Encounter

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Topics discussed in this episode:

- Illinois Assisted Suicide Policy

- End-of-life ethics

- The Christian response

Additional Resources/Further Reading:

https://mountziongreenfield.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/February-March-2026-.pdf

A catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.

⁠www.oursaviorgladwin.com

Send your questions and comments to [email protected] discussed in this episode:- The season of Pentecost

- The work of the Holy Spirit

- Third Article of the CreedA catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.⁠www.oursaviorgladwin.com

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Topics discussed in this episode:

- LCMS International Missions

- John Lewis and Kari Dawley Foro to Rwanda

- Purpose of the Foro and future opportunities

Further Reading and Additional Resources:

John Lewis; Senior Mission Advocate LCMS734-646-0122
[email protected]

A catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.

⁠www.oursaviorgladwin.com

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Topics discussed in this episode:

- Terminology around the Pastoral Office

- How Scripture defines the ministry

- Confusion of the Call

- Examination of Ephesians 4:12

Further Reading and Additional Resources:

"Church and Ministry : Witness of the Evangelical Lutheran Church on the Question of the Church and the Ministry" by C.F.W. Walther

"Brief Statement of the Doctrinal Position of the Missouri Synod", Adopted 1932 (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, N.D.)

https://www.lcms.org/about/beliefs/doctrine/brief-statement-of-lcms-doctrinal-position

"On Marriage and Family Life," by St. John Chrysostom

https://svspress.com/on-marriage-and-family-life/

"The Ministry Offices, Procedures and Nomenclature"

A Report of the Commission on Theology and Church Relations of the Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod; September 1981

"The Church and Her Fellowship, Ministry, and Governance" by Kurt E Marquart

Augsburg Confession; Article V: Of the Ministry

https://bookofconcord.org/augsburg-confession/of-the-ministry/

A catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.

⁠www.oursaviorgladwin.com

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Topics discussed in this episode:

- Background and introductions from our guests

- Discussion regarding what faithful fatherhood looks like, and how to lead a household in the way of the Lord

Further Reading and Additional Resources:

"Leadership and Emotional Sabotage: Resisting the Anxiety That Will Wreck Your Family, Destroy Your Church, and Ruin the World" Joe Rigney - Author

A catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.

⁠www.oursaviorgladwin.com

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Topics discussed in this episode:

- Background and introductions from our guests

- Sharing various resources for promoting connection and fellowship between young adult singles in the church

- Discussion regarding the value of finding likeminded friends and spouses, especially ground in a common faith

Further Reading and Additional Resources:

https://lcmssingles.com/

https://thegarmsfamily.com/

A catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.

⁠www.oursaviorgladwin.com

Send your questions and comments to [email protected]

Topics discussed in this episode:

- Environmentalism vs Consumerism, and a third way

- Christian duty to steward the earth

- Worshipping God and not creation

- Looking to the New Creation

A catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.

⁠www.oursaviorgladwin.com

Send your questions and comments to [email protected] discussed in this episode:- Should Christians be "judgemental"?- Different kinds of judgement- Discernment, correction, and condemnation- Matthew 7 "Judge not, lest ye be judged."Further Reading and Additional Resources:Concordia Commentary, Matthew 1:1-11:1, by Jeffery GibbsA catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.⁠www.oursaviorgladwin.com

“A Beautiful Easter Sermon” delivered in the presence of the Elector of Saxony. Dr. Martin Luther, Wittenberg, 1538

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Topics discussed in this episode:

- The historical and modern iterations of "anti-life" ideology

- The Scriptural picture of family and fruitfulness

- Misconceptions about contraceptives

- Reframing reproduction vs pro-creation

Further Reading and Additional Resources:

- "Ethics of Sex: From Taboo to Delight" CPH, Edited by Gifford A. Grobien- https://youtu.be/5M3W0CvQfzE?si=OKivjrKhLjSma847 (Paul Ehrlich Interview)

- http://www.esp.org/books/malthus/population/malthus.pdf ("An Essay on the Principle ofPopulation" by Thomas Robert Malthus)

- https://www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/charted-rapid-decline-of-global-birth-rates/ (Birthrate Chart; UN World Population Prospects 2022)

- "Count Down: How Our Modern World Is Threatening Sperm Counts, Altering Male and Female Reproductive Development, and Imperiling the Future of the Human Race" by Shanna Swan and Stacey Colino.

- Essays: D. Richard Stuckwisch, "Pastoral Considerations of Contraception" and Donna J. Harrison, "Contraception: An Embryo's Point of View."

- This blog is a wealth of resources: Lutherans and Procreation https://lutheransandcontraception.blogspot.com/

- "Should Christian Couples Use Contraception?" by Rev. Heath Curtis https://drive.google.com/file/d/1goK4Jvrw2MVKcAmf7DO5EXcR44xoBIMu/view (This is a very good Lutheran article that evaluates contraception from Scripture, tradition, and natural law, with attention given to hard cases.)

*Non-Lutheran Resources

- "Lambeth, 90 Years Later" https://www.thecatholicthing.org/2020/09/01/lambeth-90-years-later/A critique of the Church of England's disastrous resolution to approve artificial contraception under some circumstances for "moral" considerations.

- "What the Early Church Believed: Contraception and Sterilization" https://www.catholic.com/tract/contraception-and-sterilizationGood for patristic quotes.

A catechetical platfrom and resource of Our Savior - Gladwin.⁠

www.oursaviorgladwin.com