Trinity Lutheran Brillion

What does God say about suicide? It’s difficult for Christians to talk about. What do you say to someone who has lost a loved one to suicide? It can be hard to find the right words, but that doesn’t mean we have nothing to say. “The elephant is in the room and we can’t pretend it doesn’t exist,” writes Prof. John Schuetze. “But then let’s allow the gospel to shine forth.” What causes a person to t...

Conflict in the Church? The church is holy, bought by Christ’s blood and cleansed in the waters of Baptism. Yet the church is also messy, filled with sinners and scarred by sin. We love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind. And yet the sinful flesh remains, and sometimes we experience conflict—even in the church. How should we handle it? This week, we’ll take a close look at the first churc...

Questions Skeptics Ask Hurting people need God. Your friend might be open to Christianity but has questions. Or you sit next to someone on an airplane who is questioning the existence of God. You’d like to think you’re ready to give an answer, but that’s easier said than done. It’s hard to know what to say when the question is, “Why would God allow this [fill in the blank] to happen to me?” How do...

Does God Promise Never to Give Us More Than We Can Handle? "God will never give you more than you can handle." Have you ever heard anyone say that? It sounds great. But there are times when that saying collides with reality. We can't always handle our own troubles and tragedies. We can't always put an end to them or heal them or undo them. We can't always survive the loss...

Last week, we discussed what happened when the Southern Baptist Convention voted overwhelmingly to dismiss from its fellowship a congregation that is pushing for the ordination of women. Southern Baptist doctrine recognizes that only men are permitted to serve in the role of pastor. That position agrees with our own church’s position on the topic. If you were asked what the Bible says on this topi...

Baptists and the Ordination of Women Earlier this month, delegates to the Southern Baptist Convention’s annual meeting voted overwhelmingly to dismiss from its fellowship a congregation over its views on the ordination of women. First Baptist Church of Alexandria, Virginia insists that women can serve in any pastoral role, including senior pastor. Southern Baptist doctrine recognizes that only men...

Continuation: The Story of Seminex: The Missouri Synod 50 Years Later President Matthew Harrison of the Missouri Synod says he was “a blissfully unaware 12-year-old” when the “Walkout” of all but five professors at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis occurred in 1974. It was a tumultuous time. Missouri Synod president Jacob Preus had authorized the production of a doctrinal statement to evaluate what th...

The Story of Seminex (50 Years Later) Throughout much of its history, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) was a rock of Lutheran doctrinal strength. During the 1950s and 60s, however, there were signs that things were beginning to change. The election of a liberal-leaning seminary president at its leading seminary in St. Louis set the stage for a dramatic walkout and the establishment of a “...

The Story of Seminex: The Missouri Synod 50 Years Later Throughout much of its history, the Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) was a rock of Lutheran doctrinal strength. During the 1950s and 60s, however, there were signs that things were beginning to change. The election of a liberal-leaning seminary president at its leading seminary in St. Louis set the stage for a dramatic walkout and the es...

Tattoos, Cremation, and Other Such Things: What does the Bible say? Years ago, Christians considered tattoos to be wrong. Nowadays it’s not uncommon for a church member to be decorated with body art. Churches once taught that no Christian should ever be cremated. Today, the cremation of a loved one is a growing trend, even among Christians. What’s happening? Has the Bible changed? Have people chan...

Christian denominations: What would Jesus think? At the beginning of the 20 th century there was a surge of optimism that the Christian church could finally be united under one umbrella. The World Missionary Conference in Edinburgh in 1910 is often seen as the birth of the modern ecumenical movement. But now, just over a century later, the church is as divided as ever. In his high priestly prayer,...

Jonah: God’s Reluctant Prophet The book of Jonah is about a missionary who cares more about his own comfort than about someone else’s soul. As we open the final chapter, we find that Jonah still hates God’s enemies; he would just as soon see them destroyed. It is astonishing to us that one of the Lord’s own prophets should be so callous to the spiritual needs of someone else. But if we’re honest,...

