Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

Rev. Dr. Alfonso Espinosa, pastor of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Irvine, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 10. What does the number seven mean, spiritually speaking? Picking up a little bit more of chapter 9 from last time, we consider how creation, wholeness, perfection, peace, and revenge are all tied together in this single number. Rather than counting the 490 years from a secular perspective, we should ... Read more

Rev. Timothy Appel, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Smithville, Texas, and host of Sharper Iron on KFUO Radio, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 9. Find Sharper Iron episodes at kfuo.org/sharperiron. In the wake of his troubling visions, Daniel turns to Scripture. When he encounters Jeremiah’s prophecy of the 70-year exile, he turns in repentance on behalf of the whole people of God. His prayer here in chapter 9 shows... Read more

Rev. Nabil Nour, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Hartford, South Dakota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 8. A few years after Daniel’s vision of the four beasts, Daniel has another vision of two beasts: a ram who is defeated by a goat with conspicuous horns. In Daniel 8, the angel Gabriel explains the vision’s meaning in detail: the Macedonian Empire (under the goat’s great horn, Alexander the Great) is about to r... Read more

Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 41. We can’t bring ourselves to have hope for the future or joy in the present unless God reminds us of His past and present goodness. When we are too busy to stop and recall God’s grace, we rob ourselves! In Psalm 41, David begins by reminding himself of the blessings and aid of God that he has already enjoyed... Read more

Rev. Peter Bender, pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Sussex, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 7. The first half of Daniel gave us the stories of Daniel, his friends, and Nebuchadnezzar. For the second half, Daniel now turns to his own dreams and visionary experiences. In chapter 7, he describes his terrifying vision of four monstrous beasts: a lion with wings like an eagle, a monstrous bear, a four-headed le... Read more

Rev. Steven Theiss, retired pastor in Frohna, MO, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 6. Another classic Bible story: Envious politicians collude to rob Daniel of his exalted position. Daniel boldly worships Yahweh alone in defiance of the king’s edict. Daniel is thrown into the den of lions, but come morning, he miraculously emerges unscathed. The parallels abound. Daniel’s story in Babylon mirrors that of Joseph in Egyp... Read more

Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 5. “The writing’s on the wall” is a common phrase in English, but how many people know that it comes from the Bible? People still use the phrase, even in popular music, to refer to an ominous reckoning of some kind, but it originally referred to King Belshazzar’s fateful encounter with the hand of God. No one k... Read more

Rev. John Lukomski, retired pastor in Northlake, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 4. Most chapters of the Bible come to us from prophets and apostles. Daniel 4, however, takes the form of a letter from a pagan king! The destroyer of Jerusalem himself, the Babylonian emperor Nebuchadnezzar, offers praise to God for all to hear. He has finally been humbled. In his letter, he relates another dream experience wh... Read more

Rev. Bill Cwirla, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Hacienda Heights, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 3. Many of us have heard of the story of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego down in the fiery furnace. It’s the stuff of Sunday school and Veggie Tales. But what does it mean that the golden statue was 60 cubits high? Or that the fire was seven times hotter than normal? Or that the narrator keeps repea... Read more

Rev. Brian Kachelmeier, pastor of Redeemer Evangelical Lutheran Church in Los Alamos, New Mexico, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 2. Like Pharaoh in the days of Joseph, King Nebuchadnezzar starts having troubling dreams. The Babylonian king, however, is tired of soothsayers playing games: He wants someone to not only interpret his dream, but he wants someone first to accurately describe the dream without any prior know... Read more

Rev. Darrin Sheek, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Anaheim, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Daniel 1. Stories like Daniel in the Lions’ Den and The Fiery Furnace are Sunday school classics. Many of us have heard of Daniel’s friends, “Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.” But these were not their real names! Daniel 1 gives us the background for all these stories: God’s people were captured and deported by ... 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 1 John 5. “There are three that testify: the Spirit and the water and the blood.” John’s poetic language in the final chapter of his letter point to three real-life events when God publicly testified to the Messiah-ship of Jesus: His baptism, His crucifixion, and Pentecost. All three can be... Read more

Rev. Dr. Martin Noland, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in San Mateo, California, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 John 4. Many people have quoted from 1 John 4: “God is love” and “Test the spirits” among others. But what do these verses mean in context? John is talking about how to tell the difference between the Spirit of God and the spirit of antichrist. He’s still talking about this split that has occurred in the Christi... Read more

Host Rev. AJ Espinosa studies Psalm 40. Before we ask God for something, we should first thank Him for the prayers He has already answered. Psalm 40 gives us this form and pattern of prayer, not as a way of buttering God up, but as a way of reminding ourselves that God is indeed faithful and gracious. We can have faith in Him and present our petitions boldly. David praises God for saving him again and again, and he reflects on ho... Read more

Rev. Dr. George Lobien, retired pastor from Lakeside Lutheran Church in Venice, Florida, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 John 3. John wants his dear children in the faith to be absolutely clear: the other so-called Christians are actually “children of the devil”! As he said in the previous chapter, they are “anti-Christs,” a splinter group that has separated itself from fellowship with the apostles and with God. They have i... Read more

Rev. Curtis Deterding, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Fort Myers, Florida, joins guest host Rev. Michael Meyer, Manager Disaster Response for the LCMS Office of National Mission, to study 1 John 2. To ‘know’ Christ is to believe His Word and walk in a manner worthy of one who abides in the light, that is, a child of God. We are to love our neighbor as Christ first loved us, even as we love not the things of this world. Beware ... Read more

Rev. Matt Zickler, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Western Springs, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 John 1. If we deny that God became a real flesh-and-blood human being, then we are blind to our sins and captive to the darkness. What we do with our bodies matters to God! God created our bodies and the whole material world, and He has begun to save our bodies and restore this world in the resurrection of Jesus ... Read more

Rev. Christopher Maronde, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church — Bingen in Decatur, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 39. David tries to grin and bear his just punishment, but he can’t take it anymore. Yet in Psalm 39, rather than sinfully bursting out at the wicked, he bursts out at God in prayer. His cry for help is full of raw emotion and urgency—and it’s okay to pray like that! God can take it. David vents whi... Read more

Rev. Dr. Steve Schave, Director of Urban and Inner City Mission and Church Planting with the LCMS Office of National Mission, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Numbers 36. “At this rate, there won’t be anything left for our children!” This is a common sentiment in many areas of life. We all want our children and grandchildren to enjoy the same blessings that God has given us. In Numbers 36, the tribe of Manasseh realizes that a... Read more