Sharper Iron from KFUO Radio

Rev. Chris Hull, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Tomball, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 39:32-40:33. Left to our own devices, we sinners revel in idolatry. No one has to force us into sin or idolatry; this is what we do because of our sinful nature. Israel exhibited this with the golden calf. Yet it was not force that brought about a great reversal; it was the LORD’s mercy and grace in Christ. That mercy and ... Read more

Rev. AJ Espinosa, adjunct professor at Concordia University in Irvine, CA and host of Thy Strong Word, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 34:29-35. On his own, Moses was not ready to receive the Ten Commandments. The LORD prepared Him for forty days and forty nights, as Moses fasted on Mt. Sinai. Finally, at the end of that time, with the two tablets in hand as the LORD’s gift to His people, Moses descended the mountain... Read more

Rev. Jeff Hemmer, pastor at Bethany Lutheran Church in Fairview Heights, IL joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 34:10-28. The LORD has a history of making covenants with His people: Noah, Abraham, and Israel. These are not bilateral agreements between equal parties, but promises from the one true God to His people, stating His intention to be merciful and forgiving toward them. When Israel broke the covenant the LORD mad... Read more

Rev. Carl Roth, pastor at Grace Lutheran Church in Elgin, TX joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 34:1-9. The LORD made His promise to make His goodness pass by Moses, and He kept that promise. Moses prepared according to the LORD’s instruction. New tablets were made so that the LORD’s Word would be written, a picture of the verbal inspiration of the Holy Scriptures. As Moses went up Mt. Sinai, the LORD descended in the c... Read more

Rev. Andrew Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Guttenberg, IA and St. Paul Lutheran Church in McGregor, IA joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 33:1-23. The LORD had promised His people that His angel would lead them into the Promised Land. After they broke His covenant with them, it was necessary for the LORD to renew His promise. Yet He could not go with them in a way that would consume them; first, they must b... Read more

Rev. Joel Haak, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Rochester, MN joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 32:15-35. When he came down Mt. Sinai, Moses carried with him two tablets made by the LORD Himself, upon which the LORD Himself had written His very Word. In the same way that the Holy Scriptures breathed out by God Himself inspire awe in Christians, so Moses carried these precious tablets. When he saw for himself the i... Read more

Rev. Dustin Beck, pastor at Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Warda, TX joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 32:1-14. How should people rightly worship the one true God? The entirety of God’s Word can be looked at through this lens. The LORD spent the previous seven chapters giving Moses instructions so that His people would worship him rightly in His tabernacle. Yet at the very moment Moses prepares to come down the mountain... Read more

Rev. Stephen Preus, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Vinton, IA joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 31:12-18 and Exodus 35:1-3. The Sabbath day was given by God in the beginning, when He rested from His work of creation on the seventh day. The LORD commanded His people Israel to cease from their labor on the seventh day every week in order to recall not only His work of creation, but also His work of redemption. That... Read more

Rev. Steve Andrews, pastor at St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Lee’s Summit, MO joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 31:1-11 and Exodus 35:30-36:7. The task of building the tabernacle and its furnishings would not be accomplished by human strength. Through His Spirit, the LORD gave His people the abilities needed to build His tabernacle. He particularly singles out Bezalel and Oholiab. The names and lineage of both men are ... Read more

Rev. Matt Wietfeldt, Director of Admission and Director of Christ Academy at Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 30:17-21 and Exodus 38:8. The LORD brought His people out of Egypt through the blood of the Passover and the water of the Red Sea. He used this same pattern within His tabernacle through the blood of the sacrifices and the washing of the priests in the bronze bas... Read more

Rev. Peter Ill, pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Millstadt, IL joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 30:11-16. The tabernacle was not simply a beautiful tent in the middle of Israel’s camp. The tabernacle was the place God dwelled among His people for their forgiveness. It was His gift to each and every one of His people. His command for a census was the reminder to His people that He knew each and every one of them by... Read more

Rev. Sam Wirgau, pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church in Ossian, IN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 30:1-10, 34-38 and Exodus 37:25-29. The LORD patterned His tabernacle among Israel after His heavenly dwelling place. It served as the intersection between the sacred things of God and the common things of humanity. In that very location between the Holy Place and Most Holy Place stood the altar of incense, where the b... Read more

Rev. Nate Hill, pastor at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Winchester, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 29:35-46. Even the priests needed atonement. They could not begin their holy service without it. For seven days, bulls were sacrificed as sin offerings for Aaron and his sons and the altar was purified and consecrated. Once that complete time was over, on the eighth day, Aaron and his sons began their regular se... Read more

Rev. Richard Mittwede, pastor at University Lutheran Church in Austin, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 29:4-9 and Exodus 30:22-33. The LORD washed, clothed, and anointed Aaron and his sons as a part of ordaining them into the priesthood. He set them apart for this holy service. Not only were their sins taken away, but in the anointing, they were filled by the LORD and His righteousness. The ingredients for the an... Read more

Rev. Sean Kilgo, pastor at the Northeast Kansas Lutheran Partnership, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 29:1-3, 10-34. Aaron and his sons could not serve as priests unless the LORD first consecrated and ordained them. Only He could cover their sins with sacrificial blood. Only He could fill their hands with the holy task they would do in the tabernacle. In order to accomplish that, the LORD provided the sacrifices of o... Read more

Rev. Jeremiah Johnson, pastor at Glory of Christ Lutheran Church in Plymouth, MN, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 28:31-43 and Exodus 39:22-31. The LORD cares about His people completely, both body and soul. That’s why He gave them the tabernacle, a physical place where He would dwell among them. That’s why He gave them priests, real people who would minister in His presence and need appropriate clothing to cover the... Read more

Rev. Mark Barz, senior pastor at Crown of Life Lutheran Church in San Antonio, TX, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 28:15-30 and Exodus 39:8-21. The breastpiece of judgment is the second priestly garment described in Exodus. The word “judgment” reminds us that there are two verdicts: guilty or innocent. The LORD meets with His people in the tabernacle through the service of Aaron the high priest in order to deliver Hi... Read more

Rev. Joel W. Meyer, pastor at Zion Lutheran Church in Prairie City, MO, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 28:1-14 and Exodus 39:1-7. When Israel arrived at Mt. Sinai, the LORD declared them a kingdom of priests. They would intercede for the LORD before the world. Yet Israel too needed a priest, someone to intercede between them and the LORD. Aaron and his sons were given that role by the LORD. This was not an office of... Read more

Rev. Matthew Tassey, pastor at St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Malcolm, NE, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Exodus 27:9-19 and Exodus 38:9-20. The instructions for the tabernacle have worked their way outward from the Ark of the Covenant in the Holy of Holies to the court of the tabernacle in today’s text. Even in this fiery fence around the tabernacle, the LORD points His people to His presence among them. Our imaginations a... Read more