Why do so many hear God’s Word — and yet so few truly believe?

In this episode, we present a modernized, abridged sermon from Martin Luther’s House Postil for Sexagesima on Luke 8:4–15. Luther urges every hearer to examine himself: Which soil am I? Am I offended when the Word brings suffering, or do I cling to Christ and bear fruit in patience?

Christ says only one kind of soil truly receives the seed — and Luther shows why that shouldn’t scandalize us.

📖 Luke 8:4–15 | ✝️ Luther’s House Postil

——

❤️ Support our work in Uganda: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bring-hope-food-and-education-to-children-and-families-in-uganda-through-kutesa-henrys-ministry

In this special episode of The Last Christian Church on Earth Podcast, we present the entire book of Romans, read straight through from the God’s Word Translation (GW) — with no commentary and no interruptions.

Romans is the clearest proclamation of the Gospel in all of Scripture:

that sinners are justified freely by God’s grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

As you listen, remember that this same Word is being brought to families in Uganda through our ministry — providing Bibles, clean water, shelter, and care for the sick, alongside the preaching of Christ.

📖 Scripture Reading:

The Holy Bible, God’s Word Translation (GW)

© 1995, 2003, 2013 God’s Word to the Nations

Used by permission. All rights reserved.

🙏 Support the Mission:

Your gifts help us build homes, dig boreholes for clean water, supply Bibles and chairs for worship, and work toward a small medical clinic and solar power for a village with no electricity.

➡️ Donation link: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bring-hope-food-and-education-to-children-and-families-in-uganda-through-kutesa-henrys-ministry

Let us hear the Word of the Lord.

Christians are commanded to honor those in authority—but never to trust them as saviors.

In this episode, we go deeper than politics and civil rulers. We also examine authority inside the Church: pastors, district presidents, and synodical leaders. What happens when these offices are honored rightly—and what happens when they are idolized instead of held accountable?

Drawing from Psalm 146, Romans 13, Hebrews 13, Acts 20, 1 Peter 5, and the Gospels, we explore: • Why all authority is given by God—but none is God

• How blind trust in leaders creates space for abuse

• Why Scripture commands testing, not silence

• How Christ alone remains the Head of the Church

We also speak honestly about how religious language and positions of trust are often used by predators—and why faithful churches must protect people, not institutions.

At the end of the episode, I share about the mercy work of The Last Christian Church on Earth in Uganda—building homes, drilling boreholes for clean water, providing Bibles and chairs for worship, installing solar power, and working toward a small medical clinic.

👉 If you’d like to support this work, click here:

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bring-hope-food-and-education-to-children-and-families-in-uganda-through-kutesa-henrys-ministry

“Put not your trust in princes… Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob.” — Psalm 146

Most people think Constantine “made Rome Christian.” But the truth is far more complex—and far more instructive for the Church today.

In this episode, we explore:

How Constantine legalized Christianity without legislating it

Why he continued to support pagan temples

How the early Church actually grew through Word and Sacrament, not law

Insights from Scripture and the Church Fathers on faith, power, and God’s providence

We’ll read from John, Acts, Romans, and Matthew, and hear from Tertullian, Clement of Rome, Augustine, and others.

Join us as we uncover the real story of Constantine, the growth of the Church, and God’s unstoppable work through His Word.

Support the ministry: The Last Christian Church on Earth is building shelters, drilling boreholes for clean water, providing Bibles, and opening doors for the Gospel.

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bring-hope-food-and-education-to-children-and-families-in-uganda-through-kutesa-henrys-ministry

Should civil law be based on the Ten Commandments?

Is a “Christian nation” a biblical idea?

And what does the Lutheran Confessions actually teach about the relationship between Church, State, Law, and Gospel?

In this episode, we explore the Lutheran doctrine of the Two Kingdoms and the difference between:

• Natural law and revealed law

• The Ten Commandments and the Gospel

• Civil righteousness and Christian righteousness

• The Law of Moses and the Law of Christ

Using Scripture, the Lutheran Confessions, and extended quotations from Martin Luther, we show:

✔ Why both tables of the Law belong to civil order — but only outwardly

✔ Why the Ten Commandments are not “Christian law”

✔ Why the Law of Christ calls Christians to suffer, not rule

✔ And why Christianity cannot be legislated into a nation

This is a theology-of-the-cross episode in a world obsessed with power.