Have you ever wished that you could have a second chance? Jonah got that opportunity. At the beginning of chapter 3 the prophet finds himself right back where he started. God reassigns Jonah to the exact same task. Jonah hasn’t changed. He still dislikes the Assyrians and doesn’t really care if they are saved or not. But there is another thing that hasn’t changed. God still loves the Assyrian peop...

The book of Jonah is more than a story of a man and a fish. It’s a beautiful story of God’s love for every lost sinner. From inside the fish, Jonah prays. His prayer is a beautiful piece of poetry, expressing terror in the face of death, profound loneliness, and deep humility before God. The wayward prophet finds comfort and security in God’s grace. It’s also worth noting: Jonah’s experience insid...

In the “Roaring 20s,” times were good. But then came the Great Depression, and in Europe dictators such as Hitler and Mussolini rose to power. The 1950s were a time of general peace and prosperity, but the turbulent 60s saw the assassinations of JFK and Martin Luther King, Jr. and a national debate over the war in Vietnam. The prophet Jonah served during the 8th century BC. In the Northern Kingdom...

God cares deeply about every lost soul. That’s the great lesson of the book of Jonah. The reluctant prophet needed to learn to care about the people the Lord was calling him to serve. In the same way, we too must be concerned about every lost soul. This week, the book of Jonah teaches us to look beyond the prophet’s less-than-exemplary ministry to that of the Messiah who was to come. Jesus’ life a...

Jonah: The Reluctant Prophet The story of Jonah is one of those Bible stories everybody knows—or at least, they think they know. But not everyone knows the book of Jonah well. Some have questioned the book’s accuracy. Did Jonah really get swallowed by a whale? Was it a whale, or was it something else? Could we be looking so hard at the great fish that we fail to see the greater lesson? In the next...

Welcome to Theological Ramblings! Each episode is presented by Pastor Ross Henzi, Pastor Thomas Fricke and Principal David Knittel. This episode concentrates on Denominations. Specifically, why are there so many different denominations? Thank you for joining us!

Feminism and the Bible What are we to make of today’s brand of feminism? The movement began in the late 1800s as the push for women’s suffrage took hold and women began to be more involved in political life. A second wave of feminism hit the scene in the 1960s, when feminists insisted on the same rights to self-fulfillment as men. Now, a third wave, leaning heavily on the philosophy of Karl Marx,...

Feminism began in the late 1800s, as the women’s suffrage movement took hold and women began to be involved in public and political life. A second wave hit the scene in the 1960s, when feminists demanded the same rights to self-fulfillment as men. A third wave currently leans heavily on the philosophy of Karl Marx and portrays women as an oppressed class. Since women’s oppression has its roots in...

Why is our world in so much chaos and why has the church become so deeply divided over matters of sex and morality? Rosaria Butterfield boils it down to five lies our 21st century culture has uncritically embraced. In Five Lies of Our Anti-Christian Age, Dr. Butterfield confronts these lies—lies she herself once promoted. Now, having been converted to Christianity, she writes and talks about what...

We continue our study of the The Rosaria Butterfield story-as unlikely as it is remarkable. A former lesbian activist, she now writes and speaks in support of biblical truth. As our culture grows more hostile to the biblical understanding of what it means to be a man or woman, we’re tempted to compromise with the culture on what God says about sex. Dr. Butterfield talks about what the Bible has to...

The Rosaria Butterfield story is as unlikely as it is remarkable. A former lesbian activist, she now writes and speaks in support of biblical truth. As our culture grows more hostile to the biblical understanding of what it means to be a man or woman, we’re tempted to reject what God’s word says on sexuality. This week and next, we will hear Rosaria share her journey to Christ and learn a few thin...

This week the discussion was about a lot of different topics surrounding Christmas. Tune in to check out what the bible study group talked about as they prepare for the birth of baby Jesus.

For Christians, Christmas is a holy day. For the rest of the world, it’s a major secular holiday. Have you noticed how people try so hard to avoid making any reference to the Christian origins of Christmas. This week we will dig into scripture to help recover the true meaning of the holidays. The Gospel according to St. Matthew begins with a genealogy—a long list of the names of the earthly ancest...