From humble beginnings growing up in Texas to being the leader of several churches, a District President and the the President of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod - a church body of nearly 2 million people - the Rev. Dr. Jerry Kieschnick inspires us to answer God's call to serve others!

Books recommended by Jerry:

The Story: The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

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Life feels heavy at times. Especially in dark times.

Where do you turn when it does? Who do you turn to to get through what you're going through?

Tanner Olson returns to the Reflection Podcast with a new book of poems and essays!

To find out more about Tanner, go to Written to Speak.

To get a copy of Getting Through What You're Going Through, click here.

Here are the previous episodes featuring Tanner.

That's What I Need to Hear with Tanner Olson and Blake Flattley.

Life is Not a Race and You are Not Behind with Tanner Olson.

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The St. Mathew YouTube Channel⁠⁠The St. Matthew Podcast Channel⁠⁠⁠Click here for more information about St. Matthe⁠w⁠

What if I told you that the Christmas story you know—Mary, Joseph, a manger, and a baby—wasn’t a surprise to God… not even close? In fact, He announced it centuries in advance, hiding jaw-dropping clues in plain sight all throughout the Old Testament. Some scholars say there are as many as 300 specific prophecies about the Messiah written hundreds, even thousands of years before Jesus was born.

On this special Christmas episode, author and scholar Chad Bird sits down with Ed Blonski to pull back the curtain on four of the most astonishing prophecies. We’re talking precise details—where He’d be born, how He’d arrive, what His mission would be—that are so accurate they’ll make the hair on the back of your neck stand up.

If you’ve ever wondered whether the Christmas story is more than just a sweet tradition… if you want proof that blows the lid off coincidence… you do NOT want to miss this one.Hit play right now and discover why the first Christmas was the most predicted moment in human history.

Chad Bird is a Scholar in Residence at ⁠1517.org⁠. He has served as a pastor, professor, and guest lecturer in Old Testament and Hebrew. He holds master's degrees from Concordia Theological Seminary and Hebrew Union College. He has contributed articles to Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Modern Reformation, The Federalist, Lutheran Forum, and other journals and websites.

Reflection Episodes Featuring Chad Bird

Untamed Prayers Part 1

Untamed Prayers Part 2

Hitchhiking with Prophets

Connection Between Passover and The Lord's Supper

Jesus Died and Rose For You

Podcasts featuring Chad Bird

40 Minutes in the Old Testament

Hidden Streams

Unveiling Mercy

Books by Chad Bird can be found at 1517.org

To connect with St. Matthew Lutheran, click ⁠⁠here⁠⁠:

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Today you'll get a little insight into how a preacher learns how to preach from one of the men responsible for teaching preaching!

He grew up in a church worker family, became a parish pastor himself and then was called to teach homiletics at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

To find out more about Peter Nafzger, click here.

Book recommendation:

The Genius of Luther's Theology: A Wittenberg Way of Thinking for the Contemporary Church by  Robert Kolb  &  Charles P. Arand

Just Words: Understanding the Fullness of the Gospel by  J. A. O. Preus

Loving Jesus by Mark Allan Powell

To connect with St. Matthew Lutheran, click ⁠here⁠

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From small town Iowa to the capital of the United States, Mark Shaltanis serves as pastor in one of the most contentious but also exciting places in the world!

He will inspire you to reflect God's light and love in this world!

Book Recommendations

Fearful Breakers by Janice Sebring

The Story of Civilization: The Reformation by Will Durant

Martin Luther’s Small Catechism with Explanation

The Lutheran Study Bible

The Lutheran Service Book (hymnal)

To connect with St. Matthew Lutheran, click here.

Please take a quick second to rate this podcast on your favorite platform—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening. Those stars really help others discover us. Next, hit that like button or give us a thumbs-up—it’s a small gesture that makes a big difference. Finally, share this episode! Text it to a friend, post it on social media, or tell someone about it over coffee. You never know who might need to hear this message today.

A public school teacher who ends up serving as a missionary in Europe then comes back to America to lead Deaconess studies in the U.S.

This is the inspiring story of Dr. Jennie Asher, Deaconess and Director of Deaconess Studies at Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri.

To find out more about the Deaconess Program at Concordia Seminary, click here.

Books recommended by Dr. Asher:

The Lutheran Study Bible

The Lutheran Service Book (hymnal)

Cottage Decorating Books from Amazon

To connect with St. Matthew Lutheran, click here: ⁠

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Sometimes we have a plan for our lives and then God comes along and says, "Have I got something for you!"

That's what happened to Jamie Crustals.

And you are about to hear her story.

Books recommend by Jamie:

Make It Stick by Peter C. Brown, Henry L. Roediger III, and Mark A. McDaniel

Spark by John J. Ratey MD and Eric Hagerman

The Spark of Learning by Sarah Rose Cavanagh

To connect with St. Matthew Lutheran, click here:

Please take a quick second to rate this podcast on your favorite platform—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening.

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Dreams are a reflection of what is in our heart. And if our heart belongs to God then our dreams can be anchored in God!

Today's conversation is with Dave Ficken, who is the Chicago City Director for LINC - Leaders in every Community (the "e" is silent).

The dream of LINC is that there will come a day when everyone on every corner of our cities can experience the Gospel in terms they can understand from someone they know.

To find out more about LINC click here.

Some books that Dave recommends to help you catch their dream:

The Other Half of Church: Christian Community, Brain Science, and Overcoming Spiritual Stagnation by Jim Wilder and Michel Hendricks

The Voice of the Heart: A Call to Full Living by Chip Dodd

Canoeing the Mountains: Christian Leadership in Uncharted Territory by Tod Bolsinger

Please take a quick second to rate this podcast on your favorite platform—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening. Those stars really help others discover us.

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For more about St. Matthew, click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

The Latin Phrase "Extra Nos" means "outside myself."

This is the theme of the life of Flame, a rap music artist who was taught about Jesus from his grandmother and grew up in the Reformed Church tradition.

But then he discovered God's grace comes outside of himself and found a home in Lutheranism.

Now he composes music, hosts a podcast, and writes books telling his story and leading others to find the grace of Jesus Christ outside themselves!

To find out more about Flame

Extra Nos with Flame

Extra Nos: Discovering Grace outside Myself by Flame

Please take a quick second to rate this podcast on your favorite platform—Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you’re listening. Those stars really help others discover us. Next, hit that like button or give us a thumbs-up—it’s a small gesture that makes a big difference. Finally, share this episode! Text it to a friend, post it on social media, or tell someone about it over coffee. You never know who might need to hear this message today.For more about St. Matthew, click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

Untamed Prayers will take you out of your spiritual comfort zone. On this episode we’ll leave behind the boring, predictable prayers that so many Christians are stuck in and dive into ones full of praise, despair, joy, and lament.

Based on The Book of Psalms, these prayers cover all parts of life—the good times and the tough ones—and what better way to find the right words to say to God than the very prayers He gave us to pray?

But wait! There’s more! Chad Bird shows how these ancient prayers are connected to Jesus as you go through the Psalms. You'll discover that you're not just talking to God by yourself; Jesus is right there with you, praying alongside you.

This is part 2 of a conversation with Chad Bird about his new book Untamed Prayers. A conversation that will help you feel a closeness to God, freeing you to speak to the Father with complete honesty.

Order Untamed Prayers here.⁠

Find out more about Chad Bird and 1517, where he is Scholar in Residence, ⁠here.⁠

For a reading plan to read through the Book of Psalms in 30 days, Ed Blonski recommends this plan based on the Book of Common Prayer ⁠here⁠.

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For more about St. Matthew, click ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠here⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.