Early on Sunday morning, July 30, there was a fire at Mount Olive Lutheran Church off of Shaw Boulevard in St. Louis. Fire crews were called to the scene in the 4 a.m. hour.  Significant damage was done in the education building.  While the main sanctuary doesn’t appear to have...

The Blessing of Work The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.   Genesis 2:15 Work may be a four-letter word, but that does not mean that it is bad.  In Genesis chapter 2, God’s creation of man and...

Resting in God’s Gifts Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  Matthew 11:29 The summer months find pastors, teachers and other church workers scattering to the four winds as they escape the demands of their...

The Burden of Being Unneeded I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.  I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak,...

The Burden of Being Needed Moses said to the Lord, “Why have you dealt ill with your servant? And why have I not found favor in your sight, that you lay the burden of all this people on me?  Did I conceive all this people? Did I give them birth, that you...

God’s Gift of Parents Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right.  “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), "that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land."   Ephesians 6:1-3 Parents are gifts and blessings...

May You See Your Children’s Children Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!  You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.  Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your...

The Two Become One Flesh: God’s Gift of Marriage So God created man in his own image,     in the image of God he created him;     male and female he created them.  Genesis 1:27 Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and...

Jim Ebers August 14, 1953 – March 30, 2023 Jimmy Lee “Jim” Ebers, 69, of Concordia, Missouri, passed away on Thursday, March 30, 2023, at Centerpoint Medical Center in Independence, Missouri. Born August 14, 1953, in Chester, Illinois, he was the son of Harold Ebers and Virginia Mayer Ebers. He...

Donald T. Petering March 21, 1938 – April 11, 2023 Donald T. Petering of Kirkwood, Missouri, past away on April 11, 2023. Don was born March 21, 1938, to Donald Carl Petering and Erna (Traugott) Petering in Muskogee Oklahoma. Early in life, Don demonstrated a gift for music. During his...

The Faith Once Delivered to the Saints Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.  Jude 3 One of the many...

Who does the adding? So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls…And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.   Acts 2:41, 47 Pastors are burdened with guilt for a variety of reasons, but...

In the World, But Not of the World I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.  I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not...

Opening the Scriptures Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.   Luke 24:45 As Jesus walked with the disciples on the road to Emmaus, the evangelist Luke notes that beginning with Moses and the Prophets, Jesus “interpreted” the Scriptures to them as they testified about Himself.  One of the...

The Christian Life is Simple, But Not Easy "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment.  And a second is...

A Familiar Voice My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand.  John 10:27-28 Before there was Mike Shannon’s gravelly voice or Jack Buck’s smooth tones,...

This June, there are several opportunities to dive deeper into theology.  These courses are designed for everyone–church worker and laypersons–to attend.  There are three topics at different locations across Missouri. See below for more information on these great classes, brought to us from our seminaries. Click here for additional information...

Shining the Light of Christ Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life.  Philippians 2:14-16a There is a narrative in our culture that Christians...

While we can receive called workers throughout the year into the Missouri District, in April our two seminaries host “Call Day” where vicars and deaconess interns get their year-long assignment and students finishing their education receive Call placements. This year, we were blessed with two deaconess interns, eight vicars, three...

Teach Your Children Well But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ...

This Joyful Eastertide Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.  1 Peter 1:3 There are a number of ways in...

Rev. Frank Edward Eberhart December 12, 1941 – April 04, 2023 Born on December 12, 1941, in Denver, Colorado, to Joseph and Eleanor Eberhart.  He attended Mount Calvary Lutheran School in Denver, St. John’s High School in Winfield, Kansas, Concordia Junior College in Austin, Texas, Concordia Senior College in Fort...

Cross and Resurrection - Inseparably Together You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me.   John 5:39 There exists a unity to the Old and New Testaments in the central message of Jesus Christ.  From the...

Rev. Ken Klaus October 20 1948 – March 23, 2023 Kenneth Richard Klaus, son of blacksmith Richard and homemaker, Jeanette, was born in Evergreen Park, Illinois in October of 1948.  He was doubly blessed with a parochial education.  Doubly blessed because of the knowledge received and because there he met...

A Corporate Resurrection So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, and they lived and stood on their feet, an exceedingly great army.  Ezekiel 37:10 Just across the border from Iraq in Syria, along the River Euphrates, an ancient synagogue that dates back to the...