparation, the cat is out of the bag: Cyrus of Persia is God’s messiah, His chosen king sent to free the exiles. How can this be! Isaiah 45 lets this bomb drop amidst objections and misunderstandings. In the end, it’s not so different from Abraham an...

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired pastor in Frohna, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 44. When Cyrus of Persia conquered Babylon, the exiles from Judah didn’t know what to make of it. Isaiah speaks clearly in chapter 45: this is all God’s doing. This event only proves that the gods of Babylon are useless. Why would you cut down a tree and burn one half for fuel and worship the other...

Rev. Matthew Wurm, pastor of Mount Calvary Lutheran Church in Brookings, South Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 43. God poured out His anger against Judah, and the Babylonians destroyed them. The exiles felt like God had abandoned them, like He was no longer their God—like He no longer loved them. Isaiah 43 presents us with the only instance in the whole Bible where God utters t...

Rev. Brian Davies, pastor of Lord of Glory Lutheran Church in Grayslake, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 42. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.” Matthew quotes these words from Isaiah 42 to show their ultimate fulfillment in Christ: powerful but not self-seeking, just but not unforgiving, h...

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 29. At first glance it may seem strange to praise God for floods, earthquakes, and thunderstorms, as David does in Psalm 29. As destructive as these things can be sometimes, more often they are God’s way of renewing and preserving His creation. When God strikes the trees, flood...

Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Anaheim, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 41. The idols of the world are silent. The nations of the earth tremble in fear. The true God has called Cyrus of Persia to conquer Babylon and to set His people free. Like Abraham, God has called someone from the east who did not know Him to serve His righteous purpose....

Rev. Thomas Eckstein, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Jamestown, North Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 40. The voice of God calls out to His people exiled in Babylon. They have suffered for their sins, but now they will be restored by God’s grace. This is Isaiah 40’s message of comfort, from the perspective of over 100 years after the previous chapter. Compared to God th...

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 39. “Behold, the days are coming, when all that is in your house, and that which your fathers have stored up till this day, shall be carried to Babylon.” This final and ominous prediction concludes the first part of Isaiah in chapter 39; the rest of the book will deal with God’...

Rev. John Lukomski, retired pastor in Darmstadt, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 38. “Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” Thus Isaiah delivered God’s harsh judgment against Hezekiah. His administration had made an idolatrous alliance with Egypt, and his heart was full of pride. Isaiah 38 gives us not only the history but also Hezekiah’s psalm o...

Rev. Nabil Nour, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartford, South Dakota, and Fourth Vice President of LCMS, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 37. The Assyrian Rabshakeh shouted threats of destruction at the gates of Jerusalem. Now what was King Hezekiah to do? He humbles himself before God and His servant Isaiah, trusting in the Creator of heaven and earth. Isaiah predicts that God...

Rev. Scott Adle, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 36. After 35 chapters of predictions, the Assyrians have finally come. Chapters 36 to 39 seem to quote from 2 Kings, proving that Isaiah wasn’t just speaking fanciful words of theology in poetic flourishes; theology is God’s real-life plan for human history. In the fourte...

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 35. “Waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert.” In chapter 35, Isaiah summarizes all his oracles of good news. In the wake of the Assyrian devastation, there will be relief and restoration for Judah. When Isaiah speaks of “wilderness” and “desert,” he doe...

Rev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins guest host Rev. Dr. Steve Schave, Director of Urban and Inner City Mission and Church Planting with the LCMS Office of National Mission, to study Isaiah 34. Leading into chapter 34 of Isaiah we see that God is leading His people to repentance, through the punishment of their sins, as the nations have conquered t...

Rev. Rolf Preus, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sidney & St. John Lutheran Church in Fairview, Montana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 33. In chapter 32, Isaiah predicts that Assyria would reduce Judah’s cities and fields to ruins and wilderness, but that there in the wilderness there would be justice and the fear of Yahweh. Chapter 33 offers a multifaceted reply with oracles of...

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 28. Psalm 28 uses the themes of sound and work to offer supplication and praise to God. In the Old Testament, sound is connected to movement, activity, and life. Silence is connected to motionlessness, cessation, and death. We only have life, breath, and song because God first...

Rev. Wally Vinovskis, pastor of Concordia Lutheran Church in Macungie, Pennsylvania, and President of the SELC District of the LCMS, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 32. “Behold, a king will reign in righteousness. […] The fool will no more be called noble.” After speaking harsh words of law for several chapters, Isaiah gives us some gospel again in chapter 32. Although God will punish...

Rev. Dr. Alfonso O. Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 31. “The Egyptians are man, and not God, and their horses are flesh, and not spirit.” Isaiah 31 continues God’s condemnation of Judah for their alliance with Egypt against Assyria, offering a spiritual perspective on the matter. When we compromise our faith in the n...

Rev. David Fleming, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 30. Instead of trusting in God and the word of Isaiah His messenger, Judah put their faith in the military strength of Egypt. It seemed prudent in the face of Assyrian aggression, but it revealed Judah’s shameful idolatry of the heart. For all its ferocity, Egypt would pr...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 31. “Into your hand I commit my spirit.” Our Lord Jesus quoted these words from Psalm 31 while He was on the Cross, but the rest of the psalm isn’t as familiar to us. At times the psalmist seems to be begging God for mercy, and at times he seems to be...

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 29. “The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them.” With these words, the Lord Jesus quotes, summarizes, and expands chapter 29 of Isa...

Rev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Isaiah 28. The language is harsh: God says that the current priests and prophets of Jerusalem are no better than retching and reeling drunks. And Ephraim, the city on a hill, is ripe for the picking—it will be devoured whole! For too long, the proud and powerful have mocked God’s p...