When Jesus asks His disciples in Matthew 16, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” They come up with answers like “John the Baptist” and “Elijah”. How do you think people would respond if we did a man-on-the-street type interview and asked people who they thought Jesus was?  When I’ve seen that…

Do you know the story of St. Christopher? Christopher was a big man, around 7 foot tall. He was working as a mercenary when he became interested in Christianity and asked a hermit-monk to teach him. After Christopher was baptized, he asked how he could personally live out his faith. The hermit at first responded…

It’s been a doozy of a week this week in the University Lutheran church building. Obviously, being under a hurricane warning was a part of that. Also, the HVAC unit for the resident apartment went out and will have to be replaced. Lastly, the network external hard drive that we keep a lot of files…

I knew a student once whose goal it was to enter into the Department of State as an ambassador. In preparation she learned several languages during her undergraduate degree and took courses in political science and international studies. When we were talking about her course work, however, she noted that it was surprising that there…

Last week, one of the big news stories came out of China as people were accusing staff at the Hangzhou Zoo of putting humans in bear costumes instead of displaying real bears. The zoo’s display of Malaysian Sun Bears got some attention after videos of the bears standing upright went viral. Of course the accusations…

Our Sunday morning Bible study from 9:30am to 10:30am chooses their own topics most of the time. Recently we finished up studying the life of Paul the Apostle. Starting this Sunday, we are going to be studying Old Testament Typology and Prophecy — in other words, “Where is Jesus in the Old Testament?”  The question…

This Saturday will mark my 16th year in pastoral ministry. In many ways it has flown past. I can still remember the first days of being here. I remember visiting the church building with Liz for the first time before my ordination. I remember settling into the office. I remember working out the kinks of…

This week Ai Bao, a panda in a South Korean zoo/theme park, gave birth to twin baby panda cubs. If you look at the pictures however, you may wonder if something weird happened with the two girls. They are largely hairless, pink-skinned, skinny little things. Not exactly what you would think of when you think…

What benefits do you receive when you take the Sacrament of the Altar? Flies. That is how a fellow pastor taught his confirmation students. “Flies” is a mnemonic device that stands for “Forgiveness” “LIfe” and “Salvation” (F-Li-S). Those are the things that Martin Luther wrote in his Small Catechism about what we receive when we…