Practical Theology Commons^™

A Timely Word From Luther On Recruiting Young Men For Pastoral Ministry, David Peter

Concordia Journal

Luther’s admonition is one that is appropriate for parents and parishes today: “…your children are not so wholly yours that you need give nothing of them to God. He too will have what is rightfully his—and they are more his than yours!”

Pedagogy For A Politicized Church, Dale Meyer

Concordia Journal

Students will come, study, and leave Concordia Seminary either to join in the politicization of the church and thereby acquiesce to American culture or they will leave the seminary with body, soul, and spirit formed into the meaning and mission of the gospel of Jesus Christ with the wholesome result that evangelical persuasion will predominate in their ministries and in respect for all in the body of Christ.

Before Nature: A Christian Spiritual Paul Santmire, Beth Hoeltke

Concordia Journal

Throughout the book Santmire ties his and the reader’s spiritual journey together with what he calls the “the Trinity Prayer.”

Blood And Life: Sermons On The Old Testament By Michael Kasting, Francis Rossow

Concordia Journal

Kasting’s sermons do more than delight—they are “the power of God for our salvation.” I sometimes quip to my homiletics students, “Anyone can write an occasional good sermon; the trick is to write a good sermon time after time.”

Epiphany 3 • 1 Corinthians 7:29–31 (32–35) • January 25, 2015, David Schmitt

Concordia Journal

Instead, what Paul wants to foster among us today is a conversation about life in Christ and how our joys and our sorrows, our buying and our selling, yes even our marriages and our singleness lead us closer to him.

Christmas 1 • Galatians 4:4–7 • December 28, 2014, Glenn Nielsen

Concordia Journal

This is what the family of God looks like when adopted by our Abba Father because of the Christmas gift named Jesus, and the Holy Spirit forming his fruit in us brothers and sisters.

Advent 4 • Romans 16:25–27 • December 21, 2014, Benjamin Haupt

Concordia Journal

On the final Sunday of Advent, just a few days before the glorious celebration of Christmas, these three verses at the end of the Epistle to the Romans are full of homiletical possibility.

Advent 2 • 2 Peter 3:8–14 • December 7, 2014, Jeff Thormodson

Concordia Journal

The goal of the sermon is not for the hearer to make time for witnessing and outreach as if it is another thing the baptized must do; rather, witnessing and outreach should happen naturally by how Christians live all the time.

Advent 1 • 1 Corinthians 1:3–9 • November 30, 2014, David Johnson

Concordia Journal

The church becomes that vessel of incarnate grace where we are saturated in baptismal living waters that have claimed, redeemed, and forgiven us.

Proper 27 • Amos 5:18–24 • November 9, 2014, Richard Marrs

Concordia Journal

Through Amos, Yahweh roars judgment to the neighboring kingdoms around Judah and Israel.

Engaging Our Culture Faithfully, Harold Senkbeil

Concordia Journal

If the problem we face is not the secularization of society but the secularization of the church brought about by importing expressive individualism into the church, then we simply cannot face contemporary challenges individually.

Christ Coming To Us Luther’S Rhetoric Of Location, Trevor Sutton

Concordia Journal

Christ comes to a people and a place through the proclamation of God’s word.

Rev. A. Trevor Sutton is currently working on his PhD at Concordia Seminary.

Helpers Of Joy, Dale Meyer

Concordia Journal

I’m inviting you to come with us, come experience a gospel-dominated culture, come contribute to a culture based on Jesus, the “yes” to all God’s promises, come onboard the USS Concordia.

Dust And Breath: Faith, Health, And Why The Church Should Care About Both By Kend Hotz And Matthew Mathews, Nicholas Fuller

Concordia Journal

Through individual case studies from inner city Memphis, the book illustrates instances of illness that can be connected pastorally with sin and redemption through faith in Christ.

How Jesus Became God: The Exaltation Of A Jewish Preacher From Galiee By Bart Ehrman, John Genter

Concordia Journal

The key is to avoid letting the analogies steamroll the critical differences. This is what goes wrong in the opening chapters of How Jesus Became God. More attention is due to the actual religious life of the relevant practitioners in everyday life.

Reformation Day • Revelation 14:6–7 • October 26, 2014, Bruce Hartung

Concordia Journal

Our God, our “ever present help in distress” is present with us in Christ who holds us tightly and sustains us with his Spirit in the bread and wine of the Eucharist, the waters of our baptism, the ingestion of his word and the company of the saints who surround us in the community of his followers.

