KFUO Radio - 90 Years of Sharing the Gospel

90 YEARS in 90 DAYS --- KFUO Radio is celebrating its 90^th Anniversary of broadcasting the Good News of Jesus Christ.  This week, we celebrate our 90^th Birthday with a special Chapel Service on Monday, December 15th preached by President Matt. Harrison and followed by a Open House event. The chapel will be broadcast at 10am Central time, and if you are in the St. Louis area, you are welcome to come and enjoy some Anniversary cake after chapel, visit our studios and see our KFUO exhibit. Find us at kfuo.org and follow us at Facebook.com/KFUOradio.

News from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis

Lectionary at Lunch - Live

You've been listening to Lectionary at Lunch for years, now join the conversation live. Starting in December you can watch Prof. Tom Egger live online Tuesdays from noon - 12:45pm CST as he walks through the Old Testament pericopes. No registration is required, just click the link www.csl.edu/live to join the discussion.

Joel Elowsky

Old & New Featured at Winter Lay Bible Institute 

Join us on Saturday, January 17, as Joel Elowsky presents "Where Eagles Soar: Reading the Gospel of John with the Early Church Fathers." The Study will include a close reading of texts, provide insights from history, and apply them to a 21st-century perspective of Scripture 

Click here for more information or to register.

Luther Academy Moves

Luther Academy Moves To CTS Campus

For Immediate Release December 10, 2014 FORT WAYNE, Ind.—Luther Academy has relocated its headquarters from Wisconsin to the campus of Concordia Theological Seminary (CTS), Fort Wayne, Indiana. Luther Academy was established in 1991 by the Rev. Dr. Robert Preus, a former president of CTS, to promote confessional Lutheran theology and research through conferences, scholarly exchanges and publications that assist the church both to preserve and proclaim to the world the Gospel of Jesus, the only saving faith. “Our goal is to promote confessional Lutheran theology and assist Lutheran church partners in their efforts to proclaim the Gospel. Luther Academy’s connection to CTS will help facilitate the establishment and nurturing of such relationships. Moreover, Luther Academy has worked closely with the CTS faculty, drawing on their talents to provide for many of its continuing education conferences,” explains the Rev. Dr. Robert Bennett, executive director of Luther Academy. “Throughout the year Lutherans from all parts of the world gather on the CTS campus to attend events like the Symposia Series and Good Shepherd Institute. Such gatherings provide the perfect environment for Luther Academy to reach out to Lutheran church partners and develop relationships.” Bennett also serves as a guest professor of Missions at CTS. Resources offered by Luther Academy include LOGIA: A Journal of Lutheran Theology, The Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics series, The Pieper Lectures and Luther Digest. Other publications include various festschrifts and an upcoming three volume collection of unpublished works of the late Prof. Kurt Marquart. For additional information concerning Luther Academy go to www.LutherAcademy.com, email bennett@lutheracademy.com or phone 260-452-3201.          Share ###   Concordia Theological Seminary exists to form servants in Jesus Christ who teach the faithful, reach the lost, and care for all.  Founded in 1846, CTS is a seminary of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS). Learn more about CTS at www.ctsfw.edu and the LCMS at www.lcms.org. For additional information concerning educational opportunities and events at CTS, please contact: Jayne Sheafer, CTS Director of Public Relations, 260-452-2250 or SeminaryRelations@ctsfw.edu. If you no longer wish to receive these updates, you may opt-out.

Mission Prayer Partners

Mission Prayer Partners

December 2014
Southeastern District
LC-MS 

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ. Colossians 4: 2-3.

Dear Mission Prayer Partners,

Greetings in these days of Advent Anticipation. This past weekend I watched my 4-year-old and 2-year-old grandsons gather the pieces of several different nativities and make their own - truly a mix of old and new, wood and cloth, big and little. As I watched the Nativity tableau grow and heard the story being told by two little boys, I was amazed at how they captured a much bigger picture of the birth of the Savior of the World. A Savior who came for all people - shepherds and kings. A Savior who came for the people of the world. A Savior who comes for you and me. As you prepare for these holy days of Christmas, take time to linger at the stable and to give thanks to God who comes to dwell among us - each of us - that we would know his grace and salvation for all.

In your prayers during these days before Christmas, please remember the following ministries:

Iglesia Luterana Nueva Vida Church

SED President Rev Denninger and Pastor Lopez

On Monday, December 1 the Southeastern District Board of Directors approved the Constitution and Bylaws Iglesia Luterana Nueva Vida Mission. This is the first SED Spanish-speaking mission to charter and become a rostered church of the LCMS. Rev. Pedro Lopez is the Mission Pastor of this congregation. They will celebrate this important milestone on February 15. They have a need for 100 Spanish Bibles. The LCMS has just recently published the La Biblia de la Reforma (The Lutheran Study Bible in Spanish) and have made them available at a special rate of $30 per Bible. If you feel moved to provide a Bible or two for this ministry, please make a contribution and note "Spanish Bible."

