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Signs And Christology In John 6:1-21 In Light Of Jewish And Greco-Roman Frames Of Reference: Prophet, King, And Revealer Of God, Craig R. Koester Jan 2021

Signs And Christology In John 6:1-21 In Light Of Jewish And Greco-Roman Frames Of Reference: Prophet, King, And Revealer Of God, Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Murmuring Met With Mercy And Grace: An Examination Of The Pre-Sinai Wilderness Wanderings Traditions, Anna Rask Jan 2020

Murmuring Met With Mercy And Grace: An Examination Of The Pre-Sinai Wilderness Wanderings Traditions, Anna Rask

Master of Theology Theses

While various OT and NT authors may employ the wilderness wanderings traditions for their own purposes, the traditions themselves generally present the Israelites in a negative light. This negative presentation is primarily due to the murmuring motif. This essay revealed the stereotyped verbs and collocations of the motif in addition to the variety of forms the murmurings can take, a prominent form being an accusatory question. When the stereotyped verbs and collocations do not occur, it is the presence of an accusatory question with stereotypical content and language regarding the Israelites’ life in Egypt and their exodus that signals the …


Preaching The Law With The Gospel, Jonathan Saur Jan 2020

Preaching The Law With The Gospel, Jonathan Saur

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Preaching tools like the Revised Common Lectionary infrequently draw preachers to the legal texts of the Pentateuch, even though the New Testament, and especially the four Gospels, are heavily influenced by the legal texts of the Pentateuch. Congregations are at a disadvantage in understanding the New Testament message when one of the primary sources that shaped the New Testament is ignored. This study addresses this problem by utilizing relevant scholarship focused on New Testament interpretation of the legal texts to develop suggestions for preaching these texts. The four gospels are surveyed to glean insights into how they interpret the legal …


There Is A Word: Using A Queer Hermeneutic Toward Liberative And Prophetic Biblical Preaching, Dewayne L. Davis Jan 2020

There Is A Word: Using A Queer Hermeneutic Toward Liberative And Prophetic Biblical Preaching, Dewayne L. Davis

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Preaching to, for, and about LGBTQ people is too often characterized by ambivalence, homophobia, and microaggressions couched as speaking truth in love. And yet, the biblical text includes themes, images, and stories with liberating and prophetic messages for LGBTQ people that include and affirm them within the body of Christ. This thesis argues that preachers can proclaim a liberating, prophetic word for the LGBTQ people within their congregations by using a queer hermeneutic, the intentional and conscious interpretation of the biblical text using the experience, information, and knowledge about LGBTQ people as the lens through which to bridge the world …


Invisible Poverty: Awareness, Attitudes, And Action, Joseph W. Johnson Jan 2020

Invisible Poverty: Awareness, Attitudes, And Action, Joseph W. Johnson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

In small-town rural America, we do not tend to see poverty. Poverty is relatively invisible, especially among our youth and children. Invisible Poverty explores the issues, challenges, stereotypes, and causes of small-town rural poverty while presenting possible solutions. Drawing from Alvin Luedke, Craig Van Gelder, Alan Roxburgh, Patrick Keifert, Cynthia Duncan, and Shannon Jung, Invisible Poverty presents a missional theology of accompaniment seeking justice and avoiding shame. In an effort to understand the complexity of rural poverty, Invisible Poverty asks; How might Action Research interventions affect awareness, attitudes, and actions of the congregation concerning the issues of poverty?


Proclaiming Jubilee: Preaching That Sets Women Free, Jennifer Michelle Benson Moran Jan 2020

Proclaiming Jubilee: Preaching That Sets Women Free, Jennifer Michelle Benson Moran

Doctor of Ministry Theses

In Luke 4, Jesus outlines his mission: to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and free the oppressed. Yet the marginalization and oppression of women have been structurally normalized throughout history, both in secular society as well as Christian culture. Through historical, cultural, biblical, exegetical, hermeneutical, and homiletical analysis, this study posits that a jubilee homiletic is a crucial part of embodying liberation from textual interpretations that have prioritized those who are privileged, so that women may reclaim scripture as a source of freedom.


Do You Hear What I Hear? Discernment And Dialogue In A Secular Age, Andrew J. Schlecht Jan 2020

Do You Hear What I Hear? Discernment And Dialogue In A Secular Age, Andrew J. Schlecht

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This Participatory Action Research (PAR) utilized a mixed methods approach to address an adaptive challenge in a Lutheran church in a bedroom community in a small town and rural setting. The research involved implementing PAR interventions that cultivated four spiritual capacities: see, hear, know, and say within the realm of faith formation. Results suggest the Holy Spirit initiated a process of cultural adaptation as participants began reframing their world view, having their missional imagination transformed, discerning the triune God’s active presence, and engaging in dialogue.


The Social Role Of Worship: A Reading Of Micah 6:1-8, Khin Win Kyi Jan 2020

The Social Role Of Worship: A Reading Of Micah 6:1-8, Khin Win Kyi

Master of Theology Theses

This thesis provides exegesis of Micah 6:1-8 with particular focus on the relationship between worship and social ethics, as well as a consideration of the implications of this passage for the Chin Christian community.