Proper 22 • Isaiah 5:1–7 • October 5, 2014, Dale Meyer

Concordia Journal

God loved his Israel, his “pleasant planting.” He planted them to do good works, specifically to bring justice and righteousness to all people, but they gave him “wild grapes.”

Proper 19 • Genesis 50:15–21 • September 14, 2014, Paul Philp

Concordia Journal

Filled with fear before the power of Joseph to kill them, and in the absence of Jacob to protect them, they come face-to-face with the temporal consequences of their sins.

Proper 18 • Ezekiel 33:7–9 • September 7, 2014, David Wollenburg

Concordia Journal

In the chapter that follows our text for today Ezekiel points us to the Messiah as the true Shepherd who will deliver and feed his flock, in Jesus we know that that has happened and continues to happen yet today.

Proper 17 • Jeremiah 15:15–21 • August 31, 2014, Ernest Bernet

Concordia Journal

Though the Lord “understands,” Jeremiah grieves over the persecution he is suffering and questions whether the Lord will be “like a deceptive brook.”

Proper 16 • Isaiah 51:1–6 • August 24, 2014, Francis Rossow

Concordia Journal

This passage is about the end times in which the gospel is not only present (as it is in all such readings) but in which it predominates.

Proper 15 • Isaiah 56:1, 6–8 • August 17, 2014, Robert W. Weise

Concordia Journal

hose whom the Lord has bound to himself through the waters of baptism, establishing the Christian’s identity, serve him and love the name that is above every name—Jesus Christ.

Empowering Confident Confessor-Servant Evangelists Twenty-First-Century Multicultural Mission Work, Gregory Seltz

Concordia Journal

Amid such real tensions the church of Jesus Christ is challenged to be the body of Christ for others, to build bridges, to more boldly speak Christ’s message beyond the safety of its confessional walls.

Young Christians And Sharing The Faith: Room For Improvement, Sarah Guldalian

Concordia Journal

This research has demonstrated that there is much room for improvement in terms of the confidence and capacity for faith-conversations between young adults. Yet, I was encouraged to find that gaps could be filled through simple evangelism training.

A Special Kinship, Kurt Buchholz

Concordia Journal

Lutheran Hour Ministries enjoys a kinship with Concordia Seminary historically as well as today.

How Can We Help You?, Dale Meyer

Concordia Journal

Concordia Seminary is committed to providing to all the baptized of The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod theological resources that are helpful for faith and life.

Mentoring With Common Sense, By Roy W. Harris And Alton Loveless, Philip Tse

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

MENTORING WITH COMMON SENSE By Roy W. Harris and Alton Loveless. Ashville, OH: FWB Publications (2015) Paperback, 140 pages

"Although the concept of mentoring has been around since the beginning of mankind and emerged with emphasis during the mid-1700s, mentoring has become a hot topic only in recent years. in view of the importance of a mentor and the benefits to the mentees, this book illustrates the steps to becoming a good mentor and the ins and outs of mentoring. the author points out that most of us have been mentored at some point in our lives; he strongly encourages …

What Is A "Community" Church Plant?, Hyveth Williams

Journal of Applied Christian Leadership

"A community plant is one that focuses on the health of the community. this means that you focus on the health of all of the churches in the community, regardless of the denomination, and the health of the people who live in the community, because a healthy community breeds healthy children. And what we are planting, what we want it to be is a healthy church."

Six Principles To Consider When Working With Roman Catholic Clients, Thomas G. Plante

Psychology

Although the majority of Americans consider themselves to be Christian and affiliated with various Protestant denominations, a quarter of the American population identify themselves as Roman Catholics who are the largest single religious denomination in the country. Yet, surprisingly, fairly little research has been published in the professional psychology literature about working with this very large and diverse group. Psychologists have an ethical responsibility to be aware of and respectful to diversity including diversity based on religious background, affiliation, and perspectives. The purpose of this brief reflection is to offer 6 important principles to keep in mind for professional psychologists …

Flight Lead: The Mission Of A Father And Husband, John Marselus

Doctoral Dissertations and Projects

Similar to fighter pilot flight leads, the Lord created multiple roles and responsibilities for husbands and fathers to lead their families. Millions of dollars are invested into the training and readiness of a fighter pilot to lead a flight into combat. Flight leads must perform multiple missions to ensure the success of friendly armed forces against their enemy. The multiple roles and responsibilities for husbands and fathers are remarkably similar to the functions a flight lead must execute to successfully complete a mission. This study compares the author’s military experience with scholarly research, Scriptural analysis, quantitative survey, and case study …