Book Talk from KFUO Radio

Without This Ring: Surviving Divorce

by Donna Pyle

This program is an encore from July 1, 2016.

Does God hate me for getting a divorce?

A survival guide for Christians who are navigating the minefield of divorce. Author Donna Pyle has been through it. She knows what it’s like, dealing with the anger, struggling with the idea of forgiveness. From a firm biblical standpoint, she gives clear steps on how to deal with the trauma and grief, helping readers understand that though they are wounded, they are not defeated.

Includes questions for reflection, prayer outlines, and journal prompts.

Find this book at Concordia Publishing House.

The Pilgrim

by F.W. Baue

This program is an encore from August 5, 2016.

The Pilgrim follows the geographical, intellectual and spiritual sojourns of Paul Gottlieb, a young musician searching for reality in the cultural maelstrom of the 1960s San Francisco music scene.

Find your copy of the book on Amazon.

Frederic W. Baue is a pastor emeritus of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod, and hold a Ph.D. in English literature from the University of Arizona. He and his wife, Jean, have three grown children, and make their home in St. Louis where they live and die with the Cardinals.

Learn more about F.W. Baue at Pergola Press.

Frederick Kiefer, Professor of English at the University of Arizona: The Pilgrim beings in the American heartland, a traditional German Lutheran community in Missouri. But everything is about to change. The sixties arrive like a tidal wave, and we witness its effects through the character of Paul. He find himself energized by new ideas and new possibilities. A young musician, he drifts westward and washes up in San Francisco just when the Summer of Love blossoms. Paul seems marked for success, but he finds himself thrown off balance by the madness of the times. What makes this novel so compelling is the skill with which Fred Baue explores Paul’s struggle to find purpose in a world being born. Baue brings to life an era that would become a turning point in the American story. This book is a winner.

Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World

by Mike Horton (with guest Lucas Woodford)

Today’s program is an encore from March 6, 2015.

Ordinary by Michael HortonRadical. Crazy. Transformative and restless. Every word we read these days seems to suggest there’s a "next-best-thing," if only we would change our comfortable, compromising lives. In fact, the greatest fear most Christians have is boredom-the sense that they are missing out on the radical life Jesus promised. One thing is certain. No one wants to be "ordinary."

Yet pastor and author Michael Horton believes that our attempts to measure our spiritual growth by our experiences, constantly seeking after the next big breakthrough, have left many Christians disillusioned and disappointed. There’s nothing wrong with an energetic faith; the danger is that we can burn ourselves out on restless anxieties and unrealistic expectations. What’s needed is not another program or a fresh approach to spiritual growth; it’s a renewed appreciation for the commonplace.

Far from a call to low expectations and passivity, Horton invites readers to recover their sense of joy in the ordinary. He provides a guide to a sustainable discipleship that happens over the long haul-not a quick fix that leaves readers empty with unfulfilled promises. Convicting and ultimately empowering, Ordinary is not a call to do less; it’s an invitation to experience the elusive joy of the ordinary Christian life.

Find your copy on Amazon.com.

The Mom God Chose: Mothering Like Mary

by Sarah Habben

Today’s program is an encore from January 8, 2016.

Discover more about the mother of Jesus and learn timeless truths for raising your own children in The Mom God Chose. Throughout the book, you’ll be reminded to rely on your heavenly Father in all the trials you face as a mom. After all, motherhood is a blessing from God! In addition to 24 compelling lessons, the book includes interviews of present-day moms and study questions.

Find your copy on Amazon.com.

Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics Series

With guest Robert Bennett

Today's program is an encore from April 10, 2015.

Confessional Lutheran Dogmatics SeriesThis dogmatic resource is based upon the outline and thought pattern of the Lutheran Confessions. The series is strictly and consciously confessional in its presentation of doctrine and its assessment and analysis of modern theological trends throughout the Christian church. The Series includes: Baptism, Eschatology, The Church and Her Fellowship, Christology, The Lord’s Supper, Law and Gospel and Means of Grace.