The Healing At The Pool Of Bethesda (John 5:1-18): A Study In Light Of The Archaeological Evidence From Bethesda, Jewish And Greco-Roman Practice, And The Johannine Narrative, Craig R. Koester Jan 2019

The Healing At The Pool Of Bethesda (John 5:1-18): A Study In Light Of The Archaeological Evidence From Bethesda, Jewish And Greco-Roman Practice, And The Johannine Narrative, Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Remember My Chains: New Testament Perspectives On Incarceration, Matthew L. Skinner Jul 2018

Remember My Chains: New Testament Perspectives On Incarceration, Matthew L. Skinner

Faculty Publications

Understanding the physical realities and social attitudes concerning incarceration in the ancient world provides a fuller context to the New Testament’s unadorned and ambiguous references to people’s experience of being held in custody. The context is crucial for interpreting biblical passages that commend caring for prisoners, that reaffirm God’s strength and nullify the ignominy associated with incarceration, and that declare God’s power over the means and motives of imperial coercion. Such passages also compel the contemporary church to advocate on behalf of prisoners and to denounce the systems that regularly victimize them.


Nearer My God To Thee: How Biblical Preaching Fosters Intimacy With God, Warren Lee Domenick Jr May 2018

Nearer My God To Thee: How Biblical Preaching Fosters Intimacy With God, Warren Lee Domenick Jr

Doctor of Ministry Theses

We desire it. We long to be in its presence. We look for it in everything we see and hear and smell and touch and taste. We someday hope to have it surrounding us, holding us close. It is intimacy with God. Moreover, in it, we are somehow able to find a connection with God. Intimacy with God first belongs to God. God is the measure by which all intimacy is evaluated. Some would say that God is intimacy. God is revealed to us through intimacy which is both accurate and right; one might say, an intimacy that is authentic …


Real People, Real Faith, Real God: Encountering The Divine In Preaching Biblical Characters, Cynthia Halvorson May 2018

Real People, Real Faith, Real God: Encountering The Divine In Preaching Biblical Characters, Cynthia Halvorson

Doctor of Ministry Theses

Using the Action/Reflection method, this project examines sermons which aim at the heart by using character development within a storytelling sermon style. This thesis considers the effectiveness of intentional reimagining of biblical witnesses by overlying behavioral styles and archetypical fears and desires onto various characters of the Gospel of John. It designs a methodology for intentional development of characters and examines the responses of the listeners. It asserts the value of creating space within a sermon for the listener to encounter the Divine by identifying with the people of scripture.


Confessional Biblical Preaching In The Face Of Whiteness: Challenging The Preacher’S Understanding Of White Supremacy, Laurie P. Feille May 2018

Confessional Biblical Preaching In The Face Of Whiteness: Challenging The Preacher’S Understanding Of White Supremacy, Laurie P. Feille

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis addresses the need for preachers to hear the voices of people of color, to hear the “prophets in the streets,” specifically African-Americans, and to have their eyes opened to their own white privilege and role in white supremacy. This thesis argues that this is an important step in preachers finding their confessional voices for preaching before they can begin to help the individual members of those congregations become aware of their individual and collective white privilege and role in white supremacy. With the help of black clergy a “Twin Cities Pilgrimage” was created. This involved learning the stories …


(Re)Discovering A Midrashic Biblical Imagination For The Progressive-Liberal Community, Elisabeth R. Jones May 2018

(Re)Discovering A Midrashic Biblical Imagination For The Progressive-Liberal Community, Elisabeth R. Jones

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis presents the case for the development of a sustainable community practice of midrashic biblical imagination as a catalyst for transformative engagement with the Bible in progressive Christian congregations. Notes that a midrashic imagination applied to the polyvalent testimonies of the biblical canon is an apt partner for post- modern, progressive congregations, whose theology embraces diversity, plurality, and critique of hegemonic structures. Uses a longitudinal qualitative methodology, with Appreciative Inquiry, to trace the various methods used for cultivating curiosity among Scriptural skeptics over nine years, concluding with the Midrashic Imagination Project, which involves the community in study, worship, preaching …


Recapture The Call: A Theology Of Preaching As Proclamation In The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Tricia L. Tedrow May 2018

Recapture The Call: A Theology Of Preaching As Proclamation In The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), Tricia L. Tedrow

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This thesis explores preaching as proclamation in light of recent changes to the title and description for ordained ministers in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Reflection on Scripture, confessional statements of the denomination and writings on the theology of preaching lead to a theology of preaching as proclamation written by the author. Two sermons are compared to show how the creation of a theology of preaching sharpens one’s preaching. The thesis concludes with reflections on how style, voice and the issue of power in proclamation have a place in the future of preaching in the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).


