Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Mark Preus, pastor of St. Andrew Lutheran Church & Campus Center in Laramie, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 13. Many readers are confused by the opening words of John chapter 13: “Now before the Feast of the Passover.” Hang on a second, what? John chapter 13 describes the Last Supper, but did that happen before Passover? That would contradict Matthew, Mark, and Luke, and it would put the crucifixion not on... Read more

Rev. Todd Kollbaum, Director of Rural and Small Town Mission with the LCMS Office of National Mission, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 12. Learn more at lcms.org/rstm. John 12 completes the thought of the previous chapter: now that Lazarus has been raised back to life, even the hard-hearted people in Judea are coming around on this guy from Nazareth. Our Lord is welcomed into the city like a war hero, as palm branches an... Read more

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 11. Our Lord Jesus performs His greatest sign: He brings Lazarus back from the dead. He doesn’t just heal a man who’s been sick for 38 years. He doesn’t just heal a man who’s been blind his whole life. He actually raises a man who’s been decomposing in a tomb for four days. Everyone is stunned. Here in John cha... Read more

Rev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 10. Chapter 9 flows seamlessly into chapter 10: Jesus’s opponents cannot recognize His light because they are spiritually blind, and so they cannot recognize His voice because they don’t belong to His spiritual flock. The Lord gives us a new metaphor to reveal Himself as the Messiah, which He breaks down into ... Read more

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired pastor in Frohna, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 9. What’s greater than healing a man who’s been sick for 38 years? How about healing a man who’s been blind his entire life! As the Lord Jesus was leaving the Temple, He performs a second miraculous sign for Jerusalem, again on the Sabbath. Rather than giving glory to God however, we see that John chapter 8 records even greater conste... Read more

Rev. Brian Kachelmeier, pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Los Alamos, New Mexico, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 8. John chapter 8 begins with the Pharisees presenting Jesus with a woman who was caught in adultery. He writes on the ground with His finger, and He says “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” While this is one of the most beloved stories from the Gospels... Read more

Rev. John Lukomski, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Darmstadt & St. Paul Lutheran Church in New Athens, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 7. If John chapter 7 seems unfamiliar, you’re right! Most of the chapter is never read in church on Sundays, but it’s one of the most human chapters in the whole Gospel: our Lord, true man, struggles with the dilemma of whether to lay low and avoid confrontation or whether... Read more

Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 6. John 6 is the longest chapter in the Gospel, full of miraculous signs and challenging teaching. Reading between the lines, we see that after leaving Jerusalem, Jesus did many miracles along the way not described in detail. On top of that, after going up the mountain with His discipl... Read more

Rev. Robert Zagore, Executive Director of the LCMS Office of National Mission, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 5. In John chapter 5 we hear about a man who has been sick for 38 years. Jesus miraculously heals him with a single word, and everyone is… angry! They demand to know who performed this miracle, but the man doesn’t know because Jesus blended back in with the massive crowds there in Jerusalem for the festival. Wha... Read more

Rev. Kevin Martin, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 4. Jesus meets a woman at a well and asks for a drink of water, just like the patriarchs did in several Old Testament stories. In the Old Testament, the patriarchs found their wives at the well—what is Jesus doing here, in Samaria of all places? Is there more to this encounter than meets the eye? Before the... Read more

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Ministries in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 3. John 3:16 is one of the best-known verses in the entire Bible, but are we missing its full meaning? John chapter 3 answers the questions “How?” and “Where?” How do I receive the new life of the kingdom of God? Where can I go to find it? Jesus’s answer: you need the rebirth of the Spirit, and you’ll find it... Read more

Rev. Kevin Parviz, pastor of Congregation Chai v’Shalom in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 2. Students of the Bible are often confused by John chapter 2. Why is it that Jesus’s first miracle, turning water into wine, is only recorded in John? And why is it that John says that Jesus drove the money changers out of the Temple at the very beginning of His ministry, but the other Gospels say it happened ... Read more

Rev. Dr. Mark Wood, Director of Witness & Outreach, and Revitalization for the LCMS, joins new host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study John 1. John goes all the way back to Genesis to show that God’s Messiah is much, much bigger than we thought. The Messiah was chosen before the creation itself; He is no “plan B”! He is the very voice of God that said “Let there be light!” and He has been alive and active in the world this whole time from ... Read more

2 Peter 3: The Day of the Lord Will Come with guest Rev. Joel Shaltanis from Lord of Life Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas. Rev. Weedon also announces the end of his time as host of Thy Strong Word and introduces the new host, Rev. AJ Espinosa, Adjunct Professor at Concordia University Irvine.

2 Peter 2: False Prophets & Teachers with guest Rev. Curtis Deterding from Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida.

2 Peter 1: Make Your Calling & Election Sure with guest host Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, and guest Rev. Tim Ostermeyer from Hope Lutheran Church in St. Ann, Missouri.

1 Peter 5: Shepherd the Flock of God with guest host Rev. John Lukomski, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Darmstadt & St. Paul Lutheran Church in New Athens, Illinois, and guest Rev. Matt Tooman from Immanuel Lutheran Church in Wahpeton, North Dakota.

1 Peter 4: Stewards of God’s Grace with guest host Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, and guest Rev. Matt Zickler from Grace Lutheran Church in Western Springs, Illinois.

On Sharathon today, Rev. Marcus Zill and Kantor Phillip Magness join Ian Burger to talk about the mission of KFUO Radio and encourage you to support us. Give today at kfuo.org/sharathon.