Thy Strong Word from KFUO Radio

“Judge not.” “I can do all things.” “God won’t give you more than you can handle.” These are familiar words of Scripture that even many unbelievers know. Does Jesus forbid us to call anything sinful? Does God promise success at whatever we attempt? What happens when we must confront wickedness? What happens when we simply cannot handle any more suffering? On this Free Text First Friday, we put familiar Biblical quotations back in context and uncover the comfort we miss when a Bible passage becomes a slogan. The Rev. Jon Franson of St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Coffeyville, Kansas, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to explore frequently misunderstood and misquoted Bible passages. To learn more about St. Paul's in Coffeyville, visit splccoffeyville.org. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: [email protected].

Everyone seems to have something to say in Corinth, but who is being helped by what is heard? Paul would rather speak five understandable words than ten thousand in a tongue. He calls for speech that teaches, encourages, and consoles, then tells some speakers to wait, others to remain silent, and the Church to weigh what is said. His instructions also address women’s speaking in the assembly and confront those who claim spiritual authority while rejecting the Lord’s command. How does the Church distinguish a speaker’s desire to be heard from speech that builds up Christ’s people? The Rev. James Peterson of St. John Lutheran Church in Curtis, Nebraska, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 14:1–40. To learn more about St. John Lutheran in Curtis, visit facebook.com/stjohncurtis. What happens when Christians turn their pastors into rival teams, take one another to court, and leave their neighbors hungry at the Lord’s Supper? Corinth gives Paul plenty to write about. Questions about marriage, meat sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection bring the apostle into the daily life of a church struggling with pride and division. Through it all, he keeps bringing them back to Christ crucified and risen. In 2 Corinthians, the strained relationship between Paul and the people he loves brings its own painful questions about forgiveness, faithful ministry, suffering, and weakness. These letters give us the treasure in jars of clay, the promise of resurrection, and the assurance that Christ’s grace is sufficient. Join Thy Strong Word as we study 1 and 2 Corinthians verse by verse and hear what God speaks to a troubled church He has called His own. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: [email protected].

Imagine knowing every mystery, speaking with extraordinary eloquence, and giving away everything you own. Paul says that without love, even these impressive things amount to nothing. His familiar words about patience and kindness confront a congregation whose spiritual gifts have become occasions for envy and pride. What does love expose about the way we measure Christian maturity? And why will the gifts the Corinthians prize eventually pass away, while love endures when we finally see face to face? The Rev. Bryan Stecker joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 12:27–13:13. What happens when Christians turn their pastors into rival teams, take one another to court, and leave their neighbors hungry at the Lord’s Supper? Corinth gives Paul plenty to write about. Questions about marriage, meat sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection bring the apostle into the daily life of a church struggling with pride and division. Through it all, he keeps bringing them back to Christ crucified and risen. In 2 Corinthians, the strained relationship between Paul and the people he loves brings its own painful questions about forgiveness, faithful ministry, suffering, and weakness. These letters give us the treasure in jars of clay, the promise of resurrection, and the assurance that Christ’s grace is sufficient. Join Thy Strong Word as we study 1 and 2 Corinthians verse by verse and hear what God speaks to a troubled church He has called His own. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: [email protected].

Some Christians wonder whether they have anything to offer. Others act as though the Church could get along without everyone else. Paul answers both by pointing to the church as an image of a body that needs its eyes, hands, and feet, including the members that seem weakest. The Spirit who brings us to confess Jesus as Lord gives different gifts and joins us together in Baptism. What happens when we turn those gifts into a measure of someone’s importance? And how does belonging to one body change whose suffering we notice and whose joy we share? The Rev. Chris Matthis, senior pastor of Epiphany Lutheran Church in Castle Rock, Colorado, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 12:1–26. To learn more about Epiphany in Castle Rock, visit epiphanylc.org. What happens when Christians turn their pastors into rival teams, take one another to court, and leave their neighbors hungry at the Lord’s Supper? Corinth gives Paul plenty to write about. Questions about marriage, meat sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection bring the apostle into the daily life of a church struggling with pride and division. Through it all, he keeps bringing them back to Christ crucified and risen. In 2 Corinthians, the strained relationship between Paul and the people he loves brings its own painful questions about forgiveness, faithful ministry, suffering, and weakness. These letters give us the treasure in jars of clay, the promise of resurrection, and the assurance that Christ’s grace is sufficient. Join Thy Strong Word as we study 1 and 2 Corinthians verse by verse and hear what God speaks to a troubled church He has called His own. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: [email protected].

Some leave hungry while others have had too much to drink, and the Corinthians still call their gathering the Lord’s Supper. Paul brings them back to the night Jesus was betrayed and the words that make this meal His gift: “This is my body, which is for you.” The Apostle also warns that receiving unworthily brings judgment. How can the Sacrament given for forgiveness be received to a person’s harm? What does it mean to examine ourselves and discern Christ’s body without imagining we must become sinless before coming? The Rev. Steven Theiss, serving St. John Lutheran Church (AALC) in Pocahontas, Missouri, joins the Rev. Dr. Phil Booe to study 1 Corinthians 11:17–34. What happens when Christians turn their pastors into rival teams, take one another to court, and leave their neighbors hungry at the Lord’s Supper? Corinth gives Paul plenty to write about. Questions about marriage, meat sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection bring the apostle into the daily life of a church struggling with pride and division. Through it all, he keeps bringing them back to Christ crucified and risen. In 2 Corinthians, the strained relationship between Paul and the people he loves brings its own painful questions about forgiveness, faithful ministry, suffering, and weakness. These letters give us the treasure in jars of clay, the promise of resurrection, and the assurance that Christ’s grace is sufficient. Join Thy Strong Word as we study 1 and 2 Corinthians verse by verse and hear what God speaks to a troubled church He has called His own. Thy Strong Word, hosted by Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, pastor of St. John Lutheran Church of Luverne, MN, reveals the light of our salvation in Christ through study of God’s Word, breaking our darkness with His redeeming light. Each weekday, two pastors fix our eyes on Jesus by considering Holy Scripture, verse by verse, in order to be strengthened in the Word and be equipped to faithfully serve in our daily vocations. Submit comments or questions to: [email protected].