Liberating The Imago Dei: An Examination Of Jewish And Christian Feminist Biblical Anthropology, Carissa S. Wyant May 2018

Liberating The Imago Dei: An Examination Of Jewish And Christian Feminist Biblical Anthropology, Carissa S. Wyant

Doctor of Philosophy Theses

This study provides a comparative analysis of the work of Roman Catholic feminist theologian Elizabeth Johnson and that of Jewish feminist theologian Judith Plaskow, who have both sought to reconstruct the Imago Dei (“image of God”) within their respective traditions. By way of this analysis, it makes a methodological and a substantive contribution. Methodologically, it expands on Elizabeth Schüssler-Fiorenza’s feminist critical approach to reading Scripture by relating it to Francis Clooney’s comparative theological approach to reading texts in religious traditions other than one’s own. Although there have been attempts at comparisons of various religious traditions from a feminist perspective, this …


And Their Eyes Were Opened: The Call To Paradox, Bruce L. Jacobson May 2018

And Their Eyes Were Opened: The Call To Paradox, Bruce L. Jacobson

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.


The Word-Of-God Conflict In The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod In The 20th Century, Donn Wilson Apr 2018

The Word-Of-God Conflict In The Lutheran Church Missouri Synod In The 20th Century, Donn Wilson

Master of Theology Theses

No abstract provided.


Looking High And Low For Salvation In Luke, Matthew L. Skinner Jan 2018

Looking High And Low For Salvation In Luke, Matthew L. Skinner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Spirit's Playground: How God Speaks Through Scripture To Develop Contagious Missional Imagination, Sarah Birkedal Nye Jan 2018

The Spirit's Playground: How God Speaks Through Scripture To Develop Contagious Missional Imagination, Sarah Birkedal Nye

Doctor of Ministry Theses

This mixed method Action Research project sought to answer the question: How might an AR intervention involving engaging Scripture playfully expand missional imagination? The study documented play in the engagement of Scripture within worship services, Bible study, and board meeting devotions. Appreciative Inquiry interviews and a congregational event provided insight into the growth of missional imagination in this congregation. Lenses employed include those of the theology of play, narrative imagination, the Bible as metanarrative, the creative Word made flesh, playful passages, and participation in the perichoretic relationship of the triune God. Missional leadership is imagined as perichoretic play.


Jesus The Rabbi And Teacher In John's Gospel: The Gift Of Divine Instruction, Craig R. Koester Jan 2018

Jesus The Rabbi And Teacher In John's Gospel: The Gift Of Divine Instruction, Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Wedding At Cana (John 2:1-11): Reading The Text In The Cultural Context Of Ephesus, Craig R. Koester Jan 2017

The Wedding At Cana (John 2:1-11): Reading The Text In The Cultural Context Of Ephesus, Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Babylon And New Jerusalem In The Book Of Revelation: Imagery And Ethical Discernment., Craig R. Koester Jan 2017

Babylon And New Jerusalem In The Book Of Revelation: Imagery And Ethical Discernment., Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Image Of The Beast From The Land (Rev 13, 11-18): A Study In Incongruity, Craig R. Koester Jan 2017

The Image Of The Beast From The Land (Rev 13, 11-18): A Study In Incongruity, Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Image Of The Beast From The Land (Rev 13, 11-18): A Study In Incongruity., Craig R. Koester Jan 2017

The Image Of The Beast From The Land (Rev 13, 11-18): A Study In Incongruity., Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Who Speaks For (Or Against) Rome? Acts In Relation To Empire, Matthew L. Skinner Jan 2017

Who Speaks For (Or Against) Rome? Acts In Relation To Empire, Matthew L. Skinner

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


Genre, Theology, And The God Of The Psalms, Rolf A. Jacobson Jan 2017

Genre, Theology, And The God Of The Psalms, Rolf A. Jacobson

Faculty Publications

No abstract provided.


The Passover Sign: The People See The Prophet-King, Randal D. Reynolds Jan 2017

The Passover Sign: The People See The Prophet-King, Randal D. Reynolds

Master of Arts Theses

No abstract provided.


The Old Testament And The Neighbor, Rolf A. Jacobson, Karl Jacobson Jan 2017

The Old Testament And The Neighbor, Rolf A. Jacobson, Karl Jacobson

Faculty Publications

The dispute between Jesus and the legal expert in Luke over the question of “the neighbor” was certainly not a new conflict. It is possible to understand the Lucan exchange as a Midrash on sections from the Pentateuch and the Hebrew writings. Rolf and Karl Jacobson delve back into the Old Testament to find the roots of the Lucan dispute, and shed further light on this important biblical concept.


The Interplay Of Word And World: Biblical And Experiential Reflections, Craig R. Koester Oct 2016

The Interplay Of Word And World: Biblical And Experiential Reflections, Craig R. Koester

Faculty Publications

From his vantage as a New Testament scholar and seminary leader, Craig Koester reflects on the interchange between Word and World through the lens of biblical studies, especially through several examples. Koester is Vice President of Academic Affairs, Professor and Asher O. and Carrie Nasby Chair of New Testament at Luther Seminary.