Find your copy on LutherAcademy.com.

Walther’s Works: Church Fellowship

by C. F. W. Walther (Reviewed by Rev. Martin Noland)

Today’s program is an encore from May 8, 2015.

From 1857 to 1884, C.F.W. Walther wrote numerous articles and speeches dealing with Lutheran identity and unity in doctrine and practice on the basis of Holy Scripture and the Lutheran Confessions. For the first time, these previously scattered, inaccessible, and forgotten writings are being brought together in one volume.

This volume helps clarify not only what Lutheran identity was in the nineteenth century, but also what it means to confess the Christian faith in the twenty-first century, in harmony with the Church of all ages.

Find your copy on cph.org.

Ordinary: Sustainable Faith in a Radical, Restless World

by Mike Horton (with guest Lucas Woodford)

Today’s program is an encore from March 6, 2015.

Ordinary by Michael HortonRadical. Crazy. Transformative and restless. Every word we read these days seems to suggest there’s a "next-best-thing," if only we would change our comfortable, compromising lives. In fact, the greatest fear most Christians have is boredom-the sense that they are missing out on the radical life Jesus promised. One thing is certain. No one wants to be "ordinary."

Yet pastor and author Michael Horton believes that our attempts to measure our spiritual growth by our experiences, constantly seeking after the next big breakthrough, have left many Christians disillusioned and disappointed. There’s nothing wrong with an energetic faith; the danger is that we can burn ourselves out on restless anxieties and unrealistic expectations. What’s needed is not another program or a fresh approach to spiritual growth; it’s a renewed appreciation for the commonplace.

Far from a call to low expectations and passivity, Horton invites readers to recover their sense of joy in the ordinary. He provides a guide to a sustainable discipleship that happens over the long haul-not a quick fix that leaves readers empty with unfulfilled promises. Convicting and ultimately empowering, Ordinary is not a call to do less; it’s an invitation to experience the elusive joy of the ordinary Christian life.

Find your copy on Amazon.com.

The Life and Words of Deaconess Clara Strehlow

by Deaconess Cheryl Naumann

Today's program is an encore from August 21, 2015.

Find your copy on lulu.com.

For more than 30 years student deaconesses have been the beneficiaries of scholarships from the deaconess Clara Strehlow Endowment Fund, many times knowing little or nothing about the woman for whom the fund was named. Now we have an opportunity to read about the woman behind the scholarship! In a rich narrative that is often told in Clara’s own words – both private and public – this little volume is a real testimony to the example of a woman who inspired fellow sisters in Christ through her selfless dedication and service to the Lord. How did she do it? What were her attitudes, strengths, and even foibles? Clara is forthcoming and clear in her thoughts, revealing a good deal about successful “church work” for both her day and for us in the 21st century.

For more information, visit www.deaconessbio.org.

Being Dad: Father as a Picture of God’s Grace

by Scott Leonard Keith

This program is an encore from November 20, 2015.

Being Dad deals with the way fathers, and the subject of fatherhood, are treated in modern culture. Dr. Keith brings his experience with family, students, great mentors and friends to bear on this subject which is crying out for attention. Equally, he brings his Christian faith, a scholarly eye for detail and an ear for story along on the journey and works with the reader to navigate a path to a better country where the Father blesses His children and is honored.

Find your copy at Amazon.com.

Dona Gratis Donata: Essays in Honor of Norman Nagel on the Occasion of His Ninetieth Birthday

Edited by Jon Vieker, Bart Day, and Al Colver

Today’s program is an encore from December 11, 2015.

Pastors and theologians - too many to count - have sat at the feet of the Rev. Dr. Norman E. Nagel, graduate professor emeritus of Systematic Theology at Concordia Seminary, St. Louis. From Nagel, they learned of Christ and the innumerable gifts He gives. Now, this book of scholarly essays allows others to learn from the professor as well, as his students pay respect to their teacher on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday by doing just as he did: pointing others to Christ, His gifts and His cross.

Purchase your copy on Amazon.com.