Please join with me in giving thanks for the work of the Holy Spirit in calling, gathering, and forming this ministry into a church where people will be gathered for nurture and growth and sent out to serve the Lord in the neighborhoods where they live and work. You may send a word of encouragement to Pastor Lopez and his congregation at pedrollopez9@gmail.com 

iNeighborhood Pilot Congregations: You will notice that we have added the work of the pilot congregations to our prayer page. Each of these congregations has committed to beginning work in 3 neighborhoods. This will take many shapes and it will happen as the Lord opens the door of opportunity for each congregation. We know that in our neighborhoods about 22% of the people attend worship - you can see we have much opportunity to make an eternal difference. Pray for the members of each of these congregations that they will discover joy in moving outside the church to be hands and feet for Jesus as they bless their neighbors through Gospel actions of mercy, compassion, prayer, and sharing Jesus.

You can follow the iNeighborhood on facebook and on the web.

Thank you for you mission prayer support. They are making an eternal difference.

10:02 am Prayers for the Harvest and Workers
Don't forget to set your cell phones alarm/alert to 10:02 a.m. and pray for the Harvest and Workers. Luke 10:2 Jesus told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." More than 32 million people within the boundaries of the SED do not know the everyday joys of knowing Jesus. Use us Lord, lead us to serve you in this mission field. 

 

Deaconess Sally J. Hiller
Director of Congregational Outreach
Southeastern District

Resources for Domestic Violence and Other Issues

Resources available for domestic violence and other issues

During the busy holiday season, it’s easy to overlook the hurting and lonely in our midst. We hear the carols and experience the joy, but these are difficult days for those dealing with abuse or violence at home. The world doesn’t have much time during the Christmas season for reconciling reality with hope in Christ, but that’s where the Church can help. Even in our sinful world, Jesus brings hope, comfort and forgiveness. Let us remember those who are often forgotten during this happy season and share with them the light of life that never, ever goes out. To promote life together as we maneuver through this earthly kingdom and the myriad issues we confront almost daily, we have assembled resources on topics ranging from domestic violence to religious liberty now available on a new “social issues” area of lcms.org. While some of the pages are still under construction, and materials are still being updated, we draw your attention to our domestic violence resources. The issue has been prominent in the news lately involving stories of abuse by professional athletes. However, domestic violence is not limited to those on either end of the economic spectrum as one might assume. The likelihood of it impacting each of us is great. One study commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that 1 in 3 women and 1 in 4 men in the United States have experienced a form of intimate partner violence in their lifetime, demonstrating the urgency with which the Church needs to be prepared to respond to the issue. Resources on domestic abuse are now available to aid church workers, friends, family members and survivors of domestic abuse in identifying and understanding the issue, and information is provided for how to intervene when such a situation is confronted. Resources include: A theological statement entitled “When Homes are Heartless” provides a Lutheran perspective on domestic abuse. Pastoral care rites and resources. A helpful information sheet containing both practical and spiritual resources for addressing the issue. A Lutheran Hour Ministries tract written for abuse survivors, “Has God Abandoned Me?” A comprehensive training program for districts, congregations and other LCMS organizations. You can find these resources at lcms.org/socialissues/domesticviolence. You also can hear an interview on KFUO about domestic violence and how to respond faithfully in love at www.kfuoam.org. We pray you find these resources helpful, and we encourage you to share them broadly.

LC-MS International Mission Work in the 21st Century

LCMS international mission
work in the 21st century

In the 121 years since the Missouri Synod sent its first missionaries to India, our church has been involved in international mission. Not only has much changed since then, the 21st century has brought new opportunities and challenges.

The mission field, as described by Hermann Sasse, is “where the church and that which is not church meet.” This always has been the case in the mission field, as the place where the Gospel of Jesus Christ meets sinners who are in need of forgiveness and life. The primary goal of LCMS international mission work is to proclaim the Gospel to a lost and fallen world. This is done directly by our missionaries, and it is done by helping to support our partners and the local church to proclaim the Gospel where they are located.

Long gone are the days of the lone missionary with a machete in a distant jungle. Rather, missionary service now involves a community with partners — some long-standing, some new and others emerging, in an increasingly urban environment. Our missionaries, of course, share the Gospel where they are sent, but increasingly they are asked to train and equip future pastors, evangelists and lay people to share their faith. Our missionaries also provide human care, feed the hungry, help the sick and the hurting, and visit those in prison. Missionaries connect the world to the church.

Particularly over the past few decades, missionary service also has included partnering and connecting the sending church and its districts, congregations, Recognized Service Organizations and other groups to the mission field. This January, please pray for your missionaries who serve overseas, pray that the Lord of the harvest sends laborers around the world to proclaim His saving Gospel and pray that the church continues to support that mission.

To learn more, go to www.lcms.org/themes/january.

In Jesus’ name,
Rev. Dr. Albert B. Collver III
Director, LCMS Church Relations and Regional Operations for the Office of International Mission

The Church in Ethiopia