Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio
Thy Strong Word is a daily in-depth study of the books of the Bible with host Rev. AJ Espinosa and guest pastors from across the country. Thy Strong Word is graciously underwritten by the Lutheran Heritage Foundation and produced by the LCMS Office of National Mission.
Episodes
August 12, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. John Shank, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Edwardsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 6.
“To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong?” What we have in the body of Christ is more important than our own rights, wealth, or property—what a different perspective Paul gives in chapter 6! But it’s the consequence of seeing our fellow Christi...
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August 11, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 5.
“Deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.” The sexually immoral should be kicked out, Paul says in 1 Corinthians 6. But how is that loving?
Like us, the Corinthians were proud of themselves for being so tole...
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August 10, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Doug Nicely, pastor of Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 4.
“Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love in a spirit of gentleness?” Paul’s sarcastic and almost threatening language in chapter 4 may seem un-apostle-like, but Paul speaks to the Corinthians with the familiarity and intimacy of a father to his children. And a good parent calls out their child...
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August 7, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Ryan Fehrman, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Wausau, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 3.
“I fed you with milk, not solid food, for you were not ready for it.” We sometimes talk about being “spiritually fed” as if we were the ones managing our spiritual diet. But Paul in 1 Corinthians 3 says that we’re like children, plants, or buildings—someone else manages the diet or project. As Christians we...
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August 6, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Andrew Jagow, pastor of Bethany Lutheran Church in Alexandria, Virginia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 2.
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, [...] but we have the mind of Christ.” People use a lot of the same words that Christians use: love, faith, spirit, heaven—but do they use them with the same meaning? In 1 Corinthians 2 Paul builds on his a...
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August 5, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Rolf Preus, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Sidney & St. John Lutheran Church in Fairview, Montana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study 1 Corinthians 1.
“Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.” Paul shows pastoral care and brilliant rhetoric from the very first words of 1 Corinthians. He names the overarchin...
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August 4, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Ingo Dutzmann, retired LCMS pastor in Sebascodegan Island, Maine, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 40.
“Moses was not able to enter the tent of meeting because the cloud settled on it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” Although prior to Exodus 40 Moses had spoken to God “face to face, as a man speaks to his friend,” here in the final chapter God inhabits the Tabernacle in all His glory, such that no...
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August 3, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Delwyn Campbell, domestic missionary and pastor of St. John Evangelical Lutheran Church & Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Gary, Indiana, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 94. Learn more about Pastor Campbell and how to support his work at lcms.org/campbell.
“O God of vengeance, shine forth! Rise up, O judge of the earth; repay to the proud what they deserve!” Does the Bible really say that? Yes it does, in Psalm...
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July 31, 2020 • 43 min
Rev. Ned Moerbe, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church in Blackwell, Oklahoma, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 39.
“Moses saw all the work, and behold, they had done it; as the LORD had commanded, so had they done it. Then Moses blessed them.” It was heaven on earth—like the paradise of Genesis, a place where God was intimately present among His people. Exodus 39 describes the Tabernacle as a new creation that anticipates ...
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July 30, 2020 • 55 min
Rev. Warren Woerth, pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Arnold, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 38.
$160 million dollars’ worth—that’s how much gold “was used for the work, in all the construction of the sanctuary.” What does Exodus 38 teach us? It’s not about money or precious metals as much as God’s image. Whatever we “pour” our hearts into and “cast” our aspirations on should represent God and His d...
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July 29, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 37.
“He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense.” Does this worship smell right? Exodus 37 continues the review of two things that went wrong at the golden calf festival: the misuse of gold to build an idol, and the immoral actions of its fertility cult. God is the creator of all; there a...
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July 29, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Brady Finnern, pastor of Messiah Lutheran Church in Sartell, Minnesota, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 37.
“He made the holy anointing oil also, and the pure fragrant incense.” Does this worship smell right? Exodus 37 continues the review of two things that went wrong at the golden calf festival: the misuse of gold to build an idol, and the immoral actions of its fertility cult. God is the creator of all; there a...
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July 28, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. John Lukomski, retired LCMS pastor and co-host of Wrestling with the Basics on KFUO Radio, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 36.
“So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more.“ For all the details that are exactly the same, this stands out as a tremendous difference in Exodus 36. Before the people reluctantly parted with a mere sampling of earring...
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July 27, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. David Boisclair, pastor of Faith and Bethesda Lutheran Churches in North St. Louis County, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 35.
“You shall kindle no fire in all your dwelling places on the Sabbath day.” This isn’t about whether you’re allowed to start your car or reignite your pilot light. Exodus 35 begins with the gracious announcement that God really gives His people true rest—they don’t even have to be...
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July 24, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Chris Biernacki, pastor of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in Florence, Alabama, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 34.
“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.” Even after everything that happened, God is still willing to put the same offer before Israel, writing down the very same Commandments with His finger. But first, Exodus 34 tells us that ...
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July 23, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Kevin Martin, pastor of Our Savior Lutheran Church in Raleigh, North Carolina, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 33.
“Go up to a land flowing with milk and honey; but I will not go up among you, lest I consume you on the way, for you are a stiff-necked people.” Ouch. Exodus 33 can come off pretty harsh, but this needs to be understood in light of the intimate relationship between God and Moses—it’s as if God is blow...
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July 22, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Joe Cox, Theology teacher at Lutheran High School South in St. Louis, Missouri, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 32.
“So they gave [their gold] to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.” Aaron’s attempt to shift the blame only heightens the drama in Exodus 32. As reasonable as their action was—Moses was presumed dead, the idol was meant to represent Yahweh, and the bull was an anti-Egyptian Canaa...
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July 21, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Paul Cain, pastor of Immanuel Lutheran Church in Sheridan, Wyoming, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 31.
If the church is Israel, why don’t Christians observe the Sabbath? It’s the worship practice “above all” others, for all “generations, as a covenant forever.” This is how Exodus 31 concludes God’s explanation of Israel’s worship, even prescribing the death penalty for its violation. Yet the Sabbath is not about ...
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July 20, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. Nathan Meador, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church in Plymouth, Wisconsin, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Psalm 114 & Psalm 115.
Have we been idolizing freedom? Has God driven us outside? Psalms 114 and 115 as we know them work together as a single “hallelujah” song, with refrains of taunting and triumph. These times are not unprecedented, because we see the pattern in God’s Word. The Word drives us to repent and giv...
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July 17, 2020 • 54 min
Rev. George Murdaugh, pastor of Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Douglasville, Georgia, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Exodus 30.
“You shall make of these a sacred anointing oil blended as by the perfumer; it shall be a holy anointing oil. [...] Whoever compounds any like it or whoever puts any of it on an outsider shall be cut off from his people.” The LORD’s exclusive brand of cologne? Exodus 30 deals with the reality th...
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