At the end of the episode, I also share about our mercy work in Uganda through The Last Christian Church on Earth: building shelters, drilling boreholes for clean water, providing Bibles and church chairs, installing solar panels, and beginning a small medical clinic for the sick and elderly.

🙏 If you’d like to support this work, click here: https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bring-hope-food-and-education-to-children-and-families-in-uganda-through-kutesa-henrys-ministry

In this episode, I present a modernized and abridged reading of Martin Luther’s Church Postil on Matthew 8:1–13. Luther reflects on two powerful examples of living faith and active love: the leper who trusts Christ’s will to cleanse him, and the Roman centurion who believes Christ’s word alone is enough.

Luther also addresses the nature of true faith — including the reality of infant faith — showing that faith is not our work, but God’s gift, created by His Word and sustained by His promises.

At the end of the episode, I also share about my ongoing charity work in Uganda, where I am helping support Christian education and care for children in need.

👉 If you would like to support this work, you can donate here:

https://www.zeffy.com/en-US/donation-form/bring-hope-food-and-education-to-children-and-families-in-uganda-through-kutesa-henrys-ministry

Thank you for listening, for your prayers, and for your support as the Gospel bears fruit in both Word and deed.

In this episode, we read two powerful selections from Franz Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics, Volume Three (public domain).

The first reading addresses a critical question:

👉 Is the State a means of grace?

Pieper clearly distinguishes the spiritual kingdom of Christ from the civil kingdom, showing that the State cannot create faith, forgive sins, or dispense salvation.

The second reading explores the origin and preservation of the Church, and the proper limits of Christian rulers in church affairs. Here Pieper demonstrates that the Church is gathered and sustained by Christ alone through the Word and Sacraments—not by political power or coercion.

These readings are essential for understanding the Lutheran doctrine of the Two Kingdoms and for resisting both politicized Christianity and state-controlled religion.

📖 Readings from Christian Dogmatics, Vol. 3

• Public Domain: pp. 209–216; 479–482

• CPH Edition: pp. 176–183; 415–418

source:

https://backtoluther.blogspot.com/2023/12/piepers-dogmatik-v-3-in-english.html?m=1

What makes a theologian—not in theory, but in reality? In this episode of The Last Christian Church on Earth, we read from Volume One of Franz Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics on the attainment of theological aptitude, drawing deeply from Martin Luther’s teaching on Oratio (prayer), Meditatio (meditation on the Word), and Tentatio (spiritual trial and suffering).

Luther did not believe theology is learned merely from books or classrooms. True theological wisdom is forged in the school of prayer, Scripture, and the cross. Pieper shows how Luther grounded the theologian’s formation not in speculation, but in God’s Word pressed into the heart through struggle, affliction, and reliance on Christ alone.

This episode is for pastors, students, and every Christian who wants to understand why God teaches His servants through suffering—and how the devil himself becomes God’s unwilling tutor.

📜 Featuring a public domain / historical theological reading

source: https://backtoluther.blogspot.com/2023/10/piepers-dogmatic-v-1-reformation-day.html?m=1

In this episode of The Last Christian Church on Earth, we present a newly abridged and modernized version of Martin Luther’s sermon for the Second Sunday after Epiphany on the Wedding at Cana in Galilee (John 2:1–11).

Luther preaches to troubled consciences who know what it is to hear God’s promise and yet feel the opposite. When the wine runs out, when joy disappears, and when God seems distant, Christ is still present — quietly working through His Word.

This sermon teaches us not to trust our feelings, sight, or reason, but to cling to God’s promise alone. Here faith learns to say: “Even when I feel nothing, God’s Word is still true.”

This modernized rendering preserves Luther’s theology and pastoral power while making his language accessible for today’s hearer.

Source for my abridgement: https://martinlutherpostil.com/Second%20Sunday%20after%20Epiphany%20%20John%202-1-11.pdf

What is Christianity at its very core? In this episode of The Last Christian Church on Earth, we bring you a reverent reading from Franz Pieper’s The Essence of Christianity. Pieper cuts through sentimentality and moralism to proclaim what Christianity truly is: not human striving toward God, but God’s saving action toward sinners in Christ.

You’ll hear the sharp Law and the pure Gospel—Christianity defined not by what we do, but by what Christ has done for us.

If you’re weary of vague spirituality and hungry for clear, confessional truth, this episode is for you.

🕯️ “Christianity is not a doctrine of works, but a doctrine of grace.”

— Franz Pieper

Source: https://backtoluther.blogspot.com/2025/10/wic1-piepers-what-is-christianity-new.html?m=1